|
|
Joan of Arc saw dead people. Not exactly like in "The Sixth Sense", but spiritual visions of people killed as she led her troops in a drive to boot the English out of 15th century France. Joan believed that it was her divine purpose to expel the English. What's undeniable is that Joan of Arc, declared a saint centuries after her death, was a fiercely independent, driven woman, brilliant army tactician and brave teenage warrior who stayed true to her convictions to the very end ... which came on a funeral pyre.
St. Joan of Arc was born Jehanne d'Arc on January 6, 1412 to Jacques and Isabelle d'Arc in the small village of Domremy, France. Her birth came at a time of great upheaval, as a shaky truce between the French and English was on the verge of collapse.
England's King Henry V invaded France in August of 1415, and, by 1417, his troops had captured much of Northern France.
From early in her life, Joan began to tell people that she saw visions, which instructed her to be pious and attend church. In 1424, at age 12, Joan began having visions of the two early Christian martyrs Saint Catherine and Margaret as well as St. Michael the Archangel - whom the Bible identifies as the commander of Heaven's armies against Satan. At a time when most modern teens are fretting about what college to attend, Joan was lobbying King Charles VII to let her achieve what she believed was her destiny: to drive the English out of France.
Humbly presenting herself in front of the King as a simple shepherd girl, Joan explained that she had been sent by God to help him regain his kingdom. The clincher, according to accounts, was when Joan described to the King a prayer he had made in private that previous November in which he asked God to aid him in his cause if he was the rightful heir to the throne, and to punish him if he was not. Impressed by her visions, the King gave her the go-ahead to raise an army in March of 1429.
Rather than freak army troops out, Joan's apparent visions convinced them that she was indeed some sort of (slightly eccentric) divine messenger, but only after the King had her extensively examined by a group of theologians for three weeks. Needless to say, the clergymen were impressed as well, dubbing her "another Saint Catherine come down to Earth."
Joan, who believed that God had taken pity on the French for their endless suffering, also accurately predicted (or is it prophesied?) the defeat of the French army near Rouvray, north of the besieged city of Orleans. Before setting out on her military campaign, Joan drafted the first of nearly a dozen letters of ultimatum to the English, in which she warned that Jesus himself supported Charles' claim to the throne and warning them to back off and go home. The English, underestimating this scrappy gal, were unimpressed.
Disguised in male clothing, partly to avoid sexual harassment or assault from marauding troops, Joan and her army were able to lift the siege at Orleans in May of 1429 - though Joan took an arrow during the assault -- and capture three more cities by June, defeating the English army at Patay on June 18.
It was not business as usual in Joan's army squadron: she, sometimes forcibly, expelled the prostitutes from her camp, made her soldiers attend church, make confession, give up swearing and promise not to loot local towns. Even soldiers who had previously refused to support Charles volunteered to join Joan because they'd heard a saint was leading the charge. In fact, Joan famously, if not recklessly, led her troops into battle carrying her banner - which featured a divine image on it - but not a weapon, since she said she did not want to harm anyone.
With several more victories under her belt, King Charles granted Joan of Arc noble status. As a result of her tireless, brave victories, Charles, with Joan by his side, was officially crowned King, an official bit of business that had eluded him for years. Joan was also able to secure a (temporary) peace treaty by year's end.
A vision from her saints drove Joan to predict her own defeat in the following year's campaigns, a prophecy that came true when she was captured at Compiègne on May 23, 1430. And, as she had also predicted, she was reportedly betrayed by French soldiers and/or officials. Handed over to the English, Joan of Arc was put on trial by a group of pro-English clergy, who had been coerced into declaring a guilty verdict during an Inquisition trial. The trail was seen as a measure of revenge on the French rather than a true trial of a heretic. Joan, who, even in jail insisted on wearing her male clothing to avoid being raped, was eventually convicted of being a cross-dresser, which was forbidden by the church.
Joan was executed by being burned at the stake on May 30, 1431, but not before she forgave her accusers. She was found innocent 25 years later during a lengthy re-trial following the driving out of the English from Rouen, in which the judge found that the original trial was fraught with fraud and illegal procedures. The ruling resulted in Joan being made a martyr, which, in turn, led to her beatification in April of 1909. She was canonized as a saint eleven years later, in May of 1920.
Through force of will, conviction in her divine visions, sheer guts and military genius, Joan of Arc secured a place in history as a warrior without peer. Honest, loyal, brave and maybe a bit out there, Joan won as many battles with strength as she did with the daunting intensity of her personality.
By Gil Kaufman
 Back to Clone Parents Bios
|
|
