Joan of Arc:
Myths and Facts

The history of the Hundred Years’ War knows many military leaders, but the figure of Joan of Arc stands apart, generating debate among historians, theologians, and physicians for six centuries. The Maid of Orleans, burned at the stake by the Inquisition in 1431 and canonized in 1920, remains a complex subject for impartial analysis. The documentary record of her life is unique: the minutes of two trials — the indictment (1431) and the rehabilitation (1456) — have survived, allowing us to reconstruct the details of her biography with a precision unattainable for most medieval monarchs. However, the layering of legends, political propaganda, and religious exaltation requires a surgical separation of fact and fiction.

Social Origins: The Shepherdess Myth

The image of Joan, ingrained in the popular imagination, as a penniless shepherdess suddenly called by God from her flock of sheep is a later Romantic construct. An analysis of tax records and testimony from residents of Domrémy paints a different picture. Joan’s father, Jacques d’Arc, belonged to the wealthy peasant class. In the medieval Lorraine hierarchy, there was a clear distinction between the "manouvrier" (a farmhand who worked with his hands) and the "laboureur" (a plowman who owned land and draft animals). The d’Arc family belonged to the latter category.

Jacques d’Arc owned approximately 20 hectares of land, forests, and a significant herd of livestock. Moreover, he held the elected position of doyen — a local mayor responsible for collecting taxes and organizing the night watch. Joan herself, at her trial in Rouen, categorically denied the allegations that she herded livestock, stating that she was engaged in housekeeping and spinning wool, in which she "would have been equal to any Rouen woman." The shepherdess myth arose partly from a misinterpretation of medieval texts and partly as a biblical allusion to King David.

Domrémy was not an isolated village. Situated on the border of Champagne and Lorraine, it was part of the so-called "Barrois mouvant" — part of the Duchy of Bar, a vassal of the French crown. Residents were well aware of the political situation. Military detachments passed through the village, and the d’Arc family itself was once forced to flee to the neighboring town of Neufchâteau to escape Burgundian raiders. Jeanne grew up in an atmosphere of constant military anxiety, which shaped her perception of the conflict not as a dynastic dispute, but as an existential threat to the country.

The Phenomenon of Voices: Psychiatry and Theology

The central mystery of Joan’s personality remains the "voices" (les voix), which she began hearing at the age of 13 (around 1425). According to her testimony, the Archangel Michael appeared to her first, later joined by Saints Catherine of Alexandria and Margaret of Antioch. Medical historians have put forward numerous hypotheses attempting to explain this phenomenon from a materialistic perspective. The most well-developed theory is that of idiopathic partial epilepsy with aural phenomena.

Proponents of the epileptic theory point out that the visions were often triggered by the ringing of church bells — a sound trigger characteristic of certain forms of temporal lobe epilepsy. Joan’s hallucinations were multisensory (she saw lights, heard voices, and felt touch), which also fits the clinical picture. Another hypothesis suggests a tuberculoma (a calcified lesion of tuberculosis) in the brain, as bovine tuberculosis was common in rural France in the 15th century. However, no medical theory explains Joan’s high level of functionality: people with severe psychopathologies are rarely capable of planning complex military campaigns and conducting hours-long theological debates with inquisitors.

Joan herself described the voices as an external imperative that overwhelmed her will only at first. Later, she learned to interact with them, sometimes even arguing. The content of the messages evolved from exhortations to "be a good girl" to a specific political program: lifting the siege of Orleans, crowning the Dauphin Charles in Reims, and expelling the English. It’s important to note that Joan long resisted her mission, considering it impossible for a peasant girl. This contradicts the typical behavior of religious fanatics yearning for action.

The Road to Chinon: Gender and Politics

Joan’s decision to wear men’s clothing before her journey to Chinon had a pragmatic rationale, which later led to accusations of heresy. The approximately 450-kilometer journey passed through Burgundian-controlled territory. A woman traveling alone or with soldiers faced enormous risk of violence. Men’s clothing — a doublet, chausses, and short hair — served as protective camouflage. The commander of Vaucouleurs, Robert de Baudricourt, granted her an escort only after he was convinced of her insistence and, perhaps, after receiving tacit approval from the Dauphin’s court.

The meeting with Charles VII at Chinon is surrounded by myths about the king’s miraculous recognition in a crowd of courtiers. The reality was more complex: Charles likely knew of the arrival of the "maiden of Lorraine" and staged a test to rule out the possibility of assassination or insanity. Joan managed to convince the king of her legitimacy by imparting a certain "secret" (le secret du Roi), the contents of which remained a secret. Modern historians believe this was about Charles’s doubts about his own legitimacy: his mother, Isabella of Bavaria, had a reputation for free morals, and rumors claimed Charles was illegitimate. Joan, likely "in the name of God," confirmed his right to the throne.

The Road to Poitiers: A Theological Examination

Before entrusting Joan with the army, Charles VII sent her to Poitiers for a thorough examination. Royal theologians and lawyers spent three weeks examining her for heresy, demonic possession, and, most importantly, virginity. In medieval demonology, it was believed that the devil could not make a pact with a virgin. The examination was conducted by noble matrons under the direction of Queen Yolande of Aragon.

The Poitiers commission’s verdict became the legal foundation for its work: they found in Joan "nothing but goodness, humility, virginity, piety, honesty, and simplicity." The theologians recommended that the king utilize her, since rejecting assistance that could be divine would be tantamount to rejecting the gift of the Holy Spirit. This decision legitimized her status and created a unique position within the army — not a commander in the literal sense, but a "chef de guerre" with sacred powers.

Military Tactics: Banner and Artillery

Joan of Arc’s military role is often reduced to that of a "talisman," but chronicles attest to her active participation in tactical planning. Her approach to warfare was revolutionary for the time. The French army, demoralized by defeats at Crécy, Poitiers, and Agincourt, adhered to passive, defensive tactics. Joan, however, insisted on aggressive, frontal assaults. During the siege of Orleans, she demanded an immediate assault on the English fortifications (bastilles), despite the caution of Count Dunois and other captains.

Joan possessed an inexplicable sense for artillery placement. The Duke of Alençon testified that she positioned the cannons as expertly as if she had spent her life on military campaigns. At the Battle of Patay (Bataille de Patay) on June 18, 1429, she insisted on an immediate pursuit of the retreating English, declaring, "You have spurs, so use them!" This resulted in the rout of the English archers before they could even construct defensive fortifications of stakes — the first time the longbow tactic failed.

At the same time, Jeanne herself always emphasized her preference for the banner over the sword. She saw the white standard with its image of Christ and lilies as a symbol of national unification. During battles, she was in the thick of the fray, raising morale, but, according to her own testimony at her trial, "never killed anyone." She was wounded by an arrow in the shoulder near Orleans and a crossbow bolt in the thigh near Paris, but each time she returned to the ranks, which the soldiers regarded as a miracle.

The Rouen Trial: A Legal Trap

The capture of Joan near Compiègne on May 23, 1430, by the Burgundians and her subsequent sale to the English for 10,000 livres set in motion a political trial. The court in Rouen, presided over by Bishop Pierre Cauchon, aimed not simply to execute Joan but to discredit Charles VII. If the coronation in Reims had been performed with the help of a witch, the king’s legitimacy would have been jeopardized.

The trial was riddled with procedural violations. Joan was not provided with a lawyer. She was held in a secular prison under the guard of English soldiers, although, as a defendant in a church case, she should have been held in a church prison under the supervision of women. The charges were based on 70 articles, later reduced to 12. The main point was wearing men’s clothing, which was interpreted as "an abomination to the Lord" (according to Deuteronomy) and a sign of rejection of the feminine nature given by God.

Jeanne displayed remarkable fortitude and wit. To the treacherous question, "Are you in God’s grace?" (a trap: "yes" is pride, "no" is an admission of guilt), she replied, "If I am not in it, may God lead me there; if I am in it, may God keep me there." This answer astonished the judges and entered the annals of legal history.

Abdication and execution

The tragedy culminated in an event at the Saint-Ouen cemetery on May 24, 1431. Exhausted by her long imprisonment and the threat of immediate execution, Joan signed the abdication form. She was promised a transfer to a church prison, but was returned to the English. In her cell, her women’s clothing was likely confiscated (or she donned men’s clothing to protect herself from the guards). Pierre Cauchon recorded a "relapse." A return to the "sin" of wearing men’s clothing became a formal ground for the death sentence.

On May 30, 1431, Joan was burned at the stake in the Place du Vieux Market in Rouen. The executioner was ordered to burn her body to ashes, so that no relics would remain. The ashes were thrown into the Seine. The English sought to destroy not only her physical body but also her memory, but the effect was counterproductive. Her martyrdom cemented her status as a folk saint long before her official recognition by the Church.

Rehabilitation and historical memory

As early as 1450, immediately after the liberation of Normandy, Charles VII initiated a retrial. The rehabilitation process (1455–1456), led by inquisitor Jean Bréhal, gathered testimony from 115 witnesses. The court declared the 1431 trial invalid, noting that it had been motivated by "hatred of the King of France" and that the confessions had been obtained through fear and deception. Joan was acquitted.

The phenomenon of Joan of Arc transcends medieval history. She became a symbol of French national identity. Her image has evolved over the centuries: for monarchists, she was the savior of the throne; for republicans, a daughter of the people betrayed by the aristocracy; for Catholics, a holy martyr. In reality, Joan of Arc was a living person, combining profound personal faith, peasant pragmatism, and a steely will, who found herself at the epicenter of a brutal conflict between two civilizations.