Mystic, maiden, martyr – whatever you choose to call her, it is difficult to dispute that Joan of Arc led a remarkably accomplished life for a peasant girl who never went to school … and never saw her 20th birthday.
At 17,... See more she delivered an extraordinary message to her Dauphin and, two months later, led her army to victory over the English at Orleans. At 18, she was captured and sold to her most hated enemies. At 19, she was declared a witch and burned at the stake. Twenty-five years later, she was pronounced innocent. In 1920, she was canonized a saint, cemented into icon status, assured to be a subject of passionate debate forever.
