Joan+of+Arc

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Saint Joan of Arc (1412-1431), or Jeanne d'Arc, was a [|Roman Catholic saint] and a domestic heroine for the country of France who lived in the Middle Ages. = = =Early Life =

In 1412, Joan of Arc was born to her mother, [|Isabelle Romee], and her father, Jacques d'Arc, both of which resided in the peasant class. Due to this, Joan did not learn to read and write early in her life. They lived in the French village of Domremy. Her mother held a strong belief in religion, so these traits carried on with Joan as she grew into her teens. By the age of approximately 13, she had visions of a religious nature of what she portrayed as saints that spoke to her and said that God had chosen her to help King Charles VII and eradicate the British from France. Because of these visions, some historians believe she possessed qualities of a clairvoyant, which in simplest form means that someone can predict, with accuracy, events that will happen in the future without using any of the 5 senses. (World Book 198)

=Before the War =

Joan set a goal to follow the requests given by the saints in her vision. She journeyed to the town of Vaucouleurs and sought the military commander to see the king, as well as a request for an escort. The commander did not take her seriously in the beginning. However, when Joan aged to 17 years old in the year 1429, she set out to fulfill her vision's directions. Due to the war, the British occupied most of northern France, as well as the Burgundians, which lived as French citizens, but still sided with Great Britain. These people did not see Charles as their king. Due to the fact that the city of Reims, which possessed of being the coronation city, in enemy territory. His advisers became split on ideas and opinions, so the quarreling between them brought his government to a halt. Not to mention, he had very little money remaining in his treasury. King Charles VII did not have high chance of winning this battle, so the dreary conditions of their whereabouts made Joan sound more persuasive to him. (World Book 198)

=Preparing and Setting Out For War =

Even though King Charles wished for a miracle, he still misinterpreted how trustful he should be of Joan. He performed a series of tests on Joan to make sure she didn't do anything malicious. In a test, he let a random noble onto the throne, and she continued to identify the real king as Charles. Even after this, his pessimism remained. Though, they began to speak and Joan repeated verbatim what he said when he prayed. He had been completely solitary at that moment, so no one else could have been able to hear that but himself. He began to realize that this woman possessed odd powers. The general public of that time would have generally feared this as work of the devil, however, the clergy approved of her theory. After all of the procedures she had gone through, the king approved of her requests. (World Book 199)

=The Siege of Orleans and the Following Wars = 

King Charles VII had granted her armor, troops, and the command of them. In 1429, they bid adieu to rescue Orleans from the English. The commander and some of the other men hesitated to obey her. Although, their doubt in her soon faded after the warriors soon realized that she did not allow much room for error. Things went very well. An example from their experiences included the fact that they took the ecity in only 10 days, as well as making the British fall back retreat from the city. This victory earned her the moniker of "The Maid of Orleans". After this, Joan urged the king of the importance of his coronation. Her deep belief in religion gave her the mindset that he was not a true king until he was crowned at the cathedral in Reims. Because this city was still under British control, they had the fight before Charles could be coronated. They fought and won many battles against the English while they navigated to the city. Joan, Charles, and the troops entered jubilantly. On the date of July 17th, 1429, King Charles VII was crowned king. After this victory, Joan wanted to take Paris back desperately. The king doubted they could take back a city of this magnitude, but he allowed Joan to lead the army off on this mission. (World Book 198) They embarked on September 8th. In the course of battle, Joan was hindered by an arrow to her thigh, but she continued to fight. The following day, she was given a royal order to withdraw from battle. In May 1430, she was captured by the Burgundians. The British purchased her from them for the price of 10,000 livres. While major prisoners could bring massive rewards, the English would not give her back to the French under any circumstance. Joan remained in the prison for about four months. She was brought to trial for heresy and many other supposed crimes which are now marked as absolutely ludacris claims that came to later be disproved. The trial lasted from February 21st until the end of March. She was found guilty and was going to be burned at the stake.

=Death =

On May 30th, 1431, Joan of Arc got killed by being burned at the stake. She was fastened to a high pillar above the crowd, with a large bundle of sticks and logs at the bottom. She had requested a cross. A British soldier who had felt sympathy toward her tried to create one from pieces of wood, but a crucifix was brought in from a church. It was positioned in front of her until the flames ignite d. They raked the coal and ashes and burned the remains a second time to prevent the collection of the ashes. They threw the debris into the Seine. (Williamson) Joan loved the feeling she first received when she finally saw God face to face.

=Modern Influences =

Joan of Arc became an incredible figure of her time. Not many women freed themselves of the oppression that they lived in. She showed characteristics of a strong person and made a massive difference for her country and paved the way for the removal of the English from France. Her story contains a powerful message that if you work for what is right, it will happen eventually.

<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif;">Also, there have been 4 major films inspired by Joan of Arc. It was called Jeanne d'Arc and was released in 1899, one of the earliest silent films. The second movie, The Passion of Joan of Arc, was made in 1928. Released in 1948, the third was titled simply Joan of Arc. The most recent Joan of Arc movie was released in 1999 and titled The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc. There was also a very popular two-part miniseries, Joan of Arc, that was released in 1999. (Roberts)

=<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif;">Sources =

<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif;">"Joan of Arc." Middle Ages. N.p.. Web. 13 Jan 2014. <http://www.lordsandladies.org/joan-of-arc.htm>.

<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif;">"St Joan of Arc." 2014. The Biography Channel website. Jan 13 2014, 09:04[].

<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif;">Roberts, Beverly. "Joan of Arc Movies." //Joan of Arc in Battle.// N.p.. Web. 15 Jan 2014. <http://www.joanofarc.us/joan_of_arc_music-Joan_of_arc_movies-Joan_of_arc_song.html>.

<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif;">Williamson, Allen. "Joan of Arc, Brief Biography." Joan of Arc. N.p.. Web. 13 Jan 2014. <http://archive.joan-of-arc.org/joanofarc_short_biography.html>.

<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif;">World Book. 11. Chicago: 2001.