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Joan of Arc, born in 1412, was burned at the stake in 1431, canonized by the Catholic Church in 1920, and, like most saints, whitewashed by history. Canonization tends to strip a saint of supposedly un-Christian attributes such as rebelliousness, pride, and intolerance. And Joan, despite having been a stubborn, haughty, naive, even foolish girl, has for much of history been remembered only as a pious martyr. However, George Bernard Shaw's play, Saint Joan, completed in 1925, began the modern rehabilitation of the icon as a fully human, fallible character--not to mention a poster girl for teenage rebellion and feminism. Shaw's Joan, like the real Maid of Orleans, leads the fight to drive the English out of her native France, insists on direct communication with her God instead of submitting to the mediation of Catholic priests, and refuses to dress, speak, or act according to traditional notions of how women were expected to behave. Until the closing scene of Shaw's play, however, neither Joan nor her foes are cast in neatly heroic terms. Both are earnestly pursuing their partial visions of the truth. In the play's famous epilogue, Shaw suggests that even 400 years later, most of us are so limited by our own perspectives that we are unable to tell the difference between a saint and a heretic. "O God that madest this beautiful earth, when will it be ready to receive Thy saints?" Joan asks, preparing for her death. "How long, O Lord, how long?" --Michael Joseph Gross
Book Description
With Saint Joan, Shaw reached the height of his fame as a dramatist. Fascinated by the story of Joan of Arc (canonized in 1920), but unhappy with "the whitewash which disfigures her beyond recognition," he presents a realistic Joan: proud, intolerant, naïve, foolhardy, always brave-a rebel who challenged the conventions and values of her day.
Customer Reviews:
Saint Joan on audio tape.......2007-02-09
Audio recordings of plays are usually done with different actors reading the roles as in a radio play. This is the first time I have listened to a play being read by only one reader. It is not at all the same experience, but better than one might expect. The reader uses a neutral American accent for the French characters, but a slightly British one to differentiate the English characters. There was a recording on Caedmon of the play with Siobhan McKenna repeating her famous performance, but it is not available. (Some libraries still have it on vinyl, but that doesn't help me pass the time while commuting.)
Shaw's play is intriguing, coming as it did so soon after Joan's canonization and Ireland's war for independence ("France for the French"), but there is no denying that is rather untheatrical, save for the climactic scene. Joan confesses to her supposed sins to save her life, but then withdraws the confession, choosing execution and martydom. I had never realized how much Arthur Miller owed to Shaw; I was reminded of the scene in The Crucible when John Proctor confesses to a lie and then recants, preferring an honorable death. These scenes are both based on historical events, of course, but the resemblance in the way they are dramatized is striking nonetheless. Here's a potential trivia topic: How many plays and movies can you think of that use the device of a false confession followed by an even more dramatic retraction?
Shaw never misses a chance to make a good point........2006-02-23
I have seen this performed, I have read it and I have heard it on a tape from Books on Tape for the Blind and Disabled. I loved it every time. I agree fully with Shaw that the Catholic Church has gotten a bad rap over Joan. When you listen to her words she was espousing overt Protestant beliefs -- God can, should and will speak to one person, individually and doesn't require a mediator like the Pope or Mary or any of the saints.
I actually got the most out of this play by hearing it on a tape from Books on Tape for the Blind and Disabled. I was able to speed the tape up and suddenly the wimpy, silly voices of the court officials came out perfectly. The farce inside the tragedy revealed itself clearly.
Shaw is brilliant and astute -- but no one needs me to tell them that!
Drama Instead of History.......2005-12-11
This is George Bernard Shaw's most important work. A successful drama that has enjoyed continuous popularity for nearly eighty years is worth a read. Most audiences find it very satisfying. Shaw has a gift for lucid dialogue that brings a centuries old story to life. This is one of the most approachable of the great English language plays.
Why then does "Saint Joan" fall short of five stars?
Fictional accounts of Joan of Arc's life are numerous and seldom accurate. Shakespeare makes her a witch. Voltaire makes her an idiot. Schiller makes her admirable - and gives her a magical helmet that protects her from harm until she falls in love.
In a rare exception to his usual satirical style, Mark Twain spent months in France researching her life and published a fictional biography. Readers who enjoy accurate historical fiction would do well with Twain's "Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc." Twain considered this - not "Huckleberry Finn" - to be his finest work.
Shaw pays far more attention to accuracy than most fictionalizations. Several lines in the play are Shaw's own translations from her trial transcript. Shaw's long introductory essay aspires to be history as well as drama. Most scholars agree with his assessment of Joan of Arc's socioeconomic background. Shaw acknowledges a few dramatic economies: he combines the historical Jean d'Orleans and Duke Jean d'Alencon into a single character. What causes problems are Shaw's unacknowledged deviations from the factual record.
Shaw argues that Joan of Arc was a forerunner of Protestantism who got a fair trial. Among serious scholars this argument gains no credibility. A surviving letter from the English government that financed the trial guaranteed her execution even if the court found her not guilty. Joan of Arc never rejected the Roman Catholic Church: she rejected the authority of politically biased judges bent on discrediting her and, by inference, on discrediting the king she had crowned. Twenty-four years after her death the Pope reopened the case. The appeals court not only found her innocent but discovered such extensive violations of proper court procedure that it accused the late Bishop Cauchon of heresy.
Shaw's choice works as drama rather than as history yet he advocates it on historical grounds. He might be sincere but he is certainly not honest. To an academic scholar who has explained the facts to umpteen Shaw enthusiasts the difference can be infuriating. This is why "Saint Joan" collects a handful of scathing reviews.
A reader who understands this little shell game with history should have a lively time with the drama. If this is your first reading of "Saint Joan" then I envy you. Nothing quite equals the first encounter.
Wisdom.......2003-12-08
What has most stuck in my mind, many years after having read Shaw's book, is the fact that it's more logical to think of Joan as a protestant saint, instead of Catholic, when one considers how she rejected the Catholic Church's authority and was, naturally, rejected in turn.
He makes a very good point when he says that, right as that Church was to ban her on those grounds, nothing could give it the moral right (or any other right, for that matter) to condemn a woman who disagreed with it on matters of faith. In all fairness, they should have simply excommunicated her and said: "If you think you have a better idea, then you go ahead and create your own Church".
It may be a thoroughly idealistic point of view of course, too democratic for that age (perhaps any age), but nonetheless it strikes me as completely fair.
If you like a club but object to some of its rules, and that club isn't willing to change for your sake, they may have the right to throw you out, just as you may have the right to start a new one on your own - but they shouldn't be given the right to take away your life for having dared to challenge their concepts.
This lesson has stayed with me and I recommend this book for the wisdom it contains.
Shaw's "Saint Joan".......2002-07-02
In one surviving account, Joan of Arc was quoted as saying that her judges were merely putting her on trial because they were members of the pro-English faction and therefore her "capital enemies"; unfortunately, this play tries to claim otherwise. One of Shaw's primary themes is the notion that Pierre Cauchon and Joan's other judges were acting as "sincere" defenders of the Church in their prosecution of her, a view which is contradicted by document after document as well as the above quote from Joan herself. Cauchon and his cronies are well known to historians as having been long-term supporters of the English and Burgundian factions, and the eyewitnesses said repeatedly that they prosecuted Joan out of revenge for the defeats that their side had suffered at the hands of her army, rather than out of any genuine belief that she was guilty of heresy. Cauchon even allowed her to take final communion (which was never done in the case of heretics), indicating that even he didn't truly believe the charges against her. As Shaw was aware, these charges were soundly debunked when the case was appealed after the English were finally driven from Rouen in 1449; and the arguments put forward in this ruling have been confirmed as accurate by experts in medieval theology and canon law, whereas Cauchon's arguments can easily be refuted by consulting medieval theological works - his arguments are, at best, merely distortions of what the medieval Church actually taught. Here are some specific examples which factored prominently in Shaw's play:
- Shaw, like Cauchon, claimed that Joan was guilty of heresy for wearing male clothing allegedly as a personal preference, despite the fact that both of these men were aware of her own statements to the contrary. She was quoted as saying that she wore soldiers' clothing (of a type which had "laces and points" by which the pants and tunic could be securely tied together) primarily to protect herself, as her guards had tried to rape her on several occasions; this reason is also given in some of the 15th century chronicles, along with similar quotes from Joan herself on the need to protect her chastity while surrounded by the men in her army. The medieval Church allowed an exemption in such cases of necessity (read St. Thomas Aquinas' "Summa Theologica", or St. Hildegard's "Scivias", for example): the practice of so-called "cross-dressing" was only condemned if it was done as a preference. Shaw rejects all of the above based on the specious argument that the "other women" who accompanied armies in that era didn't wear such clothing, ignoring the fact that these "other women" were: 1) prostitutes, who wore provocative dresses because they were trying to encourage sexual encounters rather than the opposite; and 2) aristocratic women sometimes were given command of their family's armies in the absence of their husband or son, but these women did not bed down at night among the troops in the field, as Joan often did. Shaw chooses to ignore these circumstances.
- On a somewhat related subject, Shaw tries to portray her as a rebel against "gender norms", again ignoring her own statements and the circumstances of the era. She was quoted by one eyewitness as saying that, quote, "I would rather stay home with my poor mother and spin wool [rather than lead an army]", which hardly sounds like someone who is trying to reject traditional gender roles. When another woman, Catherine de la Rochelle, wanted to get involved, Joan told her to "go home to your husband and tend your household". At no point do we find her making any 'feminist' statements. She was given titular command of an army for the same reason other religious visionaries sometimes were given such a role in that era, not as part of a "feminist crusade".
- Shaw admits that Joan was a devout Catholic and yet claims her as "the first Protestant martyr" - in the same sentence. This seems to be a rather willful contradiction, and the claim of "Protestant tendencies" is merely based, once again, on the old business of accepting Cauchon's claims about her at face value while ignoring the circumstances. If you read the documents you will find that Joan never opposed the Church as a whole: she merely stated her objection to being tried by a panel of pro-English clergy, and repeatedly asked to be given a non-partisan group instead or to be brought before the Pope. It was a violation of Inquisitorial procedure to stack the panel of assessors with people who were pursuing a secular vendetta against the accused: what Cauchon and his cohorts were doing, as Inquisitor Brehal later pointed out during the appeal, was itself an act of heresy. The notion that the medieval Church viewed all Inquisitorial panels as "infallible" and therefore not open to question is just a stereotype, bluntly contradicted by actual medieval theological writings: St. Hildegard, in her 12th century book "Scivias", warns the clergy against judging someone in error or out of anger, as it would be the offending clergy who would be punished for it by God. Joan was perfectly within her rights, even under the rules of the medieval Church, to question her biased judges, and was declared a martyr for Catholicism by Inquisitor Brehal when her execution was declared invalid in 1456. Shaw ignores this. The claim that his play is somehow vindicated by the fact that it was "vetted" by one Catholic (out of the hundreds of millions of Catholics worldwide) is a pointless argument: there are "Catholics" who claim that Joan was having adulterous sex, and all sorts of defamatory allegations. The bottom line is: this play does little more than repeat the slander leveled at Joan by the men who cruelly put her to death, despite the work of generations of scholars to bring a more accurate picture of the issue to light.
Customer Reviews:
Perhaps the Best Book on St. Padre Pio!.......2007-07-20
This is possibly the best book currently on the life of St. Padre Pio. It is very well researched and well written that you honestly get a true glimpse of the man in my opinion.
The book was written by a non-Catholic which can dispel some people's fears that the book is a fanatical work to boost the Padre Pio simply because of his faith.
After reading this book there is little way anyone can doubt the amazing activities which took place around this man. Jesus was surely using St. Padre Pio.
I highly recommend this book for religious and causal readers alike.
Much fine material but terrible editing.......2007-04-11
I just finished reading this book. Most of it was very well done, but the author who is non-Catholic had a bad habit of inserting irrelevant material relating to Martin Luther and other Protestant luminaries in order somehow to bridge the chasm between the holiness of St. Padre Pio and the religious experience of these other individuals. It all has the smell of an ecumenistic work, a suspicion given added weight by the liberal nature of the publishing company. St. Padre Pio was a great saint for modern times. Like all saints he loved all humanity, but his personal love for souls did not, in any way, include acceptance of the errors they espouse. It is inexplicable that this author, who apparently believes what he has written about the saint, did not at the end adjure the errors of Lutheranism and enter the Catholic fold.
Padre Pio:the True Story.......2007-02-08
I thoroughly enjoyed this very delightful and inspiratonal book. It was really very well written and I would recommend it to any reader interested in knowing about the saintly soul Padre Pio. I was not able to put the book down once I started reading it.I highly recommend it to any reader interested in knowing about a Christ-like man of the 20th century.
Excellent!.......2007-01-22
I was very pleased that even though it was the week before Christmas, I still received my purchase within three days of ordering it! Thank you for your quick service!
You can be from any religion and this book is great........2007-01-11
I got this book as a gift wanted to learn about this man that people talk about so much. You start to read this book and you can not let go, is very good. People may think that Saints have wings or dont have problems in this world and we learn that Padre Pio was a human, but a great human. If we can only try to be good and help people no matter what religion, color, or country we can make this a better world and Padre Pio made it better. This book make me think that we can all be good and that we have problems in this world but that we can make a difference in this world.
The book is very easy to read and I learn so much not only about Padre Pio but about the human sacrifice and the problems that we all have to deal. Big 5 Stars for this book.
Book Description
The great French 16th-century potter, Bernard Palissy, created a genre of rustic ceramic ware reproducing three-dimensional still lifes of natural objects, flora and fauna of all types, including lizards and fish, rendered in high relief and natural colors. His work influenced a school of artists that flourished in the Portuguese town of Caldas da Rainha, 65 miles north of Lisbon, between 1853 and 1920. This volume surveys the work of the most important artists of the Portugese Palissy revival, including Mafra and Pinheiro.
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Eadmer of Canterbury: Lives and Miracles of Saints Oda, Dunstan, and Oswald (Oxford Medieval Texts)
Bernard J. Muir , and
Andrew J. Turner
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
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ASIN: 0199253803 |
Book Description
This volume in Oxford Medieval Text contains Eadmer's Lives of Saints Oda, Dunstan, and Oswald, as well as the Miracles of Dunstan and Oswald. These three English saints, together with AEthelwold of Winchester, were key figures in the Benedictine revival of the tenth century, which saw a flowering of Anglo-Saxon religious, artistic, and literary culture. Eadmer of Canterbury (c.1060-c.1130), the secretary, confidant, and biographer of Saint Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury (1033-1109), was one of the most important historians and biographers in the period after the Norman Conquest. His works, written in Latin, look back constantly to the Anglo-Saxon past, while at the same time they accurately reflect the present-day realities of the wider European society into which England had been forcibly integrated. Manuscripts of his Lives of the Saints circulated widely in both in England and France, but apart from his Life of Anselm they have been little studied, and have remained largely untranslated. The works newly edited and translated in this edition provide many insights into the wider political history of the pre- and post-Conquest periods, as well as important evidence for the cults of the saints in Canterbury and Worcester.
Customer Reviews:
A great bioagraphy.......2001-07-19
Edith Stien was a Jew who in the 1920's of Germany converted to Catholicism and then became a nun much to the dismay of her orthodox mother. Those who are have heard of Edith Stien know that ultimately she was martyred in Auschwitz because of her outspokenness against the Nazi's as well as the fact that the Catholic Church in occupied Holland was the only large church organization willing to preach against the nazi regeim.
What must people don't know about Edith Stien was what an incredibly couragous and brillant woman she was even long before she was martyred. As this book tells the story , often in her own words and in the words of those that were close to her, she was a college professer, philosopher, and political activist at a time when a professional woman was at best a grade school teacher or nurse. Even as a nun she worked on her philosophy and her writing.
Waltraud Herbstrith does an excellent job portraying the complete Edith Stien, Her faith Her family and her intellect. An excellent book.
POWERFUL, ENTHRALLING WORK.......2000-01-28
I consider this a "must read" for anyone interested in great women in history. The spiritual insights, life story, and heroic sacrifices of this brilliant woman, who was both a Jew and a Carmellite nun are amazing. Look closely at the cover art, as my interpretation was that Edith Stein possessed the "ear of God." The only complaint I have is the print was far too small. If it comes in a large print edition, you might be wise to order it. My eyesight is fairly normal.
Excellent Book.......1999-12-11
This book is an excellent introduction to the life and thought of Edith Stein (St. Theresa Benedicta). Waltraud Herbstrith presents a biography that encompases the philosophical, spiritual, and personal aspects of her subject with great care. I came away from this book with a true appreciation for Edith Stein, in particular her writings on women and her deep love of God.
Book Description
Centuries ago, Francis de Sales–bishop of Geneva during the lifetime of many first generation Protestant Calvinists–wrote about the importance of having a spiritual director. Yet he later told his biographer such a person “would be difficult to find,” suggesting that in these circumstances, “We can look for guidance among the books of authors who are no longer living. Devotional books are our best Directors.”
Today, de Sales serves as such a spiritual director to countless modern day believers, and his Introduction to the Devout Life is recognized as one of the truly great works of devotional literature. Originally written as a series of letters of religious guidance, this enduring book is filled with thoughtful spiritual illustrations and radiates with a warm humanity that touches people of all religious backgrounds.
A classic masterpiece of spiritual writing, de Sales’ book is acknowledged to be among the top handful of guides to Christian living. No matter where readers are in their spiritual development–whether they are beginners or skilled theologians–this modern interpretation, an “honest paraphrase” of de Sales’ work, will gently guide them down the clearest path imaginable into a deeper and more authentic religious life.
Average customer rating:
- Disappointing book
- A Must Before You Get A Saint
- The Perfect dog care book
- The Perfect dog care book
- WAHT A BOOK
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Saint Bernards (Complete Pet Owner's Manuals)
Joan Hustace Walker
Manufacturer: Barron's Educational Series
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Encyclopedia of Dog Breeds
ASIN: 0764102885 |
Product Description
The most extensive line of basic pet information and training guides on the market, Barron's Complete Pet Owner's Manuals are written by experts, and profusely illustrated with full-color photos and instructive, high-quality line art. Each manual is individually written. Not one of Barron's Pet Owner's Manuals is a clone from a single common catch-all book, with one or two chapters added on to make it appear new. Instead, each Barron's manual has been planned, designed, and written from scratch?always by an experienced breeder, trainer, veterinarian, or qualified expert. This legendary breed is strictly for an owner who prefers a giant-size dog and has the space to keep one comfortably. The St. Bernard is noted for its congenial temperament and comes in both shorthaired and longhaired varieties. Here is detailed information on understanding this breed, as well as specific tips on selecting a puppy or dog. Paperback / 120 Pages / 6 1/2 x 7 7/8 / 1998
Customer Reviews:
Disappointing book.......2006-05-22
I had hoped for more Saint specific advice (especially nutrition and obedience training). This book may be useful to a first time dog-owner but if you are looking for advice breed specific, this book is not it!
A Must Before You Get A Saint.......2004-07-28
This book prepares you with the pros and cons of getting a Saint. I bought this book and it really helped me get ready for the challenges of owning this beautiful dog!! I definately recommended it.
The Perfect dog care book.......2002-09-15
This is the best dog care books I have ever read, it is perfect how they describe one of the best dogs that you can have. This book includes many color pictures of the St. Bernard ecspecially the puppies. It is the best book in this dog series. This is a must for soon to be or St. Bernard owner.
The Perfect dog care book.......2002-09-15
This is the best dog care I have ever read, it is perfect how they describe one of the best dog that you could have. This book includes many color pictures of the St. Bernard ecspecially the puppies. It is the best book in this dog series. This is a must for soon to be or St. Bernard owner.
WAHT A BOOK.......2000-03-28
THIS BOOK HAS DETAILED INFORMATION ON THE GREATEST BREED THERE IS THE SAINT. IF YOU WANT A BOOK ON HOW TO CARE AND THE SPECIAL NEEDS FOR THE SAINT THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU. I LOST MY FIRST COPY AND I'M BACK FOR ANOTHER. LONG LIVE THE SAINTS.
Book Description
There is no greater authority on the saints than Fr. Alban Butler. His enormous research has been the standard reference on the subject for the last two and half centuries. But this new single-volume adaptation presents Butler's beloved work in today's language, and provides an illuminating, accessible guide to the lives and legacies of the Christian saints.
Butler's daily readings give us a unique opportunity to engage directly with these great figures of faith. Turning attention away from the superhuman, miraculous themes that are prevalent in earlier works, Butler gives us saints who are examples of Christian living and practice, who provide inspiration for our own lives, in every time and circumstance. As Butler writes: "They were once what we are now, travelers on earth. They had the same weaknesses we have. We have difficulties; so had the saints."
Customer Reviews:
Superior - by far - of all the modern 'concise' editions.......2007-06-01
One needs to first remember that the original Butler's Lives of the Saints has been frequently edited and revised, beginning with Thurston and Attwater. Since that edition, there have been numerous attempts at updating and revising based(especially)on the new Roman Calendar of 1969.
For more learned opinions and observations, please search out and read the other reviews of the series and other editions made by readers.
That being said, I do believe that this edition by Bernard Bangley is a particularly fine attempt at balancing the lives, stories and examples of the saints, when compared with so many of the other concise editions.
Bangley states in the Introduction:
"To make the collection under these covers as broad as possible, preference is often given to women, laity, recent candidates for sainthood, country of origin, and above all, spiritual relevance for today. Rather than overly repeating familiar themes, I have given special attention to the distinctive aspects of interesting individuals. Many saints are not included. The Church has never assumed that even its extensive list is complete. Moreover, only God knows many saints." (ix-x)
Its best feature, however, is Bangley's very careful attempt to avoid imposing his own opinions, perspectives, editorials and agendas. He states the facts and history, within the context of the times and circumstances of the individual saint/blessed. This cannot be said of some of the other editors and versions currently(or have been previously) published.
Finally, from the back cover page:
"Butler's daily readings give us a unique opportunity to engage directly with these great figures of faith. Turning attention away from the superhuman, miraculous themes that are prevalent in earlier works, Butler gives us saints who are examples of Christian living and practice, who provide inspiritation for our own lives, in every time and circumstance. As Butler writes: '"They were once what we are now, travelers on earth. They had the same weaknesses we have. We have difficulties; so had the saints."'"
If one wants the fantastic, 'golden legend' glorious stories of the miracles of the saints, then the original Butler's would be a great resource - and indeed, those are an integral part of our Christian story-telling heritage.
On the other hand, the saints are also real flesh-and-blood people like each of us. They are teachers of life and faith, and we can study their struggles, their examples, their responses.
This is one version I highly recommend.
Book Description
Born in Fontaines-lès-Dijon in 1090, Bernard had become, by his twenty-fifth birthday, the abbot of a Cistercian monastery which he had founded in the valley of Clairvaux near Aube, France, some four years earlier. There in those isolated and rugged surroundings he became the spokesman for a revival of monastic life in an age when the radical spirit of religious life was endangered by a movement, best seen in the excesses of the monks of Cluny, that stressed the adaptation of the rule of St. Benedict to the exigencies-and taste for princely comforts-of the royal courts of twelfth-century France.
But Bernard's dedication to the strict observance of Benedict's rule was mingled not with the abrasive, shrill style of the prophet but with a sweetness and purity of vision that earned him the title Doctor mellifluous. For he possessed a sense of the love of God, the importance of humility, and the sheer beauty of holiness that has made his writings favorites of scholars and laymen alike throughout the ages. Here in a new translation by G.R. Evans are the writings that have had such a major role in shaping the Western monastic tradition and influencing the development of catholic mystical theology. Together with an introduction by the master of Bernard studies, Jean Leclercq, they comprise a volume that occupies a place of special importance in the chronicle of the history of the Western spiritual adventure.
Customer Reviews:
Bernard of Clairvaux.......2006-11-10
A good introduction to the life and work of Bernard. While presenting him i a very favourable way the introduction tries to establish balance.
Great Spiritual Reading........2002-02-22
Anyone, I mean anyone searching for a greater understanding on such things as Loving God, Humility and Pride,or conversion of Heart, or many other Topic, should Consider this book as a treasury of Wisdon. St. Bernard takes complicated ideas and concepts and makes them clear for those of us without the Saintly Mind. I would certantly say that his writings are some of the best in All of Christian history. This translation is consice and leaves nothing of importance out, I commend the translator on this edition. My hopes are that many will find this book a great help in your own Spiritual Journey.
Bernard Clairvaux: Selected Works.......2000-05-12
An excellent book for anyone seeking to use the Early Church Fathers as mentors in learnig to know God better. The book includes writings of St. Bernard that focus on a deeper intimate relationship with God. G.R. Evans provides a brief introduction of the writings as well as a short biography on St. Bernard. Well edited and easy to understand.
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Murder in the Cathedral
Candide (Dover Thrift Editions)
A Man for All Seasons
