Joan of Arc, also known as “The Maid of Orléans”, was born in 1412 in Domrémy Bar, France ( Warner 21). Her father and his wife, Isabelle, also known as Romée were poor tenant farmers in Jacques d’ Arc (Warner 45). As a child, Joan was a responsible girl who never veered away from her home. She was disciplined in performing household chores and taking care of her parent’s livestock. Joan acquired virtue and domestic skills from her mother and when she was 18 years old, she became a national hero in France. (Pettegree 70) She led the French army to victory in a war against the English (Pettegree 34).
However, the English and their French collaborators captured Joan after a year and burned her at stake as a heretic. She was canonized as a Roman Catholic saint more than 500 years later, on May 16, 1920 (Warner 71). In 1415, King Henry V of England attacked France from the north. (Pettegree 76). After accomplishing a shattering conquest of French militaries, England increased the backing of Burgundians. The 1420 Treaty of Troyes, gave the French throne to Henry V as a substitute for the insane King Charles VI. Henry, who would then get the throne after Charles’s death. (Warner 13).
In 1422, both Henry and Charles died, leaving Henry’s newborn son as king of both realms (Warner 22). Joan of Arc started having mystical visions that encouraged her to lead a pious life. In May 1428, Joan’s visions instructed her to go to Vaucouleurs and talk to Robert de Baudricourt who was the garrison commander (Warner 2). At first, Baudricourt declined Joan’s appeal but she later received an endorsement from the villagers.
In 1429, Robert de Baudricourt conceded and gave her a horse and an escort of soldiers (Warner 44). Joan trimmed her hair and dressed in men’s clothes for her 11-day journey to the antagonist territory to Chinon, the site of Charles’s court. She exposed information of a fervent prayer Charles had made to God to protect France. The clergymen maintained that they found nothing inappropriate with Joan; but instead, they saw loyalty, integrity, and modesty.Finally, Charles gave the 17-year-old Joan of Arc armor plus a horse and certified her to go along with the army to Orléans; the situate of English siege (Foote?Smith and Bayne 814). Joan got injured, but later resumed to the front to encourage a final attack.
Although it seemed as though Charles had acknowledged Joan’s operation, he did not display full trust in her. During the spring of 1430, King Charles VII instructed Joan of Arc to continue antagonizing Burgundian assault (Pettegree 45). During the battle, she was fell off her horse and was left outside the town’s gates.
The Burgundians confined her for several months, discussing with the English, who saw her as a treasure. Finally, the Burgundians bartered Joan with 10,000 francs (Pettegree 23). Her actions were against the English, but church officials insisted on a trial as a heretic (Pettegree 18).Consequently, she was charged with 70 counts of witchcraft, unorthodoxy, and wearing male clothes.The hearing was held in public but later on in private when Joan of Arc ameliorated her accusers. Instead of being stuck in a church prison with nuns as guards, she was imprisoned in a military jail.
Although Joan was constantly faced with the danger of being raped, there is no record that it ever transpired. After Joan’s death, the war continued for another 22 years (Foote?Smith and Bayne 816). King Charles VII eventually reserved the crown and ordered an investigation that declared Joan of Arc blameless of charges and labeled her a martyr (Foote?Smith and Bayne 816).
She was canonized as a saint on May 16, 1920, and is still renowned as the backer saint of France (Warner 78). Joan’s life is significant in today’s society because she was able to make the army believe in her. She also helped lead them to victories that lifted the siege, which marked an intense turning point in the war. By helping to turn the war around, Joan of Arc was an essential figure in the Hundred Years’ War. Work citedPettegree, Andrew. The French book
