short essay on joan of arc

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Joan of Arc

By: History.com Editors

Updated: July 13, 2022 | Original: November 9, 2009

Joan of Arc, a pious peasant in medieval France, believed that God had chosen her to lead France to victory in its long-running war with England. With no military training, Joan convinced crown prince Charles of Valois to allow her to lead a French army to the besieged city of Orléans, where they achieved a stunning victory. After seeing the prince crowned King Charles VII, Joan was captured by enemy forces, tried for witchcraft and burned at the stake at the age of 19. By the time she was canonized in 1920, Joan of Arc was considered one of history’s greatest martyrs, and the patron saint of France.

Joan of Arc’s Early Life

Born around 1412, Jeanne d’Arc (or in English, Joan of Arc) was the daughter of a tenant farmer, Jacques d’Arc, from the village of Domrémy, in northeastern France. She was not taught to read or write, but her pious mother, Isabelle Romée, instilled in her a deep love for the Catholic Church and its teachings.

At the time, France had long been torn apart by a bitter conflict with England (later known as the Hundred Years’ War ), in which England had gained the upper hand. A peace treaty in 1420 disinherited the French crown prince, Charles of Valois, amid accusations of his illegitimacy, and King Henry V was made ruler of both England and France.

His son, Henry VI, succeeded him in 1422. Along with its French allies (led by Philip the Good, duke of Burgundy), England occupied much of northern France, and many in Joan’s village, Domrémy, were forced to abandon their homes under threat of invasion.

Did you know? In a private audience at his castle at Chinon, Joan of Arc won the future Charles VII over by supposedly revealing information that only a messenger from God could know; the details of this conversation are unknown.

At the age of 13, Joan began to hear voices, which she determined had been sent by God to give her a mission of overwhelming importance: to save France by expelling its enemies, and to install Charles as its rightful king. As part of this divine mission, Joan took a vow of chastity. At the age of 16, after her father attempted to arrange a marriage for her, she successfully convinced a local court that she should not be forced to accept the match.

The Siege of Orléans

In May 1428, Joan made her way to Vaucouleurs, a nearby stronghold of those loyal to Charles. Initially rejected by the local magistrate, Robert de Baudricourt, she persisted, attracting a small band of followers who believed her claims to be the virgin who (according to a popular prophecy) was destined to save France.

When Baudricort relented, Joan cropped her hair and dressed in men’s clothes to make the 11-day journey across enemy territory to Chinon, site of the crown prince’s palace. Joan promised Charles she would see him crowned king at Reims, the traditional site of French royal investiture, and asked him to give her an army to lead to Orléans, then under siege from the English.

Against the advice of most of his counselors and generals, Charles granted her request, and Joan set off to fend off the Siege of Orléans in March of 1429 dressed in white armor and riding a white horse. After sending off a defiant letter to the enemy, Joan led several French assaults against them, driving the Anglo-Burgundians from their bastion and forcing their retreat across the Loire River.

Capture of Joan of Arc

After such a miraculous victory, Joan’s reputation spread far and wide among French forces. She and her followers escorted Charles across enemy territory to Reims, taking towns that resisted by force and enabling his coronation as King Charles VII in July 1429.

Joan argued that the French should press their advantage with an attempt to retake Paris, but Charles wavered, as his favorite at court, Georges de La Trémoille, warned him that Joan was becoming too powerful. The Anglo-Burgundians were able to fortify their positions in Paris and turned back an attack led by Joan in September.

In the spring of 1430, the king ordered Joan to confront a Burgundian assault on Compiège. In her effort to defend the town and its inhabitants, she was thrown from her horse and was left outside the town’s gates as they closed. The Burgundians took her captive and brought her amid much fanfare to the castle of Bouvreuil, occupied by the English commander at Rouen.

How Did Joan of Arc Die? 

In the trial that followed, Joan was ordered to answer to some 70 charges against her, including witchcraft , heresy and dressing like a man. The Anglo-Burgundians were aiming to get rid of the young leader as well as discredit Charles, who owed his coronation to her.

In attempting to distance himself from an accused heretic and witch, the French king made no attempt to negotiate Joan’s release. In May 1431, after a year in captivity and under threat of death, Joan relented and signed a confession denying that she had ever received divine guidance.

Several days later, however, she defied orders by again donning men’s clothes, and authorities pronounced her death sentence. On the morning of May 30, 1431, at the age of 19, Joan was taken to the old marketplace of Rouen and burned at the stake .

St. Joan of Arc 

Her fame only increased after her death, however, and 20 years later a new trial ordered by Charles VII cleared her name. Long before Pope Benedict XV canonized her in 1920, Joan of Arc had attained mythic stature, inspiring numerous works of art and literature over the centuries, including the classic silent film “The Passion of Joan of Arc.”

In 1909 Joan of Arc was beatified in the famous Notre Dame cathedral in Paris by Pope Pius X. A statue in the cathedral of Jeanne d’Arc, who eventually became the patron saint of France, pays tribute to her legacy.

HISTORY Vault: Joan of Arc: Soul on Fire

Joan of Arc: a teenage girl so dangerous, she had to be burned at the stake. Discover how an illiterate peasant girl took command of an army and placed a king on the throne of France.

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Joan of Arc

Martyr, saint and military leader Joan of Arc, acting under divine guidance, led the French army to victory over the English during the Hundred Years' War.

(1412-1431)

Who Was Joan of Arc?

A national heroine of France, at age 18 Joan of Arc led the French army to victory over the English at Orléans. Captured a year later, Joan was burned at the stake as a heretic by the English and their French collaborators. She was canonized as a Roman Catholic saint more than 500 years later, on May 16, 1920.

Historical Background

Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans," was born in 1412, in Domremy, France. The daughter of poor tenant farmers Jacques d’ Arc and his wife, Isabelle, also known as Romée, Joan learned piety and domestic skills from her mother. Never venturing far from home, Joan took care of the animals and became quite skilled as a seamstress.

In 1415, King Henry V of England invaded northern France. After delivering a shattering defeat to French forces, England gained the support of the Burgundians in France. The 1420 Treaty of Troyes, granted the French throne to Henry V as regent for the insane King Charles VI. Henry would then inherit the throne after Charles’s death. However, in 1422, both Henry and Charles died within a couple of months, leaving Henry’s infant son as king of both realms. The French supporters of Charles’ son, the future Charles VII, sensed an opportunity to return the crown to a French monarch.

Around this time, Joan of Arc began to have mystical visions encouraging her to lead a pious life. Over time, they became more vivid, with the presence of St. Michael and St. Catherine designating her as the savior of France and encouraging her to seek an audience with Charles—who had assumed the title Dauphin (heir to the throne)—and ask his permission to expel the English and install him as the rightful king.

Meeting with the Dauphin

In May 1428, Joan’s visions instructed her to go to Vaucouleurs and contact Robert de Baudricourt, the garrison commander and a supporter of Charles. At first, Baudricourt refused Joan’s request, but after seeing that she was gaining the approval of villagers, in 1429 he relented and gave her a horse and an escort of several soldiers. Joan cropped her hair and dressed in men’s clothes for her 11-day journey across enemy territory to Chinon, the site of Charles’s court.

At first, Charles was not certain what to make of this peasant girl who asked for an audience and professed she could save France. Joan, however, won him over when she correctly identified him, dressed incognito, in a crowd of members of his court. The two had a private conversation during which it is said Joan revealed details of a solemn prayer Charles had made to God to save France. Still tentative, Charles had prominent theologians examine her. The clergymen reported they found nothing improper with Joan, only piety, chastity and humility.

The Battle of Orléans

Finally, Charles gave the 17-year-old Joan of Arc armor and a horse and allowed her to accompany the army to Orléans, the site of an English siege. In a series of battles between May 4 and May 7, 1429, the French troops took control of the English fortifications. Joan was wounded but later returned to the front to encourage a final assault. By mid-June, the French had routed the English and, in doing so, their perceived invincibility as well.

Although it appeared that Charles had accepted Joan’s mission, he did not display full trust in her judgment or advice. After the victory at Orléans, she kept encouraging him to hurry to Reims to be crowned king, but he and his advisors were more cautious. However, Charles and his procession finally entered Reims, and he was crowned Charles VII on July 18, 1429. Joan was at his side, occupying a visible place at the ceremonies.

Capture and Trial

In the spring of 1430, King Charles VII ordered Joan to Compiègne to confront the Burgundian assault. During the battle, she was thrown off her horse and left outside the town’s gates. The Burgundians took her captive and held her for several months, negotiating with the English, who saw her as a valuable propaganda prize. Finally, the Burgundians exchanged Joan for 10,000 francs.

Charles VII was unsure what to do. Still not convinced of Joan’s divine inspiration, he distanced himself and made no attempt to have her released. Though Joan’s actions were against the English occupation army, she was turned over to church officials who insisted she be tried as a heretic. She was charged with 70 counts, including witchcraft, heresy and dressing like a man.

Initially, the trial was held in public, but it went private when Joan bettered her accusers. Between February 21 and March 24, 1431, she was interrogated nearly a dozen times by a tribunal, always keeping her humility and steadfast claim of innocence. Instead of being held in a church prison with nuns as guards, she was held in a military prison. Joan was threatened with rape and torture, though there is no record that either actually occurred. She protected herself by tying her soldiers’ clothes tightly together with dozens of cords. Frustrated they could not break her, the tribunal eventually used her military clothes against her, charging that she dressed like a man.

On May 29, 1431, the tribunal announced Joan of Arc was guilty of heresy. On the morning of May 30, she was taken to the marketplace in Rouen and burned at the stake, before an estimated crowd of 10,000 people. She was 19 years old. One legend surrounding the event tells of how her heart survived the fire unaffected. Her ashes were gathered and scattered in the Seine.

Retrial and Legacy

After Joan's death, the Hundred Years’ War continued for another 22 years. King Charles VII ultimately retained his crown, and he ordered an investigation that in 1456 declared Joan of Arc to be officially innocent of all charges and designated a martyr. She was canonized as a saint on May 16, 1920, and is the patron saint of France.

Watch "Joan of Arc: The Virgin Warrior" on HISTORY Vault

QUICK FACTS

• Name: Joan of Arc
• Birth Year: 1412
• Birth City: Domremy
• Birth Country: France
• Gender: Female
• Best Known For: Martyr, saint and military leader Joan of Arc, acting under divine guidance, led the French army to victory over the English during the Hundred Years' War.
• Nacionalities
• Death Year: 1431
• Death date: May 30, 1431
• Death City: Rouen
• Death Country: France

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CITATION INFORMATION

• Article Title: Joan of Arc Biography
• Author: Biography.com Editors
• Website Name: The Biography.com website
• Url: https://www.biography.com/military-figure/joan-of-arc
• Access Date:
• Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
• Last Updated: May 6, 2021
• Original Published Date: April 3, 2014

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Joan of Arc in the English Imagination, 1429–1829 . By Gail Orgelfinger

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Olivia Robinson, Joan of Arc in the English Imagination, 1429–1829 . By Gail Orgelfinger , French Studies , Volume 74, Issue 2, April 2020, Page 282, https://doi.org/10.1093/fs/knaa066

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In this ambitious and wide-ranging survey, Gail Orgelfinger traces the reception of Joan of Arc’s narrative and reputation in England across four hundred years, from the fifteenth to the nineteenth centuries. ‘Neither historians nor literary historians’, she suggests, ‘have attempted a broad view of Joan’s [English] legacy […] that analyses the contexts in which writers position themselves to grapple with the narrative of her sentence and execution. Nor have the exigences of genre been part of the discussion’ (p. 9). This book sets out to fill these gaps. Orgelfinger works through a very wide range of English depictions of Joan in a variety of different genres, historical and social contexts, and media: early chronicles; histories of England; catalogues of famous women; theatre; poetry; commemorative monuments; sculpture; stained glass. Throughout, she seeks to uncover the ‘variety and complexity of response still orbiting around this mysterious yet compelling figure’, and to ‘understand and account for the complexity of Joan of Arc’s afterlife’ in England (p. 5). In this endeavour, Orgelfinger draws on a long-established set of ‘roles’ or labels which have been applied to Joan (‘saint’, ‘witch’, ‘virgin’, ‘whore’, ‘heretic’); however, one of her central arguments is that Joan’s English legacy is often shaped so as to confuse these categories, or to hold them in tension. The English Joan does not, this study shows, progress neatly from one to another as those who shape and reshape her legend become more and more distant from her own lifetime; rather, Joan is revealed to be a consistently complex and multifaceted figure throughout numerous English re-imaginings which all respond to the detailed historical circumstances of their own production, as well as to (what was then known or imagined of) Joan’s own circumstances. Chapter 1 outlines some of those circumstances. This chapter — although inevitably speculative in its aim to reconstruct Joan’s early experiences and opinions — forms an introduction to Chapter 2 in particular, which explores Joan’s presence within early English chronicles and historical writing. Orgelfinger then moves outside the genre of explicitly historical writing, focusing on other types of text and media: Chapter 3 considers Joan’s presence in English collections of heroic women and demonologies, while Chapter 4 discusses her appearance in Shakespeare’s 1 Henry VI . Orgelfinger situates the play in its own historical and political moment, arguing for Joan’s resonance with Mary, Queen of Scots; however, she also explores its afterlife, particularly the iconography developed to depict Joan in eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century printed copies. Finally, she considers descriptions and evocations of Joan by male and female writers in the context of responses to the French Revolution, probing the ongoing and transgressive tensions around Joan’s femininity, cross-dressing, martial success, and religious faith. The major strength of this study is the author’s willingness to contextualize, in social, historical and religious terms, the very wide range of material under discussion (a chronological timeline of English and French sources referred to, indeed, might have made the book easier to navigate for a reader new to Joan of Arc). However, Orgelfinger shows admirably the extent to which Joan was and has remained a fascinating, troubling, and fertile figure to a range of English writers and thinkers well beyond the late medieval period.

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Home — Essay Samples — History — Historical Figures — Joan of Arc

Essays on Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc is a fascinating historical figure that has captured the imagination of people for centuries. Writing an essay about Joan of Arc can help you learn about her incredible story and its impact on history. Plus, it's a great way to practice your writing skills and impress your teacher with your knowledge of this iconic figure.

When choosing a topic for your Joan of Arc essay, consider focusing on her role in the Hundred Years' War, her trial and execution, or her legacy and impact on French history. You could also explore her historical significance, her portrayal in literature and film, or her status as a feminist icon.

If you're writing an argumentative essay about Joan of Arc, you could explore topics such as her motivations for fighting in the Hundred Years' War, her leadership abilities, or her religious beliefs. For a cause-and-effect essay, you might consider the impact of Joan of Arc's actions on the outcome of the war or the consequences of her trial and execution. An opinion essay could delve into your personal thoughts on Joan of Arc's bravery or her place in history. For an informative essay, you could explore topics such as her upbringing, her military campaigns, or her canonization as a saint.

To give you an idea of what a Joan of Arc essay might look like, here's an example thesis statement: "Joan of Arc's unwavering faith and leadership skills played a crucial role in turning the tide of the Hundred Years' War."

In the of your essay, you could set the scene by describing the turmoil of the Hundred Years' War or Joan of Arc's remarkable rise to prominence. In the , you could reflect on Joan of Arc's lasting impact on history and the enduring significance of her story.

Writing an essay about Joan of Arc can be a rewarding and educational experience. Whether you choose to focus on her historical significance, her leadership qualities, or her enduring legacy, there are plenty of fascinating topics to explore. So, grab your pen and start crafting an essay that will captivate your readers and showcase your knowledge of this remarkable historical figure.

The Contribution of The Life of Joan of Arc in History

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Relating The Life of Joan of Arc to Modern-day Adversity

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Joan of Arc: a Journey to Sainthood

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Powerful Women in The Ancient World

Joan of arc: significance in the medieval world and french society.

30 May 1431

Joan of Arc was born in 1412, in Domremy, France. IN 1425, at the age of 13, Joan began to hear voices. When she was in her "father's garden", Joan saw figures which she identified as St. Michael, St. Catherine, and St. Margaret. They told her to drive out the English and take the Dauphin to Reims for his consecration.

In May 1428, Joan made her way to Vaucouleurs. Joan asked Charles to give her an army to lead to Orléans. Charles granted her request, and Joan set off to fend off the Siege of Orléans in March of 1429 dressed in white armor and riding a white horse. In a series of battles between May 4 and May 7, 1429, the French troops took control of the English fortifications. Joan forced Anglo-Burgundians to retreat across the Loire River.

In the spring of 1430, the king ordered Joan to confront a Burgundian assault on Compiégne. She was thrown from her horse and the Burgundians took her captive and brought her amid much fanfare to the castle of Bouvreuil. She was charged with 70 counts, including witchcraft, heresy and dressing like a man.

On May 29, 1431, the tribunal announced Joan of Arc was guilty of heresy. On May 30, she was taken to the marketplace in Rouen and burned at the stake, at the age of 19.

Joan of Arc became a legendary figure for the next centuries. Joan of Arc became a symbol of the Catholic League during the sixteenth century. She was canonized as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church on 16 May 1920. Her feast day is May 30.

"Go forward bravely. Fear nothing. Trust in God; all will be well." "All battles are first won or lost, in the mind." "I am not afraid; I was born to do this."

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Essay Samples on Joan of Arc

Art of theatre and french figure joan of arc.

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Joan of Arc: the Historical Saint

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Jeanne d’Arc is a historical figure that had a great impact in many different aspects. She is well known and has many different titles such as, Joan of Arc, Saint Joan, Joan the maid, and Maid of Orleans. She was the catalyst that ended the Hundred Years War by insisting that the French army fight to win and in so doing she helped to end the suffering of the common people and bring peace between the French and the English kingdom.

Joan of Arc gave herself totally for love of her people and the freedom of their country. In today’s world, Joan of Arc is known mainly as a hero. Although during her time this wasn’t the case, she kept to her word with her whole career. What she did not only impacted the time period she was in, but it impacted on today’s world in so many ways.

Joan of Arc was born around 1412 in the village of Domremy, within northeastern France. She was the daughter of a poor tenant farmer and his wife, Jacques d’Arc and Isabelle Romee. Her family lived in an area that remained loyal to the French even though they were surrounded by English loyalist. At a young age Joan was taught how to stay within her family’s limits of being farmers, she learned piety and domestic skills from her mother. She also took care of the animals within her farm and became a very good seamstress. During her childhood, there were many raids that occurred within her hometown. At one point the village her family and herself lived within was burned down. At the age of 12 – 13, Joan claimed she had begun hearing voices from angels. The angels she had claimed to hear from was Saint Catherine of Alexandria, Saint Margaret of Antioch, and the Archangel Michael. She also claimed to have heard voices from the angel Gabriel. Joan had stated that the angels were designating her as the savior of France during that time. They encouraged her to seek an audience with Charles VII and ask his permission to pursue the English and help him become the king. Charles VII was the assumed heir to the throne for the French at that time. Joan of Arc had listened to these voices and she did seek an audience, but she had to go through Robert de Baudricourt in Vaucouleurs, who was the garrison commander and a supporter of Charles VII. At first Robert de Baudricourt did not take Joan seriously, because of her young age and crazy visions. In January of 1429, Joan of Arc returned to Vaucouleurs to speak to Robert, the commander again. This time her firmness about the situation gained her the respect of the people in the village and the commander. After being persuaded that Joan was not a witch or feebleminded, Robert had allowed Joan to go to the Dauphin at Chinon. Although it was not going to be an easy journey, she left the village of Vaucouleurs on February 13th. Joan of Arc was dressed in men’s clothing and was accompanied by 6 men at arms. Within the journey she had to cross into enemy territory and travel the 11-day trip. When she arrived at Charles VII court place, Charles was not certain what to exactly make of this girl and her visions. The Dauphin had Joan of Arc examined by prominent theologians for many weeks. They fortunately found nothing unproper with Joan of Arc. In the month of April 1429, Charles VII gave her command of a small force.

For a little bit of a background, the Hundred Years War was fought between France and England during the Middle Ages. The war started because Charles IV of France died in 1328 without a son. Edward III of England then believed that he had a right to the throne for France through his mother. The French did not want a foreign king, so Philip VI of France said he should be king because that’s not the law to become king because of a person’s mother. The two countries went to war because of this disagreement at that time. To start off the war, France was stronger of the two countries. Back and forth the two countries had fought each other with victories on both ends. The most famous part of the war began in 1415. Henry the V of England invaded France and had won the Battle of Agincourt. King Charles VI of France was not fully there within the mind and was unable to be fit to be the proper king, and nearly all his sons died young. Charles VI son, Charles VII had taken the role of being the proper king, but he was never coronated before the king died, so more conflict on who was to be king was brought up. During this disagreement, the English had kept capturing land but then came along Joan of Arc. On April 27th, 1429 Joan and her troops had set out from Blois to relieve French forces at the siege of Orleans. A couple weeks later, Joan had led an attack on the English, with victory of Orleans, Joan and her troops moved across taking any village and town they met that was controlled by the English. There was a successful battle at Les Tourelles and of Patay. After these battles Joan had traveled to the Dauphin to help him reach Reims. In July of 1429 Charles VII was crowned the King of France. Even with him being crowned the rightful king, Joan of Arc did not stop there. She continued to fight against the English. Compiegne, Beauvais, Senlis and other towns north of Paris has all surrendered to the king. Joan had thought it essential to take control of Paris, being that it was a large city. Unfortunately, the tables had started turning for the French, because of the well organization of the enemy’s attack, the king no longer wanted to fight for Paris and order Joan of arc and her troops to retreat. She was then sent to Compiegne for order because there was an English siege on the city but was ripped off her horse and captured by the Burgundians.

The Burgundians took Joan captive and held her for several months, trying to negotiate with the English, who at the time saw her as valuable propaganda. Finally, the Burgundians exchanged her. Joan of Arc was then released to the church and was charged with 70 different accounts. Things such as heresy, witchcraft, and dressing like a man. Between the dates of February 21st – March 24th, 1431, Joan of Arc was interrogated dozens of times, but officials could not get her to talk about what they wanted to hear, she would claim nothing but her complete innocence. She was not held within the church during this time. She was held in an actual military prison, due to her trying to escape multiple times. During this time, King Charles VII tried to stay out of the picture and did not object to anything that was happening to Joan of Arc. Although they could not prove anything because of lack of evidence, they did put her on trial for cross dressing into males clothing. She signed a document stating she wouldn’t wear men’s clothing again, but she ended up putting the clothes back on when given the chance to prevent her from rape. The church didn’t want to understand the reasoning and then pursued to charge her with heresy. On May 30th, 1431, Joan of Arc was executed via burned at the stake in the marketplace in Rouen before a crowd. She was 19 years old. Even after her death the Hundred Years War continued for another 22 years. King Charles VII eventually ordered an investigation within the trial for Joan of Arc in 1456, she was then declared officially innocent of all charges. She was canonized as a Saint on May 16th, 1920 by Pope benedict XV and became the patron saint of France.

Although she was very young when her career had started, she was very inspiring and enduring symbol of the French unity and nationalism at that time period. Not only did she restate what a female can really do and show that there’s no limits, she successfully put an end to a long war. Even though the war ended 22 years after she died, she still was a huge factor in it ending. Joan of Arc brought Charles VII and received him as king during the war. With a king in standing there wasn’t much more to disagree about, and it would take some time to settle down. Today, she is still a symbol of unity to the French and to anyone who knows her history and her story. Joan of Arc is a reminder of what anyone can do with a mindset to do it.

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Five Things You Should Know About St. Joan of Arc

On May 30 the Catholic Church venerates the life of St. Joan of Arc, patroness of France. This lightning rod of a saint was known for her fearlessness, unconventionality, and immovable faith. 

Here are five interesting facts about the Angel of France.

St. Joan Frequently Had Visions

Born Jeanne D’Arc on January 6, 1412, Joan grew up in a divided France and at 13 experienced her first vision.

Joan claimed that she frequently heard the voices of St. Michael, St. Catherine, and St. Margaret. The saints, she said, were asking her to help drive the English from the French territory and help crown the Dauphin Charles VII at Reims.

Fulfilling Prophecy and Military Conquests

With no military training, a fearless Joan succeeded in presenting herself before the Dauphin and ultimately gained his trust when it came to strategy in the Lancastrian War. 

During this time, there was a local prophecy that a virgin would restore France, and there was an ongoing conflict in Orleans. Joan of Arc reached Orleans in full armor and claimed God sanctioned her presence.

The French lifted the five-month Siege of Orleans only nine days after Joan’s arrival, fulfilling the local prophecy in the process.

Her Clothing

Contrary to modern interpretations, St. Joan of Arc chose short hair and masculine dress  for their practicality and to protect her purity. Such cross-dressing was later used as a basis for charges of heresy and even witchcraft.

When asked about her clothing during her trial, Joan stated that her masculine dress was for practical reasons, for protection against sexual assault, and to maintain her purity. 

Court officials and witnesses at her trial noted that Joan had often appeared in women’s dress at court.

During her trial, Joan of Arc signed a document saying that she would renounce wearing men’s clothes and she was released back into prison.

Within days, however, her jailers stole her clothes and forced her to put man’s clothing on, a deception which ultimately led to her death.

She Was Eloquent and Intelligent

St. Joan of Arc was noted for giving sound advice on multiple occasions during her life. 

Her eloquence was also noted during her interrogation and trial. During her trial, one of the inquisitors attempted to trap her and cause her to admit heresy. 

He asked Joan if she was “in God’s grace.” An answer either way could prove to be an example of heresy or an admission of guilt. 

The saint responded, “If I am not, may God put me there; and if I am, may God so keep me.”

She Died as a Result of a Corrupt Court 

After turning the tide of the war in favor of France, the Frenchwoman was captured and sold to the English by the Burgundians.

The English court was intent on discrediting the French’s position and strengthening the English claim to the rights of lands held by the English in French territory. Labelling Joan of Arc as a heretic was seen as a way of delegitimizing the power and position of the French and the recently crowned Charles VII. 

Ultimately, her death was seen as martyrdom and highlighted her heroic virtue in the face of corruption.

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