Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc was a French peasant girl who led an army to victory during the Hundred Years' War. She lived from about 1412 to 1431. She is one of the most famous people of the Middle Ages, and today she is the patron saint of France.

Joan was born in a small village called Domrémy in eastern France. Her family were farmers, not nobles. She never learned to read or write. At the time, France and England had been fighting on and off for nearly 100 years. English armies had taken over much of northern France. The young French prince, Charles, had not yet been crowned king. Many people thought France was about to fall.

When Joan was about 13, she said she began hearing voices. She believed they were the voices of saints sent by God. The voices told her to drive the English out of France and to help Prince Charles become king. At age 16, she traveled to Charles's court and asked to lead his army. Most people would have laughed. But Charles was running out of options, and Joan was sure of herself. He gave her a horse, armor, and a small group of soldiers.

In May 1429, Joan rode to the city of Orléans, which had been surrounded by English troops for months. In just nine days, the French army broke the siege. The victory shocked Europe. Joan won several more battles in the weeks that followed. In July 1429, she stood beside Charles in the great cathedral at Reims as he was crowned king of France.

Less than a year later, Joan was captured in battle by soldiers loyal to England. The English put her on trial for heresy, which meant going against the Church. Historians today agree the trial was unfair. The judges wanted her to fail. She was burned at the stake in the city of Rouen on May 30, 1431. She was only about 19 years old.

The story did not end there. About 25 years later, a second trial reviewed her case and declared her innocent. Centuries passed, and Joan became a symbol of French courage and faith. In 1920, the Catholic Church made her a saint, almost 500 years after her death.

Historians still debate parts of Joan's life. Some study the voices she described and ask whether they came from a religious vision, an illness, or something else. What no one debates is what she did. A teenage girl with no training led an army, changed a war, and crowned a king.