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Joan of Arc was born sometime in 1412 in Domrémy-la-Pucelle, in Northeastern France. Born as Jeanne d’ Arc, she never learned how to read or right, however her mother, Isabelle Romee, taught her to love the teachings of the Catholic church (History.com). At the age of 13 in 1425, Joan began to hear voices in her head and was sure they were messages from God, telling her to save France and make Charles the rightful king. Joan even took a vow of chastity as part of the divine mission (Beck 360).
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After Henry IV died on March 20, 1413, his son Henry V, at the age of 26, succeeded his father to the throne peacefully (Grun 203). While campaigning in Whales, he made several friends and the first thing he thought on accession to the throne was military action against France. Henry V was very much into the military aristocracy that dominated England (Henry V.).
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Jan Hus was a Czech religious reformer, priest, philosopher, and Master at Charles University in Prague. He was known as the English theorist of ecclesiastical Reformation. Hus was condemned as a heretic against the doctrines of the Catholic Church and was burned at the stake for these actions. Hus was arrested and held in the dungeon of the Dominican monastery, and condemned on July 6, 1415. He protested at first and then fell to his knees to ask God to forgive his enemies (PeoplesWorld.org).
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Filippo Brunelleschi’s dome covers the Florence cathedral and when designed was the largest dome in the world. When this dome was first being created, nobody knew how to construct a dome that would be 150 feet wide and would begin 180 feet above the ground. Many problems arose during the process, being that many of the materials were too heavy to hoist where they were needed. After several inventions later, Brunelleschi finally created his masterpiece on March 25, 1436 (Brunelleschi's).
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Beijing, originally called Peking, became the capital of China in 1421 by the Ming Emperors. This remained the capital until 1912 when the Manchu Empire fell and SunYat Sen turned China into a republic. The city was captured in 1949 by communists, who made it their capital and still remains the capital to this day (Beijing).
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In 1406, James was sent by King Robert III to France to keep him away from the powerful Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany. James was captured by English soldiers on the way to France and was taken to the royal court in London as prisoner (Grun 202). Shortly after, Stewart died in 1420 and Albany no longer cared to keep King James hostage anymore. Stewart's son Murdac held the regency until King James I was released in 1423 (Britannica).
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Itzcoatl, the fourth king of Tenochtitlan ruling from 1427 to 1440, laid the foundations for the eventual Aztec Empire. Itzcoatl went on to defeat Maxtla and end the Tepanec domination of central Mexico. Forming an alliance with Nezahualcoyotl of Texcoco, the Aztec empire continued to grow and expand further south from Mexico (Cartwright).
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In May of 1428, Joan of Arc traveled to Vaucouleurs to ask permission to speak with Robert de Baudricourt, the garrison commander (Admin). She managed to speak with him and told him she wanted to join the Dauphin. She explained her story of how God Himself needed her to help France defeat England, but unfortunately the commander did not believe her ("Joan of Arc").
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About a year later in 1429, Joan of Arc went back to Vaucouleurs, but this time asked Robert de Baudricourt to join the Dauphin (Admin). Hesitant at first, Baudricourt allowed Joan to join the Dauphin after she told him details of French defeat in the battle of the Herrings at Orleans before messengers even came deliver the information. He gave Joan an escort of several soldiers and a horse ("Joan of Arc").
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After being granted access into the Dauphin, Joan cropped her hair and dressed in men's clothes for an 11 day journey to Chinon, the site of Charles's court (Bull 58). When Joan of Arc and Charles first met, Charles though nothing of her other than a peasant girl who was claiming she could save France. After finally winning him over, Joan and Charles had a private conversation in which Joan told him the details of a solemn prayer that he had said to God in order to save france (History.com).
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After Joan promised Charles that she would watch him be crowned king at Reims, Charles gave her an army to lead into battle at Orleans. Joan of Arc led many assaults against the enemy after sending them a defiant letter. She drove the Anglo-Burgundians from their bastion and forced them to retreat across the Loire River (History.com). The French troops took control of the English fortifications. Joan was injured but returned to the front to encourage a final assault ("Joan of Arc").
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Charles didn't fully trust Joan of Arc, but she continuously encouraged him to hurry to Reims to be crowned king. Charles, along with his procession, were fairly cautious. But when Charles and his procession finally decided to go to Reims, he was crowned Charles VII on July 18, 1429. Joan occupied a visible place at all his ceremonies, and stood by his side when he was crowned king ("Joan of Arc").
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King Charles VII ordered Joan of Arc to confront the Burgundian assault in the spring of 1430. During this battle, Joan was left outside the town's gates after being thrown off her horse. She was held captive for several months by the Burgundians. The Burgundians negotiated with the English, who saw her as a propaganda prize. She was later traded for 10,000 francs. Charles VII was still not convinced of Joan’s divine inspiration, and didn't attempt to have her released ("Joan of Arc").
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Joan of Arc was turned over to church officials, who insisted she be tried as a heretic. Between February 21 and March 24, 1431, she was interrogated by tribunal several times. Instead of being held in a church prison, she was held in a military prison and was threatened by rape and torture. Joan attempted to protect herself by tying the soldiers clothes around her tightly, but she was then charged with dressing like a man ("Joan of Arc").
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On May 29, 1431, the tribunal announced Joan of Arc was guilty of heresy. Joan of Arc was burned at the stake at the marketplace in Rouen. At only the age of 19, she was killed in front of a crowd of about 10,000 people. Legend has it that Joan of Arc's heart was the only thing that survived the burning unaffected. Her ashes were spread in the Seine ("Joan of Arc").
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Twenty years after Joan of Arc's death, King Charles VII issued a new trial and cleared her name. Joan inspired several works of art over the centuries, even before becoming the Patron Saint of France. Pope Benedict XV canonized Joan of Arc in 1920 as the official Patron Saint of France hundreds of years after her death (History.com).
