News from our Facebook feed….
Joan of Arc, still getting backlash for cross-dressing 600 years later:
Faculty Defect From Texas Publics, Citing Censorship
www.insidehighered.com
Fed up with the state’s censoring of Plato, Joan of Arc and Romeo and Juliet, humanities professors are leaving Texas public institutions in pursuit of academic freedom.0 CommentsComment on Facebook
Our krewe is comprised of so many creatives and community collaborators, movers and shakers!
We applaud one of our newest krewe members, Constance Lewis of ArtSpan Nola, for dedicating her afternoon yesterday to the Faubourg Marigny Improvement Association’s community mural project! Here are some photos she captured of the magic happening on the flood wall at the intersection of N. Rampart St & Eylsian Fields Ave.
And—it’s happening again today!! Register to help between 12 noon and 6 pm!
faubourgmarigny.org/event-6642180
thefmia.org
#armyofartists
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Are there symbolic connections between Joan of Arc and unicorns? This guy thinks so:
kennethmichaelflorence.substack.com/p/unicorns-joan-of-arc-and-the-cultural
“Her story coincides with the epochal transition from the Medieval to the Modern era. Symbolically, she is, in effect, the “last knight.” Above I spoke about the unicorn as a symbol of the chivalric knight. The Maid of Orleans, both virgin and knight, is therefore both lady and unicorn. Her sword is the alicorn. Her execution — what befell her personally as a result of her sacrifice — is the unicorn’s death from the hunt. These are at least all connections that seem plausible to me.”The Musée de Cluny (the National Museum of the Middle Ages) in Paris is currently running a major exhibition called "Unicorns!" — open until July 12, 2026.
For centuries, people genuinely believed unicorn horns had healing powers and could neutralize poison. Royal families across Europe paid fortunes for objects they thought were made from unicorn horn. Scientists later confirmed those objects were narwhal tusks. Nobody at the time knew narwhals existed.
That gap between belief and reality is exactly what makes this exhibition so interesting. It brings together nearly 100 artworks and historical objects from major institutions including the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the Prado in Madrid, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, tracing how the unicorn moved through ancient myth, medieval religion, and royal symbolism for thousands of years.
The show is built around the Cluny's most famous possession: the "Lady and the Unicorn" tapestries, six medieval works from the early 1500s representing the five senses, plus a sixth panel titled "À mon seul désir" (To my only desire) whose meaning has never been fully explained.
The Musée de Cluny sits in the Latin Quarter, inside a 15th-century mansion built over Roman ruins. It is one of the most beautiful museum buildings in Paris and one of the least crowded.
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