Joan of Arc
...ld she began to hear voices and to be visited by the patron saints of France. At first these voices only exhorted her to pray often and to attend church. After a year or two they started to tell her that it was her divine mission to free her country from the English and to help the dauphin of France gain the throne. They told her to cut her hair and to dress herself in men’s uniform. The dauphin of France, Charles VII, had to be coronated at the Reims by tradition, but at that time Reims was held by the English, with their own hopes of crowning Henry VI. Joan left her home town without telling her parents and managed to get to the dauphin. She convinced the captain of the dauphin’s forces and then the dauphin himself that it was her mission to free France. She was given troops to command and the rang of captain. She had the best generals of the land, following her commands. At the battle of Orleans, Joan led the troops to a miraculous victory over the English. This was her first necessary step to reaching Reims. She continued fighting the enemy in other locations. From there it seemed that Joan could do no wrong in battle until she reached Reims and the King was coronated. The King was saved, so France was saved too. Later this year Joan had an unsuccessful attempt to capure Paris. Six months later Joan was taken prisoner wh...