Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc stands as one of history's most extraordinary and enigmatic figures, a peasant girl who rose from absolute obscurity to become the savior of France and one of the most documented medieval personalities. Her story reads like an impossible fairy tale, yet every bizarre detail has been meticulously recorded by contemporary witnesses, making her one of the most thoroughly documented individuals of the pre-printing press era.

Born around 1412 in the tiny village of Domrémy-la-Pucelle in northeastern France, Joan entered a world torn apart by the Hundred Years' War with England. Her father, Jacques d'Arc, was a prosperous farmer who served as the local sergeant, earning respect throughout the village for his fairness and integrity. Her mother, Isabelle Romée, had completed the dangerous pilgrimage to Rome, an extraordinary feat for a medieval woman that demonstrated the family's deep religious devotion. Joan was reportedly the youngest of five children, growing up in a household where faith permeated every aspect of daily life.

The village of Domrémy occupied a precarious position on the border between territories loyal to the French crown and those supporting the English-backed Burgundians. Local residents lived under constant threat of invasion, with the saying that one could "wake up in a French village and become English by evening". This volatile environment shaped Joan's childhood, particularly after 1425 when English foot soldiers and their Burgundian allies attacked her village, setting fire to buildings, destroying crops, and forcing Joan's family to flee temporarily.

Joan's religious education came entirely from her mother, as she never learned to read or write. She later testified that "From my mother I learned 'Our Father,' 'Hail Mary,' and 'I believe.' And my teaching in my faith I had from her and no one else". Unlike other village children who played games after completing their chores, Joan consistently chose to attend church instead, often kneeling in prayer for extended periods and showing special devotion to the shrine of the Virgin Mary. Her friends teased her about her excessive churchgoing, but Joan remained undeterred, already displaying the stubborn independence that would later define her extraordinary career.

The first supernatural encounter that would change history occurred when Joan was thirteen years old, sometime around 1425. She was in her father's garden at midday during summer when she heard a voice coming from her right side, accompanied by a brilliant light. Initially overcome with fear, Joan gradually understood that the voice belonged to Saint Michael the Archangel, the protector of France. This celestial messenger was soon joined by Saint Catherine of Alexandria and Saint Margaret of Antioch, both virgin saints who had suffered persecution for their faith. The female saints appeared with "gentle, soft and low voices" and wore "most beautiful and most precious crowns".

These divine voices provided Joan with specific guidance, initially instructing her to "govern herself well and to go to church often". However, as the years passed, their commands became increasingly urgent and specific. The saints told Joan she must "go to France" to seek out the uncrowned King Charles VII and convince him to drive the English from French soil. For a poor peasant girl who knew nothing of "riding or fighting," this seemed an impossible task.

One of the most intriguing aspects of Joan's early visions involved prophecies that were already circulating throughout France. A prophecy attributed to Marie Robine of Avignon promised that an armed virgin would come forth to save France, while another attributed to Merlin stated that a virgin carrying a banner would end France's suffering. Joan skillfully positioned herself as the fulfillment of these prophecies, reminding those around her of the saying that "France would be destroyed by a woman but would be restored by a virgin".

After years of receiving these divine messages, Joan finally took action in May 1428, asking her uncle to escort her to the nearby garrison town of Vaucouleurs. There she petitioned the commander, Robert de Baudricourt, for an armed escort to reach the Dauphin Charles at Chinon. Baudricourt's initial response was dismissive and harsh – he refused her request and sent her home. Undeterred, Joan returned in January 1429, this time gaining the support of two soldiers, Jean de Metz and Bertrand de Poulengy, who were impressed by her sincerity and determination.

The journey to Chinon required traveling through enemy-occupied territory for eleven days, a dangerous undertaking that Joan accomplished while disguised in men's clothing. Upon arriving at the royal court, Joan faced a test that has become legendary, though the details have been embellished over time. According to later accounts, Charles VII attempted to trick Joan by having someone else sit on the throne while he mingled with the courtiers in disguise. Joan allegedly identified the true king immediately, though contemporary witness Raoul de Gaucourt's testimony suggests this dramatic scene may be largely fictional.

What truly impressed Charles VII was a private conversation during which Joan revealed some secret sign or knowledge that profoundly shook the young king. When later interrogators demanded to know what this sign was, Joan sarcastically replied that "the sign you need is for God to deliver me out of your hands, the most certain sign He could show you". Whatever Joan revealed to Charles, it convinced him to have her examined by theologians at the University of Poitiers, who concluded that "in her is found no evil, but only good, humility, virginity, devotion, honesty, simplicity".

One of Joan's most mysterious accomplishments involved acquiring her famous sword. Rather than accepting a weapon offered by Charles VII, Joan insisted that her voices had revealed the location of a special blade buried behind the altar at the church of Sainte-Catherine-de-Fierbois. She sent a letter to the parish priest describing exactly where to dig for a rusty sword bearing five crosses on its blade. The sword was found precisely where Joan had indicated, and when cleaned, the rust fell away with minimal effort. This incident so impressed contemporaries that legends immediately began circulating, with some claiming the blade had belonged to Charles Martel, grandfather of Charlemagne.

Joan's military career began with the siege of Orleans in April 1429, where she demonstrated not only courage but an uncanny ability to predict future events. On May 6, she prophesied that "tomorrow blood will flow from my body, above my breast". The next day, leading the assault on the English fortress of Les Tourelles, Joan was indeed struck in the shoulder by a crossbow bolt, exactly as she had foretold. Rather than retreating, she returned to battle, inspiring the French soldiers to capture the stronghold and lift the seven-month siege.

The rapidity of Joan's military successes defied all contemporary expectations. Within just four days of battle, she had broken a siege that had lasted seven months. Her presence transformed French military effectiveness not through superior tactics alone, but by restoring morale and imposing strict discipline. Unlike previous French armies, Joan's troops would neither charge nor retreat without orders. She eliminated the practices of swearing, fornication, and abuse of civilians that had previously characterized French military campaigns, convincing her soldiers that their past defeats resulted from having offended God.

Joan's ability to inspire extended beyond military matters into what contemporaries considered miraculous territory. Witnesses recorded numerous small but impressive incidents: she calmed horses with the sign of the cross, warned a soldier about his impending death after hearing him blaspheme, and told the Duke of Alençon to move moments before a cannonball killed someone in the exact spot where he had been standing. These seemingly minor predictions and interventions created an aura of supernatural protection around Joan that terrified her enemies.

Following the victory at Orleans, Joan's military campaign continued with remarkable success. Town after town along the Loire River fell to French forces, with some surrendering without battle upon learning of Joan's approach. By July 1429, Charles VII could finally be crowned King of France at Reims Cathedral, with Joan standing proudly beside him as he received the crown she had promised to win for him.

However, Joan's greatest triumph also marked the beginning of her downfall. The newly crowned king, Charles VII, proved disappointingly timid and preferred diplomatic negotiations to continued military action. Joan's bold counsel to press their advantage was ignored, and the royal court's enthusiasm for her mission waned now that the primary objective of Charles's coronation had been achieved.

Joan's capture on May 23, 1430, during a skirmish outside Compiègne resulted from her characteristically impetuous leadership style. While attempting to lead a retreat, she was surrounded by Burgundian soldiers and taken prisoner. Her captors quickly recognized the value of their prize and, after failed escape attempts by Joan, sold her to the English for the astronomical sum of 10,000 francs.

The English faced a unique problem with their famous prisoner. Joan's military successes had made her a symbol of French resistance, but simply executing her would likely create a martyr. Instead, they orchestrated an elaborate heresy trial designed to discredit both Joan and the king she had crowned by proving that her victories came from diabolic rather than divine sources.

The trial that began in Rouen on January 9, 1431, violated numerous legal procedures and demonstrated the predetermined nature of its outcome. Joan should have been held in a church-run prison and guarded by women, but instead remained in English military custody with male guards. The presiding judge, Pierre Cauchon, was a notorious English partisan who had been paid specifically to secure Joan's conviction.

Despite these disadvantages, Joan's performance during her trial was extraordinary. Contemporary witnesses noted how she controlled the proceedings, forcing her interrogators to ask questions sequentially rather than simultaneously and demonstrating remarkable wisdom in her responses. When asked the seemingly impossible question of whether she was in God's grace, Joan avoided the theological trap by replying that if she was not in God's grace, she hoped God would place her there, and if she was in God's grace, she hoped to remain so. This answer so impressed the court notaries that they later testified about their amazement at her quick thinking.

The trial's focus eventually narrowed to Joan's habit of wearing men's clothing, a practice that had practical origins but provided her enemies with a technically valid heresy charge. Joan wore male attire initially for protection during her dangerous journey to Chinon and later as military dress required by her role as a warrior. While imprisoned, she clung to men's clothing as protection against rape attempts by her guards, a necessity that medieval theologians like Thomas Aquinas had specifically recognized as justifiable.

The manipulation that led to Joan's final condemnation reveals the depths of her enemies' cynicism. After Joan temporarily agreed to wear women's clothing and signed an abjuration denying her visions, her guards immediately increased their attempts to assault her. According to multiple eyewitnesses, the guards finally removed her dress entirely and left only the forbidden male clothing in her cell, forcing her to choose between nudity and violating her agreement. When Joan reluctantly put on the men's clothing, judge Cauchon emerged from the prison exclaiming to the waiting English commanders, "Farewell, be of good cheer, it is done!"

Joan's execution on May 30, 1431, provided one final demonstration of her extraordinary character. She requested that a cross be held before her face during the burning, and when an English soldier fashioned a crude cross from two sticks, she pressed it to her lips and held it against her chest. She also clutched a professional crucifix throughout the ordeal, keeping her eyes fixed on it until the end. Her final words were reportedly the names of Jesus, Mary, and her saints.

The aftermath of Joan's execution proved that her enemies had fundamentally miscalculated. Rather than discrediting her legacy, her martyrdom inspired continued French resistance. Twenty-two years later, when the French had achieved final victory over the English, they successfully petitioned the Vatican for a rehabilitation trial. This exhaustive investigation, which interviewed everyone still alive who had known Joan, concluded that her original trial had been conducted through "deceit and errors" and posthumously cleared her name.

The rehabilitation trial testimonies provide an invaluable window into Joan's personality and impact on those around her. Witnesses consistently described her extraordinary piety, her genuine concern for the poor and sick, and her absolute fearlessness in battle. They also revealed the extent to which she had defied conventional gender expectations – not only by wearing armor and leading troops, but by maintaining complete authority over hardened military veterans through force of personality alone.

Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of Joan's story is how thoroughly it was documented by both her supporters and enemies. Her voices, her prophecies, her military strategies, her trial testimony, and even her private conversations were recorded by scribes, preserved in official documents, and corroborated by multiple witnesses. This unprecedented level of documentation for a medieval woman of humble origins reflects the extraordinary impact she had on everyone who encountered her.

Joan of Arc's transformation from an illiterate peasant girl to the savior of France occurred within the span of just two years, making her story one of the most compressed and dramatic character arcs in history. Her legacy extends far beyond her military accomplishments to encompass questions about faith, gender roles, political authority, and the power of individual conviction to change the course of nations. Whether viewed as a saint, a proto-feminist, a military genius, or simply an extraordinary young woman who refused to accept the limitations others placed on her, Joan of Arc remains one of history's most compelling and inspiring figures.

Her canonization as a saint by the Catholic Church in 1920 represented official recognition of what her contemporaries had already understood – that they had witnessed something truly miraculous in the person of the peasant girl who heard voices from God and changed the fate of France forever.