Military Leader · 1412 – 1431
Joan of Arc
Key Takeaways
- Joan of Arc was a peasant girl who led French armies in the Hundred Years' War.
- She believed she was guided by visions of saints.
- She lifted the siege of Orléans and helped crown Charles VII.
- Captured and burned at 19, she was later canonized as a saint.
Joan of Arc is one of history’s most extraordinary figures: an illiterate peasant girl who, at seventeen, took command of the spirit of a nation. Convinced she was guided by divine visions, she changed the course of the Hundred Years’ War.
The Maid of Orléans
France was losing badly to England when Joan persuaded the future Charles VII to let her join his army. In 1429 she helped lift the long English siege of Orléans — a stunning reversal — and led a string of victories that enabled Charles’s coronation at Reims, restoring French confidence and legitimacy.
Trial and martyrdom
Captured by Burgundian allies of England, Joan was handed to a hostile court and tried for heresy. At just nineteen she was burned at the stake in Rouen. A retrial a quarter-century later declared her innocent, and in 1920 the Church canonized her as a saint.
Legacy
Joan of Arc became an eternal symbol of faith, courage and France itself — a heroine who, like the later Elizabeth I, defied every expectation of her sex and her station, and whose story still inspires across the world.
Influence
Joan of Arc reversed the fortunes of France in the Hundred Years' War and became an enduring symbol of faith, courage and national identity, inspiring generations from peasants to revolutionaries.
Legacy
Canonized as a saint in 1920 and a patron of France, Joan of Arc remains one of history's most celebrated heroines and a symbol of conviction against impossible odds.
Controversies
- She was tried for heresy by a pro-English court; the trial was later annulled as unjust.
Notable Quotes
“I am not afraid; I was born to do this.”
Connections
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Joan of Arc?
Joan of Arc (c. 1412–1431) was a French peasant girl who, guided by visions, led French armies to key victories in the Hundred Years' War before being captured and burned at the stake.
Why is Joan of Arc a saint?
She was canonized in 1920 by the Catholic Church, centuries after a retrial annulled her unjust heresy conviction and recognized her as a martyr.
Citations & Sources
People Like Joan
Charlemagne
89Charlemagne was the King of the Franks who united much of Western Europe and was crowned Emperor in 800 AD, reviving the idea of a Roman empire in the West and sparking a cultural revival.
Why An earlier savior-figure of France, centuries before Joan rallied the kingdom.
Napoleon Bonaparte
94Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader who rose during the French Revolution, crowned himself Emperor, and dominated European affairs for over a decade.
Why Another French military hero who became a national symbol.
Elizabeth I
89Elizabeth I was Queen of England from 1558 to 1603, whose long and stable reign — the Elizabethan era — saw a golden age of culture, the defeat of the Spanish Armada, and England's rise as a sea power.
Why A later woman whose leadership, like Joan's, defied the gender expectations of her age.
Genghis Khan
93Genghis Khan was the founder and first Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, a military genius who united the nomadic tribes of the steppe and forged the largest contiguous land empire in history.
Why Also a military leader · Active in the same era
Saladin
86Saladin was a Kurdish Muslim sultan who founded the Ayyubid dynasty, united Egypt and Syria, and famously recaptured Jerusalem from the Crusaders, earning renown even among his enemies for his chivalry.
Why Also a military leader · Active in the same era
George Washington
91George Washington was the commander of the Continental Army in the American Revolution and the first President of the United States, whose leadership and restraint shaped the new republic.
Why Also a military leader · Comparable historical impact