What did Joan of Arc look like? With history documentary | Royalty Now

hello everyone and welcome back to royalty now where we bring you face to face with figures from the past Joan of Arc is an almost mythical figure she's become a symbol of French Freedom Leading Men into battle and crowning Kings all before the age of 20 after we talk about her history we'll get you closer to Jon of Arc than ever before by revealing our Recreations of what she may have looked like so let's go ahead and get started Jonah Arc was born around 1412 in what is now Domi France to her mother Isabelle H

and her father Jack dark her father was a landowning farmer and Village official and her mother was responsible for her family's education Isabelle would teach her children about bravery and deep piety it said that her mother's last name Rome had been earned by taking a long pilgrimage on foot from fr France to Rome and the Vatican City this dedication would be passed on to Joan and from a very early age she was passionately religious and her faith would only grow as she got older now to call France in the early 15th century an unstable place

to live would be a massive understatement at the time of Jon's birth War had been raging in Europe for almost a century there was not anyone alive that had known a time of Peace what is now called the Hundred Years War began in 1337 when the English king Edward III illegitimately laid claim to his Uncle Charles IV's French throne and named himself the king of France the ensuing War would go on to devastate France and began a dreadful period in human history Edward III would invade and burn everything in his path with hired mercenaries killing

stealing and attacking women in every village they invaded But the true horror hit Europe in 1347 when the black death caused by bacteria that spread through fleas began to ravage major cities indiscriminately by the end of 1353 the black death would become the most fatal pandemic in human history killing almost half of Europe's population the the area in which Joan was born still encountered deadly outbreaks every few decades the following years would see the Hundred Years War continue to rage intermittently with England striking blow after blow to the French the misery of this conflict began

to sew deep division within the French with some wanting desperately to end the war and some wanting desperately to get revenge on the English these divisions would deepen for the rest of the 14th century and in 1415 the English King Henry V took advantage of the situation seeing a chance to end the war once and for all he would invade France hoping to conquer it entirely only a few months later on October 15th 1415 at the Battle of aenor the French suffered a catastrophic defeat according to one historian the French death roll read like a

roll call of military and political leaders and led to entire families of nobility being wiped out this battle would lead the French King Charles I 6 to suffer a mental collapse his Queen Isabelle of Bavaria and his uncle John The Fearless knew a deal had to be struck on the 21st of May 1420 they signed the Treaty of tuah with the English king the treaty disinherited the son of Charles I 6 and instead promised to join dynasties with the English king in hopes of finally ending the 100 Years War for those that were able to

live through this harrowing period of war and plague death had become such a common thing and happened to so many people around them that just being alive and being able to have a family was a blessing in itself somehow the town of DW where Joan lived had remained relatively peaceful during the Decades of the war tucked away on the Eastern border of France but in 1425 England invaded dami and took its Castle Joan was just 13 at the time and she was terrified of what the English and their mercenaries would do to her she had

heard story after Story of their cruelty she ran into her Garden in fear and heard the church bells ringing it was at this moment that her life changed forever she would later testify in court that when those church bells rang that day an angel who she recognized as St Michael appeared in her Garden in all his awesome Glory according to Joan St Michael seen as a defender of Domi made Joan swear to remain a virgin and defend France still just a young girl scared for her life she pleaded to the angel to take her with

him she felt she could no longer bear the burden of the war that had ravaged her country for so long when St Michael disappeared without her she wept bitterly but then she remembered that when she was a child a prophecy had spread around France that an armed virgin carrying the banner of France had been foretold to end their country's suffering it was here that Joan the child became Joan the maiden and she was determined to keep her vow by 1428 most of Northern and parts of Southwest France had fallen to the English Conquest including Paris

and most notably the city of clim where French Kings were traditionally crowned in July of that same year the English began to march on oron which was essentially their final obstacle its location was at a strategic choke point the gateway to central France if oron fell the English would have free reign to assault the rest of Charles I 6 territory the siege of oron would begin on the 12th of October and everyone involved knew the stakes now many in France including Joan still firmly believed that Charles the Doon of France should be their next king

this is the son of the Mad King who had been disinherited by the Treaty of TWA in 1420 Joan was still in doni and had been trying to continue her normal life since her first Vision in 1425 over the next 3 years she continued to hear voices intermittently which told her she was destined to save France but they hadn't given her any Specific Instructions however in 1428 her Visions turned into explicit instructions telling Joan she must leave her Village immediately and find the Doon the rightful heir to to France Guided by these Visions Joan and

her uncle would travel to vuku the location of a French Garrison it was here that a 17-year-old girl claiming religious Visions stood in front of the French soldiers and requested an armed escort to the armanac court where the Doan was currently Gathering support she was essentially laughed out of the room Joan would be sent back to doni she had no real plan for how to convince the people in power to help her help them however her faith wasn't shaken the Visions had told her that she would see Charles crowned and she believed them earnestly not

long after she arrived back home her Village was once again raided by Anglo Burgundian forces crops were destroyed and the soldiers had set fire to the town in the wake of the destruction Joan and her family were forced to flee to survive returning to vul Joan was adamant telling them that she was the savior of France and demanding to be taken to the Doan once again she was refused but this time something about her determination struck the soldiers and some of the French noblemen they could tell tell that she wholeheartedly believed what she was telling

them and they grew to believe her as well in February of 1429 The Garrison Commander Robert deodor hearing of Jan's growing support finally agreed to meet with her no one knows what she said to him during this meeting but it only took this one conversation for him to be convinced he immediately sent Joan with an escort of six soldiers to the armanac court in chinon according to Legend when she arrived in chenon the Doan was hidden amongst his men for security Joan who had never seen him before walked directly up to him bent down on

one knee and pledged allegiance to her rightful King Joan would tell Charles that God recognized him as the true king and that she was here to lead him to Victory and Crown Him King Charles iith this meeting naturally left a huge impression on Charles but he wanted to be sure that she was the Savior that she claimed to be he wanted Joan to prove that she was sent by God Joan simply replied it will be given if you send me to oron Charles would commission a plate of armor made specially for Joan and did just

as she requested on April 29th 1429 Joan arrived in oron the story of the Armed virgin claiming to be the savior of France had already spread far and wide and when Joan entered the city she was greeted by cheering crowds but she wasn't just a figurehead raising morale she was also determined to win the solders respect wherever the fighting was the worst Joan was there on the front lines fighting with them even the commanders began to listen to her letting her give them advice on when and where to attack remember this is a young woman

who had been raised to spin cloth tend sheep and attend Mass she had no combat experience but she had an unshakable belief in a unified France on May 4th the armac Army decided to go on the offensive attacking the English forces headon like many times before the English army simply began to drive them back a retreat was called and the French were on the verge of yet another loss but just as this Retreat began there was Joan the maiden sword in hand the sight of her reminded them that God was on their side the French

turned around and attacked again and this time they succeeded the very next day Jones sent the English a letter warning them to leave France immediately the English refused to listen but the armagnacs had hope that they hadn't felt in years they were so inspired by their recent victory that they attacked yet again with Joan by their side and it finally started a much needed winning streak on May 6th the French captured the town of St Jean LeBlanc and Joan convinced them to just keep on going the very next day they marched on leel the main

English stronghold Joan was feeling Unstoppable holding her banner up high she watched as the French forces overran the stronghold and saw the English beginning to retreat but at that very moment she was shot in the neck an arrow in the neck was almost always a fatal injury but not for Joan she stayed on the battlefield to watch the French achieve their Victory and miraculously the arrow that she had taken in the neck turned out only to be a minor wound send me to oron and proof of my claim will be given on May 8th the

siege of oron was abandoned by the English only 9 days after Joan had arrived France was saved [Music] the sign was undeniable and Joan had proven herself to everyone over the next 2 months Joan's confidence in her Mission and aggressive attitude towards the English would Inspire France's forces to Victory after Victory on July 16th 1429 CLM opened its gates to the French forces led by Joan the very next morning Joan stood next to the Doon and watched as Charles was crowned King of France Joan the maiden impossible as it may have seemed had actually fulfilled

a promise that she had made to God during her Mission she had transformed herself from a girl in a small village to one of the most influential and inspirational people in France now she was determined to defeat the English outright and free her country from their threat once and for all the armanac Army would take two weeks to celebrate Charles coronation but then they began their march across France once again as they marched they were almost suspiciously met with nearly zero opposition from either the English or the French faction allied with them called the burgundians

in September Janes forces arrived in Paris and began their assault expecting an easy Victory but this time the enemy was ready right from the start things began to go wrong early in the battle Joan was shot in the leg and trapped in a trench near the city walls still she refused to be taken off the front lines staying with the men who were still fighting for their lives by the end of the day500 armagnacs had died to no avail the next morning Charles would call off the attack to the outrage of Joan now now many

of the people in Charles Court were beginning to see Joan as a liability although she had become very popular she was seen as too aggressive too independent and too selfish to be trusted although he was hesitant at first Charles slowly began to see that her influence was getting in the way of peace with England and the burgundians but he still recognized that Joan had been an inspiration to his troops and was a major reason why he had taken back his crown from the English in the first place as a thank you Charles would raise Joan

and her family to French nobility but after this it became evident that the French Court no longer had need for her Charles iith began peace talks with the burgundians and agreed on a truce that would last until Easter of 1430 Joan was noticeably absent from the negotiations she was convinced that only aggression against the burgundians would keep the English at Bay and on May 23rd 1430 she attacked a Burgundian Camp outside of a city called comp but her forces were overwhelmed in an ambush and she was captured although allied with the English the burgundians knew

how valuable Joan was as a hostage and they would only release her to the English for the Steep Ransom of 10,000 lus knowing that Joan had become an un stoppable figurehead for the armagnacs the source of all of their hope the English were happy to pay the price Joan was transferred into English custody in November of 1430 the English knew that they had to get rid of her but they needed charges so they began interrogations for heresy and essentially witchcraft over the course of many weeks of questioning Joan admitted to hearing voices but she was

steadfast saying they came from God the same God that the English worshiped and not the devil she was also accused of wearing men's clothing which was considered against the natural order set by God at her trial Joan had to respond to over 70 charges against her it was of course not a fair proceeding nearly all of those responsible for her verdict were pro- English or Pro Burgundian facing the threat of immediate execution by burning the terrified Joan signed an abjuration essentially admitting to her supposed crimes she would henceforth be banned from wearing men's clothes or

bearing arms ever again and would remain in prison if she were ever found to have relapsed as a heretic her punishment would be severe she was returned to prison and kept in horrible conditions but most of all Joan was wrecked by guilt she had renounced the one thing that she believed in her Visions from God over the next 7 days she regained her courage and once again Dawning male attire she withdrew her confession on May 30th 1431 Joan was told that she faced a heretic's execution she was taken to the Public Square and publicly read

her sentence of condemnation before her hands were tied up she pleaded for a cross to hold an English Soldier moved by her words quickly handed her a small wooden crucifix in her final moments Joan aged only 19 kissed the cross and placed it on her chest although she was not alive to see it Jon of Arc undoubtedly changed France's fate in the Hundred Years War the English would never again regain their momentum and in 1453 the French finally expelled the English with a victory at the Battle of Cason fulfilling joon's promise of unified France nearly

20 years after her death Charles iith ordered an inquiry into the trial of Joan of Arc and at a restoration trial her guilty verdict was overturned Joan has gone on to become a powerful symbol for Unity in France in 1920 she was canonized as a saint and has inspired millions of women with her confidence and self-belief Janes life is a true Testament that we are all created equal and can all rise to the greatness within us so let's talk about Jones appearance and reveal our Recreations what Joan really looked like is almost entire l a

mystery in fact this doodle in the margins of French parliamentary notes is the only image that exists from her lifetime and was sketched by someone who had not even seen her in person there is also this statue head from a church in oron the Statue dates to the 15th century and given joon's association with the city and The Feminine appearance this led historians to believe this might be a depiction of her or perhaps the image of a saint using Joan herself as as a model however in more recent years this has been nearly debunked and

it's now believed to belong to a full statue of St George the statue head was clearly an influence for this fulllength statue of Jon of AR in theem Cathedral created in 1910 so this kind of template is still strongly associated with her appearance luckily we do have quite a few physical descriptions to guide us with a possible reconstruction we know that she was short probably around 52 and very muscular with a strong thick neck multiple accounts say she had really dark hair and she cropped it short with bangs similar to the men's hairstyles at the

time her eyes were described as large dark and Grave and matched her skin tone which was tan and usually sunburned from her time Outdoors she also had a small red birth mark visible behind one of her ears in 1844 a letter was discovered written by Joan in 1429 within the wax seal was a single black hair pressed in by the tip of a finger it is believed that this may have been the fingerprint and hair of Joan herself stemming from a custom where a letter writer would pluck a hair from their head to guarantee authenticity

the letter Still Remains but sadly the seal has since been lost peral de banier wrote a long account about Joan to his King Charles II he said the maid is of satisfying Grace and in her conversation displays wondrous good scent her voice has a womanly charm she eats little and delights in beautiful horses and armor and greatly admires armed and Noble men she sheds tears freely her expression is cheerful and she has a great capacity for work of such endurance is her handling and bearing of arms that she remained for 6 days and nights in

full armor so in terms of the recreation this is mostly an artistic depiction but I've used contemporary descriptions of Joan as well as some influence from the statue head to bring you what she might have looked like so let's take a look at Joan of Arc now [Music] h [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Applause] thank you so much for watching and we'll see you all for the next video [Music] [Music]