The first scene of Saint Joan occurs in 1429, at the French castle of Vaucouleurs. Robert de Baudricourt, a military squire, angrily scolds his steward for failing to procure any eggs. The steward protests that the hens have not been laying any eggs and the cows have not been giving any milk. Baudricourt angrily assumes that someone must be stealing from him, but the steward claims that the hens will not lay while The Maid is waiting at the door of the castle. Baudricourt is furious that no one has been able to convince this peasant girl to return home to her family, suggesting that his servants are all afraid of her. He decides to meet with the girl and intimidate her into leaving.

Joan enters, confidently telling Baudricourt that God has ordered him to give her a horse, armor, and some soldiers so that she can go to meet with the Dauphin. Baudricourt is taken aback and tells her that God wills her to return home to her father, but Joan persists. She begins making practical estimates about the cost of her military supplies so that she can retake the city of Orléans, referring to the knights she has persuaded to come with her by familiar nicknames rather than formal titles.