Spiritual Viragos Throughout History: Joan of Arc

JOAN OF ARC: POSTER CHILD OF SPIRITUAL WARRIORSHIP

“Why don’t they just get it over with and call her Joan of Arc?” -from the movie G.I Jane

Joan of Arc is a female teenager who lead hoards of battle-hardened soldiers to victory in the Middle Ages. Even today, this is an anomaly.

Few people can claim to have single-handedly changed the course of their country’s history as much as this spiritual virago. Let me remind you that in the US in 2021, women are still not allowed to fight on the front lines and very few are in positions of leadership. UFC we can do. Hunting we can do. Policework we can do. Actual fighting for our country though–that’s reserved for fictional characters like G.I Jane.

On top of the gender barrier she faced, Joan of Arc, a talented seamstress, was the daughter of peasants, she was illiterate, she couldn’t even write her name (of which, she did not even know her last name). Leading an army of thousands to victory wouldn’t seem like a bucket list item for a young, poor, Catholic girl. In this era, women had dowries and chastity belts and definitely didn’t vote and own property.

“Jehanne la Pucelle” (“Joan the Maid”) was born in France, close to the Burgundian border, in 1412. By the time Joan was 10, the English had laid claim to the throne of France in what would come to be known as the Hundred Years War. At the time, King Charles VI had died leaving a male infant son as his heir. In that uncertain time in which France had no real king, the English and Burgundians sought to take advantage. As Charles VII came of age, heir to the French throne, he faced a serious uphill battle.

IN COMES THE KHALEESI OF THE 15TH CENTURY

“All battles are first won or lost in the mind.” -Joan of Arc

When she was 13 years old, Joan of Arc started hearing voices of great religious figures calling her to save her country. Some historians feel the voices, as she described them, were consistent with mental illness. Regardless, she was loved by her troops and by her country (she is the patron saint of France). But before she became an international celebrity and a poster child for female leadership, Joan of Arc was a regular Middle Ages young woman dealing with her dad trying to marry her off.

History.com recounts this early story: “At the age of 16, after her father attempted to arrange a marriage for her, she successfully convinced a local court that she should not be forced to accept the match.” After standing up to your dad, convincing the king-to-be that God has directed you to take over the army is no biggie, right?

The voices instructed her to travel to the royal palace and introduce herself to king-to-be Charles. They also told her to cut her hair in a pageboy style, which was unheard of for women at the time, and to wear men’s clothing. Upon her arrival, she identified a plainclothes Charles in a crowd, which he took as a sign of her divinity. He had religious experts vet her, and she received top marks across the board. Charles, still not king, put her in charge of the army. She was 17.

THAT WHOLE CALLING FEMALE LEADERS “CRAZY B*TCHES” THING IS NOTHING NEW

“I fear nothing for God is with me!” -Joan of Arc

As she was preparing to enter battle, her squire and 2 brothers asked her whether she wanted to carry a sword. Joan said her sword could be located at the Sainte-Catherine-de-Fierbois church. Indeed, a sword was located for her there…in case you need more proof that she was not schizophrenic.

Under Joan of Arc’s guidance and leadership, France stopped the English’s siege on the city of Orleans, earning her the nickname “Maid of Orleans.” Joan did not actively participate in combat or kill anyone. She was on the front lines, but, like most generals, she was focused on strategizing, logistics, and keeping the men motivated. Joan also proposed a variety of diplomatic solutions to the English army, which were all rejected. Nevertheless, her efforts were directly responsible for putting Charles VII in position to finally take the throne.

No woman today will be surprised to hear that history remembers Joan of Arc as being a bit of a bitch and a ball-buster. During the war, she chewed out soldiers for swearing and missing mass. She was know to have chased away a fair amount of mistresses and prostitutes from the troops. Once she slapped a soldier for eating stolen meat. Once in court, Joan was asked by a man with a thick accent what language her voices spoke. To which she retorted: “Better French than you.” Despite leaving her Middle Age “young lady meekness” in her other pair of men’s pants, the records reveal that she was well-loved by her troops.

SPIRITUAL WARRIOR LIFE

“I am not afraid. I was born to do this.” -Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc was wounded during the war twice. She was shot with an arrow in her shoulder and a crossbow to her leg. Right after King Charles VII was crowned, in a skirmish in the town of Senlis, Joan pulled a Dances with Wolves and rode on her horse right up to the enemy’s enbankment, openly challenging them.

In 1430, after a battle with the Burgundians, Joan was thrown from her horse and found herself isolated outside the town’s gates. She was captured by the Burgundians and held as a P.O.W. for months, while Charles VII looked the other way and did nothing. At one point during her imprisonment, she jumped from the top of a tower into the surrounding moat, attempting to escape and return to the battle. She was knocked unconscious but not seriously injured. Eventually, the Burgundians sold Joan of Arc to the English for $10,000 francs.

The English then turned Joan of Arc over to the Catholic church who tried her for going against them, a crime punishable by death at the time. They believed God never spoke to her, and that when she claimed she was divinely directed to do this or that, she was lying. The Catholic church accused and tried her of 70 crimes, including witchcraft, cross-dressing, and heresy. Britannica.com writes, “Her trial might serve to discredit Charles VII by demonstrating that he owed his coronation to a witch.”¹ Records indicate she kept her composure and never wavered on being divinely directed through dozens of trials, hearings, and tribunals.

Joan of Arc was held in a military prison throughout the entire process. As you might imagine, she was supposedly threatened with rape and torture there. In the face of the torture threats, Joan is reported to have simply continued repeating that they could torture her to death and she would not change her statements. She used to tie her clothing together with cords to protect her body from rape–not a surprising strategy for someone living in the chastity belt era.

THE WAR AGAINST REBEL WOMEN: JOAN OF ARC’S DEATH

“Alas! that my body, clean and whole, never been corrupted, today must be consumed and burnt to ashes!” -Joan of Arc

In 1431, Joan of Arc was found guilty of going against the Catholic church. The very next day, May 30, the English shaved her head and burned her alive while she was tied to a stake in the Rouen town square. She asked a bystander to hold up a crucifix high and shout encouraging biblical references of salvation to her so she could focus on that as she burned. A crowd of 10,000 were present when she was killed. Joan of Arc was just 19 years old.

The Hundred Years War raged on until 1453. In 1456, Charles VII re-opened the investigation of her case, and she was exonerated of all charges. She was now a martyr for her country, for her cause, for God. What Joan accomplished is unlike anything in history that has happened before or after. There is a reason why, half a century later, we’re still talking about her.

Some of the criteria to become officially recognized as a saint by the Catholic church is to live a life of heroic virtue and to post-humously be responsible for at least one miracle. Almost 500 years after Joan’s death, she was made a saint by the church. St. Joan of Arc. went from a “cross-dressing, anti-church witch” to an exemplary model of holiness. It only took half a century. Every second Sunday in May, France celebrates Joan in a nation-wide festival.

Joan of Arc followed her calling, accepted her purpose, and didn’t shy away from the difficult and uncomfortable. She is the ultimate spiritual virago…and, for that, I salute you!

JOAN OF ARC QUOTES: POST & SHARE

“I will dare and dare and dare until I die.” -Joan of Arc

Sources:

• https://www.historyextra.com/period/medieval/the-real-joan-of-arc/
• https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/joanofarc.asp
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Joan-of-Arc
• https://www.history.com/news/7-surprising-facts-about-joan-of-arc
• https://www.biography.com/military-figure/joan-of-arc
• https://www.history.com/topics/middle-ages/saint-joan-of-arc