Joan of Arc (in French Jeanne d'Arc) was a young girl whose bravery and religious faith provided her with an extraordinary life...
and tragic early death.
Young Joan was sixteen years old when she witnessed visions of the divine, specifically of departed saints and
angels; these revelations persuaded her that she, an illiterate peasant girl, would command her nation's armies against the hated
English invaders in the ongoing Hundred Years' War.
This war had begun in 1337 as a dispute about who would ascend the French throne. The faction loyal to the English point of view were
known as the Burgundians; they, Vichy-like, fought against the loyal faction known as the Armagnacs. Henry V had invaded the mainland
to take advantage of the situation, and his victories - such as the legendary one at Agincourt - seemed assured to make him master of
France unless some sort of miracle occurred. At the time of Joan's youth, much of northern France had fallen to the English, who were
even then besieging the city of Orleans, the strongest of the nation's cities still loyal to the crown. It was widely felt that if
Orleans fell, all would be lost from the French point of view.
Enter Joan. Having had visions since the age of twelve (she was then sixteen), Joan came from the small village of Domremy (d'Arc was
actually her surname, not an indicator of place of birth), which at one time the Burgundians had burned to the ground, so there was
certainly no love lost there. She made her way to the nearby military garrison at Vaucouleurs, where she sought permission to visit
the royal court at Chinon. She got her wish after making a prediction about a military success, and made the journey to the court
disguised as a male for protection. During a private meeting, she must have greatly impressed the reigning Charles VII, for he agreed
to allow her to join a military expedition being planned to relieve the Orleans siege. Joan accompanied the French army with equipment
- horse, sword, armor, retainers, etc. - that had been donated to her, as she certainly could not afford such things herself.
Although Joan's precise role in the campaign is uncertain at this late date, she apparently did personally lead armies in the attack.
In the first week of May 1429, Joan led several attacks against English strongholds - often going against the wishes of the local
commander in charge of French forces, who tended to take a more cautious approach. These victories allowed her to be granted a greater
amount of command, and by mid-June the French had retaken several cities and delivered a particularly harsh and humiliating defeat at
the battle of Patay. Joan gained supporters in the French military because of her obvious bravery (she took an arrow to the shoulder
and a cannonball to the head, though she was wearing a helmet) and because, gosh darn it, they simply hadn't been winning until she
came along. The sight of the young girl in the too-big armor, holding the country's banner, inspired confidence. As the next few
months went by, town after town either capitulated after a harsh battle, or else gave up without a fight.
It all had to come to an end, of course. The following May, Joan was captured by Burgundian forces which had surrounded her army after
a battle, and she was imprisoned in a tower in the nearby town of Rouen. More dramatics ensued as Joan leaped from a tower window
to the soft earth below in one of her many escape attempts; she was unable to get away completely, however.
For political reasons, Joan was put on trial for heresy, beginning on January 9, 1431. The trial was mainly a sham - Joan was denied
proper legal counsel, and the court contained no one sympathetic to the French cause. Given the charges, the prosecutors tried to
entrap Joan in theological Catch-22's (as the Pharisees had done with Jesus) in order to get her to say something that would trip her
up. Joan didn't fall for it, to her further credit.
Joan d'Arc was executed on May 30th, burned at the stake. She asked for a crucifix to be held where she could see it and - again,
very Christ-like - she proclaimed her faith in God and the saints until the end. After death her body was exposed from the ashes, to
prove that she had indeed perished; then it was burned again, to destroy them as much as possible (lest they be turned into relics) and
finally dumped into the river. She was only about nineteen years old.
Joan became the heroine of a play by George Bernard Shaw and interest in her life and career were rekindled for modern audiences; in 1920
she was given sainthood. Periodically, movies are made about Joan and she is always played by a beautiful young woman (like, say,
actress Leelee Sobieski) - although no life portrait of her survives.
Ultimately, Joan of Arc remains a fascinating historical figure, and although perhaps not sufficiently 'weird' enough for this
Encyclopedia, her career contains enough tidbits to interest the seekers of the strange and unusual: her rise from illiterate peasant
to military conqueror and national hero; her religious visions, which provided her with the impetus to fight for her homeland; the
dramatic events of her career fighting her nation's enemies.
Although Joan of Arc's brief but magnificent life was taken several centuries ago, enough of the historical record exists to be
certain that she - unlike many of the fantastic characters in this Encyclopedia - really existed.
This war had begun in 1337 as a dispute about who would ascend the French throne. The faction loyal to the English point of view were
known as the Burgundians; they, Vichy-like, fought against the loyal faction known as the Armagnacs. Henry V had invaded the mainland
to take advantage of the situation, and his victories - such as the legendary one at Agincourt - seemed assured to make him master of
France unless some sort of miracle occurred. At the time of Joan's youth, much of northern France had fallen to the English, who were
even then besieging the city of Orleans, the strongest of the nation's cities still loyal to the crown. It was widely felt that if
Orleans fell, all would be lost from the French point of view.