Who Is Joan Of Arc A Feminist

Joan of Arc, also known as the Maid of Orleans, has long been considered to be one of history’s greatest saints and one of the most enduring symbols of French nationalism. However, Joan was more than that. She also forged an early path for women to voice their beliefs and opinions, and, to some extent, have women be equal to men. Therefore, by means of war, sanctity and early feminism, Joan of Arc can be considered to be the most influential woman is ancient history.
Born in 1412 (although the exact date is unknown), Jeanne d'Arc, or Joan of Arc in English, was the daughter of a tenant farmer, Jacques d’ Arc and Isabelle Romée. The family owned about fifty acres of land and lived in a modest house. Joan is thought to have had four siblings,
In 1428 she made her way to Vaucouleurs, a nearby town, to try and convince some of Charles’ loyal followers. Initially, she was rejected by local authorities. However, Joan persisted, and she eventually gained a small amount of followers who believed in a popular legend and believed Joan to be the chosen savior of France. Eventually her request was accepted, and so Joan cut all her hair off, dressed in men's clothes, and made her way to Charles' royal palace, located in Chinon. It is said that, "Joan of Arc won future Charles VIII over by supposedly revealing information that only a messenger from God could know; the details of this conversation are unknown." (Joan of Arc 1). Joan promised to see Charles crowned king in Reims (which was the traditional crowning side of the French royalty), and then asked him to grant her an army she could lead to Orleans, a city that was under English control. Charles agreed, despite widespread opposition. At this point, it is important to remember that Joan of Arc knew nothing about leading an army in war, “and yet she roused an exhausted, under-equipped, and impotent army into a fervor that carried them from one unlikely victory to the next” (Harrison
Winning revolutionary tactics as well, because up to that point in history, most generals used to adhere to the traditional rules of combat. Despite her unwavering resolve and conviction to win the war, Joan was only willing to let her men die because “she convinced they would go to heaven” (Beaudry). In fact, she was repulsed at the thought of having men from both sides spill their blood, but she knew that the only way she could stop such thing from happening was by approaching victory swiftly. Diligently, Joan set to work and dumbfounded her enemies with her straight-forward war tactics. On the first day, she immediately led her army into the battle. It was a bloody conflict, and Joan was wounded. She paid no mind to it and returned the following day to fight alongside her troops. On the third and last day of the Battle of Orleans, as the English arranged in their battle formation, one that depended on the French attacking them, and Joan ordered her troops to stand in front of the English and wait. The English did not know what to do. No one had ever dared to change the rules of combat so dramatically, and because of this change, the English eventually retreated without firing a single shot. Even though they avoided bloodshed that day, some people claim that the Battle of Orleans was the bloodiest of the Hundred Years War, but the fact that this was the first battle where a general used winning