In the meantime, Joan of Arc had been hearing the voices of St. Michael, St. Margaret and St. Catherine. (This awesome
painting of St. Catherine is by Raphael, 1508, and is part of the collection of the National Gallery in London.) By the spring of 1429, she had heard the voices about four years. Joan believed she had to do what the voices commanded her: Lead the French to victory against the English and take the dauphin to Rheims so his coronation could be held as king of France. No small feat for a young woman of seventeen!
Why would Joan even think she could lead an army? Despite the voices she heard, why wouldn't the dauphin and his generals think she was completely insane if she approached them with her plan?
To answer those questions, we have to understand what women did in the 15th century. Believe it or not, women fought with men during those days. Women were wounded in battle. Thirty were wounded at Amiens. They were heroes during sieges. It was a different time. Even so, Joan was a teenager, with no military experience. And - she was motivated by voices? And visions? Of saints?!
How could this seventeen-year-old get the job of army commander? Following the direction of her voices, Joan and her cousin made the short trip from her village of Domremy to Vancoulers, where the dauphin's army was located.
Joan of Arc told the army commander she wanted to drive the English from Orleans and take the dauphin to Rheims to be coronated at the Cathedral. One can only imagine the astonishment of Robert of Baudricourt, the commander, when this young woman told him about her request. The first time Joan visited him, the commander laughed and told her to go home.