Character guide

Joan of Arc

major

Also known as Joan, Joan the Maid, the Maid, Jeanne d'Arc

Joan rises from Domremy obscurity to command armies and crown a king, yet her true test comes when she stands alone before her accusers. The University of Paris rules her Voices are fiends—Belial, Satan, Behemoth—and demands she renounce them or die, but she answers boldly that God speaks to her. Her unshakable conviction in the face of learned men who cannot prove their own claims is the moral center of the story.

Louis de Conte

major

Also known as the Sieur Louis de Conte, Sieur de Conte, de Conte

Louis grows up in Neufchâteau among Armagnac exiles, his family stripped by Burgundian raiders, his childhood marked by burning roofs and plague-emptied streets. As Joan's page and secretary, he witnesses her meteor flight across France's war firmament and her extinction at the stake, and only decades later comprehends what he saw. His intimate, grieving narration makes the miraculous and the terrible feel like memory rather than history.

The Paladin

supporting

Also known as Captain Paladin, Paladin

The Paladin holds court in the big house where Joan's admirers gather, spinning campaigns so vivid that Catherine hides behind her fan and shakes with delight. Louis and the other young men seethe as this ill-deserving braggart monopolizes the beloved girl with tales inflated a hundred lies beyond truth. His comic vanity and the rivalry it breeds give the early chapters their warmth and humor before the war's grim turn.

Pierre Cauchon

major

Also known as Bishop Cauchon, Cauchon, Bishop of Beauvais

Cauchon grants Joan a sworn limit to her testimony—'as touching the matters set down in the procès verbal'—then chafes at the protection he has accidentally given her. He and his examiner Beaupere probe her fasting, her Voices, her prayers, hoping to catch her in contempt or devil-worship, but she answers with a clearheadedness that turns their snares aside. His patient, watchful malice is the engine of the trial that will define her final and greatest chapter.

La Hire

supporting

Also known as Satan La Hire

La Hire launches his thundering charge at Joan's word, his great figure dominating the field with sword aloft like a flagstaff, while she waits—measuring, weighing, master of herself—until the golden moment. After the victory he passes before her bowing low, declaring France free but for Joan of Arc, damned or not. Yet the same day Louis finds her holding a dying English prisoner's head in her lap, weeping womanly tears—the contrast that makes her war both terrible and holy.

Noël Rainguesson

supporting

Also known as Étienne Roze, Rainguesson

Noël shares Louis's sleepless vigil as Joan's condemnation spreads and the city swarms with crowds, scaffolds, and the stake being raised at St. Ouen. Together they watch the Abbot of Jumièges's monks file in, their fevered hopes transforming cowls into La Hire's face, ready to kill and be killed for the good cause. His loyalty and their shared, foolish, youthful hope make the betrayal's approach almost unbearable.

Catherine Boucher

supporting

Also known as Catherine, Boucher

Catherine belongs to the household that takes Joan in, and her eighteen-year-old loveliness makes her a soft counterpoint to the Maid's unearthly presence. When she begs Joan for something Joan cannot give, the men stage a teasing trap that ends with Catherine laughing through her tears. She matters because she keeps the story tethered to ordinary warmth and longing while the war presses in.

Pierre d'Arc

supporting

Also known as Pierre Morel, Pierre

Pierre leaves home with Joan and stays close to her through the long, strange road from Vaucouleurs to the King's court. As a villager among knights, he carries the awkwardness and pride of a family suddenly lifted into history. His presence reminds readers that Joan's mission tore a humble household from everything familiar.

Lord Talbot

supporting

Also known as Talbot, the lion Talbot

Talbot stands as the towering symbol of English power in France, a warrior whose legend precedes every battle. Against him Joan measures herself, and the contrast between his seasoned ferocity and her untested conviction gives the siege its charge. His shadow shapes the early stakes: if Orleans falls, so does the cause.

Beaupere

supporting

Beaupere sits among the learned men who will judge Joan, and his manner is calm where others are hostile. He probes her voices and her faith with the patience of a man who trusts procedure more than revelation. His presence signals the shift from battlefield to courtroom, where the same steadfastness that won Orleans will be turned against her.

Laxart

minor

Also known as Uncle Laxart, old Laxart

Joan's uncle who helps her get to Vaucouleurs.

Manchon

minor

Also known as that good Manchon, poor Manchon

A sympathetic notary at Joan's trial.

Jacques d'Arc

minor

Also known as old Jacques d'Arc, Jacques

Joan's father, a farmer in Domremy.

Dunois

supporting

Dunois commands the army Joan needs moved, and he has already felt the sting of crossing her once. Chastened, he becomes the practical hand that turns her fierce will into marching columns and victualed towns. He matters because he bridges the gap between Joan's visions and the grubby mechanics of war.

Guillaume Fronte

minor

Also known as Père Guillaume Fronte, Père Fronte

The parish priest of Domremy who supports Joan.

Sir John Fastolfe

minor

Also known as Fastolfe, Sir John

An English knight known for his cautious retreats.

Bedford

minor

The English regent of France during Joan's campaigns.

Nicolas Loyseleur

minor

Also known as Loyseleur, false Loyseleur

A treacherous priest who spies on Joan in prison.

Jean de la Fontaine

minor

Also known as Jean d'Estivet

A prosecutor at Joan's trial.

Richemont

minor

Also known as the Constable Richemont, Constable Richemont

The Constable of France who aids Joan at Patay.

De la Tremouille

minor

Also known as La Tremouille, Tremouille

A scheming royal favorite who hinders Joan's plans.

Jean de Metz

minor

Also known as Sieur de Metz, the Sieur Jean de Novelonpont de Metz

A knight who escorts Joan to the Dauphin.

Charles VII

supporting

Also known as King Charles, the Tawdry King, Dauphin

Charles receives Joan with amusement that curdles into astonishment as she speaks of Rheims and coronation. He wants a sign, something unassailable, before he will trust her Voices or her sword. His wavering is the great drag on the story's early arc: France cannot be saved until its own king decides to believe.

Bertrand de Poulengy

minor

Also known as the Sieur Bertrand de Poulengy, Bertrand

A nobleman who accompanies Joan to Chinon.

Brother Séguin

minor

A friar who questions Joan at Poitiers.

Earl of Warwick

minor

Also known as Warwick

The English nobleman overseeing Joan's imprisonment.

Robert de Baudricourt

minor

Also known as Baudricourt

The governor of Vaucouleurs who sends Joan to the Dauphin.

Edmond Aubrey

minor

A young English soldier who challenges Joan.

Jean Pasquerel

minor

Also known as Pasquerel

Joan's confessor who accompanies her on campaign.

Jean Massieu

minor

Also known as Massieu, Maître Jean Massieu

A bailiff who treats Joan with kindness during her trial.

Guillaume Erard

minor

Also known as Erard

A preacher who denounces Joan publicly.

Martin Ladvenu

minor

Also known as the friar Martin Ladvenu

The friar who hears Joan's final confession.

Raoul de Gaucourt

minor

Also known as Gaucourt

A French commander who disobeys Joan at Orleans.

Pothon of Saintrailles

minor

Also known as Pothon

A French captain who fights alongside Joan.

Queen Yolande

minor

Also known as Yolande

The Queen of Sicily who supports Joan's cause.

Mengette

minor

Also known as Little Mengette

A childhood friend of Joan from Domremy.

Haumette

minor

Also known as presently Haumette

Another childhood friend of Joan from Domremy.

Isambard de la Pierre

minor

Also known as Isambard

A kind Dominican friar who aids Joan during her trial.

Pierre Maurice

minor

A doctor of theology who questions Joan at her trial.

Thomas de Courcelles

minor

Also known as de Courcelles, Courcelles

A canon lawyer who participates in Joan's trial.

Jean Lefevre

minor

Also known as Lefevre

A witness at Joan's trial.