About this time France was frequently invaded by the English, and even the small village in which Joan lived had been entered and plundered.
There had been so many intermarriages between the royal houses of France and England that it was doubtful who was the rightful heir to the throne. France was divided into two factions, yet all agreed in their hatred of the English who had taken possession of the northern part of the country. Worst of all, the queen mother Isabella supported the claims of her grandson, an Englishman, against those of her own son, Charles, the French prince.
This agreed with an old prophecy known to the country people, that France should be lost by a woman and saved by a woman. The queen, Isabella, who finally secured the crown for her English grandson, was regarded as the woman who lost France; and later it became generally believed that Joan of Arc was the woman who saved France.
Joan prayed constantly for the deliverance of her country from the English. At last one day she told her father that she had seen an unearthly light and heard a voice telling her that she was to go and help the French prince. Again the vision appeared, and this time she said she had seen St. Michael, St. Catherine, and St. Margaret, who told her that she was appointed by heaven to go to the aid of Prince Charles. Her father tried to laugh her out of her “fancy,” as he called it, and did all he could to dissuade her, but Joan was resolute and declared she must go.
The village people were very superstitious, and when they heard of Joan’s wonderful visions they were immediately convinced. An uncle of Joan’s, who was a wheelwright and cartmaker, offered to take her to a high nobleman who, according to the vision, should bring her before the prince. This nobleman laughed at her, but later on became sufficiently convinced to give her a horse, a suit of armor, and two guards to escort her to Prince Charles.
After traveling eleven days through a wild country, constantly on the watch for the enemy, she finally reached Chinon, where Charles was staying. Although he was dressed exactly like the men about him, Joan picked him out immediately, and told him she had been sent by heaven to conquer his enemies and see him crowned king at Rheims. She also told him several things supposed to be secret, known only to himself, and so she was able to gain his confidence.
She told him too that in the Cathedral of St. Catherine, some distance away, he would find an old sword, marked on the blade with five crosses, which the vision had told her she should wear. No one had ever heard of this old sword, and it seemed very wonderful that Joan should know about it; but it was found in the cathedral just as she had said.
Charles then asked the opinion of all the wise men about him, and all agreed that Joan was inspired by heaven. This put new life into the French soldiers, but discouraged the English, who thought Joan was a witch.
And then it was that Joan rode on to the Siege of Orleans in which, as we know, the French were victorious. She rode on a beautiful white war horse, her armor glittering so in the sun that she could be seen for a great distance, and she carried a white flag. Twice she was wounded during the terrible battle which followed, but each time she was soon up and at the head of the French again, the English fleeing before them.
We know how the French fought their way to Rheims, where Charles VII was crowned; and how Joan then declared her work completed and begged to be allowed to return to her home; but King Charles would not consent. We do not like to think of how this weak king did nothing to help her when she was finally taken prisoner and sold by the Duke of Burgundy to the English, who burned her at the stake as a heretic and witch. It was not until ten years later that Charles VII publicly recognized the service she had done, and declared her “a martyr to her religion, her country, and her king.”