Joan of Arc: Burning Faith

Joan of Arc came to me through a poem by Leonard Cohen. Through his poem, I realised that this was in fact a passionate love story. It is the story of someone who was consumed by her faith to the point where she would do anything, even at the cost of her own life, to be loyal to her heart. It is hard to fathom the p passion that this woman had at such a young age. To think that she could have commanded an army and put a king on the throne, all before the age of nineteen!

At a very young age, angels visited Joan and they guided her to talk to King Charles of France. At first he did not believe that God sent her, but once she whispered something into his ear, he allowed her to command his armies into battle where she fought on the front lines. Remember at this time war was hand to hand combat and extremely dangerous. At some point after his coronation, Charles became nervous about her commission from God and gave Joan up in battle to the English. Before the battle the angels told Joan that she would be captured and that she should let it happen. She did not want this fate but felt it was the will of God. The English put her through a lengthy trial, accusing her of being a witch and wearing men’s clothes. She died at the stake.