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Joan of Arc

© MIchelle Munro

Joan of Arc's actions made her a saint. Her death made her a legend. The girl who would later lead the resistance to the English invasion of France during the Hundred Year's War was born on January 6, 1412 in Domremy, a town bordering the provinces of Champagne and Lorraine in France. Though considered peasants, her parents were wealthier than most of their neighbors and owned their own parcel of land.

She spent her childhood tending the herds on her father, Jacques d'Arc's farm and learning religion and housekeeping skills from her mother, Isabelle. The forth of five children, Joan was a quiet and serious girl, whose only act of disobedience was to run off to visit a local church or shrine. Her religious devotion was so strong that she was often subject to teasing by other children.

Around the age of twelve, Joan began hearing the "voices" of Saint Michael, Saint Catherine and Saint Margaret. At first they told her just to pray often, but in 1429 they told her that her mission in life was to free her country from the English and to help the Dauphin, Charles VII, gain the French throne. She was commanded to cut her hair, dress as a man and pick up the arms.

By this time, Paris and all of France north of the Loire River was occupied by the English. Lack of leadership and a sense of hopelessness kept the resistance minimal. Henry VI of England laid claim to the French throne. Joan had the difficult task of convincing the captain of Charles VII's forces, and later Charles VII himself, of her calling. In March 1429, after passing an examination given by church scholars at Poitiers, she was given her own troops as well as the rank of captain.

Joan was a talented and moral leader. She believed her men should only fight on Sundays if it was a matter of self-defense. She frowned on the use of obscenities by her soldiers and drove prostitutes away. Once, she used the flat of a sword to beat a prostitute who was following her army.

On May 8, 1429, Joan led her troops to a miraculous victory at the Battle of Orleans, which earned her the name "Maid of Orleans." She then continued fighting in other locations along the Loire. Her troops were so feared that by the time she approached Lord Talbot's English army at Patay on June 18, most of Talbot's men fled the battlefield along with their commander, Sir John Fastolfe. Fastolfe's cowardice later caused him to be stripped of his Order of the Garter. Talbot stood his ground, but ultimately lost the battle, along with 1800 soldiers. He was captured along with 100 English noblemen.