Joan of Arc and her enthusiasm: echoes of English enlightenment in the construction of the French national heroine

• Autor(a) principal: Amaral, Flávia
• Data de Publicação: 2020
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Anos 90 (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://seer.ufrgs.br/index.php/anos90/article/view/95762
• topic: Joana d'Arc; Historiografia; Iluminismo; História; Joana d’Arc. Historiography. Enlightenment.

According to Joan of Arc, since she was thirteen years old, angels and saints visited her revealing a mission designed by God: crowning the Delfin as king of France and liberating his kingdom from the English. Looking for a rational explanation for this phenomenon, many of her 19th century biographers will resort to the idea that Joana was imbued with a kind of impetus, which is why she strongly believed in the veracity of her visions and the validity of her mission. The discussion around the idea of enthusiasm was particularly important in shaping the image of the lay heroine, attributed to the Maiden in the 19th century. Such a debate, however, is part of a tradition that datesback to the previous century, being at the heart of Enlightenment discussions in Britain, especially in the writings of David Hume. In this article, we will present this debate, highlighting the main arguments presented by authors who wished to find a rationality in the heroine’s trajectory. Furthermore, we intend to position Voltaire’s vehement criticism of the Maiden and discuss his reception for 19th century historiography which, it seems, found in the idea of enthusiasm the argumentative axis for a response to Voltaire, as is evident, for example, in Michelet’s work.