L’ancienne langue de Marc Graciano

This article seeks to identify, in the writing of Marc Graciano – primarily in Johanne – the various elements that trigger, for a linguist working on medieval texts, an unavoidable rapprochement with the language of that period. Three levels are thus examined : first, that of language proper, showing that Graciano employs linguistic features specific to Middle French while at the same time reinventing them, with the process of negation constituting the culminating point ; second, that of medieval culture, centered on the intercession of saints ; and finally, that of textual sources, particularly the trial records of Joan of Arc, indicating a demonstrable consultation of these materials by the author.