ABSTRACT
Joan of Arc emerged from obscurity to lead the French army to victory during the Hundred Years War. Joan of Arc's memory fueled popular legend and inspired the works of later artists such as William Shakespeare, Voltaire, Mark Twain, and Peter Tchaikovsky. Joan of Arc's leadership of the French army in a time of military crisis is considered by historians to be the turning point in the Hundred Years War. The war had been fought almost entirely on French soil and, by the beginning of the fifteenth century, domestic turmoil threatened to bring final defeat to France. The English, whose motives for war included claims upon French territory and the French throne, were on the verge of destroying the last stronghold of resistance when they besieged the strategic city. Joan of Arc also had significant impact in religious matters. Church leaders were impressed by Joan of Arc's actions—among them the expulsion of blasphemers and prostitutes from her army.
