Mystery Files (2010–…): Season 1, Episode 13 - Joan of Arc - full transcript

[music playing]

NARRATOR: France in the
1420s, a teenage girl

claims she hears voices,
words only she can hear.

Her name is Joan of Arc,
andshe says they come from God.

KELLY DEVRIES: It doesn'tmatter whether God

had a mission for her or not.

She believed it.

NARRATOR: Joan embarks
on her holy quest

to defeat the English andsee
the French King crowned.

Divine messenger, witch,
orwarrior capable of transcending

extreme pain and suffering,
how could this 19-year-old girl



have accomplished all this?

Searching for answers,
historians, neurologists,

and religious
psychologists examine

her extraordinarily life
as we opened The Mystery

Files on Joan of Arc.

[music playing]

Joan of Arc, patron Saintof
France and national hero.

The story of Joan has
beenembellished over the centuries

causing the truth of
this young woman's life

to become obscured by legend.

Rachel Gibbons has studiedJoan
and medieval history

for over 20 years.

RACHEL GIBBONS: She is a Saint.

She's a knight.



She's a heretic.

She's a witch.

She's a feminist champion.

She's a Prophet.

NARRATOR: Examining each ofher
miraculous acts in detail,

scientists now believe
itmay be possible to reveal

what lies behind Joan'sdeeds
in life and in death.

The investigation startshere
in Domremy la Pucelle,

250 kilometers east of Paris.

Around 1428 this family home,
the church, and these streets

are the setting for Joan'sfirst
and most enduring mystery.

It is here that Joan makes
achoice from which she steps out

of obscurity and into legend.

She leaves home at
the age of just 16.

RACHEL GIBBONS:
Making the decision

to set out almost on herown
from her family village

at a point when many peoplewould
never spend a night away

from home is quite
a remarkable thing

for anyone to do in this
period, but certainly

for a girl like Joan of Arc.

NARRATOR: Coming from arural
family, at this time

it's a radical choice sparkedby
an extraordinary claim.

Joan says that
since the age of 13

she has been hearing
voices in her head,

and she believes these
voicescome directly from God.

Some modern experts
argue it shows Joan

was a schizophrenia and insane.

Psychologist, Dr. Miguel
Farias thinks otherwise.

DR. MIGUEL FARIAS: A
majordistinction to be made

is between people who
hear voices and have

a serious psychologicalcondition,
and people who hear

voices but have normal lives

NARRATOR: There is no
historicalrecord to suggest that Joan

was ever classed as mad.

As a child,
she wasapparently able to function

normally within society.

Dr. Farias believes the
voicescould be thoughts buried

deep in her unconscious mind.

DR. MIGUEL FARIAS: From a
purelypsychological point of view

we can't think that
she had a, kind of,

personality disposition
whichallowed her to perceive things

from her unconscious,
whichshe interpreted as voices.

NARRATOR: Because of
theChristian beliefs of her time,

she reasons that thesevoices
are messages from God.

This kind of perception
is, in fact, not unusual

in the 15th century.

RACHEL GIBBONS: During
Joan of Arcs lifetime,

there are possibly dozensof
visionaries or prophets

at large in France,
nottwo or three, not hundreds.

It's something that's
veryunusual, but definitely not

unique either.

NARRATOR: And many of
thesevisionaries are female.

RACHEL GIBBONS:
One of the few ways

that a woman in medieval
Europe could gain

a level of public
status and certainly

a level of public noticeis
through religious means.

NARRATOR: Seeking counsel
from these holy women

is common practice.

Seen as a divine messenger,
Joan could have been easily

accepted/ contemporary
accountsdescribed Joan as an extremely

devout girl, even though later,
she is charged with heresy.

DR. MIGUEL FARIAS: If
yougo through the narrative

of the trials, it's an
extraordinary document

of just how stern and howdevoted
she was to those voices

and to God.

NARRATOR: A possible
faculty for accessing

the unconscious and her
deep religious fervor

could explain her claimsto
hear the voice of God.

But it is theextraordinary actions they

inspire that sets Joan apart.

RACHEL GIBBONS: Whether
people at the time

believed in the voices,
whether we believe in them

now isn't really that important.

What matters is that
Joan believed them,

and she believed
them so strongly

that she was prepared
toundertake an impossible task

it seems.

NARRATOR: It is these deeds
thatare seen by some as miraculous

and create the legend
of Joan of Arc.

And they take place
at the very heart

of a raging military campaign.

RACHEL GIBBONS: The
Hundred Years War

of which Joan's
career is a part is

part of a mammoth
long constant rivalry

between England and France.

NARRATOR: France is divided.

On the one side England,
ally with a powerful French

noble the Duke of Burgundy.

On the other,
the bloodheir to the French throne,

Charles VII, who does notwant
to lose his inheritance.

The country is split withthe
English and Burgundians

holding the north and
the French, the south.

The frontier between
them is the Lotre River.

RACHEL GIBBONS: Joan of
Arc comes onto the scene

at a particularly low point
forthe French in this conflict,

perhaps, one of the lowest.

NARRATOR: The English
are slowly pushing

south into French territory.

This is the stage
onto which Joan of Arc

walks negotiating her
way into the royal court

of Charles VII in March 1429.

RACHEL GIBBONS: The
voicesand her determination

would have intrigued the King.

When Joan presents
herself to the court,

it is the relief of Orleansthat
she claims is her mission.

NARRATOR: Orleans
is the front line

of the English, French conflict.

RACHEL GIBBONS: The Englisharmies
have reached Orleans

and know that to go
any further, they

must take this incrediblyimportant
and strategically

significant town.

NARRATOR: The English havelaid
siege for seven months.

Some historians speculate
thatCharles VII permits Joan to go

to Orleans with reinforcements,
because he is eager to accept

anything that might help.

And she is welcomed
by those militia,

because her presence
isseen as divine legitimacy

of the French cause.

The legend of Joan as thegreat
armored soldier is born.

But how could this young
woman have the strength

to fight in battle fully clad?

Tobias Capwell is
a leading expert

on medieval armor weaponry.

TOBIAS CAPWELL:
Everybody has this idea

that armor was incredibly heavyand
the Knights were lumbering

around like lobsters
on the battlefield,

and that they had to be winchedonto
their horses with cranes.

It's all absolute rubbish.

NARRATOR: Armor of this
timeis made of hardened steel,

and it's extremely
tough and durable.

This means it can
now be made thin

and still give
excellent protection.

TOBIAS CAPWELL: A complete
armoris like a human exoskeleton.

It's very light.

It's very manageable.

Joan's armor probably
weighedsomething in the region of 15

kilos, 20 kilos at the most.

I have no problem at all withthe
idea that Joan could have

done whatever she needed to do.

NARRATOR: Protected
like the men around her,

Joan is ready for
the battlefield.

But what role she actuallyplays
that is hotly debated.

Some experts believe she
doesbecome a soldier and the leader

and physically
fight with a sword.

Others that she is a
figurehead or a rallying

point carrying a white bannerand
boosting the troops morale.

In fact, later in
her trial, Joan's

says she prefers not to fight.

She states that she
carried her standard

when attacking the enemy
inorder to avoid killing anyone.

The one thing most
scholars agree,

she is on the front line.

Joan is said to have achieveda
miracle here in Orleans

by ending the crushing
siege and forcing

the English into retreat.

Military historian KellyDeVries
reveals that the reality

is very, very different.

KELLY DEVRIES: The Englishdon't
feel like they have

enough forces to go
up against the French,

and the French
don't try to go up

against the English stronghold.

NARRATOR: DeVries'
interpretation

lies in the detailed
analysis of the events

leading up to Joan's arrival.

KELLY DEVRIES: So theEnglish
arrive at the Lotre.

Most of the cities that
they come up against,

they simply surrender,
but the Orleans do not.

NARRATOR: The English did
notexpect the citizens of Orleans

to fight back.

So much so that they onlybring
a small force of around

4,000 men to annex the city.

With this limited manpower,
the English leader,

Thomas Montague,
focuses theirattack on the southern fort

of Tourelles.

Behind lies the only
bridgeacross the Lotre River

into the city.

It is here that the Orleansmake
an extraordinary bold move.

They destroy the bridge
cuttingoff the English advance.

KELLY DEVRIES: When
theOrleans put up their fight,

the English have
to besiege them.

NARRATOR: But the
English do not have

sufficient men to
surround the whole city

and stop supplies
going in and out.

On top of that, they
suffer a major setback.

Thomas Montague is
killedin a bizarre incident

during the early
days of the siege.

KELLY DEVRIES: It's,
kindof, a gruesome story.

He goes to a window,
and a French cannon

ball hits the window and
it destroys his face.

It kills him and removes
the effective leadership

on the English side.

NARRATOR: Unlike
the legendary story,

Joan does not
approach Orleans when

the city is on the
brink of destruction

at the hands of the English.

The English can't win.

The Orleans can't
fight them off.

It is a stalemate.

Joan's arrival with more
troopstips the balance in favor

of the Orleans and the French.

They attack striking
at the English

in the fort of Tourelles
head on and succeed

in driving them to defeat.

Rather than a
miraculous victory,

DeVries believes the
Englishwere no great threat.

KELLY DEVRIES: Everybody
wants to believe

that the English
could have swept

through the rest of
France and Joan of Arc

is the determining factorin
their not doing so,

but I don't think they can win.

NARRATOR: While a victoryat
Orleans maybe less than

extraordinary, a
reputed miracle takes

place on the battlefield
thatcannot be so easily explained.

Joan is hit by an
arrow, which penetrates

15 centimeters into herneck
and shoulder region.

KELLY DEVRIES: There
was tons of blood.

RACHEL GIBBONS: It
was thought that Joe

might have been killed by this.

NARRATOR: An apparent
fatal wound in battle,

and yet just a short time later,
she is back in the action.

RACHEL GIBBONS: And the
factthat she comes back very

quickly seemingly
unhurt by this wound

has been used as a miracle.

NARRATOR: However,
there is no record

of exactly where
the wound is sited

or how life threatening
itactually would have been.

Analyzing armor from the
time, Dr. Tobias Capwell

is searching for clues.

TOBIAS CAPWELL: This isactually
a very difficult thing

to get close to,
because nocomplete armor from the time

of Joan of Arc survives today.

NARRATOR: This tomb effigy in
arural English church around 105

kilometers Northwest
of London dates

from the early
15th century and is

one of the bestsurviving representations

of Joan's type of armor.

TOBIAS CAPWELL: The platearmor
that Joan is wearing

is very good protection
against arrows,

so the fact that she suffers
asubstantial puncturing injury

implies to me that she
was hit in a weak point.

NARRATOR: Capwell
thinks he might

have found this weak point.

TOBIAS CAPWELL: The
breastplate that she's wearing

comes up from her underarmand
goes across her shoulder

on this kind of line.

The shoulder defense
thatshe's wearing probably

runs along a similar
parallel line,

but the edges don't quite meet.

There's a gap.

So if she was standing atthe
bottom of a siege ladder

and an arrow is shotfrom
the top of the wall,

it comes down and
strikes her in that gap.

That's a bad injury, but
it's not a fatal injury.

NARRATOR: Capwell's
theory suggests Joan's

survival isn't that surprising.

However, her wound is stillmuch
more than just a scratch.

At one of the UK'S
leadingresearch hospitals,

neuroscientist Dr. KatjaWlech
is analyzing the effects

of religious belief on pain.

DR. KATJA WLECH: The arrow
went in for six inches.

We would certainly
expect that should be--

that should be
painful, very painful.

NARRATOR: Dr. Wlech
thinks the answer

to how Joan coped with thispain
may lie inside her head.

DR. KATJA WLECH: We usuallythink
that pain is what happens

to the body on a physicalside,
but we know now that it's

a bit more complex than that.

It's not just what ishappening
on the physical side,

but very much what we make outof
it on a psychological level.

NARRATOR: Wlech has teamed
upwith psychologist, Dr. Miguel

Farias to investigate
how someone could

alter their awareness of
pain without physically

taking it away.

Dr. Farias conducts tests
onthe psychology of religion

and has a specific question
thatfocuses their investigation.

DR. MIGUEL FARIAS: See to whatan
extent religious belief can

influence not just your
perception of the world,

but even how you feel pain
andto what extent you feel pain.

NARRATOR: Using a
magneticresonance imaging machine

or MRI to scan brainactivity,
their experiment

will measure the effect
of faith and belief

on a person's perception
ofthe pain they are receiving.

24 volunteers are tested.

Half are Catholic, half
atheist nonbelievers.

Participants are shown
two different paintings,

one of the Virgin Mary,
theother a non-religious painting

by Leonardo Da Vinci.

For each image,
they will begiven a small electric shock.

They are then asked to
ratehow painful each shock is.

Dr. Wlech not only gathersthe
participants reactions,

but also the MRI scans
of their brain activity

throughout the experiment.

The results reveal a consistentpattern
and the possible answer

to how Joan may have
managedthe pain of her wound.

DR. KATJA WLECH: The
first thing we noticed

was that religious participantsreally
reported less pain,

but only when they looked
atthe image of the Virgin Mary.

NARRATOR: The Blue Cross
showsthe area of the brain that

is linked to pain reduction.

In the atheist
group, no activity

is recorded in this area.

In the Catholic group, however,
it's a different story.

DR. KATJA WLECH: Hereyou
can see we do get it.

They engage in a mechanism
that is represented here

in this little brain
region that helps

them to dampen down the pain.

NARRATOR: Given Joan'sdeep
religious conviction,

the conclusions couldexplain
her quick recovery.

DR. KATJA WLECH: She forms
strength in her belief

to really suppress the
painalso on a physical level,

and it could at least pointtowards
what might be going on

in her brain while she
experienced a wound

and she kept fighting.

NARRATOR: The experiment
isshown how Joan could have

been capable of reducing
her physical pain

purely through faith.

It is this unswerving beliefthat
seems to drive her forward

when she sees her nextmission
completed, Charles

VII being crowned at Reims.

Its cathedral is the traditionalsite
of all French carnations.

Crowning Charles legitimizes
his claim for the throne

over the rival English bid.

The ceremony takes place on
the17th of July 1429, two months

after the victory at Orleans.

But historians
view the coronation

as Joan's last great victory.

RACHEL GIBBONS: It's
verydifficult for anybody

in the modern era to
imaginethe level of self-belief

and the potency of
theexperience that Joan of Arc

must have gone through.

But in the end, it's
that self-belief

and the drive that
leadseventually to her capture

and to her death.

NARRATOR: With the King crowned,
rather than returning home,

Joan takes on new
militarymissions, including

a foolhardy attack on Paris.

They fail, and she is capturedby
the Burgundians around

80 kilometers north of Paris.

These French soldiers loyalto
the English hand Joan over,

her military career ended.

The myth of Joan of Arc
is that she frees France

from English oppressionduring
the Hundred Years War,

but the evidence paints
a different picture.

RACHEL GIBBONS: The
coronation doesn't

end the Hundred Years War,
neither does Joan's capture.

The war itself doesn't
end finally until 1453.

NARRATOR: Joan does
not liberate the French

as her legend suggests.

The war continues
for another 20 years.

Her self-belief, once
so central to her,

now becomes a liability.

Taken to Rouen inEnglish-controlled France,

she is tried and convicted bythe
Catholic church for heresy.

The penalty is beingburned
alive at the stake.

Events in her last days revealthe
final extraordinary truth

of Joan's abilities.

It starts with a
moment of doubt.

In the shadow of
Rouen Abbey church,

Joan repents and
denies her voices.

After everything she had
beenthrough, after all the danger

and the difficulties she facedin
obedience to those voices,

at this final darkest
hour she renounces

them confessing her
sinsagainst the church and God.

RACHEL GIBBONS: It may well
be that she was afraid,

which seems to be
a perfectly normal

human reaction from anybody,
letalone from an 19 year old girl.

DR. MIGUEL FARIAS: She'sgoing
to be burned alive.

It's impossible not
to be afraid of that.

NARRATOR: But remarkablyshe
withdraws her confession

just a few days later.

Yet again, Joan's
self-belief dominates

her seemingly rational mind.

DR. MIGUEL FARIAS:
It's that moment

of weakness, which in
the Christian tradition

makes her be a saint.

She was weak at a certainpoint,
and she managed to accept

that weakness and overcome it.

NARRATOR: Joan has
sealed her own fate.

RACHEL GIBBONS: If shehad
been found not guilty

of heresy, if she had notgone
back on her abjuration,

it's very unlikely
we'd ever have

heard of her dying as she did.

Making a sacrifice ofherself
for what she believed

is what brought Joan
of Arc to prominence.

NARRATOR: Joan's
story, her entire life

is shaped by her
incrediblestrength of mind.

And her death 22 months
after her great triumph

of the coronation
of a French King

is the final exceptional
embodiment of this.

According to
eyewitness accounts,

she does not plead for her life.

She simply calls out Jesusin
a persistent and strong

voice as the flames rise.

DR. MIGUEL FARIAS:
We have the evidence

from the eastern traditionthat
people in a highly focused

state of meditation
did not express

any pain where theyseemed
to cut off any sort

of external stimulation.

So we know that it is possible.

It is quite extraordinary.

NARRATOR: Joan's young
adult life is dominated

by her religious fervor.

It seems the psychology
of this extreme piety

and strength of mind
offers an explanation

for her legendary miracles.

That despite this great
devotion to her god,

it is the Catholic church
thathad her burned as a heretic.

And it would take
nearly 490 years

before the same church
wouldfinally recognize Joan of Arc

as a Saint.

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