Joan of Arc :: Essays Papers

Joan of Arc2 Joan of Arc is a French national heroine and France’s patron saint. She was born on June 6, 1412. Her nickname was The Maid of Orleans in honor of her victory against the British. She was the daughter of prosperous peasants Jacques Darc and Isabelle de Vouthon, who were farmers, from the village of Doremy in Lorraine, close to the border of the kingdom of France. During her childhood she tended her father’s herds in the fields and was taught religion and housekeeping skills from her mother. Joan was a simple, illiterate peasant girl. She started having visions and hearing voices around the age of 13. The voices were later identified as those of St. Gabriel, St. Michael, St. Marguerite, and St. Catherine. This made her believe that God wanted France to be free from the British. The voices first told her to cut her hair, dress in a man’s uniform, and join the military. Then they told her to go to the land of France, and to raise siege in the city of Orleans, then to come to the aid of the Dauphin forces, heir to the French throne, and the kingdom of France. She told the captain of the dauphin’s forces about the voices. Joan was given her own troops and the rank of captain. Her first triumph was to lead a French army against the English, who had invaded the city of Orleans. In May 1429 she led her troops in a victory in the Battle of Orleans. Joan rescued France from what could have been a defeat in the Hundred Years War. Joan continued fighting the enemy along the Loine River. King Charles VII (seventh) was crowned king on July 17, 1429. At his coronation Joan was given a place of honor next to the king. She was later ennobled for her services to the country. Her supporters believed she was divinely inspired and supported her. But others saw her as an agent of the devil and wanted her to be tried as a witch. Despite the people who didn’t believe her she still believed that her visions were sent from God. She was captured about May 23,1430 at Crecy by the Burgundians fighting on the English’s side. She was then sold to the English when her king did not ransom her. She was tried by an ecclesiastical court from January to May of the next year on charges of witchcraft and heresy.