Saint-Pierre-le-Moûtier

Saint-Pierre-le-Moûtier lies in the Nivernais of central France, amid farmland and routes connecting neighbouring regions. It was the seat of a royal bailiwick established in the fourteenth century, giving the town an administrative role beyond its surrounding countryside.

During the Hundred Years' War, Joan of Arc took part in the siege and capture of Saint-Pierre-le-Moûtier in the autumn of 1429. The royal forces then moved towards La Charité-sur-Loire, where their siege failed. The episode brought this small town into the wider struggle for control of routes and strongholds in central France.