Charles’ force, a chronicler declared that at the forefront were his “most expert captains” before adding coolly that “the Maid was also there”. Her influence was waning. In fact, she was strangely ambivalent about what to do, sometimes “eager for combat, at other times not” (Enguerrand de Montstrelet, 66.4). After some skirmishing the two armies parted.

Failure of the Maid

The attack on Paris finally materialised on 8 September 1429, but it would strip away Joan’s aura of invincibility. The storming of the Saint-Honoré gate began at 10 am; the fighting was intense and after some five hours the French were ready to retreat. As usual, Joan stepped forward with her banner to urge the men on, only to receive a crossbow bolt to her leg. She was unable tostand and fell into one of the defensive ditches. Her page seized her banner only to receive a bolt in his leg also, but, lifting his visor in an attempt to see how to withdraw the bolt, he was shot in the face and killed. Unlike at Orléans, the Parisians had no fear of the Maid and her ‘sorcery’.

Interestingly, she was “left the whole of the day until vespers [early evening]” before being searched for and withdrawn from the battlefield. It seems her talismanic effect was deserting the soldiers also, with seemingly little attention being paid to either her absence or condition (Enguerrand de Montstrelet, 70.3). The attack had proved a debacle. Charles was deeply sensitive to criticism or insults to his dignity. His trust in the Maid