Pod Insights Hot History Joan of Arc About this episode Today, May 30th, marks 594 years since Joan of Arc was burned at the stake at only 19 years old. But who was she?
Heretic? Warrior? Martyr? Victim?
We break it all down in today's episode!
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1:01 Speaker 04 Hello guys and welcome back to Hot History the Podcast. I have missed you all and cannot wait to jump back into our episodes covering all the things in history that you probably should know but don't. And I thought, who better to come back with than the saint, the warrior, the heretic and most importantly, the incredibly brave young woman that was Joan of Arc? Because today is the 594th anniversary of her death at the stake on May 30, 1431. So let's get into it.
1:48 Speaker 04 Class is in session.
1:52 Speaker 04 So as I said, this is the podcast covering all the things in history that you should know but probably don't. So if you've never heard of Joan of Arc before, that is totally fine. And if you've only heard of Joan of Arc because of Zendaya's 2018 Met Gala look, then that's also okay. But let's start from the very beginning.
2:14 Speaker 04 So born around fourteen twelve, Jeanne Diarc, or in English Joan of Arc, and I'm not pronouncing French this whole time, so deal with it, was the daughter of a tenant farmer Jacques Diarc from the village of Domremy in north eastern France. Now, we have to do a little context here, so bear with me. So at this point in history, England and France were engaged in something called the Hundred Years' War, which, rather confusingly, actually lasted a hundred and sixteen years, but it's kind of besides the point. Now, the Hundred Years' War was over a whole bunch of crap,
2:54 Speaker 04 but it was primarily about who the true king of France was. Because at this point, the English and the French royal families were pretty wound up, but we're not going to get into that too much. All we need to know is that there is disputes over who is the king, and it's been going on for around forty years by the time that Joan is born. Now, at this point in time, the English had the upper hand as they had aligned with the Duke of Burgundy, which was a pretty big duchy within France, who supported the English king Henry the Fifth as the rightful ruler of France. Now, this was a pretty big deal because it meant that the Duchy of Burgundy
3:37 Speaker 04 had to basically disown their own crown prince, the French Charles of Valois, who was previously forced to sign a peace treaty in fourteen twenty, which recognised Henry as the king, which led to most of northern France, including Paris, being under English rule. So there's just a whole bunch of beef going on. There's religion, there's questions of kingship and treachery. It's all just one big mess. And Joan's village of Domremy was exposed to this because they bordered on the pro-English lands.
4:15 Speaker 04 Context done, beefy, warlike, England v France, history done, let's get back to Joan. So Joan's father was a tenant farmer and her mother Isabel was a very, very pious Catholic woman. Now Joan, like nearly all girls at the time, was not taught to read or write, but Isabel spent many hours teaching her about the Catholic Church and she developed a deep reverence from an incredibly young age. It was this that led Joan to experience visions and she began hearing voices when she was about thirteen years old. Now she believed that these voices were sent by God and identified them as Saint Michael the Archangel,
5:00 Speaker 04 Saint Catherine of Alexandria and Saint Margaret of Antioch, three very, very powerful figures within the Christian tradition. Now Joan described these visions as intensely personal and deeply moving experiences. She claimed the voices gave her guidance, reassurance and very specific instructions, telling her that she had been chosen by God to help France in its darkest hour, specifically to help drive out the English invaders and ensure that Charles of Allois was crowned as the rightful king of France. Now, for a young, illiterate peasant girl in medieval France,
5:42 Speaker 04 these divine messages gave her a profound sense of both purpose and mission, so much so that at sixteen years old, Joan decided to leave her village for the nearest pro Charles outpost and it was here that she cut her hair and began dressing like a boy. Now, some historians make a claim that this was a sign of her sexuality or even of her being transgender. But this was common practice for women travelling, given the dangers of transient roadmen. So we kind of have to take that into consideration when looking at her. Miraculously, Joan survived the travel to the camp, but when she arrived, the commander turned her away,
6:27 Speaker 04 telling her that he hoped her father would discipline her for her insolence.
6:34 Speaker 04 Now Joan travelled back to Domremy, her father did not discipline her and in the months that followed, her tale began to spread beyond the village borders into English-controlled territories. After all, a tale of a sixteen-year-old girl hearing voices from saints and angels is hardly going to go unnoticed and as such, her village was burnt down. Now, it appears that it was this acknowledgement of Joan's visions by the English-controlled French forces, which was the lightbulb moment for that former commander who turned Joan away. And this time, when she revisited the camp, he let the now seventeen-year-old girl through to see Charles of Valois.
7:16 Speaker 04 Although sceptical, Charles wanted Joan to lead a small force in his name to reclaim the besieged city of Orleans in fourteen twenty-nine. This city had been under English siege for months and was on the verge of falling, a disaster that would doom Charles's hopes of securing his throne. So he thinks, "Yep, okay, cool, I believe what she's saying, maybe it's BS, but like, what's the hurt in her trying?" So he sends her off to Orleans. Now despite the caution from military leaders and nobles, Joan's determination, combined with her deep religious conviction and her charismatic presence, inspired both soldiers and common people alike when she showed up at the city gates. Here, she was given armour,
8:01 Speaker 04 a banner, and a small army to lead, and though she had no formal military training, she was known for focusing on morale and faith, rallying the troops with her belief that God was on France's side. Here at Orleans, Joan took an active role in planning and leading the attacks against the English fortifications which surrounded the city and on several occasions, she personally led charges and inspired the soldiers to push forward where they had hesitated before. She was even wounded at Orleans by an arrow which sunk six inches deep into her shoulder, but quickly returned to the fight. And on the eighth of May fourteen twenty-nine, the
8:46 Speaker 04 French lifted the siege and Orleans was saved. It was a stunning victory and it completely shifted the momentum in favour of Charles.
8:56 Speaker 04 Now, following the success, Joan urged Charles to advance towards Riem, the traditional site of French coronations. This led to Charles of Valois being referred to as Charles VII, and he was formally crowned in July 1429 with Joan by his side, a moment that finally, finally confirmed his legitimacy. But this triumph marked the peak of Joan's influence. There's got to be a tale of deceit in here, otherwise it isn't hot history. So Charles was happy to just stop right there. Joan, however, was not, and she continued to fight in subsequent campaigns,
9:39 Speaker 04 including trying to recapture the English-controlled Paris. Now, the campaign failed miserably and ended with Joan being shot in the leg and recalled back to Rome by Charles, who never authorised her attack in the first place. And it's at this point that Charles basically fobs her off. He's so ungrateful, he doesn't need her anymore. The young instrument of God's gotten him back on the throne, he's gotten his crown back. And even though she helped place him there, he really becomes disinterested in her pursuit to drive the English from France and, as such, kind of sends her off to Copigny, where she ends up falling behind enemy lines
10:23 Speaker 04 and was captured by Burgundian forces in early May of 1430. Now, Joan's capture here is a pivotal, pivotal moment in the power dynamics within France at this point in time and would ultimately go on to shape the next part of the Hundred Years' War. So at this point, with Charles back on the throne, the Burgundy forces, they want to make nicely nice. You know, this was the guy that they previously helped out. So they think, you know, all right, let's hand Joan back. She is his rallying point, he'll be so thankful, you know, we'll give her back. He will sign for peace. France will be, you know, whole again, we will be restored.
11:06 Speaker 04 The English will eventually basically piss off and everything will be fine. That's option one. Or the Burgundians go even deeper with the proverbial devil and hand Joan over to the people who truly, truly despise her, the English. Now, of course, being the absolute assholes they are, the Burgundians chose the latter, and Joan finds herself sold into English mercy, where she's charged with heresy, witchcraft, crossdressing and defying church authority. This is what is most fucked up about this whole situation.
11:47 Speaker 04 I mean, it's, it's totally and entirely fucked up in its, in its like being, but Charles, Charles, despite having every opportunity to, made little to no effort to ransom or rescue Joan. Again, this is the woman who at that point in time was a young girl saying, God has spoken to me, you are meant to be king, I will fight for you, I will rally for you. And he's like, yep, cool, thanks, love you, bye, and sends her off. Doesn't, doesn't really make any true action to get her back. And now some historians today tend to argue that because Charles, like I said, was now
12:27 Speaker 04 secure on his throne, he may have even feared Joan, her growing popularity, um, her unpredictable nature, and it was for this reason that he left her to the mercy of the English. Whatever the reason, a rescue for Joan became increasingly unlikely, and she was now forced to face a trial by a church court, which was overseen by Bishop Pierre Cashon, a staunch supporter of the English cause. So from the beginning, these proceedings are completely and entirely stacked against her. And as for the trial itself, uh, it was to no surprise, woeful.
13:11 Speaker 04 Joan was treated terribly, she was kept in a secular prison guarded by men, something which was strictly against church law for someone who was on trial for a religious offence. She was also denied legal counsel and subjected to intense questioning, often for hours at a time, by learned theologians and scholars trying to trap her into self-incrimination. But despite their attempts to wear her down, including starvation, Joan said that she would rather die than disobey God's will, standing firm and insisting that her visions were holy and gave her the strength to persevere.
13:52 Speaker 04 Now, one of the most controversial points within the proceedings was Joan's wearing of men's clothing, which the court considered a sinful defiance of church teachings. Under threat of execution, Joan signed a confession to wearing men's clothing and swore not to do so again on threat of death at the stake. In the end, it was this very point that sent her there, when she was found in her prison cell wearing men's clothing yet again. However, however, it has long been thought by historians that her male prison guards actually stripped her of her clothing and threatened to keep her naked if she did not wear the men's garments that they threw at her, therefore entrapping her.
14:37 Speaker 04 Either way, when she was found in them, the court had the justification they needed to sentence her as a relapsed heretic. Now, on the day of her execution, which was May 30th, 1431, like I said at the top, 594 years ago to this day, Joan was led out to the marketplace in a white dress. Eyewitness accounts describe her asking for a cross to hold and calling on the name of Jesus as she was tied to the stake. A sympathetic English soldier reportedly fashioned a small cross from wood for her and a larger crucifix was held up so she could see it as the flames rose.
15:18 Speaker 04 Her death here was meant to be a public spectacle and a political message at the same time, yet many witnesses were moved to tears by the courage and piety of the young French woman. So, we've covered a fair bit here with the chunk of Hundred Years' War history, but Joan's own life is only 19 years, so let's contextualise her in time a bit for you.
15:47 Speaker 04 So Joan was alive at the same time as the oldest university in Northern Europe was established, street lanterns first came to London and she was also alive for the Battle of Agincourt. She was born the same year the Medici family became the official bankers of the papacy and eighty-three years after the plague first arrived in Europe. She also died forty-three years before construction started on the Sistine Chapel, forty-five years before Michelangelo was born and sixty years before Henry VIII came screaming into this world. Now perhaps the most important question to ask about Joan of Arc is what impact does she have on modern society?
16:31 Speaker 04 Like I said before, she was only alive for nineteen years but her influence seems to be so large and so looming and she is still such, has such an influence and such an impact on how we think and how we reflect upon medieval France at today's point in time. And the answer to this question is, like I said, a lot, right from the time she died to right now. So twenty-five years after her death, Joan's conviction was formally overturned by the French authorities who recognised her mistreatment at the hands of the English and, and Charles of Valois himself,
17:11 Speaker 04 as a misjustice and praised her courage in the face of adversity. Her influence as a religious figure bolstered the French people for hundreds of years following her death and she was finally canonised as a saint by the Catholic Church in nineteen twenty, transforming her from condemned heretic to revered martyr. Today she is honoured as the patron saint of France, remembered for her courage, faith and unwavering commitment to her divine calling.
17:46 Speaker 04 The last question we want to answer is how is she represented in pop culture today? This is always my favourite question and the answer is pretty vastly, if we're being honest. She has been the subject of multiple artists, including, here comes terrible French pronunciations again, Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, Jules Bastien Lepage and my personal favourite by Jean Everett Millay. In TV and films, she is portrayed as a symbol of courage, faith, rebellion and youthful determination, which we see through 1948's Joan of Arc, starring Ingrid Bergman and perhaps most famously through 1999's
18:27 Speaker 04 The Messenger, where she's played by Mila Jovovich. Joan also frequently appears in video games, including Age of Empires 2, Assassin's Creed 2 and Blade Storm: The Hundred Years' War, but her big modern influence today, I think, is through fashion. As I said at the top, we had Zendaya's 2018 interpretation at the Met Gala. Alexander McQueen's 1998 fall line titled Joan featured various chainmail headdresses and blunt cuts. Chapel Rohn's 2024 VMAs performance was equally inspired by the French warrior and she crops up yet again in this year's Dior line.
19:08 Speaker 04 Safe to say, she's not going anywhere from the public psyche anytime soon. And that brings us to the end of another episode of Hot History. If you'd like to support us, then you can find us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts as Hot History. Follow us on TikTok at Hot.History and of course on Instagram at Hot History Club. As always, it is a pleasure getting down and dirty in time with you and tune in next time as we discuss the life of the sun king himself, King Louis XIV.
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