The Saber and Scroll Journal Volume 6, Issue 1, Winter 2017 | Page 22

Religious War
Joan of Arc, as a symbol of God’s will to the French, had turned a
generational Anglo-French battle over thrones into a religious war.
Joan convinced the leading French theologians and France’s future king
that the Divine had sent her; they in turn, provided her with armor to wear and
placed a force of four thousand men under her command. She set off towards
Orléans soon after, carrying a white banner depicting Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and
two angels.
On 29 April 1429, she entered Orléans. There she met with the
commander of the garrison, John, comte de Dunois, the Bastard of Orléans. Upon
meeting him, she demanded that he immediately attack the English. However,
Dunois was not ready. While he was preparing with the now additional four
thousand troops who accompanied Joan, Joan decided to approach and shout at the
English troops. She informed them that she was the one sent by God—the
“maiden”—and said to them “Begone, or I will make you go” but the English upon
hearing her message, hurled insults back. 3 On 30 April, the Orléans militia, under
the command of Étienne de Vignoles, assaulted the English at the Boulevard of
Saint-Pouair, but the attack proved unsuccessful. Joan called out to Sir William
Glasdale at Les Tourelles stating, “Yield to God’s command.” 4 The English replied
by calling her a “cowgirl.” 5 They made it known to Joan that if they captured her
they would surely burn her. But even in their anger, they were also cautious.
On 1 May, Dunois and a small band of men, along with Joan and some
soldiers, left to bring the army back to Blois. During this small mission, the
English did not attempt to engage the French even though they knew she was
among this small army. Interestingly, the reason for not engaging the French seems
to have been due to fear, for the lower English ranks feared that she had some
supernatural powers and to risk taking her dead or alive was detrimental to their
own wellbeing. On 3 May, the main body of Joan’s relief force arrived. She made
it clear to the French soldiers and officers that God had sent her, as she rode in at
the head as a priest and chanted from the book of Psalms.
With Joan and four thousand men in Orléans, the Armagnacs—prominent
Orleanists in French politics—attacked the outlying English fort of Saint Loup on
4 May and captured it. Feeling confident after the capture of Saint Loup, the
French were preparing to attack the weakest English bastions on the south bank of
the Loire the next day. However, despite the win, Joan decided on a temporary one
-day truce to honor the Feast of the Ascension on 5 May. It was during this truce
that Joan wrote a letter for the English stating, “You, men of England, who have no
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