The Saint Joan Of Arc

Joan of Arc, 1412- 1432, was a martyr, saint and military leader who led the French against the English in the Hundred Years War at a young age. She grew up in a small town in France. Her father, Jacques, and her mother, Isabelle taught her lots of things, but the most important of all was that she was very religious. When Joan has been around twelve years old, she started having visions. Once she saw Michael the Archangel, who told her that she had to lead the French in a battle against the English, and then take the king to be crowned at Rheims. She continued to have visions and hear voices until she turned sixteen, then she decided that it was time to listen to her visions and take action.

Joan of Arc was born in Domremy, France in 1412. Her parents were poor tenant farmers named Jacques d’ Arc and his wife, Isabelle who was also known as Romee. Joan learned piety and domestic skills from her mother. Joan never ventured far from her home, and would take care of the animals. She also became skilled as a seamstress.

Although most Catholics cannot become martyrs or sacrifice everything for the love of God, such as Saint Joan of Arc accomplished, there are other methods by which Catholics can please God immensely, such as the “little way” of Saint Therese of Lisieux. The greatest Catholic sacrifice is to give up one’s life for the love of God, as Saint Joan of Arc and many other saints have done. However, since the average Catholic cannot sensibly give up their life for God, it is better to follow a more realistic path. Instead, Catholics may follow St. Therese of Lisieux, who practiced her “little way,” which brought her closer to God in her everyday tasks. Although most Catholics cannot obtain God’s complete satisfaction through martyrdom, as St. Joan did, they may follow the example of St. Therese of Lisieux, who displayed, through her simplicity in life, her own version of perfect satisfaction.

History abounds with a plethora of people and events that have shaped the course of the world. Traditionally, these people have been adult males. Occasionally, however, these historical icons are females and during rare moments are children. One of these unfathomably cases is the young french women named Joan of Arc. Joan of Arc, the legendary saint that was burned at the stake, was a young farm girl who joined the Hundred Year War and died as a hero for her believes.

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)

After ending a war that had lasted for over a century, the young French hero, Joan of Arc, was tried and executed by the English for heresy when she was only nineteen. Growing up as a peasant in Pucelle, France, she heard voices which she thought to be the voice of God. Later she was told by these voices to fight for the French, and ended up playing a major role in the Hundred Years War between France and England. She led an army to liberate the city of Orleans and won over Patay, which allowed Charles VII to be crowned King of France. Nearing the end of the war, she was captured by the English, tried for heresy, and was burned at the stake when she was nineteen. As a symbol of France, Joan was put on trial by the English who sought revenge

For Joan of Arc, 1428 was the start of a new life and journey. In the May of that year, Joan makes her first trip to Vacouleurs to meet with Robert de Baudricourt asking him to send her to the king. He had initially rejected her but her strong willingness to pursue what she wanted led to her attracting a small group of followers who believedthat she truly was destined to save France according to a prophecy. Baudricort finally gave in to her and she set out to Chinon, the site of the prince’s fortress. With the help of Charles, she led an army to Orleans in March of 1429 wearing white armor on her white horse. Joan had led several French attacks and drove the Anglo-Burgundians from their fortess and forced them to leave and cross the Loire River.

"Women, like men, should try to do the impossible, and when they fail, their failure should be a challenge to others.” Amelia Earhart. Women have made remarkable impacts on history. Throughout most of history, women have had fewer legal rights and career opportunities than men. Their ideal job was to be mothers or housewives. However, there were numerous amounts of women who have stood up for themselves and made a change. When in the face of discrimination, they held their heads high and persevered, showing the world that males are not always authoritative. Joan of Arc was one of these heroic females who made a major impact throughout history.

Would the world be different if Joan of Arc hadn't united France? Joan of Arc was a peasant girl who lived in France. The people of France called her Maid of Orléans. She is still known as one of France's greatest Saints for her many accomplishments. Joan of Arc has lead France to many great victories, but her greatest accomplishment was uniting France. Being a woman these accomplishments were hard for her because she had little support and no military training to be prepared for these battles. The low support she had did not stop her, however she was confident she could come out with a victory. She had many struggles along the way, and lost many battles, but she became one of France's greatest Saints.

Joan of Arc was a powerful military leader and a skilled warrior. Now St Joan of Arc is considered a saint and a martyr. The influence left by Joan’s life was an inspiration to all. France was forever changed by the empowering presence of Joan.

For more than a hundred years, the Kingdom of England and the House of Valois of France found themselves locked in war for the French throne. The hundred and sixteen year series of battles took place from 1337 to 1453, with historians often separating it into three phases: the Edwardian Era (1337- 1360), the Caroline War (1369- 1389), and the Lancastrian War (1415- 1453). Despite English success that lasted the majority of the conflict, and was revived by Henry V, the war resulted a French victory but high casualty losses on both sides. Beyond this, the war was not only limited to the two belligerents, but also involved Scotland, Spain, and the Low Countries, such as Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg (Villalon). The French victory and resurgence are mostly accredited to the arrival of Joan of Arc and, subsequently, the unity of the French after her execution by the English. Despite this, the question of the significance of Joan of Arc in the context of ending the Hundred

Joan of Arc is credited with leading the French army to victory over England during the 100 years war, which actually lasted around 116 years. She believed she was a messenger of god and was born to bring an end to the war. With permission from the king, Joan of Arc, lacking military and tactical training, led the french army against the English in the city of Orléans. Joan met a tragic end when she was captured by the Anglo-Burgundian and tried as a witch. She was called guilty as a witch and a heretic which led to her untimely demise being burned at the stake at age 19.

St. Joan of Arc was born around 1412, in Domremy, France, which is now known as ‘Domremy-la-Pucelle’, which means ‘Domremy, [of] the maiden’ after Joan of Arc. Joan lived in Domremy village with her peasant family, father: Jacques of Arc, mother: Isabelle Romee. Joan also had four siblings, three brothers: Jacquemin, Pierre, and Jean, and a sister: Catherine.

Spreading heresy was never something that the Catholic Church took lightly. In fact, it is known to have executed many people over time for not accepting their doctrine and beliefs. People were actually burned to the stake because they didn’t agree with what the Church preached. Heresy would receive extreme punishments by the church during the fifteenth century. In George Bernard Shaw’s Play, Saint Joan, it was no different. Joan of Arc, a young French women, is on trial in a church court for spreading heresy. In the passage, the Inquisitor tries to convince the church to punish Joan, using a variety of different strategies to appeal to the court. He tries to make members of the court feel guilt, and explain that it would be a great failure