The Origins Of This Heroine Might Not Be So Humble
People have been inspired for generations by the legend surrounding this enigmatic peasant girl who, from lowly beginnings in the town of Domrémy, ascended to heroic sainthood. However, historians have been quick to cast doubt on the probability of such modest origins, with some even suggesting that given her incredibly unusual aptitude, she wasn't a peasant at all.
Young peasant girls would typically spend their days weaving or spinning, sometimes even carrying water. No of what household chores they were assigned, girls were not even permitted to use a sword, let alone learn to ride trained warhorses. Nevertheless, the little girl rode 11 nights at high pace to reach Chinon unharmed in February 1429, undaunted by the treacherous, unlit forest and miserable weather because it was the dead of winter.
She could ride a warhorse that skillfully, thus the peasant roots couldn't be likely, according to skeptic historians. From putting out the flames on the banner at Orleans to couching her lance on Ascension Day, she continually displayed outstanding riding. She also famously led the mercenary troop near the end of her life. How could she be so knowledgeable without training?
She had an outstanding command of military strategy, which is puzzling given that she claimed to be a peasant. To train their boys the finer points of war strategy, how to ride, and how to wield knightly weapons like a lance, a sword, and a shield, noble families in medieval times had to spend enormous sums of money.
But despite her humble peasant beginnings, Joan of Arc is said to have been born with the strength, talent, and strategic understanding to lead an entire nation to glory.
