Joan of Arc | Peasant, Warrior, Saint

Arrows filled the sky above the battlefield and rained down on the French knights as they slogged through the mud in heavy armor. Their effect was devastating, and hundreds of France’s noblest men fell screaming as the English longbowmen poured fire into their ranks. The French commander urged his men forward, while at the other end of the field the King of England, Henry V, watched the battle with a smile on his scarred face. Soon, the English celebrated their great triumph at Agincourt on St. Crispin’s Day. It was perhaps the high-point in the long war between the two countries that had begun nearly a hundred years earlier over who would sit on the throne of France. England stood on the threshold of victory, and as its soldiers tended the wounded and drank to their fallen, no one in Henry’s army could know that a three-year-old girl living far to the southeast would one day turn the tide of war against them. Join us as we teach you about Joan of Arc and how she changed the course of history forever. Be sure to send us your questions for our discussion segment next week and if you feel so inclined, support the show by going to https://anchor.fm/15minutehistory/support.