Joan of Arc is often portrayed as a peasant girl who became a great military leader and champion for France, but those stories don't really tell the whole truth. According to author Ronald Gower, there's evidence that Joan's family was not actually poor. After her death, neighbors testified that Joan's father was a "doyden" or senior inhabitant of the village, which means he was next to the mayor in importance. The family were landholders — they had 20 acres, including farmland, meadow, and forest. They also had money stashed away for emergencies, which is a lot more than many modern families can claim to have.
In fact Joan's family doesn't appear to have been suffering at all — their annual income was said to be the equivalent of roughly 200 pounds, which was kind of a lot of money in those days — enough to live comfortably, raise kids, and give a little bit to the actual poor.
So what gives with the "poor peasant" stuff? It might have something to do with the whole underdog thing — it's much nicer to imagine a poor girl becoming the heroine of France than it is to imagine a well-off girl doing the same thing. It's definitely better for public morale, too, especially when the average family in those days tended to be more poor than not.
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