In 1424, when she was 13, Jeanne d'Arc "… heard a voice from God to help me govern my conduct. And the first time I was very much afraid. And this voice came, about the hour of noon, in the summer time, in my father's garden." Identifying himself as the Archangel Michael; the voice told Jeanne that she was to behave modestly, to attend church regularly … and to assist the Dauphin of France in regaining his rightful throne.

This would have been a daunting task for anyone, let alone a young peasant girl. At this time the Dauphin was holed up in the City of Bourges, surrounded by hostile forces. The English mocked him as the "King of Bourges," while his own people referred to him as "le Falot (the jester)" for his awkward and unassuming appearance. Jeanne grew increasingly religious, attending confession frequently and spending much of her free time praying in church. Still, she resisted the call to aid the Dauphin until 1428, when she came to Vaucouleurs to present herself before local commander Robert de Baudricourt. To distinguish herself from the prostitutes who flocked around armies, she referred to herself as "La Pucelle (the Virgin)," an appelation by which she would soon become famous throughout the region.

At first her efforts to speak with the Dauphin proved unsuccessful. When she finally succeeded in gaining an audience with Baudricourt, she told him of a disastrous French defeat before word had been brought to him. Impressed with her gift of prophecy and quiet sincerity … and besieged and nearly defeated … Baudricourt granted her a horse and an escort. To further protect her chastity, she dressed in the tunic and greaves of a peasant man, the garb which she would wear throughout the remainder of her brief life. Arriving in Chinon, she was brought before the Dauphin. "Noble Lord Dauphin, I have come and am sent in the name of God, to bring aid to yourself and to the kingdom," she said. First, she said, the Dauphin was to travel to Orleans to break the English siege: from there he was to go to Rheims for his anointing and coronation as King of France. She also dictated a letter to be sent to the King of England, informing him that she had been sent by God to "push him out of France" and urging him to join forces with the French in a crusade against Hussite heretics. The most learned theologians questioned her for weeks… but were left baffled by her simple wisdom and awed by her piety. Finally an army was organized to march to Orleans.

At first the soldiers were as baffled by the Maiden as the theologians had been. She chastized them for looting civilian property, gambling, swearing, and cavorting with prostitutes; she also demanded they partake regularly of the Sacraments. And yet even the most battle-hardened soldier could not help but be impressed by her sincerity. Marching behind her banner, they were able to break the English siege at Orleans on May 6, 1429; by July 14 they had taken Rheims and Charles the Dauphin was anointed Charles VII, King of France. The angel had not lied to young Jeanne.

Nor had the angel lied when he told her she would be betrayed. Captured on June 23, 1430, she was later placed on trial for heresy. Despite numerous statements from Church fathers allowing women to dress in men's clothing to protect their chastity, she was charged with "cross-dressing." Although the Pope had already proclaimed a crusade against the Hussites, she was charged with usurping Papal authority by calling for a crusade against the heretics. From the beginning her guilt was a foregone conclusion; no one was surprised when she was condemned to the stake and executed on May 30, 1431.

While the Dauphin had done little to save Jeanne, he made efforts to rehabilitate her memory after reconquering Normandy in 1449. It is unclear whether he did this out of affection for the Maiden or out of self-interest: he had received his anointing as king from Jeanne, and if she were a heretic it called the validity of his coronation into question. Much as the original trial had been handled by pro-English clergymen, the "rehabilitiation" was controlled by pro-French and pro-Jeanne factions. Nobody was surprised to find Jeanne rehabilitated; the heretic and madwoman had now become one of France's most beloved figures. For centuries she was revered as a holy woman in France, at last, in 1920, the Catholic Church which had once condemned her added her to the canon of saints.