Joan of Arc: a political tool

When we refer to Joan of Arc, we often think of her as a religious character whose life was entirely related to Christianity: her accomplishments were made in the name of God and she was condemned for heresy by a jury made of ecclesiastics. Nevertheless, the story of Joan of Arc was also very closely linked to politics and she played an important role in the war between the French and the English. At the time, wars were mainly fought for religious rather than territorial purposes. During the war between French and English both nations were worshipping the same God and pretending to have his support. This led to a problematic situation since God could not support both sides of the conflict. The trial of Joan of Arc was thus a way for the English to prove that God was on their side rather than with the French king. This led to the condemnation of Joan for heresy which implied that the King Charles was also related to the devil. Twenty five years later, once the war was over, a posthumous retrial was held. This trial, called the “Nullification trial” aimed at restoring Joan’s image and in the meantime it would reinforce the French king’s legitimacy. The story of Joan of Arc was thus used for political reasons, first by the English and later by the French.  History is written by the victors. This statement applies especially to Joan of Arc. Indeed we can suppose that if England had won the war and had occupied France for a longer time, Joan of Arc’s “Nullification trial” would never have happened and we will nowadays refer to her as a witch and not as a saint.