8 JOAN OF ARC Under normal circumstances Joan would probably have grown up to live a quiet regular life She and her four siblings were well off enough and perhaps Joan would have been married to another middle-class farmer in the area Most women and even men for that matter unless they were bound for jobs in the clerical or legal fields or for university studies did not learn to read or write Joan lived pretty much the same life and did the same things as her siblings and peers of her age Most women who were famous or influential then were royalty or otherwise married into power or influence But an entirely different life and destiny lined up for the young woman who would become known as the Maid of Orléans Rather than remain in her small village she would defy the typical roles a girl and woman usually took during this era Joan of Arc would instead become one of the most roman tic figures in European history She would become a leader a warrior and a French national hero To the enemies of her people the English she would be a thorn in their side and a heretic But she would also be a reputed prophet and holy messenger who would become famous for her heroism devotion and ultimate sacrifice for her faith and nation Eventually she would even become a saint
THE VISIONS OF A YOUNG WOMAN T he tiny village of Domrémy rarely figured into import ant events Less than two hundred people lived there mostly growing crops or making wine Most French people were faithful Roman Catholics and Domrémy’s villagers were no different As historian Donald Spoto writes in Joan The Mysterious Life of the Heretic Who Became a Saint faith and its practice were mainstream aspects of medieval life and the language of faith was like a common coun try in which all people lived A RESPONSIBLE CHILD Joan of Arc in French Jeanne d’Arc was prob ably born in 1412 although some accounts This image shows a room in the house where Joan is believed to have been born in modern-day Domrémy-la-Pucelle France 9 CHAPTER ONE
10 JOAN OF ARC Joan’s simple and unremarkable origin as a farm girl who tended sheep is shown in this sixteenth-century illustration
The VisiONs OF A YOuNg WOmAN 11 say it may have been a year earlier At the time few peo ple cared very much about their exact date of birth or age and these were mostly not recorded in any official way Joan learned to spin sew and cook and also to love God Though most young people prayed Joan was known for being particularly devout and prayed in church much of the time BORN INTO WARTIME Despite its name the Hundred Years War actually lasted about 116 years and was not continuous It was a series of conflicts making up one of recorded history’s longest wars The combatants or partici pants were England and its supporters including the French duchy of Burgundy versus the kingdom of France and its allies When France’s monarch died in 1328 England’s King Edward III who also controlled parts of southwestern France under the title of duke sought to become the French king too This prompted a pro longed struggle over French lands that was broken up by periods of truce France even had the upper hand for a time But a period of civil war among the French themselves around 1407 weakened them and also inspired England’s Henry V to invade Normandy in 1415 He and his allies the Burgundians soon controlled the major southwest region of Aquitaine and all of France north of the Loire River including the capital Paris They also ruled Reims the city where French kings were traditionally crowned This prevented the newly established heir to the French throne Charles VII from being crowned the true king But a new era and new champion would soon arise to break this stalemate
