Joan of Arc: the campaign for a coronation
Joan of Arc joined the struggle for the French crown in 1429 with two declared objectives: relieve Orléans and bring Charles VII to Reims for coronation. She came from Domrémy, a village in the eastern borderlands, and said that heavenly voices had entrusted her with the mission. Within months, French forces lifted the siege and Charles reached the traditional coronation city. Royal recognition followed in a grant of nobility to Joan and her family. Her military career developed within a contest over who possessed the rightful authority to govern France.
The conflict combined an English invasion with divisions among French political factions. Henry V's victory at Agincourt in 1415 had strengthened England's position. The Treaty of Troyes in 1420 attempted to displace the succession of Charles, the son of Charles VI, in favor of the English royal line. Charles retained supporters, while the dukes of Burgundy were allied with the English. Control of towns, roads, and fortresses divided the kingdom. By the time Joan appeared, English forces were besieging Orléans, and Charles was holding court at Chinon.
Joan first sought assistance from Robert de Baudricourt, the captain at Vaucouleurs. After initial refusals, he helped her travel to Charles. Religious examiners at Poitiers considered her claims before the royal government equipped her with armor, a sword, and a standard and supplied troops for the relief of Orléans. Joan of Arc entered an army with existing commanders and experienced soldiers. Her arrival brought a new religious confidence to the royal cause, while her stated destination beyond the besieged city remained Reims.
Her letter to the English king, dated March 22, 1429, demanded the return of occupied French towns. It presented the war as a dispute subject to divine judgment and insisted that Charles was the legitimate heir. The appeal extended beyond the king to the English commanders and soldiers outside Orléans. Joan offered peace if they withdrew and restored what they had taken. She addressed the Duke of Bedford as the man claiming the regency of France for the English king, challenging the authority on which his administration rested.
The same demand named William de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk, John Talbot, and Thomas, Lord Scales. These officers were asked to respond about peace for Orléans. Joan coupled the demand for withdrawal with a promise that Charles would enter Paris with a great company. The letter's religious language was therefore attached to specific political and military goals: returning cities, ending the siege, removing English forces, and establishing Charles's rule. Her claim to a mission became a public challenge to the competing government.
French attacks captured positions surrounding Orléans, including Saint-Loup, the Augustins, and the Tourelles. The English lifted the siege on May 8. Further operations along the Loire brought victories at Jargeau, Meung, Beaugency, and Patay. These successes cleared the way for the advance toward Reims. Charles was crowned in the cathedral in July, with Joan beside him. The achievement fulfilled a central purpose she had described before the campaign began. An attempt against Paris in September failed, and the war continued despite the coronation.
In December 1429, Charles issued letters at Mehun-sur-Yèvre ennobling Joan of Arc and her relatives. The grant named her parents, Jacques and Isabeau, and her brothers Jacquemin, Jean, and Pierre. It extended noble standing to their legitimate descendants, both male and female. They were to enjoy the privileges and exemptions associated with noble birth even though the family had not previously possessed that status. The king presented this change as recognition of Joan's services to him and to the kingdom, alongside services he hoped she would continue to provide.
The grant also allowed the beneficiaries to acquire and retain noble fiefs without being forced to surrender them for lack of noble status. They owed no payment to the Crown for the ennoblement. Financial officers, the bailiff of Chaumont, and other royal justices were instructed to permit enjoyment of the new rights without obstruction. The reward involved property, legal standing, and administrative enforcement as well as honor. Charles used royal authority to change the family's place within the kingdom's social order.
Joan was captured at Compiègne in 1430 and transferred to English custody. An ecclesiastical court at Rouen convicted her in 1431, and she was executed that year. In 1456, proceedings requested by her mother and supported by Charles reconsidered the conviction. The inquiry, presided over by Jean Juvénal des Ursins, Archbishop of Reims, heard 128 witnesses concerning her life and the earlier trial and annulled the judgment. Joan of Arc's royal mission, the honors granted to her family, and the reversal of her conviction became distinct parts of her subsequent history.
- World History Encyclopedia, Joshua J. Mark, Joan of Arc — www.worldhistory.org
- Fordham University, Joan of Arc: Letter to the King of England, 1429 — sourcebooks.web.fordham.edu
- Fordham University, Letters of ennoblement granted to Joan of Arc and her family, 1429 — sourcebooks.web.fordham.edu
- Historial Jeanne d’Arc, Dossier pédagogique, sections 1.2–1.4 and chronology — www.historial-jeannedarc.fr