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

Once upon a time, in 1337, the English had control of parts of France (Atchley touch.com/French_History/hundred_years_war_ htm). The French did not like this and wanted them out! Thus, the Hundred Years’ War began.

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 touch.com/French_History/hundred_years_war_ 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 (Jehanne d'Arc was her real name; the English version of ‘Joan of Arc’ was actually never used while she was alive).

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

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

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. 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 Her ashes were thrown in the Seine River.

Twenty-four years later, a trial deemed her innocent. She was called a “martyr who was wrongly executed by…clergy abusing” their power (Kennedy “In 1920, the Catholic Church declared her a saint” (Greenblatt & Lemmo 417).

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).

Bibliography Atchley, Sharon. “The Hundred Years’ War”. French at a Touch htm. March 23, Greenblatt, Miriam and Lemmo, Peter. Human Heritage: A World History. New York: Glencoe McGraw-Hill, Kennedy, Ben. “The Life of Saint Joan of Arc”. Maid of Heaven March 23, 2010.