The article deals with the legend of Joan of Arc’s betrayal committed by Charles VII himself and by his court which took place in 1431. The author analyses in every detail the content of this legend, its origins and circumstances of its emergence and the features of its success in French historical writings: in chronicles of the 15th century (Enguerran de Monstrelet, Jean Chartier, Jacques Dulclercq, Georges Chastellain), in historical works of the 16th century (Alain Bouchart, Brantôme, André Thevet), in national French Histoires of François de Mezeray (1646) and Louis Le Gendre (1719) and in historical writings of the 18th — 19th centuries.