The memory of Joan of Arc in Rouen

On May 30, 1431, on what is now the Place du Vieux-Marché, Joan of Arc was condemned to the stake. She, who two years earlier had led the resistance against the English occupation during the Hundred Years' War, was taken to Rouen (then under English rule) for her trial.

Today, Joan of Arc's presence in Rouen is palpable in the places that marked its history: the Rouen Keep, the Saint-Ouen Abbey, the Place du Vieux Marché and the Archbishop's Palace which houses the Historial. But also in the urban landscape, from the names of the cafés, streets, buildings...

Considering all her epic, Joan of Arc's stay in Rouen was as brief as it was tragic, since she spent only a few months there before being condemned. But this stay marked the history of France and the story that is told of Joan today.

In this sense, the Historial Jeanne d'Arc has a dual ambition: to (re)discover the epic and incredible destiny of Joan of Arc, but also to highlight her myth built up over the centuries: or how history and people have integrated, memorized, interpreted and sometimes instrumentalized this universal character.