Was Joan of Arc crazy?

Question

Why or why not?

After reading about her I am still confused about her life.

Answer 1

She fought the government of her time. Which is more than I can say for most Americans. Confused or crazy at least she did something, not just along to get along.

Answer 2

I wish I knew. It would be easy to dismiss her as an unmedicated schizophrenic and a nationalist religious fanatic. If not, then one does have to wonder why God himself would be so vitally invested in the French monarchy of the period.

There is just one part of the tradition that intrigues me. There was a moment when she was being brought before Charles. Although he was in the room, he had one of his nobles pretend to be him. Joan is said to have recognized the trick immediately even though she had never seen Charles. She then pulled him aside and wispered something to him. To this day, what she said is unknown but whatever it was, it sold Charles instantly. I don't know that I think she was genuinely on a mission from God, but I'd sure love to know what it was that she said.

A few things are clear about her, though. It is clear that she was able to cogently defend herself on extremely complex theological grounds before some of the best theological thinkers in Europe. In truth, the astuteness she displayed at her trial would have been considered remarkable enough in a priest, let alone in an illiterate peasant girl. It is also clear that her faith was sincere and that even her inquisitors regarded her as healthy and sane.

Potential diagnoses over the last hundred years or so have included epilepsy, migraine, tuberculosis, and schizophrenia, so says an article I found on the subject. But it would seem that none of the possible diagnoses square entirely with other aspects of her life. The rigor of her military life for example would tend to disqualify many of the possibilities. There is also the problem that Charles' father had been genuinely crazy. He thought he was made of glass. The effect on the monarchy of the prior king's madness made Charles and his court very wary with regard to mental health issues. It is doubtful that a genuinely mentally ill person would have been able to have gained any favor in his court.

I just don't know the answer to this one. Rationally speaking, I want to resist the notion that she was genuinely on a mission from God, in part because the mission itself just doesn't seem to make any theological sense, but on the other hand, it's just too easy to dismiss her as a madwoman.

Answer 3

Joan of Arc is crazy just some farm girl who talks to God and goes to a never ending war. sound familiar?

just look at George W. Bush Did God tell George W. Bush to strike at Al-Qaeda and Iraq? God only knows. Did Bush SAY that God told him to strike? We don't know yet, for sure. But we damn well better find out. Because if George W. said it, he-and all of us-could be in for some big trouble.


i'd say it was the devil who made them crazy! lol

Answer 4

scholars attempted to explain her visions in psychiatric or neurological terms. Potential diagnoses have included epilepsy, migraine, tuberculosis, and schizophrenia.[58] None of the putative diagnoses have gained consensus support because, although hallucination and religious enthusiasm can be symptomatic of various syndromes, other characteristic symptoms conflict with other known facts of Joan's life.

Answer 5

you're able to be able to desire to be perplexed one way or the different in accordance to whose version of the existence you're analyzing. a contemporary feminist diagnosis stated the reason she became burned as a witch became by using fact the white male means shape had a deep-seated concern of her vagina. distinctive authors look to have distinctive axes to grind. I loved Mark Twain's biography of Joan. He became continually a skeptic, yet he curiously did sense her movements have been divinely-stimulated. If the data he used to assist his view are incredibly data, then i could ought to declare he has a extraordinarily good argument.

Answer 6

Remember, Joan was only a young teenager when she was murdered.

Hard to give her a real diagnosis over such a short life.

Answer 7

She was a complete nut. She heard voices and thought she saw angels. Thats crazy enough for me.

Answer 8

Some feel that she may have had tintinitis or a brain tumor that gave these flashes of light and hearing of voices.

As to sanity, well, that's open to conjecture

Answer 9

Yep ... she was crazy for Christ and her country!

God Bless St. Joan!

Answer 10

Most crazy people aren't organized enough to lead an army.