Editing Joan of Arc (section)

==Chinon==
[[File:KarlVII.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Charles VII of France]] by [[Jean Fouquet]] ({{Circa|1444|lk=no}}, [[Louvre]], Paris)|alt=Miniature of Charles the seventh of France.]]

Charles VII met Joan for the first time at the Royal Court in Chinon in late February or early March 1429,{{sfnm|1a1=Vale|1y=1974|1p=[https://archive.org/details/charlesvii0000vale/page/46 46]|2a1=Pernoud|2a2=Clin|2y=1986|2p=[https://archive.org/details/joanofarcherstor00pern/page/22 22]|3a=Lowell|3y=1896|3p=[https://archive.org/details/JoanOfArc1896/page/n76 62]|ps=, fn 1}} when she was seventeen{{sfnm|Taylor|2009|1p=[{{Google books|id=sV9kFj3O1noC|pg=PT29|plainurl=yes}} 29]|Warner|1981|2p=[https://archive.org/details/joanofarcimageof0000warn/page/4 4]}} and he was twenty-six.{{sfn|Gies|1981|p=[https://archive.org/details/joanofarclegendr0000gies/page/40 40]}} She told him that she had come to raise the siege of Orléans and to lead him to Reims for his coronation.{{sfnm|Castor|2015|1p=[https://archive.org/details/joanofarchistory0000cast_n6r7/page/90 91]|Gies|1981|2p=[https://archive.org/details/joanofarclegendr0000gies/page/50 50]|Lowell|1896|3p= [https://archive.org/details/JoanOfArc1896/page/n71 57]}} They had a private exchange that made a strong impression on Charles; [[Jean Pasquerel]], Joan's confessor, later testified that Joan told him she had reassured the Dauphin that he was Charles VI's son and the legitimate king.{{sfnm|DeVries|1999|1p=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780750918053/page/48 48]|Gies|1981|2p=[https://archive.org/details/joanofarclegendr0000gies/page/51 51]}}

Charles and his council needed more assurance,{{sfn|Gies|1981|p=[https://archive.org/details/joanofarclegendr0000gies/page/53 53]}} sending Joan to [[Poitiers]] to be examined by a council of theologians, who declared that she was a good person and a good Catholic.{{sfnm|Castor|2015|1p=[https://archive.org/details/joanofarchistory0000cast_n6r7/page/96 96]|Gies|1981|2p=[https://archive.org/details/joanofarclegendr0000gies/page/53 53]|Vale=1974|3p=[https://archive.org/details/charlesvii0000vale/page/55 55]}} They did not render a decision on the source of Joan's inspiration, but agreed that sending her to Orléans could be useful to the king{{sfnm|DeVries|1999|1p=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780750918053/page/50 50]|Richey|2003|2p=[https://archive.org/details/joanofarcwarrior0000rich/page/34 34]}} and would test whether her inspiration was of divine origin.{{sfnm|Barker|2009|1p=[https://archive.org/details/conquestenglishk0000bark/page/108 108]|Vale|1974|2p=[https://archive.org/details/charlesvii0000vale/page/56 56]}} Joan was then sent to Tours to be physically examined by women directed by Charles's mother-in-law [[Yolande of Aragon]], who verified her virginity.{{sfnm|Gies|1981|1p=[https://archive.org/details/joanofarclegendr0000gies/page/54 54]|Lucie-Smith|1976|2p=[https://archive.org/details/joanofarc0000luci/page/76 76]}} This was to establish if she could indeed be the prophesied virgin savior of France,{{sfnm|Barker|2009|1p=[https://archive.org/details/conquestenglishk0000bark/page/107 107]|Gies|1981|2p=[https://archive.org/details/joanofarclegendr0000gies/page/55 55]}} to show the purity of her devotion,{{sfnm|1a1=Barker|1y=2009|1p=[https://archive.org/details/conquestenglishk0000bark/page/107 107]|2a1=Pernoud|2a2=Clin|2y=1986|2p=[https://archive.org/details/joanofarcherstor00pern/page/31 31]}} and to ensure she had not consorted with the Devil.{{sfnm|Michelet|1855|1p=[https://archive.org/details/joanofarcmaidofo00mich/page/55 55]|Sackville-West|1936|2p=[https://archive.org/details/saintjoanofarcbo0000sack/page/138 138]}}

The Dauphin, reassured by the results of these tests, commissioned [[plate armour|plate armor]] for her. She designed her own banner and had a sword brought to her from under the altar in the church at [[Sainte-Catherine-de-Fierbois]].{{sfnm|1a1=DeVries|1y=1999|1pp=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780750918053/page/50 50–51]|2a1=Gies|2y=1981|2pp=[https://archive.org/details/joanofarclegendr0000gies/page/59 59–60]|3a1=Pernoud|3a2=Clin|3y=1986|3pp=[https://archive.org/details/joanofarcherstor00pern/page/36 36–37]}} Around this time she began calling herself "Joan the Maiden", emphasizing her virginity as a sign of her mission.{{sfn|Pernoud|Clin|1986|p=[https://archive.org/details/joanofarcherstor00pern/page/220 220]}}

Before Joan's arrival at Chinon, the Armagnac strategic situation was bad but not hopeless.{{sfnm|Warner|1981|1p=[https://archive.org/details/joanofarcimageof0000warn/page/54 54]|Vale|1974|2p=[https://archive.org/details/charlesvii0000vale/page/55 55]}} The Armagnac forces were prepared to endure a prolonged siege at Orléans,{{sfn|Gies|1981|pp=[https://archive.org/details/joanofarclegendr0000gies/page/43 43–44]}} the Burgundians had recently withdrawn from the siege due to disagreements about territory,{{sfnm|Barker|2009|1p=[https://archive.org/details/conquestenglishk0000bark/page/108 108]}} and the English were debating whether to continue.{{sfn|Vale|1974|p=[https://archive.org/details/charlesvii0000vale/page/55 55]}} Nonetheless, after almost a century of war, the Armagnacs were demoralized.{{sfn|DeVries|1999|p=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780750918053/page/29 29]}} Once Joan joined the Dauphin's cause, her personality began to raise their spirits,{{sfn|Richey|2003|p=[https://archive.org/details/joanofarcwarrior0000rich/page/39 39]}} inspiring devotion and the hope of divine assistance.{{sfnm|1a1=Harrison|1y=2014|1p=[https://archive.org/details/joanofarclifetra0000harr/page/103 103–104]|2a1=Pernoud|2a2=Clin|2y=1986|2p=[https://archive.org/details/joanofarcherstor00pern/page/31 31]}} Her belief in the divine origin of her mission turned the longstanding Anglo-French conflict over inheritance into a religious war.{{sfn|Vale|1974|p=[https://archive.org/details/charlesvii0000vale/page/55 55]}} Before beginning the journey to Orléans, Joan dictated a letter to the Duke of Bedford warning him that she was sent by God to drive him out of France.{{sfnm|1a1=Lucie-Smith|1y=1976|1pp=[https://archive.org/details/joanofarc0000luci/page/78 78–79]|2a1=Pernoud|2a2=Clin|2y=1986|2pp=[https://archive.org/details/joanofarcherstor00pern/page/34 34–35]|3a1=Richey|3y=2003|3pp=[https://archive.org/details/joanofarcwarrior0000rich/page/34 34–35]}}