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The lands of ancient France, by 2,500 BC,
were dominated by Celts, or as known to
the Roman's in Latin, Gaul's. The town of
Lutetia, founded in 52 BC, eventually
became the capitol of modern day France
named Paris.
Julius Caesar led the first of the
Roman campaigns into Gaul in 58 BC. Gaul
eventually became part of the Roman
Empire with the Romans having introduced
christianity to the region by 300 AD.
By 406 AD, with the Roman Empire in
decline, Gaul was being invaded by
Barbarian tribes from the east. By 418
AD, the Franks from Germany had settled
in Gaul and began taking control of the
area. By 509 AD, the Frankish chieftain
Clovis, had defeated the last of the
Roman armies in Gaul. He then united all
the tribes in Gaul, this seeing the
Frankish Kingdom ruling the region for
the following 1000 years, a region that
became modern day France.
By the early 1200s, France had become
the most important nation in Europe. When
the last son of Philip IV died in 1328,
his only direct descendant was his
daughter Isabelle, who had married Edward
II of England. Her son, Edward III, King
of England at that time, claimed the
vacant French throne.
Philip's French nephew, another
Philip, was chosen by France as their new
king in favour of Edward III, this
leading to the start of the 100 Year War,
as the French fought to prevent an
English king from ruling France.
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On January 6th 1412, Joan of Arc
was born, the daughter of a farmer
near the village of Domremy.
She was born at a time of peace
due to the Truce of Leulinghen. The
king of France at that time was
Charles VI (Charles the Mad). With
Charles VI becoming unfit to rule
France, the country became
embroiled in a Civil War.
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Henry V of England, a distant relative
of Charles VI, saw the French Civil War
as the ideal situation for him to lay
claim to the French throne.
The English forces invaded Normandy
where they defeated the French Royal Army
at Agincourt in 1415. At the Treaty of
Troyes in 1420, Henry V was granted the
title King of France. Henry secured his
position by marrying Charles the Mad's
daughter Catherine.
In 1422, Henry V and Charles the Mad
died within two months of each other,
leaving the infant Henry VI as nominal
King of France. At that time, Charles de
Ponthieu, the French heir to Charles the
Mad, along with Scottish forces, battled
against the English who were supported by
the French Burgundians from the north of
France.
By 1422, the young farm girl Joan of
Arc said she had begun experiencing
visions of the Angels of God. These
vision were telling her to lead an army
against the English and help Charles de
Ponthieu become King of France.
By 1429, Joan had managed to meet and
convince Charles that she could lead an
army against the English that were
besieging Orleans. As the French forces
set out to confront the English, Joan
sent the English letters stating, the
King of Heaven, son of Saint Mary, has
appointed her to push you out of
France.
The French, with Joan as a figurehead
of their army, defeated the English at
Orleans in May 1429. The English,
unnerved by the sight of Joan leading the
French forces, were defeated in a series
of battles along the Loire River. The
French victories led to Charles being
crowned King of France July 17th 1429 at
Reims Cathedral, with Joan given a place
of honour next to him.
Joan was captured in 1430 by the
Burgundians while defending Compiegne
near Paris. After being sold to the
English, imprisoned for months at Rouen,
and with there being no attempts by
Charles VII to gain her release, the
English put her on trial.
Joan insisted it was the Saints of God
that commanded her to do what she did.
The English court responded to her claims
by condemning her to death as a heretic
and sorceress. On May 30th 1431, at the
age of 19, Joan of Arc was burned at the
stake at Rouen marketplace.
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Charles VII finally defeated the
English and their allies the
Burgundians in 1453, this ending
the 100 Year War.
Joan of Arc was beatified in
1909 and canonized in 1920 by Pope
Benedict XV.
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Monument of Saint Joan
of Arc at
Chinon/France
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