TRIBUTE TO JOAN OF ARC

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17527, 23 July 1931, Page 5

TRIBUTE TO JOAN OF ARC

MAETVEDOM CELEBEATED HOMAGE OF TWO NATIONS ROUEN'S FEAST OF PAGEANTRY ROUEN, June 1. Rouen’s week of celebration of the martyrdom of Joan of Air; closed to-day in a blaze of pageantry such as the city lias never seen before At 9 o’clock this rnoipingi the bells of the cathedral began to peal, ami continued till 9.30. Then Cardinal Bourne, Archbishop of Westminster and Papal Legate, celebrated a Pqntificial Mass in tlje presence of five other Cardinals, 47 Archbiships and Bishops, arid representatives of the Government, Diplomatic Corps, and the Army and Navy. The vast cathedral, a veritable forest of grey stone pillars, was bright with the standards of Joan and her Army, while the note of color was heightened by the scarlet robes of the Cardinals, the purple te the bishops, and the glittering uniforms of officers and diplomats. The great cathedral church was crowded to full capacity, while outside a dense crowd followed the proceedings through .loud speakers. So began the day of Joan’s apotheosis. Yesterday was a day of mourning, for at- upon—according to historians—it was exactly 500 years since the ashes of the martyr were flung into the Seine. Hundreds of wreaths and bouquets _ were dropped into the river, which is the tomb of Joan of Arc, after a procession in which the Cardinals, Archbishops, and Bishops figured with diplomats and military leaders. THE MAID TRIUMPHANT To-day the note was changed to one of -tijiumpli, for this afternoon Rouen 'celebrated ;tjie entry of Charles VII. Through streets ablaze with bunting and the standards of Jean’s army marchod a procession of 1600 people, in which all tfie military pomp and splendour of he l ' time were admirably represented. First came a company of heralds followed by archers and spearmen Scottish archers, it may be noted, came first, with their tews 4ft. to sft, long, and shields which could cover them from head to knee. Next came the great seigneurs of the period, headed by Joan the Bastard of Orleans. Each seigneur, clad in shining ai;mor, was followed by his standardbearer, two archers, and two pages bearing his helmet and gloves. The King, in gilded armor, rode under a panoply borne by four horsemen. Sixteen heralds in the Royal livery followed, .and then came a horse bearing a casket draped in blue velvet and decorated with the fleur-de-lis in gold. This represented the Royal Seal of France. •This procession was not simply a thirig of beauty and color. It had been so arranged that it was an accurate representation of the event- it celebrated. Joan’s artillery was represented by a .couple of big cannons on wagons with solid wooden wheels, and by a -few .smaller guns, each drawn by two archers. Joan came last in the procession, bareheaded, clad in armor, and riding a sturdy, somewhat clumsy-looking horse, such as must • have been the one upon which she set off on -the great adventuie which meant so much in Franco A FLAME OF MEMORY

In the Place de Vieux Marche, where the site of the stake is marked by a monument, there 'burns to-night a Flame of Memory which has been lighted each night throughout the week by representa■tives of various civil and military-bodies. To-night the flame was lighted by the Association of ox-Soldiers of the -Great tear, and at the same time was unveiled ,a memorial tablet presented to the city by Lady Haig on behalf of the Society of Scottish Women. If ever there lias been any bitterness concerning the old accusation that it--was the (English who burned Joan of Arc, this lias been dispelled during the celebrations of the 500th anniversary of her martyrdom. The memory of Joan has been honored by Cardinal Bourne, Archbishop of Westminster, who was chosen -as Papal Legate, by lord Tyrrell, the British Ambassador, and by Lady Haig, ihe widow of the great, leader whoso troops marched shoulder to shoulder with Frenchmen in the greatest-.fight- the world lias ever known. LORD TYRRELL’S TRIBUTE Lord Tyrrell’s tribute to the Maid was paid yesterday at the luncheon at which he mid the principal personages of the celebrations were the guests of Rouen Municipality. He emphasised that the memory of Joan was no bar to the friendship of Britain and France. The •fact that -lie had been invited to Rouen, he said, -was “a. testimony that you do not think that the Hundred Years; War. in the course .of which the frightful drama of which we are celebrating the 500th anniversary to-dav occurred, was a war between tile English nation and that of France. I regard it rather as a quarrel of Royal Succession,” Cardinal Bourne in liis speech ascribed ■England’s national independence ■to the work of St. Joan in Fiance. The Norman Conquest had brought ns too much under French feudalism. From that Joan of Arc had freed us, and she was .therefore a great benefactress of Eng land. To-nMit the week of commemoration came to a fitting close when the carillon of the cathedral began a farewell salute todte saint whose memory is now per-, haps Rouen’s greatest glory.