Joan Captured at Compiègne: France's Heroine Falls
Burgundian forces captured Joan of Arc during a sortie outside the besieged city of Compiegne on May 23, 1430. Joan was unhorsed and pulled from her mount by an archer, possibly after the garrison commander raised the drawbridge prematurely, cutting off her retreat. The Burgundians sold her to their English allies for 10,000 livres. Charles VII, whom Joan had personally escorted to his coronation at Reims, made no attempt to ransom or rescue her. She was tried by a pro-English ecclesiastical court in Rouen on charges of heresy and cross-dressing. After a five-month trial, she was convicted and burned at the stake on May 30, 1431, at age 19. The Church reversed the verdict in 1456 and canonized her in 1920.
May 23, 1430
596 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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