Of course it was, she was French.
Unforgivable.
England said “Bitch, get me a chicken sandwich, and some waffle fries, FOR FREE.”
What most people get wrong is why exactly she was burned at the stake. It wasn‘t her confession but that she took it back later. That made her irredeemable in the eyes of christians and not just english christians. Of course the trial and confession was bullshit but she would‘ve gotten away with it if she stuck with the narrative the English forced on her.
That’s not what I learned, it was that she was wearing male clothing (for safety) then renounced that, then later ended up in male clothing (probably through coercion) and that was considered a renunciation, ergo murder.
She was fucked anyway from the get go after being caught by the English who had declared her a heretic early.
I just finished listening to the episode on her on half arsed history…
What’s important here is that medieval christianity didn‘t burn people at the stake for murder. If you confess you are redeemed in the eyes of god. Of course there‘s also secular justice where things are not that simple but burning at the stake wasn‘t a possible punishment there either.
No, the only way you end up at the stake is relapse after a confession. You had your second chance so if you relapse or withdraw your confession again or do both at the same time in this case, you get burned to death because in the eyes of medieval christianity you are beyond help at that point. The only way to cleanse your soul is through fire.
That‘s how the Templars ended up at the stake too. Not for the crimes they were accused of. They could‘ve walked away after that. But they later withdrew their confessions and paid with a painful death.
so whats the punishment if you refuse to confess in the first place?
There’s only so much torture any person can endure.
Depending on who you‘re dealing with you don‘t have to fear punishment by the church at all. Cases like murder usually were dealt with by the secular justice system anyway. You would be on trial and they didn‘t need your confession to sentence you. Just evidence or believable, independent witnesses.
In the cases of Jeanne D‘Arc or the Templars the situation was heavily politicized and they were likely tortured to force a confession. This would be considered highly irregular of course but it still happened. Very similar to how governments torture people against their moral codes and laws today when people in power believe the goal justifies the means.
It was important for the English to strip Jeanne off her prophet status and many of them probably simply didn‘t believe her anyway. It sounds all a bit whacky after all. And Jeanne, being the devoted believer she is, knew god was her witness. She was willing to die an agonizing death just so she doesn‘t have to live a lie. Same goes for the Templars.
I guess no matter how you look at it, religion still killed these people. I won‘t debate that.
