Editing Saint Joan of Arc (Jeanne la Pucelle)/Saving Catholicism (section)

=== Intercession of Saints Charlemagne & Louis ===
When Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne ''Imperator Romanorum'' (emperor of the Romans) in 800, he crowned the Frankish king Charles (Carolus, Karlus) king of western Christianity, creating what would later become the Holy Roman Empire. In submitting as vassal to the Pope, Charlemagne legitimized both his own rule and that of Roman Catholicism across his empire.<ref>which is why his reign is considered the precursor to the Holy Roman Empire</ref> Among the religious legacies of Charlemagne was the practice of the laity of memorizing and reciting the Our Father prayer and the Apostle's Creed with the ''filioque''<ref>''filioque'' means "and the son" and is spoken in the Nicene Creed's "I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son"  The ''filioque'' marks a theological division between the Eastern and Western Churches (which Charlemagne's coronation itself propelled, as his empire challenged Byzantine power). The ''filioque'' was traditionally used and was formally added to the Roman Rite in 1014.</ref> and the traditional singing of "Noel" at coronations in honor of Charlemagne's coronation by the Pope on Christmas Day.  

Saint Louis was the French king Louis IX (reigned 1226-1270). Crowned at Rheims,<ref>or Reims. I'm using "Rheims" because medieval French speakers liked their H's. I'm just speculating, but it's possible that the H in Rheims was aspirated, i.e. pronounced, so perhaps the dropped H marks a change in the pronunciation of the city's name.  "Rheims" is the English (England) spelling, as seen by the "Douai-Rheims Bible." The French language Wikipedia entry on Reims ([https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reims here]) notes that "Rheims" is "orthographe ancienne".</ref> he ruled as a devout and pious Christian to such extent that he was canonized not long after his death. Louis' reign was marked by consistent protection of the clergy and Church from secular rule and strict allegiance to the papacy.<ref>From [https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09368a.htm CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: St. Louis IX]

"St. Louis's relations with the Church of France and the papal Court have excited widely divergent interpretations and opinions. However, all historians agree that St. Louis and the successive popes united to protect the clergy of France from the encroachments or molestations of the barons and royal officers. </ref> He is considered the quintessential "Christian" -- but more correctly, Catholic, king.<ref>It was Saint Louis who acquired the Crown of Thorns. He got it from the Emperor of Constantinople in exchange for paying off the emperor's tremendous debt of135,000 livres to a Venetian merchant. In an exemplary Christian act, Louis IX fined the Lord of Coucy 12,000 livers (a lot!) for hanging three poachers and had part of the money dedicated to Masses in perpetuity for the souls of the Count's three victims. </ref> As for historical context regarding Joan, in 1259 he consolidated French rule over Normandy at the Treaty of Paris with English King Henry III. Some historians attribute Louis' concession of Duchy of Guyenne to the English under French vassalage to the outbreak of the Hundred Years War, but there is no direct causality to make that connection, and even if there was any unfinished business Louis preferred settlement over continued war.<ref>A few years before, 1258, Louis settled a dispute with the King of Aragon by trading respective feudal lordship over regions in Spain and France.  As to the treaty with the English, French historian  Édouard Perroy argued that the vassal status of English lands negotiated in the Treaty of Paris was unsustainable and caused discontent and instability that led to the Hundred Years War. Maybe. Here from the [https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09368a.htm CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: St. Louis IX]

"It was generally considered and Joinville voiced the opinion of the people, that St. Louis made too many territorial concessions to Henry III; and many historians held that if, on the contrary, St. Louis had carried the war against Henry III further, the Hundred Years War would have been averted. But St. Louis considered that by making the Duchy of Guyenne a fief of the Crown of France he was gaining a moral advantage; and it is an undoubted fact that the Treaty of Paris, was as displeasing to the English as it was to the French."</ref>

If Joan's mission was to save France, Philip II (reigned 1165-1223) would have been the better intercessor, not Charlemagne or his grandson St. Louis, for Charlemagne's empire extended across Germany, and while Saint Louis extended French sovereignty, it was Philip who created the modern France that Joan defended.<ref>or Charles V who recovered much of France in the second phase of the Hundred Years War in the 1370s.</ref> Philip, in fact was the first to declare himself "King of France." Now, Philip was no Saint, as they say, so in Saints Charlemagne and Louis IX, perhaps Joan was appealing more to the Roman Catholic France than to the territorial one. Or, in that Joan's exhortation to the Bastard was about Orléans and not France, perhaps "the prayer of St. Louis and of St. Charlemagne" was just for the city. But Orléans was the key to it all, as so went Orléans, so went France -- and, ultimately, French Catholicism. 

The French King Charles V (reigned 1364-1380), who considered himself the fifth "Charles" of France,<ref>There were six, actually.</ref> promoted veneration of Charlemagne, including to dedicate a chapel to him at St. Denis with an elaborate reliquary, which treated him like a saint. The city of Rheims maintained a cult of Charlemagne and actively supported his canonization by the antipope Paschall III in 1165.<ref>The Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I, or Barbarossa (reigned 1155-1190), orchestrated the canonization of Charlemagne at Aachen in Germany under the antipope Paschal III. Holy Roman Emperors had a bit of a habit of  appointing antipopes (popes in their eyes), which asserted their power and that of their supporting bishops. With his long reign, Barbarossa backed four antipopes to oppose Pope Alexander III (1159-1181), but he was unable to outmaneuver Alexander, who gained the upper hand when kings of England, France and Hungry backed him, largely by way of contesting Holy Roman Empire's hold on Italy. (Alexander III spent most of his papacy outside of Rome.) Barbarossa capitulated after his forces were defeated by the Lombard League, which supported Alexander, at the  Battle of Legnano in northern Italy in 1176. Alexander consolidated his papal rule at the Third Council of Lateran in 1179, which formally brought an end to the schisms.</ref> 

>> fix < here? >> After resolving the 12th century schism of antipopes aligned with the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick I ("Barbarossa"), Pope Alexander III annulled their papal acts, which included the canonization of Charlemagne.<ref>Pope Alexander III nullified the acts of Barbarossa's antipopes, including that of Paschall III to canonize Charlemagne. Alexander also forced the English Henry II into a year of penitence for the murder of Samuel Becket, who was canonized by Alexander shortly after his death in 1170. </ref> 

We can't say that it was of regional tradition or a remnant of the revoked canonization that Joan invoked, but we do know that when referring to "Saint Charlemagne" prior to Orléans, Joan was under the guidance of her voices. She invoked their names for a reason.