. Mediæval and modern history . eful butas unjust to the Dauphin Charles, whowas thereby disinherited, and they ac-cordingly refused to be bound by itsprovisions. Consequently, when thepoor insane king died, the terms ofthe treaty could not be carried out infull, and the war dragged on. Theparty that stood by their native prince,afterwards crowned as Charles VII,were at last reduced to most desperatestraits. The greater part of the coun-try was in the hands of the English, who were holding in closesiege the important city of Orleans. But the darkness was the deep gloom that precedes the
. Mediæval and modern history . eful butas unjust to the Dauphin Charles, whowas thereby disinherited, and they ac-cordingly refused to be bound by itsprovisions. Consequently, when thepoor insane king died, the terms ofthe treaty could not be carried out infull, and the war dragged on. Theparty that stood by their native prince,afterwards crowned as Charles VII,were at last reduced to most desperatestraits. The greater part of the coun-try was in the hands of the English, who were holding in closesiege the important city of Orleans. But the darkness was the deep gloom that precedes the better day was about to rise over the distressed country. Re-ligious enthusiasm was to accomplish what patriotism alone couldnot do. A strange deliverer now appears,—the famous Joan ofArc. This young peasant girl, with soul sensitive to impressionsfrom brooding over her countrys wrongs and sufferings, sawvisions and heard voices which bade her undertake the work ofdelivering France. She was obedient unto the heavenly Fig. 39. Joan of Arc We have no authentic likeness ofJoan of Arc. The above must beregarded as an idealized portrait 1 The Treaty of Troyes, 1420, §200] EFFECTS ON ENGLAND OF THE WAR 191 Rejected by some, yet received by most of her countrymenas a messenger from Heaven, the maiden kindled throughout theland a flame of enthusiasm that nothing could resist. Inspiringthe dispirited French soldiers with new courage, she forced theEnglish to raise the siege of Orleans (from which exploit she be-came known as the Maid of Orleans) and speedily brought aboutthe coronation of Prince Charles at Rheims (1429). Shortlyafterward she fell into the hands of the English, was tried byecclesiastical judges for witchcraft and heresy, and was condemnedto be burned as a heretic and a witch. Her martyrdom took placeat Rouen in the year 1431. But the spirit of the Maid had already taken possession of theFrench nation. From this on, the war, though long continued,went steadi
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