The woman with the axe

Hi, this is Our Bloody History, where we help you to remember things that are often forgotten.

A slightly different format for you today:

Me and the family got rocked by the flu, which meant a shoddy week of writing and researching. So, rather than a deep dive into a historical conflict, I've prepared a short spotlight on a lesser-known figure, who is I think is freakn cool.

Ça va?

This is Jeanne Laisné.

She has her own statue because...well, you'll find out in just a sec.

Jeanne's the daughter of a peasant. A butcher maybe? That's what I read somewhere. I don't know if it's true, but, either way, she's definitely a woman of the people.

On 27 June 1472, Beauvais, Jeanne's home in northern France, is besieged by troops of Charles the Bold, the Duke of Burgundy. Charles is on a mission to overthrow his feudal overlord, King Louis XI, and crown himself as king. As always, it's the common people who suffer the most when the "elite" play their games of ego and power.

Beauvais is well fortified but the defending force of just 300 men is grossly outnumbered by the Duke's men. The Burgundians throw themselves at the town walls but are met with ferocious resistance; only King's men here! Even the women and children of Beauvais get innit, racing along the battlements carrying arrows, stones and lead, and making torches to chuck at the climbing invaders.

At one point in the siege a cannon blasts a hole in the Bresle gate. The cheering Burgundians rush into the gap, flooding the battlements. The tide's turning; a staunch attacker plants a Burgundian flag on the walls. Beauvais is done for...

Just then, a hatchet-wielding woman rushes up the wall, hurls herself at the flag-waving Burgundian and straight "this-is-Sparta" kicks him off the ledge into the moat below (in my mind she kicks him, but she may have just body slammed the dude, or axed him in the neck). Jeanne then tears down the flag and revives the courage of the wavering defenders. The now not-so-bold Burgundians are pushed back to re-think their strategy.

Jeanne. What a boss.

The inspired and deeply scrappy defenders manage to hold out for another few weeks. Finally, on 22 July 1472, the frustrated Duke raises the siege of Beauvais and moves on to burn and pillage elsewhere. Not today Charles.

In gratitude for Jeanne's heroic deed, the French King Louis XI institutes a procession in Beauvais called the "Procession of the Assault," marries Jeanne to her chosen lover and loads them with favours (I wonder what those medieval favours were?).

Jeanne is commemorated even to this day. On the last weekend in June there is an annual religious procession through the streets of Beauvais to celebrate her pivotal act of bravery.

And that's why she has a massive bronze statue.

By the way, a while back I wrote a short flash-fiction piece imagining this epic moment in history. You can read that here.

That's it folks. See ya next week!

PS. If you want more of this type of persona spotlight in addition to the deep dives, let me know. You can always respond to this email with feedback and suggestions.

Other conflicts that happened this week:

• 11 July 472: After being besieged in Rome by his own generals, Western Roman Emperor Anthemius is captured in St. Peter's Basilica and put to death.

• 12 July 1576: The Mughal Empire annexes Bengal after defeating the Bengal Sultanate at the Battle of Rajmahal.

• 13 July 1260: The Livonian Order suffers its greatest defeat in the 13th century in the Battle of Durbe against the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

• 14 July 1900: Armies of the Eight-Nation Alliance capture Tientsin during the Boxer Rebellion in Northern China.

• 15 July 1381: John Ball, a leader in the Peasants' Revolt, is hanged, drawn and quartered in the presence of King Richard II of England.

• 16 July 1683: Manchu Qing dynasty naval forces under traitorous commander Shi Lang defeat the Kingdom of Tungning in the Battle of Penghu near the Pescadores Islands.

• 17 July 180: Twelve inhabitants of Scillium (near Kasserine, modern-day Tunisia) in North Africa are executed for being Christians. This is the earliest record of Christianity in that part of the world.

A historical quote about historical things:

DisclaimerYou are reading my abstractions based on the abstractions of others. History is not always an accurate map of what really happened. The map is not the territory. Reality can be very different. We are like blind people groping an elephant, describing what we feel. It always pays to do your own research and ask questions.