JEAN LE LOUP
(fl. early 13th c.). Jean Le Loup served as master mason of Reims cathedral for sixteen
years. Several scholars have proposed him as the first of the Reims architects (1211–27),
while others have situated his activity in the 1230s and 1240s. Two of the transcriptions
of the cathedral labyrinth add that Jean began the portals—but do they refer to the north
transept or an early version of the west façade? In the absence of further information,
Jean Le Loup, like his fellow masters at Reims Gaucher de Reims and Adam, must
remain a name without an identifiable œuvre.
Michael T.Davis
[See also: GAUCHER DE REIMS; JEAN D’ORBAIS; REIMS]
Branner, Robert. “The Labyrinth of Reims Cathedral” Journal of the Society of Architectural
Historians 31(1962):18–25.
Panofsky, Erwin. “Über die Reihenfolge der vier Meister von Reims.” Jahrbuch far
Kunstwissenschaft (1927):55–82.
Reinhardt, Hans. La cathédrale de Reims: son histoire, son architecture, sa sculpture, ses vitraux.
Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1963.
Savy, Paul. “Les étapes de la cathédrale de Reims du XIIIe siècle.” Travaux de l’Académie
Nationale de Reims 154(1956):47–63.
JEAN RENART
. See REALISTIC ROMANCES
JEANNE D’ARC
(ca. 1412–1431). The most heroic of France’s saints, Jeanne d’Arc was born to a peasant
family in Lorraine. At thirteen, Jeanne began hearing the “voices” (of SS. Michael,
Catherine, and Margaret) that inspired her. In February 1429, she persuaded a Valois
captain to provide an escort for her dangerous journey to the court of Charles VII. At
Chinon, Jeanne convinced the king of her divine mission to defeat the English and to
assist at his overdue coronation. After formal inquiry into her orthodoxy and chastity, she
was given a commanding role in a relief force for Orléans and led reinforcements into the
besieged city on April 29. She inspired counterattacks that compelled the English to
abandon the siege on May 8. A month later, her army’s decisive victory at Patay ensured
Valois control over the Loire Valley and destroyed the myth of English invincibility. The
subsequent campaign that brought Charles to Reims for a triumphant coronation on July
17 was the high point of Jeanne’s meteoric career.
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