BBC - History - King Henry VI z Henry VI © King from 1422 to 1461 and from 1470 to 1471 and the last Lancastrian ruler of England, Henry's reign was dominated by the Wars of the Roses. Henry was born on 6 December 1421 at Windsor Castle. He was only nine months old when he succeeded his father, Henry V. He was crowned king of England in 1429 and, as result of his father's successes against the French, king of France in 1431. A regency council ran England until Henry was considered old enough to rule in 1437. In 1445, he married Margaret of Anjou. Henry was a pious man whose interest in government was sporadic, who picked the wrong advisors and who was unable to prevent the power struggles that began to develop at court. Meanwhile, the dual monarchy proved too difficult to maintain; the successes of the Dauphin and Joan of Arc began to weaken England's grip on its French possessions and Normandy was lost in 1450. This only contributed to the erosion of Henry's prestige and authority.

In 1453, the king had a mental breakdown and Richard, Duke of York, was made protector. The king recovered in 1455, but civil war broke out between the Yorkist and Lancastrian factions. The ensuing struggle came to be known as the Wars of the Roses. While the Duke of York was the main figure on the Yorkist side, Margaret, Henry's queen, took charge of the Lancastrian cause. In 1460, York was killed at the Battle of Wakefield but his son took up the fight, defeating the Lancastrians at Towton in 1461 and crowning himself Edward IV. Henry fled into exile, but returned and was captured by Edward in 1465. The Earl of Warwick - previously an ally of Edward - now switched sides and restored Henry to the throne in 1470. Edward returned from exile and destroyed the Lancastrian forces at Tewkesbury in May 1471. Henry and Margaret's only son was among the Lancastrian dead. Henry VI, who had been imprisoned in the Tower of London, was murdered shortly afterwards.

The Coronations of Henry VI | History Today The Coronations of Henry VI Angevin , Medieval France , England Henry VI Political The boy-king Henry VI was crowned King in England and in France. But the symbols of regal majesty at his Coronations, argue Dorothy Styles & C.T. Allmand, could not disguise the fragility of the union. On May 21st 1420, at Troyes in Champagne, Henry V of England and Charles VI of France sealed a treaty (the 'final peace' as it soon came to be known) intended to settle the long-standing quarrel between their two countries by a union of the two crowns which would rule two sovereign and independent kingdoms. Some days later, on June 2nd, Henry married Charles's daughter, Catherine, a love-match none the less strong in political overtones since such a marriage, and any children which might come of it, would be a living witness of the union of the two crowns. On December 6th, 1421, amid general rejoicings, Catherine gave birth at Windsor to a son who was given the name of Henry.

His father, busy campaigning in France, was destined never to see his heir for, on August 31st, 1422, be succumbed to illness and died at Bois de Vincennes, a royal castle to the south-east of Paris. Less than two months later the French king, Charles VI, also breathed his last. By this event, at least for those who accepted the terms of the treaty of 1420, the baby Henry, only ten months old, now became the first king of France and England. But the treaty of Troyes had, in fact, divided France. To some, either because they accepted the legal and historic claims of the English kings to France or because the presence of an English 'occupying' force brought them, at a time of unstable French rule, a greater measure of political stability, such a succession was acceptable. To others, most of whom lived south of the river Loire, the treaty had betrayed the rights of Charles VI's eldest surviving son, the Dauphin Charles, to succeed his father as king of France. The 'final peace' of 1420, therefore, was in fact far from final.

It created two nations, one loyal to one dynasty, one to the other. In the years which followed, the 'deprived' nation tried to restore the Dauphin to his rightful inheritance. In this it was opposed by the English and their supporters seeking to make a reality out of the terms of the treaty of Troyes. To achieve its aim, each side was to use the traditional method of war. At first the English had the better of the military exchanges. Victories at Cravant in July 1423 and, more important, at Verneuil in southern Normandy in August 1424, opened the way southwards. Le Mans, capital of the county of Maine, was taken in August 1425, and before long much of the duchy of Anjou, still further to the south, was to come under English control. By 1428, in spite of minor reverses, the English had approached the line of the river Loire. It only remained to cross it to enter the heart of the enemy's obedience.

But before that could be done, the vital and strategic town of Orleans, whose lord, the duke of that name, had been an English prisoner since the battle of Agincourt in 1415, had to be taken. An English army, led by Thomas, Earl of Salisbury, began the siege late in September 1428. But six weeks later Salisbury was dead, killed by a cannonball, while six months later, on May 8th, 1429, the English army was obliged to abandon the siege as the direct result of the exploits of Joan of Arc. Some ten weeks afterwards, on July 17th, 1429, after a lightning advance north-eastwards during which a number of towns had opened their gates to the French, the Maid brought the Dauphin, Charles, to Reims for his coronation as King of France. The challenge to Henry VI's title had now been made. By that time the possibility of crowning the young Henry in France had already been discussed by the royal council in England, for the problems caused by the failure before Orleans and the generally unfavourable military situation were becoming daily more apparent.

It would be necessary for Henry to reassert his right to the French crown and his authority over the kingdom through the symbolism of a coronation ceremony. And since Henry was regarded as the ruler of two Kingdoms, this point would have to be underlined by having a coronation in each of them. So it was that, on November 6th, 1429, a month before his eighth birthday and less than four months after the coronation of his rival, the Dauphin, in Reims, the young Henry VI was crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey by his great-uncle, Cardinal Henry Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester, the traditional rite being modified to incorporate French practices to show that this was but the first part of a fuller coronation procedure which could only be completed in France. After the ceremony, a splendid feast was held. On this occasion every opportunity was taken, by the use of symbolism, to show Henry as the 'Enherytoure to the flowredelysse', the man Borne by dyscent and tytylle of ryight Justely to raygne in Ingelonde and yn Fraunce.

But the claim to the French crown could not be strengthened merely by a coronation in Henry's French kingdom. A strong military intervention was needed to lend practical support to the already existing English presence there. For this purpose loans were to be raised, and in December 1429 Parliament voted subsidies to pay for the large force of nearly 5,000 men who had been retained to cross to France in the following year. The army of that year was a remarkable one, fit for a notable undertaking. It was some years since the great nobility, dukes and earls, had turned out in such numbers. The old tradition that when a king himself went overseas with an army, the nobility supported him personally, died hard. The prospect of the coronation ceremony in France was also an attraction, while the need to provide a council to advise the King on many different matters also accounts for their presence. In addition, much trouble was taken to collect large quantities oil cannon, this expedition and that of 1428 (intended for the siege of Orleans) being the only two during these years on which artillery was used on any significant scale. To convey this equipment, together with men and horses, a large fleet was required.

What was left of Henry V's navy, part of which had been sold off since his death, was put into commission again; in addition ships from many English and foreign ports were assembled by commissioners specially appointed for the purpose. From ports all along the south and east coasts vessels of all sizes were assembled at Sandwich and Dover in the summer of 1430, and in March 1431 those ships in which horses could be transported were visited and inspected in advance to see how many animals they could carry. All this took time; it also cost money. In all, probably more than £2,500 was spent on shipping in 1430, a very considerable sum which reflects the size of the expedition setting out for France. The presence, in some numbers, of members of the royal household suggests that this was not envisaged as an expedition of short duration. Three bishops, John Stafford of Bath and Wells, formerly Treasurer and Keeper of the Privy Seal and Chancellor to-be; William Alnwick of Norwich; and Philip Morgan of Ely, once Chancellor of Normandy, accompanied the King.

The distinguished and learned William Lyndwood, a notable canon lawyer of the day, was appointed 'to be of our council about our person' for six months, while John Carpenter, the royal chaplain, John Walden, the king's confessor, and John Somerset, the royal physician since 1427, were also in attendance. Somerset may also have acted as grammar master. He certainly had a surgeon, William Stalworth, and a number of assistants with him, should the king's health need attention. On St George's Day, April 23rd, 1430, Henry VI sailed from Sandwich to Calais, where he stayed at the castle until July, when he moved to Rouen, the journey being undertaken by road with a large company of men-at-arms accompanying the King to ensure his safety. Once at Rouen, he probably stayed at the castle, the administrative centre of the English dominion in France, where his uncle John, Duke of Bedford, Regent of France, resided with his staff.

Probably on account of the very uncertain military situation in the Seine valley between Rouen and Paris, Henry was to stay in Rouen until November 1431, a period of some sixteen months. A valuable source of information for part of his stay is the Household Book of the Earl of Warwick which covers a year and four days from March 15th, 1431. Each page of this volume gives a daily account of expenses, and is headed by a list of those who had dinner and, sometimes, supper. The first name every day is that of 'Madame Talbot', Margaret, Warwick's eldest daughter, who was wife of John, Lord Talbot, later to be created first Earl of Shrewsbury, and one of the outstanding military commanders of his day. The list of diners on Wednesday, March 14th, 1431, included two royal valets whose duty is revealed by the list for the next day which describes them as being valets corone regis , probably guards for the crown which was to be used for the French coronation. There were some eight valets having this duty, and the daily list of diners includes them in varying numbers.

Occasionally, as on May 19th, 1431, the king came to dinner with the Earl of Warwick and others, always well escorted, on this occasion by sixty persons. On Sunday, May 27th, a large company of guests, including many French and English nobles and important councillors, dined with the Earl and his household, some seventy-eight in all, some of them involved in the trial of Joan of Arc, whose death at the stake was to take place three days later in the market place, only a few hundred yards away. There were occasions, such as New Year's Day, Lady Day and Easter Sunday when musicians entertained the Earl's household. Musicians also played on Sunday, April 8th, 1431, when the King came to dinner with a large retinue. The players were generally men from Rouen, but Warwick also had his own company of musicians. When he was obliged to be away from Rouen in August 1431, four of the King's trumpeters played during supper the evening before he left, and his return was greeted at dinner by the presence of a number of guests, including the Regent, Bedford, when four musicians entertained the company.

The daily accounts of the cost of food, and what provisions were bought for Warwick's household, have at times pleasant detail. On June 26th and 27th, 1431, when the chief guests were Lord Talbot and the Earl of Stafford, strawberries and cream were served at supper. After each pantry account there follows the wardrobe account for the day, this including necessities such as candles and wax, and the provender needed for the horses. There were at least sixty-four horses in stable in 1431, and sometimes a few more. Some were hired in Rouen, and were used to haul the barges on the river journey of 130 miles or so to Paris. The wardrobe expense account for November 20th, 1431 refers to Warwick's departure that day for Paris. His task was to accompany the King to the capital for the coronation, for although the King's departure is not referred to, it is clear from other evidence in the Household Book that the King had left Rouen.

No longer did the valets guarding the crown appear in the daily lists of diners which became shorter during the remaining two weeks before the Countess of Warwick, with Lady Talbot, set out on the river journey to Paris. On Sunday, December 2nd, 1431, Henry VI, riding a white horse, made his solemn entry into his French capital. Contemporary accounts of this event have survived, accounts which have probably influenced the record of the chronicler, Enguerrand de Monstrelet. Leaving St Denis, the great abbey on the river Seine north of Paris where kings of France were buried, and where he had spent the last two days, the young Henry, now all but ten years old, rode towards Paris. With him were the Dukes of Bedford and York, the Earl of Warwick and others in a large company. First to come to meet the King was Jacques du Chatelier, Bishop of Paris, followed by Simon Morhier, the prôt or the crown's chief administrative and legal officer in Paris and the immediate surrounds, accompanied by leading bourgeois from the capital. A little nearer Paris came representatives of the courts, the legal profession and the financial administration, all in colourful ceremonial costume.

Most likely to make the greatest impression upon the ordinary bystanders, however, were not the notable personalities but the representations, or mysteries, which had been organized for the occasion: the huge tableau of the arms of the city of Paris; or the goddess Fame and the nine worthies, both male and female, led by a herald who exhorted the young king to rule the famous city of Paris with love and justice. At the gate of St Denis the King was once again confronted with a huge shield bearing the arms of the capital, a silver ship with a crew representing the main elements of Parisian society, bearing three hearts out of which, when opened, spilled white doves, other birds and flowers to symbolize the affection of the three estates for their newly-arrived lord. Once in Paris the King was met by further representations. One such concerned the life of St Denis, his preaching of the Christian faith, and his martyrdom. If Denis was a very French saint, English devotion to St George was not forgotten, his arm being produced for veneration by the King. Other scenes enacted were taken from the life of Mary and Christ.

At one point Henry came face to face with a living representation of himself, symbolically wearing two crowns, sitting under a canopy covered in satin bearing the arms of France and England and surrounded by councillors, both French and English. The theme of the union of the two crowns was to be further emphasised by a presentation, organized by the butchers at the Grand Pont, of a live stag covered. in the arms of France and England. Most impressive and significant of all, however, was to be the reception of the King by members of the guilds who came to shield him with a large square canopy (un ciel d'azur sem). The historical significance of the symbolism and pageantry should not escape us. Ever since the mid-fourteenth century the first, solemn entries of the kings of France into both the capital and some of the major towns of their realm had been occasions for public manifestations of the power of monarchy and the respect which it tried to elicit from its subjects, a kind of dialogue between king and people, as one modern writer has described it. The symbolism of such occasions assumed great importance, for the theatrical aspects of the king's reception were intended to emphasise the force of the monarchical idea in France.

The first of such representations had been seen about 1355, but by 1380, when Charles VI had become king, royal entries had become theatrical affairs, stage-managed and planned in advance to make the maximum impression upon the onlooker. Two aspects of the ceremony in particular emphasised the cult of monarchy. Henry rode a white horse (une haquenée blanche ), a deliberate choice since white was often regarded as a symbol of sovereignty, which the king was now claiming in France. But perhaps even more significant was the use of the canopy to escort Henry once he had made his entry into Paris, and the emphasis placed upon such a canopy in the tableau of himself which had greeted him once he was in the capital. The use of such a canopy was a well-recognised mark of rank and honour, probably eastern in origin, certainly known to the era of the Roman Empire and to the Byzantine world of the end of the first millennium. By the end of the thirteenth century the social importance of a person might be judged by whether the bed on which he or she slept had a canopy or not.

By the early years of the fourteenth century the canopy had become a necessary part of the bed of the seigneurial class, a symbol of seigneurie as well as of honour. In the course of the fourteenth century, in both England and France, with the growing popularity of the Corpus Christi procession during which the Host was carried under a decorated canopy, the idea of God's sovereignty over man had been increasingly widely expressed in this way. The practice was soon to be taken up and developed by those who wished to emphasise the power and authority of monarchy and its 'imperial' pretensions through the expressive use of symbols. The seals of Philip V of France (1317-22) showed the king seated under a fixed canopy; the year 1339 saw the issue of a coin which was popularly known as a pavillon d'or, or 'golden canopy', since it showed the king, Philip VI, seated beneath this symbol of majesty; whilst in 1389, while on a tour of southern French towns, Charles VI was formally received by his subjects bearing a canopy held over him in procession. Ceremonies of a not dissimilar nature and purpose were known to the English.

Londoners were accustomed to the formal reception of important visitors at Blackheath. In 1416 Sigismund, King of the Romans, had been met by the guilds 'yn the best aray that they cowthe, on hors bak... with moche honour and grete reuerence', the King, Henry V, meeting his illustrious guest just outside the city and escorting him into London to a more formal reception. But it was the well-known reception of Henry V by the Londoners after his victory at Agincourt which, in many respects, resembled the French receptions most. Both made use of outsize figures, biblical and mythical, perhaps sculptured in stucco, in addition to large heraldic representations made of wood and painted canvas. In both instances flocks of birds were released, and the patron saint was given prominence, a statue of St George being given a place of honour 'in a canopied niche' (sub uno tabernaculo splendido ) on Henry V's return to London in November 1415. The idea of majesty implied by the use of the canopy was clearly known to the King and members of his court.

Two contemporary chroniclers report that when, a few weeks earlier, the Norman town of Harfleur had been captured by Henry, he had had the prisoners brought up a nearby hill to his tent where, seated in majesty upon a throne 'over which was spread cloth of gold and fine linen' in the form of a canopy (sub uno papilione), he had received them formally, an idea repeated, albeit somewhat differently, in the London celebrations in November, when 'underneath a canopy... borne on four poles... an enthroned figure of majesty in the form of a sun' was carried in procession. After the accounts of Henry VI's 'majestic' entry into Paris, those of his coronation which survive are generally shorter. Tradition had it that kings of France should be crowned in Reims, but that city, since 1429, had been under 'enemy' control, and Paris had to do. Furthermore, Henry was not crowned by the Bishop of Paris, but, for the second time, by his great-uncle, the Cardinal- Bishop of Winchester, who also insisted upon singing the Mass, much to the annoyance of the Bishop whose cathedral, Notre Dame, was being used for the occasion.

Not only was the celebrant English, but the ceremony itself, according to Monstrelet, was more in the English tradition than in the French. The singing, however, in the opinion of a usually critical witness, was of a good standard. After the ceremony, a great feast followed. But the organization of it left much to be desired, and the food was said to be very poor, having been cooked three days before, 'which', one Parisian wrote, 'seemed very odd to the French'. Equally prone to contemporary criticism were the celebrations which followed the feast, condemned by the same Parisian as quite inadequate since they failed to bring to the tradespeople the profits which they had a right to expect. In spite of the welcome given to the King at a moment of considerable poverty and at a most unfavourable time of year, by the day he came to leave nobody, it was said, had a good word to say for him since neither he nor the English had given much in return. Perhaps not surprisingly Henry stayed little more than a week in Paris before setting out on the journey which was to bring him back to the French coast by way of Rouen and Abbeville.

By early February 1432 he was back in England. He had left his French kingdom for the first and last time. Later in February Henry made his entry into London with ceremony not unlike that with which he had been greeted in Paris some weeks earlier. Again the King was met by members of the London guilds, formally dressed. Whereas in Paris Henry had been greeted by the nine male and nine female worthies, the emphasis in London was to be upon figures representing the kingly virtues, strength (leading to victories over enemies) being prominent among them. Once more symbolic birds were used and, as in Paris, a boy 'rayed lyke a kyng' was to be seen, this time sitting among female figures representing Mercy, Truth and Reason. A reference, in one account, to 'a tabernacule, and there yn syttynge a kynge whythe a ryalle aparayle' suggests a canopied structure similar to that from earlier accounts cited here. Finally an antelope bearing prominently the arms of England and France was a close parallel to the live stag doing the same in Paris.

In spite of the differences, seemingly similar ideas had been running through the minds of those who had designed the tableaux in the King's two capitals. Henry was now something extraordinary, the twice-crowned king of two kingdoms, in theory united through him, in practice at war with each other. The coronation in Paris was to make the matter of peace and reconciliation between them difficult, if not impossible. Henry's long visit to France (in all it lasted over twenty-one months) at an impressionable age must have made him feel that he was the legitimate king of France, now formally received and crowned. Certainly the coronation could and would be used to strengthen his legal claim, with the effect that in future English negotiators, when pressed to abandon Henry's title to the French crown, could point to the events of December 1431 and reply that they could not 'un-king' their king. Any concession which might be made by Henry or, worse still, by anyone acting on his behalf, had to take this fact into account. The coronation in Paris had made it almost impossible for the English to make any face-saving diplomatic concession. More than that, it committed them to the military defence of their king's right.

As events were to prove, only a French re-conquest, achieved by force of arms, could effectively resolve the impasse once and for all. Dorothy Styles was Lecturer in History at Birmingham University and is the editor of Ministers' Accounts for the Collegiate Church of St Mary's Warwick, 1432-85 (1969).

1431 Henry is crowned king of France at Notre Dame de Paris - HIST - 3130 View Full Document  Henry Beaufort, along with William de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk  Opposed by Humphrey and Richard, Duke of York  Want to continue war o Marries Marguerite d’Anjou  Niece of Charles VII  Marriage negotiated under Treaty of Tour  England gave over provinces of Maine and Anjou  Secret negotiations that Parliament had no idea about  She is a very passionate woman who is strong and assertive that wants to protect the crowns of both France and England  Continues French policies at the heading of her uncle and father o 1446- people get angry when they find out about the Treaty o Factionalism becomes popular around the kingdom  Humphrey comes before Parliament for trial on treason in 1447  Dies in prison o Richard Plantagenet, earl of Cambridge, duke of York  Veteran soldier  Descended from Edward III from both mother and father’s side  Disagrees with Henry’s policies  Problems with Beaufort o Earl of Suffolk and Somerset  Both

 are made Dukes (reserved for royal bloodlines)  Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, is sent to command war efforts in France o Problems in England  Money issues  Edmund Beaufort is in trouble with Parliament  Sent to Tower of London for treason  Henry exiles him  Intercepted and executed in Dover in 1450 o 1450- France controls Normandy  Battle of Foirmoniex  First use of cannon  Disorder in army  Aren’t being paid  Return to England after being defeated in France  No jobs Turn to lives of crime and lawlessness o Cade’s Rebellion  Named after former soldier Jack Cade  May-July 1450  Starts out in Kent where Cade called himself John Mortimer and descended from Mortimer family (dukes of York)  Pretty close to successful but is stopped in Suffolk  Stays at White Hart Inn (shows support for Cade because of White Hart relation to Richard II who is usurped, therefore making Henry VI not the right blood heir) 11/26/2012  Jack Cade was a

 returning veteran of the 100 years war  1450- major loss to French at Formigny  1453 England is going to be pushed out of France completely except for Calais  *SEE BUCKVAR FOR LIST OF DEMANDS* o End corruption of Royal Courts and demands that Richard Duke of York  Duke of York has a claim to the throne through the royal bloodline  July 1450- rebels cross London bridge into the city where Cade declared himself lord mayor  This preview has intentionally blurred sections.

Sign up to view the full version. King Henry VI | Britroyals Event 1422 Henry aged 8 months becomes King of England on the death of his father, Henry V, and then, two months later, King of France on the death of his grandfather, Charles VI. 1422 John, Duke of Bedford, is appointed Regent of France; Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, becomes Regent of England. 1429 Henry VI is crowned King of England 1429 The young peasant girl Joan of Arc begins her campaign to expel the English from France. She inspires the French army which relieves Orleans besieged by English troops. 1431 The English capture Joan of Arc. She is burned at the stake as a witch and heretic in Rouen on 30 May. 1431 Henry VI of England is crowned King of France in Paris 1437 Henry assumes personal rule of England 1440 Eton college founded giving free education to 70 scholars 1445 Henry marries Margaret of Anjou 1453 End of 100 Years� War. Gascony and Normandy fall to the French.

England retains only Calais and The Channel Islands. 1453 Henry becomes mentally ill. Richard, Duke of York, is made Protector during Henry�s illness 1453 Battle of Heworth between supporters of the Neville and Percy families marks the beginning of the feud between the Houses of York and Lancaster 1454 Henry regains his senses but disaffected nobles take matters into their own hands. Supporters of the Dukes of York and Lancaster take sides. 1455 Beginning of the 'Wars of the Roses'. Duke of York is dismissed. York raises an army and defeats the King�s Lancastrian forces at the Battle of St. Albans.The Lancastrian leader, the Duke of Somerset, is killed. York takes over the government of England. 1457 Henry unsuccessfully tries to broker peace between the Yorkists and Lancastrians. 1459 War is renewed and the Lancastrians are defeated at Blore Heath; the Yorkists are then defeated at Ludford Bridge near Ludlow. Parliament declares York a traitor and he escapes to Ireland. 1460 Yorkist army led by Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, defeats Lancastrians at the Battle of Northampton.

Henry VI is captured and his wife, Margaret, escapes to Scotland. Richard of York is again Protector. 1460 Margaret raises a Lancastrian army in the north and defeats and kills Richard of York at Wakefield. Henry VI captured by the Yorkists at Northampton. Earl of Warwick takes London for the Yorkists. 1461 Yorkists win Battle of Mortimers Cross. Queen Margaret marches her army South, defeats Earl of Warwick at St Albans, and frees Henry. Edward, son of Richard of York, defeats Margaret's Lancastrian forces on 29 March at the Battle of Towton - the largest and bloodiest battle ever on British soil when 28,000 lose their lives. Margaret and Henry flee to Scotland. Henry is deposed by Edward who declares himself King Edward IV 1462 Lancastrian revolts are suppressed. 1464 Warwick defeats Lancastrians at Battle of Hexham; Henry VI is captured and brought to the Tower of London. 1469 Warwick falls out with Edward IV, and defeats him at Edgecote. They are later reconciled but Warwick is banished.

He makes peace with Margaret, returns to England with an army, and Edward flees to Flanders. Henry VI is restored to the throne. 1471 Edward returns to England and defeats and kills Warwick at the Battle of Barnet. Margaret is defeated at the Battle of Tewkesbury; her son Edward, Prince of Wales, heir to the Lancastrian throne is killed in battle. 1471 May 30, 1431 : Joan of Arc martyred Introduction At Rouen in English-controlled Normandy, Joan of Arc, the peasant girl who became the savior of France, is burned at the stake for heresy. Joan was born in 1412, the daughter of a tenant farmer at Domremy, on the borders of the duchies of Bar and Lorraine. In 1415, the Hundred Years War between England and France entered a crucial phase when the young King Henry V of England invaded France and won a series of decisive victories against the forces of King Charles VI. By the time of Henry’s death in August 1422, the English and their French-Burgundian allies controlled Aquitaine and most of northern France, including Paris.

Charles VI, long incapacitated, died one month later, and his son, Charles, regent from 1418, prepared to take the throne. However, Reims, the traditional city of French coronation, was held by the Anglo-Burgundians, and the Dauphin (heir apparent to the French throne) remained uncrowned. Meanwhile, King Henry VI of England, the infant son of Henry V and Catherine of Valois, the daughter of Charles VI, was proclaimed king of France by the English. Joan’s village of Domremy lay on the frontier between the France of the Dauphin and that of the Anglo-Burgundians. In the midst of this unstable environment, Joan began hearing “voices” of three Christian saints—St. Michael, St. Catherine, and St. Margaret. When she was about 16, these voices exhorted her to aid the Dauphin in capturing Reims and therefore the French throne. In May 1428, she traveled to Vaucouleurs, a stronghold of the Dauphin, and told the captain of the garrison of her visions. Disbelieving the young peasant girl, he sent her home.

In January 1429, she returned, and the captain, impressed by her piety and determination, agreed to allow her passage to the Dauphin at Chinon. Dressed in men’s clothes and accompanied by six soldiers, she reached the Dauphin’s castle at Chinon in February 1429 and was granted an audience. Charles hid himself among his courtiers, but Joan immediately picked him out and informed him of her divine mission. For several weeks, Charles had Joan questioned by theologians at Poitiers, who concluded that, given his desperate straits, the Dauphin would be well-advised to make use of this strange and charismatic girl. Charles furnished her with a small army, and on April 27, 1429, she set out for Orleans, besieged by the English since October 1428. On April 29, as a French sortie distracted the English troops on the west side of Orleans, Joan entered unopposed by its eastern gate. She brought greatly needed supplies and reinforcements and inspired the French to a passionate resistance. She personally led the charge in several battles and on May 7 was struck by an arrow.

After quickly dressing her wound, she returned to the fight, and the French won the day. On May 8, the English retreated from Orleans. During the next five weeks, Joan and the French commanders led the French into a string of stunning victories over the English. On July 16, the royal army reached Reims, which opened its gates to Joan and the Dauphin. The next day, Charles VII was crowned king of France, with Joan standing nearby holding up her standard: an image of Christ in judgment. After the ceremony, she knelt before Charles, joyously calling him king for the first time. On September 8, the king and Joan attacked Paris. During the battle, Joan carried her standard up to the earthworks and called on the Parisians to surrender the city to the king of France. She was wounded but continued to rally the king’s troops until Charles ordered an end to the unsuccessful siege. That year, she led several more small campaigns, capturing the town of Saint-Pierre-le-Moitier. In December, Charles ennobled Joan, her parents, and her brothers.

In May 1430, the Burgundians laid siege to Compiegne, and Joan stole into the town under the cover of darkness to aid in its defense. On May 23, while leading a sortie against the Burgundians, she was captured. The Burgundians sold her to the English, and in March 1431 she went on trial before ecclesiastical authorities in Rouen on charges of heresy. Her most serious crime, according to the tribunal, was her rejection of church authority in favor of direct inspiration from God. After refusing to submit to the church, her sentence was read on May 24: She was to be turned over to secular authorities and executed. Reacting with horror to the pronouncement, Joan agreed to recant and was condemned instead to perpetual imprisonment. Ordered to put on women’s clothes, she obeyed, but a few days later the judges went to her cell and found her dressed again in male attire. Questioned, she told them that St. Catherine and St. Margaret had reproached her for giving in to the church against their will. She was found to be a relapsed heretic and on May 29 ordered handed over to secular officials.

On May 30, Joan, 19 years old, was burned at the stake at the Place du Vieux-Marche in Rouen. Before the pyre was lit, she instructed a priest to hold high a crucifix for her to see and to shout out prayers loud enough to be heard above the roar of the flames. As a source of military inspiration, Joan of Arc helped turn the Hundred Years War firmly in France’s favor. By 1453, Charles VII had reconquered all of France except for Calais, which the English relinquished in 1558. In 1920, Joan of Arc, one of the great heroes of French history, was recognized as a Christian saint by the Roman Catholic Church. Her feast day is May 30.

Article Details: May 30, 1431 : Joan of Arc martyred Author May 30, 1431 : Joan of Arc martyred URL Joan of Arc: Facts & Biography Joan of Arc: Facts & Biography By Owen Jarus, Live Science Contributor | July 18, 2013 05:30pm ET MORE Joan of Arc is the modern-day name of a teenage woman who, driven by voices she heard, fought to drive the English out of France and crown Charles VII as the French king. Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres painted 'Joan of Arc on Coronation of Charles VII in the Cathedral of Reims' in 1854. The painting is in the Louvre Museum in Paris. Credit: Public domain Although we know her as Joan of Arc, or Jeanne d'Arc in French, she called herself Jehanne la Pucelle, or Joan the Maid. She is also known as the "Maid of Orléans." Pucelle means “maid” and also signifies that she was a virgin, an important distinction given that her society held female virginity before marriage in high regard.

Her military career lasted from between April 1429, when she left with troops to help raise the siege of Orléans, and May 1430 when she was captured by troops loyal to John of Luxembourg. She was subsequently handed over to forces loyal to English King Henry VI and after a trial she was condemned and burned at the stake in May 1431. At her trial, Joan said that she thought her age was 19. She lived at a time when France was divided among Charles VII, who ruled south of the Loire River; Henry VI, the English boy-king who ruled much of northern France; and the Duchy of Burgundy, which controlled a rump of territory and was allied with the English. The father of Henry VI had defeated the French at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, a defeat that eventually led Charles VII’s father to agree to a treaty that allowed the French crown to pass to the English after his death. Charles VII refused to recognize this treaty and continued resistance albeit as an uncrowned ruler.

Although Joan’s military career was brief, and scholars debate the degree of control she had over the campaigns she was in, she raised French morale and her time in action was one that saw a recovery in French military fortunes, which ultimately allowed Charles VII to be crowned King of France. Her reputation was such that the English, led in France by the regent John, Duke of Bedford, blamed their defeats on her alleged supernatural powers. “A disciple and limb of the Fiend, called the Pucelle, that used false enchantment and sorcery,” is how he described her in a report. To Joan and her supporters, her mission of driving the English out of France and crowning Charles was one that was called upon her by God. “I am sent here in God’s name, the King of Heaven, to drive you body for body out of all France...” she said in a challenge written down and sent to the English before she went into battle at Orléans. Modern-day medical doctors have speculated that she may have suffered from a medical condition, such as schizophrenia or a form of epilepsy, which made her hear voices. Many statues of Joan of Arc have been erected, including this one in Orléans, France.

Credit: Alexander Demyanenko Shutterstock A world where children fought children She was born in the village of Domrémy (now called Domrémy-la-Pucelle in her honor) in either 1412 or 1413. At the time she lived, it was a settlement on the border between France and the Holy Roman Empire. It was also a place of conflicting loyalties. While the people of the village were generally loyal to Charles VII, many of the nearby territories were loyal to the Duchy of Burgundy, which was allied with the English. As Joan said at her trial, the place where she grew up was one where children literally fought children, some of them coming back “wounded and blooded.” Her mother’s name was Isabelle Romee, and there are conflicting accounts as to the spelling of her father’s name.

Researcher Nora Heimann notes in her book "Joan of Arc in French Art and Culture" (Ashgate Publishing, 2005) that her father’s name has been recorded with various spellings, including “Jacob d’Arc,” “Jaqes d’Arc,” “Jacques Tarc” and “Jacques Darc.” While the last name “Arc” is what she is called today Joan didn’t use that name on campaign, preferring to be called “la Pucelle.” She started hearing voices at the age of 13, recounting at her trial that the first time she heard them was in her family’s garden. “The voice came from the right, from the direction of the church, and was accompanied by a bright light,” she said. The ringing of church bells would sometimes trigger them. In 1428, her village was attacked by Anglo-Burgundian forces and her family fled, returning after the attack was over. After this, she left home for the last time, going to Vaucouleurs and eventually persuading a reluctant local official named Robert de Baudricourt to give her an escort to take her to see Charles VII at his castle at Chinon.

Siobhan Nash-Marshall, now a professor at Manhattanville College, writes in her book "Joan of Arc: A Spiritual Biography" (Crossroad Publishing, 1999) that the journey was more than 300 miles (480 kilometers), taking them through territory controlled by the enemy and bandits. Traveling by night, avoiding towns, and at times going through the wilderness they reached the castle. Persuading Charles One of history’s great mysteries is how a teenage girl hearing voices and claiming to be on a mission from God persuaded Charles VII (at the time in his 20s) to give her soldiers and send her to help raise the siege of Orléans. “We will never know what happened at Chinon. It is one the abiding mysteries of history,” writes Marina Warner, a professor at the University of Essex, in her book "Joan of Arc: The Image of Female Heroism" (Oxford University Press, 2013). Warner notes that at her trial, Joan asked not to be pressed on what happened at Chinon, and when questioned said that Charles received a sign, of some form, to signify that her story was true. “Go boldly!

For when you stand before the king, he will have a sign [that will make him] receive you and believe in you,” her voices told her. After her meeting with Charles, she was sent to Poitiers to be questioned about her experiences, and subsequently was given a squire, a page and some soldiers and sent with a force to relieve Orléans. Warner points out that, contrary to popular belief, Joan was not in command of this force. Rather, the force was led by the Count of Dunois. Ignoring Joan’s advice, the count sneaked around the English fortifications, trying to get his force, loaded with equipment and provisions, into Orléans without a major battle. “This infuriated Joan, who was clearly eager to get on with her mission,” Nash-Marshall writes. Joan succeeded in making a believer out of the count when he found his force stranded beside a riverbank, unable to bring supplies to Orléans across barges because the wind was against him. She told the count that “I am bringing you better help than ever you got from any soldier or any city.

It is the help of the King of Heaven.” The count later claimed that at that moment the wind changed direction, allowing his force and supplies to cross into Orléans. Nash-Marshall points out that, when in Orléans, she provided a morale boost to the civilians and soldiers there. Even though the French now outnumbered their besiegers, their commanders were reluctant to attack the Anglo-Burgundian forces until more help arrived. Joan pressed for an assault, and eventually an attack was launched against the most isolated of the enemy fortifications to the east. Joan provided another boost during the battle, when she “arrived at the scene, it is claimed, a roar went up among the French troops, who redoubled their efforts and won the day with ease,” writes Nash-Marshall. With French confidence growing, the soldiers attacked one besieging fort after another, eventually breaking the siege of the city. Nash-Marshall points out that the morale boost Joan gave cannot be underestimated. “French morale was so low before Joan appeared that the [French] even lost those battles in which they outnumbered the Anglo-Burgundians on a massive scale.

More often than not, they simply preferred to stay off the battlefield.” A king crowned With Orléans saved, and subsequent French campaigns succeeding in liberating towns on the Loire River, Joan was now in a position to fulfill a major part of her God-given mission — the crowning of Charles VII as King of France. French kings were crowned at Reims, a city that at the time was under control of the Anglo-Burgundians. Despite it being behind enemy lines, Joan begged Charles to go, and the king eventually set off with a party that encountered surprisingly little resistance, actually gaining the support of several towns held by the enemy on the way. When they arrived in Reims, they held the ceremony as quickly as possible, with Charles being knighted, anointed and crowned as best as could be done under the circumstances.

Joan said at her trial that she embraced the newly crowned king at his knees and said “gentle king, now is executed the will of God, who wished that the siege of Orléans should be lifted, and that you should be brought into this city of Reims to receive your holy consecration, thus showing that you are a true king, and he to whom the kingdom of France should belong.” The ceremony took place on July 17, 1429, and, although Joan didn’t know it, this would represent the height of her military achievements. An aggressive Joan and a diplomatic king With momentum on the newly crowned king’s side, there was pressure on him to march on Paris, the capital of France, and reclaim it. Joan, along with other commanders, pushed for this, but the king was hesitant. Nash-Marshall pointed out that the king actually agreed to a 15-day truce with his enemies, a mere ruse, as it turned out, to give them time to fortify Paris. When the attack on Paris finally happened, the king was hesitant to commit the bulk of his forces to it and it ultimately failed. Furthermore, it happened on Sept.

8, the birthday of the Virgin Mary, something that hurt Joan’s image as no fighting was supposed to take place on this holy day. Joan’s ambitions to drive the English out of the rest of France only went downhill from there. The king made a truce with the Burgundians, the allies of the English, which was to last until Christmas. Furthermore, before winter set in, Charles VII disbanded his army. Never again would Joan’s efforts receive support from the king, who appeared more determined to pursue diplomacy and consolidate his gains. On Dec. 29, Joan and her family were ennobled; something which Nash-Marshall points out gave her the right to attack the English without the king’s permission. “Charles' gesture was a courteous but unmistakable farewell,” Nash-Marshall writes. Joan of Arc was burned at the stake at this site, Joan d'Arc Square, in Rouen, France. Credit: Katarzyna Mazurowska Shutterstock Capture, trial and execution Without the backing of the king, Joan was unable to launch any more major attacks.

In May 1430, an Anglo-Burgundian force laid siege to the town of Compiègne and Joan, with no more than a few hundred men, rushed to its aid. Her voices had told her a few months before that she would soon be captured by the English but she went to the town’s defense anyways. The Anglo-Burgundian force was far larger than her own and she tried to aid the town’s defenders by launching hit-and-run attacks to keep the enemy off balance. On May 23 one of these attacks failed, the enemy having sufficient warning to give chase to her much smaller force. Although most of her soldiers managed to escape back to the town walls, Joan herself was captured by troops loyal to John, the Duke of Luxembourg. This marked the end of her military career and the beginning of her captivity. Although Joan had sympathizers among the Duke’s family, and John was originally reluctant to hand her over to the English, he was eventually paid 10,000 livres to turn her over, an immense amount of money at the time.

Pierre Cauchon, a bishop who supported the English and pushed for her arrest, remarked that although it was a king’s ransom “certainly the capture of this woman in no way resembles the capture of a king, or princes, or other persons of high rank.” When Joan learned she was to be turned over to the English, she threw herself off a tower, apparently in an attempt to commit suicide. She survived her attempt and was brought to Rouen to face trial. The verdict was never in doubt. “Her side saw her as a holy virgin, her enemies as a polluted sorceress,” Warner said. She was interrogated thoroughly, the Anglo-Burgundians tried to discredit her by questioning her virginity and linking her to magic. Even her wearing of men’s clothes was used against her, her prosecutors claiming that it was against the natural order of things. [ Related: Medieval Justice Not So Medieval ] Her trial and interrogations went on through the first four months of 1431. During that time Charles VII, the French king whom she had helped crown, made no attempt to get her back through ransom or prisoner exchange.

“This suggests, hard as it may seem, that Charles and his advisers were disillusioned enough to tolerate her condemnation as a heretic,” Warner writes. On May 30, 1431, she was led to the stake. “When Joan of Arc went to the stake, she wore over her shaven head a tall mitre like a dunce’s cap. On the cap, the words of her crimes were inscribed in Latin, for her shame and the dread of the onlookers,” writes Nash-Marshall. In a nutshell she was labelled “heretical, relapsed, apostate and idolatrous.” As the fire was lit, and spread, she uttered her last words, “Jesus! Jesus! Jesus,” she said, repeating Christ’s name several times before her death. Canonization In the century to follow, the English lost control over their remaining French territories. Calais, the last English territory in France, fell in 1558. Joan’s name was formally rehabilitated in an inquiry during the 1450s, and in 1920 she was made a saint of the Catholic Church. The New York Times reported that her canonization ceremony at St.

Peter’s Basilica in Rome attracted “60,000 to 70,000 persons” and “was the greatest and most impressive function performed in the historic basilica not only by the present Pontiff but for several centuries past.” HENRY VI, King of England (1421-1471) [Wars of the Roses] Search HENRY VI, King of England, son of King Henry V and Catherine of Valois , was born at Windsor on the 6th of December 1421. He became King of England on the 1st of September 1422, and a few weeks later, on the death of his grandfather Charles VI, was proclaimed king of France also. Henry V had directed that Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick , should be his son's preceptor; Warwick took up his charge in 1428; he trained his pupil to be a good man and refined gentleman, but he could not teach him kingship. As early as 1423 the baby king was made to appear at public functions and take his place in parliament.

He was knighted by his uncle Bedford at Leicester in May 1426, and on the 6th of November 1429 was crowned at Westminster. Early in the next year he was taken over to France, and after long delay crowned in Paris on the 26th of December 1431. His return to London on the 14th of February 1432 was celebrated with a great pageant devised by Lydgate . During these early years Bedford ruled France wisely and at first with success, but he could not prevent the mischief which Humphrey of Gloucester caused both at home and abroad. Even in France the English lost ground steadily after the victory of Joan of Arc before Orleans in 1429. The climax came with the death of Bedford, and defection of Philip of Burgundy in 1435. This closed the first phase of Henry's reign. There followed fifteen years of vain struggle in France, and growing disorder at home [cf. Hundred Years' War ]. The determining factor in politics was the conduct of the war. Cardinal Beaufort , and after him Suffolk , sought by working for peace to secure at least Guienne and Normandy.

Gloucester courted popularity by opposing them throughout; with him was Richard of York , who stood next in succession to the crown. Beaufort controlled the council, and it was under his guidance that the king began to take part in the government. Thus it was natural that as Henry grew to manhood he seconded heartily the peace policy. That policy was wise, but national pride made it unpopular and difficult. Henry himself had not the strength or knowledge to direct it, and was unfortunate in his advisers. The cardinal was old, his nephews John and Edmund Beaufort were incompetent, Suffolk, though a man of noble character, was tactless. Suffolk, however, achieved a great success by negotiating the marriage of Henry to Margaret of Anjou in 1445. Humphrey of Gloucester and Cardinal Beaufort both died early in 1447. Suffolk was now all-powerful in the favour of the king and queen [ Margaret of Anjou ]. But his home administration was unpopular, whilst the incapacity of Edmund Beaufort ended in the loss of all Normandy and Guienne. Suffolk's fall in 1450 left Richard of York the foremost man in England.

Henry's reign then entered on its last phase of dynastic struggle. Cade's rebellion suggested first that popular discontent might result in a change of rulers. But York, as heir to the throne, could abide his time. The situation was altered by the mental derangement of the king, and the birth of his son in 1453. York after a struggle secured the protectorship, and for the next year ruled England. Then Henry was restored to sanity, and the queen and Edmund Beaufort, now Duke of Somerset , to power. Open war followed, with the defeat and death of Somerset at St Albans on the 22nd of May 1455. Nevertheless a hollow peace was patched up, which continued during four years with lack of all governance. In 1459 war broke out again. On the 10th of July 1460, Henry was taken prisoner at Northampton , and forced to acknowledge York as heir, to the exclusion of his own son. Richard of York 's death at Wakefield (Dec. 31, 1460), and the queen's victory at St Albans (Feb.

17, 1461) , brought Henry his freedom and no more. Edward of York had himself proclaimed king, and by his decisive victory at Towton on the 29th of March, put an end to Henry's reign. For over three years Henry was a fugitive in Scotland. He returned to take part in an abortive rising in 1464. A year later he was captured in the north, and brought a prisoner to the Tower. For six months in 1470-1471 he emerged to hold a shadowy kingship as Warwick 's puppet. Edward's final victory at Tewkesbury was followed by Henry's death on the 21st of May 1471, certainly by violence, perhaps at the hands of Richard of Gloucester (later King Richard III). Henry was the most hapless of monarchs. He was so honest and well-meaning that he might have made a good ruler in quiet times. But he was crushed by the burden of his inheritance. He had not the genius to find a way out of the French entanglement or the skill to steer a constitutional monarchy between rival factions.

So the system and policy, which were the creations of Henry IV and Henry V , led under Henry VI to the ruin of their dynasty. Henry's very virtues added to his difficulties. He was so trusting that any one could influence him, so faithful that he would not give up a minister who had become impossible. Thus even in the middle period he had no real control of the government. In his latter years he was mentally too weak for independent action. At his best he was a " good and gentle creature," but too kindly and generous to rule others. Religious observances and study were his chief occupations. His piety was genuine; simple and pure, he was shocked at any suggestion of impropriety, but his rebuke was only "Fie, for shame! forsooth ye are to blame." For education he was really zealous. Even as a boy he was concerned for the upbringing of his half-brothers, his mother's children by Owen Tudor [cf. Edmund and Jasper Tudor ]. Later, the planning of his great foundations at Eton and King's College, Cambridge, was the one thing which absorbed his interest. To both he was more than a royal founder, and the credit of the whole scheme belongs to him.

The charter for Eton was granted on the 11th of October 1440, and that for King's College in the following February. Henry himself laid the foundation-stones of both buildings. He frequently visited Cambridge to superintend the progress of the work. When at Windsor he loved to send for the boys from his school and give them good advice. Henry's only son was Edward, Prince of Wales (1453-1471), who, having shared the many journeys and varying fortunes of his mother, Margaret , was killed after the battle of Tewkesbury (May 4, 1471) by some noblemen in attendance on Edward IV . (C. L. Kingsford) Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Ed. Vol XIII. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1910. 286. Other Local Resources: Joan of Arc martyred - May 30, 1431 - HISTORY.com Joan of Arc martyred Publisher A+E Networks At Rouen in English-controlled Normandy, Joan of Arc, the peasant girl who became the savior of France, is burned at the stake for heresy.

Joan was born in 1412, the daughter of a tenant farmer at Domremy, on the borders of the duchies of Bar and Lorraine. In 1415, the Hundred Years War between England and France entered a crucial phase when the young King Henry V of England invaded France and won a series of decisive victories against the forces of King Charles VI. By the time of Henry’s death in August 1422, the English and their French-Burgundian allies controlled Aquitaine and most of northern France, including Paris. Charles VI, long incapacitated, died one month later, and his son, Charles, regent from 1418, prepared to take the throne. However, Reims, the traditional city of French coronation, was held by the Anglo-Burgundians, and the Dauphin (heir apparent to the French throne) remained uncrowned. Meanwhile, King Henry VI of England, the infant son of Henry V and Catherine of Valois, the daughter of Charles VI, was proclaimed king of France by the English.

Joan’s village of Domremy lay on the frontier between the France of the Dauphin and that of the Anglo-Burgundians. In the midst of this unstable environment, Joan began hearing “voices” of three Christian saints—St. Michael, St. Catherine, and St. Margaret. When she was about 16, these voices exhorted her to aid the Dauphin in capturing Reims and therefore the French throne. In May 1428, she traveled to Vaucouleurs, a stronghold of the Dauphin, and told the captain of the garrison of her visions. Disbelieving the young peasant girl, he sent her home. In January 1429, she returned, and the captain, impressed by her piety and determination, agreed to allow her passage to the Dauphin at Chinon. Dressed in men’s clothes and accompanied by six soldiers, she reached the Dauphin’s castle at Chinon in February 1429 and was granted an audience. Charles hid himself among his courtiers, but Joan immediately picked him out and informed him of her divine mission.

For several weeks, Charles had Joan questioned by theologians at Poitiers, who concluded that, given his desperate straits, the Dauphin would be well-advised to make use of this strange and charismatic girl. Charles furnished her with a small army, and on April 27, 1429, she set out for Orleans, besieged by the English since October 1428. On April 29, as a French sortie distracted the English troops on the west side of Orleans, Joan entered unopposed by its eastern gate. She brought greatly needed supplies and reinforcements and inspired the French to a passionate resistance. She personally led the charge in several battles and on May 7 was struck by an arrow. After quickly dressing her wound, she returned to the fight, and the French won the day. On May 8, the English retreated from Orleans. During the next five weeks, Joan and the French commanders led the French into a string of stunning victories over the English. On July 16, the royal army reached Reims, which opened its gates to Joan and the Dauphin.

The next day, Charles VII was crowned king of France, with Joan standing nearby holding up her standard: an image of Christ in judgment. After the ceremony, she knelt before Charles, joyously calling him king for the first time. On September 8, the king and Joan attacked Paris. During the battle, Joan carried her standard up to the earthworks and called on the Parisians to surrender the city to the king of France. She was wounded but continued to rally the king’s troops until Charles ordered an end to the unsuccessful siege. That year, she led several more small campaigns, capturing the town of Saint-Pierre-le-Moitier. In December, Charles ennobled Joan, her parents, and her brothers. In May 1430, the Burgundians laid siege to Compiegne, and Joan stole into the town under the cover of darkness to aid in its defense. On May 23, while leading a sortie against the Burgundians, she was captured. The Burgundians sold her to the English, and in March 1431 she went on trial before ecclesiastical authorities in Rouen on charges of heresy.

Her most serious crime, according to the tribunal, was her rejection of church authority in favor of direct inspiration from God. After refusing to submit to the church, her sentence was read on May 24: She was to be turned over to secular authorities and executed. Reacting with horror to the pronouncement, Joan agreed to recant and was condemned instead to perpetual imprisonment. Ordered to put on women’s clothes, she obeyed, but a few days later the judges went to her cell and found her dressed again in male attire. Questioned, she told them that St. Catherine and St. Margaret had reproached her for giving in to the church against their will. She was found to be a relapsed heretic and on May 29 ordered handed over to secular officials. On May 30, Joan, 19 years old, was burned at the stake at the Place du Vieux-Marche in Rouen. Before the pyre was lit, she instructed a priest to hold high a crucifix for her to see and to shout out prayers loud enough to be heard above the roar of the flames. As a source of military inspiration, Joan of Arc helped turn the Hundred Years War firmly in France’s favor.

By 1453, Charles VII had reconquered all of France except for Calais, which the English relinquished in 1558. In 1920, Joan of Arc, one of the great heroes of French history, was recognized as a Christian saint by the Roman Catholic Church. Her feast day is May 30. Related Videos

Question: Which English king was crowned king of France in 1431?
Answer: Henry VI