8. Joan of Arc
One of the better known heroines who defied gender roles of her time, Joan of Arc is one of France’s most highly-regarded war figures. The French prince was so moved by Joan’s resolve that he gave her armor and troops to fight the English in France. Joan of Arc started bad blood with the English by kicking them out of the city of Orleans at only 17 years old and beating them in successful battles of the Hundred Years’ War. She is famously known for being burnt at the stake at the hands of England’s French allies. Almost 500 years after her death, she was canonized and made a patron saint of France in 1920.
