Each May the good burghers of Orléans celebrate the city’s delivery from a long siege in 1429 with the help of Joan of Arc by means of a festival that has already taken place on 577 previous occasions, surely itself a record.

   

For four days the city hosts a medieval market of 130 stalls, with spit-roasts and mead, great trenchers of bread and ham, minstrels and troubadours, tiny jugglers and huge jugs of ale. Knights on horseback compete in the lists for the favour of a noble lady. Craftsmen recreate the quality goods of the fifteenth century, including surprisingly comfortable wooden-soled shoes, superb enamels, silver bracelets, gold necklaces and rings. Replicas of some of the dresses then worn by high society during the evenings may test the nerve of the boldest modern girl, as they lifted the breasts but did little or nothing to cover them from appreciative eyes.

   

A son et lumière at Orléans Cathedral provides a dramatic backdrop to the occasion and the festival ends with a huge firework display as the city pays homage to its patron saint.

 www.fetesjeannedarc.fr