Today in History—January 9: The Trial of “Joan the Maid” Begins

The only medieval trial recorded with painstaking accuracy began on this day in 1431, when 19-year-old Joan of Arc went on trial in France. “Joan the Maid” (as they called her in the trial notes) faced more than 70 accusations that included—in no particular order here—heresy, murder, horse theft, cross-dressing, and attempted suicide.

Joan coolly answered these charges before hostile church and state authorities.

She reminded her accusers that in battle she was armed with a banner, rather than a sword (she was “forty times” fonder of the banner). The leap from her cell tower? An escape attempt—death was a possibility, not a goal. And the theological questions? She brushed them aside: She answered only to God.

And when Joan was asked what garments St. Michael had worn in her visions—and if the saint appeared naked—Joan snapped back: “Do you think God can’t find him clothes?”

The trial wore on. Eventually, Joan confessed and was sentenced to life in prison. But days later, she was found wearing men’s clothing again. Citing misconduct by the guards, she asked to be moved to a women’s prison. When that was refused, Joan recanted, and 27 male judges declared her a relapsed heretic. She was burned at the stake on May 30, 1431.

This was the teenager who had spent two years waging an effective war against English forces—after convincing the French court that she was divinely sent. Joan’s mission was singular: escort Charles, the politically vulnerable and still-uncrowned king, to Reims, where his coronation would secure his rule.

Reims had been established as the seat of French coronations, because there lived the Holy Ampulla, a vial said to have been delivered by a dove in the 5th century. Whether the oil was miraculous didn’t matter: Tradition begot authority. Joan’s mission was completed on July 17, 1429, when Charles VII was crowned there.

French forces faltered in 1430, and Joan was captured. Charles VII declined to intervene. Her captors put her on trial and called her a false prophet. Whether she was a messenger of God is a matter of belief. But one thing is sure: Joan defied an institution built on tradition and male authority.

History took its time fixing this one: In 1456 her execution was ruled unjust, and in 1920 the Catholic Church named her a saint.