第108章 THE ABJURATION.MAY 24,1431.(3)

It was in this strange and crowded scene that the sermon which was long and eloquent began.When it was half over，in one of his fine periods admired by all the people，the preacher，after heaping every reproach upon the head of Jeanne，suddenly turned to apostrophise the House of France，and the head of that House，"Charles who calls himself King.""He has，"cried the preacher，stimulated no doubt by the eye of Winchester upon him，"adhered，like a schismatic and heretical person as he is，to the words and acts of a useless woman，disgraced and full of dishonour；and not he only，but the clergy who are under his sway，and the nobility.This guilt is thine，Jeanne，and to thee I say that thy King is a schismatic and a heretic."In the full flood of his oratory the preacher was arrested here by that clear voice that had so often made itself heard through the tumult of battle.Jeanne could bear much，but not this.She was used to abuse in her own person，but all her spirit came back at this assault on her King.And interruption to a sermon has always a dramatic and startling effect，but when that voice arose now，when the startled speaker stopped，and every dulled attention revived，it is easy to imagine what a stir，what a wonderful，sudden sensation must have arisen in the midst of the crowd."By my faith，sire，"cried Jeanne，"saving your respect，I swear upon my life that my King is the most noble Christian of all Christians，that he is not what you say."The sermon，however，was resumed after this interruption.And finally the preacher turned to Jeanne，who had subsided from that start of animation，and was again the subdued and silent prisoner，her heart overwhelmed with many heavy thoughts."Here，"said èrard，"are my lords the judges who have so often summoned and required of you to submit your acts and words to our Holy Mother the Church；because in these acts and words there are many things which it seemed to the clergy were not good either to say or to sustain."To which she replied (we quote again from the formal records)，"I will answer you."And as to her submission to the Church she said："I have told them on that point that all the works which I have done and said may be sent to Rome，to our Holy Father the Pope，to whom，but to God first，I refer in all.And as for my acts and words I have done all on the part of God."She also said that no one was to blame for her acts and words，neither her King nor any other；and if there were faults in them，the blame was hers and no other's.

Asked，if she would renounce all that she had done wrong；answered，"Irefer everything to God and to our Holy Father the Pope."It was then told her that this was not enough，and that our Holy Father was too far off；also that the Ordinaries were judges each in his diocese，and it was necessary that she should submit to our Mother the Holy Church，and that she should confess that the clergy and officers of the Church had a right to determine in her case.And of this she was admonished three times.

After this the Bishop began to read the definitive sentence.When a great part of it was read，Jeanne began to speak and said that she would hold to all that the judges and the Church said，and obey in everything their ordinance and will.And there in the presence of the above-named and of the great multitude assembled she made her abjuration in the manner that follows：

And she said several times that since the Church said her apparitions and revelations should not be sustained or believed，she would not sustain them；but in everything submit to the judges and to our Mother the Holy Church.

In this strange，brief，subdued manner is the formal record made.

Manchon writes on his margin：/At the end of the sentence Jeanne，fearing the fire，said she would obey the Church/.Even into the bare legal document there comes a hush as of awe，the one voice responding in the silence of the crowd，with a quiver in it；the very animation of the previous outcry enhancing the effect of this low and faltering submission，/timens igneum/--in fear of the fire.

The more familiar record，and the recollections long after of those eye-witnesses，give us another version of the scene.èrard，from his pulpit，read the form of abjuration prepared.But Jeanne answered that she did not know what abjuration meant，and the preacher called upon Massieu to explain it to her."And he"(we quote from his own deposition)，"after excusing himself，said that it meant this：that if she opposed the said articles she would be burnt；but he advised her to refer it to the Church universal whether she should abjure or not.

Which thing she did，saying to èrard，'I refer to the Church universal whether I should abjure or not.'To which èrard answered，'You shall abjure at once or you will be burnt.'Massieu gives further particulars in another part of the Rehabilitation process.èrard，he says，asked what he was saying to the prisoner，and he answered that she would sign if the schedule was read to her；but Jeanne said that she could not write，and then added that she wished it to be decided by the Church，and ought not to sign unless that was done：and also required that she should be placed in the custody of the Church，and freed from the hands of the English.The same èrard answered that there had been ample delay，and that if she did not sign at once she should be burned，and forbade Massieu to say any more."Meanwhile many cries and entreaties came，as far as they dared，from the crowd.Some one，in the excitement of the moment，would seem to have promised that she should be transferred to the custody of the Church."Jeanne，why will you die？Jeanne，will you not save yourself？"was called to her by many a bystander.The girl stood fast，but her heart failed her in this terrible climax of her suffering.