Some more potentially misremembered history. This from a guidebook while interrailing circa 1995.
(Excuse the quick succession of 2 poems. I’m lagging behind slightly and trying to catch up. This is officially day 78.)
_____
In Poitiers, France, A group of worthy matrons
Were charged with the task
Of checking Joan of Arc’s virginity.
If sexually active
She could legitimately be accused
Of congress with the devil.
An active horsewoman
I find it difficult to believe
That Joan’s hymen
Was still intact.
And yet
The matrons proclaimed her
Undoubtedly a maiden.
I like to think
They had her back.
Tom Juniper Poetry 