The battle of Patay breaks an English field force on the road toward Reims
On 18 June 1429 Valois forces routed an English army at Patay. The victory belongs to the same 1429 campaign as Orléans and Reims. In the causal graph this event strengthens Democratic Resilience, a driver that strengthens Having a say in government — an improving welfare path.
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On 18 June 1429 Valois forces routed an English army at Patay. The victory belongs to the same 1429 campaign as Orléans and Reims.
Context
Without a field army, the English occupation of the Loire corridor held. Patay is a military-political instrument. It is not a democratic election.
Joan of Arc is not the sole author of every later object, law, or museum label that uses the name. Shared work with courts, excavators, printers, spouses, officials, and later states does not erase a documented role, and it does not make an ancient person the signer of a twentieth-century statute.
Why it matters
Dynastic-legitimacy path. High confidence on the battle date.
A route is not a crown. Reims 17 July is the coronation Fact.
Who was responsible
Contribution type and responsibility level for each recorded actor — not sole-author shorthand.
Joan of Arc
PersonDirect responsibility
responsibility level 0.35 · verified
She was a named captain in the army that won Patay. La Hire and others fought the melee.
What changed
Fact → Driver → Indicator. Relationship strength orders the paths; it is not the observed indicator movement.
- FactThe battle of Patay breaks an English field force on the road toward Reims
- strengthensDriverDemocratic Resilience
- strengthensIndicators (3)Having a say in government
impact weight 0.55 · Effect from 18 June 1429 · verified
Destroying an occupation field army opened the coronation road, a dated legitimacy path for a contested French kingship.
Strengthens · Relationship strength 0.39 (weight 0.55 × strength 0.7)
Observed
29.8% of population aged 16-65 years · 8.13 below the normal line (2023)
Worse than normalTwo readings: 30.2% of population aged 16-65 years (2021) and 29.8% of population aged 16-65 years (2023).
20212023 Above normal = better
Strengthens · Relationship strength 0.25 (weight 0.55 × strength 0.45)
Observed
0.53 score from 0 to 1 · 0.34 below the normal line (2024)
Worse than normal125 readings, 1900–2024: rose from 0.17 score from 0 to 1 to 0.53 score from 0 to 1.
Above normal = better
Strengthens · Relationship strength 0.25 (weight 0.55 × strength 0.45)
Observed
0.55 index score (0-1) · 0.26 below the normal line (2024)
Worse than normalAbove normal = better
Evidence
The sources behind this fact and its verification state.
- 1.Britannica — Saint Joan of ArcEncyclopaedia Britannica · High credibility · verified
- 2.Archives nationales (France)Archives nationales · High credibility · verified
What the sources establish
French archival portals and Britannica independently date Patay 18 June 1429.
Established: Patay 18 June 1429 as a Valois victory in Joan’s campaign season. Not established: that she personally commanded the decisive charge as a unique author.
Causal path
How this event connects to drivers and indicators in the graph.
- ActorJoan of Arc
- contributed toFactThe battle of Patay breaks an English field force on the road toward Reims
- strengthensDriverDemocratic Resilience
- strengthensIndicatorHaving a say in government
Cite this page
Factrail. (2026). The battle of Patay breaks an English field force on the road toward Reims. Factrail. https://factrail.ai/facts/joa-patay-1429
https://factrail.ai/facts/joa-patay-1429
Accessed 16 October 2026.
By the Factrail desk · Method: how we source and score · Last reviewed
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