Joan of Arc's spiritual and military leadership during the Hundred Years' War

Joan of Arc's spiritual and military leadership helped to inspire a demoralized king and nation to rise up against the English

Joan of Arc's Spiritual and Military Leadership Helped to Inspire a Demoralized King and Nation Rise up Against the English Nobility is Deus pro-nobis, quis contra nos? (if God is for us, who is against us?) -- Romans 8:31

Few young women in history have attracted as much attention from the historians as Joan of Arc. According to Dumas (1970), "There are few people nowadays who would dispute the spiritual stature of Joan of Arc, one of the most remarkable women who has ever lived, although over five centuries after her death there is still no common agreement as to the exact nature and source of her inspiration." History has shown that some people, though, do not need for anyone to agree as to the source of inspiration when it comes to the mind of God. Indeed, the daily suicide bombings in Afghanistan and Iraq are proof-positive that when some people believe they truly know God's will, they will go to any ends to achieve it. The fact that there are a sufficient number of willing volunteers to act as suicide bombers is also proof-positive that it is possible to convince others to join their cause, and the effect can become contagious as also witnessed by the events in the Middle East.

This is not to say, of course, that one religious dogma is superior to another or it is right or wrong, but it is to say that divine inspiration is powerful stuff and the battlefields of history are strewn with grisly examples of this fact. It is this aspect of Joan of Arc's career as military leader and martyr, perhaps, that has attracted so much attention from historians because of the profound impact she had and her apparent lack of any other credentials beside her conviction that she was truly divinely inspired with a clear-cut destiny. For instance, Lea (1888) emphasizes that, "It has been given to few in the world's history thus to influence the destiny of a nation, and perhaps to none so obscure and apparently so unfitted" Although the authorities may agree as to her impact on history, there remains a division of opinion concerning the source of her inspiration. To this end, this study provides a review of the relevant literature to determine how Joan of Arc's spiritual and military leadership helped to inspire a demoralized king and nation to rise up against the English.

Review and Analysis

The Holy Bible established an important precedent for mankind early on: "If God is for us, who can be against us?" Indeed, history has shown time and again that when people become sufficiently convinced that they know what God wants them to do, they will stop at nothing to do it and this is surely what happened with Joan of Arc. People who are convinced that they are divinely inspired are hard to stop, and even pretenders can have an enormously powerful effect on those who wish to believe. According to Dumas, "The meteoric rise to fame of this illiterate country girl, her astonishing career, her miracles and her eventual martyrdom all stem from her belief in her power to deliver France from the English, a power which she was convinced had been divinely conferred on her for this purpose (emphasis added)"

Even when she was very young, Joan of Arc had heard popular tales about how the kingdom of France had been lost through the treacherous actions of a traitorous queen (Queen Isabeau, who had become France's enemy), and the foretelling of a young virgin who would lead France to victory over their oppressors (in this case, of course, the hated English). In this frame of mind, it was not surprising that when Joan began hearing the "voices" of angels and saints such as St. Gabriel, St. Michael, St. Marguerite, and St. Catherine, spoken to her in her native French no less, that she would sincerely believe that she was the special recipient of divine guidance to fulfill this role of the virgin who would lead France to victory over the English as being her destiny. Thus empowered with her conviction that she was God's messenger on earth, who could indeed stand against her? Well, the court in 1431 thought differently for one thing and stood against her, and it was their finding of Joan's heresy and sorcery that led to her fiery fate at the stake.

Nevertheless, her martyrdom served a purpose as well as history showed, and Joan never varied in her accounts as to the source of the inspiration that compelled her to her actions. According to Tallon (1997), Joan of Arc had been unequivocal from the outset as to the source of her inspiration to rise up against the hated English. On the one hand, it is easy to see how she could inspire others in France during this period in history to rise up against their oppressors; here again, history has shown time and again that the winds of revolution will blow through any society that becomes sufficiently outraged against continued intrusions on their lives, liberty and livelihood and the French have modeled the way for others when it comes to revolting against oppressive authority and every July 9th, they still celebrate Bastille Day just as Americans celebrate their Independence Day on July 4th. Americans, though, have no comparable religious leader to point to as the catalyst for their revolution, but Joan of Arc remains the focus of much admiration and is honored throughout France and much of the rest of the world as one of the forces that was responsible for starting the Western world on its way to the revolutions of the 19th and 20th century that shaped the globe today.

On the other hand, it is also easy to see how her critics and opponents could interpret her hearing of "voices" and behaviors (i.e., wearing men's clothing, the use of Jesus and Mary on her military banner, and her continuing challenge of religious authority) as being the result of demonic possession or consortium with the devil and his minions. According to one authority, "Joan of Arc's transgressing (which crossed lines of nation and gender) has been associated obviously and consistently with her cross-dressing. Even during her trials in 1431, her examiners insistently questioned Joan about her assuming masculine dress, and the issue resurfaces frequently during times that Joan of Arc enjoys a cultural revival." It was Joan's association with witchcraft that prevented (or at least provided the French people with an excuse), from saving her from her sentence of death. According to Murray, "The belief that Joan was God Incarnate will account, as nothing else can, for the extraordinary supineness of the French, who never lifted a finger to ransom or rescue Joan from the hands of either the Burgundians or the English. As God himself or his voluntary substitute, she was doomed to suffer as the sacrifice for the people, and no one of those people could attempt to save her."

The questioning was strictly a formality and a matter for the record, though, and was not seriously considered pertinent to the outcome of her trial which had been decided well in advance and acquittal was not even regarded as an option. In fact, the Inquisition was of a single mind when it came to Joan of Arc, it was simply a matter of publicizing their rationale to the world that caused them to take such pains, so to speak, in adjudicating her: "Joan's guilt was so certain that it would be a grievous failure of justice if that guilt was not made to appear plainly. For the purpose of mere justice, indeed, a trial was hardly needed, and its principal object was not to determine Joan's guilt, but to make that guilt manifest to all the world." Therefore, it is clear that the inquisitional authorities did not truly believe Joan was divinely inspired or, based on their stated convictions to the Scriptures and demonstrated religiosity, they would likely have taken up arms and joined her instead of convicting her of heresy and sorcery.

Despite this disagreement as to the true source of her inspiration, the ultimate impact on the people of France and history are well established. The French had been trampled on by the English for years and until Joan of Arc came on the scene, the situation appeared hopeless and irreversible. The nation and its leaders were demoralized to the point of despair and as one historian emphasizes, the people of France were certainly ready for a change and Joan of Arc was just the catalyst that was required to set out the flames of revolution. "Such was the hopeless condition of the French monarchy," Lea advises, "when the enthusiasm of Joan of Arc introduced a new factor in the tangled problem, kindling anew the courage which had been extinguished by an unbroken series of defeats, arousing the sense of loyalty which had been lost in faction, bringing religion as a stimulus to patriotism, and replacing despair with eager confidence and hopefulness."

Similarly, a contemporary of Joan of Arc's, her page and secretary, wrote that, "Whereas before, the spiritless and cowed people hung their heads and slunk away if one mentioned War to them, now they came clamoring to be enlisted under the banner of the Maid of Vaucouleurs, and the roaring of war-songs and the thundering of the drums filled all the air." According to Dumas, on her banner,.".. To which she was entitled by her military rank, was painted the King of Heaven holding an orb, together with the words, 'Jesus Maria.' Thus equipped, she set out to join the army at Blois for the relief of Orleans."

When Joan led her troops to victory by raising the siege of Orleans (discussed as one of her prophecies further below), her page and secretary also reported that Joan of Arc was the sole individual who was responsible for motivating the French to some early victories over the English that would not otherwise have been possible: "We soon patched a sort of bridge together and threw ourselves against the last stronghold of the English power that barred Orleans from friends and supplies. Before the sun was quite down, Joan's forever memorable day's work was finished, her banner floated from the fortress of the Tourelles, her promise was fulfilled, she had raised the siege of Orleans!"

Moreover, it appears reasonable to assert that Joan must have been sufficiently imbued with the same qualities that are typically associated with historical inspirational leaders to the point that others will follow them into the mouth of a cannon if they lead the charge because they truly believe they are divinely inspired. In this regard, her page and secretary reported that following one battle, "Joan lay on the grass, weak and suffering, hour after hour, but still insisting that the fight go on. Which it did, but not to much purpose, for it was only under her eye that men were heroes and not afraid.... When he was under Joan's eye and the inspiration of her great spirit, what was he afraid of? Nothing in this world -- and that is just the truth (emphasis added)." Interestingly, charismatic historic figures such as Rasputin have been singled out as having eyes that were mesmerizing in their effect on others, and like Rasputin, Joan of Arc also claimed divine inspiration for her goals that were communicated in this fashion. For example, her page and secretary wrote that, "Joan's eyes were deep and rich and wonderful beyond anything merely earthly. They spoke all the languages -- they had no need of words. They produced all effects -- and just by a glance, just a single glance: a glance that could... put courage into a coward and that could make the doubter believe and the hopeless hope again; that could persuade -- ah, there it is -- persuasion! That is the word; what or who is it that it couldn't persuade? (emphasis added)."

This level of followership would likely be the envy of any military or political leader today, of course, but things were much different in Europe during this period in history in ways that also affected how Joan of Arc was most likely perceived by her contemporaries. In this regard, it is important to keep in mind as well that the centrality of religion and its importance to the people of Europe during this period in history was much more pronounced than it is today, and it is little wonder that many people were more likely to accept Joan of Arc's declarations as to the source of her inspiration without the same level of questioning and skepticism that they would receive today. The continued existence of the Inquisition during this period is clearly reflective of this level of importance and centrality of religion to the people of the Middle Ages as well.

Even divinely inspired leaders, though, today or then, can get things wrong and Joan of Arc was no exception. Indeed, only two of her prophecies about the future would bear out, but those that were on the money were quickly seized upon by her contemporaries as hard evidence of her divine inspiration. For example, "To Jeanne, bringing not peace, but a sword, any man-at-arms was a man near to his death. It was a remark she might have addressed to any irreverent soldier, and possibly did address to many whom she heard using oaths distasteful to her; only, in this case, the man happened to get drowned before he could get killed in battle, and the pious Paquerel recorded her words with gusto as an example of her divine inspiration." By all accounts, Joan's sincerity and unwavering belief in the source of her inspiration was just what the demoralized French needed, and in her, they had a leader they would in fact follow into the mouth of a cannon: "They had a leader rightly clothed with authority now, and with a head and heart bent on war of the most intensely businesslike and earnest sort -- and there would be results. No doubt of that. They had Joan of Arc; and under that leadership their legs would lose the art and mystery of running."