Joan of Arc: Prophetess or Mad Woman?
“I am not afraid... I was born to do this.” - Joan of Arc (
Jeanne d'Arc | 1412 - 1431)
I am Joan, the Maid of Orleans, born in 1412 in France. In my day, and throughout history, I was called a mad woman; today, I’m defined as a paranoid delusional schizophrenic. Why? Because anybody who claims to have heard the voice of God which causes them to lead an army into battle, has got to be insane. But was I? How do you know I wasn’t the instrument of God’s will.
In the 15th Century, when I led the French Army against the British invaders, I was a heroine, a saint and a national icon.
I was born in the village of Domremy in France to an impoverished family; it was an area of France which had suffered from numerous conflicts between the British and the French.
Even as a child, I was different from most others. I was sensitive, deeply religious and from the age of 12, I began to have visions which to me were vivid and real. It was God telling me that He was making me responsible for renewing the French Nation. When my visions began, France was a divided nation, weak against the invasions of the English King Henry V who, several years earlier in 1415, had defeated the French Army at Agincourt. This left the country even more divided.
As a 17 year old peasant girl from the country, I walked into the French Court, demanded to speak with the ruler. Despite their amusement and sarcastic comments, I told the King that God had ordained her to lead the French army into battle against the British conquerors. To the amazement of the court, and the army, and the people of France, and the British….I was given the army to lead. The King knew that God spoke through me.
And without any military experience, but with utter faith, conviction, dedication and knowing that God was beside me, I led the French army to massive victories at Orleans, Patay, and Troyes. I liberated many other towns from English control, and even paved the way for the rightful heir to the French throne, the Dauphin, to become King of France.
For my successes, I and my family were elevated to noble status. But then my fortunes changed, because a year after all of my successes, I was captured by French traitors from Burgundy and sold to the English. They put me on trial for the crime of being a witch, and condemned me to death by being burnt at the stake.
10,000 Frenchmen and women came to see me die in the pyre, and legend has it that my heart never burned in the flames. My ashes were scattered in the Seine.
To this day, I’m considered one of the greatest French heroines of all times. And never forget that I did all of this, and lived for only 19 years!