The dawn of the fifteenth century revealed a pitiful state of affairs in France, as rival princes quarreled over the crown, and the powerful English controlled vast amounts of the kingdom. By 1415, the Hundred Years’ War was back in full swing, and the French suffered terrible losses.
In 1412, a peasant girl was born in the village of Domremy in France. Her name was Joan. As she grew older, she learned about her country’s troubles and became quite distressed over them. She believed that she heard saints and angels telling her that she must save France from the English and help Dauphin Charles be crowned king.
At first, everyone was skeptical about Joan’s visions, but as she continued to have them, people began to believe her. Joan didn’t want to fight, but she believed that God was calling her to save her country. At age 17, she traveled to Chinon, where Dauphin Charles, the uncrowned king of France, lived.
Orleans was an important French city that was under siege by the English. If it fell, it would be almost impossible for the French to win the war.
Joan of Arc told Charles about her visions, and she said that she would lead the French to break the siege of Orleans, and then Charles would be crowned in Reims. Charles considered her claims and decided to give her a chance, and in April 1429, Joan headed to Orleans with 5000 soldiers.
The French quickly and miraculously defeated the English at Orleans, and Joan became known as the “Maid of Orleans.” Both English and French believed she had supernatural powers. She led her soldiers in several more battles, and they were invincible, defeating the English again and again. Soon the French controlled Reims, and Charles traveled there, where he was crowned King Charles VII of France.
Joan considered her mission done now that Charles was crowned and the French had the advantage. She said she no longer heard voices or had visions, and she asked Charles if she could go home. However, the war wasn’t over yet, and Charles was able to convince Joan to stay with the French army a little while longer.
Joan led her soldiers against the Duke of Burgundy, a French noble who had sided with the English. She had never before been defeated, but the Duke of Burgundy captured her. He then sold her to the English, who imprisoned her in Rouen.
Many months passed, but eventually the English charged her with witchcraft and sorcery, and held a trial. At the trial, she was condemned to be burnt at the stake.
In May 1431, Joan of Arc was burnt at the stake in the marketplace of Rouen. Sadly, King Charles did nothing to try to save the girl he owed so much to.
Although Joan of Arc was dead, her energy lived on in the French army, and, although the war dragged on for many more years, the French finally pushed the English out of France, and the Hundred Years’ War ended in 1453 when the French took Bordeaux back from the English.
Joan lived only 19 years, but she had a profound impact on the history of France, Europe and the world, and is now regarded as one of the great heroes of the Middle Ages. Joan of Arc, the Maid of Orleans, only lived 19 years on this earth, but her legacy has lived on for hundreds of years.
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