The Trial of Joan of Arc
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Book Summary Information
Translator: Daniel HobbinsEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2007-04-30
ISBN: 0674024052
Number of pages: 272
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Book Reviews of The Trial of Joan of Arc
Book Review: A thorough translation and introduction to the material
Summary: 5 Stars
Originally encountering this work in a course dealing with interpretations of Joan of Arc, including film, I have found both the translation and introductory article more than satisfactory. It is an objective, empirical translation that places careful emphasis on wording so as to seem a direct translation from the Latin (certainly, it is clear that no small amount of effort was left in representing the complexities of the Latin) while considering discrepancies with the French text (which is of an altogether different nature, due to our lack of a contemporary source).
By taking such an empirical view, and one that is limited to the primary documents, Hobbins has allowed the book to remain academically credible while easily accessible to general readers and undergraduates. He does not fall into the trappings of generic popular history, to decry the injustice of the trial or project unwarranted modern archetypes onto Joan. Hobbins remains steadfast in the introduction when he argues the the trial could have found no verdict but guilty, and to suggest otherwise is to blatantly misrepresent late and high medieval court procedure and politics. Any student having completed a Western Civ course will find this basic knowledge, but it is useful to have it presented so concisely.
Though other reviews criticize Hobbins for not echoing the sensational, less justifiable arguments so common in popular history, I cannot recommend the book more highly. If I have spent more time praising the introduction than the translation, it is because of the lack of flaws within it, and unjustly harsh criticism of it by other reviewers. It seems that with iconic figures, those who seek to make more grandiose claims, or make claims from the perspective of a postmodern world, find eager audiences waiting for them. The argument that this work somehow buys into Hollywood convention lacks credit, be it the immortal work of Dreyer of the recent drivel with Sobieski as Joan. For the serious student of history, wishing to have as neutral a translation as possible in order to draw their own conclusions, Hobbins' text is a worthy addition.
In regard to the other reviews which cite the "retrial" 25 years later, this is an even more biased source than the original trial. Though the original text comes to us with English bias, the nullification trial occurred after French victory and relied on the memory of witnesses coming forward 25 years after the incident. By this point Joan had become a French icon, and the natural bias of the French combined with the passage of time hardly allow it to discredit the original minutes, however influenced by the bias of the English. Certainly, the fact that the original trial was spread through an authoritative Latin text, meant to be dispersed across Europe, discredits much of the "cover up" theory. The English did not believe that they had committed some enormously unwarranted action, but justly convicted a heretic in accordance with medieval Church precedent. Both the trial and the nullification trial echo the beginnings of nationalistic bias, but a nullification trial conducted by the French government 25 years after the fact hardly seems a worthy one to discredit our only account of the original trial.
As a final note about the free translations mentioned by other reviewers, these are long outdated versions that have seen their copyrights expire. For instance, the one available at the Fordham Medieval Database, commonly cited, was written before recent dating definitively placed the text 4 years earlier than the one argued for by the author, placing it within months of the trial date. This serves to render much of its introduction useless, and the translation would certainly seem to be of lower quality.
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