3 h 28 minAudiobook8 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if saving a country means denying your own heart?
France is in ruins, and Charles VII has little hope. His treasury is empty; his nobles quarrel. Into this broken world steps Johanna, a shepherd’s daughter who believes heaven has chosen her to free France. Given a banner and command of troops, she brings fresh courage to soldiers who have almost given up.
In The Maid of Orleans, Friedrich Schiller turns Joan of Arc’s story into a romantic tragedy in verse, not a strict account of history. Battles and court quarrels surround a private struggle: Johanna’s mission binds her to keep her heart free. An encounter with the English knight Lionel tests that vow, setting her sense of duty against her own feelings.
What you’ll discover
- A shepherd’s daughter in armor Follow Johanna from a ruined countryside into a war transformed by her courage.
- A court divided against itself Enter Charles’s court, where quarreling nobles deepen the doubts of a discouraged king.
- A vow under strain Feel the tension between a mission Johanna holds sacred and the heart she must guard.
- Speeches charged with feeling Discover verse that gives faith, fear, and duty the force of spoken drama.
- The loneliness of purpose Explore what a great calling asks of someone raised above ordinary life.
Who will love it
For readers who love historical drama, stirring speeches and plays about faith and duty, and for anyone curious about Joan of Arc.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A shepherd girl hears a calling
- The king is persuaded to trust her
- A girl in armor changes the war
- The vow she made and the test it brings
- What the play is really about
- How Schiller shapes the drama
Who’s who
- JohannaA shepherd's daughter from Domremy who believes heaven has chosen her to free France, and who is bound by a vow to keep her heart free.
- Charles VIIThe uncrowned French king, gentle and discouraged, who must decide whether to trust a girl who promises to restore his throne.
- Thibaut d'ArcJohanna's father, a stern farmer who fears that her visions are the work of evil and that she will bring disgrace on the family.
- DunoisThe king's loyal and courageous cousin and army commander, who admires Johanna and fights beside her.
- Agnes SorelThe woman the king loves, who tries to turn him toward courage and who stands by him in his weakest hours.
- Queen IsabeauCharles's mother, who has sided with the English and works against her own son.
- TalbotThe hard English commander at Orleans, a veteran soldier who refuses to believe a girl can undo his army.
- LionelAn English knight whom Johanna meets in the war, and whose presence tests her.
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- Paperback
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- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
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- Large print hardcover
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La pulzella d’Orléans
by Friedrich Schiller · 1801
A shepherd's daughter answers a call to save France, but her vow puts her mission at odds with her heart.
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In short
The Maid of Orleans is a play in verse by the German writer Friedrich Schiller, first staged in 1801. It tells the story of Joan of Arc, the peasant girl who led the armies of France against the English in the Hundred Years War.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A shepherd girl hears a calling
The play opens in the village of Domremy, in eastern France. The country is in ruins. The English hold much of the north, and their ally, the Duke of Burgundy, has turned against the French king. Villagers fear the worst and some of them are packing up to flee.
In this setting we meet Thibaut d'Arc, a sturdy farmer who rules his three daughters with a firm hand. He worries most about Johanna, the youngest. She is quiet and prefers the lonely hills to the village dances. A young man named Raimond wishes to marry her, but she shows no interest in him or in anyone.
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What is The Maid of Orleans about?
It is a verse drama about Joan of Arc, called Johanna in the play. A shepherd's daughter believes she is called to free France from the English, rises to lead its army, and then struggles with the cost of her mission.
Is Schiller's Maid of Orleans a true story?
It is based on the real life of Joan of Arc, but Schiller changed many events for dramatic effect. The play is a work of imagination, not a historical record. It was first staged in 1801.
Who is the black knight in The Maid of Orleans?
He is a mysterious figure in dark armor who appears to Johanna and warns her of danger. He stands for fate and doubt more than for a normal soldier, and the play leaves his nature uncertain.
The author
Friedrich Schiller
1759–1805 · German playwright and poet
Friedrich Schiller was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. He was born in Marbach in 1759 and died in Weimar in 1805. He also lived in Jena, where he taught history at the university. His plays include The Robbers, published in 1781, and William Tell, first performed in 1804.
More by Friedrich Schiller
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