“Jeanne D’Arc at Vaucouleurs” describes a crucial incident in the life of the French saint. On February 23, 1429, she was given permission by the local military commander, Robert de Baudricourt, to go to the French king, Charles VII, at Chinon. Although only 17, she had convinced Baudricourt of her powers through her successful prophecy of a French defeat just days before. This play, an outdoor production, was written by Will Hutchins, a teacher and painter at Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts. The year was 1909, and the critical success of the play – the local newspaper predicted that “these dramatics may come to have a large place in the life” of Deerfield, probably inspired the first Deerfield Pageant held the following year. The cast in the play, like those in the pageants, was almost entirely drawn from Deerfield residents, a group described as a “company of educated amateurs.”
Hutchins, Williams. Jeanne D’Arc At Vaucouleurs. August 2, 1909. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/l02-028/. Accessed on October 16, 2024.
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