From 1337 to 1453, the kingdoms of France & England engaged in a series of battles (later known as the Hundred Years’ War), fought mainly because the kings of England from 1337 claimed they should be ruling France.
The disciplined English regularly defeated the much larger French armies, winning battles in 1340, 1346, and 1356.
The king of France was forced to give up a region in 1360, which his son reclaimed in 1380.
After a break of about 35 years, England, under the leadership of King Henry V, renewed the war efforts and captured more French territories (between 1415 and 1424).
Later, Henry V married the French King Charles VI’s daughter and announced that their son would be the heir.
Charles VI’s son Charles VII was declared illegitimate and, therefore, unfit to rule.
Joan of Arc was born in a peasant family in 1412, and while she was not taught to read or write, her religious mother instilled in her a strong devotion to the Catholic Church.
At age 13, she said she heard voices from God telling her she was on a mission to save France from England; at 16, she took a vow of chastity and never married.
In 1428 (age 16), she approached Charles VII and promised that she would make sure he was crowned the king of France.
After much resistance by those in Charles VII’s camp, she was allowed to lead an army to Orléans, a territory then under siege from the English.
At 17, dressed in men’s clothes (a big deal at that time), she rode a horse and led the French to victory, reinstating Charles VII as the king of several territories (along with Orléans).
She later tried to convince Charles VII to take back Paris from England, but he wavered; also, many people in Charles VII’s team started thinking Joan was becoming too powerful.
In 1430 (age 18), during another battle, she was captured and ordered to answer charges against her, including witchcraft and dressing like a man.
Charles VII distanced himself from Joan and made no attempts to negotiate her release.
In 1431, under the threat of death, she signed a confession denying that she had ever heard God’s voice.
She was ordered never to wear men’s clothing again, but she disobeyed the order; officials later sentenced her to death, and she was burned at the stake.
After her death, she became more popular and has since been the inspiration behind many works of art and literature; she was declared a saint in 1920.
