Trial of Joan of Arc
| Part of the Hundred Years' War | |
Joan of Arc is interrogated by The Cardinal of Winchester in her prison, 1431. Painting by Paul Delaroche (1797–1856), Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen. | |
| Native name | Jeanne d'Arc |
|---|---|
| Date | 9 January – 29 May 1431 |
| Duration | Four and a half months |
| Location | Rouen, Normandy, France |
| Cause | English defeat at Compiègne |
| Outcome | Guilty |
| Convicted | Yes |
| Charges | Heresy |
| Verdict | Joan of Arc found guilty of heresy |
| Sentence | Death by burning |
The trial of Joan of Arc, a French military leader under Charles VII during the Hundred Years' War, began on 9 January 1431 and ended with her execution on 30 May. The trial is one of the most famous in history, becoming the subject of many books and films.
Joan was captured during the siege of Compiègne in 1430 by Burgundian forces and subsequently sold to their English allies. She was prosecuted by a pro-English ecclesiastical court at Rouen in 1431. The court found her guilty of heresy and she was burned at the stake. The verdict was later nullified at a rehabilitation trial, which was overseen by the inquisitor general Jean Bréhal in 1456. Considered a French national heroine, Joan was declared a saint by the Catholic Church in 1920.