of Saint Maurice The church of Saint Maurice is the parish church of the town, going thru several architectural evolutions. The oldest portion, the bell tower, is Romanesque, dating from the beginning of the 12th century. The nave and the choir both date from the end of the 12th century or beginning of the 13th, with Angevin Gothic style vaults. This style can be found in the Angevin territories, but not restricted to them. The vault is fairly bulbous in form, marked by very ornate sculptured and painted vault bosses, at the junction of the ribs and the capitols at the rib springs. A chapel from the 15th and a side aisle from the early 16th century mark the transition from Flamboyant Gothic to Renaissance architecture. The church was repainted in the 19th century, inspired by the restoration of the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, and received new stained glass windows commissioned from the Atelier Lobin in Tours. The church of Saint Maurice is the most likely location of Joan of Arc's prayer, while in Chinon in 1429. Church of Saint Étienne The church of Saint Etienne, or Saint Stephen in English, is the parish church of the eastern quarter, not far from the collegiate church of Saint Mexme. It was completely reconstructed in the Flamboyant Gothic style, with the exception of the lower portion of the bell tower, in the 15th century. It has a large single aisle covered by ribbed vaults. The apse contains stained glass windows depicting scenes of religious importance in Chinon and the surrounding regions: the meeting of Queen and future Saint Radegonde and Saint John of Chinon in the 6th century; the miracle of Saint Mexme saving Chinon from a siege with a rain and thunder storm in the 5th century; the death of Martin of Tours in Candes-Saint-Martin in 397; and the meeting of Joan of Arc and the future Charles VII in 1429. They were produced on commission by the Atelier Lobin in Tours in the 19th century. It also houses the first statue of Joan of Arc in a church, placed there in 1900, two decades before her canonization. Notable people Radegonde of Valois (ca.1425-1445), a French princess, eldest daughter of King Charles VII of France and Marie of Anjou. She was betrothed to Sigismund, Archduke of Austria. François Rabelais (ca.1493–1553), was a major French Renaissance writer, doctor, Renaissance humanist, monk and Greek