Bonekickers

History behind ‘The Lines of War’: Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc (c. 1412-1431) is regarded as the national heroine of France, through her victories in the closing years of the Hundred Years War with England. She was born in Domrémy, about 45 miles south of Verdun, and was known as the Maid of Lorraine.

At around the age of 17 she believed that she had received visions from God that she could lead the French to victory; in 1429 Charles VII sent her to relieve the siege of Orléans, and her success was remarkable. She played a part in a number of other battles, but was captured at Compiègne in 1430, tried and convicted of heresy by the English in 1431 and burnt at the stake at Rouen. Her bones have never been found, as after her death, they were apparently burnt twice over and the ashes thrown into the Seine to prevent the collection of any relics.

In 1455, her case was reopened and the Pope, Callixtus III overturned the original verdict. But her beautification had to wait until 1909; there was something of a revival of interest in her and her birthplace in the early twentieth century. It was also reported that her image was carried into battle by French troops during the First World War, and on another occasion the image on clouds of a German searchlight were interpreted as an appearance of Joan. She was finally canonized in 1920, while the Cross of Lorraine became a potent symbol of French nationalism during the Second World War.

The armistice that ended hostilities between the Allies and Germany on November 11th 1918, was in Compiègne Forest, close to where Joan had been captured in 1430.