The Hundred-Years’ War, a conflict between France, England and France over French succession, raged for nearly 100 years before either side knew the name Joan of Arc. As Henry V, an English king, was ready for French conquest, the French suffered a devastating defeat at Agincourt in 1415. Henry V’s demise in 1422 saved France, but Charles VII the young French Dauphin could not take over the throne. A young peasant girl called Joan of Arc visited Charles VII, declaring that she was being called forth by God to lead the French army to battle and expel English settlers from France. Joan would win the Siege de Orleans victory for France, which was a significant victory that boosted French morale after a decade with military defeats against England. But her luck would not last. Joan of Arc, a condemned heretic, was captured and sold to England in 1430. How could this emblem of French military spirit be so ruined? Joan of Arc was tragically killed by heresy used in the medieval period to kill political enemies. Joan of Arc ignored gender norms and lived in a society hostile to women.
Joan of Arc wasn’t the sorceress or heretic that she was. When asked about her religious practices, she said that she had “confessed all her sins every year…and received Holy Communion at Easter,” which is what most Christians would expect. It was God who led her to her mission, she believed. She was only 17 when she received the voice that encouraged her to “go to France regularly, to be a good citizen, and to keep going to church often.” Medieval Europe was dominated by men, so women did not have a proper place in military service. Joan of Arc felt that she had to leave her safety to follow the Dauphin’s lead and fight for France, even though religious faith was prevailing. Joan must have believed strongly that God selected her to help free France from English control. The French didn’t seek out a young prophet to increase the morale of their troops, but that was not the only reason. Joan sought Robert de Baudricourt out and he twice denied Joan. But the third time, he took Joan and gave her attendants. This was a sign of Joan of Arc’s reluctance to allow her to lead her troops into battle. Being responsible for the fate of a country was a huge responsibility. Joan of Arc’s determination to fight was informed by religious belief. The English made Joan of Arc a target because of her prominence during the Siege of Orleans. In her letter to King of England, Joan of Arc used the authoritative tone to defend France. She referred to herself as “the maid” in third person and invoked “the King of Heaven” to defend the Dauphin’s political claim. Joan of Arc also declared, “I’ll find your men and make them flee France…and, if they refuse, the Maid” Joan of Arc was right to assert that the French had performed this “greatest feat in the name of Christianity” in defeating the English at the Siege of Orleans. Joan of Arc was a charismatic, powerful, holy woman with charisma. This same God-given authority was evident in her person. It is not difficult to see how she rallied French loyalty against England’s attempted invasion of France. Joan of Arc was thus a major threat for English political interests in Hundred Years’ war.
Although Joan of Arc was fundamentally religious, her trial took on a political twist. Her interrogators would ask her numerous questions about the Dauphin (whom her king was), about “when she heard the voice reveal the king” as well as “how did the king view the revelations.”
Although Joan of Arc was the subject of the interrogations, her visions were not the object of the interrogations. However, the purpose of the interrogations to possibly uncover state secrets shows how Joan of Arc was politically motivated. France’s victory over the English was made possible by Joan of Arc. Charles VII was the most difficult enemy for the English. The English discredited Charles VII as a symbol of French morale, and consort with the devil. Charles VII was thus illegitimized. This is an example of a common pattern in late medieval times, when some factions tried to exterminate their political enemies via heresy allegations.
Joan of Arc is often mentioned in various accounts as someone who disapproves of gender norms or gendered dress. Joan of Arc is portrayed as a contemptuous person who uses her disregard to attack others. “By whose advice she put upon men’s clothes, she was interrogated, which she repeatedly refused to answer,” suggesting that women didn’t have the authority to choose to wear men’s clothing for any other purpose than to be tempted by some perverse force. Johann Nider tells us that Joan of Arc is mentioned when the master asks him about witches, sorcesses, and other such things. Joan “always wore a man’s dress” and no doctor of divinity could convince her to wear it. Her hateful contemporaries also emphasized Joan’s attire as evidence of her association with the devil. Even doctors of divineity wanted to limit France’s God-sent savior’s access to women’s clothing. Based on Joan of Arc’s clothes, this debasement of Joan of Arc shows the attitude of the late medieval period towards gender roles. This belief in the strict conformity to expected attire could also reflect the time’s anxiety about non-conformists and outsiders.
Women were not held in high regard in the late medieval period. It could have been particularly cruel towards those women who didn’t conform to the expectations of men in power. Johan Nider’s exchanges between masters and students reveals how the late medieval period viewed women. The exchange involved two women who claimed that God sent them to Joan of Arc. Although the one woman later renounced her proclamations she was actually burned. This tale reveals the fate of women speaking out: silence, death or both. The master states that nature has three parts: “The tongue, ecclesiastic, or the woman”. Speech and faith are both fundamental components of the medieval experience. The master compares women to these three elements. Women lose control and are either subject to holiness or misguided temptations. “I can’t comprehend how the fragile sex can rush into such presumptuous acts,” the pupil says, and the master continues with, “these are amazing to simple folks like yourself, they are not uncommon in the eyes wise men.” This is a condescending attitude that men have towards women’s potentials. Women who do not agree with men’s wills are silenced and their convictions are rebuked.
Joan of Arc was a rebel against the expectations of women. She refused to retract her convictions. Her malicious contemporaries used base slander to destroy her reputation. Interrogators probed Joan of Arc’s visions, searching for every contradiction. Joan of Arc did not give up on her mission of God. Her responses were consistent with the theme that “she refused several time to answer”. She was unable to be broken by her enemies and she ended up burning. Joan of Arc left behind a trail of lies to damage her power. The master describes a woman who claimed to be Joan. She married a priest or pimp and then went to Metz to live as his concubine. This led to the scandalization of Joan’s women.
It is clear that hostile factions sought ruin to the reputations of women perceived as a threat. Joan of Arc was attacked by contemporaries for her purity. Joan of Arc was criticized for her dress and visions that brought her to such heights. These visions were “judged the work of a spirit evil.” Joan of Arc spoke highly of Joan of Arc and helped to change the tide of war. Joan of Arc was thus degraded by her enemies who used base insults to undermine her convictions. Joan of Arc was slandered by her enemies, and they finally got their long-awaited ending. They used this evidence to declare Joan a witch and exterminate Joan as an imminent threat to the country.
Joan of Arc was a true Saint. Her religious devotion was so strong that she left her safety to join arms with the English. Without her leadership and divine visions the French might not have survived the Siege de Orleans defeat. The English would have won France. Joan of Arc would be killed because of her faith in God and for not respecting society’s expectations. The circumstances that led Joan of Arc’s death are examined to understand not only current attitudes toward women, but also the contradictions involved in managing political warfare in a Christian world.
