Not long after Patay, and the capture of the English-held cities along the Loire River, Joan had finally convinced Charles to take his rightful place as King. Joan, along with a small army of French soldiers escorted Charles to the Cathedral at Reims, which thankfully was left undamaged during the battle against the three cities along the Loire.

Joan of Arc stood besides Charles VII at his coronation on July 17, 1429 as the crown was given to him to take his rightful place as King of France. A glorious celebration had followed soon afterwards; virtually everyone was out in the streets long into the night,
fireworks were launched in all directions into the sky and the sheer sound from peoples cry of happiness could be heard for miles.

Following their new success Joan rallied the French army to prepare to march on Paris, which had previously been captured by Burgundy after they had arranged the assassination of Duke John the Fearless in 1419 only a few years before, which was then reinforced by the English to help hold the stronghold position which gave a direct access all across France.

The reason for the sudden alliance with the English re-enforcing Rouen was because of their recent campaigns at Normandy where they captured Caen in 1417, and Rouen in 1419 making Normandy English for the first time in two centuries.

Joan and her Army matched on the capital in September of 1429 expecting a relief force to come from the river sent by Charles.
She lay siege to the city for many days, continuing to wait for the reinforcements .. reinforcements that never arrived, at least not in the promised quantity with no reason given. She continued to fight and even despite a crossbow bolt hitting her in the leg refused to leave the battle and continue to order the troops until the days end.

The king's advisors had managed to convince Charles that the siege was doomed to fail,
where in fact all they did was whisper rumour and lies into the kings ears - the following morning after the reinforcements
failed to arrive Joan received a royal order to withdraw from the battle.

The next year in May of 1430 following the unsuccessful siege of Paris Joan took her remaining army to relieve a siege at Compiègne by a combined English-Burgundian Army. During one of the many skirmishes during the siege heavily outnumbered Joan ordered a retreat back behind the walls of the town and following a call of honour she would be the last to leave the battlefield. The Bulgarians took advantage of this however and surrounded the rear guard, knocking Joan from her horse in the process and dragging her away from the field. All anyone could do is stare, locked in behind Compiègne's Walls, knowing if they had left they would simply be slaughtered by the combined army.

It was customary for a captive's family to ransom a prisoner of war, however Joan and her family lacked the financial resources do pay for her to be released. Many historians even blame the lack of action from Charles VII for failing to pay for her bail, however his advisors; practically that of Georges de la Trémoille who has always been viewed as one who put his own advancement ahead of what was best for the country, and often undermined both Joan and Richemont, the two best commanders of the French Army.

Not long after her capture Joan had attempted several times to escape, including on one occasion jumping from her 70 foot high tower in Vermandois to the soft earth of a dry moat, only to be re-captured shortly after due to having to recover.
Later she was moved to the Burgundian town of Arras, and placed under heavy guard until later been sold to the English.

The English were eager to not only break, but completely destroy her influence, and thus damage the French Morale.
Joan was trialled for heresy and witchcraft before Pierre Cauchon and other French clerics who supported the English.

Probably her most serious crime was the claim of direct inspiration from God; When asked if she knew she was in God's grace,
she answered: 'If I am not, may God put me there; and if I am, may God so keep me.' The question was a scholarly trap.
Church doctrine held that no one could be certain of being in God's grace. If she had answered yes, then she would have convicted herself of heresy. If she had answered no, then she would have confessed her own guilt.

In the eyes of the court this refusal to accept the church hierarchy constituted heresy.
Throughout the lengthy trial and imprisonment she bravely fought her inquisitors.
Only at the end of the trial, when Joan was sentenced to be turned over to a secular court, did she recant.

She was condemned to life imprisonment, in which under Inquisitorial guidelines, Joan should have been confined to an ecclesiastical prison under the supervision of female guards but instead, the English kept her in a secular prison guarded by their own soldiers where she was also forced to wear female clothing, rather then her traditional male appearance.
 
But shortly afterwards, however, she retracted her abjuration and continued to wear males clothes, possibly because her dress was stolen and was turned over to the secular court as a relapsed heretic, and was burned at the stake on May 30, 1431.

Eyewitnesses described the scene of the execution: Tied to a tall pillar, she asked two of the clergy, Martin Ladvenu and Isambart de la Pierre, to hold a crucifix before her. A peasant also constructed a small cross which she put in the front of her dress.
After Joan expired, the English raked back the coals to expose her charred body so that no one could claim she had escaped alive, then burned the body twice more to reduce it to ashes and prevent any collection of relics.

Her death did not lower French morale however, in fact that morale stayed strong and the French fought even harder for their homeland, and for Joan who had inspired their fight back against the English in the first place.

Joan of Arc had joined the French Army only at the age of Seventeen, and died at the age of Nineteen, perhaps the youngest person in history to be given the command of an entire countries army and who won several large battles, and small skirmishes.
Only after the lengthy war had finally came to an end did Charles VII make tardy recognition of her services during the nullification trial in 1452 which Pope Callixtus III authorized at the request of Inquisitor-General Jean Brehal and Joan's mother Isabelle Romée.

 The aim was to investigate whether the trial of condemnation and its verdict had been handled justly and according to canon law. Brehal drew up his final summary in June 1456, which described Joan as a martyr and implicates the late Pierre Cauchon with heresy for having convicted an innocent woman in pursuit of a secular vendetta.
The court declared her innocence on 7 July 1456.

The term Martyr typically refers to that of a witness, however since Joan herself was the one been trialled that expression seemed a rather unusual description, unless referring to the implication of Pierre Cauchon.

Nevertheless, in recent years Joan of Arc has become a more widely known name across Europe.
In 1909 the Church officially beatified her name, recognising her ascension to heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who prayed in her name. Only eleven years after she was canonized and recognized as a Saint by Pope Benedict XV.
Many with an affiliation of French Culture also feast on May 30th of every year to celebrate her as a saint.