Joan of Arc

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The one and only female knight, Joan of Arc, certainly made her mark, but first she had to overcome many tests and trials. She is important because she changed the world and how people think of women. She is also inspiring because she did all this at such a young age.

Joan of arc, like many other women in medieval Europe, was a peasant girl. She was born in 1412 in Doremy, Northeast France (http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Joan_of_Arc). Her mother, Isabelle de Vouthon(Gail), was very religious(Hennanan). Perhaps the outcome of her life and death would have changed if her mother wasn’t so religious because she influenced her life a lot. Jacques d’Arc, was a father of three sons and two daughters, including Joan She had a very normal childhood (http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Joan_of_Arc). Her siblings most likely helped her learn to tolerate unbearable circumstances and made life a lot more interesting.

She was believed to be a clairvoyant or prophet because of the many visions she received(Hennanan). Joan of Arc received her first vision when she was thirteen while sitting in her fathers garden(Hennanan). The first ones were telling her to be good and go to church. Some were verbal experiences while she could see and feel other visions(Williamson). The ones she could see and touch probably felt more real than hearing them.

The visions she had when she was older were about France in pain. This must have been very touching to see and hear about her country suffering. Her visions motivated and encouraged her to complete many seemingly impossible tasks.

One of these supposedly impossible tasks was seeing the king. But first she needed an escort in order to see the king (http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Joan_of_Arc), so she cut her hair short(*) and asked for someone to accompany her when she went to see the king in the spring of 1428 (http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Joan_of_Arc). The military commander she asked would not give her permission, so she returned home (Williamson). This would have been very disappointing to gather up the courage to ask, but to be refused. After two more attempts, she was allowed to see the king (Williamson). This was probably very relieving, to know that all her efforts are not being wasted.

Joan of Arc traveled at night for eleven days (Williamson) in men’s clothing to avoid detection on her way to the city of Chinon (Hennanan). There she spoke privately with the dauphin who believed she was a young man(*). This would have been very humiliating for him when he later found out she wasn’t a man. After their first meeting, she was sent to Poiters to be examined by theologians for three weeks who found no faults. When she returned, Joan was fitted with knights armour (http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Joan_of_Arc). After she ascended one mountain, there was another one right after, waiting to be climbed.

She was given an army, but her position was viewed with mixed feelings, some soldiers hostile and sceptic (http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Joan_of_Arc). She probably felt very annoyed when soldiers challenged her and her orders. She set out with her army in April 1429 and the English fled after ten days (Hennanan). After the English fled, she earned respect from the soldiers. (http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Joan_of_Arc). After she ended the siege of Orleans, the number of volunteers increased enormously because of Joan (http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Joan_of_Arc). She must have felt very satisfied and proud that she could affect the nation so much.

Joan of Arc was an amazing commander, but her reign had to end eventually. She was captured by and English backed church court (http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Joan_of_Arc) that saw her as an agent of the devil (Hennanan). She must have been very defensive of the saints because they told her to wear men’s clothes, so the church might as well have called the saints agents of the devil instead of her.

She was burned at the stake on May 30, 1431 for heresy and witchcraft. This was a horrible way to die, but at least she did what she was born to do. In 1455, her family asked for her trial to be reconsidered and a year later, she was declared innocent (Hennanan). If she had still been alive, she probably would have been assured to know she was loved so much by her family they would ask for a new trial so she wouldn’t be remembered as a heretic. Joan of Arc had an unfair trial and a brutal death, but despite all of this, she became a saint.

Joan of Arc made more than a dent, but while she was alive her only goal was to free the city of Reims from the English. Unfortunately, she did not have a peaceful death, but it was well worth the pain to get the chance to change the world.