Imagine• being only 17 and commanding the

army of an entire nation• taking an arrow to the chest, yet

continuing to fight• ending a siege that had been going on

7 months in only 3 days• leaping from a 60 foot tower and

surviving• being burned at the stake when you

are only 19 years old

This was the life of Joan of Arc

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Once upon a time, in 1337, the English had control of parts of France (Atchley http://www.french-at-a-touch.com/French_History/hundred_years_war_1337-

1453.htm). The French did not like this and

wanted them out! Thus, the Hundred Years’ War began.

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The Hundred Years’ War was a series of wars between the French and English kings.

Since there were numerous truces and treaties over the years, it was called the Hundred Years’ War, even though it really lasted a total of 116 years (Atchley http://www.french-at-a-touch.com/French_History/hundred_years_war_1337-

1453.htm).

When Jehanne d'Arc (pronounced “Jan/Jun dark”) was 13, she began to hear the voices of angels, telling her she must save France (Kennedy

http://www.maidofheaven.com). (Jehanne d'Arc was her real name; the English version of ‘Joan of Arc’ was actually never used while she was

alive).

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She went to see Charles VII and was tested by him and the church for several weeks. After proving herself, he gave her command of an army.

She won the siege in only 3 days and drove the English out of Orleans, even after being wounded by an arrow (Kennedy

http://www.maidofheaven.com).http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1215/1446923775_11d9d4b223.jpg

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On May 23, 1430 she was captured by French soldiers who were traitors and sold her to the English (Greenblatt & Lemmo 417).

She attempted to escape by jumping from a 60 foot tower, but was recaptured (Kennedy http://www.maidofheaven.com).

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She was tortured and put on trial for heresy (blasphemy) by the English in Rouen, France (the English had control of this area). Charles VII, who became king thanks to her, did not even try to help her.

She was found

guilty and sentenced to death.

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A cardinal interrogating her in prison.

On May 30,

1431, Jehanne d'Arc was burned at the stake in front of hundreds of onlookers (Kennedy http://www.maidofheaven.com).

Her ashes were

thrown in the Seine River.

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Twenty-four years later, a trial deemed her innocent. She was called a “martyr who was wrongly executed by…clergy abusing” their power (Kennedy http://www.maidofheaven.com).

“In 1920, the Catholic Church declared her a saint” (Greenblatt & Lemmo 417).

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The Hundred Years’ War continued after Jehanne’s death, until the French finally drove the English out of (most of) France in 1453 (Greenblatt & Lemmo 417).

http://www.schillerinstitute.org/graphics/statue_monumts/Joan_of_Arc_Place_du_Parvis_Reims_France.jpg

BibliographyAtchley, Sharon. “The Hundred Years’ War”. French at a Touch.

2008.http://www.french-at-a-touch.com/French_History/

hundred_years_war_1337-1453.htm. March 23, 2010.

Greenblatt, Miriam and Lemmo, Peter. Human Heritage: A World History. New York: Glencoe McGraw-Hill, 2006.

Kennedy, Ben. “The Life of Saint Joan of Arc”. Maid of Heaven. 2010. http://www.maidofheaven.com/. March 23, 2010.