The Middle Ages, Part III

The Middle Ages, Part III

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…