Essay Calling and Charisma: The Life of Joan of Arc

Joan arrived at the Castle of Chinon on March 6 and two days later she saw Charles VII (www.knight.org). Joan tells the Dauphin, Charles VII, that she was sent by God to help France and to take the dauphin to Reims to be crowned king (www.la-pucelle.de). She also says to him, "I am Joan the Maid. Give me soldiers and I will raise the siege of Orleans" (www.mcs.drexel.edu). He ordered that Joan be examined by the doctors at the University of Poitiers. It was suspected that she was possessed by the devil. She was taken to Tours after her examination to have armor made for her. She was given a banner of fleur-de-lis, French coat of arms, and an army was formed for her in Blois (www.la-pucelle.de). She was also given the rank of Captain of the army (www.netsrq.com). She took the army that she was provided with and marched towards Orleans (www.la-pucelle.de).

Joan of Arc showed her caring nature even at a young age and this helped her strong influence over the culture of her time. Joan was born in Domremy, France in 1412 with the given name of Jeanne D’Arc. This is where her common nickname Joan of Arc came from. Domremy was located in the Champagne district of northeastern France and was the last town that remained loyal to Charles VII, the heir to the throne of France (DISCovering Biographies). Joan, the daughter of Jacques D’Arc and Ysabeau (Isabelle) Romee, grew up on her father’s farm always working in the fields (Bellitto). She was responsible for herding sheep and cattle and working in the fields during the harvest season. Joan never attended school and never learned to read or write. She spent most of her time at the church or praying to the statues that surrounded it. Her religious affiliation came from her mother’s strong Catholic faith

“One day, when she was about thirteen, Joan sat in her father’s garden…A sudden flash of light seared her eyes… Somewhere out in the darkness, she heard a powerful male voice ‘Joan,’ it called” (25-26). This was the first time that this had happened and it wasn’t going to be the last time ether. Overtime she had got better at picking out this voice and finally one morning when she was daydreaming she had looked up and had saw the archangel Michael standing right beside her. Then after some time she was visited by the two saints she has always looked up to Saint Catherine and Saint Margaret. She took this as a calling to go and have the young dauphin Charles VII crowned (27-28).

Joan of Arc is a prominent figure in European history, however, most of the history surrounding the maid of Orleans "La Pucelle d'Orléans" (Lanhers and Vale, 2016), is generally focused on debunking her claims of being sent by God, and the possible reasons for her hearing voices. This essay will focus less on the legitimacy of her claims of being a prophet of God, and instead will focus on the effect they had, along with her abilities as a commander to achieving victory in the Loire campaign. It will focus on the importance of her first military victory, lifting the siege of Orleans before the start of the Loire campaign, and how its effect on the morale of

Joan first shows resistance to not fall into popular beliefs by acting upon what she considers to be the right, yet unpopular, choice. It is the year 1425, Joan is at this time a lowly, uneducated peasant girl of no apparent significance. France was in the middle of what is now referred to as the 100 years war. Although France is a relatively religious country, angelic visits are not believed to have happened since biblical times. However, Joan claims to have seen angel-type being who told her to bring the prince to his coronation in Reims and to drive the English out of France. Joan knows this will be unpopular with the public, so she keeps her visits secret. Joan acts on her “voices” as she calls them to make the journey to Chinon in order to escort the prince to Reims. Joan refused to be stopped in her mission. She made tough decisions like the choice of not marrying, and even went against her parents’ wishes at times. Joan was firm in her beliefs and didn’t listen to what others said about her.

No one was going to stand between Joan and what was right. She returned, “Joan went to Vaucouleurs again in January 1429. This time her quiet firmness and piety gained her the respect of the people, and the captain, persuaded that she was neither a witch nor feebleminded, allowed her to go to the Dauphin at Chinon” (britannica.com). Joan was set on making a difference in the world.

Her uncle was the first to have believed in her mission. On May 1428, Joan’s voices commanded her to go to Vaucouleurs to contact the garrison and supporter of Charles, Robert de Baudricourt, and with her uncle’s help she did just that. At first, Baudricourt laughed her off but Joan didn’t give in and went back the following year. Seeing that she was getting approval from the villagers, he approved and gave her a horse and some escorts. Before her departure, she changed into the man’s look she was famous for and traveled to Chinon, where Charles was currently located along with his court.

Although she could not read or write, Joan was amongst the church regulars and claimed she could hear the voice of god in her head telling her she would defeat the English army and put Charles in his rightful place on the throne. "A peace treaty in 1420 disinherited the French crown prince, Charles of Valois, amid accusations of his illegitimacy, and King Henry V was made ruler of both England and France." This led to more and more occupation of English in northern France and eventually cause Joans village to be abandoned in fear of attacks. "Joan promised Charles she would see him crowned king at Reims, the traditional site of French royal investiture, and asked him to give her an army to lead to Orléans, then under siege from the English." She was given her army to the dismay of his councilmen and it is believe she said things to Charles only a messenger of god would be able to say, but it is unknown exactly what she said. She acquired a fully white set of armor and a white horse to symbol her purity, she

The voices told Joan to leave her home, the only place she had ever known, to become a soldier, and to participate in war. The voices also insisted Joan take a vow of chastity, which she so willingly did. Joan’s God wanted her to risk her life, to escort men into battle to crown a king. Joan was urged to leave behind everything she had ever known to support her God. She boldly left her family with no more than a second glance because she was so fixed on what God wanted her to do. She knew what she had to do: crown the dauphin king of France, Charles VII. Surprisingly, Joan gained Charles’ support, quite quickly, through God. Joan joined Charles’ forces and before long, she was given an army and charged into Orléans to begin battle with the English. Joan’s success only lasted nine months, but the battles she won were so important to the French that it seems they lasted much longer. Her luck changed in May 1430, when she was captured by the Burgundians, the soldiers who ruined her town almost 20 years ago, and then sold to the English. From this point on Joan would no longer be a soldier but a prisoner for the rest of her life and this was the will of Joan’s God.

Joan of Arc was born in XXXX in the French town of Domrémy. Her family was well-off farmers. From a young age, Joan was a devout Christian. At the age of 13, Joan reported she received her divine mission where she saw a bright light and heard the voice of God commanding her she would lift the siege of Orleans and she must go to Robert de Baudricourt for an escort. She claimed to be visited by Saint Michael, Saint Catherine, and Saint Margaret, who gave her advice on how to proceed in her divine mission. Around the time of her birth, France was in despair. Before Joan of Arc’s campaign, the French had lost several major battles to the English including the annihilation of the French army at Agincourt with a loss of 10,000 French soldiers. France had also been devastated by the Black plague from 1348 to 1349 resulting in the halt of the war for nearly a decade and a significantly reduced army. After multiple losses, morale was low and

Joan of Arc started her journey to becoming a saint in 1428, when she felt that heavenly voices spoke to her (Beck 360). The voices informed her that Charles VII was the true king of France, and needed to get the crown. He was called Dauphin, or rightful heir. Joan seeked an audience with him, and ventured to Vaucouleurs, a stronghold of Charles VII, where she told the captain of the garrison about her visions. Unfortunately, he did not believe her, so he sent her home. However, Joan refused to give

During Joan’s childhood France lacked unity. They were in a war with England, known as the Hundred Years’ War, which had occurred from 1337-1453. Around the age of thirteen, she began to hear voices that she believed were sent by God to lead the French to victory.

The book pointed out that Joan was what many would consider special because she believed that she had seen and heard saints. She believed that St. Michael was her first spiritual experience, but her revelations continued to become more vivid and frequent, as her life continued. She was convinced they came from God. People either thought she was special because she heard voices from god or because they thought she was mentally ill. Joan had realized that her voices were telling her that she was chosen by God to rescue Dauphin Charles and the country of France. Joan was directed to a town called Vaucouleurs to get help from the governor and prepare to rescue Orleans and the Dauphin.

Born to a farmer and his devoutly Catholic wife on January 6, 1412, Jehanne d’Arc also known as Joan of Arc was from a small farmland in France known as Domremy. Joan had a normal childhood. She lived as a peasant girl until the year 1424. At this time Joan was having dreams and visions of different Saints, Saint Margaret, Saint Catherine, and Saint Michael, just to name a few. The Saints all had the same message for her, they all told her that she needed to help King Charles VII get rid of the English who were trying to take over France. This would become to be known as the “Hundred Years War”. (historynet, 2015)

Joan of Arc was a teenage girl who heard visions from God to lead an army. She believed that God’s plan for France was to push the English Kingdom out. She approached the king with the statement that she was from God and that was her message that she was bringing God into the war. Joan proved that a woman could lead a battlefield but the end result is unfortunate. Joan had nothing to fear because God was on her side and sent her to do this, lead an army.