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Secondary sourceArtifact21 April 1786

Fountain on the Site of Joan of Arc's Execution

James Basire · 21 April 1786

An engraving of a memorial fountain built in Rouen to mark the spot where Joan of Arc was executed.

This later memorial marks the exact site in Rouen where Joan of Arc was executed, showing how she was remembered.

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Engraved plate titled Vol II Pl XXXVIII showing an elevation of a tall, ornate Gothic-style fountain with classical columns, statues, and a sculpted figure, above a plan diagram of its circular and triangular base. Caption below names Rouen and the Maid of Orleans, burnt 1430.
James Basire, engraving of a fountain erected on the site of Joan of Arc's execution, Rouen, 1786. Wellcome Collection, London.

About this source

What it is

This is an engraved print made by James Basire in 1786. It shows a tall, ornate Gothic-style fountain decorated with columns and statues, built on the site in Rouen where Joan of Arc was executed. Below the elevation drawing is a plan of the fountain's base. It is held today by the Wellcome Collection in London.

Why it matters

The fountain was built centuries after Joan of Arc's death to remember the place where she died. The engraving shows how later generations wanted to mark and honour her memory, long before she became a saint. It is a secondary source made long after her lifetime, reflecting how Joan was remembered in the 1700s rather than how she actually looked or lived.

Look closer

  • Why might people build a grand monument on the site of an execution?
  • What does the style of the fountain tell you about how Joan of Arc was viewed at the time it was built?
  • What does this image not tell you about Joan of Arc's actual life or trial?

This artifact is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Joan of Arc on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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