The Beadle Maniacs

One of the names that were prominently known during the Hundred Years’ War was Joan of Arc. Apart from being a woman who served in the army, the military strategies that she utilized and imposed on her followers were aggressive in nature. This approach deviated from what the French was used to doing which involved the adaptation of cautious military strategies. There was an instance when the French tried to utilize an offensive military approach however this did not fare well and so they reverted to their usual cautious military strategy.

Joan set out to attach the Saint Loup fortress where she eventually succeeded. She did not allow any time for rest and again travelled to another fortress the next day. It was a place named Saint Jean le Blanc and when Joan arrived there, no one was around. Again, she did not waste a day for rest and moved on to a war council. Once there she went against the wishes of Jean d’Orleans and challenged them to another dispute and a war. Jean D’Orleans was not amenable to this and so to thwart the occurrence of war, she closed the gates of her city. This did not stop Joan from attacking. She was able to coerce the town mayor into opening the city after which she and her troops were able to conquer the city’s Saint Augustins fortress.

Joan of Arc’s aggressive approach to war lead her to a lot of victories. She was confident in her leadership abilities and the loyalty of her men. On the eve of the day she captured the fortress of St. Augustins, the war council met and were able to agree on waiting for back up and more military before launching another offensive. Joan did not agree to this and she acted on her impulse to attack the English’ strongest fortress which was called les Tourelles. This siege occurred just a couple of days after she conquered St. Augustins.

A lot of Joan of Arc’s colleagues recognized her dedication to the French military and to her country. In fact, she did not rest even when an arrow hit her on the neck. She still managed to stand up for her troops and lead them into war. Because of her constant successes, the French now saw the good in taking aggressive military strategies. Joan’s charisma even influenced Charles the VII to allow her to work with the Duke John II of Alecon’s army. She was also given the go signal to take into French custody the bridges surrounding the enemy territory of a place called Rheims.

Even highly experienced military men bowed to the ingenuity of Joan’s leadership strategies. She led the French army to a lot of victories and they were able to regain control of Jargeau, Meung-sur-Loire, and Beaugency in just a week’s time. Apart from being subjected to an arrow hit, she also received a stone cannonball blow. All these injuries and other difficulties of leading a war did not prevent her from forging on working towards her goal which was to have Charles the VII crowned as the one and only Sovereign of France.

Joan of Arc was a true woman of strength and wit. In fact, she almost single-handedly led the French troops into a lot of victories. However, Joan of Arc’s downfall was almost as fast as her rise to being considered as a French heroine.

On May 23, 1430, Joan of Arc was captured. This was primarily due to her attempt to forcibly attack Margny. This offensive act was unsuccessful and she eventually retraced her steps to a place called Compeigne. Joan decided to do this only after thousands of the Burgundians in Margny launched an offensive against her and her troops. Despite this, Joan of Arc showed her strength and dignity by being the last person to run off from the battlefield. She was eventually persuaded to stand down when she was thrown off her horse by an archer from the opposing troops.

During the time of Joan’s capture, it was the custom to offer a ransom as an exchange for a war prisoner. Despite Joan’s dedication to King Charles VII, he was unable to help in her predicament. Joan tried her very best to escape on several occasions but to no avail. Finally, the English government paid the ransom for Joan from her captors. This was negotiated by Bishop Pierre Cauchon of Beauvais. This man was also the one responsible for the trial of Joan of Arc.

Joan of Arc was tried for the crime of heresy but this was not without political motivations behind it. This was because Joan was a threat to the Duke of Bedford’s ascent to French throne. There were quite a good number of irregularities and illegitimacies in the trial of the French heroine, Joan of Arc. One of the problems with the trial was that it did not have any substantial basis under the ecclesiastical law. In fact, the main person who was responsible for Joan’s trial, Bishop Pierre Cauchon, did not have enough authority to oversee or to file the case. In addition, there was a significant lack of implicating evidence against Joan of Arc. The supposed pieces of evidence were not even substantial enough to start the trial in the first place. Despite this, the trial was begun and Joan was not even allowed the right to have someone to represent her.

Joan did not fall down without a fight. She was able to voice out her side to the English partisans very intellectually. There were some testimonies that said that thecourt transcripts were modified in order to place Joan on a bad light. Those who were part of her trial and even the inquisitor himself were threatened and coerced by the English government to convict Joan of something that she was innocent about.

Since heresy was a crime that was punishable by death during the time of Joan of Arc’s trial, she was finally sentenced to die on May 30, 1431 in front of a lot of people. She was burned on a stake. The English even went as far as burning her body twice to prove to the people that she was really dead and was unable to escape.

The Joan Of Arc story is a popular module in many school curriculums. Indeed, it is not only the history of Joan of Arc which is taught but also the moral lessons we can learn from her story as well as her leadership qualities and her steadfast belief in herself springing from her faith and self-confidence. However, recently there has been some debate over whether this story is not suitable for younger students. Last year it was reported that the Hooked On Phonics program allegedly was considering introducing a Joan of Arc Module into this child education program. You can read more about this story in these hooked on phonics reviews but it is safe to say that they didn’t go through with the proposal. I personally think Joan’s story should be heard by everyone but I guess that’s just me. Either way, most people agree that Joan was an inspirational figure who we should all look up to and admire.

There are truly a lot of influential people in history. They are individuals who were able to impress upon their generation that a single person can make a huge difference not only in one’s locality but also for the rest of the country and for the world. Most individuals are used to seeing men dominate most important events in history. However, in the history of France, a female’s name resounds. She was Joan of Arc, an ordinary woman who ultimately became a symbol of French heroism.

Joan or Jeanne d’Arc was born to a simple middle class family. Her father was named Jacques d’Arc and her mother was named Isabelle Romee. Joan lived in the duchy of Bar in a village called Domremy. This place was surrounded by Burgundian territory but those who inhabit Joan’s village were under France’s her family owned a medium sized piece of land where her father did a bit of farming. At the same time, Jacques d’Arc also worked as a village official and was mainly in charge of tax collection and the village watch.

There seems to be some doubts regarding the real year of Joan of Arc’s birth. If historians base it on Joan’s statement that she was 19 years of age when she was tried for heresy. This means that she was born sometime in 1412. Joan was able to experience her first vision when she was about 12 years of age. This was sometime in the year 1424. In her vision, she was able to see three saints namely Saint Catherine and Saint Margaret as well as Saint Michael. They instructed her to do her part in making the English leave France. She was also tasked to make the assumption of the French throne by the Dauphin possible.

Joan was not able to take immediate action for her visions. She had to wait until she was 16 when she was finally able to enlist the help of a kinsman so she can go to Vaucouleurs. There she met with the Count Robert de Baundricourt to ask his permission for Joan to go to Chinon and meet with the French court. Unfortunately, Baudricourt was unimpressed by Joan’s vision and did not grant her the permission she needed. But Joan of Arc cannot be swayed and so she returned a few months after this time bringing with men of higher stature. She was finally granted the permission to go the royal French court.

Once Joan of Arc was in Chinon, she was able to secure a private meeting with Charles VII who was very amazed with what Joan had to say. Joan was then allowed to take a trip with an army and because women in the army were unheard of, she had to be under the guise of a man. Joan of Arc possessed a natural charisma that was able to inspire the French troops. She came at the right time when the morale of the French military was in the dumps. Also, she had a style of leadership that was pretty unusual for the French Army that time.