Facts about Joan of Arc
- 14
Between her capture in May 1430 and execution in May 1431, Joan of Arc spent approximately one year imprisoned in various castles and dungeons while awaiting her trial in Rouen.
- 13
Pope Callixtus III's 1456 retrial heard testimony from 115 witnesses who testified in Joan of Arc's favor, leading to her complete exoneration on charges of witchcraft and heresy.
- 12
Joan of Arc's military campaigns lasted approximately 16 months from her first battle in May 1429 until her capture at Compiègne in May 1430, transforming French military fortunes during the Hundred Years' War.
- 11
The Dauphin Charles VII appointed Joan of Arc to lead French forces despite her complete lack of military training or noble birth, an unprecedented decision for medieval warfare.
- 10
Wearing male military armor and clothing, Joan of Arc shocked the court during her 1431 trial by refusing to recant her decision to dress as a man, claiming her voices commanded this violation of medieval gender norms.
- 09
Her canonization occurred in 1920 when Pope Benedict XV declared Joan of Arc a saint, nearly five centuries after her 1431 execution in Rouen.
- 08
Voices of saints and archangels reportedly commanded Joan of Arc beginning in 1424 when she was approximately 12 years old, guiding her religious convictions for seven years before her military campaigns.
- 07
English forces outnumbered Joan of Arc's army by roughly three to one at the Battle of Patay in June 1429, yet the French still achieved a decisive victory that shattered English military confidence.
- 06
Charles VII, the French king Joan of Arc served, granted her family a coat of arms and exempted them from paying taxes in recognition of her military achievements.
- 05
Sixty thousand French soldiers fought under Joan of Arc's command at the Battle of Patay in June 1429, crushing the English army and ending their military dominance in the Loire Valley.
- 04
Illiterate and from a peasant family, Joan of Arc dictated her testimony during her 1431 trial since she could neither read nor write.
- 03
In 1456, a retrial ordered by Pope Callixtus III posthumously exonerated Joan of Arc, overturning her 1431 heresy conviction twenty-five years after her execution.
- 02
During the Hundred Years' War, Joan of Arc's military leadership directly resulted in the French recapturing Orléans from English forces in just nine days during May 1429.
- 01
At age 19, Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in Rouen on May 30, 1431, after her trial lasted approximately three months.