Joan of Arc

(1412–31)

   Rebel and Saint.

   Joan was born in humble circumstances in Domrémy, France. From an early age she heard the voices of Saints michael, catherine and margaret, urging her to go to the rescue of France. At that stage, much of the country was occupied by the forces of the English King, who also claimed to be King of France. The French Dauphin, Charles, was convinced by her and, after being examined by theologians at Poitiers, she was allowed to lead the army. Here she was notably successful. She defeated the English at the siege of Orléans and, after clearing the route to Rheims, she encouraged the Dauphin to be crowned King in 1429. However, the following year she was captured by the Burgundians who sold her to the English. She was charged with witchcraft before the Bishop of Beauvais, and the guilty verdict was confirmed by the University of Paris. At the age of nineteen she was burnt at the stake in the marketplace of Rouen. Pope Callistus III ordered a retrial and she was found innocent in 1456. In 1920 she was canonised and she has become a French national heroine.

   R. Pernoud, Joan of Arc (1965);

   M. Warner, Joan of Arc and the Image of Female Heroism (1981).