Amid the bloodshed of the Hundred Years' War in the 14th and 15th centuries rose a figure who seems as much of a shadowy legend as King Arthur, but was very much a real person. Somehow, an illiterate teenage woman not only convinced the dauphin of France that she was sent by divine forces to place him on the throne, but also actually helped achieve exactly that, by spurring royal forces to a string of victories despite not having a shred of military training.
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While most everyone knows the name Joan of Arc, few know more than the vague outlines of her accomplishments from a distant era. Here's a look at her remarkable life story, from its humble beginnings to its troubled conclusion and her reemergence as one of history’s most celebrated figures.
Joan of Arc was born around 1412 in Domrémy, a village in northeastern France that sat in disputed territory between subjects loyal to Henry VI of England and those devoted to Charles of Valois, the dauphin of France, and the Burgundians loyal to the Duke of Burgundy and Henry VI of England. The daughter of a tenant farmer father and a devout Catholic mother, Joan learned the skills of a shepherdess and absorbed the teachings of the church. At around age 13, she began hearing what she determined to be the voices of St. Michael the Archangel, St. Margaret of Antioch, and St. Catherine of Alexandria. These voices initially told her to live piously, but eventually provided more explicit instructions that she was to see the dauphin Charles crowned the rightful king of France.
A few years later, Joan sought to gain an audience with Charles by meeting with intermediaries at the nearby stronghold of Vaucouleurs. Initially rejected, she eventually convinced the garrison captain of her divine inspiration. In February 1429, Joan cut off her hair and donned men's clothing to make an 11-day journey with an armed escort to the dauphin's castle in Chinon, France.
Unsure of what to make of this peasant girl who was rumored to be the prophesied virginwho would save France, Charles devised a test in which he disguised himself and blended in with the 300 courtiers gathered at his castle. Not fooled, Joan quickly picked him out from the crowd, and allegedly relayed surprising knowledge of private information about the dauphin. Following further questioning by trusted church authorities, Charles agreed to make use of her passion for his military campaigns.
In late April 1429, Joan traveled with a French army to the city of Orléans, which had been under siege by Anglo-Burgundian forces since the previous October. After successfully attacking surrounding forts, the French side turned to the besieged city, with Joan a conspicuous presence in her white armor. Although she never actually took up arms, Joan outlined strategies and served as a motivational figure by standing near the fighting, exhorting the men as she waved her banner. Recovering from an arrow to the shoulder, she claimed triumph when the siege was lifted on May 8.
While Charles' advisors urged him to take the fighting to Normandy, Joan instead convinced the dauphin to travel to Reims, the traditional site for the investiture of French royalty. That meant clearing a path through the heavily fortified Anglo-Burgundian Loire Valley, where Joan continued to turn the tide of the war by pushing French forces through skirmishes at Jargeau, Meung-sur-Loire, and Beaugency.
On July 17, 1429, Joan saw her mission fulfilled when the dauphin was crowned King Charles VII at Reims. However, Charles neglected to immediately take up Joan's advice that they seize the momentum and march on Paris, which gave the city’s pro-Henry forces time to fortify their position. By the time Charles finally sent Joan and his army to Paris in September, they were unable to penetrate the city’s defenses.
Following the end of a temporary truce for territories north of the river Seine, Joan led efforts to dismantle a Burgundian siege of Compiègne in May 1430. However, she was thrown from her horse amid the fighting and stranded as the town gates closed. Her attempts to escape confinement failed, and she was sold to the English for 10,000 francs, with Charles VII making little effort to intervene.
The highly publicized trial of Joan of Arc began in Rouen, Normandy, on January 9, 1431. Over the course of six public and nine private examinations, she deftly answered questions from the ecclesiastic interrogators about her divine guiding voices, her obedience to the church, and her penchant for wearing men's clothing. Although most of the original 70 articles of accusation were dropped, the judges ultimately settled on 12 charges of heresy.
Faced with the prospect of execution, Joan initially abjured her claims to earn a reduced sentence of life imprisonment. However, she recanted her abjuration after being found wearing men's clothes again a few days later, and was declared a relapsed heretic. On May 30, 1431, Joan was led to the Rouen town square and tied to a pyre, where she gazed at a crucifix held high as flames engulfed her body.
After Rouen fell into French hands in 1449, Charles VII ordered an examination of the records that documented Joan's legal proceedings. The investigation eventually reached Rome, with Pope Callixtus III consenting to a rehabilitation trial for the deceased Joan. On July 7, 1456, after it was found that the original trial had violated church law, Joan's sentence was formally annulled.
While the exoneration made Joan a martyr, it would be another four centuries before the Maid of Orléans, as she became known, underwent another round of rehabilitation that propelled her to mythical status. Following the call for her canonization by Bishop Dupanloup of Orléans, Joan of Arc was beatified by Pope Pius X in 1909, and declared a saint by Pope Benedict XV in 1920. Meanwhile, she became a symbol of French nationalism during the Franco-Prussian War, an image that carried through the country's involvement in both world wars of the 20th century.
Today, along with her place among the holy figures of the Catholic Church, Joan of Arc is recognized as a patron saint of France, soldiers, prisoners, and those ridiculed for their faith. She is honored with celebrations such as the St. Joan of Arc Feast Day, and continues to be memorialized in art, literature, and music.
Given the magnitude of her accomplishments before reaching adulthood, and her devotion to her ideals until the very end, it’s easy to see why Joan of Arc remains a source of inspiration more than 600 years after she first swore allegiance to the uncrowned king of a fractured land.
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