So here we go! If you missed Part One, check this out first. What do we know, first of all? Well, she wore men’s clothes. She has been depicted in dresses and skirts, but that’s more the symbolism, and we want to go as accurately as we can. I also wish to make figures that the historical person would approve of if they could see it somehow; come on Bill and Ted – lend me that time machine! She DIED because of her insistence on men’s clothes, so she’s getting them in 28mm! We won’t give her a helmet as we want to see her face, the face that grown men would have seen on the battlefield.
In the variety of depictions, Jeanne has much in common with Eleanor of Aquitaine. They’re both shown highly stylised and dressed in what was a fashionably romanticised notion of her period at the time. I see this as a positive; you can see how they evolve over time yet keep the same key components, such as the banner and armour, in Jeanne’s case. It’s not historically accurate, but it is an insight into history in its own way.
I know some folk will want to see her hacking and slashing her way up a rampart, but this also goes against Jeanne’s position. I, too, wish to see more hack-and-slash medieval ladies, but you have to vote for them! We do have Jeanne de Clisson currently, but more would be a dream. Jean Hatchett very closely made it last time, perhaps on the next voting rounds? As I mentioned in the Eleanor of Aquitaine post, it’s good to keep them as much “themselves” as possible, instead of putting them into a different role.
To the Armouries!
After giving myself a headache looking at all sorts of armour, I decided to go to The Royal Armouries in Leeds for some hands-on research. Sculptor Alan Marsh came along!
It was a superb chance to catch up and nerd out with many history chats over coffee and a delicious roulade. For a second time, I was impressed by how many books about women in history the gift shop has, which is even more than last time I was there. Of course, I had to buy some…
It’s brilliant to discuss upcoming figure design while in front of the actual pieces and, of course, feel the weight of different weapons. This all helps with the sculpting process to bring you these awesome-cool minis.
The Banner
Essential in Jeanne’s “kit” is the banner. She had several; important ones for us are the battle standard and the pennon. The battle standard was enormous and too unwieldy on foot, requiring a special saddle to prop it in. If we make a mounted version (I really want to, please buy loads of this to convince me!) we will use that for sure.
The pennon is the foot version, carried on a shorter pole and what she would have had to be mobile without her horse. With the mega battle standard, she wouldn’t be able to walk about.
When considering the pose, I figured that even though this is smaller, she would probably not be strong enough to hold it in the air one-handed, so it will be resting on the ground.
There’s always a debate between cast banner and wire spear with transfer/paper. I have mulled this over for A LONG TIME. Cost is a significant factor, with these minis being £5 each, a big wavy bit of metal adds to the cost considerably. They can also become really clunky. I really want people to have their own unique Jeanne banner, and not a generic 15th century knight, so considered the possibility of getting a transfer made, but this is hard to apply along folds and creases of something sculpted.
Then, I mucked about with a wire spear and the paper we use for leaflets which found it to be a perfect thickness. I never did understand applying transfers to paper, when you could just have the paper printed in the first place. This would be a better quality than standard printer paper as well. So it’s now escalated to pricing up what the cost of our own designed pennon AND battle standard would be, as we might as well do both simultaneously, right! That mounted figure is happening whether I like it or not, isn’t it… (ha I protest too much for sure).
“I love my banner best – oh, forty times more than the sword! Sometimes I carried it myself when I charged the enemy, to avoid killing any one.” – Jeanne during her Trial.
Armour
Several contemporary references to Jeanne being in “White Harness” armour exist. The white part means that it wasn’t embellished (Sorry Millais) and the harness part is that it is in many separate pieces. Jeanne was first given an “all in one” armour, then used some found Burgundian armour, and then was eventually commissioned this lovely piece by Charles VII. So that’s what I want to put her in.
It’s important to me that the pose is very much lifting the eyes upwards; Jeanne is holding the banner as high as she can so everyone can see, and she’s looking to the heavens for reassurance. These are all little signs that it is Jeanne d’Arc.
The hand-on-chest pose is used in several of the paintings and statues, and I appreciate the gentleness of it. However, in these, she is often shown bare-handed, I hope the gauntlets still have the same effect!
Something missing from my scribble is… The Holy Sword! That will be hanging from the scabbard, sheathed. Jeanne’s sword was the “Sword of St. Catherine”. A companion of Joan’s on the way to Orleans said, “I wanted to sharpen that old blade, but she said it was not necessary, as she should never kill anybody, and should carry it only as a symbol of authority.”
For the hair, we’re going for a shaggy bob, again to stand out more than a full “short back and sides”. This is one of the artistic decisions to make minis less literal sometimes, but not too far off reality – for example long flowing locks would be far off! A grown-out, super short hairdo is more justifiable.
I’m cutting this short as I feel like I’ve lived non-stop Jeanne for the last month and there is SO MUCH more I could write, but we’re nearing the end of the calendar year and I am sleepy, with more blog entries to complete!
The goal is to have these last two sculpted by the end of the week (ish) and then we can get voting on the next two between Christmas and New Year. Hooray!
Community Miniatures Project 