Joan of Arc

One of France's most well-known residents, Joan of Arc is best recognized for her role in bringing the Hundred Years War to a close. She successfully regained French lands and gave the French the win over the English.

Her religious fervor, particularly her holy visions of Saints Michael and Catherine, which inspired her to take the lead in combat with the divine prophecies that she would save France, served as the inspiration for Joan of Arc's deeds.

Following the guidance of the saints, Joan fought with Dauphin Charles, the heir to the French throne, in a number of wars that helped France retake its lands from the English.

After winning a battle, Charles was proclaimed Charles VII and anointed king of France in the cathedral of Reims in 1429. Joan was sold to the English as a hostage by the Burgundians despite the fact that the French had reclaimed their monarchy due to the ongoing war with them. She was accused of being a heretic and a witch, and she was burned at the stake. She continues to be the patron saint of France, and there are sculptures of her all around the nation as a mark of respect for the young woman who led France to triumph.

Birth - Death: 1412 - 1431