Dio says she put on a sword, gave watchword, harangued soldiers.
In 438-439 she made an ostentatious pilgrimage to Jerusalem, whence she brought back several precious relics; during her stay at Antioch she harangued the senate in Hellenic style and distributed funds for the repair of its buildings.
There is a generally accepted story, based on the chronicles of Jehan le Bel and Froissart, that she summoned the English forces to meet the Scottish invasion of 1346, and harangued the troops before the battle of Neville's Cross.