“Hold the cross high, so I may see it through the flames” – these are the haunting final words uttered by our cross-dressing female patron saint of France. The notorious ‘Maid of Orléans’ - or more widely known as Joan of Arc - is perhaps one of the most controversial characters in all French history, her story, shrouded in mystery and still finds us questioning more than 600 years later. Was she merely a mentally ill young girl whose delusions led to her tragic end, or was she a true visionary who received information from the divine resulting in her becoming the prolific hero of the French nation, altering the very fabric of this nation’s history forever? On this day in History, we take a closer look, what conclusion does her story provide?