Scott Alexander (author/host)

after which she ordered that none of the prisoners be executed, and wept since so many of the English had died without confessing their sins, and so she made sure that on the next day, the Feast of the Ascension, all the French troops took confession and avoided sinning.

It is after this skirmish that, quote, a valiant and notable knight, end quote, whose name our source politely avoids mentioning, suggests that maybe they should stop pushing their luck and call this good enough.

You have been at your council and I at mine, and know that my lord's council will be accomplished and will prevail, and that that other council will perish, said Joan, and goes onwards to the next attack.

Here's a picture of a battle.

It shows a battle happening around a fort, with a lot of dead soldiers lying around and a big clamouring clash happening at the gates.

Joan of Arc is standing in the centre, rallying troops with a flag of sorts tied to a spear.

The caption reads, This set the tone for the rest of the siege.

Rapid French assaults on the English fortifications, each independently as Joan's visions directed her.

with the maids' fanatical charisma to keep morale up.

At the next major bastion, the English repelled the French until Joan managed to get the fleeting French to turn and make another attack, which actually succeeded.

At the next, Joan was wounded, holding a scaling ladder, and the attack faltered, but she returned to it and succeeded.

At the next, she bore her banner again, and at the next, most of the English defending the fortification died when the bridge they fled over broke under them.

The English responded by giving up their siege and risking all on a pitched battle.

The French could attack each fort in turn and so destroy them in detail, and seeing this the remaining English soldiers burned their forts and withdrew all their companies together into a single formation, planted their stakes and offered battle on the open field.

Footnote, the English longbowmen carried long wooden stakes with them that they'd plant into the earth before a battle to defend them from charging cavalry.

This time, the opinion of the Armagnac captains was for war, but Joan said no, it was Sunday, they should respect the Lord's day and not shed blood on it.

The English withdrew, and Joan was a legend.

She was a legend in France, where a leading poetess came out of retirement to pen a new poem in celebration of her great victory.

She was a legend in England, where the regent, Bedford, roached to the young king to update him about the new danger from that, quote, disciple and lime of the fiend, called the pucelle, that used fey and chantement and sorcery, end quote.

Footnote.