A Teenage Girl Saves France

Summary

HISTORY This Week: Episode Summary – "A Teenage Girl Saves France"

Introduction

In the May 15, 2025 episode of HISTORY This Week, titled "A Teenage Girl Saves France," host Sally Helm delves into the remarkable story of Joan of Arc, a 17-year-old French peasant girl whose actions during the Hundred Years War profoundly impacted the course of history. Supported by expert insights from Nancy Goldstone, author of The Maid and the Secret History of Joan of Arc, and Charity Urbanski, Associate History Professor at the University of Washington, the episode explores Joan's rise, her military campaigns, capture, trial, and enduring legacy.

Historical Context

The episode begins by setting the stage in May 1430, amidst the tumultuous Hundred Years War between England and France. France is embroiled in internal conflict, with factions supporting the Dauphin, Charles VII, and the Burgundians allied with the English. The constant warfare has left the land ravaged and the populace desperate for a turning point.

Joan's Early Life and Divine Visions

Sally Helm introduces Joan of Arc, a 16-year-old from the village of Domrémy, who begins experiencing divine visions. These visions, initially urging her to lead a pious life, soon compel her to take up arms in support of the Dauphin. As Prof. Charity Urbanski explains, "She was dedicated to her mission and sure of herself" (30:20).

Joining the Dauphin’s Court

Despite skepticism, the desperate Dauphin Charles VII agrees to hear Joan’s claims. After rigorous examinations to verify her virginity and divine origin, Joan is entrusted with a detachment of troops to lift the siege of Orleans. Charity Urbanski notes, "The dauphin is desperate," highlighting the Dauphin's need for a miracle to restore his legitimacy and rally his forces (13:25).

Siege of Orleans and Military Campaigns

On April 29, Joan leads her forces to the beleaguered city of Orleans. Initially met with skepticism, her presence and bravery inspire the French troops, leading to significant victories, including the decisive fall of an English fort by May 4. Nancy Goldstone remarks, "She’s actually wounded. She gets off her horse, she cries, she prays for like five minutes, and then she gets right back on and goes to the front" (20:38), illustrating Joan's unwavering courage.

Coronation of Charles VII

Encouraged by the successive victories, Joan persuades the Dauphin to march on Reims for his coronation, a symbolic act to solidify his claim to the French throne. On July 17, under Joan’s influence, Charles VII is crowned with her by his side, a moment described by Charity Urbanski as "a massive political coup" (23:06).

Conflicts and Capture

Despite initial successes, tensions between Joan and Charles VII emerge as the King grows wary of sharing the limelight. Attempting to capture Paris, the French forces are repelled, leading to Joan's retreat and eventual capture by Burgundian forces on May 1430. Nancy Goldstone explains, "Joan has been of the utmost military importance to the French army" (27:32).

Trial and Execution

Joan is sold to the English and subjected to a show trial aimed at discrediting her divine mission and undermining Charles VII's legitimacy. Accused of heresy, witchcraft, and cross-dressing, Joan remains resolute under intense interrogation. As Nancy Goldstone narrates, "Everything I have done is at God's command" (29:33), Joan steadfastly defends her actions.

Despite a coerced confession and attempts to force her into conformity, Joan's spirit remains unbroken. In May 1431, she is executed by burning at the stake, a tragic end to her courageous life. The episode highlights her composure and loyalty until the very end, with Charity Urbanski noting, "If they push her on a question that she doesn't want to answer, she tells them next, like, I'm not answering that. Move on" (30:20).

Posthumous Legacy

Two decades after her death, Charles VII recognizes Joan's true significance by holding a trial to exonerate her, leading to her canonization in 1920. Joan's legacy as a heroine and martyr endures, symbolizing courage and faith. Nancy Goldstone emphasizes, "It's the best story in all of history. It really is" (07:50).

Expert Insights

Throughout the episode, Prof. Charity Urbanski and Nancy Goldstone provide deep insights into Joan's life and the societal complexities of the Middle Ages. Urbanski highlights Joan as "a walking paradox," embodying both staunch piety and pragmatic leadership (34:51). Goldstone praises the narrative's universal appeal, attributing its enduring fascination to the dramatic transformation of an ordinary girl into a national savior.

Conclusion

"A Teenage Girl Saves France" offers a comprehensive and engaging exploration of Joan of Arc's extraordinary life. By combining historical narrative with expert analysis, HISTORY This Week presents Joan not just as a legendary figure, but as a complex individual whose faith and bravery significantly altered the course of French history. The episode underscores her timeless legacy as a symbol of resilience and divine inspiration.

Notable Quotes

• Nancy Goldstone: "It's the best story in all of history. It really is." (07:50)
• Charity Urbanski: "If they push her on a question that she doesn't want to answer, she tells them next, like, I'm not answering that. Move on." (30:20)
• Sally Helm: "Joan of Arc. Her name is so famous that it's almost hard to remember that she was a real person." (05:35)

Further Recommendations

For those interested in a deeper dive into Joan of Arc's life, Nancy Goldstone recommends Helen Castor's book, Joan of Arc: A History.

Credits

Special thanks to guests Nancy Goldstone and Charity Urbanski. The episode was produced by Julia Press, story edited by Jim O'Grady, with sound designed by Dan Rosado. Production team also includes Corinne Wallace, Chloe Weiner, Sally Helm, Hazel May, Emma Fredericks, Ben Dickstein, McCamey Lynn, and executive producer Jesse Katz.

Connect with HISTORY This Week

Stay informed about upcoming episodes and engage with the HISTORY This Week community by visiting historythisweekpodcast.com or emailing [e-mail].

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This summary is intended for those who have not listened to the episode and provides a comprehensive overview of the key points, discussions, and insights presented in "A Teenage Girl Saves France."

Transcript

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Quints.comhistory each spring, 23 Pulitzer Prizes are awarded for distinguished journalism, books, drama and music.

[Sally Helm]

It was disbelief and pride and life changing.

[Nicole Carroll]

My name is Nicole Carroll and I'm a member of the Pulitzer Board and host of Pulitzer on the Road, the official podcast of the Pulitzer Prizes. In each episode, winners reveal how much labor and risk, heart and imagination go into creating their prize winning work. We'll talk with novelists and reporters.

[Sally Helm]

We found stuff that no one had heard before or found out.

[Nicole Carroll]

It was exciting critics and playwrights.

[Charity Urbanski]

I do not want to live in a world where we don't go on a stage and tell the truth about.

[Nicole Carroll]

Who we are and columnists who've risked their lives to speak truth to power.

[Unnamed Speaker]

What moral right would I have to.

[Sally Helm]

Call on my fellow Russian citizens to.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Stand up to the Putin dictatorship if I didn't do it myself?

[Nicole Carroll]

The second season of Pulitzer on the Road premiered March 10. Follow and listen on Apple Podcasts, the Odyssey app, Spotify or wherever you get.

[Sally Helm]

Your podcast the History Channel Original Podcast history this week, May 16, 1920. I'm Sally Helm. The streets of Rome are crowded with cars as tens of thousands of people make their way towards St. Peter's Basilica. A reporter observing the scene says you can spot cardinals behind some of the car windows, decked out in their crimson robes, plus the occasional monsignor in purple on foot all streaming in the same direction. There are monks and nuns and ordinary people. Some of Rome's children have clambered up the colonnades to try and get a look. They're all here to to honor a person who none of them has ever met because she lived 500 years ago, a French teenager named Joan of Arc. Joan's feats in battle and her visions of God are the stuff of legend, and today the Catholic Church will give her its highest honor. Joan will be kept, canonized, made a saint. The basilica is illuminated by thousands of bulbs and thousands of candles. There are tapestries and pictures of Joan, swathes of regal crimson fabric, a choir singing in Latin. Any new saint would merit celebration, but the devotion to Joan is different, fervent and passionate, especially in France, where she is still revered for her bravery. Pageants will be held around the world today, children dressed in medieval garb reenacting scenes from Joan's life while in the basilica. The Pope describes Joan's death mounted on the stake, he says, whispering in flames in a final scream, the names of Jesus and Mary. She flew to heaven today. Joan of Arc. Her name is so famous that it's almost hard to remember that she was a real person. So who was this teenager? How did her faith turn the tides of a seemingly endless war? And why, during her lifetime, did thousands adore her while thousands more wanted her dead? History this Week is now in its sixth season. Kind of crazy, and we love bringing you these stories. All of our work is supported by the ads you hear on the show, but if you don't want to hear those ads, we're now introducing history this week plus, available exclusively on Apple Podcasts for just $2.99 per month. You'll get all of our new episodes without any of the ads, and we'll be adding ad free versions of our older episodes too, so subscribe now and get your first week free. History this Week plus Exclusively on Apple Podcasts.

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[Sally Helm]

Artists of all kinds love Joan of Arc. You can find her in Voltaire, poems, Mark Twain, novels, Shakespeare plays, Tchaikovsky, operas, and author Nancy Goldstone says that is no surprise.

[Nancy Goldstone]

It's the best story in all of history. It really is.

[Sally Helm]

Wow. Why do you say this is the best story in all of history?

[Nancy Goldstone]

So a 17 year old young woman out of nowhere appears at the court of the King and changes the course of the Hundred Years War. That's a pretty good story.

[Sally Helm]

We begin in 1429. France is about 80 years into what is now called the Hundred Years War. It's a fight between English and French kings over who will rule France. Armies have been tramping across the land, slaughtering each other. Fields have become mass graveyards, terrorized. Peasants are just trying to survive. The English say their king should have the throne in France. The French are divided. They disagree among themselves over who is the rightful king, and those disagreements have become violent.

[Nancy Goldstone]

Joan is also living at a time of a civil war in France. France is as polarized then as we are today.

[Sally Helm]

One group in France supports Charles vii. He's known as the Dauphin, which means he's the son of the most recent French king. Another group of Frenchmen opposes him. They're led by the Duke of Burgundy and known as the Burgundians. They've allied themselves with the English. So it's the Burgundians and the English versus the dauphin and the French. They cannot agree on anything.

[Nancy Goldstone]

Every time the Burgundians say white, they're the dauphin side says black, okay? And they are struggling for power. In the midst of this.

[Sally Helm]

The dauphin and his side are not doing well. They haven't won a battle in a while. He's lost territory in northern France. And even worse, the English have laid siege to an important city on the Dauphin's frontline. The city of Orleans. Its inhabitants are slowly starving. The Dauphin is about 100 miles away. He could send an army to help push the English out of Orleans. But he's scared.

[Nancy Goldstone]

Look, from the ages of 6 to 10, he was someone who the Burgundians tried to capture, tried to kill him. He wasn't protected. Paris wasn't like you see in Emily. In Paris, it was a dangerous city. There is chaos everywhere. They're fighting in the streets, there's severed heads on pikes. So he's very afraid.

[Sally Helm]

They're. Charles is losing his confidence. Kings in the Middle Ages believed they ruled by divine favor. But now he's wondering, why would God allow a king to be defeated over and over again? Maybe God has abandoned me. Maybe I've fallen from his grace. The Dauphin's supporters are losing confidence too. They yearn for a miracle. And around this time, there have been some prophecies circulating. Prophecies predicting a dramatic turn of events that will restore the Dauphin to his strength, push the English out of France and deliver the people from their strife. Prophecies that say a virgin maid will rise up to save them.

[Nancy Goldstone]

And that prophecy acted like a want ad position for mystic open at the royal court. Qualified candidates apply at your local church.

[Sally Helm]

One perfect candidate lives in a small village called Domremy. A 16 year old named Joan. Jeanne in French, she calls herself Jean la Pucelle or Joan the Maid. For years now, she has been having visions. Bright lights and the voices of saints. At first the voices tell her to live a quiet, pious life. Then they start to speak of more ambitious things. A lot of people in the village of Domremy know about Joan and her visions. And it doesn't faze them.

[Nancy Goldstone]

It was a common thing because there was no medication. Every little town had somebody who saw visions or heard voices.

[Sally Helm]

And when Joan's voices begin to urge her to take up arms for the dauphin, a lot of people in her town think that makes a lot of sense. The people in Joan's immediate vicinity Are dauphin supporters. But burgundians control the territory all around her town. So she and all her neighbors have felt the horror of the war firsthand.

[Nancy Goldstone]

The burgundians keep trying to take over that area, and they keep stealing Joan's family's cattle and attacking the villages. And so she does grow up with this war.

[Sally Helm]

And then the prophecy which could have been written about Joan the maid, she has mystical visions. She says they come from a heavenly source, and they're telling her to support the dauphin. Perfect. So Joan is vetted and sent to the royal court. The dauphin is definitely not expecting her.

[Nancy Goldstone]

He's got no idea where she came from. She just shows up.

[Charity Urbanski]

He doesn't welcome Joan with open arms. They don't automatically treat her as heaven sent.

[Sally Helm]

We spoke about this moment with charity urbanski, A medieval history professor at the university of Washington. She said the dauphin is desperate. Remember, it's important that he liberate Orleans to have any chance of winning this war and being officially crowned king of France. And lo and behold, here comes this woman straight from the prophecy, saying that she can save him. But the dauphin is also skeptical, because when it comes to heaven sent voices, There is always a question.

[Charity Urbanski]

Is this a good spirit? Is this a bad spirit? How do you tell the difference?

[Sally Helm]

Is this person holy or a heretic? And so members of the dauphin's court interrogate Joan, Trying to suss that out. And she says, look, when I first started hearing these voices, I had the same question.

[Charity Urbanski]

What Joan does have to say about her voices is that for first, the archangel Michael came to her. She was 13, and it scared her. And she says she was afraid that rather than being the archangel Michael, he might in fact be a temptation sent by the devil.

[Sally Helm]

But Joan says the visions came with signs that convinced me of their truth, and they've given me a divine mission.

[Charity Urbanski]

Not just to drive the English out of France, but also to see Charles crowned.

[Sally Helm]

Right answer. That is exactly what the dauphin wants to hear. But not so fast. In order for the prophecy to hold, Joan has to be a virgin made. The dauphin has to confirm it.

[Charity Urbanski]

He has her physically examined by matrons to make sure that she is, in fact, a virgin as she claims. Because a big part of Joan's claim to sanctity is her chastity and virginity.

[Sally Helm]

And she passes the examination. But there's one more thing that's giving the dauphins advisors pause. It has to do with the way Joan looks. She's a young woman with short hair who wears men's clothes that probably would.

[Charity Urbanski]

Have been a bit of a shock for the people at court. Right. Gender roles were pretty strictly dictated. Wearing the clothing of the opposite gender was strictly prohibited by canon law. It goes back to a Prohibition in Deuteronomy 22:5, I believe it is.

[Sally Helm]

Charity Urbanski says Joan herself explains this in very practical terms. She's just traveled hundreds of miles from home and protecting her virginity was a.

[Charity Urbanski]

Top priority, according to Joan. It protects her essentially from. From sexual assault. Male clothing was a lot harder to get off of somebody, let's put it that way. There were lots of ties and knots that had to be done. Female clothing, you know, a skirt could easily be lifted.

[Sally Helm]

Finally, the examiners decide that Joan is for real.

[Charity Urbanski]

She seems to be very pious, very devoted. We can't find anything wrong with her. Give her some men and send her to Orleans and see what happens.

[Sally Helm]

Send her to Orleans, into the heart of the Hundred Years War with her own detachment of troops. I asked Nancy Goldstone about this. It is amazing, this moment, because it's like, why would they think a 16 year old girl with no military experience, they should bring her to war just because she wants to come?

[Nancy Goldstone]

Well, she's their messenger from God. She's a representative from God. And you know, she's kind of like more the mascot at that point. They don't think she's going to fight really. But, you know, the real problem with the French army effort was that they were completely psyched out by the English. They thought they were going to lose and they needed something to change the momentum of the battle.

[Sally Helm]

So on April 29, Joan and her troops approach, approach the city of Orleans. The English troops are besieging it. They're camped around it in the countryside doing everything they can to keep supplies out of the city. Now Joan wants to attack these English enemies right away. But the soldiers convince her, no, we're carrying all this food and all these supplies. First we need to save the civilians that living here.

[Nancy Goldstone]

The people in Orleans are starving. They've been eating frats, they've been eating their dog. I mean, it's a terrible situation.

[Sally Helm]

One of the French commanders creates a diversion while Joan and her troops ride toward the city's eastern gate. She finds it unprotected. So she enters the city unopposed. She's on a white horse carrying a banner patterned with lilies and an image of Christ flanked by angels.

[Nancy Goldstone]

Her banner is very religious, so this looks like a crusade.

[Sally Helm]

How do the people of Orleans react to her?

[Nancy Goldstone]

Like, oh, I loved her. I kids, I love her.

[Sally Helm]

The people of Orleans are stunned. They've heard prophecies about a savior in the form of a virgin maid. And now here she is, bringing the food they so desperately need. They pour into the streets and reach out to touch her as she passes. They treat her like a vessel of God. But the French commanders still don't entirely trust Joan. She is, after all, a teenager who up until recently, has been living a quiet life in the French countryside. And so when, on May 4, one of the French commanders decides that it's now time to attack the English, Joan is not informed.

[Nancy Goldstone]

Joan is asleep, doesn't even know they leave her at home. But she wakes up and she realizes there's a battle going on. They didn't tell her, so she gets her squire to put on all her stuff, and she gets on her horse. She's not a good rider. She has just learned how to ride, and she's hanging on there as fast as she can to get to the battle.

[Sally Helm]

A medieval battlefield is a dangerous place to be, with its multiple ways to be maimed or killed. Pikes, arrows, cannonballs, swords. Joan rides alongside the other French commanders and wades into the fight. She doesn't use her sword, but she rallies the troops with her bravery. And by the end of the day, an English fort outside the city has fallen to the French.

[Nancy Goldstone]

That's the first time the French held the battlefield. They still have to fight more, but they won that one. So then they got a little confidence going, and then they have all these other battles.

[Sally Helm]

Three days later, the French attack another nearby English fort. Joan is once again cutting through the fray when an arrow finds a seam in her armor and strikes her on the shoulder near the neck.

[Nancy Goldstone]

She's actually wounded. She gets off her horse, she cries, she prays for like five minutes, and then she gets right back on and goes to the front and they all fight for her.

[Sally Helm]

Wow.

[Nancy Goldstone]

And it was amazing. That's why it's such an amazing story, because all they really needed was a little, you know, just a little.

[Sally Helm]

And they get it from Joan. After a week and a few more battles, the French have driven the English from. From Orleans. The Dauphin, 100 miles away, is hearing about these astonishing victories by letter.

[Nancy Goldstone]

The messengers are coming so fast that they don't have time to read one before the next one comes and says good news, and then the next one, and then the next one. They couldn't even believe it. At the corp. They'd lost for so long, and here, all of a sudden, they're just winning and winning and winning. It was fabulous.

[Sally Helm]

The French commanders are all behind Joan now. In fact, they want her to lead them right on to their next big battle.

[Nancy Goldstone]

The military men said, we should go to Paris right now and take that city too. And she didn't let them do that. She said, no, our next job is to get the King crowned at Reims.

[Sally Helm]

She says that is the next part of the divine plan. Here's Charity Urbanski.

[Charity Urbanski]

Part of Joan's mission, the mission that she claimed to have was not just to drive the English out of France, but also to see, see Charles crowned, to lead the Dauphin into the traditional site of the coronation of French kings, which was really important ideologically.

[Sally Helm]

It's the place where all the French kings have been anointed with holy oil to begin their reigns. Joan says the coronation has to be there. And after all, the Dauphin's whole mission is to be seen by everyone as the legitimate king of France.

[Charity Urbanski]

So it was incredibly important that they made it all the way to Reims, which keep in mind, was deep in the heart of English territory.

[Sally Helm]

It's a risky move. It might end in disaster. But Joan is convincing. And so the Dauphin and his troops fight their way to the cathedral of Reims. On July 17, he is crowned with Joan standing beside him. Noble king, she says God's will is done. And she begins to cry.

[Charity Urbanski]

Getting him crowned was a massive political coup, right? And to have Joan by the Dauphin's side at that moment proves the veracity of her divine mission.

[Sally Helm]

Four months ago, almost no one had heard of this 17 year old maid from an obscure rural village. Now she's an honored guest at the King's coronation. The newly crowned Charles grants Joan's request that her hometown of Domremy be exempt from paying taxes. An arrangement that will hold until the French Revolution 360 years later. He even bestows the status of nobility on her and her family. The King is grateful for all she's done, but he's also getting jealous.

[Charity Urbanski]

Charles is quite happy to have Joan revive the morale of the French troops. He's not entirely happy to have someone sharing the spotlight with him. You know, the French really do see Joan as a savior, and honestly, that kind of competes with Charles's status as king. So I think the rift between the Dauphin or the now Charles VII and Joan seems to start happening fairly quickly after the coronation.

[Sally Helm]

Joan is now ready to take Paris, recapture it from the English. But Nancy Goldstone says Charles has a different vision.

[Nancy Goldstone]

He doesn't want to fight. He prefers to negotiate if he could.

[Sally Helm]

So he stalls and stalls.

[Charity Urbanski]

Some More.

[Sally Helm]

When the King finally orders an attack on Paris, it's too late. The English have dug in. They're able to repel the French forces. Joan's presence at that battle means nothing.

[Nancy Goldstone]

They lost. They lost badly. There.

[Sally Helm]

Joan and her troops retreat to a town further north, only to find it under siege. Ever courageous Joan Robert rides out to attack the Burgundian forces.

[Nancy Goldstone]

And while she was out there, she got pulled down by her cape, off her horse and captured.

[Sally Helm]

And so is she then expecting to be rescued.

[Nancy Goldstone]

That's what should have happened.

[Sally Helm]

But what did happen is quite different and much, much worse for Joan.

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[Sally Helm]

May 1430. The Maiden Joan of Arc has been captured by enemy forces by the Burgundians. And if she had just been any old person, that would have been it for her.

[Charity Urbanski]

It wasn't normal to negotiate for the release of regular soldiers.

[Sally Helm]

Professor Charity Urbanski generally, however, if somebody.

[Charity Urbanski]

Of great military importance had been captured, it would have been normal for the King to negotiate a ransom for their release.

[Sally Helm]

Joan has been of the utmost military importance to the French army. She has also been declared a member of the nobility and she is a potent symbol to the people of France.

[Charity Urbanski]

We might expect that Charles would have tried to negotiate for her, but we don't have any evidence that he did.

[Sally Helm]

Instead, the Burgundians sell Joan to the English. She's made to stand trial before an English backed church tribunal.

[Charity Urbanski]

Really, this is a show trial. They are trying to discredit Joan in any way that they can because the.

[Sally Helm]

English want to install their own king in France. So they need to take down the dauphin. And now they have before them this girl who has been telling everyone that God is on the Dauphin's side. They want to make it clear that Joan's message is not to be trusted.

[Charity Urbanski]

She's making all this up or she is hearing voices, but those voices are not the voices of angels or saints. They are the voices of demons.

[Sally Helm]

They draw up a list of some 70 charges against her. They accuse her of witchcraft.

[Charity Urbanski]

This goes back sort of to the siege of Orleans where the English had basically said that they had been bewitched and that was the reason that they had been defeated.

[Sally Helm]

They charge her with heresy. They say she killed people. That's a sin.

[Charity Urbanski]

She says, no, I never used my sword. I only carried my banner. I rallied the troops, I maybe gave instructions, but I didn't actually kill anyone.

[Sally Helm]

And they point to her male attire.

[Charity Urbanski]

I think the clothing is so important because it's really one of the visible manifestations of the heresy that they're accusing her of. It's the thing that you can see.

[Sally Helm]

Everything I have done is at God's command. Joan tells her inquisitors, and if he had ordered me to assume a different habit, I should have done it.

[Charity Urbanski]

She is put to months of questioning by these theologians who are trying at every turn to trip her up to get her to admit to some heretical belief, anything they can find to discredit her. And she manages to evade every trap they lay for her. It's really remarkable. And so they're very frustrated.

[Sally Helm]

Through months of imprisonment and through these intense interrogations, Joan remains remarkably composed. She's completely loyal to Charles, dedicated to her mission, and sure of herself.

[Charity Urbanski]

If they push her on a question that she doesn't want to answer, she tells them next, like, I'm not answering that. Move on.

[Sally Helm]

Joan is desperate to escape. One day she jumps from the tower where she's been imprisoned. She survives the fall, but is knocked unconscious and Locked up again, her inquisitors try to use that act to discredit her, too. They say, were you trying to commit the sin of taking your own life?

[Charity Urbanski]

And she says, essentially, as a prisoner, of course I'm going to try to escape.

[Sally Helm]

In May of 1431, a year after her capture, Joan is brought before a court to hear her formal charges.

[Charity Urbanski]

Ultimately, like this list of 70 initial charges are winnowed down to 12 that they feel like they can, you know, they've gotten to stick at this point.

[Sally Helm]

Joan is tired, she's been sick.

[Charity Urbanski]

She's kind of coming to this low point. And one day they basically take her out to see the scaffold they've erected for her. And they say, essentially, you know, we found you guilty on these charges. If you abjure your heresy, we will welcome you back into the church. But if you do not, we're going to execute you as a condemned heretic.

[Sally Helm]

In her weakened state, before the scaffold meant to kill her, Joan complies. Here's Nancy Goldstone.

[Nancy Goldstone]

They get her to sign a confession. She doesn't know what it says, right? She can't read, and she signs it with the X. They take that as being the retraction. They put her in a dress.

[Sally Helm]

A dress, because one of the charges had to do with her heretical clothes.

[Nancy Goldstone]

She repented, put. And they said, eh, not so fast. You gotta go back. And they chain her up again, and they stick her with the same awful guards in the castle.

[Sally Helm]

There are a few different stories about what happens next, but in the one.

[Nancy Goldstone]

Nancy Goldstone believes one night when she goes to bed, she doesn't sleep in her dress. So the guards take the dress away and return the men's clothing to her. And her choice in the morning, because you have to get up to go to the bathroom, you have to go outside, is either to get up and go out there naked in front of all these people or put on the clothes that are there. So she puts on the clothes that are there to go out to the bathroom. And they say, oh, she relapsed. She put on the men's clothes again.

[Sally Helm]

That's what they get her on. They say, you relapsed.

[Nancy Goldstone]

You relapsed.

[Sally Helm]

Wow.

[Nancy Goldstone]

You relapsed your erotic ways.

[Sally Helm]

A few days later, a friar comes to her cell to hear her confession and give her the sacrament. Then she's taken to that scaffold, tied to a stake and surrounded by kindling. Two preachers give sermons condemning her sins, and Joan the maid is burned alive. Over two decades more, Charles continues to wage war on the English until France is victorious in 1453, Charles, now universally recognized as king, turns his thoughts back to Joan of Arc, the girl he'd abandoned. The French hold another trial for Joan in 1455, though she's now been dead for 20 years. This time no one is trying to discredit her. Quite the opposite.

[Charity Urbanski]

It's partly because the French really do remember Joan as a heroine and a martyr to the French cause. But it's also partly politically motivated, wanting to make sure that there was no shadow of doubt cast over the legitimacy of Charles VII's coronation.

[Sally Helm]

Over the centuries, her legend only grows until, in 1920, she is finally canonized and becomes Saint Joan. Joan the maid when she lived, was a walking paradox, at times fiery and impulsive, at others calm and composed, mystical yet pragmatic, an illiterate country girl who led thousands of loyal troops and and essentially crowned a king. Charity Urbanski says this complicated Joan is a window on her time.

[Charity Urbanski]

She is a really interesting case study in some of the contradictions of the Middle Ages. Right. She arises at a time when there are very strict gender expectations for women, when a French peasant girl wouldn't have been expected to do any of these things. And yet she's able to. So I think she helps us understand the society more deeply rather than just seeing it as this completely hierarchical and sexist society. Yes, all of those things are true, and yet we have Joan. Foreign.

[Sally Helm]

Thanks for listening to History this week. For more moments throughout history that are also worth watching, check your local TV listings to find out what's on the History Channel today. If you want to get in touch, please shoot us an email at our email address, historythisweekhistory.com or you can leave us a voicemail. 212-3510-4100. We really love to hear from you. Special thanks today to our guests, Nancy Goldstone, author of the Maid and the the Secret History of Joan of Arc, and Charity Urbansky, associate history professor at the University of Washington. For more on Joan's story, we recommend Helen Castor's book, Joan of Arc A History. This episode was produced by Julia Press. It was story edited by Jim o' Grady and sound designed by Dan Rosado. History this week is also produced by Corinne Wallace, Chloe Weiner and me, Sally Helm. Our associate producers are Hazel May and Emma Fredericks. Our senior producer is Ben Dickstein. Our supervising producer is McCamey Lynn, and our executive producer is Jesse Katz. Don't forget to subscribe rate and review history this week, wherever you get your podcasts and we will see you next week. Copyright 2023 A&E Television Networks, LLC. All rights reserved.