In his second monographic publication, in which he addresses extraordinary phenomena in world history, Vladimír Liška focused on perhaps the most enigmatic figure of medieval Europe, whose fascinating fate is unparalleled – Joan of Arc, who rose from the lot of a poor village shepherdess to the highest elite of the French kingdom. It will forever remain an undeniable fact that this personality shone on the stage of world history like a meteor, only to later become a legend, a 'cursed saint,' whom the French still honor as their greatest national heroine, who possibly saved their country from definitive extinction. For the author, this is a par excellence mystery topic: How could a seventeen-year-old girl master knightly combat arts perfectly and stand at the head of an army? Are there clues that reveal her burning was staged and that the young martyr actually escaped the inquisitorial process? Who was Jana d'Armoises, who appeared five years after Joan's death? Historical question marks, the answers to which still complicate the position of official historians today, once again take on entirely original, provocative forms in the hands of our leading lay seeker of buried truths.
