[1] Pernoud was one of the most prolific medievalists in 20th century France; more than any other single scholar of her time, her work advanced and expanded the study of Joan of Arc.
She moved to Paris where she entered the École nationale des chartes which she left in 1933 with a diploma as an archivist-paleographer.
Having grown up in an impoverished family, she worked in various professions (including as a teacher, a coach, and an archivist) while completing her university studies and while waiting for a post in a museum.
She is known for writing extensively about Joan of Arc and the social standing of women in the Middle Ages (500 - 1500), e.g., on Robert of Arbrissel who in 1099 founded the double monastery - one with nuns, and one with monks - of Fontevraud, where he put a nun, Petronille de Chemillé, who was 22 years of age, in charge.
She received the Grand Prize of the City of Paris in 1978 and in 1997 the Académie Française awarded her for her lifetime's work.