What did Joan of Arc look like?
Joan of Arc is famous as the “Maid of Orleans,” the young woman who commanded soldiers and crowned a King, all before the age of 20. She was guided by visions, which she presumed to be from God, and they led her to astonishing victories during one of the most tumultuous chapters in French history: The Hundred Years’ War. For the full history of Joan of Arc, watch the video here.
In terms of Joan’s appearance, we have hardly anything to go on. The image to the left is the only contemporary image of Joan of Arc - and it’s merely a doodle, made in the margins of French parliamentary notes by Clément de Fauquembergue, who had never seen her in real life.
There is also a statue head from a church in Orleans. The statue dates to the 15th century, and given Joan’s association with the city and the feminine appearance, for many years historians to believed this might be a depiction of her, or perhaps the image of a saint using Joan herself as a model.
However, in more recent years, this has become less likely, and it’s now believed to belong to a statue of Saint George.
Images of Joan. Left: The only contemporary image of the Maid of Orleans. Right: Head of a Saint from a church in Orleans. The feminine appearance and helmet, along with the association to the city of Orleans, were factors that led historians to believe this was a depiction of Joan of Arc until recently.
Luckily, we do have many descriptions of the ferocious warrior.
We know that she was short - probably around 5’ 2”, and very muscular with a strong neck. She had dark hair, cropped short with bangs similar to the men’s hairstyles at the time. Artistic depictions of Joan actually popularized the bob hairstyle in the early 20th century. Her eyes were described as “large, dark, and grave”, and matched her skin tone, which was tan and sunburned from her time outdoors. She also had a small red birthmark visible behind one of her ears.
In 1844, a letter was discovered, written by Joan in 1429. Within the wax seal was a single black hair, pressed in by the tip of a finger. It is believed that this may have been the fingerprint and hair of Joan herself, stemming from a custom where a letter writer would pluck a hair from their head to guarantee authenticity. The letter still remains, but sadly, this seal has since been lost.
Perceval de Boulainvilliers wrote a long account about Joan to his King, Charles VII. He said:
“The Maid is of satisfying grace, and in her conversation displays wondrous good sense. Her voice has a womanly charm; she eats little, and delights in beautiful horses and armor, and greatly admires armed and noble men; She sheds tears freely, her expression is cheerful and she has great capacity for work. Of such endurance is her handling and bearing of arms that she remained for six days and nights in full armor.”
