Joan of Arc: who was it, trajectory, death

Joana D'arc was a peasant woman who played an important role in the Hundred Years War, leading the troops of Carlos VII in important conquests. Captured by the British, she was tried and sentenced to death at the stake for witchcraft, being executed at the age of 19. In the 20th century, she had her image rehabilitated and today she is one of the great names in French history.

Accessalso: Carolingians, the important 8th century Frankish dynasty

Birth

Joan of Arc was born in Domrémy, a village in northeastern France, in the year 1412. Currently, the village where she was born is called Domrémy-la-Pucelle, as a way to honor her, as pucelle means "maiden" and one of the ways she became known was "Maiden of Orleans”. The day of Joana's birth is the subject of debate and many believe it was January 6th.

Joan of Arc was a peasant and daughter of Jacques d'Arc and Isabelle Romée. Her parents owned a small land from which they made their living, and Jacques still served as a local tax collector. Joan of Arc was the youngest daughter of the couple, who had five children in all. Her upbringing was quite Catholic.

France in the 15th century

In the fifteenth century, France was facing the consequences ofHundred Years War, a dynastic conflict that spanned 116 years and was marked by intervals. The disagreement between the French and the English began in 1328, when Charles IV, French king, died and left no direct heirs to assume the throne.

the king of england, Edward III, he claimed to have the right to the French throne, because he had maternal descent with Carlos IV. It turns out that the possibility of an English monarch being crowned King of France did not appeal to the French nobility, who feared it would turn into a loss of autonomy.

Thus, the claim of Edward III was rejected based on the Salic law, French law that prohibited women and their descendants from assuming the throne of the country. Thus, Philip VI was crowned French king, which created a certain strain on relations between the English and the French. France's alliance with Scotland led to the start of the Hundred Years' War in 1337.

Accessalso: War of the Roses and the dispute for the English throne

What is Joan of Arc's involvement with the war?

The war with England related to Joan of Arc as it related to the lives of thousands of other peasants. Conflict brought destruction to the land; the destroyed land produced less; reduced production caused famine, and famine weakened a very poor population, bringing them disease.

The coronation of Charles VII in Reims was only possible because Joan of Arc led the conquest of that city.

In addition, the peasants saw their livesbeing threatened every time an enemy attack happened. The very village in which Joan of Arc was born had already been attacked by burgundies (allies of the English). The religious upbringing added to the desire to see the war end made Joan of Arc one of the great names in French history.

Joan of Arc claimed she had visions and she heard the voices of Archangel Michael, Saint Catherine of Alexandria, and Saint Margaret of Antioch. In these supernatural apparitions, she was told to take part in the war against the English to drive them out of France and to secure the coronation of Charles VII, King of France.

According to Joan of Arc, the supernatural apparitions had happened since she was 13 years old and, at 16, she decided to take part in the war. So she asked to be taken to Vaucouleurs, where there was a French garrison led by Robert de Baudricourt. There she went to see Baudricourt to arrange transport to take her to Chinon to meet the king.

The commander refused to listen to Joan of Arc, but the peasant managed to convince the local population of her purpose and soon many demanded that Baudricourt do what Joan of Arc asked. So he did and so Joan of Arc prepared to meet the French king. She got a private meeting with Charles VII, but how she got it is a mystery.

Another mystery surrounding Joan of Arc's encounter with the French king was how she managed to convince Charles VII to give it all in that she needed: men, weapons, armor and command of troops. Thus, Joan of Arc actively participated in the Hundred Years' War, but among historians there is some controversy about her degree of involvement.

Many historians disbelieve that she fought on the battlefield. According to them, she only fulfilled roles that involved setting up the strategy and preparing the troops, as well as motivating the soldiers. Despite that, Joan of Arc was instrumental in two victories expressive cities of France: in Orleans and Reims.

Reims, in fact, was the place where traditionally French monarchs were crowned. the conquest of this city allowed the coronation of Charles VII, on July 17, 1429. Despite the expressive victories, Joan of Arc also suffered defeats, as was the case with the failed siege of Paris, even in 1429. In any case, the young woman's involvement broke a cycle of French defeats.

Accessalso: Cathars, group actively pursued by the Inquisition

Death

In 1430, burgundys captured Joan of Arc during the Battle of Compiègne. She was sold to the British and remained imprisoned, as she would be brought to trial. The British wanted to take away the credibility of the French to make the coronation of Charles VII invalid. THE Holy Inquisition she was used to judge her.

The trial went on for four weeks and dozens of indictments piled up. In the end, wearing men's clothing and claiming that she heard voices became the factors in her conviction. Due to the accusation of witchcraft (the voices she heard were taken as voices emitted by the devil), Joan of Arc was condemned à death at the stake.

THE execution took place on May 30, 1431, in a public square, in the city of Rouen. It is said that on the day she received the sacrament of the Eucharist, she was dressed in white and taken to her execution. Joan of Arc was burned alive, and reports say that she was crying out for Jesus. At the time, she had 19 years old.

Rehabilitation of Joan of Arc

In the 20th century, the image of Joan of Arc was completely rehabilitated. Thus, she was canonized in 1920 by Benedict XV. [1]

Charles VII did not intervene in the process of Joan of Arc and did not try to save her from her fate. However, after she passed away, he tried to act so that she had her lawsuit annulled, because having her image linked with that of a woman convicted of witchcraft was not good for his reign. So he obtained from Pope Callixtus III the Annulment of the conviction of Joan of Arc.

The rehabilitation of Joan of Arc's image was completed in the 20th century, when she was beatified and canonized. His beatification took place in 1909, and the canonization was carried out by Pope Benedict XV in 1920. This event was part of an effort by the Catholic Church to renew ties with France, a country that was extremely secularized after the French Revolutioncess.

Currently, Saint Joan of Arc is considered the national patroness of France and there is even a commemorative date for her: May 30th.

Image credits

[1] Nancy Bauer and Shutterstock

By Daniel Neves Silva
History teacher