Few individuals in the annals of world history have had so lasting an impact as Joan of Arc, who rallied a country behind her and continues to inspire people today. Although she began life as a peasant, she became a key figure in the latter stages of the Hundred Years' War. As a teenager she experienced visions from God calling her to aid the French king. Her confidence and bearing, along with her fervent adherence to God and her Catholic faith, belied her age and so influenced the monarch that he made her commander of one of his companies. She helped lead the French forces in battle against the English, in turn becoming a national icon. However, she was eventually captured and tried by the English in a trial rife with ecclesiastical and political overtones. Convicted as a heretic, Joan was sentenced and burned at the stake. As a martyr, she gained mythic status and the Roman Catholic Church made her a saint in 1920. This book presents a fascinating study of Joan of Arc's life based on excerpts from John A Mooney's gripping 1919 biography. The overview is augmented by a substantial and selective bibliography, featuring access provided through author, title, and subject indexes.

“Attention, ‘Game of Thrones’ fans: The most enjoyably sensational aspects of medieval politics—double-crosses, ambushes, bizarre personal obsessions, lunacy and naked self-interest—are in abundant evidence in Nancy Goldstone's The Maid and the Queen.” (Laura Miller, Salon.com) Politically astute, ambitious, and beautiful, Yolande of Aragon, queen of Sicily, was one of the most powerful women of the Middle Ages. Caught in the complex dynastic battle of the Hundred Years War, Yolande championed the dauphin's cause against the forces of England and Burgundy, drawing on her savvy, her statecraft, and her intimate network of spies. But the enemy seemed invincible. Just as French hopes dimmed, an astonishingly courageous young woman named Joan of Arc arrived from the farthest recesses of the kingdom, claiming she carried a divine message-a message that would change the course of history and ultimately lead to the coronation of Charles VII and the triumph of France. Now, on the six hundredth anniversary of the birth of Joan of Arc, this fascinating book explores the relationship between these two remarkable women, and deepens our understanding of this dramatic period in history. How did an illiterate peasant girl gain access to the future king of France, earn his trust, and ultimately lead his forces into battle? Was it only the hand of God that moved Joan of Arc-or was it also Yolande of Aragon?