Joan of Arc



Joan of Arc was French peasant who lived from 1412 to 1431 A.D. and experienced religious visions from the age of 12 or 13. In the last few years of her short life, God chose her to save France from the English invaders and used these visions to guide her.

At the age of seventeen, Joan convinced the Dauphin (French prince) to give her co-command of the army, which she used to lift the siege of the strategically-vital city of Orleans and to crown him King Charles VII in the traditionally- and religiously-vital city of Reims. At the age of eighteen, she was captured by hostile Burgundians while defending the city of Compiegne, sold to the English for a prince's ransom, and placed on trial for heresy. At the age of nineteen, she was declared guilty by the court (without the permission of the Pope) and burned at the stake.

Appearance in Disney Films
Joan of Arc is one of the only historical figures to be specifically referenced in a Disney Princess movie. During the "Do You Want to Build a Snowman" of Frozen, Princess Anna of Arendelle sings that she is so lonely she has started speaking to the pictures on the walls. To emphasize this (or perhaps to show her support) Anna plops down on a small chesterfield and points at a painting of Joan of Arc, to which she interrupts her song to say, "Hang in there, Joan!"

Other Possible Influence
The image of Joan of Arc as an armoured girl leading soldiers into battle is so iconic that it may have inspired Alice's doing likewise in the 2010 film Alice in Wonderland, directed by Tim Burton.