France: Jeanne d'Arc / Joan of Arc (c. 1412 - 30 May 1431). Painting on parchment, c. 1485. Saint Joan of Arc, nicknamed 'The Maid of Orleans', is considered a national heroine of France and a Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the coronation of Charles VII. She was captured by the Burgundians, sold to the English, tried by an ecclesiastical court, and burned at the stake when she was 19 years old.