Joan of Arc (French: Jeanne d'Arc; Middle French: Jehanne Darc) was a famous French warrior and legendary folk heroine who lived from 1412 to 1431. A Patron Saint of France, she has been honored for her role in the battle of Orléans and her insistence on the coronation of Charles VII of France during the Hundred Year War. Claiming to be acting under divine guidance from God, she was a respected military leader who openly defied the traditional gender roles of the times and gained recognition as a Savior of France.
Born into a propertied peasant family at Domrémy at Northeast France, in 1428, she requested that she be taken to Charles VII, claiming that she had been hearing voices and receiving visions from the Archangel Michael, Saint Margaret, and Saint Catherine telling her that she was destined to help him save France from English domination. Convinced of her devotion and purity, Charles sent Joan, who was only seventeen years old, to the battle of Orléans as part of a relief army. She arrived at the city in April 1429, wielding a banner and bringing hope to the demoralized French army. Nine days into her arrival, the English abandoned the fight. Joan then encouraged the French to aggressively pursue the English during the Loire Campaign, which ended in another decisive victory at Patay, opening the way for the French armies to advance on Reims unopposed, where Charles was crowned as the King of France with Joan at his side. These victories helped boost French morale and paved the way for their final triumph in the Hundred Year War several decades later.
After Charles' coronation, Joan next participated in the unsuccessful battle of Paris in September 1429 and the failed battle of La Charité in November. Her role in these defeats significantly reduced the court's faith in her. In early 1430, Joan organized a company of volunteers to relieve Compiègne, which had been taken over by the Burgundians-French allies of the English. She was subsequently captured by Burgundian troops on the 23rd of May and after an unsuccessful escape attempt, was handed over to the English in November. She was placed on trial by the Bishop Pierre Cauchon on multiple accusations of heresy, which included the blasphemy of wearing men's clothes, acting upon visions which were deemed "demonic" in nature, and refusing to submit her words and deeds to the judgement of the church. She was declared guilty and burned alive at the stake on the 30th of May 1931 at the age of nineteen.
In 1456, an inquisitorial court started reinvestigating Joan's trial and ended up post-humorously overturning the verdict, declaring that it had been tainted by obvious deceit and procedural errors. Joan has since become revered as a martyr and viewed as an obedient daughter of the Roman Catholic Church, an early feminist, and a symbol of freedom and independence. After the French Revolution, she became a national symbol of France. In 1920, Joan of Arc was officially canonized by the Roman Catholic Church, and, two years later, was declared to be one of the Patron Saints of France. She has been portrayed in numerous cultural works, including literature, music, paintings, sculptures, and theater.
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