Joan darc biography

(1412-1431)

Who Was Joan of Arc?

A national heroine of France, at age 18 Joan of Arc led the French army to victory over the English at Orléans.

Captured a year later, Joan was burned at the stake as a heretic by the English and their French collaborators. She was canonized as a Roman Catholic saint more than 500 years later, on May 16, 1920.

Historical Background

At the time of Joan of Arc’s birth, France was embroiled in a long-running war with England known as the Hundred Years’ War; the dispute began over who would be the heir to the French throne.

Joan darc biography

By the early 15th century, northern France was a lawless frontier of marauding armies.

Early Life

Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans," was born in 1412, in Domremy, France. The daughter of poor tenant farmers Jacques d’ Arc and his wife, Isabelle, also known as Romée, Joan learned piety and domestic skills from her mother.

Never venturing far from home, Joan took care of the animals and became