Christine de Pizan

Christine de Pizan
Author: Charlotte Cooper-Davis
Publisher: Reaktion Books
Total Pages: 193
Release: 2021-11-06
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1789144418

The first popular biography of a pioneering feminist thinker and writer of medieval Paris. The daughter of a court intellectual, Christine de Pizan dwelled within the cultural heart of late-medieval Paris. In the face of personal tragedy, she learned the tools of the book trade, writing more than forty works that included poetry, historical and political treatises, and defenses of women. In this new biography—the first written for a general audience—Charlotte Cooper-Davis discusses the life and work of this pioneering female thinker and writer. She shows how Christine de Pizan’s inspiration came from the world around her, situates her as an entrepreneur within the context of her times and place, and finally examines her influence on the most avant-garde of feminist artists, through whom she is slowly making a return into mainstream popular culture.

The Treasure of the City of Ladies

The Treasure of the City of Ladies
Author: Christine de Pizan
Publisher: Penguin UK
Total Pages: 262
Release: 2003-10-30
Genre: Literary Collections
ISBN: 0141961015

Written by Europe’s first professional woman writer, The Treasure of the City of Ladies offers advice and guidance to women of all ages and from all levels of medieval society, from royal courtiers to prostitutes. It paints an intricate picture of daily life in the courts and streets of fifteenth-century France and gives a fascinating glimpse into the practical considerations of running a household, dressing appropriately and maintaining a reputation in all circumstances. Christine de Pizan’s book provides a valuable counterbalance to male accounts of life in the middle ages and demonstrates, often with dry humour, how a woman’s position in society could be made less precarious by following the correct etiquette.

The Vision of Christine de Pizan

The Vision of Christine de Pizan
Author: Christine (de Pisan)
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer Ltd
Total Pages: 202
Release: 2005
Genre: French poetry
ISBN: 1843840588

Translation of Christine's autobiographical "Vision", both dealing with her own life and career, and offering a possible solution to the troubled state of France at the time.

Book of Deeds of Arms and of Chivalry

Book of Deeds of Arms and of Chivalry
Author: Charity Cannon Willard
Publisher: Penn State Press
Total Pages: 234
Release: 2010-11-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780271043050

It is unexpected in any era to find a woman writing a book on the art of warfare, but in the fifteenth century it was unbelievable. Not surprisingly, therefore, Christine de Pizan's The Book of Deeds of Arms and of Chivalry, written around 1410, has often been regarded with disdain. Many have assumed that Christine was simply copying or pilfering earlier military manuals. But, as Sumner Willard and Charity Cannon Willard show in this faithful English translation, The Book of Deeds of Arms and of Chivalry contains much that is original to Christine. As a military manual it tells us a great deal about the strategy, tactics, and technology of medieval warfare and is one of our most important sources for early gunpowder weapon technology. It also includes a fascinating discussion of Just War. Since the end of the fifteenth century, The Book of Deeds of Arms and of Chivalry has been available primarily through Antoine Vérard's imprint of 1488 or William Caxton's 1489 translation, The Book of the Order of Chivalry. Vérard even suggested that the work was his own translation of the Roman writer Vegetius, making no mention of Christine 's name. Caxton attributed the work to Christine, but it is impossible to identify the manuscript he used for his translation. Moreoever, both translations are inaccurate. The Willards correct these inaccuracies in a clear and easy-to-read translation, which they supplement with notes and an introduction that will greatly benefit students, scholars, and enthusiasts alike. Publication of this work should change our perception both of medieval warfare and of Christine de Pizan.

Christine de Pizan and the Fight for France

Christine de Pizan and the Fight for France
Author: Tracy Adams
Publisher: Penn State Press
Total Pages: 234
Release: 2015-06-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 0271066334

In Christine de Pizan and the Fight for France, Tracy Adams offers a reevaluation of Christine de Pizan’s literary engagement with contemporary politics. Adams locates Christine’s works within a detailed narrative of the complex history of the dispute between the Burgundians and the Armagnacs, the two largest political factions in fifteenth-century France. Contrary to what many scholars have long believed, Christine consistently supported the Armagnac faction throughout her literary career and maintained strong ties to Louis of Orleans and Isabeau of Bavaria. By focusing on the historical context of the Armagnac-Burgundian feud at different moments and offering close readings of Christine’s poetry and prose, Adams shows the ways in which the writer was closely engaged with and influenced the volatile politics of her time.

The Selected Writings of Christine de Pizan

The Selected Writings of Christine de Pizan
Author: Christine De Pizan
Publisher: W W Norton & Company Incorporated
Total Pages: 392
Release: 1997
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9780393970104

Contains selections from eighteen major works by Christine de Pizan, Europe's first professional woman writer, presented in contemporary translation with annotations, and includes an introduction, and seven critical analyses.

The Book of the Mutability of Fortune

The Book of the Mutability of Fortune
Author: Christine (de Pisan)
Publisher:
Total Pages: 316
Release: 2017-03
Genre: Education
ISBN:

Christine de Pizan (ca. 1364–ca. 1431) has long been recognized as France’s first professional woman of letters, and interest in her voluminous and wide-ranging corpus has been steadily rising for decades. During the tumultuous later years of the Hundred Years’ War, Christine’s lone but strong feminine voice could be heard defending women, expounding the highest ideals for good governance, and lamenting France’s troubled times alongside her own personal trials. In The Mutability of Fortune, Christine fuses world history with autobiography to demonstrate mankind’s subjugation to the ceaselessly changing, and often cruel, whims of Fortune. Now, for the first time, this poem is accessible to an English-speaking audience, further expanding our appreciation of this ground-breaking woman author and her extraordinary body of work.

An Introduction to Christine de Pizan

An Introduction to Christine de Pizan
Author: Nadia Margolis
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2012
Genre:
ISBN: 9780813041988

Christine de Pizan (1364/5-1430?) was arguably the first woman to support herself and her family as a professional writer and public intellectual. In recent decades, recognition of her importance for women's studies, political thought, art history, and literary criticism has prompted a boom in "Christine studies." Despite this proliferation of scholarly output, no manageable introduction to this important figure has appeared in more than a generation. Designed as an introduction for students as well as a convenient, one-volume resource for medievalists and specialists in related fields, this authoritative work is both concise and comprehensive. It includes a complete account of Christine de Pizan's life and times, summaries and commentary on all of her many works, and analyses of her sources and influences. This exhaustive yet accessible book is an essential reference for anyone interested in Christine studies, women's history, and late-medieval France.