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The Demise of Joan of Arc
Why did she die so young?
It does not happen often in life that someone is able to call their own shot and see it through to the end. But that is exactly what Joan of Arc did, and it is the reason that she is revered as a mystical figure at the end of the Hundred Years’ War. Beginning at the tender age of 13, Joan claimed to have received visions from a number of saints, including St. Michael, St. Catherine, and St. Margaret. The saints bestowed upon her a divine mission to remove the English from French soil and to help the uncrowned dauphin of France, Charles VII, to ascend the throne.
After receiving visions at 13, Joan of Arc petitions the dauphin himself at the age of 17 and urges him to allow her to lead an army against the English entrenched around the French city of Orleans. The English believed that if they could topple Orleans, they would become the undisputed masters of France. They were being supported in the French countryside by the Burgundian faction. (The Burgundians were French who supported the Duke of Burgundy, who had sided with the English in hopes of securing greater power and autonomy in the new iteration of France.)
Out of desperation, Charles VII allowed Joan to attempt a relief of Orleans by petitioning local lords. She wore armor, held up a cross, and proclaimed visions and messages from the divine. Many…
