On this day in 1429, Joan of Arc led the French forces against the English and relieved the siege of Orléans.
The siege of Orléans occurred during the Hundred Years’ War, an inheritance dispute over the French throne between the ruling houses of France and England. The conflict had begun in 1337 when England’s King Edward III decided to press his claim to the French throne, a claim based on his status as the son of Isabella of France and thus of the contested French royal line.
Following a decisive victory at Agincourt in 1415, the English gained the upper hand in the conflict, occupying much of northern France. Orléans, situated on the Loire River, was seen as the key, whose capture would open up Central France to conquest by the English and their Burgundian allies. The English armies surrounded Orléans intending to starve the city into submission.
Joan of Arc, a young peasant girl, believed she was divinely ordained to rescue the Dauphin Charles and deliver him to his coronation at Reims. She persuaded the Dauphin and French leaders to let her lead the French army to relieve Orléans.
On the morning of May 7, she led the French assault on Boulevart-Tourelles, an English redoubt at the southern end of the bridge over the Loire. Early in the morning, Joan was struck down while standing in the trench to the south of Les Tourelles, by a longbow arrow between the neck and left shoulder and was hurriedly taken away. Further assaults against Les Tourelles during the day were beaten back.
As evening was approaching, Joan went off for a period of quiet prayer, then returned to the area south of Les Tourelles, telling the troops that when her banner touched the fortress wall the place would be theirs. When one soldier shouted “It’s touching! (the wall)”, Joan replied “Tout est vostre – et y entrez!” (“All is yours, – go in!”). The French soldiery rushed in, swarming up the ladders into the fortification and forcing the English out.
The battle was a turning point in the war and the Dauphin Charles, with Joan at his side, was finally consecrated as King Charles VII of France on 17 July 1429.
Jeanne d’Arc at the Siege of Orléans by Jules Eugène Lenepveu, painted 1886–1890.
More Executive Orders means more drinking…
SIGNSSESS
Today is the birthday, in 1951, of English rock and blues guitarist Bernie Marsden. He is known for his work with Whitesnake, having written or co-written with David Coverdale many of the group’s hit songs, such as ‘Fool for Your Loving’, ‘Walking in the Shadow of the Blues’, ‘Ready an’ Willing’ and ‘Here I Go Again’. Marsden had also worked with UFO, Glenn Cornick’s Wild Turkey in 1973, Cozy Powell’s band Cozy Powell’s Hammer and Babe Ruth. He died on 24 August 2023 from bacterial meningitis age 72. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyF8RHM1OCg
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