Joan of Arc
Military Leader / Saint
Also known as The Maid of Orléans; in French, Jeanne D'Arc
A hero of the Hundred Years War, Joan of Arc remains a French national hero six centuries later. As a teenager she heard voices from on high urging her to save France from English domination. Despite being a young woman, she was placed at the head of an army; she attacked the English and forced them to retreat from Orléans. Later she was captured by the English, tried for heresy, and burned at the stake. In 1920 she was canonized by the Catholic Church.
Extra credit: Joan of Arc was the topic of the play Saint Joan by George Bernard Shaw and the book Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc by Mark Twain... She has been played in the movies by Ingrid Bergman and Milla Jovovich, among others... Another famous French maiden was Bernadette of Lourdes.
Blog posts mentioning Joan of Arc:
Four Good Links
Joan of Arc Links
Monster list of online resources
Encarta: Joan of Arc
Your basic straightforward biography; firm and authoritative
Military History: The Maid of Orléans
Nice strategic details on Joan of Arc's battles
St. Joan of Arc Center
Scholarly fan page, a mountain of information
Vital Stats
Birth
Birthplace
Death
30 May 1431
(burned at the stake)
Best Known As
The French heroine who was burned at the stake
