2 Chapter 1 A Hundred Years of War

CHAPTER 1 A Hundred Years of War Joan of Arc was born in the village of Domrémy, France. It is believed that her birthday is January 6, 1412, but there is no official record. Her family called her Jehanne, but she eventually came to be known by the English form of her name: Joan. Joan's father was Jacques d'Arc. Her mother was named Isabelle. Joan had three older brothers, Jacquemin, Jean, and Pierre, and a sister, Catherine. As a girl in Domrémy, Joan was taught to sew and spin wool into yarn. Joan, her brothers, and her sister carried water from the village well to the house, and they helped care for the family's cattle and sheep. Like many of the other children in the village, she never learned to read or write. She dressed

like an ordinary country girl of the time, in a simple dark red dress. In the woods outside her village stood an old beech tree that was said to have once been the meeting spot for a fairy and the

man she loved. Villagers called it the fairy tree. In springtime, boys and girls hung flowers there and danced. They said the stream nearby was magic and could cure illness. Whatever magic beliefs there were in Domrémy, the official religion was Roman Catholic—the people were Christians. Joan was a good Catholic. She prayed every day and went to church every Sunday.

Life in Domrémy should have been peaceful, but the country was torn apart by war. In 1420, when Joan was eight, the French king, Charles VI, signed an agreement with England's King Henry V. It said that Henry's son—who was Charles's grandson—would rule both France and England. Many French people felt betrayed by the treaty. They did not want an English king—even one

who was part French—to rule them. They believed their true king was Charles VI's own son Charles, whom they called the dauphin (say: doe-FAN). But not all French people liked the dauphin. Some wanted to be ruled by the English king. When Charles VI died in 1422, everyone fought over who was the true king. Growing up, Joan saw many boys from Domrémy fight with boys from the neighboring towns over who should win the war and who should rule France.

Hundred Years' War In 1328, Charles IV, the king of France, died without any children to inherit his crown. The empty throne soon became a prize to fight over. The English king, Edward III, claimed that he should rule France because he was the nephew of the dead king. But the French chose a cousin of Charles instead. England declared war on France, and the two countries would continue to fight on and off for decades. The Hundred Years' War, as it was called, lasted from 1337 to 1453.