# Pierre Cauchon — Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc character guide > Pierre Cauchon in Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc by Mark Twain. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Bishop Cauchon, Cauchon, Bishop of Beauvais **First appearance:** 0058-i-the-maid-in-chains ## Snapshot The Bishop of Beauvais who presides over Joan's trial, offering compromises he never intends to honor and setting traps he cannot quite spring. ## Who they are 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. ## Relationships ### [Joan of Arc](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/personal_recollections_of_joan_of_arc_se/characters/joan_of_arc) _rivalry_ Pierre Cauchon was the bishop who presided over Joan's trial, acting as her chief ecclesiastical enemy and prosecutor. ### [Joan of Arc](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/personal_recollections_of_joan_of_arc_se/characters/joan_of_arc) _rivalry_ Pierre Cauchon was the bishop who presided over Joan's trial, acting as her chief ecclesiastical enemy and prosecutor. ### [Joan of Arc](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/personal_recollections_of_joan_of_arc_se/characters/joan_of_arc) _rivalry_ Pierre Cauchon was the bishop who presided over Joan's trial, acting as her chief ecclesiastical enemy and prosecutor. ## In the story ### [VIII: Joan Persuades Her Inquisitors](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/personal_recollections_of_joan_of_arc_se/chapters/viii-joan-persuades-her-inquisitors) Not present in this chapter; no relevant excerpt. ### [The King Cries “Forward!”](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/personal_recollections_of_joan_of_arc_se/chapters/xxxviii-the-king-cries-forward) As Chancellor, he defends the negotiations with Burgundy and is publicly rebuked by Joan for cowardice and treachery. ### [Book III: Trial and Martyrdom](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/personal_recollections_of_joan_of_arc_se/chapters/book-iii-trial-and-martyrdom) Bishop of Beauvais, the chief prosecutor orchestrating the trial. ### [The Maid in Chains](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/personal_recollections_of_joan_of_arc_se/chapters/i-the-maid-in-chains) The infamous French bishop sent by the English to negotiate Joan's purchase and preside over her ecclesiastical trial. ### [Joan Sold to the English](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/personal_recollections_of_joan_of_arc_se/chapters/ii-joan-sold-to-the-english) Described as 'that bastard of Satan'; Bishop of Beauvais who takes custody of Joan. ### [III: Weaving the Net About Her](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/personal_recollections_of_joan_of_arc_se/chapters/iii-weaving-the-net-about-her) Bishop of Beauvais, orchestrates the trial, suppresses evidence, and uses Loyseleur to spy on Joan. ### [All Ready to Condemn](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/personal_recollections_of_joan_of_arc_se/chapters/iv-all-ready-to-condemn) Bishop of Beauvais, president of the tribunal; described as obese, malignant, and feared by all. ### [Fifty Experts Against a Novice](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/personal_recollections_of_joan_of_arc_se/chapters/v-fifty-experts-against-a-novice) Presides as judge, angrily demands an unmodified oath, and ultimately surrenders to Joan's proposed oath. ### [The Maid Baffles Her Persecutors](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/personal_recollections_of_joan_of_arc_se/chapters/vi-the-maid-baffles-her-persecutors) Presides over the trial with cruelty; attempts to use concealed clerks to garble Joan's answers, but the scheme fails; threatens drowning. ### [Craft That Was in Vain](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/personal_recollections_of_joan_of_arc_se/chapters/vii-craft-that-was-in-vain) Presides over the trial, demands Joan swear, and angrily silences Jean Lefevre's objection. ### [Joan Tells of Her Visions](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/personal_recollections_of_joan_of_arc_se/chapters/viii-joan-tells-of-her-visions) Bishop Cauchon presides over the examination, attempting to force Joan to take an unqualified oath and probing her visions for signs of sorcery. ### [Her Sure Deliverance Foretold](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/personal_recollections_of_joan_of_arc_se/chapters/ix-her-sure-deliverance-foretold) Presides over the trial, attempts to trap Joan with questions about her Voices and the sign given to the King. ### [X: The Inquisitors at Their Wits’ End](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/personal_recollections_of_joan_of_arc_se/chapters/x-the-inquisitors-at-their-wits-end) Presiding judge, leading the interrogation and attempting to force Joan into a conviction. ### [The Court Reorganized for Assassination](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/personal_recollections_of_joan_of_arc_se/chapters/xi-the-court-reorganized-for-assassination) Reorganizes the court to eliminate sympathetic judges, selects a panel of 'tigers,' and conducts secret sessions to manipulate the trial against Joan. ### [Joan's Masterstroke Diverted](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/personal_recollections_of_joan_of_arc_se/chapters/xii-joan-s-masterstroke-diverted) Presides as an unfair judge; Joan warns him of danger from St. Catherine's promised help. ### [XIII: The Third Trial Fails](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/personal_recollections_of_joan_of_arc_se/chapters/xiii-the-third-trial-fails) Presides over the trial, manipulates proceedings, and seeks to convict Joan to gain the Archbishopric of Rouen. ### [Joan Struggles with Her Twelve Lies](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/personal_recollections_of_joan_of_arc_se/chapters/xiv-joan-struggles-with-her-twelve-lies) Exploits Joan's illness, presents the Twelve Lies, and pressures her to submit to the Church, threatening abandonment. ### [Undaunted by Threat of Burning](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/personal_recollections_of_joan_of_arc_se/chapters/xv-undaunted-by-threat-of-burning) Presides over the session, orchestrating the new tactic of using an orator to persuade Joan, though he refrains from reading the Twelve Articles directly. ### [XVI: Joan Stands Defiant Before the Rack](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/personal_recollections_of_joan_of_arc_se/chapters/xvi-joan-stands-defiant-before-the-rack) Frustrated and humiliated, he insists on torture but is overruled by the tribunal, becoming a target of public ridicule. ### [Condemned Yet Unafraid](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/personal_recollections_of_joan_of_arc_se/chapters/xviii-condemned-yet-unafraid) Presides over the court, receives praise from the University but is disappointed by the lack of earthly reward. ### [Our Last Hopes of Rescue Fail](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/personal_recollections_of_joan_of_arc_se/chapters/xix-our-last-hopes-of-rescue-fail) Devises a manipulative plan to force Joan to abjure and then be executed. ### [The Betrayal](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/personal_recollections_of_joan_of_arc_se/chapters/xx-the-betrayal) Presides over the trial, manipulates the proceedings, and betrays Joan by sentencing her to perpetual imprisonment despite promises of freedom. ### [Respited Only for Torture](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/personal_recollections_of_joan_of_arc_se/chapters/xxi-respited-only-for-torture) Happy and content after Joan's abjuration, he secretly plans to force her relapse and hints to guards to intensify her suffering. ### [Joan Gives the Fatal Answer](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/personal_recollections_of_joan_of_arc_se/chapters/xxii-joan-gives-the-fatal-answer) Gloats over Joan's relapse, orchestrates the questioning, and declares 'it's all over with her' to Warwick. ### [XXIII: The Time Is at Hand](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/personal_recollections_of_joan_of_arc_se/chapters/xxiii-the-time-is-at-hand) Summons his serfs to pronounce Joan a relapsed heretic and orders her delivery to the secular arm for execution. ### [XXIV: Joan the Martyr](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/personal_recollections_of_joan_of_arc_se/chapters/xxiv-joan-the-martyr) The bishop who presides over Joan's execution, exhorting her to repent even at the stake; Joan tells him 'I die through you.' ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/personal_recollections_of_joan_of_arc_se/characters/pierre_cauchon - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/personal_recollections_of_joan_of_arc_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/personal_recollections_of_joan_of_arc_se/characters