At the age of 13, Joan claims to have had a mystical experience, in which the Archangel Michael told her to take up arms and drive the English out of France. This was a pretty tall order as Burgundy and England were allies, the Dauphin1 was a weakling, and Joan was a mere child. The situation looked bleak, but Joan was a remarkable young girl, not to be underestimated by anyone. By virtue of her strength of character and her uncanny ability to know things she had no business knowing, she gradually won enough influential support to raise an army by the age of 17.
Riding at the head of her army, she relieved the English siege of Orléans, and, later, defeated the English army of Lord Talbot outright at the battle of Patay. Unfortunately for her, things started to go badly thereafter. On 24 May, 1430, Joan was captured by the Burgundians and later sold to the English. Charles VII of France, whose crown she had fought to save, turned his back on her and, in May 1431, after a show trial, Joan of Arc was burned alive at the stake at the age of 19.
She was canonised in 1920.
The Voices
I was thirteen when I had a voice from God for my help and guidance. The first time that I heard this voice, I was very much frightened, it was midday, in the summer, in my father's garden... I heard this voice to my right, towards the Church, rarely do I hear it without its being accompanied also by a light. This light comes from the same side as the voice.
There was never any doubt in Joan's mind that the voices she heard bore a message addressed to her straight from Almighty God. Theological implications and the issue of whether or not it was right to hear voices were irrelevant; they were simply a fact of her young life.
The voices identified themselves to Joan as the Archangel Michael, Saint Catherine and Saint Margaret. They told her that God wanted to rid France of the English presence and unite the kingdom under Charles VII. In order to do this, she would have to dress like a man, demand an army from the Dauphin, and lead them into battle herself, under the banner of Jesus and Mary.
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