House of Jeanne 10
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As
for
Jacques
d'Arc,
her
father,
he
was
a
good
and
honest
ploughman,
a
position
that
should
not
be
confused
with
that
which
a
day
labourer
or
simple
labourer
would
have
today.
Indeed,
in
the
15th
century,
the
position
of
ploughman
corresponded
to
that
of
a
modest
cultivator
today,
and,
according
to
the
research
carried
out
by
Messrs.
A.
de
Bouteiller
and
G.
de
Braux
(1)
the
d'Arc
family
owned
about
twenty
hectares
in
Domremy,
twelve
of
which
were
land,
four
in
meadows
and
four
in
woods,
among
which
was
the
famous
Bois
Chesnu
which
is
so
often
mentioned
in
the
account
of
Joan's
early
years.
She
was
also
the
owner
of
the
house
which
still
exists
and
its
outbuildings.
All
of
this
well-cultivated
land
therefore
assured
her
a
certain
income
and
she
could
thus
give
alms
to
those
who
came
to
implore
her
charity.
"Most
historians,"
says
Mr.
Siméon
Luce,
in
the
remarkable
work
he
has
just
published
on
Joan
of
Arc,
"have
made
a
profound
mistake
when
they
have
represented
Domremy
as
a
lost
corner,
so
to
speak
isolated
from
the
rest
of
the
world;
on
the
contrary,
a
very
busy
road
towards
the
end
of
the
Middle
Ages
crossed
this
village.
This
road
was
the
old
Roman
road
from
Langres
to
Verdun
which
passed
through
Neufchâteau,
Vaucouleurs,
Void,
Commercy
and
Saint-Mihiel."
..
This
village
formed
the
southern
extremity
of
the
Chatellenie
of
Vaucouleurs,
without
however
being
entirely
part
of
it.
It
was,
in
fact,
crossed
from
West
to
East
by
a
small
stream,
a
tributary
of
the
Meuse
which
cut
it
into
two
parts:
the
part
(1)
The
family
of
Joan
of
Arc,
Paris,
1878,
p.
185.
southern
comprising
a
fortified
house
located
on
an
island
in
the
Meuse
and
around
thirty
thatched
cottages,
formed
a
lordship
owned
for
a
long
time
by
the
Bourlemont
family
and
depended
on
the
Chatellenie
of
Gondrecourt,
that
is
to
say
a
part
of
Champagne
ceded
in
1308
by
Philippe-le-Bel
to
Edward,
Count
of
Bar
and
movable
from
the
Crown
of
France;
the
northern
part
where
the
parish
church
was
located,
depended
alone
on
the
Chatellenie
of
Vaucouleurs.
"It
was
in
a
thatched
cottage
located
between
this
church
and
the
stream,
consequently
at
the
extreme
limit
of
the
bailiwick
of
Chaumont
or
Bassigny
champenois,
that
Joan
of
Arc
was
born.
»
And
elsewhere,
explaining
the
resources
of
the
country,
the
learned
academician
says:
"Domremy
is
in
a
privileged
situation,
and
thanks
to
this
situation,
humble
peasants
who
had
few
needs,
found
in
the
very
soil
that
they
cultivated
almost
everything
that
was
necessary
for
their
subsistence.
The
heights
crowned
with
beeches
and
age-old
oaks
that
enclosed
the
valley
on
the
west
side
where
the
village
is
located,
provided
abundant
firewood;
the
acorns
of
the
oaks
allowed
herds
of
pigs
to
be
fattened;
the
beautiful
vineyard
of
Greux,
exposed
to
the
east
and
climbing
since
the
14th
century
on
the
slopes
of
these
heights,
produced
this
small
wine,
excessively
acidic,
which
nevertheless
pleasantly
flatters
the
somewhat
harsh
palate
of
the
children
of
the
Meuse,
the
fields
lying
at
the
bottom
of
these
slopes
and
adjoining
the
houses,
were
reserved
for
the
cultivation
of
cereals,
wheat,
rye
and
oats;
finally,
between
the
cultivated
fields
and
the
course
of
the
Meuse
extended
over
a
width
of
