“Her execution was faked”
The Truth: In 1436, five years after Joan was burned at the stake, a strange, unexpected figure appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. Her alleged identity caught the attention of the whole of France – she claimed she was Joan of Arc and that she had escaped her execution. There had been plenty of women claiming to be the famous Joan of Arc before, but this woman bore a striking resemblance to the young warrior and, most convincing of all, Joan’s own brothers, Jean and Pierre, were with her and attested to the truth of her tale. This ‘Joan’ claimed she had managed to flee her captors and lived in obscurity for years. The tale caught the attention of the nation, and the three travelled around France, were bestowed with lavish gifts and even visited Joan’s old comrades, who consistently identified her as the woman they believed to have lost five years prior.
