himself why it was that there was such a discrepancy between the truth and the stories that were commonly held amongst the English. It was true that Joan had been an enemy, but the Church should have, in James' mind, sought for the truth and protected the innocent. Instead, the Church appeared to be not only complicit, but the primary force in putting an innocent and virtuous young girl to death, and death by fire none the less. James found that the only charges that could validly be leveled against her was that she wore men's clothing into battle, and continued to do so even during her trial, and that she would not deny the voices that guided her. The Maiden had steadfastly maintained that she wore men's clothing to protect her virtue. She did not wish to call attention to her womanhood, as she was forced to live with and associate exclusively with men in her battle campaigns.
James also discovered several abnormalities in the manner in which the trial had been conducted. In short, the trial appeared to be illegal. It was evident to James that the Church, backed by English authority, intended to burn the Maiden at the stake regardless of the testimony of witnesses and regardless of the truth. James believed that their hatred for the Maiden blinded their spiritual eyes and hardened their hearts.
It took James several days to read and comprehend all that the information available to him regarding the life, trial and death of the Maiden, Joan of Arc. He felt deeply for the Maiden and the injustice that had befallen her. He weeped for the Maiden. He weeped for his country and Church for having perpetuated such an atrocity. As he considered it, he thought about a story that his own mother had told him. In order to protect her while traveling, her father had insisted that she dress as a man. She hadn't considered it heretical. And James, knowing how saintly his mother Elizabeth was, also did not consider it heretical. If it was not heretical for his mother, how could it be heretical for the Maiden. James wondered what kind of world it was that failed to protect its women to the point that forced them to guard their virtue by dressing as men. Which was worse in the eyes of God, he wondered, dressing as men, or losing virtue? Surely, the later was worse, even though the woman would remain innocent of any action.
James also began to discover similarities between the trial of the Maiden and the trial of his own Lord. Wasn't The Lord also tried in an illegal trial by men whose hearts were hardened and who's only interest was the outcome and not the truth? Was not The Lord's capture by His enemies also facilitated by the betrayal of a friend, similar to Joan's capture?
He began to wonder how he could serve a church that could not only perpetuate such a criminal act, but hide the truth from the people that they were to serve. He felt terrible for questioning his faith in the Church and he prayed for forgiveness. He spent many tormented nights worrying about the safety of his eternal soul if he continued to question the Church. Finally, he decided that if he could not get relief on his own, he would go to confession.
The next day, he entered the confession booth and waited for the curtain to open, indicating that the priest was ready to hear his confession. When the curtain opened, James related his concerns regarding the trial of the Maiden and his belief that there were similarities between her trail and the trial of The Lord. He also recounted his struggles with his faith in the Church since reading the documents of the trail.
If James expected to hear sympathetic and encouraging words, he was disappointed. 'You are on the verge of 'eresy brother and 'ave allowed the devil to rule your thoughts. Your eternal soul is in jeopardy and unless you are rid of this devil soon, to 'ell you will go.'
'Whot must I do to rid meself of this evil spirit?' asked James.
'You must subject yourself to 20 lashes after going withoot food for three dees,' insisted the priest.
'Aye,' replied James, but he was confused. He didn't feel as though he had an evil spirit and he knew that his mother was saintly. Regardless, he determined, that for the safety of his eternal soul, he would subject himself to the