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Lisieux and Pierre Cauchon... Joan of Arc's judge

Cauchon's recumbent figure | Giogo / CC-BY-SA
Cathedral Pierre Cauchon Saint-Pierre cathedral in Lisieux

Hey, come over here! Did you know we could see Pierre Cauchon's grave? The famous Cauchon, Joan of Arc's judge...

He also was bishop of Lisieux, and he rebuilt the chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Pierre Cauchon, before Lisieux, was bishop of Beauvais.

But he was quickly expelled from the city because he supported the Burgundians-English during the Hundred Years War. He was the chap who led Joan of Arc’s trial, with fury!

He finally sent her on the stake. Besides, Joan said, when she heard she was sentenced to death: ″Bishop, I die because of you.″

And after the Maid’s death, Cauchon became bishop of Lisieux in 1432, thanks to the English support (said the gossip)…

Just before his death, he raised this altar dedicated to the Virgin, in our cathedral. To expiate something? His responsibility in Joan’s death, maybe? He was buried next to the chapel in 1142.

Hey, he became the one who judged an innocent, the one who cooked up with the enemy! So the pope Calixte III excommunicated him in 1456 (they threw his bones in a dump)...

About the the author

Vinaigrette
I'm fond of strolls and History, with juicy and spicy details!