In the early 1400s, France was losing badly to England in the Hundred Years’ War. Then a 17-year-old farm girl named Joan of Arc walked into the French royal court, said God had told her to save France, and somehow convinced the future king to give her armor, a horse and an army.
Even more amazingly, it worked. In 1429 she helped lift the English siege of the city of Orléans in just nine days. Her victory shocked France and Europe. With Joan riding at the front, the French army won battle after battle, and her king was crowned that same year.
The next year, Joan was captured by enemies and put on trial for unfair charges. She was burned at the stake in 1431, only 19 years old. Centuries later, France realized the trial had been a sham. In 1920 - almost 500 years after she died - the Catholic Church declared her a saint.
