Saint Joan of Arc

This is the statue of Joan of Arc that I really wanted to see inside the Cathedral of Notre Dame. This woman's story is amazing, and I can't believe that it is all true. I could write about her for hours, but you'll just have to do with a bit of a summary. She lived from 1412 to 1431, and her dad's name was Jaques d'Arc (hence her weird name). This girl claimed she had heaven sent visions and used the information given her in the visions to lead the troops of Charles VII to retake the entirety of France from the English who had invaded during the Hundred Year War. Pretty cool, eh? This was before she turned 17. Yeah, 17. In the end she was convicted of heresy for having worn men's clothing while fighting, and was sentenced to death. There are pages written about all the illegal stuff that happened during her trial. She was burned, then her charred body was displayed so everyone knew she hadn't gotten away, and then they burned her again. And then they burned the ashes again for good measure, and chucked them into the Seine. She was 19. There's gratitude for you. 25 years later 115 witnesses came forth giving testimony of her innocense, and she was cleared of all charges. Just in time. Since then she has been canonized by the Catholics, patronized by theatre-goers and modernized by Hollywood. What use is a trip to France without learning a bit about her leading ladies. Also, here is a picture of the nave in Notre Dame that I ripped off the internet because my picture was craptacular. In all honesty, I like the Basilica of the Sacre Coeur's interior better. But don't tell anyone I said that.