Was Joan of Arc schizophrenic?

Six hundred years ago, a teenage girl with courage in her heart—and possibly voices in her head—rose from obscurity to champion Charles VII of France and lead the French army to important victories during the Hundred Years' War. read more

There is much evidence that Joan of Arc was mentally and physically a healthy person. People of her era were aware when someone was suffering mentally, although they used a different language to describe it from what we would use today. read more

Joan of Arc Considered. By J. Grundy. Author's note: Origins of this work: I wrote this piece for my own interest. It is a personal exploration of the topic and not intended to be a scholarly work. I hope readers enjoy this as much as I enjoyed researching and writing it. Introduction and Context. In the late 1420s France was in a state of despair. read more

My impression is that a real schizophrenic would not be able to keep himself clothed and fed in a reliable fashion, let alone lead a major military campaign with phenomenal success. The most sympathetic, believable account of Joan of Arc that I have read is from the introduction to Saint Joan by G. B. Shaw. read more

Joan’s real name was Jehanne d’Arc, Jehanne Tarc, Jehanne Romée or possibly Jehanne de Vouthon—but she didn’t go by any of these. Joan didn’t hail from a place called Arc, as the typical Anglicization of her father’s surname, d’Arc (sometimes rendered as Darc or Tarc), might imply. read more