Dallas Cowboys Quiz: (1) What is the team record for most
passing yards in a single season? (2) Most passing yards, game?
(3) Most pass receptions, game? (4) Most interceptions, career?
Answers below.
Bonus NFL Quiz: [If you are mad at your spouse, it is suggested
that you ask them before he/she goes to bed] What was the first
year that the NFL adopted a 16-game schedule? Answer below.
The Hundred Years” War and Joan of Arc
We pick up our stirring summary of the Hundred Years” War
with phase III (1415-1420) which began when King Henry V of
England defeated France”s best knights of Agincourt in 1415.
During the next four years he advanced to the gates of Paris.
Charles VI sued for peace in 1420 and recognized Henry”s right
to rule the lands he conquered. He also said, “Here, take my
daughter, please,” and so Henry married Charles” daughter. But
gracious Charles also recognized Henry as heir to the French
Throne, disinheriting his oldest son (officially called “dauphin”
in French) Charles. [I should have asked Charles VI for some
capital since he was acting so magnanimously].
Henry seemed on the verge of uniting England and France, but 2
years later both he and Charles VI died. That left 9-month old
baby, Henry VI, as heir to both thrones. [And this was before
“Head Start”]. So, the dauphin Charles reentered the picture and
claimed the throne of France. But by 1429 only the southern part
of France recognized him.
Enter Joan of Arc and the final phase of the Hundred Years” War
(1429-1453). Born in 1412 to a peasant family, at the age of 12
she began hearing “voices” of her favorite saints – Margaret and
Catherine – as well as that of the archangel Michael, the patron
defender of France. She also became convinced that she was
destined to lead France in its darkest hour.
So Joan traveled to southern France to meet dauphin Charles.
Charles appointed a board of theologians to check her out and
they said, “She”s cool.” Charles then assigned Joan to lead a
French force to take Orleans, a city the under English siege,
where, dressed in armor, she led the French to victory. The
French then went on to capture Rheims and Charles VII was
crowned.
Then in 1430, the Burgundians, allies of the English, captured
Joan at Compiegne and Charles VII made no attempt to pay
ransom for her. The English then bought her and tried her for
heresy and witchcraft. The church judges found her visions to be
worthless and her male dress “perverted.” Joan, in turn, acted
nobly throughout and argued her loyalty to God. The record of
the trial, which still exists today, shows that her “confession”
was extracted by torture.
Joan first received a sentence of life imprisonment, but was later
sentenced to be burned at the stake when she resumed wearing
men”s clothing. She was executed in Rouen on May 30, 1431.
The momentum, however, had shifted to the French and
Charles VII drove the English out of all of France by 1453. The
real winners of The Hundred Years” War were the monarchies of
both France and England with the losers being the nobility and
the Church. Louis XI succeeded Charles VII and was able to
unify the country while England turned to establishing its
military power on the seas.
[In 1456, a papal commission reversed the decision of the Rouen
court as it related to Joan of Arc but it wasn”t until 1920, in St.
Peter”s Square, that the Church canonized her].
Women…Hemlines
The following has nothing to do with The Middle Ages, but does
have something to do with middle age. According to the Sunday
Times Magazine, and “Letitia Baldridge Complete Guide to the
New Manners for the 90”s,” “If you”re over 40, you”re wise not
to raise your hems far above the knees, regardless of how proud
you are of your legs and even if 10-inch-long skirts are the
current hot fashion. By the time you”re 40, decorum should
become a qualifying factor in your appearance.” Huh.
Top 3 songs for the week of 11/20/71: #1 “Theme From Shaft”
(Isaac Hayes…he”s a bad muther…shut your mouth…I”m talkin”
bout Shaft!) #2 “Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves” (Cher)
#3 “Imagine” (John Lennon Plastic Ono Band).
Quiz Answers: (1) Danny White, 3980, 1983 (2) Don Meredith,
460, 1963 (3) Lance Rentzel, 13, 1967 (4) Mel Renfro, 52.
Bonus Quiz: 1978.
Next Bar Chat, Monday…if you keep it where it is…
