Author | : Earl Jeffrey Richards |
Publisher | : |
Total Pages | : 310 |
Release | : 1992 |
Genre | : Literary Criticism |
ISBN | : 9780820313078 |
Principally known for her revolutionary conception of the equality of women set forth in Le Livre de la Cite des Dames (1405) - the first defence of women by a woman - Christine de Pizan is only now beginning to receive the critical attention she deserves. Born in Venice but reared at the court of French King Charles V, she helped transmit the works of Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio to France - thereby becoming a bridge between the two most important late medieval vernacular cultures. Christine was also in the forefront of the humanistic attack on medieval literature and thought, a stance that made her a pivotal figure in the transition from the late Middle Ages to the Renaissance in France.