Die Jungfrau von Orleans

The figure of Joan of Arc has repeatedly inspired poets to engage with her story. The 17-year-old Johanna, around whom the forces of a national movement concentrate, saves France after a long war with England. Schiller builds his drama around the pivotal events of this uprising: the liberation of the city of Orleans (1429) and the coronation of the Dauphin in Reims (July 16, 1430). He focuses on the conflict that the virgin, who must be free of human emotions for her great task, finds herself in. The moment she loves Lionel, her enemy, her strength fades: she is captured by the English and burned as a heretic. Decades later, the trial undergoes a revision, and the heretic is transformed into a saint. In response to the mocking treatment that the historically documented material received from Voltaire, Schiller initially countered with his poem: 'The Maid of Orleans'. It is printed in the appendix. Additionally, there is an afterword and discussions on the text's history and composition, as well as detailed annotations.