Guillaume d'Estouteville was a French aristocrat of royal blood who became a leading bishop and cardinal. He held a number of Church offices simultaneously. He conducted the reexamination of the case of Jeanne d'Arc and exonerated her of the charges against her. He reformed the Statutes of the University of Paris. In Rome he became one of the most influential members of the Curia, as the official Protector of France in church business. Pope Sixtus IV appointed him Chamberlain of the Holy Roman Church (Camerlengo). His great wealth allowed him to be a generous patron of the arts, especially in the building and adornment of churches.
Guillaume d'Estouteville
Bust of Guillaume d'Estouteville done shortly after his death by Mino da Fiesole, Metropolitan Museum, New York City
Tomb of Saint Monica (S. Agostino)
Joan of Arc is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronation of Charles VII of France during the Hundred Years' War. Claiming to be acting under divine guidance, she became a military leader who transcended gender roles and gained recognition as a savior of France.
Historiated initial depicting Joan of Arc
France, 1429 Controlled by Henry VI of England Controlled by Philip III of Burgundy Controlled by Charles VII of France
Charles VII of France by Jean Fouquet (c. 1444, Louvre, Paris)
Joan of Arc enters Orléans by Jean-Jacques Scherrer (1887, Musée des Beaux-Arts d'Orléans)