Robert Moss' books are not for everyone. Admittedly, they're not for me. That said, I had to get a hold of The Secret History of Dreaming (2009) once I learned of a chapter present in it titled Joan of Arc - Tree Seers. The book as a whole is a rather peculiar voyage - to the point of being hard to follow at times - through important moments in various historical characters' lives and the supposed connections their dreams or visions had with those events. Even more strange, however, is how the chapter about Joan of Arc feels very much out of place, almost as if Moss had used his mystical approach as a mere excuse to simply talk about Joan. As someone who has no interest whatsoever in any New Age nonsense, I have no objections to that. So I bought the book and dove in.
Let's get the mystical stuff out of the way first, for it is not my focus but it's still worth mentioning for the sake of giving context as to why Robert Moss thought to include a whole chapter about Joan of Arc in a book about dreams and their magical properties.
First, Moss proposes Joan as being part of a long line of Gallic female seers, tracking all the way back to the ones who supposedly directed warriors into battle against the legions of Julius Caesar. This, according to Moss, would explain her clairvoyant abilities. He then touches on the famous Ladies' Tree, mentioned by Joan herself during her trial, a tree where, according to the folklore of that time, fairies went to gather and dance at night, with all that that implies. Lastly, Moss wonders if it might have been possible for Joan, through some sort of ancient shamanic power, to be the one who had sent the stag that caused the 500 English longbowmen hidden in the woods near Patay to be found out by the French. I will not deny that I read the whole thing with at least one eyebrow raised at all time.
Whether or not one subscribes to any kind of New Age beliefs, there is an undeniable admiration and warm friendliness towards Joan that transpires from Robert Moss' words in this book. Right off the bat Moss announces his intention to address Joan with her original name, Jehanne, instead of the more commonly used English version. He explains that doing so may let us in another angle of perspective that will help us see her afresh, free from the veils of propaganda and hagiography (Moss' exact words). He is spot on, although this new angle he implies is certainly more out there than the one I had in mind. Beliefs asynchrony notwithstanding, on a more basic level calling Joan by her given name also helps reminding us that before being a legend she was a real person, made of flesh and bones and feelings and ideas, so I commend Robert Moss for electing to do that.
Moss also does something not many are willing to do, even among those scholars whose respect for Joan of Arc is unquestioned: he refers to her death as a murder. Not an execution, not the carrying out of a trial's sentence, but a murder. Sanitizing the language when discussing Joan's demise is borderline insulting to her memory, even when done without malice. I commend Robert Moss for not doing it. They tried her because they needed an excuse to burn her, not because they were willing to get to the bottom of a case of suspected heresy. It's also important to point out that the idea that court proceedings in the Middle Ages were just overdramatic shams and that no proper justice was ever dealt is as common as it is absolutely false. Joan's trial was deeply political and ultimately a disgraceful show, that is a fact, but it is definitely not the norm for the time. Joan herself had won a legal battle early in her life when her father had arranged her marriage. Joan was having none of that, so she took the would be husband to court and she had her marriage voided by a judge. Courts and legal proceeding were serious business in the Middle Ages.
In conclusion, when stripped of all the mystical fluff, what is left of this 16 pages long chapter is a short yet well researched, poignant, nicely written account of Joan's life, penned by someone who is clearly very fond of her. Robert Moss makes no effort to hide whose side he's on in Joan's story, and he joins the ranks of those who after almost 600 years still loudly condemn the butchers who carried out her murder.
The Secret History of Dreaming by Robert Moss can be purchased on Amazon
ISBN-10: 157731901X
ISBN-13: 978-1577319016
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