History Fact Finder | War and Conflict: Pre-Twentieth Century - Who Was Joan Of Arc?

Who was Joan of Arc?

French teenager Joan of Arc (1412–1431) was a heroine of the Hundred Years' War. During the 1400s French and English troops were battling over French territory and the right to name the king of France. The long conflict, known as the Hundred Years' War, resulted in a series of wars, interspersed with periods of peace, that began in 1337 and ended in 1453. Joan maintained that she heard the voices of saints, who instructed her to offer her services to Charles VII (1403–1461), the uncrowned French king. She was to drive English forces from the city of Orleans (near Paris). Although Charles was skeptical, Joan convinced him of the legitimacy of her mission. He gave her a suit of white armor, which she wore as she went into battle at Orleans. After chasing the English from the city and engaging in other battles in the Loire Valley, Joan escorted Charles to Reims, where on July 17, 1429, he was crowned king of...

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