Imagine 100 years of war. Imagine waking up every other day to find soldiers cascading the streets. They steal your live stock, burn your homes, and kill people just to show who’s boss. ‘TIS treacherous and all your villagers know and feel it. But what can they do? The war had been going on since 1337 up till the present year of 1425. No one was going to interfere with this deathly game, but one little French girl, one worthless peasant maiden. Her name was Jeanette, but we know her throughout history as Joan of Arc.
The war began with the English when they claimed that France should become rightfully part of England. The English had realized that the English and French had many deeply connected royal marriages. The English thought it would be more reasonable to just make the two countries one nation. The French, naturally, were outraged. Like any other country, they declared they preferred independence. The stakes and tension rose higher and higher till finally war erupted from the black hole of rage. The lands of France were slathered in English soldiers, rampaging through villages as they pleased. The French’s chance of winning the war began to grow dim. They needed help.
This is when dear Jeanette appears in our social studies books. Joan was a faithful Catholic who believed in God more than anything else. Now, there was a mysterious thing about Joan. She could vision angels and Saints appearing from the sky and saying commands such as “Be a good girl Joan and do not forget to pray.” As odd as these visions might seem to us in present day, it was not considered awkward at all back in the 1400’s. These sights were considered a blessing, they were not common but faith was so strong back then that the people believed anything they saw. Anyway, as the days passed by for Joan, the Saints’ messages began to grow more and more towards war, they decreased to a serious level. “The great kingdom of France is in misery,” they spoke and said God had a task for her, that Joan must some how save the French. Joan was only too willing to obey her mighty lordship. Thus she went to seek out her king to try and become a warrior, the warrior who would save her country.
She considered the practical questions, such as how she should dress. Surely she could not ride around all of France in a dress. So she decided to wear men’s clothing with boots, a tunic, spurs, and a cap. To complete the picture, Joan cut her long black hair to rid herself of any femininity she might still possess. With a couple of companions, she set out to help the king win the war. Gossip soon spread about this wondrous girl who so sought to claim victory for France. This talk reached the king, who became intrigued by Joan’s extreme knowledge. So, on the day of Joan’s arrival upon the king’s castle Chion, his highness set up a test for Joan. He disguised himself as a regular court’s man and hid amongst the crowd that engulfed the castle grounds while putting a soldier dressed in his clothes upon the throne. When Joan saw the decoy king atop the mighty chair, she immediately knew the person upon it was not the one whom she had come to see. Even though she had never even seen a picture of the king, all Joan’s senses told her that the king was not on the royal throne. Joan searched the crowd till she found the person who resembled her images of a king. She knelt before him and praised him. Even when he tried to convince her otherwise, she would hear none of it, The king was deeply moved by Joan’s powers and actions. He bonded with her from that moment on in a dramatic friendship and trust.
After loyalty was established between the king and Joan, a plan of action was immediately set into construction. The city of Orleans had been recently surrounded by English forces. Joan was eager to become a warrior and convey battle. She was fitted into a suit of armor and given a banner which Joan praised above all her possessions. To her it had a symbolic meaning; it possessed a sort of atmosphere that set an air of faith. Joan was prepared for war.
A couple months later, Joan arrived with the French army in Orleans. The people of the city rejoiced, for the Maiden of God had come at last to answer their pleas for victory. Like her banner, Joan became a symbol of hope and bravery which brought strength and glory afresh in the hearts of the French soldiers. Once settled into their stations, Joan’s first battle began. Metal clashed fiercely against steal, swords pierced mercilessly through human flesh, victory seemed vibrant to either side. The battle lasted two days with endless retreats from the French, but every time triumph seemed vague, Joan would appear, holding her banner high with dignity and shouting encouragement down upon the troops. Finally on May 7, 1429, the English fell into a trap set by the French in the moat that surrounded Orleans. The entire English army was drowned. The French advanced a step in war, but hatred brewed amongst the enemy. It was obvious more blood would be shed… and soon.
The next battle was only a couple months past that of Orleans. This battle took place in Paris, which held a mighty fortress that the English had taken under their command. No matter how hard the French pressed to gain entrance to the castle, the English would prevent them with weapons of bow and arrow, also having the advantage of being concealed behind a stone wall. The French had no choice but to retreat and construct a more efficient plan.
The next afternoon, Joan noticed that the drawbridge leading to the fortress was left down with no guards. In hasty action, Joan gathered her army and charged with full pursuit into the fortress. But before reaching the inside, the French were taken by a surprise English ambush. It had been a trap! Joan willed her men to stand and fight, but they had already turned and fled and did not hear her command. The English quickly surrounded Joan and took her prisoner. Joan of Arc had been captured!
The English knew that Joan was a valuable prize. All the French looked up to Joan as their light; she was their only hope. The English knew that if you cut off the head the body would die, so they planned to rid Joan of their troubles forever.
Joan fell into a solitary depression. She once even tried to throw herself from the cell of her prison. She would rather be dead than in the hands of the brutish English. But Joan’s faith never once left her. She was not afraid to die; the Saints would always be with her.
Joan was sent tn trial, being accused of witchcraft, which were actually her visions, a few days after her arrest. She was brought to court clad in iron chains to discuss her crime of treachery. It seemed as if all of England was seated in the room. They were all curious to know who this virgin WBA, the one who wore men’s clothes and visioned angels.
When Joan was being questioned, it became clear the trial was anything but fair. There were no French judges present, only English. The judges used every technique of slyness and cheat to try and deceive Joan to answer a question wrongly, which would sentence her fate negatively. The constables tried everything; repeating already asked questions to see if Joan would answer differently, asking questions where both ‘yes’ and ‘no’ were incorrect, and interrupting Joan while she was in the middle of an answer. But Joan was never fooled, never once did she get irate or incorrectly answer anything. Her speeches were stupefying to the audience; her quick and witty tongue frosted them all in a fragrant, spell binding power of brave intelligence. The fiercest battle Joan ever fought was that day on trial, verbally thrashing the minds and thoughts of her enemies. As Joan was led back to her cell, one question still hovered in the air: would she be found guilty?
The next day, Joan was found guilty and sentenced to death. But her execution was not held right away. The priest of England came to Joan, told her that if only she confessed she truly did not see visions, she would be forgiven, and live. But Joan stood firm. How dare they ask her to throw away the one thing she had, the one thing that had never failed her? Never, never, would Joan surrender her faith to spare her own life. Existence was worth the loss to Joan, but not the one thing that had transformed Jeanette into Joan of Arc.
On the early morning of May 30, 1431, Joan was condemned to brn upon the stake till death. She was forced to wear a dress and her head was shaved. She was placed upon her death rack and said one final prayer that was so moving even the English soldiers wept bitterly. She died looking out upon the church, onto the cross of her God, the faith she had lived for. After the burning, her ashes were gathered and simply thrown in the ocean. Even though her body might have perished, the memories of the fierce warrior still wavered through the laps of the sea.
The king of France had not forgotten Joan. Even though he had not tried to rescue her when she was captured, he worshipped her after her death. He built statues to honor her loss. He tracked down herlast steps till he found the place where her trial had taken place. He published her speeches and made it definite to all people that there once was a Joan of Arc, and she led the French to victories never before seen in mankind. In 1453, the war ended and the English returned to their country. No one really won the war, people just realized the fighting was nonsense and made a truce. The sufferings were over. In around 1980, Joan was finally made an official Saint by the Catholic Church.
Joan was a fierce woman. She fought with her sword and tongue, she taught with her heart and soul. She proved to all that just because she was female, did not conclude that she was ignorant or cowardly. Belief, faith, her lushes praise for God was indescribable. She so desperately, intensely loved her lord she sentenced her own life to the gates of death just so she could remain within his religion. Try as darkness to defeat her, she would never surrender. If ever there was a heroine to roam this earth, the title would surely be placed on Joan’s shoulders. None shall ever defeat the glorious peasant girl Joan of Arc!
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To learn more about Joan of Arc, check out this book!
Joan of Arc by: Diane Stanley
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