Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc)

Joan of Arc biographical summary, trial testimony, her letters and other related documents.

Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc French Pilgrimage - July 2009:
Joan of Arc vs the French Revolution

Short Biography - Single-page text by Allen Williamson.
Long Biography - Book-length text by Allen Williamson.
Biographies - Biographies of Joan of Arc.
Timeline - Chronology of events in her life.
Letters - Surviving examples of the letters she dictated (translations / transcriptions / and/or photos).
Trial Issues - Overview of the Condemnation Trial and posthumous appeal (Rehabilitation).
Manuscripts - Scanned photos of her letters, pages from the trial transcripts, and other surviving documents related to Joan of Arc.
Family Tree - Joan of Arc's family, including the descendants of her brothers.
Portraits - Some surviving illustrations and written evidence.
Joan of Arc Quotations - Some of Joan's comments (medieval French plus an English translation).
"I had a banner..." - Her battle flags: surviving descriptions and my own illustrations.
Domrémy - Joan of Arc's hometown, as it was then and now, and her life there.
"I am called the Maiden" - Examples of her signature, and the controversy surrounding her name.
Trial Transcripts - English translation of portions of the transcripts from both trials, courtesy of the Saint Joan of Arc Center.
Reviews - Book and film reviews.
Links - Links to other websites dealing with Joan of Arc or related subjects.
Historical Association for Joan of Arc Studies - Scholarly organization.

Please send comments and error reports here.
Copyright © 1999 - 2007 Allen Williamson. All rights reserved.
Site last updated: 10 December 2007

"Ja soit ce que pas ne deserve
Vostre grace par mon servir,
Souffrez au moins que je vous serve
Sans vostre mal gre deservir."

("La Belle Dame Sans Merci", 1424)

Brief Overview

St. Joan of Arc was born at Domrémy, France circa 6 January 1412. Citing a mandate from God to drive the English out of France, she was eventually given an escort to bring her before Charles of Ponthieu (later known as King Charles VII). After gaining the approval of the Church scholars at Poitiers in March of 1429, she was granted titular command of an army which quickly lifted the siege of Orléans on 8 May 1429, captured Jargeau, Meung-sur-Loire, and Beaugency in mid-June, and defeated an English army at Patay on June 18. After accepting the surrender of the city of Troyes and other towns, the army escorted Charles to the city of Rheims for his coronation on July 17. An unsuccessful attack was made on Paris on September 8, followed by the successful capture of St-Pierre-le-Moutier on November 4. As a reward for her service, Charles VII granted her noble status along with her family on 29 December 1429. She returned to the field the following year, despite predicting her own defeat. Captured at Compiègne on 23 May 1430 and transferred to the English, she was placed on trial in Rouen by a selected group of pro-English clergy, many of whom nevertheless had to be coerced into voting for a guilty verdict. Convicted and executed on 30 May 1431, she was subsequently declared innocent by an Inquisitorial court on 7 July 1456 after a lengthy re-trial process which was initiated shortly after the English were finally driven from Rouen, thereby allowing access to the documents and witnesses associated with her trial. The presiding Inquisitor, Jean Bréhal, ruled that the original trial had been tainted by fraud, illegal procedures, and intimidation of both the defendant and many of the clergy who had taken part in the trial, and she was therefore described as a martyr by the Inquisitor. After the usual lengthy delay associated with the sluggish process of canonization, she was beatified on April 11, 1909 and canonized as a saint on 16 May 1920.
Click here for longer biographies;
or here for a timeline of her life.