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Artifact Relics of Jehanne d'Arc exist.

“The Sword of Jehanne d’Arc’s Coat of Arms”

I’d often wondered at the Artists rendition on the actual document of Charles the VII depicting in his official decree giving Joan of Arc an official ‘Coat of Arms’.. Why the sword depicted was completely ‘out of scale’ in the sense that it was obviously too short. If one looks at the cross-guard, it is apparent that the swords entire hilt, which consists of the pommel, handle,
and cross-guard if turned vertically- would cover some 40% of the depicted swords length or in essence, slightly more than two
cross-guard lengths would make up 85% of the swords length- give or take! This would in reality be an extremely short, very wide and unwieldy dagger. Also of note, the sword depicted, if based on an actual sword- was a rare specimen due to the rather unique hilt.. in fact extremely so. How? Several reasons such as the following. The ‘ball like’ pommel was round like a ball with striations which were ( and still are ) extremely rare. See picture below.

In depth searches have found few examples of ‘spherical’ or
‘ball’ pommels. See below for other similar yet unique examples.

Below is a blow up, of the actual artists drawing from Charles VII court on the letter giving Joan of Arc her ‘Coat of Arms’ which some internet/historical sources erroneously stating the Coat of Arms was given to her brothers because Jehanne in testimony says she ‘never received a Shield with such? True, but she did I believe receive the presentation sword.

Close-up of drawing on official letter of Declaration
From King Charles VII, dated December 29th, 1429

One can clearly see, that blown up to about eight times it’s original drawn size shows more flaws and imperfections as drawing with a quill pen of the era was subject to ink thinning out before dipping, and controlling a ‘just dipped’ pen! I believe the artist ‘shortened and widened’ the blade, in order to make the five crosses executable- as well as visible. For this purpose the sword blade has been considerably shortened, and widened. Of further note is the short handle and scrolled cross-bar as well as the Langet of the already unusual scrolled cross-bar! Langets were as rare as the spherical pommels in Medieval times.. See samples of rare Langets below:

Langets were more often found on higher quality swords often owned by nobleman or gifts to such. The sword ‘Scabbard’ was of course higher quality too with the tighter fit of a ‘Langet’ into the scabbard created a tighter ‘shield’ against the elements- especially rain and dampness of any kind which kept the blade much less likely to ‘rust’ or ‘pit’..

Langets prevented a Sword from accidentally ‘un-sheathing’ by fitting tightly to the scabbard, especially helpful on a bumpy journey by horse.
But moving on to ‘the sword’ itself. Utilizing the Artists rendition from the Charles VII document of the entire ‘Hilt’ ( the pommel, handle and cross-guard combined ) and utilizing an approximate ‘formula’ where-in the average true sword blade length of the times was about 30 to 34 inches and sometimes longer, with the entire sword length running 36 to 40 inches in length, and realizing that historically- descriptions of Joan of Arc put her height as diminutive- 4’9” to 5’2”, and taking the ‘median’ figure of say 4’11”.. Joan would have had an uncomfortable time moving about while walking with such a sword as well as 'drawing' or 'unsheathing' a long full size sword which leads me to believe that as historically Joan is said to have used several swords- ( as many as six ) I believe that the Sword made and depicted in King Charles Declaration- was made especially because of Joan’s petite height- and presented to her. The book by ‘Mary Cowden Clarke’ published in 1857 and depicting an Artists rendition( W.H. Mote, 1803-1871 ) of Joan of Arc based on some of the many previous portraits and drawings depicting her holding a sword that was more ‘in line’ with the sword size was indeed accurate. In the picture, Joan holds a sword that certainly is manageable being it’s ‘thin’ not ‘wide’ blade, and short hilt. While the sword does not show the exact ‘uniqueness’ of the sword depicted in the King Charles declaration, I believe.. the Artists depiction is ‘more in line’ with the actual size of the ‘presentation sword’ given Joan, along with the written decree granting her a ‘Coat of Arms’… Does that sword exist today?
I believe it does. A sword so unique that nothing quite like it has been made- or seen.. since. While appearing in photo’s to be a pretty much ‘standard’ length sword.. the actual sword length is a mere 24”long, with a blade length of only 19”!! Likewise, the ‘handle/grip is meant for the hand of a woman no doubt- with it’s length between cross-guard and Pommel of only 2-3/4”!! Likewise, the ‘blade is very thin- not wide, yet even this rather ‘diminutive’ sword has enough weight for “giving hard clouts and buffets” as Jehanne herself testified at her condemnation trial. Likewise she states that “The prelates and those of Tours gave me two sheathes. One of red velvet and the other of cloth of gold and I had myself another made of right strong leather.” See the various artists renditions in portraits of Jehanne, then the actual sword below!

By Artist/engraver W.H. Mote- Notice the shorter, thinner blade & smaller grip/handle. Though the hilt and pommel in this artists
rendition are pretty ‘standard’.. See below for other depictions of Joan of Arc with shorter, lighter, thin-bladed swords.

A much earlier Artists depiction, reproduced from an even older painting, again showing a smaller ’thin bladed’ sword- this time with a round Pommel and at least a ‘curved’ cross-guard.

See below for more.

Joan of Arc, circa 1485 showing a
short sword with correct cross-guard and ball-pommel, but with a longer grip and wider blade. As none of the Artists had ever seen the actual sword, they either used other historical references to it or put their own twist on other artist’s conceptions.

All were close…. but only one sword was the sword shown in the actual 1429 document issued by the Court of Charles the VII! I believe
this “Sword of Jehanne” has survived. The entire Hilt is correct.
Ball or ‘spherical’ pommel, short ‘handle/grip’ to fit a much smaller hand, correct cross-guard with ‘inward ( toward the blade ) ‘scrolling’ ending in two ‘inward curved’ ball ‘lobes’.. And, most importantly- with five ‘crosses’-‘etched’ into the blade just above a non-existent ‘Ricasso.’
Also, a ‘full tang’ which passes through the handle ( grip ) and attaches to the Pommel. See below to see what I believe to be the actual presentation sword given to Jehanne.

Some interesting things to note before seeing ‘Jehannes Sword’ below: Various modern day sword experts vary in their opinions of historical swords. For instance, some state that there ‘were no threaded ‘tangs’ on which to screw on a pommel. The first scientific use of a ‘screw’ was by Achimedes a Greek mathematician in, 285-212 B.C. There is evidence of ‘screwed on pommels in medieval times- despite what some sword ‘experts’ state. While it is fair to say that such would have created a ‘weak-link’ in the sword structure; likewise for the powerful or wealthy, it would have made disassembly for repair if necessary- fast & easy rather than the labor intensive ‘taking apart’ of a sword because the Tang was ‘peened’ by hammer. See below for example of ‘medieval’ pommel attached by threaded tang.

The ‘grip’ was usually made of wood, wrapped with leather and/or ‘wire’ tightly and evenly wrapped in a ‘helix’ around the grip. Wire was expensive and thus a rarity reserved for the wealthy and elite of the times.. See below for a beautiful example. Notice also the rare ‘spherical’ pommel and fancy ‘scrolled’ crossguard angled towards blade. This is an Italian example circa late 1500’s to 1600.

The fact is, while the ‘standard swords’ made for the majority of people (mostly limited to the common soldier ) WERE the same, for the Knight, nobleman & wealthy who could afford the ‘extravagance’ of such… fancy hilts with unique cross-guard or perhaps a tightly wrapped ‘wire’ grip- or a ‘hand-threaded’ pommel were attainable. See the ‘SWORD of JEHANNE D’Arc below!

In depth research has yet to find another sword like this one! Is it the Sword of Jehanne D’Arc? A drawing from a 15th Century
‘Book of Hours’ among other artifacts to be discussed and shown here…says ‘yes’.. Below is the actual page which has been dated 1450. Who wrote and drew on it? We might never know, but the artifacts it describes stood with it for centuries!

While the Scabbard appears to be wood.. and is even very ‘hard to the touch’ like wood…close inspection reveals it is indeed leather. See the ‘seam’ where it was stitched together and it had something applied to it- some protective coating, that was used centuries ago to 'harden' the leather like wood.

Reverse side of Scabbard. Notice how the cross-guard scrolls ‘inward’ and ‘up’.. no matter which way the sword faces.

There is an air of extreme age about this sword. It is nicely balanced and as stated earlier, is no ‘lightweight’ but would have been capable ‘in a pinch’ of delivering ‘quite the clout’ as Jehanne once stated. I believe this sword- presented to Jehanne nearly 600 years ago, was in essence ‘modeled after’ the ‘Sword of St. Catherine’ or the ‘William Martel Sword’ by order of King CharlesVII, and presented to Jehanne. I believe THIS is the sword she broke, not the ‘Martel’ sword, and there is evidence the blade ‘cracked approximately in the center and was ‘hammer-forged’ to repair at some point! I believe that finally.. an historic Sword of Jehanne D’Arc has come to the forefront. But, continue on for even more historical and amazing ‘relics’ of her existence!

Below is the right shoe sole, of a shoe once worn by Jehanne. The view here is of the ‘inside’ or ‘top’ of sole on left where Jehanne's foot rested upon.

Shown on right is the reverse ( bottom ) or ‘outside of shoe sole. If one looks closely, the ‘needle holes’ where it was once attached to the body of the shoe are clearly evident. This nearly 600 yr. old leather relic is very dark and stiff from age.

Shown above left is an 'inked imprint cut-out on paper of a very petite womans footprint, super-imposed over The right shoe sole of Jehanne. Shown above right are a replica of the shoe style called 'Poulaines' which were longer than the actual foot.

Yes, this is one of the helmets once worn by Jehanne who preferred ‘open-face’ helmets which did not impede any of her vision as she directed the battles. This helmet is very ‘beat up’ and dented but is intact. It is covered with ‘pits and surface rust on both the outside as well as the inside. With a liner, it is meant for a smaller head such as Jehannes and this style as referenced by historical timeline chart ( below ) was prevalent in Jehannes time. Artifacts such as this were kept by those who followed Jehanne into battle, and highly treasured!

Historical ‘time-line’ chart of helmet styles through the centuries and looking at the year 1400, open faced and ‘lobster tail’ helmets were the style for the next few decades. One could perhaps take any single helmet shown and there could be many dozens of ‘off-shoot style’ of said particular helmet.

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It must be stated, that the author of this site has done extensive work with regard to the study of virtually hundreds of images of Jehanne. The overwhelming majority of historical painting, engravings etc, show Jehanne to have brown hair. Of these, 78% show a medium brown or 'aubern' or 'reddish brown' hair color. One can tell even from 'drawings' that her hair was not black as occasionally is reported. There exists, in the Chapel of Bermont in France, Joan's favorite of all Chapels and a place which she was extremely dedicated to, paintings by the monks showing Jehanne and a sister, with vivid blue eyes and blonde hair, very long, wavy and worn 'up'.. The hair color could be described as 'medium blond' and it is quite common for hair color to grow darker as one ages. Thus the explanation for the majority of historical representations of Jehanne as well as descriptions to describe her hair as 'dark'.. One must accede to the fact that after weeks of travel and the wearing (when necessary), of a 'helmet' that Jehanne's hair was no doubt affected by the elements, the dust and dirt of heat and battle as well as a natural substance, sweat. These conditions no doubt account for the 'occasional' description of Jehanne as having 'black' hair.

Below is the 'back' of the extremely tiny locket. Though 'Georgian-period' jewelry is not known for having any 'markings', this piece has been engraved to add provenance, by a 'master-engraver' as it is impossibly small and shows in the center, within a tiny circle that can't be more than one eighth of an inch, or 3.175 mm in size- the 'Coat of Arms' of Jehanne as given to her by King Charles VII. In an 'outer circle' is the following, engraved again in 'impossibly small' lettering in French that translates as: "Jeanne D'arc- Sacred Memory, Her Hair" See below for the close up of the back of this amazing little locket!

In the year 1742, an unknown person brought a small wooden receptacle to a shop in France, to have the precious contents of the 313 year old tiny wooden box, put into a more protective enclosure ( a mourning locket ) which had become a popular method of 'keeping' the memory of a person 'dear to others' close at hand as a 'tangible' keepsake. Along with the extremely tiny 'locket'- no bigger than a modern penny, was a document stating in French and translating thus: "In the year of Our Lord 1429, Joan was told by Holy Voices to cut her hair. Saved by Joan's sister Catherine, through the generations. And over the many years gently protected. And now, the Angel, our sweet Jehanne, who fights for all time for Jesus and Mary, through this Sacred relic, will thy armor be" See below for a close-up of the front of this tiny locket with it's unimaginably precious cargo!

Below is a page from a'Book of Hours, circa- 1450 that has been with the artifacts for 566 years.

ItI shows Jehannes sword, helmet, original wood reliquary w/hair & tiles from Chinon upon which Joan & Charles once stood.

It has survived floods as well as fire and the ravages of time rather miraculously!

Actual tile fragments from 'Great Hall of Chinon' upon which Jehanne & Charles stood when they first met. They match the drawn tiles on the 1450 'Book of Hours' page exactly. They are time worn after many, many centuries!This is paragraph text. Double click here to edit and add your own text.

This 'pin-curl' and 'wave' correctly matches the shape drawn on the circa-1450 page from a 'Book of Hours' seen below.

The paper as well as the 'period ink' can not be faked. Document 'experts' can tell. This document which measures less than 3" wide and less than 4" high has been carefully scrutinized.