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Jeanne la Pucelle, aka Joan of Arc, was born in Dorémy ca. 1412 and was martyred at Rouen in 1431. She was a peasant girl from Champagne who at age 13 began to hear ‘voices’ urging her to save France from the forces of England and Burgundy during the later phases of the Hundred Years’ War. In 1429 she met Charles, the dauphin of France (as yet uncrowned king), who was won over to her pleadings. She joined the army at Blois and, wearing armor, led the army to a rout of the English forces who laid siege to Orléans. This led to other victories and Jeanne persuaded Charles to be crowned king at Reims in 1429 (Charles VII, 1422-1461). Her inspiring leadership had a significant impact on the portion of France under the new king’s control. Jeanne was captured by the Burundians at the siege of Compiègne and she was then sold to the English. Charles VII did nothing on her behalf. She was confined in prison and brutally treated, then tried for witchcraft and heresy in the court of the Bishop of Beauvais in the Burgundian territory. She defended herself well against sophisticated accusers and refused to betray her conscience or the ‘heavenly voices’ that urged her to actions on part of the dauphin. She was declared guilty, a decision confirmed by the University of Paris, and then handed over to be burned at the stake in Rouen on 14 May 1431, at approximately age 19. In 1456 her conviction was declared invalid by Pope Callixtus III and she was declared a saint in 1920 by Pope Benedict XV. She is commemorated in a play by George Bernard Shaw (1920) and many films such as one directed by Otto Preminger (1957), featuring Jean Seberg as the Maid of Orléans. A 2012 Vatican City stamp in her honor is based upon a painting during her lifetime. References: • Attwater and John, Penguin Dictionary of Saints Article Links: • James C Hamilton,“Vatican City New Issues: May 2017”: Vatican Notes, Vol. 60, No. 353 pp. 4-5 (2012)  St Joan of Arc 600th Anniversary of Birth - 1499M (2012) |
