At the time of Joan’s birth in 1412 English troops had been fighting on French soil for some 75 years occupying much of the country and preventing the coronation of a French king. In response to a number of promptings by voices she heard in prayer, Joan abandoned her peasant homelife to rally the armies of France and lead them to several significant victories. She achieved her goal of seeing the Dauphin crowned at Rheims as Charles VII, but when hostile forces at Compiegne captured her afterwards, King Charles left her to her fate.
