The fortunes of the Dauphin were at a low point, Brittany had capitulated to the English, Maine had been conquered, and now Orleans was under threat. The collapse of Charles’ cause seemed imminent, but he would receive a second wind when a peasant girl named Joan arrived at his court claiming to be sent by God.
Time Period Covered: 1429
Notable People: Joan of Arc, Charles VII, Yolande of Aragon, The Bastard of Orleans, La Hire, Poton de Xaintrailles, John II of Alencon, Robert de Baudricourt
Notable Events/Developments: The Battle of the Herrings, Rise of Joan of Arc, Relief of Orleans
Left: Joan of Arc enters Orleans. Painted by Jean-Jacques Scherrer in 1887. Right: A map of the Siege of Orleans. Joan entered Orleans from the East where the approaches were only guarded by the isolated Bastille of Saint-Loup.
Sources
Joan of Arc: A History by Helen Castor
The Virgin Warrior: The Life and Death of Joan of Arc by Larissa Juliet Taylor
Joan of Arc: Her Story by Regine Pernoud and Marie-Veronique Clin
Joan of Arc: A Military Leader by Kelly DeVries
Joan of Arc: La Pucelle Translated and Annotated by Craig Taylor
Conquest: The English Kingdom of France by Juliet Barker
The Hundred Years War: Triumph and Illusion by Jonathan Sumption
Charles VII by Malcolm Vale
The Chronicles of Enguerrand De Monstrelet
The Hundred Years War by Robin Neillands
Grand Dukes of the West 