Joan of Arc Research Paper

Joan the young warrior who created an impact on the world Joan was a brave warrior, a loving character to everyone around her. Joan of Arc is one of the many women who have created a major impact on the world; though she started very young, she followed the instructions given by God through Saint Catherine to help unite France and drive the English out. Joan, as a child, was very well disciplined. Her father Jacques d’ Arc, was the village’s central farmer and head chief; he had a way of running things very harshly.She shared a room with her three older brothers; they equally shared chores which included working in the fields, caring for animals, or cleaning the house. Her father preferred her older brothers in a way where he would always ignore Joan. Joan attended church more than an average person would. During her free time she would spend constant hours praying to God. She was a devout Christian, and true to her faith. The villagers of the town loved her, â€Å"she was such a good girl that almost everyone in Domremy loved her. † –Williamson pg. 3.Her constant praying, and attendance in the church, categorized her as the laughing stock of Joan’s age group. In the presence of her older brothers, and her mother she was loved. Joan’s Father didn’t favor her, because having a daughter in the family would bring higher taxes. The Friar of Domremy saw Joan enter the chapel, Notre Dame de Bermont, many times throughout the day. Joan would walk up to the altar and pray to God then recite â€Å"The Lord’s Prayer† Joan was said to have loved the church bells so much they gave her joy. This encouraged her to praise, and pray to God more than she ever did.Joan was so close to God that the Angel St. Catherine, St. Margret, and St. Michael appeared to her when she was seven years of age. They told her to be a good girl, and to always go to church. She followed their instructions and every time that she attend church she would hear their voices speak to her. Joan contributed majorly in the time of harvest to help bring in the crop. She helped her mother with sewing, cooking, and gathering the rest of the family from the field to come home when dusk was near. Though she wanted to tell her mother about the visits from the angels, she vowed never to tell anyone in the town of Domremy.Joan at the age of sixteen acquired an important mission by God. It required her to go to the town of Chinon, where she would appoint the Dauphin, Charles VII, to be King of France. Joan traveled to a nearby town called Vaucouleurs to ask the local military captain Robert de Bradricourt for an escort to escort her to Chinon to see Charles VII. Sir Robert refused Joan’s request, and sent her to her uncle, Durand, who was currently living in Vaucouleurs to take Joan back to her father and â€Å"box her ears† (to slap her with the palm of their hand up across her head to make her deaf for a while. Dur and saw that Joan noticed that Sir Robert did not want to send her to go and see the Dauphin. Returning back to Vaucouleurs Joan asked Sir Robert for a third time. He had agreed, yet Joan already knew the answer, St. Catherine had already told her that he would finally say yes to her request. Her uncle provided her with armor, Sir Robert supplied Joan with, horses, food, and he brought along some men to assist them if trouble were to come along the way to Chinon. On their halfway point of their journey to Chinon, they camped along side a small river. The night was cold, and the days were cool, being so close to the winter season.In the morning they awoke to the sound of horse’s hooves pounding on the floor. Burgundians have just raided a nearby village, and have taken some captives, along with items from the village, and money. Joan hearing the cries of the captives, she went and attacked the Burgundians even though she didn’t know how to fight. Sir Robert knowing took his men and fought the group of Burgundians, they killed them without suffering any loses, or injuries; sending the Captives home along with some of the stolen items they couldn’t return, for the Burgundians have burned their Village down as they raided it.As Joan arrived in Chinon, word had spread throughout France that a young girl would come and claim to be the Maid of Orleans, as said in prophecy. As she entered Chinon, the people started to call her the Maid of Orleans. Joan corrected them, and told them that she wasn’t the Maid; she was just a mere messenger from God with a mission. She came to a conclusion on her mission, where she would appoint Charles VII as King of France. All she needed to do was talk to Charles and show him the sign that God wanted him to see. Joan considered that she would need to have an audience that had to be accepted.She went to the chapel to pray to God one last time before she met Charles. Before Joan had entered the room where Char les was, he decided to put together a test for Joan to see if her God was real or not. He would place a man in royal clothing and have him sit upon the throne, while Charles wore common gentleman’s clothing and hide in the crowd. Joan’s audience with Charles was accepted; with the test prepared they allowed her to enter the room. Upon reaching the throne she turned and walked up to Charles hidden in the crowd dressed in commoners clothing. Joan kneeled replying â€Å"Gentle Dauphin, God give you long life. -Hall, pg. 4 The Dauphin declined being Charles, yet she says the one sitting on the throne is but a mere gentleman and that the man in front of her is Charles. She said God had shown her where Charles was located in the room. The town of Orleans was under Siege of England. Its forces were so great that all hope in retaking Orleans’s was lost. The Dauphin was very impressed with Joan that he allowed her to face the enemy and clear a way for him to get to Rhei ms where he would be crowned King of France. The guards and captains scoffed at the idea that a teenage girl would be leading their army.Joan argued with the men about them saying that God won’t lead them to victory against the English, yet Joan cried it is God who gives the victory, and the men are the one’s who must fight. With a small band of men she traveled to Orleans, she rose against the English forces and won the battle for Orleans. She then declared herself to be commanded by her Saints that she could do anything through God’s power. Before the band of men and Joan set their course for Orleans Saint Catherine instructed Joan to travel to a nearby town of Fierbois and go to the church that is located there.She followed Saint Catherine’s instructions and traveled to the town of Fierbois. She knelt at the altar and began to pray to God. A sword crimson and gold scabbard was given to her. Now she set her travels to raise arms at the town of Orleans, and reclaim the city. Joan entered the outskirts of the city of Orleans where she would plan a battle strategy to drive the English out, though the Lord did not want Joan to use her sword and avoid shedding blood. Following God’s instructions Joan sent a letter to the English saying that they should listen to the commands that God has, and leave France.England declined the response and killed the messenger who presented the letter to them. Joan not wanting to start a battle was forced to by their reply. Many lives were lost heavily on both sides and Joan was wounded in the process, yet with her wound she still pressed on showing her courage and will to carry on through the strength of God. The battle for Orleans was won, and the town was back in France’s hands. The Dauphin Charles VII was now on his way to Rheims to be crowned as king of France. Joan’s victory has brought much hope to the remaining towns, and cities in territory of France along with more men to fill up Joan’s army.Joan had fulfilled her promises to God that she would help Charles VII become King of France. In the mid summer of July Charles VII had become King of France, and he had helped complete Joan’s mission. Joan stated at the day of Charles’s coronation â€Å"Gentle King,† she cried, in a voice with broken tears, â€Å"now is God’s pleasure fulfilled, who willed that I should raise the siege of Orleans and lead you to Rheims to receive your consecration. Now has He shown that you are a true King, and that France belongs to you alone. †-Hall pg. 9.Joan was told that she had to last a year, and from now and onward she fought like a high general, but with a great inspiration. Her next instructions were to take over Paris, yet these instructions weren’t from God but from Charles VII. The taking of Paris was none compared to the struggle of Orleans, but much more difficult. The English along with the Burgundians held hostile Paris. They had only one weakness and that was the fear that the Maid of Orleans would come and over take them. They knew in order to still hold France’s territory they had to remove Joan from the picture.They meet with Charles VII and held an agreement that they would give France’s capitol, Paris, back if they would hand Joan over to the English. Charles thinking of the matter of gaining Frances major city back, utterly agreed to the offer. Charles told Joan to prepare the troops and march onward to the city of Paris. Joan began to have pride in herself, and began calling herself the Maid of Orleans. She began her Journey to Paris with an army behind her along with the man who helped her begging her Journey Sir Robert Bradricourt. With the Help of God, and Her staff she claimed they will take Paris.The battle was lost and Joan was captured by the English and many of her men’s lives were now gone. Joan now a prisoner was forced to obey everything. The queen of Burgundy saw Joan and treated her with respect for she was the Maid of Orleans. The Queen released Joan only to go back with the Queen to give her anything that Joan would ask for. Joan only wished to go back with her army, but the queen declined telling her she wouldn’t return to France and that she would fight for England. Joan still a prisoner under the Queen was soon no longer in good care.The queen had died and soon Joan was taken away as a captive under France only to be treated horribly. Joan was trialed to court and charged for heresy, and witchcraft. Joan was trialed by the church. The church linked that Charles VII was in association with the devil. The trial was held in the Chapel Royal at Rouen Castle. The judge’s job was to prove that Joan was a heretic by using the means of torturing her to confess her sins and return to the church. They asked her question which included â€Å"what language did Joan’s Saints use? Were they naked? †-Williamso n pg. 28.Joan laughed at the idea and replied to the questions truthfully. She had told the church everything that she had been through and everything that Saint Catherine, Saint Margret, and Saint Michael had told her. The church didn’t believe anything that Joan said and believe it was all blasphemy and the voices that she heard of were from the devil. They told her in order to escape the penalty of death she must recant everything that she said and say it was all a lie. Cauchon one of the judgers of the trial, threated Joan by burning her arm with fire, to give a feel at what burning on the stake was like.Out of fear Joan recanted everything she had said. Being alone in her prison cell she asked God for his forgiveness, and to take her sins away. She rebuked all of her pride, which she fell on at the battle to reclaim Paris. In the process of being in prison the guards had her their way with her, she was raped, beaten, and treated horribly. She again said she un recanted a nd she took back what she said. On May 30 Joan was taken to the Market of the towns center and she was burned at the steak. Many of Joan’s army men were there hidden in disguise.Sir Robert Bradricourt wept along with other men at the sight of the one they fought along side with , and believed in was dying in front of them. Witness at the scene said her heart never burned. A statue of Joan was place in Paris forever in memory of her. With Joan’s life being so short, she accomplished the mission that was appointed to her. She created an impact on both England, and France. Joan proved that with God all things are possible, even for a girl at sixteen. Joan’s actions will forever be in History, along with all of the other great women, and men of the world.