Biography online joan of arc biography

French folk heroine and saint (1412–1431)

Several terms redirect here. For other uses, see Jeanne d'Arc (disambiguation), Joan of Arc (disambiguation), and Jehanne (disambiguation).

Joan of Arc (French: Jeanne d'Arc[ʒandaʁk]; Middle French: Jehanne Darc[ʒəˈãnəˈdark]; c. 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronation of Charles VII of France during the Hundred Years' War. Claiming to be acting under divine guidance, she became a military leader who transcended gender roles and gained recognition as a savior of France.

Joan was born to a propertied peasant family at Domrémy in northeast France. In 1428, she requested to be taken to Charles VII, later testifying that she was guided by visions from the archangel Michael, Saint Margaret, and Saint Catherine to help him save France from English domination. Convinced of her devotion and purity, Charles sent Joan, who was about seventeen years old, to the siege of Orléans as part of a relief army. She arrived at the city in April 1429, wielding her banner and bringing hope to the demoralized French army. Nine days after her arrival, the English abandoned the siege. Joan encouraged the French to aggressively pursue the English during the Loire Campaign, which culminated in another decisive victory at Patay, opening the way for the French army to advance on Reims unopposed, where Charles was crowned as the King of France with Joan at his side. These victories boosted French morale, paving the way for their final triumph in the Hundred Years' War several decades later.

After Charles's coronation, Joan participated in the unsuccessful siege of Paris in September 1429 and the failed siege of La Charité in November. Her role in these defeats reduced the court's faith in her. In early 1430, Joan organized a company of volunteers to relieve

• Joan of Arc is a national heroine of France, who came from very humble surroundings to inspire the Dauphin of France to drive the British out of the country. She was initially very successful, but later was tried for witchcraft and burnt at the stake. However, seven years after her death, the British left France and she became revered as an inspired leader.
• She was born in 1412 Domremy, France, the daughter of a tenant farmer and died at the age of 19.
• Joan of Arc’s real name was Jehanne d’Arc. She is also known as Jeanne d’Arc (French) and at her trial, she called herself – “Jehanne la Pucelle” The Maid of Orléans. She may also have gone by the name Jehanne Vouthon.
• From the age of 13, she reported hearing ‘voices from God’ – entrusting her with an important mission.

“I was thirteen when I had a Voice from God for my help and guidance. The first time that I heard this Voice, I was very much frightened; it was mid-day, in the summer, in my father’s garden. ”

– Joan of Arc from her trial transcript.

Mission to the Dauphin

• There had long been a prophecy that a young female virgin would save France. This prophecy helped to build up a following for Joan of Arc.
• Her mother had a dream that Joan led a band of soldiers because of this, her parents carefully watched over her – fearing one day she would leave home. Joan was outwardly obedient to her parent and when she felt it was time to leave, she took the help of her uncle.
• When Joan of Arc first arrived in the court of the Dauphin in  Chinon in 1428, she was initially greeted with incredulity and suspicion. She was refused a meeting with the Dauphin. However, she stayed and some locals became impressed with her honesty and fervour. Eventually, the Dauphin agreed to meet her and in a private meeting – Joan is said to have revealed something only a ‘messenger of God’ could have known. After this, the Dauphin accep

Joan of Arc (1412-1431) is a French heroine and Roman Catholic saint. Born in obscurity to a peasant family, she travelled to the uncrowned Dauphin of France, advising him to reclaim his French throne and defeat the English. Joan of Arc was sent alongside French troops to the siege of Orleans and rose to prominence after the siege was lifted after nine days. She was later captured and burned at the stake for heresy. However, as she predicted, seven years after her death, France was reunited with the English defeated and Charles crowned King.

Early Life

Joan of Arc was born in 1412 Domremy, France to peasant farmers. Legend says that she was born to an auspicious sign – held to be a forecast of national triumph. However, what is more certain is that her family were poor and her region had suffered from the long conflict between England and France.

“One life is all we have and we live it as we believe in living it. But to sacrifice what you are and to live without belief, that is a fate more terrible than dying.”

– Joan of Arc

From an early age, Joan of Arc displayed a sensitive and religious temperament. It is said by friends that “She was greatly committed to the service of God and the Blessed Mary.”

From the age of thirteen, she began to have mystical visions. In these visions, she said she felt the voice of God commanding her to renew the French nation. At her later trial, Joan of Arc said she felt these visions were as real seeing another person. The visions were often accompanied by light and the presence of saints such as St Michael and St Catherine.

“I was thirteen when I had a Voice from God for my help and guidance. The first time that I heard this Voice, I was very much frightened; it was mid-day, in the summer, in my father’s garden. ”  – Joan of Arc from her trial transcript. (2)

These visions made Joan of Arc even more religiously inclined. She would frequently go to confession and, it is said t

Biography of Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc)
by Allen Williamson

"Joan was a being so uplifted from the ordinary run of mankind that she finds no equal in a thousand years."
- Sir Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of England during World War II; from his book "The Birth of Britain", 1956.

Segment 1: Childhood

Anno Domini 1412
N the night of the Feast of the Epiphany (January 6th) at the end of the medieval Christmas season, in the year 1412 during the final waning period of relative peace secured by the Truce of Leulinghen, a baby was born to Jacques Darc (or "d'Arc") and his wife Isabelle in the village of Domrémy. She was christened "Jehanne" ("Joan" or "Joanna"), apparently after her mother's sister Jehanne Lassois, or her godmothers Jehanne Royer, Jehanne de Viteau, and Jehanne "the wife of Mayor Aubéry". Lord Perceval de Boulainvilliers later claimed that the roosters of the village, "like heralds of a new joy", hailed her birth by crowing long before dawn, as if to announce a different type of dawn.
Her childhood was spent among the pastures and meadows of the Meuse River Valley, during a period in which events were already setting the stage for her later life and death. The throne at that time was occupied by the fourth king of the Valois dynasty, Charles VI (aka Charles "the Mad" or "the Well-Beloved"), whose frequent delusional periods rendered him unable to govern. For a number of years the monarchy had been administered by several members of the Royal family - Queen Isabelle and the Dukes of Orléans, Burgundy [Bourgogne], Berri, and Bourbon - who became embroiled in an internal war after Duke Louis of Orléans was assassinated on the orders of his cousin Duke Jean-sans-Peur of Burgundy in 1407. The French were henceforth divided between the Orléanist (or "Armagnac") faction and their Burgundian rivals, a division which would be a primary factor during Joan of Arc's campaigns, capture and trial.
The context for the latter was pref