Joan of Arc Quotes
Joan's words were written down by court clerks at her trial in 1431 and by witnesses at her rehabilitation trial in 1456, so we have an unusually direct record of how she spoke. The quotes below come from those records.
4 real Joan of Arc quotes, with sources
“I do not fear men-at-arms; my way has been made plain before me.”Joan of Arc — Words at Vaucouleurs, 1429, as given in Anatole France, The Life of Joan of Arc (1909), vol. 1, p. 97, citing the trial records
“In God's name, the soldiers will fight, and God will give the victory.”Joan of Arc — Reply to her examiners at Poitiers, 1429, recorded in Brother Seguin's testimony at the rehabilitation trial
“If I am not in the state of grace, may God put me there; and if I am, may God so keep me.”Joan of Arc — Trial record, third public examination, 24 February 1431
“There is a saying among children, that sometimes one is hanged for speaking the truth.”Joan of Arc — Trial record, third public examination, 24 February 1431
Famous quotes Joan of Arc never said
“One life is all we have and we live it as we believe in living it.”A line from Maxwell Anderson's 1946 Broadway play Joan of Lorraine, later used in the 1948 film Joan of Arc.
“I am not afraid; I was born to do this.”A misquotation of her real words at Vaucouleurs, quoted above: “I do not fear men-at-arms; my way has been made plain before me.”
Who was Joan of Arc?
A peasant girl from Domrémy who, at seventeen, convinced the uncrowned Charles VII to let her lead an army. She lifted the siege of Orléans and saw Charles crowned at Reims. Captured and burned at nineteen, she was later declared innocent and made a saint. Read more on Wikipedia.
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What is Joan of Arc's most famous quote?
One of the best known is “If I am not in the state of grace, may God put me there; and if I am, may God so keep me.” (Trial record, third public examination, 24 February 1431)
Did Joan of Arc really say “One life is all we have and we live it as we believe in living it.”?
No. A line from Maxwell Anderson's 1946 Broadway play Joan of Lorraine, later used in the 1948 film Joan of Arc.
Did Joan of Arc really say “I am not afraid; I was born to do this.”?
No. A misquotation of her real words at Vaucouleurs, quoted above: “I do not fear men-at-arms; my way has been made plain before me.”
Where do these Joan of Arc quotes come from?
Joan's words were written down by court clerks at her trial in 1431 and by witnesses at her rehabilitation trial in 1456, so we have an unusually direct record of how she spoke. The quotes below come from those records.
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