a war-cry against you as shall be remembered forever!

On this day in 1429, Jehanne la Pucellee,  (Jehanne d'Arc, Joan of Arc) arriving on the battlefield just nine days prior, ends the Siege of Orléans.  She would lead the final charge (after having an arrow pulled from her shoulder) in a victory that marked the turning point in the Hundred Years' War and kept England's Edward III from occupying the French throne .

For years prior to Joan's arrival at Orléans, prophecies had circulated in France regarding an armed maid who would rescue the country from the English. In 1429, some already knew of Joan, who, at the age of 12, saw visions she identified as Saint Michael,Saint Catherine, and Saint Margaret, who spoke to her instructing her to drive out the English forces from the land. Upon her arrival, hopes and expectations were high.

There is one fabulous excerpt from a website a about the days leading up to the attack that I would like to quote:

Jehanne decrees that there is to be no fighting in honor of the holiday to celebrate Christ’s ascension into heaven. Jehanne sends the English one last message, delivered by an arrow. The message says, "You Englishmen, who have no right in this Kingdom of France, the King of Heaven sends you word and warning, by me Jehanne the Maid, to abandon your forts and depart to your own country, or I will raise such a war-cry against you as shall be remembered forever. And this I write you for the third and last time, nor shall I write further. I would send you my letter more decently, but you detain my heralds. For you have kept my herald Guyenne. Send him to me, and I will send you some of your men who were taken at Saint-Loup, for not all were killed."

The arrow is shot, and the archer shouts, "Read it, here is news." The English read the letter and reply, "Here’s news from the whore of the Armagnacs (a major party of the French). Jehanne begins to sigh and weep abundant tears, calling the King of Heaven to her aid. Later she is comforted, she says, because she says she has received news from her Lord. I believe she wept not because she was insulted, but because the English had rejected God’s will. And she wept because now she is confronted with the horror of the deadly business of war; a war that will take many more lives than her first battle did the day before, and had already left her in great anguish.

Steven R. Kanehl  http://www.stjoan-center.com/time_line/part04.html


By coincidence or in tribute, on this day in 1718, the city of New Orleans, Louisiana was founded by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville.

The Historical Inebriant:  The Champs Elysées
http://www.smallscreennetwork.com/video/681 (video by Robert Hess)





Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 oz Cognac
• 3/4 oz Chartreuse
• 3/4 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
• 1/2 oz simple syrup
• dash Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass

I realize that we've been doing a lot with French drinks lately, it is just the luck of historical events.