The Maid of Orleans

The Maiden of Orleans (French: La Pucelle d'Orléans) is a satirical poem by François-Marie Arouet, better known by his pen name, Voltaire. It was first properly published in 1899, but Voltaire had written it over a century beforehand; while he had started writing the text in 1730, he never fully completed it. It was translated into English by W. H. Ireland. Voltaire was undoubtedly one of the most controversial writers and philosophers of the Enl... more

The Maiden of Orleans (French: La Pucelle d'Orléans) is a satirical poem by François-Marie Arouet, better known by his pen name, Voltaire. It was first properly published in 1899, but Voltaire had written it over a century beforehand; while he had started writing the text in 1730, he never fully completed it. It was translated into English by W. H. Ireland. Voltaire was undoubtedly one of the most controversial writers and philosophers of the Enlightenment Age, and The Maid of Orleans was also certainly one of his more contentious works. An epic and scandalous satire concerning the life of the not-yet-canonised Joan of Arc ("the Maid of Orleans"), the poem was outlawed, burned and banned throughout a great portion of Europe during the 18th and 19th centuries. Containing mockery and satirical commentary on the life and antics of its subject, the poem itself has variously been described as "bawdy" and "licentious". Despite the often sexist and indecent contents of the text, its... less