Joan of Arc, Maid of Orleans, was born in the forest of Greux, upon the
Meuse, in the village of Domremy, in Lorraine, in the year 1412. At this
time France was divided into two factions--the Burgundians and the
Armagnacs--the former of whom favored the English cause, and the latter
pledged to the cause of their country.
Joan was the daughter of simple villagers. She was brought up
religiously, and from her earliest youth is said to have seen visions
and dreamed dreams; the one great dream of her life was, however, the
deliverance of her country from foreign invasions and domestic broils.
When only about thirteen years of age, she announced to the astonished
townspeople that she had a mission, and that she meant to fulfill it.
The disasters of the war reached Joan's home; a party of Burgundians
dashed into Domremy, and the Armagnacs fled before them. Joan's family
took refuge in the town of Neufchateau, and she paid for their lodging
at an inn by helping the mistress of the house.
Here, in a more public place, it was soon seen and wondered at that such
a young girl was so much interested in the war. Her parents were already
angry that she would not marry. They began to be frightened now. Jacques
D'Arc told one of his sons that sooner than let Joan go to the camp he
would drown her with his own hands. She could not, however, be kept
back. Very cautiously, and as though afraid to speak of such high
things, she began to let fall hints of what she saw.
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