The memory of Joan of Arc in Rouen

On 30 May 1431, on what is now the Place du Vieux-Marché, Joan of Arc was condemned to be burnt at the stake. Two years earlier, she had led the resistance against English occupation during the Hundred Years’ War, and was taken to Rouen (then under English rule) for her trial.

Today, the presence of Joan of Arc in Rouen is palpable in the places that have marked its history: the Donjon de Rouen, the Abbatiale Saint-Ouen, the Place du Vieux Marché and the Archbishop’s Palace, which houses the Historial. But it’s also reflected in the urban landscape, in the names of cafés, streets and buildings…

In the grand scheme of things, Joan of Arc’s time in Rouen was as brief as it was tragic, as she only spent a few months there before being condemned. But her stay there left its mark on French history and on the way Joan is portrayed today.

In this sense, the Historial Jeanne d’Arc has a dual ambition: to (re)discover the epic and incredible destiny of Joan of Arc, but also to shed light on the myth built up over the centuries: or how history and people have integrated, memorised, interpreted and sometimes exploited this universal character.