"Joan of Arc celebrates the cultural legacy of a medieval French heroine who led the armies of her nation to victory against the English, who was tried on charges of heresy, and who was burned at the stake in Rouen in 1431. Two decades after her death, her trial was reopened and the court reversed the verdict. But it was not until the pinnacle of her popularity, nearly 500 years later, that the Catholic Church canonized her. This highly illustrated book is the first to explore the history of Joan s image both in France and the United States. For several centuries representations of Joan have reflected the historical contexts in which they were created, and have been used to promote a huge variety of political, cultural and religious views."--Jacket.