Joan Of Arc: Roman Catholic Saint

Summary
Jeanne d’Arc, more commonly known as Joan of Arc was born in 1412 in Domrémy, Bar, France. She was a national heroine of France, that at age 18 she led the French army to victory over the British. Unfortunately, she was captured a year later at age 19 and was burned at the stake as a heretic by the English and their French collaborators. 500 years later she was canonized (made into a saint) as a Roman Catholic saint on May 16, 1920.
Historical Background
At the time of Joan of Arc’s birth, France was undergoing in a long-running war with England. This was later known as the Hundred Years’ War. The quarrel began over who would be the heir to the French throne. So by the beginning of the 15th century, the northern of part France was a …show more content…
She was a daughter of poor tenant farmer, Jacques d’ Arc and his wife, Isabelle, who is also known as Romée. Joan learned piety (devotion) and domestic skills from her mother. Never venturing far from home, Joan took care of the animals and became a quite skilled seamstress.
In 1415, King Henry V of England invaded northern France. After delivering a catastrophic defeat to French forces, England gained support from the Burgundians in France. The 1420 Treaty of Troyes, granted the French throne to Henry V as a proxy for the unreasonable King Charles VI. Henry would then inherit the throne after Charles’s death. However, around the time of 1422, both Henry and Charles died within a couple of months apart, leaving Henry’s infant son as king of both realms. The French supporters of Charles’s son, the future Charles VII, sensed an opportunity to return the crown to a French monarch.
Around this time, Joan of Arc began to have mystical visions. Over time, they became more vivid, and even had the presence of St. Michael and St. Catherine. They designated her as the savior of France and encouraging her to seek an audience with Charles who had presumed the title Dauphin (heir to the throne) and ask his permission to expel the English and install him as the rightful …show more content…
Between February 21 and March 24, 1431, she was interrogated nearly a dozen times by a tribunal, always keeping her humility and steadfast claim of innocence. Instead of being held in a church prison with nuns as guards, she was held in a military prison. It is said that Joan was threatened by torture, though there is no record that this actually occurred. She protected herself by tying her soldiers’ clothes tightly together with dozens of cords. Frustrated they could not break her, the tribunal eventually used her military clothes against her, charging that she dressed like a man.
Execution
On May 29, 1431, the tribunal announced Joan of Arc was guilty of heresy. On the morning of May 30, she was taken to the marketplace in Rouen and burned at the stake, before a crowd of 10,000 people. She was only 19 years old. One legend surrounding the event tells of how her heart survived the fire unaffected. Her ashes were gathered and scattered in the Seine.
Retrial and Legacy
After Joan's death, the Hundred Years’ War continued for another 22 years. King Charles VII ultimately retained his crown, and he ordered an investigation that in 1456 declared Joan of Arc to be officially innocent of all charges and designated a martyr. She was canonized as a saint on May 16, 1920, and is the patron saint of France.
Quotes
“I am not afraid... I was born to do this.” – Joan of Arc
“Children say that

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