Joan of Arc convinced the Dauphin Charles to go to be crowned at Reims. The march though the heart of territory controlled by the hostile Burgundians was successful and would give the throne of the French monarchy to Charles VII, who had been ousted therefrom by the Treaty of Troyes. Main article: Treaty of Troyes and Joan of Arc. Since the Treaty of Troyes in , the dauphin had been disinherited in favour of Henry V of England following the assassination of John the Fearless.
But Henry V died in and his son was not yet one year old; the regency was entrusted to John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford. The intervention of Joan of Arc with the Dauphin Charles would be seen as miraculous, even more so after the lifting of the Siege of Orleans and the Battle of Patay.
For the first time in the history of France, the king did not let the crown pass to his eldest son. After Charles VI died, his son challenged his disinheritance and claimed the throne. Despite the French victory in the Battle of Patay on June 18, which caused the decline of the English in Paris, the dauphin Charles VII refused to continue to Reims, which was in the hands of the Burgundians, remaining in Sully-sur-Loire and withdrew his army to Orleans to be crowned there as was Louis VI ; Nevertheless, a coronation in Reims would have a much greater impact because it would be seen as a new miracle, attesting to his divine legitimacy.
The next day, the dauphin's council met in Chateauneuf-sur-Loire and ordered the army to gather at Gien. The next day, 12, men of the king's army gathered in Gien, increasing to 33, men fighting on horseback and 40, on foot. Joan of Arc broke her sword on the back of a prostitute who followed the army, and two days later the Dauphin finally ordered the march to the city of the coronation : the march began at Gien on June 29, The ease of the march showed both the fragility of the Anglo-Burgundian rule and the restoration of confidence in the cause of Charles VII of France.
According to Jean de Dunois the bluff was the only tactic that opened the gates of the city. The Marshal of France , Gilles de Rais , rode to Reims, hoping to use this victorious march to retrieve a ransom of land taken from "collaborators. On the road to Reims, the Constable de Richemont sent Pierre Rostrenen to ask leave of the dauphin to serve at his coronation. Rostrenen accompanied the constable to Parthenay.
