Why is Joan of Arc important to French history / culture?

Answer 1

Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc) was a peasant girl who galvanized the demoralized French forces during The Hundred Years' War.

Her time in the spotlight was very short--only two years--but over 500 years after the fact she still stands as a symbol of many things: patriotism, heroism, and, perhaps most importantly, the power of ONE person with the courage of her (or his) convictions.

Face it, Joan had a lot of strikes against her: she was a woman, she was a commoner, and certainly was stepping way outside the boundaries set for a person of her time and class.

What she DID have, though, was the courage of her convictions. She was also tenacious and didn't give up when her early efforts to carry out her mission failed.

By her very persistence--face it, how likely was the daughter of a farmer to obtain an audience with the prince of France?--and firm belief in what she felt she had to do, Joan of Arc was able to inspire an army. A nation, too.

Her death gave a focal point that inspired the war-weary French (remember, this WAS The Hundred Years War, and all of it was fought on French soil, not English) to take the offensive and, eventually, drive out the English.

She is the French national heroine, and Thomas Paine paid tribute to her in his pamphlet "Common Sense" by expressing the desire that some "Jersey Maid" would rise up, as did Joan, and inspire her countrymen to fight the British.

Answer 2

Joan attempted to disrupt the Burgundian/English alliance which would have controlled all of France. Her victories were few and her time of influence was short, however, her story captured the imagination of the entire Latin world. After her death, the Burgundian/English alliance collapsed and eventually Burgundy was ruled by the French while the English were eventually driven out of the lands they controlled on the continent.

Answer 3

because 1- she was the first and only female military leader in history of man kind who lead battles for freedom. and
2- she played a big role at fighting the English out of France and destroying their grip on France.

Answer 4

she was a really good military leader who helped france a lot