History has been a witness to many unlucky women who by their hardwork, sincerity of purpose and bravery served the society in different walks of life. Queen of Jhansi, Kittur Chennamma, Belavadi Mallamma of our own history may be cited as good examples. Perhaps, Joan of Arc who also belonged to this category suffered more than our own brave women. More poignant is her death at just 19 years at the hands of cruel people.
Joan was born on January 6, 1412 in a small village in North - Eastern France. Her father Jacques Arc was a farmer and a minor village official. Her mother Isabella was a God - fearing woman and was regular in visiting the church. Following her mother, Joan also was attached to the local church and she claimed that she had a vision of divinity through Saint Michael, Saint Margaret and Saint Catherine. She also claimed that she used to converse with them. Some people believed these things as true but others dismissed it as a hoax.
Joan claimed that her inner divine voice asked her to free France from the clutches of the English. On this basis, she made successful assaults on English army and defeated it. This made Joan famous as a brave woman. Joan was always dressed like a man and fought like a soldier and did not like to dress as a woman.
Her next task was to perform coronation of Charles as the King of France. She herself stood by the side of the throne guarding him and addressed him as the King before others and showed her loyalty. Many commanders of the French army did not like the exalted position of Joan at the court and tried to discredit her. They complained to the King that Joan was a black magician and was supported by a devil and one day she will kill the King and occupy the throne. Believing this, King Charles ordered her examination by Christian priests. Fortunately for her, the priests accepted her explanation and considered her not as a devil but as a woman with a divine gift.
At this stage, Joan wanted to regain the control of Paris. Her enemies thought that if she wins, she would become more influential with the King and they would be thrown out. Hence, they asked the King not to show great hurry to take control of Paris, as advised by Joan. With this non co - operation from the commanders, Joan was defeated. She was captured and made a prisoner.
The English were angry at Joan and wanted to take possession of her because of her anti-English activities. One of the Bishops who sided with the English negotiated to purchase her for a hefty amount. Ultimately, the greedy Burgandians who had imprisoned Joan gave her to the English after receiving sixteen thousand Francs. Then, the English charged her and a trial was conducted in 1431 AD.
The trial was an eyewash. They did not follow the normal legal procedures. Joan was not provided a lawyer to defend herself. Though this was a religious case, Joan was kept in the ordinary prison along with other criminals and was not kept in the prison meant for religious offenders as it was the general practice. Joan protested and did not co-operate fully in the trial.
The priests made the following allegations against her. Firstly, she was considered as a black magician who practiced sorcery and deceived the people in the name of God. She was accused of predicting the future which was a hoax as she had no such powers. Thus, she was considered a cheat. Her claim that she received direct communications from the God and could converse with him was considered to be the result of a mad mind.
Further, she was accused of writing letters in the names of Jesus Christ and Mary. She was accused of uttering falsehood by stating she conversed with God in French language and not in English language. Another accusation was that she shamelessly dressed like a man. She was also accused of sidelining the church and priests.
Joan denied all these allegations and said that she was speaking the truth, as ordained by God which was her inner voice. She further said that the church cannot punish her as God is her saviour. In turn, she accused the priests of the crimes they committed, about women they molested, the bribes they took and the murders they committed. The priests were shocked and thought that if she was allowed to continue, they would become the target of attack even by common men and women. Hence, they planned to kill her.
They made a secret pact with the English soldiers who hated her. So they handed Joan over to the British soldiers. She was paraded like a criminal and taken to the old market place where in front of a large gathering; she was burnt alive on May 30, 1431.
However, in 1455 due to the pressure from the common people, Pope Callistus III ordered another posthumous trial. The trial lasted for seven months and the new judgment was that Joan had a divine mind and could converse with God and could predict the future. The earlier trial by the English church was made null and void.
Almost after four centuries, in 1920, Pope Benedict V recognised her as a saint. She was canonized and was listed along with divine persons. This was done on May 30 and hence that day was annually observed as a day of her festival. Further, the French Parliament took a decision to ob-serve second Sunday of May as a day of national festival in honour of Joan of Arc.
Thus, Joan became a celebrity after her death. This attracted writers of many languages to write about her exploits. It is said that there are more than one hundred works dealing with the exploits and personality of Joan of Arc.
She has made a great impact on the minds of the French, particularly during 19th and 20th centuries as a symbol of French national unity. But her life was poignant and tragic. Thus, she paid a heavy price for speaking the truth against the self - styled clergy. This has happened to others in other religions also.
