Beyond The Myth Summary

The book, Beyond The Myth: The Story of Joan of Arc, by Polly Schoyer Brooks, is a biography.
2. Summary: Joan of Arc was born in 1412 in Domremy, France. Her family consisted of peasants, including her mother, Isabelle Romee, father, Jacques d'Arc, one of the leaders of the village for collecting taxes and being the head of the town’s watch, her sister, Catherine, and three other brothers. The family lived in a small farmhouse near the village’s church, where Joan would tend the animals. Throughout her childhood to death, Joan lived through the Hundred Year War, a civil war between the French Royalists and the Anglo-Burgundians allied with the English as the war was simply a feud for the French throne as the rightful French king and the

However, in 1425, the French were able to stop a siege on Mont St. Michael, as hope for winning the war and gossip among the town grew once more. A few months later, Joan began to hear a voice call her from her father’s garden, which she later claimed to be the voice of France’s patron saint, St. Michael. Her voices or revelations become more specific and urgent as more and more towns were conquered by the Burgundians and the English, while Joan become more distant and absent to her family friends to talk with her voices, and soon, it became apparent to Joan that God has given her a mission to save the exiled prince and France, although, with low-confidence with her peasant stature, her voices gave her the confidence and help to pursue the mission. Her father, oblivious to Joan’s revelations, dreams that she’ll join the army, which meant that she’ll be a camp follower, and so, he demanded her brothers to drown her if she did or he’ll do it himself as he and her mother kept a closer eye on her. Despite her parent’s worry and fear, Joan persisted in completing her mission as she made preparations to visit her her first cousin near Vaucouleurs in December to take care of the baby when in actuality, Joan was planning to go to Vaucouleurs, a town loyal to the French, to get help

After a small victory of reclaiming Melun, her voices forebodes that she’ll be captured before the Feast of St. John, which comes true as she is captured on May 23, 1430, after she was pulled off her horse. Joan is soon imprisoned in Beaulieu and then to Beaurevoir by Jean de Luxembourg, but she is treated kindly by his aunt, wife, and daughter, who weren't able to stop Jean from selling her to the English, and then in December, Joan is sent to the Rouen, Normandy to be on trial in January 1431 that would continue for three months by Bishop Cauchon and churchmen from the University of Paris, who fearing Joan’s independence from the Church and her power, with mainly “evidence” from English and Burgundian tales of Joan’s witchcraft, Joan’s voices, and male dress alongside her other sins of attacking on a holy day and attempting suicide, accuse her of being a witch, a heretic, and a tool of the Devil. To their surprise, Joan’s calmly responded to each answer and swore on the Gospel that she’ll tell the truth, but she’ll not reveal any information about her revelations, which alongside her refusal to answer some of their questions convinced them that Joan was indeed not telling the truth. Finally, when Joan describes