The English always intended to burn Joan. The trial was a sham to legitimize the burning. Many were convinced she was a witch. How else could she have defeated their previously invincible armies? The fact that she was female made matters worse. Not many men can take being beaten by a girl. Their pride was stung. They wanted to erase the shame and make her pay.
But as I mentioned before, Joan’s behavior was a serious affront and a threat to an even more powerful institution, the Catholic Church. Joan’s belief in her direct contact with her saints and through them, with God, went against the power structure and teachings of the Church. As we have seen, only the Churchmen could define God’s will, and everyone else came to God through the Churchmen. Joan’s claim for a direct line of communica
