Timeline of the life of Saint Joan of Arc

1412 January 6           Accepted date of the birth of Saint Joan of Arc.

1415 October 25         French Defeat at Battle of Agincourt Decimates the Army of France

1422 October 21         Charles VI, king of France, dies leaving a controversy about his legal
                                      heir.

1424 Summer             Joan of Arc is first visited by a "Voice" in her father's garden.

1428 May                     Joan makes her first trip to Vaucouleurs to meet with Robert de
                                      Baudricourt asking him to send her to the King.

1428 July                     Joan's home village of Domremy is raided by Burgundian troops
                                      and her family joined the other villagers in taking refuge in the nearby
                                      city of Neufchateau.

1428 October 12         English begin the siege of Orleans.

1429 January               Joan again visits Robert de Baudricourt and predicts military defeat for
                                      the French.

1429 February 12       Battle of the Herrings where French troops from Orleans suffer defeat.

1429 February 23       Robert de Baudricourt finally sends her on her journey to Chinon
                                      escorted by two knights Jean de Metz and Bertrand de Poulengy.
                                       Read Joan's Famous Words as she departed.

1429 March 6               Joan of Arc arrives in Chinon.

1429 March 7 or   8     Joan visits the castle at Chinon and recognizes Charles VII among
                                      the crowd.

1429 mid-March         Charles has Joan examined physically by ladies of his court. He also sent
                                      her to Poitiers to be examined by Church theologians.

1429 March 22             Joan dictates her first letter to the English demanding they leave France.

1429 early-April         Joan goes to Tours where she receives armor, a sword and her banner.

1429 April 24               Joan of Arc joins the rest of her army at Blois.

1429 April 26               Joan departs Blois with the army for Orleans.

1429 April 29               Arrives before Orleans and meets Lord Dunois for the first time.
                                      Under cover of night, Joan enters into Orleans by the Burgundy gate
                                      and goes to live there in Jacques Boucher's house. Main body of army
                                      is forced to return to Blois and cross to the other side of river Loire.

1429 May 4                 Lord Dunois returns from Blois with main part of army and launched
                                      an assault against the English-held fortifications around the church of
                                      St-Loup. Joan awakens and rides out to rally the French troops just
                                      as they are falling back from a failed assault. Her appearance turns
                                      the tide.

1429 May 5                 Sends final letter to English by way of arrow shot into Les Tourelles.

1429 May 6                 Joan with army crosses the river Loire in boats to attack the southern
                                      forts. St Jean le Blanc was taken without a fight, followed by a
                                      successful assault against the English in Les Augustins.

1429 May 7                 Assault on English fort Les Tourelles. Joan had predicted that she
                                      would be wounded by an arrow above her breast. In the afternoon
                                      she is wounded and the French fall back. After removing the arrow she
                                      prays and then seizes her banner and leads her troops forward again.
                                      The Tourelles is overwhelmed and falls to the French. That evening Joan
                                      re-enters Orleans to a great victory celebration.

1429 May 8                 The English abandon their remaining siege positions and withdraw
                                      from Orleans.

1429 May 15                 Joan meets with Charles VII at Loches and urges him to push forward to
                                      Reims for his coronation.

1429 June 2                 Joan of Arc given armorial bearings by Charles VII of a sword holding
                                      a crown with a single fleur-de-lis on the left and right.

1429 June 10                 Departs Orleans with Alencon to begin the Loire Valley campaigne.

1429 June 11-12           Joan of Arc attacks and captures the city of Jargeau.

1429 June 15                 Army moves forward and captures fortified bridge at Meung-sur-Loire.

1429 June 17                 Joan of Arc liberates Beaugency when English garrison withdraws.

1429 June 18                 Joan wins greatest military victory at Patay when her army decimates
                                      English force under Lord Talbot. English dead are at least several
                                      thousand while French loses are less than a hundred.

1429 June 20?               Joan of Arc visits Sully to urge Charles to proceed with her to Reims.

1429 June 24                 Joan meets army and Charles at Gien to begin march to Reims.

1429 June 25                 Joan sends letter to the town of Tournai giving greetings.

1429 June 29                 Joan of Arc with royal army departs Gien.

1429 July 1-3                 Army camped near the pro-Burgundian city of Auxerre, which
                                      refuses to surrender but agrees to neutrality.

1429 July 4                   Joan sends letter to the city of Troyes as her army approaches.

1429 July 5-9                 Joan of Arc besieges the city of Troyes.

1429 July 9                   Troyes surrenders just as Joan is about to conduct full assault.

1429 July 14                 Chalons-sur-Marne surrenders as Joan approaches the city.

1429 July 16                 Reims opens its gates to Joan of Arc and Charles VII.

1429 July 17                 Sends letter to Duke of Burgundy inviting him to unite with Charles VII.

1429 July 17                 Charles VII is crowned King at the great Cathedral of Reims with
                                      Saint Joan of Arc standing beside him with her banner.

1429 July 21                 Joan with Charles VII and Army begin meandering journey toward                                                 Paris.

1429 July 23                 Soissons liberated by Joan and her army.

1429 July 29                 Château-Thierry liberated.

1429 August 5             Joan sends letter to the people of Reims.

1429 August 15           Joan of Arc fights minor engagement with English and Duke of Bedford                                         at Montépilloy.

1429 August 22           Joan sends letter responding to the Count of Armagnac.

1429 August 25           Joan arrives with Alencon at St. Denis to survey the Paris defenses.

1429 August 28           Charles VII formally ratifies another worthless treaty with Burgundy.

1429 September 8       Assault on Paris begins. Joan of Arc is wounded when a bolt from a
                                      crossbow hits her in the thigh near dusk. She refused to quit urging
                                      her soldiers to continue the attack. Against her orders she was carried
                                      from the battlefield and the assault ended.

1429 September 9       Joan plans to resume offensive but Charles intervenes and orders the
                                      army to withdraw.

1429 September 21     After marching back to Gien-sur-Loire Charles VII disbands the army.

1429 November 4       With smaller army Joan of Arc captures the town of Saint-Pierre-le-                                                   Moûtier.

1429 November 9       Joan sends letter to the people of Riom.

1429 Late Novem       Joan of Arc begins siege of La Charité-sur-Loire.

1429 December 25     Siege of La Charité-sur-Loire fails and Joan returns to Jargeau for
                                      Christmas.

1429 December 29               Joan and her family elevated to nobility and given the name du Lys.

1430 Jan-March         Joan stays with Charles at his court as an unwilling but honored guest.

1430 March 16           Joan sends letter to the people of Reims.

1430 March 28           Joan sends her final letter to the people of Reims.

1430 March 29           Joan leaves the court at Sully to join French fighting at Lagny.

1430 April                   Joan prays for dead child at Lagny that makes miraculous recovery.

1430 April 17 ?           Joan of Arc liberates the town of Melun.

1430 May 15               Joan of Arc goes to the aid of the town of Compiègne

1430 May 23               Captured by Burgundians when the drawbridge at Compiègne is raised.

1430 May-Nov           Joan of Arc remains a prisoner of the Burgundians at Beaurevior.

1430 October ?           Joan attempts to escape by leaping from the tower where she is held.
                                      She survives the 60 foot fall but is re-captured.

1430 Mid-Nov           Joan is sold to the English by the Duke of Burgundy for ten thousand
                                      francs.

1430 December 25     Arrives in Rouen for her trial orchestrated by the English to kill her
                                      and destroy her reputation with the ultimate goal of making her
                                      crowning of Charles VII illegitimate.

1431 Jan-Feb               Held in prison cell shackled to bed while pro-English clergy made
                                      preparations for her trial.

1431 February 21       Joan makes her first appearance in Cauchon's court before about 70
                                      hand-picked members of the clergy. Joan cooperates but shows her
                                      resolve by refusing to swear she will answer all that they ask.

1431 March 1             Joan makes ominous prediction in court that "Before seven years
                                      the English will lose a greater prize than they did before Orleans."


1431 March 10           Cauchon re-convenes in Joan's cell away from public view with his
                                      most ruthless judges.

1431 March 27           Joan of Arc is read the seventy articles of accusation against her that
                                      Cauchon was able to concoct from her testimony.

1431 April 1               Joan became very ill after eating some fish given to her by Cauchon.


1431 May 9                 Joan threatened with torture unless she denied her Voices and submits
                                      herself to the authority of the clergy present. She refuses and screams
                                      that she will retract anything they make her say.

1431 May 24               Joan is taken to the cemetery of St. Ouen where they threaten to burn
                                      her if she does not abjure. She finally agrees after they promise to take
                                      her to a Church prison.

1431 May 27               After being taken back to her prison cell she is trapped by English
                                      soldiers into wearing her old clothes that she agreed not to wear.
                                      When the clergy found her they said she had relapsed.

1431 May 30               Joan of Arc pronounced a relapsed heretic and burned in Rouen's
                                      square by English soldiers. Her last words were "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus."

1450 Early                   After Rouen is liberated Charles VII decides it is time to restore
                                      Joan's name (and remove any taint of heresy from his crown) so
                                      he requests that the Church launch a Trial of Nullification

1456 July 7                   After investigating Joan of Arc's life and the transcripts of her trial
                                      at Rouen for six years, the Church overturned Joan's conviction. In the
                                      Church's ruling, Joan is declared a martyr who was wrongly executed by
                                      corrupt partisan clergy abusing a Church trial for secular purposes.

1909 April 18               Saint Joan of Arc officially beatified by Pope Pius X.

1920 May 16                 Saint Joan of Arc officially canonized by Pope Benedict XV.