Joan still continues to be the subject of great admiration, as well
as the focus of much political debate long after her execution on
May 30th, 1431. She was 14 when she first began seeing visions that
she believed were divinely inspired. Today she is interpreted by
individuals seeking to prove their own theories, or further their
religious viewpoints, rather than studying her life within the
context of her particular circumstances. Most scholars overlook her
as a testament of intense human courage, faith and strength and
choose to focus their attention on her controversial political and
military endeavors instead. This oversight is understandable, for
when else in history, has such a young woman taken up a sword? It
is hard to say what would have occurred during the French civil war
had it not been for the love of her country and her faith in
God.
Like many soldiers since, Joan was a victim of religious and
political corruption, and her life was snuffed out once she had
served her purpose. She was very unpopular with the
religious-military orders of the times because she threatened their
chain of command with her claims to communicate directly with the
Saints. If she were to be charged as a witch, she might then serve
to help to establish the idea that Charles VII owed his coronation
to a heretic. A great many people would have benefited from this.
On Tuesday, May 29, 1431, she was judged a "relapsed heretic" and
was handed over to the secular authorities. At 8 am the following
day, she was taken to the marketplace and burned at the stake. Her
last request was that a cross be held out before her eyes as she
burned. She was nineteen years old.
She was a Gnostic in the true sense of the word.
She claimed to be in
direct communication with god's angels. The little girl
continued to wear men's clothing after she was jailed, a habit that
eventually helped to condemn her to death, because she claimed a
saint had ordered it. Many years after her death, on May 16, 1920,
Pope Benedict XV finally recognized her as a saint: not for her
contribution to France, but for the fortitude with which she
subjected herself to the test of her trial, and for the faith (as
badly placed as it was) that her judges would do the right thing in
the end. Her feast is celebrated May 30th. On June 24, 1920, French
parliament declared a festival in her honor; this is held the
second Sunday in May. Joan of Arc is still an icon for freedom and
strength for the French
people.
http://www.thelemicknights.org/ootmc/joan/joan.html