Joan of Arc is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and in securing the coronation of Charles VII during the Hundred Years' War. Claiming to act under divine guidance, she became a military leader who gained recognition as a savior of France. Born to a peasant family in northeast France, she was tried for heresy by an English-backed court and burned at the stake in 1431, aged about nineteen. Her legend grew steadily afterward.