Joan of Arc | French History | Mission
to Save France from English Invasion | Charles VII |
Siege of Orleans | Burned at the Stake for Heresy | A National Heroine
The year 1429 saw a change of fortune for France
when a restorationist movement emerged, inspired and symbolized
by a peasant maid of Lorraine.
Responsible for the revival of France under the rule of Charles
VII, this young woman had been given instructions from on
high to fulfil her mission, which consisted of saving France
from the English Invasion. She convinced a board of theologians
of this and was placed at the head of the King’s armies.
Leading the troops into several battles that year, she managed
to have the English siege of Orléans lifted. The campaign
ended with the triumphant coronation of Charles VII in the
city of Reims, a ceremony in which the brave woman was given
a place of honor beside the King.
Subsequently embarking on another military
campaign, this time without support of the King, she was captured
by the Burgundians and sold to English allies. She underwent
a trial and was burned at the stake for heresy in 1431. Twenty-five
years later, the Church overturned the guilty verdict, declared
her innocent and canonized her. She remains French national
hero to this day.
