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--Joan of Arc--

By Stacy Long 8M

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Gentle Dauphin, I am Joan the Maid.

The King of Heaven sends me with this message. You

shall be crowned in Rheimsit is god s will thatthe English shall leave France.

She was a wartime child, because she was born in a time of suffering

and civil war. At the age of thirteen, she started hearing voices from the

heavens. When she was seventeen she led an army into battle and became the

hero of France. She was dead at nineteen, burnt at the stae. Almost !""

years after she died, she became a saint. She was #oan of Arc.

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This is a true story. It is a story about a young peasant girl whowent on an impossible mission and succeeded. It happened a very long time ago,

almost six hundred years ago, in the Middle Ages in France.

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Life was harsh when there was the undred !ears "ar in France. It did actually last for more than a hundred years. The war began in #$$% when the

&ing of 'ngland decided that France should become part of 'ngland. The 'nglish invaded France, but the French did not want to become part of

'ngland, of course, and fought bravely to (eep the 'nglish out. France and 'ngland (ept fighting until #)*$.

In around #$+, there was a rumour that the French &ing was mad, and the -u(e of urgundy was running things. The du(e didn/t want the fighting0he thought it would be wiser to let the 'nglish have their own way. The &ing was convinced to sign a treaty that said he could go on ruling until he died,

but then the 'nglish &ing, enry 1, would rule both 'ngland and France.

ut the French prince 2harles didn/t agree. e was the -auphin, the crown prince0 he was the real heir to the throne. 3ow he had been pushed away,rudely.

owever, many agreed with 2harles. They wanted a real French -auphin.

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4o there was a big fuss when the &ing of France died. enry 1 the 'nglish &ing could not succeed him because he had died months before. There

were two possible &ings5 the nine6month old son of the 'nglish &ing or the -auphin 2harles, who was nineteen years of age at the time. France got

divided into two, with the 'nglish and du(e urgundy in the 3orth and the French in the 4outh. 3ow the French were fighting each other.

Then a miraculous thing occurred. It came from a small village in Lorraine called -omr7my. A peasant girl from that place would change everything.

er parents called her 8eanette. "e call her 8oan.8oan was the daughter of a tenant farmer at -omr7my, on the border of the -uchy of ar and Lorraine. orn in -omr7my, France about #)#, she was

a peasant girl, 9ust li(e all the other girls in her village. 4he was strong, and used to hard wor(. 4he would help her father out sometimes, but she mostly

stayed at home with her mother. Li(e her siblings and parents she could not read or write. The only education she had was from her mother, who taught

her to say prayers and understand the church.

:ne day at the age of thirteen, 8oan saw a really bright light in the garden of her home. 4he also heard a voice, but there was no one there. At first, 8oan

was scared. ut after she heard several voices a few times, she realised they were the voices of 4aints. As 8oan grew older, the 4aints told her she musttravel to the -auphin at 2hinon and win bac( France from the 'nglish. 4he must also get bac( the besieged city of :rleans. Then ta(e the &ing to

;heims and crown him.

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8oan went to 1aucouleurs, a nearby town, to find ;obert de audricourt, the 2aptain. 4he

got an audience with him, than(s to her relative -urand Lassois, and told him that she would

save France. At first he made fun of her and didn/t believe her.

8oan was determined, however. 4he came bac( again, when she was seventeen, and this

time, de audricourt listened. e gave 8oan an escort and a horse. 4he cut her hair short andwore men/s clothes so she could travel safely. It was a cold winter trip through

urgundian territory. They travelled at night and avoided cities.

"hen they arrived, the &ing was expecting them. e had dressed li(e his courtiers to

test 8oan. 4he entered and wal(ed straight up to the &ing. owing, she said5 but he answered saying5

pointing to another man. ut 8oan (new that hewas the real (ing and was not fooled. 4he then tal(ed to him privately and gave him a sign.

3o one (nows what it was, but after that, the -auphin trusted 8oan.

2harles was always cautious. e too( 8oan to ?oitiers where he got scholars to test whether the voices were from =od or the devil. The testing went on

for wee(s, and 8oan was impatient. In the end, the scholars decided the &ing could do with help from 8oan. They began the preparations solemnly.

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8oan got a suit of armour and a banner, and 8oan got the sword of 4t. 2atherine. They too( her to the army which was situated at lois, 4outh6west of

:rleans. 4he was very strict with the army, ma(ing them go to church and confess their sins. 4he forbade the soldiers from swearing and looting or

(illing civilians. 4he also was a good influence because many men who would not have thought of 9oining the army came when they heard a saint,

chosen by god, was leading the army.

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Around April *th, the army set out from lois and arrived bit by bit at the besieged city of :rleans at the end of April into the start of May. @

(ilometres upriver from :rleans, a small party had come out to meet them, but there werent enough boats to ta(e all the troops across the river, 8oan and

a small group of soldiers were escorted to the city by Lord 8ean d:rleans, the man in charge of the citys defense due to his position as the half6brother of

the -u(e of :rleans. The army successfully entered the city. The streets were filled with people, even though it was late. There was hope for the peopleof :rleans.

8oan, determined to prevent violence, dictated letters to the 'nglish telling them to go bac(. ut they didn/t ta(e her seriously. 4o she rode out to the

bridge at the front of the city. The Tourelles, which was one of the forts, guarded the other side. 4he yelled at them to abandon their fort and save theirlives, but they told her to go bac( home and called her . 8oan became angry.

The next morning, 8oan rode out with the soldiers, to attac( 4aint6Loup. They conBuered it easily. The 'nglish also abandoned a second fort, escaping to

Augustins, a bigger fortress. The French decided to go bac( for that day. ut they didn/t notice the 'nglish coming to attac( their rear. "hen 8oan

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realised, she and another captain charged the 'nglish by themselves. The rest of the French were inspired, and they captured Augustins. The French

regained all of the forts except Tourelles. 8oan predicted they would ta(e it, and she would be wounded above her breast.

The battle started in the morning, when they attac(ed the fort of Tourelles. 4oon, and arrow hit 8oan on the shoulder, 9ust li(e she predicted. 4he went off

to pray and stop the bleeding, then came bac( to fight. Later on, the 2aptain wanted the army to retreat. 8oan begged him to wait a bit. 4he 9umped up

and yelled at the French to go, go and capture. "hen the 'nglish saw 8oan, they were terrified. They sBuished each other trying to get bac( over thebridge. 3early all of them fell into the river and drowned. The 2aptain of the 'nglish tumbled into the river as well, and 8oan wept for him and the rest of

the ones that had died.

The French went bac( to :rleans, but 8oan went to have her wound healed. 4he ate four or five toasts, and a little wine. That was all she had all day.

'veryone than(ed =od, because the siege of :rleans was truly over. 3ow 8oan had to ta(e the &ing of France to ;heims to crown him. That part of

the land was still controlled by the urgundians and 'ngland. 4he rode at the front of the army. A great number of soldiers followed, for now everyone

wanted to fight with 8oan, for France and the &ing.

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The 9ourney was short and successful. They captured a few occupied towns in the space of a wee(. At last, it was time for the rightful heir, the -auphin,

to be crowned at ;heims. "hen they got there, they found that there was no resistance. The troops were deserting the place in fear of 8oan. 2harles

arrived at ;heims unharmed.

:n the morning of 8uly #%, #)+, a procession made its way to the cathedral. e was crowned with a brilliant ceremony. 2harles swore an oath, and then

was (nighted by the du(e. 8oan (nelt before him and wept tears of 9oy, and also sorrow. 4he could not forget the men who had died for the &ing. 4omuch had been accomplished already. It had been only six months since her 9ourney began.

3ow 8oan/s mission had finished. It was time for her to ma(e a decision of what to do next.

&ing 2harles didn/t want to fight, but slowly the urgundians and

'nglish were gaining control again. 8oan and a small army went to

2ompiegne, where they were under siege. They slipped in at night. The

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enemy was surprised, and retreated. 4uddenly, the French were

in danger of being cut off. 8oan tried to get them to (eep going, but they

retreated. The urgundians chased them. The governor watched as

they got closer. e waited until the last minute, but had to raise the

drawbridge in fear of losing the town. 8oan got cut off, and a soldierpulled her off her horse roughly.

4he was ta(en prisoner. Loc(ed up in a tower up high, she was desperate.

4he 9umped out the window, but was recaptured and badly bruised.

8oan didn/t (now it, but 2harles had tried to reach a truce and had

made a deal with the -u(e of urgundy in which 8oan was part of

the bargain.4he was ta(en to ;ouen for trial. 4he was put in chains. There was a special

court, they would set it up so that 8oan was accused of heresy6pretending to

hear the voices of 4aints and angels and wearing mans clothing. The

punishment for those offences was death by burning.

The ishop of eauvais was evil. e had been paid by the 'nglish to

ma(e sure 8oan was guilty. e thought he could confuse her, but she was

not afraid of him.

4till, 8oan was doomed. 4he had been accused of heresy, and condemned

to death by burning. 8oan was filled with grief. It was such a dreadful way

to die.

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:n the morning of May $C, #+$#, 8oan was led through the crowd to the walled cemetery. The 9udge read out the verdict. 8oan panic(ed. 4he thought

someone would come to rescue her, but no one did. 2harles hadn/t tried to pay her ransom. e now wanted to get rid of her. 3o angels had come to open

her door. 4he (new, suddenly, that this was it. er time had come to die. 4he was terrified. The guards too( her to the scaffold and tied her up.

8oan began praying out loud, her words so moving that some 'nglishmen even wept at it. 8oan as(ed for a cross, so a man tied two stic(s together and

gave it to her to hide in her clothes. 4o the 'nglish carried out the death sentence, and 8oan was burned, at the young age of nineteen.

Many were intimidated by what they had seen. The executioner said that he feared for his life. The &ing/s secretary wept5