The first image that most people conjure in their minds of Joan of Arc is of a fearless teenage girl in armor, leading armies and defying kings. Her amazing journey started in a peasant backwater, in the fields of Domrémy, where she was transfixed and moved to action by a series of visions that transformed her life, and changed the course of history forever.
Humble Beginnings
Joan was born around 1412 in the small village of Domrémy, in then war-torn France. By the time she was in her teens, the conflict between France and England had already dragged on for decades. Her and her family’s lives were consumed with farming, faith, and survival. That’s what makes what happened so incredible.
Eugène Romain Thirion, Wikimedia Commons
First Vision
At the age of 13, while tending her father’s livestock, Joan claimed she saw a blinding light and heard the voice of Saint Michael the Archangel. He would be joined in later visions by Saint Catherine of Alexandria and Saint Margaret. The voices spoke directly to Joan of God’s will, exhorted her to remain pure, keep going to church, and steel herself for a divine mission.
The Voices Gripped Her
The saints’ instructions became more detailed as time went on: Joan was admonished to help the Dauphin, Charles, take back his throne from the English and Burgundians. For a peasant girl in a tiny village, the idea was beyond comprehension. But Joan took these visions as a sacred call to arms; she was now galvanized with an inexorable sense of purpose.
Gillot Saint-Evre, Wikimedia Commons
From Vision To Action
At first, Joan kept the visions to herself, fearing people wouldn’t take her seriously. But as things in France got worse, she knew she had to take action. With absolute belief that the voices were from God, she went to seek out an audience with Robert de Baudricourt, a local commander. Her refusal to take no for an answer finally won her an escort to meet the Dauphin. It was a watershed moment that launched her on a holy mission.
Impact On The Hundred Years War
Royal courtiers took a dim view of Joan’s meeting with the Dauphin in Chinon in 1429. But Joan had the confidence and aura of a religious prophet about her that won Charles over. In a matter of months, she played an inspirational leadership role in the lifting of the Siege of Orléans, a major turning point in the Hundred Years War. Without her indomitable vision of victory driving her forth, France’s morale quite possibly would have been shattered beyond repair.
Eugène Lenepveu, Wikimedia Commons
Modern Theories About Her Visions
Historians and medical experts have long squabbled over the true nature and origin of Joan’s vision. Some say she suffered from temporal lobe epilepsy, which is known to produce vivid hallucinations and religious feelings. Others allude to migraines with aura, ergot (fungal) poisoning from moldy rye bread, or even an undiagnosed mental disorder. But these theories are unable to account for her unwavering conviction and surprising battlefield acumen.
Faith Vs Skeptics In Lab Coats
While scientists do everything possible to find rational explanations for Joan’s visions, her faith and actions remain pivotal factors. Whether she was divinely inspired or not, her actions and their effect on the French people are impossible to deny. Her visions filled her with the confidence to lead men into battle, negotiate with royalty, and overcome the deeply ingrained social norms of her day.
Hendrik Scheffer, Wikimedia Commons
A Momentary Vision That Became Timeless
Joan’s visions set her on the road to becoming one of the most enduring historic figures of all time. At 19, she was condemned as a heretic, and burned at the stake. Twenty-five years later, the Church pronounced her innocent. Finally, in 1920 she was canonized as a saint. The young girl in the fields of Domrémy had turned the tide of history and changed the fate of a nation.
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