Who Was…? biography series for middle grade encourages with the story of Joan of Arc – a poor peasant girl who after having visions became a warrior who led an army into battle.
Joan of Arc (1412-1431) was born in
the village of Domremy, France, where she cared for the family’s cattle and
sheep.
In 1420, a treaty was signed that
France would be ruled by Charles of England who was part French. But some
French people felt betrayed by the French king, Charles VI. After his death,
French people fought between themselves who should be the king of France.
During this turmoil time, in 1425,
one day when Joan was working in the garden, she heard someone calling her
name, but she only saw a bright light.
The third time, she heard the
voice, she recognized the archangel Michael. In her time, visions from God didn’t
seem so extraordinary.
When she was sixteen, she was told
to be destined to help the dauphin become king. She didn’t know how she could
do such thing but her faith was very strong and she kept praying.
In 1428, her village of Domremy was
raided by the French soldiers who sided with England. She was able to make her
way to the commander Robert de Baudricourt, but he didn’t believe her vision. She
was so determined that he wrote to the dauphin about her. Charles agreed to the
meeting.
Per saints’ request, she was to cut
her hair and dress like a boy. She was given directions from saints each step
of the way.
A letter was sent to the English
commanders telling them to leave France on God’s orders. Her request was
ignored.
On April 29, 1429, she arrived
outside Orleans with two hundred soldiers. They won the battle but Charles had
to be crowned at cathedral in order to be the king of France. Many cities were
still occupied by the English. Joan and her army captured one town after
another.
On July 16, 1429, they arrived in
Reims, and a day later, the dauphin was crowned King Charles VII at the cathedral.
Many cities were still held by the
English, including Paris, which Joan wanted to give back to the French people.
There were a few attempts to approach the city, but Joan was failing for the
first time. She grew impatient as she didn’t like waiting.
Over in England, in November 1429,
the young son of Henry V was crowned king of France. Now, France had two kings.
In the spring of 1430, Joan was
given permission to capture a French town from the English. She was captured
and put on trial. She was nineteen. The Catholic Church tried to prove that she
was a witch. And being dressed in men’s clothes was seen as crime. She was
found guilty. When she faced a horrible death and was scared, she signed a note
promising to stop wearing men’s clothes, to never fight in a war again, and the
all voices she heard were lie.
Her head was shaved and she was
sent back to the tower. Three days later, the saints told her that she had done
a terrible thing by signing the false confession. She took it all back. She was
burned at stakes.
In 1453, when the English were
driven out of France, Charles VII finally came to her defense and reopened her
case.
In 1456, the Church reversed its
decision and declared Joan innocent.
In 1920, she was declared a saint
by the Catholic Church.
This biography exemplifies a young
girl who had incredible strength, was very courageous, and was strongly religious.
Her faith led her to achieve what would seem unachievable for a peasant girl who
couldn't read and write. The strong connection to the Higher Power is what creates
miracles.
Source: Penguin Workshop, 2016
TRENDING INSPIRATION: Spend time in
nature in order to reconnect with natural instincts. In Joan of Arc’s time,
visions from God seemed natural.
Traits:
·
She was a poor peasant
girl who didn’t know how to read and write yet showed incredible strength,
courage and faith.
·
Without training or
experience, she stood up to enemy soldiers, kings and the powerful Church.
·
Despite Charles VII not
coming to her defense when she was captured, she still believed him to be the
right king.
·
Despite so many
powerful men holding power over her, she parted with the last words to forgive
everyone who had hurt her.
·
She proved that even
the most disadvantaged can accomplish great things, be part of something very
meaningful.
·
Her impatience might have
been the reason why she got captured. Patience is something that many of us
have to work on.
“I am not afraid… I was born to do
this.” – Joan of Arc
FURTHER INSPIRATION AND RECOMMENDATION:
The story of Joan of Arc and the time that she lived in brought to my mind the ancient wisdoms. How much of it reconfirms, for example, having visions as a natural thing, not some kind of phenomenon as it’s seen in modern time. Recently, I started reaching more and more for different sources of ancient wisdom. One of them is a podcast with Gregg Braden who has dedicated his life to studying native tribes and the ancient wisdom they hold, and making it accessible by bridging modern science, ancient wisdom, and human potential.
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