BACKGROUND
Born at the village of Domrémy in Lorraine, Jehanne was once just a farm-girl whose only special trait was being the daughter of the village-chief. However, after she received her first divine revelation in the form of a vision of Saint Catherine when she was twelve years-old, powers that she never had before started to bloom in her body. Then, at her 16th birthday, Jehanne heard a heavenly voice commanding her to bring the Dauphin Charles VII to Rheims for his coronation.
Following that command, and after gathering the support of a number of important people, Jehanne travelled to Chinon where she was granted permission to visit the royal court. She greatly impressed Dauphin Charles in a private conference and gained his support for her cause. However, because her mere presence in the French army would effectively turn a purely political conflict into a religious war, Charles was obliged to put her to test. Her mission was simple: to lift the siege at the city of Orleans.
Once in Orleans, Jehanne was met with the contempt and distrust of all the French generals in charge of the siege, who left her out of the war councils and disregarded her opinions when making important decisions. In response, Jehanne sought out for the support of the common soldiers and the population of Orleans. She then rallied the troops and arbitrarily led them into a number of daring and unorthodox offensives. On May 8, 1429 – nine days after Jehanne’s arrival – the siege ended with the English forces being expulsed from Orleans and the neighboring forts.
With the victory in Orleans, Jehanne’s name quickly became well known in both sides of the conflict. The French admired her as a savior, while the English feared her as a witch. At any rate, Jehanne’s arrival greatly changed the flow of a war that had remained stagnant for decades. She led the French army into a number of important victories, thus changing the minds of even the French generals who distrusted her before.
On July 16, 1429, the French army recaptured the city of Rheims. The coronation of Charles VII was held in the following morning. In the short space of a few months, Jehanne helped put an end to a conflict of succession that had lingered for nearly a century. That being said, the English refused to recognize Charles as the rightful king even after his coronation. Although the dispute that began everything was settled, the conflict continued anyway.
The Maid of Orleans
Even before her canonization by the Roman Catholic Church, Jehanne was already esteemed as a holy person by many. Her contemporaries described her as “a good Christian, possessed of the virtues of humility, honesty and simplicity”. Her faith in god was unwavering, her sense of justice strong and the goodness in her heart unquestionable.
That being said, Jehanne was still human and thus not without her faults.
Despite being in the middle of the territory controlled by the English forces, the people of Domrémy remained loyal to the French crown. Because of that, Jehanne often saw her hometown being victim of raids during her childhood. This caused her to harbor a bitter antipathy towards the English. Her war would not be over until every single English soldier was driven out from French lands.
Also, her strong piety walked hand-in-hand with a lack of tolerance towards heretic and unmoral behavior. She once attempted to slash a group of prostitutes who were servicing the French soldiers in their camp, but the blade of her sword broke before it could draw even a single drop of blood. The holy sword Fierbois was a sacred artifact that embodied the mission of “defending France”. To raise it against someone who was loyal to France, regardless of the reason, was the same as breaking that vow.
This event marked the beginning of Jehanne’s downfall. The loss of her holy sword was obvious, but after that even her powers granted by heavens started to fail her. At the same time, though the soldiers continued to loyally follow her command, it became more and more difficult for her to gain the support of the French nobles and the common citizens. As consequence, Jehanne began to taste failure in her endeavors.
Everything culminated with the ill-fated defeat in Compiegne. What was supposed to be just a minor skirmish turned out a disaster for the French forces because of the refusal of assistance from the local population and the unexpected arrival of enemy reinforcements. As the French troops were forced to retreat, Jehanne’s company took the place of honor as the rear guard. Then, in part due being abandoned by her allies, Jehanne’s group was overwhelmed by the enemy and she was captured.
Afterwards, Jehanne was placed in trial by the English under charges of heresy and in the end condemned to be burned at the stake as a witch. Her final wish was to have a cross put in front of her as the sentence was being carried out. It is unknown for sure what she thought at the very end, but it seems that her last words were “O Lord, I entrust this body to you-”.