Contrary to the popular narrative of an English show trial, 123 out of 131 legal and theological experts involved were French. These individuals were loyal to the English-backed Burgundian faction, highlighting the deep internal divisions within France during the war.
Joan's judges faced a theological quandary: if her voices were demonic, was she a collaborator or a victim? Many assessors argued that being tricked by Satan isn't necessarily heretical, as all humans are fallible. This complexity shows the trial wasn't a foregone conclusion, with one theologian even suggesting consulting the Pope.
After months of defiance, Joan suddenly recanted at the sight of the execution pyre. She later admitted her reason was brutally simple: "I did it for fear of the fire." This reveals the immense psychological pressure she faced, framing her ultimate defiance as a return to her core identity despite the fatal consequences.
The presiding judge, Pierre Cauchon, went to great lengths to follow established inquisitorial rules. Knowing the trial would attract massive international attention, he aimed to create a legally sound verdict that would appear legitimate and unassailable to hostile observers, making it far more than a simple show trial.
After abjuring her visions, Joan was stunned to learn her sentence was not release but perpetual imprisonment on bread and water. This crushing blow replaced one form of death with another, stripping away her core identity and likely fueling her decision to recant her recantation and face the flames on her own terms.
After recanting, Joan resumed wearing male clothes. While significant, the legally damning act was admitting her voices had returned. This classified her as a "relapsed heretic," an unforgivable crime in the eyes of the Church for which the only punishment was death. A court clerk noted this in the margin as "Responsio mortifera"—a fatal reply.
Historian Johan Huizinga suggests Joan's identification of her voices with specific saints may not have been a long-held belief. Instead, it could have developed under the intense pressure of the trial, as she struggled to articulate her profound spiritual experiences in terms her interrogators could understand.
The king Joan crowned, Charles VII, did not protest her trial or death. He treated her as if she never existed because association with a condemned heretic undermined his own legitimacy. He only moved to rehabilitate her memory 19 years later, once his political position was secure and he needed to validate his coronation.