Joan of Arc (painted about fifty years after she was killed)
Joan of Arc and Henry V of England are the people most people remember best from the Hundred Years’ War. Joan’s life was so exciting!
Imagine that you’re Joan – a twelve year old girl, living quietly at home on a farm, and you begin to hear voices inside your head. These voices keep telling you that God wants you to go help the King fight against the English invaders who are attacking your country. By the time you are sixteen years old, the voices are getting more and more insistent – Now! they clamor. NOW!
What do you do? Write a letter from Joan to her parents, or act out the scene where Joan talks to her parents about her voices. What would you do if you were her parents? What would you do if you were the King? If a girl like Joan lived today, what do you think would happen to her? Would that be better or worse than what happened to Joan?
Hundred Years’ War
The Wars of the Roses
Henry IV in France
Bibliography and further reading about Joan of Arc:
