Page:Outlines of European History.djvu/507

 England in the Middle Ages 431 which were kept by the various lords enumerating the obligations of their serfs. Although the peasants met with little success, serfdom de- Final disap- cayed rapidly. It became more and more common for the serf serfdom in to pay his dues to the lord in money instead of working for him, England and in this way he lost one of the chief characteristics of a serf. The landlord then either hired men to cultivate the fields which he reserved for his own use, or rented the land to tenants. These tenants were not in a position to force their fellow tenants on the manor to pay the full dues which had formerly been exacted by the lord. Sixty or seventy years after the Peasants' War the English rural population had in one way or another become free men, and serfs had practically disappeared. The war between England and France almost ceased for Renewal of nearly forty years after the death of Edward III. It was re- years' War newed in 141 5, and the English king won another great victory '" ^^^S at Agincourt, similar to that won at Cre'cy. Once more the English bowmen slaughtered great numbers of French knights. Fifteen years later the English had succeeded in conquering all of France north of the Loire River ; but a considerable region to the south still continued to be held by King Charles VII of France. He was weak and indolent and was doing nothing to check the English victories. The English were engaged in be- sieging the great town of Orleans when help and encourage- ment came to the French from a most unexpected quarter. A peasant girl put on a soldier's armor, mounted-a horse, and led the faint-hearted French troops to victory. To her family and her companions Joan of Arc seemed only Joan of Arc " a good girl, simple and pleasant in her ways," but she brooded much over the disasters that had overtaken her coun- try, and a " great pity on the fair realm of France " filled her heart. She saw visions and heard voices that bade her go forth to the help of the king and lead him to Rheims to be crowned. It was with the greatest difficulty that she got anybody to believe in her mission or to help her to get an audience with