The return of Joan of Arc's ring
The ring of Joan of Arc acquired by Puy du Fou Foundation on February 26 during an auction held in London returns to France today.
Today, Nicolas De Villiers brought back to France the ring of St. Joan of Arc 600 years after the French heroine was burned at the stake!
At the end of December 2015, Timeline Auctions announced that a 15th-century ring believed to have been owned by Joan of Arc would be auctioned in London.
It was only on February 24 that Philippe de Villiers, founder of Puy du Fou Foundation, became aware that the precious relic would be auctioned on February 26.
The ring matches the description, revealed in transcripts, given by St. Joan of Arc herself during her trial. She said it had the inscription "Jhesus Maria" as well as three crosses, and was made from either gold or brass. She also said it was on her hand when she touched St. Catherine, who appeared before her in a vision.
Accused of using her ring for witchcraft, she was stripped of this gift of her parents before being burned alive as a heretic and a witch. Cauchon, her innocuous judge, gave it or sold it to English Cardinal Henry Beaufort after her death. Since then and for 600 years, the ring has been in England.
It was passed on through generations and eventually to Lady Ottoline Morrell, who gifted it to painter Augustus John. He sold the ring in 1914 to a keeper of the Royal Armouries and it was eventually acquired by a gentleman of Essex in England.
Nicolas De Villiers, president of Puy du Fou, was informed by his father Phillipe that the price would be high.
Puy du Fou Foundation… was able to come with 80,000 euros ($87,500) but no more. We made an appeal to donors and we were able to gather 350.000 ($383,000)” in 36 hours."
The bidding began at $20,800, but the sale was eventually decided for $413,000 by the French Foundation.
In a very British way,Timeline Auctions commented: “The ring returns to France."
Nicolas de Villiers today received the relic set in an antique oak casket and brought it back to France. An official ceremony to celebrate the historical return will be hold at Puy du Fou on March 20. The ring will be on public display in a dedicated place of the park in order to be seen and venerated by all visitors.
The return of St. John of Arc’s relic means a lot for many in the invasion that France is facing today. St. John of Arc had received from heaven the mission of driving the enemy out of France and of bringing the Dauphin to Reims for his coronation. May the Puy du Fou, by resurrecting this page of history through one of its shows, bring back hope and faith for the needed social Kingship of Jesus Christ over France and all nations.
Sources: Le Figaro | New York Daily News
Puy du Fou is a theme park which started in 1977 by then 26-year old Philippe de Villiers. With his friend Jean St. Bris, he created a park in the ruins of an old castle in the village of Les Epesses near Cholet, in the heart of the historical Vendee region. The original show tells the story of a local family from the 14th century to the World War II, celebrating in particular the Vendee resistance to the French Republic during the French Revolution. Today Puy du Fou is more than a show. It is a park with different attractions relating stories of different history era: Middle Age knights, Vikings, Roman gladiators, Richelieu Musketeers and more.
