102013 | FRANCE. Cathedral of the Holy Cross of Orléans bronze Medal.

102013  |  FRANCE. Cathedral of the Holy Cross of Orléans bronze Medal. Issued 1829. Commemorating the 400th anniversary of the liberation of Orléans by Saint Jeanne d'Arc (Joan of Arc) (63mm, 89.70 g, 12h). By A. A. Caqué.

 

ACHEVEMENT DE Ste CROIX, frontal view of the cathedral, from a vantage point just to the right of center; in two lines in exergue, LA PROCESSION DE LA PUCELLE SORT / PAR LE PORTAIL / A / LA MÉMOIRE / DE JEANNE D'ARC / 400 ANS / APRÈS LA DÉLIVERANCE / D'ORLÉANS / Vme ANNÉE DU REGNE / DE / CHARLES X in nine lines; all within garlanded oak wreath. Edge: Plain.

 

Gem Mint State. Charming olive-brown surfaces, with a pleasing glossy brilliance in the fields. Quite scarce and fairly impressive.

 

A popular heroine from the latter years of the Hundred Years' War, Jeanne d'Arc (Joan of Arc) served as a rallying figure on the French side, factoring in breaking the siege of Orléans and helping to see Charles VII crowned as king in France. A very influential spiritual leader, she was captured just a few years later, whereupon she was handed over to the English, tried as a heretic, and burned at the stake. The Roman Catholic Church posthumously overturned her conviction, elevating her to a saint in 1920 by Pope Benedict XV. This medal features the Cathedral of the Holy Cross of Orléans, issued 400 years after her arrival in the city to aid in the siege's lifting.