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Timeline of the life of Saint Joan of Arc
1412 January 6
Approximate date of the birth of Saint Joan of Arc.
1422 October 21
Charles VI, king of France, dies leaving a controversy about his legal
heir.
1424 Summer
Joan is first visited by a "Voice" in her father's garden.
1428 May
Joan makes her first trip to Vaucouleurs to meet with Robert de
Baudricourt asking him to send her to the King.
1428 July
Joan's home village of Domremy was raided by Burgundian troops
and her family
joined the other villagers in taking refuge in the nearby
city of Neufchateau.
1428 October 12
English began the siege of Orleans.
1429 January
Joan again visits Robert de Baudricourt and predicts military defeat for
the French.
1429 February 12
Battle of the Herrings where French troops from Orleans suffer defeat.
1429 February 23
Robert de Baudricourt finally sends her on her journey to Chinon
escorted by
two knights Jean de Metz and Bertrand de Poulengy.
1429 March 6
Joan arrives in Chinon.
1429 March 7 or 8
Joan visits the castle at Chinon and recognizes Charles VII among
the crowd.
1429 mid-March
Charles has Joan examined physically by ladies of his court. He also sent
her
to Poitiers to be examined by Church theologians.
1429 March 22
Joan dictates her first letter to the English demanding they leave France.
1429 early-April
Joan goes to Tours where she receives armor, a sword and her banner.
1429 April 24
Joins the rest of her army at Blois.
1429 April 26
Departs Blois with the army for Orleans.
1429 April 29
Arrives before Orleans and meets Lord Dunois for the first time.
Under cover of night, Joan enters into Orleans by the Burgundy gate
and goes to live there in Jacques Boucher's house. Main body of army
is forced to return to Blois and cross to the other side of river Loire.
1429 May 4
Lord Dunois returns from Blois with main part of army and launched
an assault against the English-held fortifications around the church of
St-Loup. Joan awakens and rides out to rally the French troops just
as they are falling back from a failed assault. Her appearance turns
the tide.
1429 May 5
Sent final letter to English by way of arrow shot into Les Tourelles.
1429 May 6
Joan with army crosses the river Loire in boats to attack the southern
forts. St Jean le Blanc was taken without a fight, followed by a
successful assault against the English in Les Augustins.
1429 May 7
Assault on English fort Les Tourelles. Joan had predicted that she
would be wounded by an arrow above her left breast. In the afternoon
she is wounded and the French fall back. After removing the arrow she
prays and then seizes her banner and leads her troops forward again.
The Tourelles is overwhelmed and falls to the French. That evening Joan
re-enters Orleans to a great victory celebration.
1429 May 8
The English abandon their remaining seige positions and withdraw
from Orleans.
1429 May 15
Joan meets with Charles at Loches and urges him to push forward to
Reims for his coronation.
1429 June 2
Joan given armorial bearings by Charles of a sword holding a crown
with a single fleur-de-lis on the left and right.
1429 June 10
Departs Orleans with Alencon to begin the Loire Valley campaigne.
1429 June 11-12
Attacks and captures the city of Jargeau.
1429 June 15
Army moves forward and captures fortified bridge at Meung-sur-Loire.
1429 June 17
Liberates Beaugency when English garrison withdraws.
1429 June 18
Wins greatest miliary victory at Patay when her army decimates
English force under Lord Talbot. English dead are at least several
thousand while French loses are less than a hundred.
1429 June 20?
Visits Sully to urge Charles to proceed with her to Reims.
1429 June 24
Meets army and Charles at Gien to begin march to Reims.
1429 June 29
Royal army departs Gien.
1429 July 1-3
Army camped near the pro-Burgundian city of Auxerre, which
refuses to surrender but agrees to neutrality.
1429 July 5-9
Besieges the city of Troyes.
1429 July 9
Troyes surrenders just as Joan is about to conduct full assault.
1429 July 14
Chalons-sur-Marne surrenders as Joan approaches the city.
1429 July 16
Reims opens its gates to Joan and Charles.
1429 July 17
Sends letter to Duke of Burgundy inviting him to unite with Charles.
1429 July 17
Charles VII is crowned King at the great Cathedral of Reims with
Saint Joan of Arc standing beside him with her banner.
1429 July 21
Army begins meandering journey toward Paris.
1429 July 23
Soissons liberated.
1429 July 29
Château-Thierry liberated.
1429 August 5
Joan sends letter to the people of Reims.
1429 August 15
Minor engagement with English and Duke of Bedford at Montépilloy.
1429 August 25
Joan arrives with Alencon at St. Denis to survey the Paris defenses.
1429 August 28
Charles formally ratifies another worthless treaty with Burgundy.
1429 September 8
Assault on Paris begins. Joan is wounded when a bolt from a
crossbow hits her in the thigh near dusk. She refused to quit urging
her soldiers to continue the attack. Against her orders she was carried
from the battlefield and the assault ended.
1429 September 9
Joan plans to resume offensive but Charles intervenes and orders the
army to withdraw.
1429 September 21
After marching back to Gien-sur-Loire Charles disbands the army.
1429 November 4
With smaller army she captures the town of Saint-Pierre-le-Moûtier.
1429 November 9
Joan sends letter to the people of Riom.
1429 Late Novem
Begins siege of La Charité-sur-Loire.
1429 December 25
Siege of La Charité-sur-Loire fails and Joan returns to Jargeau for
Christmas.
1430 Jan-March
Stays with Charles at his court as an unwilling honored guest.
1430 January
Joan and her family elevated to nobility and given the name du Lys.
1430 March 28
Joan sends letter to the people of Reims.
1430 March 29
Joan leaves the court at Sully to join French fighting at Lagney.
1430 April
Joan prays for dead child at Lagney that makes miraculous recovery.
1430 April 17 ?
Joan liberates the town of Melun.
1430 May 15
Goes to the aid of the town of Compiègne
1430 May 23
Captured by Burgundians when the drawbridge at Compiègne is raised.
1430 May-Nov
Joan remains a prisoner of the Burgundians at Beaurevior.
1430 October ?
Joan attempts to escape by leaping from the tower where she is held.
She survives the 60 foot fall but is re-captured.
1430 Mid-Nov
Joan is sold to the English by the Duke of Burgundy for ten thousand
francs.
1430 December 25
Arrives in Rouen for her trial orchestrated by the English to kill her
and destroy her reputation with the ultimate goal of making her
crowning of Charles VII illegitimate.
1431 Jan-Feb
Held in prison cell shackled to bed while pro-English clergy made
preparations for her trial.
1430 February 21
Joan makes her first appearance in Cauchon's court before about 70
hand-picked members of the clergy. Joan cooperates but shows her
resolve by refusing to swear she will answer all that they ask.
1430 March 1
Joan makes ominous prediction in court that "Before seven years
the English will lose a greater prize than they did before Orleans."
1430 March 10
Cauchon re-convenes in Joan's cell away from public view with his
most ruthless judges.
1430 March 27
Joan was read the seventy articles of accusation against her that
Cauchon was able to concoct from her testimony.
1430 April 1
Joan became very ill after eating some fish given to her by Cauchon.
1430 May 9
Joan threatened with torture unless she denied her Voices and submits
herself to the authoity of the clergy present. She refuses and screams
that she will retract anything they make her say.
1430 May 24
Joan is taken to the cemetary of St. Ouen where they threaten to burn
her if she does not abjure. She finally agrees after they promise to take
her to a Church prison.
1430 May 27
After being taken back to her prison cell she is trapped by English
soldiers into wearing her old clothes that she agreed not to wear.
When the clergy found her they said she had relapsed.
1430 May 30
Pronounced a relapsed heretic and burned in Rouen's square by English
soldiers. Her last words were "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus."
1450 Early
After Rouen is liberated Charles VII decides it is time to restore
Joan's name (and remove any taint of heresy from his crown) so
he requests that the Church launch a Trial of Nullification
1456 July 7
After invetigating Joan's life and the transcipts of her trial at Rouen
for six years, the Church overturned Joan's conviction. In the Church's
ruling, Joan is declared a martyr who was wrongly executed by
corrupt partisan clergy abusing a Church trial for secular purposes.
1909 April 18
Officially beatified by Pope Pius X.
1920 May 16
Officially canonized by Pope Benedict XV.
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