Overview
The trial of Joan of Arc in 1431 was remarkably well-documented. The transcripts from the trial provide us with more details of Joan's life than of almost any figure of her time. Like most martyrs, Joan became more powerful dead than alive. Twenty-seven years after her execution, a new trial, authorized by the pope and strongly supported by King Charles VII, declared the 1431 trial null and void as a result of its numerous procedural flaws. In 1920, more than 450 years after her death, the Roman Catholic Church declared Joan a virgin saint.