Yolande of Aragon: A Tribute
Forteresse Royale de Chinon. Photo: Mark Playle.
Although Yolande of Aragon saved France, I am sad to report that she is now shockingly and shamefully, all but forgotten.
Did I hear you say that It was Joan of Arc who saved France? Well, who plucked Joan from obscurity? Yolande.
She was the only one to take her seriously. Without Yolande the world would never have heard of Joan of Arc.
In the 1420s, mystics, visionaries, ecstatic teenage girls with a hot line to God were ten a penny. They were either ignored or actively suppressed.
The idea that one could mix with royalty was laughable.
You can not move in France without stumbling over a statue of Joan.
Statue of Jeanne d'Arc by Jules Roulleau, Chinon. Photo: Mark Playle
Rightly so, but does anyone stop to wonder how a girl from the back of beyond rose to such dizzying heights to become immortal?
Joan’s sincerity alone wasn’t enough. She needed a patron with the authority to gain access to the royal court.
That patron was Yolande. She championed Joan. Others made fun of her.
She introduced her to the disinherited Dauphin Charles in Chinon where he held Court.
She supported her. Bought her armour. Paid for her army.
Yolande wasn’t religious. She may not have believed Joan’s voices were divine but she knew France needed something, anything, to revive morale and unify a divided country against England.
She intuitively, instinctively recognised that Joan, who said she was sent by God to save France, could get the French to believe in a miracle.
Yolande knew France needed nothing short of a miracle to survive. The country was in such turmoil they would have believed in fairies.
Besides. Yolande had kudos. She already had a minor miracle under her belt. If she championed Joan, that was good enough for anyone.
In 1420, the whole of northern France was completely under English control.
The Treaty of Troyes recognised Henry V of England as heir to the French throne.
France was demoralised and leaderless.
In 1421, a furious Yolande recruited and financed Scottish troops to fight the English at The Battle of Baugé.
They didn’t just win hands down, they killed the English commander, the duke of Clarence.
That was extraordinary. A French victory against the might of England was so rare it shocked Europe.
By 1428 the English were back with a vengeance. They took Orléans.
Yolande sent Joan to Poitiers for a theological vetting to prove her credibility.
She then sent her to Tours to stay with a Court Lady in Waiting while she was measured for her armour.
In 1429 Yolande sent Joan to Blois to meet her army.
She had her famous white banner blessed in the church of Saint‑Sauveur in the grounds of Château Blois.
She then organised a convoy for Orléans, insisting that priests accompany the soldiers to enforce discipline.
Four days later, 29 April 1429, Joan entered the besieged city.
In 1797, Napoleon said to Thomas Paine: ‘A statue of gold should be erected to you in every city in the universe’.
That’s how I feel about Yolande. Not in the universe, of course, but France.
In my next post I will follow my heroine’s footsteps starting with Angers.
Post by Pamela Shields BA, Photography by Mark Playle.
Read more about Yolande
Out of the Shadows
A Royal Childhood
