Joan of Arc

Hundred Years' War

May 24, 1337

The Hundred Years War began in 1337 and ended in 1453. Chief among the reasons of the Hundred Years War was the succession of the French Crown and land disputes in France. The war started in earnest on May 24, 1337 when King Philip VI of France seized the English duchy of Guyenne. The war was effectively over with the French retaking of Bordeaux on October 19, 1453. Although Hostilities did not truly stop until the treaty of Picquigny in 1475 between Edward IV and Louise XI.

Joan Born

1412

Joan of Arc was born at Domrémy, Bar, France in 1412. Her parents were well off peasants.

Charles VI Dies

1422

In 1422 King Charles VI dies leaving the crown open to claimants from England. Next in line would be his son Charles who would be crowned as the VII.

Joan Hears Voices

1425

In 1425 Joan starts to hear the voices of saints Michael, Catherine, and Margaret. They gave her the mission of making sure Charles VII was crowned and that the English were pushed off of French soil. Joan took this to heart and began looking for ways to get in contact with Charles.

Crown-less

1427

Heir to the French Throne Charles VII cannot be crowned because the city of Reims, the traditional place to crown French Kings, is in the hands of the English enemy. The claim to the French thrown is up in the air because of this.

Siege of Orléans Begins

Oct 12, 1428

The siege of Orléans by the English begins. Orléans is targeted because it can serve as a staging point for attacks on French loyalist strongholds south of the river Loire, of which Orléans is next to.

Joan Goes to Vaucouleurs

1429

After a few failed attempts to convince the authorities of her mission, Joan travels again to the nearest stronghold loyal to Charles VII in January of 1429 . That stronghold being Vaucouleurs. At the stronghold Joan convinces the commander Baudricourt to allow her to see Charles at Chinon.

Meeting with the King

Feb 24, 1429

When she went to meet Charles VII Joan was tested by ecclesiastical authorities. They checked if she was a virgin and of sound mind. They were satisfied by what they found and let her see Charles. When they met Joan spoke to Charles privacy. This conversation alleviated his worries and may have convinced him Joan was an actual agent of God. After this Joan insisted that proof of her mission, that being to help free France and crown Charles, would be given at Orléans.

Joan Frees Orléans

May 7, 1429

From May fourth to the seventh, Joan helps to take several forts in the vicinity of Orléans for France. On the fourth she joins an an active engagement and rallies the wavering troops. On the fifth she storms a fort with the Commander La Hire. On May seventh she is wounded while trying to take fort Tourelles, but she rejoined the fight and inspired the French to victory. Taking these forts ends the siege of Orléans and French moral soars.

Castle Beaugnecy

Jun 16, 1429

Joan convinces Charles VII to proceed to Reims with the caveat that the surrounding areas of the Liore be cleared. When at Castle Beaugency Joan convinces Charles' court to allow the Constable de Richemont, whom they were suspicious of, help take the castle. They allowed this and later Castle Beaugeny was surrendered to the French.

Battle of Patay

Jun 18, 1429

The English and French armies met at Patay on June eighteenth. Joan predicted to Charles that he would win the battle and that it would be his grandest victory. Joan was correct as the English army was defeated. What was also defeated was the idea that the English army was undefeatable.

Coronation of Charles VII

Jul 17, 1429

On June 29 Charles and Joan begin to travel to Reims, but only after Charles hesitated along the Loire river. Joan finally convinced Charles to move to Reims so that he can be coronated. On July 17, 1429 Charles VII is coronated in Reims. Joan was present at coronation with her famous banner, which bore the name Jesus. When the ceremony was over she knelt in front of Charles and called him king for the first time.

Battle of Paris

Sep 8, 1429

The Battle of Paris began on September 8, 1429. At the battle Joan stood on the earthworks demanding that the Parisians surrender the city to the King. Later in the battle, even though she was wounded, she encouraged the soldiers and kept encouraging them until she had to pull back. She tried to resume the attack the next day but was ordered to retreat by King Charles’ council.

Joan Captured

May 23, 1430

While traveling to back to Compiègne after riding with a few companions she learned that the town came under siege. Joan secreted her way into the city at night and began to fight back on the morning of the twenty-third. She pushed the enemy forces back twice but was eventually outmaneuvered and had to retreat. She retreated to the Oise river and protected her force until they could cross. Unfortunately, Joan was knocked off her horse and had to surrender. She was taken prisoner.

Theologians ask for Joan

May 25, 1430

On May 25, 1430 at the University of Paris the English sympathetic theologians asked that Joan of Arc be given over to them to be judged for heresy. They also wanted to muddy King Charles’ coronation by branding the person who helped him become king a witch. She was eventually given over to the Bishop of Beauvais, Pierre Cauchon, who was also an English sympathizer. She was given to him because he presided over the diocese in which Joan had been captured.

Joan is Interrogated

Feb 21, 1431

Chuchon the bishop of Beauvais and Jean Lemaître the vice- inquisitor of France were the interrogators and judges of Joan. While imprisoned she said she was morally free to try and escape, and because of that guards were assigned to her and she was sometime chained up. Between February twenty-first and March twenty-fourth Joan was interrogated about a dozen times. Each time she was interrogated she had to swear anew to tell the truth, but refused to divulge certain information to her captors.

The Trial

Mar 26, 1431

On march twenty-six the trial truly begins. Joan had over seventy charges. Many were counts of blasphemy. Blasphemy because she claimed to have divine revelations, foresaw the future, and dressed like a man. March thirty-first she was given the trick question of if she submitted to the church. She sidestepped it by saying that the church couldn’t ere, but that she answered only to God. Her charges were then reduced to twelve. Her captors deliberated on whether torture would revel anything else.

Joan Abjures

May 24, 1431

After her captors determined that torture would not work on Joan they threaten to turn her over to secular authorities who could employ the death penalty. On May twenty-fourth Joan was taken out of her cell to be given over to the authorities. She was given a chance to sign an abjuration and did so, but only because she thought it would please God. After that she was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Burned at the Stake

May 30, 1431

On May twenty-nine Joan was found to be wearing men’s clothes, and even expressed that she preferred them. As well she said that saints Catherine of Alexandria and Margret of Anitoch chastised her for signing the abjuration. The authorities interpreted this as Joan relapsing and sent her to the secular authorities to be put to death. On May 30, 1431 in the town of Rouen Joan was burned at the stake by the English. To her last breath she maintained that the voices she heard were sent by God.

Canonization

May 16, 1920

In 1450 Charles VII ordered Joan's trial be reexamined. In 1452 Guillamue d’Estouteville completed a thorough investigation into the trial. Joan’s sentence was revoked after proceedings were put in place by Pope Calixtus III in 1455 and 56. On May 16, 1920 Joan of Arc was canonized as a saint in the Roman Catholic church and her feast day was set as May thirtieth.