Joan of Arc left Vaucouleurs when she first set out to meet Charles VII. The fortified town was a stronghold loyal to the French claimant and became the starting point for her journey to the royal court.
Joan traveled from Domrémy to Vaucouleurs in 1428 and asked Robert de Baudricourt, the local captain, to provide an escort. After initially resisting her request, Baudricourt eventually allowed her to leave with a small party. She departed in February 1429, traveling through dangerous territory toward Chinon, where Charles VII was staying.
Vaucouleurs is therefore different from both Domrémy, Joan’s home village, and Chinon, the place where she met the king. The journey from Vaucouleurs helped transform her from a local teenage visionary into a participant in the national war effort.