Are You an Expert on Joan of Arc?

Joan of Arc: A Folk Heroine and Saint

• Joan of Arc is a patron saint of France, known for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronation of Charles VII of France during the Hundred Years' War.

• Joan was born to a peasant family in Domrémy, France, and claimed to be guided by visions from the archangel Michael, Saint Margaret, and Saint Catherine to help save France from English domination.

• Charles VII sent Joan to the siege of Orléans, where she arrived at the city in April 1429 and brought hope to the demoralized French army. Nine days after her arrival, the English abandoned the siege.

• Joan encouraged the French to pursue the English during the Loire Campaign, which culminated in another decisive victory at Patay, opening the way for the French army to advance on Reims unopposed, where Charles was crowned as the King of France with Joan at his side.

• After Charles's coronation, Joan participated in the unsuccessful siege of Paris in September 1429 and the failed siege of La Charité in November, which reduced the court's faith in her.

• In early 1430, Joan organized a company of volunteers to relieve Compiègne, which had been besieged by the Burgundians—French allies of the English. She was captured by Burgundian troops on 23 May and handed over to the English in November.

• Joan was put on trial by Bishop Pierre Cauchon on accusations of heresy, which included blaspheming by wearing men's clothes, acting upon demonic visions, and refusing to submit her words and deeds to the judgment of the church. She was declared guilty and burned at the stake on 30 May 1431, aged about nineteen.

• In 1456, an inquisitorial court overturned the verdict, declaring that it was tainted by deceit and procedural errors. Joan has been revered as a martyr, an obedient daughter of the Roman Catholic Church, an early feminist, and a symbol of freedom and independence.

• Joan was born during the Hundred Years' War between England and France, which had devastated France's economy and left it politically divided. Charles VI, the French king, was often unable to rule due to recurring bouts of mental illness.

• Joan had her first vision at the age of thirteen, and throughout her life, she had visions of St. Michael, St. Margaret, and St. Catherine, often when the church bells were rung.

• Joan wore men's clothes for the remainder of her life, and she referred to herself in letters as "Jeanne la Pucelle" (Joan the Maiden) or "la Pucelle" (the Maiden), emphasizing her virginity.

• Joan's arrival at Chinon raised the spirits of the demoralized Armagnac forces, inspiring devotion and the hope of divine assistance. Her belief in the divine origin of her mission turned the longstanding Anglo-French conflict over inheritance into a religious war.

• Before beginning the journey to Orléans, Joan dictated a letter to the Duke of Bedford warning him that she was sent by God to drive him out of France. She arrived at Orléans on 29 April 1429 and met the commander Jean de Dunois, the Bastard of Orléans.The Life and Trials of Joan of Arc

• Joan of Arc was initially treated as a figurehead to raise morale and was not given any formal command or included in military councils.

• Joan quickly gained the support of the Armagnac troops and frequently gave them a sense she was fighting for their salvation.

• After the Armagnacs went on the offensive, Joan's appearance rallied the soldiers, who attacked again and took the fortress.

• After the lifting of the siege of Orléans, prominent clergy wrote treatises in support of Joan, while the English saw her as possessed by the Devil.

• Joan insisted that the Armagnac forces should advance promptly toward Reims to crown the Dauphin.

• Joan's troops advanced to Lagny-sur-Marne and defeated an Anglo-Burgundian force but were forced to disband the majority of the army because it had become too difficult for the surrounding countryside to support.

• Joan was captured while attacking the Burgundian camp at Margny and was transferred to the Burgundian town of Arras.

• Joan was put on trial for heresy in Rouen on 9 January 1431, accused of having blasphemed by wearing men's clothes and acting upon demonic visions.

• Joan's captors downplayed the secular aspects of her trial by submitting her judgment to an ecclesiastical court, but the trial was politically motivated.

• The verdict of the trial was a foregone conclusion, and Joan's guilt could be used to compromise Charles's claims to legitimacy.

• During the trial, Joan showed great control and induced her interrogators to ask questions sequentially rather than simultaneously.

• Joan was eventually found guilty and burned at the stake on 30 May 1431, but her reputation as a heroine and martyr only grew in the centuries that followed.Joan of Arc was a French heroine who played a significant role in the Hundred Years' War between England and France. She was born in 1412 in Domrémy, France, and began having religious visions at the age of 13. She believed these visions were divine instructions to help Charles VII become the rightful king of France. She convinced Charles to let her lead the French army against the English, and she won several important battles. However, she was eventually captured by the English, tried for heresy and burned at the stake at the age of 19. After her death, she became a symbol of French unity and a national heroine. Her rehabilitation trial, held 25 years after her death, found that her original trial was unjust and deceitful, and her execution and its consequences were nullified. In 1920, she was canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church.Title: The Legacy of Joan of Arc

• Joan of Arc was a heroine of the Hundred Years' War who led the French army to several victories, and was later captured, tried, and burned at the stake for heresy.

• Joan of Arc's story has been the subject of numerous artistic and cultural works for many centuries, inspiring novels, plays, poems, operas, films, paintings, and popular culture across the world.

• Joan of Arc is a symbol of French nationalism and has been used by the entire spectrum of French politics as an important reference in political dialogue about French identity and unity.

• Joan of Arc is a saint in the Roman Catholic Church, and was viewed as a religious figure in Orléans after the siege was lifted. She was beatified by Pope Pius X in 1909, and canonized on 16 May 1920 by Pope Benedict XV.

• Joan of Arc is remembered as a visionary in the Church of England, and is revered in the pantheon of the Cao Dai religion.

• While Joan was alive, she was already being compared to biblical women heroes, such as Esther, Judith, and Deborah.

• Joan has been described as a model of an autonomous woman who challenged traditions of masculinity and femininity to be heard as an individual in a patriarchal culture.

• Joan fulfilled the traditionally male role of a military leader, while maintaining her status as a valiant woman. Merging qualities associated with both genders, Joan has inspired numerous artistic and cultural works for many centuries.

• In the nineteenth century, hundreds of works of art about Joan of Arc—including biographies, plays, and musical scores—were created in France, and her story became popular as an artistic subject in Europe and North America.

• Joan of Arc's association with the monarchy and national liberation has made her a symbol for the French far right, including the monarchist movement Action Française and the National Front Party.

• Joan of Arc's legacy has become global, and her image has been used in advertising, computer games, comics, and popular culture across the world.

• Joan of Arc's feast day is 30 May, the anniversary of her execution, and she is remembered as a model of courage, conviction, and faith.