Christine de Pizan |
Christine de Pizan was a medieval poet and feminist writer. Born in 1364 in Venice, her father was favored by King Charles V of France and Christine spent the majority of her childhood growing up in the French royal court. At the age of fifteen she was married to Etienne de Castel who, thought not rich, was from a good family. Her husband was twenty-five when they married and they had ten years together. By Christine’s own account the marriage was a happy one and they had three children: a daughter named Marie, a son Jean, and the third child whose name is unknown and was believed to have died in childhood. After the death of her husband, Christine became the sole provider for not only her children, but her mother and a few other relatives as well. She turned to writing to support her family. One of Christine de Pizan’s most well known contributions to the French literary world was her part in a massive debate about The Romance of the Rose, a poem with anti-feminist characteristics. Christine argued against the belittling of women in the poem. It was the first recorded literary quarrel in France and was taken part in by a chancellor of the University of Paris, poets, and even French royalty.1 Below is a section from The book of the City of Ladies where Christine asks a question of the lady Reason: “‘My lady, according to what I understand from you, woman is a most noble creature. But even so, Cicero says that a man should never serve any woman and that he who does so debases himself, for no man should ever serve anyone lower than him.’ She replied, ‘the man or the woman in whom resides greater virtue is the higher; neither the loftiness nor the lowliness of a person lies in the body according the sex, but in the perfection of conduct and virtues. And surely he is happy who serves the Virgin, who is above all the angels.’”2 Some of her other works include: L'Epistre au Dieu d'Amours (Letter of the God of Love also known as Cupid's Letter) Le Debat Deux Amants (The Debate of Two Lovers) Le Livre des Trois Jugemens(The Book of Three Judgments) Le Livre du Dit de Poissy (The Tale of Poissy) Cent Ballades d'Amant et de Dame, Virelyas, Rondeaux(One Hundred Ballades of a Lover and His Lady) Le Dit de la Rose (The Tale of the Rose) Le Livre du Chemin de Long Estude (The Book of the Road of Long Learning) Le Livre du Duc des Vrais Amants (The Book of the Duke of True Lovers) Le Ditie de Jehanne d'Arc (Song in Honor of Joan of Arc) Epitre d'Othea (Othea's Letter or Epistle of Othea to Hector)
Livre des Fais et Bonnes Meurs du Sage Roy Charles V (The Book of the Deeds and Good Customs of the Wise King Charles V) Le Livre de la Cite des Dames (The Book of the City of Ladies) Livre de Trois Vertus or Le Tresor de la Cite des Dames (The Book of Three Virtues or The Book of the Treasury of Ladies) Avision-Christine (Christine's Vision) Livre du Corps de Policie (The Book of the Body Politic) Le Livre des Fais d'Armes et de Chevalerie (The Book of the Deeds of Arms and Chivalry) Livre de la Paix (The Book of Peace) La Lamentation sur les Maux de la France (Lamentations on the Troubles of France) 1 Cannon Willard, Charity, Christine de Pizan Her Life and Works. New York: Persea Books, Inc., 1984. 2 de Pizan, Christine, The Book of the City of Ladies, translated by Richards, Earl Jeffrey. New York: Persea Books, 1982. pp.24
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