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Warmatrix

War Matrix - Joan of Arc

Late Middle Age 1300 CE - 1480 CE, Generals and leaders

Joan of Arc, from 16th century manuscript
Joan of Arc, from 16th century manuscript
Joan of Arc, Maid of Orléans, was one of the few woman warriors in history, and one of the most famous.
Joan was the daughter of a peasant couple in Domrémy, a village in central France. She claimed that she was born in 1412 CE and that she started to receive visions of saints at the age of 13. At the time, France was locked in a struggle with England and Burgundy in the Hundred Years' War and doing very badly. In 1428 CE the English were besieging Orléans, the key to central France, and their victory seemed close.
When Joan was 16, she was convinced that her visions were signs of god that she should come to the aid of France. Two soldiers brought her to the attention of the garrison commander Robert de Baudricaourt. Initially she was received with scorn, but when she predicted the Battle of Rouvray, Robert turned around and informed the French king Charles VII. The latter first had her credentials thoroughly checked. Then, knowing how desperate the situation of his country was, he agreed to have her equipped with armor, mounted on a horse and put at the head of the army, hoping that he religious fervor would turn the tide.
Once with the army, she began expelling whores and forcing soldiers to become pious again. This attracted new volunteers, who believed that a saint had arrived to lead them. It is unclear whether she was just a motivational factor, or actually had a hand in changing the army's tactics. She did partake in the fighting and was wounded by an arrow and hurt in later battles too. Under her leadership the French started counterattacking and managed to lift the siege.
After the first victory the French, on her advice, moved towards Reims and liberated several towns. In the next year they defeated the English at the Battle of Patay and captured Reims, where Charles was crowned. Joan wanted to push on towards Paris, but Charles entered into negotiations with the duke of Burgundy. Later in the year he raised Joan and her family into nobility.
In 1430 CE there was a brief truce, then the fighting erupted again. Joan was with the army at Compiègne, where the French were ambushed by the Burgundians. They captured the rearguard, including the Maid of Orléans and imprisoned her. She tried to escape several times, yet failed and was sold to the English. These put her on trial for heresy, but of course the motivation was political. The English tribunal skipped some judicial procedures, found her guilty and ordered her to be burned at the stake in 1431 CE.
Joan's brief but heroic appearance on the stage was the beginning of the resurgence of the French. In the next 20 years the alliance between England and Burgundy fell apart and France reconquered most of its former territory. Joan herself got a retrial, was proclaimed innocent and a martyr.