View source for Biography:Christine de Pizan

{{short description|Court writer in medieval France}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Christine de Pizan
| image = Christine de Pisan - cathedra.jpg
| caption = Christine de Pizan giving a lecture
| birth_date = 11 September 1364
| birth_place = [[Place:Republic of Venice|Republic of Venice]]
| death_date = [[Social:Circa|c.]] {{death date and age|1430|||1364|09|11}}
| death_place = 
| education = 
| occupation = Writer
| spouse = Etienne du Castel
| parents = Tommaso di Benvenuto da Pizzano
| children = Jean du Castel
}}
'''Christine de Pizan''' or '''Pisan''' ({{IPA-fr|kʁistin də pizɑ̃|-|Fr-Christine De Pisan.ogg}}), born '''Cristina da Pizzano''' (1364 – c. 1430), was a poet and author at the court of King Charles VI of France and several French dukes. Venetian by birth, Christine served as a court writer in medieval France after the death of her husband. Christine's patrons included dukes Louis I of Orleans, Philip the Bold, and John the Fearless. Her best known works include ''[[Biology:The Book of the City of Ladies|The Book of the City of Ladies]]'' and ''The Treasure of the City of Ladies'', both written when she worked for John the Fearless of Burgundy. Her books of advice to princesses, princes, and knights remained in print until the 16th century.

In recent decades, Christine's work has been returned to prominence by the efforts of scholars Charity Cannon Willard, Earl Jeffrey Richards, Suzanne Solente, Mathilde Laigle and Marie-Josephe Pinet.

== Family ==
Christine de Pizan was born in 1364 in [[Place:Republic of Venice|Venice]], Italy. She was the daughter of Tommaso di Benvenuto da Pizzano. Her father became known as Thomas de Pizan, named for the family's origins in the town of Pizzano, southeast of Bologna. Her father worked as a physician, court astrologer and Councillor of the [[Place:Republic of Venice|Republic of Venice]].<ref>Christine de Pizan, The Book of the City of Ladies, trans. by Rosalind Brown-Grant (London: Penguin Books, 1999), introduction.</ref> Thomas de Pizan accepted an appointment to the court of Charles V of France as the king's astrologer<ref name="Redfern, p. 77">Redfern, Jenny, "Christine de Pisan and The Treasure of the City of Ladies: A Medieval Rhetorician and Her Rhetoric" in Lunsford, Andrea A, ed. ''Reclaiming Rhetorica: Women and in the Rhetorical Tradition'', Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1995, p. 77.</ref> and in 1368 Christine moved to Paris. In 1379 Christine de Pizan married the notary and royal secretary Etienne du Castel.<ref name="Margaret C. Schaus 2006 133">{{cite book |author=Margaret C. Schaus|title=Women and Gender in Medieval Europe: An Encyclopedia |publisher= Routledge|date=2006 |pages=133|isbn= 978-1-135-45960-4 }}</ref>

She had three children. Her daughter became a nun at the Dominican Abbey in Poissy in 1397 as a companion to the King's daughter Marie.<ref>Charity C. Willard, Christine de Pizan: Her Life and Works (New York: Persea Books, 1984, p. 35.</ref> Christine's husband died of the [[Medicine:Plague (disease)|plague]] in 1389, and her father had died the year before.<ref name="Margaret C. Schaus 2006 133"/> Christine was left to support her mother and her children.<ref>Pizan, ed. by Brown-Grant, introduction.</ref> When she tried to collect money from her husband's estate, she faced complicated lawsuits regarding the recovery of salary due her husband.<ref name="Willard, p. 39">Charity C. Willard, Christine de Pizan: Her Life and Works (New York: Persea Books, 1984, p. 39.</ref> On 4 June 1389, in a judgment concerning a lawsuit filed against her by the archbishop of Sens and François Chanteprime, councillors of the King, Christine was styled "damoiselle" and widow of "Estienne du Castel".<ref>{{Cite book|title=Audouin Chauveron|last=Famiglietti|first=R.C.|volume=2 |year=2015 |page=261}}</ref>

== Writing career ==

In order to support herself and her family, Christine turned to writing. By 1393, she was writing love ballads, which caught the attention of wealthy patrons within the court.<ref name="Redfern, p. 77" /> Christine became a prolific writer. Her involvement in the production of her books and her skillful use of patronage in turbulent political times has earned her the title of the first professional woman of letters in Europe.<ref name="Margaret C. Schaus 2006 133"/> Although Italian by birth, Christine expressed a fervent nationalism for France. Affectively and financially she became attached to the French royal family, donating or dedicating her early ballads to its members, including Isabeau of Bavaria, Louis I, Duke of Orléans, and Marie of Berry. Of Queen Isabeau she wrote in 1402 "High, excellent crowned Queen of France, very redoubtable princess, powerful lady, born at a lucky hour".<ref>{{cite book |last=Langdon Forhan |first=Kate |title=The Political Theory of Christine de Pizan |publisher=Taylor & Francis |date=2017 |pages=68 |isbn=978-1-351-88394-8 }}</ref>

[[File:Queen Penthesilea Harley 4431 Pizan.png|thumb|right|A miniature of Queen Penthesilea with her army of Amazons coming to the aid of the Trojan army, illustrating ''L'Épître Othéa a Hector''<ref name="British Library">{{cite web|url= http://blogs.bl.uk/digitisedmanuscripts/2013/06/christine-de-pizan-and-the-book-of-the-queen.html |title= Christine de Pizan and the Book of the Queen|date= 27 June 2013|publisher= British Library|access-date=3 June 2018}}</ref>]]
[[File:Pisan lelivredestroisvertus.jpg|thumb|right|One page of Christine's book ''Le livre des trois vertus''. In the illumination Christine is kept from rest by the Three Virtues.]]
France was ruled by Charles VI who experienced a series of mental breakdowns, causing a crisis of leadership for the French monarchy.<ref name="Margaret C. Schaus 2006 133"/> He was often absent from court and could eventually only make decisions with the approval of a royal council.<ref>{{cite book |author=Karen Green|title=Preface – The Book of Peace |publisher= Penn State Press|date=2010 |pages=5|isbn= 978-0-271-04557-3 }}</ref> Queen Isabeau was nominally in charge of governance when her husband was absent from court, but could not extinguish the quarrel between members of the royal family.<ref>{{cite book |author=Karen Green|title=Preface – The Book of Peace |publisher= Penn State Press|date=2010 |pages=14|isbn= 978-0-271-04557-3 }}</ref> In the past, Blanche of Castile had played a central role in the stability of the royal court and had acted as regent of France. Christine published a series of works on the virtues of women, referencing Queen Blanche and dedicating them to Queen Isabeau.<ref name="Karen Green 2010 6">{{cite book |author=Karen Green|title=Preface – The Book of Peace |publisher= Penn State Press|date=2010 |pages=6|isbn= 978-0-271-04557-3 }}</ref><ref name="Tracy Adams 2014 115–116">{{cite book |author=Tracy Adams|title=Christine de Pizan and the Fight for France|publisher= Penn State Press|date=2014 |pages=115–116|isbn= 978-0-271-06633-2}}</ref>

Christine believed that France had been founded by the descendants of the [[History:Troy|Trojans]] and that its governance by the royal family adhered to the [[Philosophy:Aristotelianism|Aristotelian]] ideal.<ref>{{cite book |last=Langdon Forhan |first=Kate |title=The Political Theory of Christine de Pizan |publisher= Taylor & Francis |date=2017 |pages=71|isbn= 978-1-351-88394-8 }}</ref> In 1400 Christine published ''L'Épistre de Othéa a Hector'' (''Letter of Othea to Hector'').<ref name="Langdon Forhan 2017 34">{{cite book |last=Langdon Forhan |first=Kate |title=The Political Theory of Christine de Pizan |publisher= Taylor & Francis |date=2017 |pages=34|isbn= 978-1-351-88394-8 }}</ref> When first published, the book was dedicated to Louis of Orléans, the brother of Charles VI, who was at court seen as potential regent of France.<ref>{{cite book |editor= Marilynn Desmond |title=Christine de Pizan and the Categories of Difference|publisher= University of Minnesota Press |date=1998 |page= 20|isbn= 978-0-8166-3081-3 }}</ref> In ''L'Épistre de Othéa a Hector'' Hector of Troy is tutored in statecraft and the political virtues by the goddess of wisdom Othéa.<ref name="Langdon Forhan 2017 34"/> Christine produced richly illustrated luxury editions of ''L'Épistre de Othéa a Hector'' in 1400.<ref>{{cite book |author=Margaret C. Schaus|title=Women and Gender in Medieval Europe: An Encyclopedia |publisher= Routledge|date=2006 |pages=134|isbn= 978-1-135-45960-4 }}</ref> Between 1408 and 1415 Christine produced further editions of the book.<ref>{{cite book |editor= Marilynn Desmond |title=Christine de Pizan and the Categories of Difference|publisher= University of Minnesota Press |date=1998 |page=20|isbn= 978-0-8166-3081-3 }}</ref> Throughout her career she produced rededicated editions of the book with customised prologues for patrons,<ref>{{cite book |editor= Marilynn Desmond |title=Christine de Pizan and the Categories of Difference|publisher= University of Minnesota Press |date=1998 |page=198|isbn= 978-0-8166-3081-3 }}</ref> including an edition for Philip the Bold in 1403, and editions for Jean of Berry and Henry IV of England in 1404.<ref>{{cite book |editor= Marilynn Desmond |title=Christine de Pizan and the Categories of Difference|publisher= University of Minnesota Press |date=1998 |isbn= 978-0-8166-3081-3 }}</ref> [[Social:Patronage|Patronage]] changed in the late [[History:Middle Ages|Middle Ages]]. Texts were still produced and circulated as continuous roll manuscripts, but were increasingly replaced by the bound codex. Members of royal family became patrons of writers by commissioning books. As materials became cheaper a book trade developed, so writers and bookmakers produced books for the French nobility, who could afford to establish their own libraries. Christine thus had no single patron who consistently supported her financially and became associated with the royal court and the different fractions of the royal family – the Burgundy, Orleans and Berry – each having their own respective courts.<ref>{{cite book |editor= Marilynn Desmond |title=Christine de Pizan and the Categories of Difference|publisher= University of Minnesota Press |date=1998 |pages=197|isbn= 978-0-8166-3081-3 }}</ref> Throughout her career Christine undertook concurrent paid projects for individual patrons and subsequently published these works for dissemination among the nobility of France.<ref name="University of Minnesota Press">{{cite book |editor= Marilynn Desmond |title=Christine de Pizan and the Categories of Difference|publisher= University of Minnesota Press |date=1998 |pages=198|isbn= 978-0-8166-3081-3 }}</ref>

In 1402 Christine became involved in a renowned literary controversy, the "Querelle du Roman de la Rose".<ref>Charity C. Willard, Christine de Pizan: Her Life and Works (New York: Persea Books, 1984), p.73</ref> Christine instigated this debate by questioning the literary merits of Jean de Meun's popular ''Romance of the Rose''. ''Romance of the Rose'' satirizes the conventions of courtly love while critically depicting women as nothing more than seducers.<ref>Maureen Quilligan, The Allegory of Female Authority: Christine de Pizan's "Cité des Dames" (New York: Cornell University Press, 1991), p. 40.</ref> In the midst of the Hundred Years' War between French and English kings,<ref name="Margaret C. Schaus 2006 133"/> Christine published the dream allegory ''Le Chemin de long estude'' in 1403. In the first person narrative she and Cumaean Sibyl travel together and witness a debate on the state of the world between the four allegories – Wealth, Nobility, Chivalry and [[Philosophy:Wisdom|Wisdom]].<ref>{{cite book |first1=Barbara K. |last1=Altmann |first2=Deborah L. |last2=McGrady |title=Christine de Pizan: A Casebook |publisher= Routledge |date=2003 |pages=11|isbn= 978-0-415-93909-6 }}</ref> Christine suggests that [[Philosophy:Justice|justice]] could be brought to earth by a single monarch who had the necessary qualities.<ref>{{cite book |author=Karen Green|title=Preface – The Book of Peace |publisher= Penn State Press|date=2010 |pages=26|isbn= 978-0-271-04557-3 }}</ref>

In 1404 Christine chronicled the life of Charles V, portraying him as the ideal king and political leader, in ''Le Livre des fais et bonnes meurs du sage roy Charles V''.<ref name="Langdon Forhan 2017 34"/> The chronicle had been commissioned by Philip the Bold<ref name="Karen Green 2010 11">{{cite book |author=Karen Green|title=Preface – The Book of Peace |publisher= Penn State Press|date=2010 |pages=11|isbn= 978-0-271-04557-3 }}</ref> and in the chronicle Christine passed judgement on the state of the royal court. When praising the efforts of Charles V in studying [[Social:Latin|Latin]], Christine lamented that her contemporaries had to resort to strangers to read the [[Philosophy:Law|law]] to them.<ref>{{cite book |editor= Marilynn Desmond |title=Christine de Pizan and the Categories of Difference|publisher= University of Minnesota Press |date=1998 |page=26|isbn= 978-0-8166-3081-3 }}</ref> Before the book was completed, Philip the Bold died, and Christine offered the book to Jean of Berry in 1405, finding a new royal patron.<ref>{{cite book |editor= Marilynn Desmond |title=Christine de Pizan and the Categories of Difference|publisher= University of Minnesota Press |date=1998 |page=27|isbn= 978-0-8166-3081-3 }}</ref> She was paid 100 livre for the book by Philip's successor John the Fearless in 1406 and would receive payments from his court for books until 1412.<ref name="University of Minnesota Press"/>

In 1405 Christine published ''Le Livre de la cité des dames'' (''[[Biology:The Book of the City of Ladies|The Book of the City of Ladies]]'') and ''Le Livre des trois vertus'' (''Book of Three Virtues'', known as ''The Treasure of the City of Ladies'').<ref name="Tracy Adams 2014 115–116"/> In ''Le Livre de la cité des dames'' Christine presented intellectual and royal female leaders, such as Queen Zenobia.<ref>{{cite book |editor= Marilynn Desmond |title=Christine de Pizan and the Categories of Difference|publisher= University of Minnesota Press |date=1998 |page=29|isbn= 978-0-8166-3081-3 }}</ref> Christine dedicated ''Le Livre des trois vertus'' to the dauphine Margaret of Nevers, advising the young princess on what she had to learn.<ref name="Tracy Adams 2014 115–116"/> As Queen Isabeau's oldest son Louis of Guyenne came of age Christine addressed three works to him with the intention of promoting wise and effective government. The earliest of the three works has been lost. In ''Livre du Corps de policie'' (''The Book of the Body Politic''), published in 1407 and dedicated to the dauphin,<ref name="Karen Green 2010 6"/> Christine set out a political treatise which analysed and described the customs and governments of [[History:Middle Ages|late medieval European]] societies. Christine favoured hereditary monarchies, arguing in reference to Italian [[Earth:City-state|city-state]]s that were governed by princes or trades, that "such governance is not profitable at all for the common good".<ref>{{cite book |last=Langdon Forhan |first=Kate |title=The Political Theory of Christine de Pizan |publisher= Taylor & Francis |date=2017 |pages=70|isbn= 978-1-351-88394-8 }}</ref> Christine also devoted several chapters to the duties of a king as military leader and she described in detail the role of the military class in society.<ref name="Penn State Press">{{cite book |first1=Charity Cannon |last1=Willard |first2=Sumner |last2=Willard |chapter=Preface |title=Book of Deeds of Arms and of Chivalry |publisher= Penn State Press|date=2010 |page=5|isbn= 978-0-271-04305-0 }}</ref>

=== Civil war ===
France was at the verge of all out civil war since 1405.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite book |first1=Charity Cannon |last1=Willard |first2=Sumner |last2=Willard |chapter=Preface |title=Book of Deeds of Arms and of Chivalry |publisher= Penn State Press|date=2010 |page=3|isbn= 978-0-271-04305-0 }}</ref> In 1407 John I of Burgundy, also known as John the Fearless, plunged France into a crisis when he had Louis of Orléans assassinated.<ref name="Karen Green 2010 6"/> The Duke of Burgundy fled Paris when his complicity in the assassination became known,<ref name="ReferenceA"/> but was appointed regent of France on behalf of Charles VI<ref>{{cite book |last=Whetham |first=David |title=Just Wars and Moral Victories: Surprise, Deception and the Normative Framework of European War in the Later Middle Ages |publisher= BRILL |date=2009 |pages=61|isbn= 9789004171534 }}</ref> in late 1408 after his military victory in the Battle of Othee.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> It is not certain who commissioned Christine to write a treatise on military warfare,<ref name="Karen Green 2010 13">{{cite book |author=Karen Green|title=Preface – The Book of Peace |publisher= Penn State Press|date=2010 |pages=13|isbn= 978-0-271-04557-3 }}</ref> but in 1410 Christine published the manual on chivalry, entitled ''Livre des fais d'armes et de chevalerie'' (''The Book of Feats of Arms and of Chivalry'').<ref>{{cite book |first=Jennifer R. |last=Goodman |title=Chivalry and Exploration, 1298–1630 |publisher=Boydell & Brewer |location=Woodbridge |date=1998 |pages=147|isbn= 978-0-85115-700-9 }}</ref> Christine received 200 livre from the royal treasury in early 1411 for the book.<ref name="Penn State Press"/> In the preface Christine explained that she published the manual in French so that it could be read by practitioners of war not well versed in Latin. The book opened with a discussion of the [[Philosophy:Just war theory|just war theory]] advanced by Honoré Bonet. Christine also referenced classical writers on military warfare, such as Vegetius, Frontinus and Valerius Maximus.<ref name="Whetham 2009 62–63">{{cite book |last=Whetham |first=David |title=Just Wars and Moral Victories: Surprise, Deception and the Normative Framework of European War in the Later Middle Ages |publisher= BRILL |date=2009 |pages=62–63|isbn= 9789004171534 }}</ref> Christine discussed contemporary matters relating to what she termed the ''Laws of War'', such as [[Social:Capital punishment|capital punishment]], the payment of troops, as well as the treatment of noncombatants and prisoners of war. Christine opposed trial by combat,<ref name="ReferenceB">{{cite book |first1=Charity Cannon |last1=Willard |first2=Sumner |last2=Willard |chapter=Preface |title=Book of Deeds of Arms and of Chivalry |publisher= Penn State Press|date=2010 |page=7|isbn= 978-0-271-04305-0 }}</ref> but articulated the medieval belief that God is the lord and governor of battle and that wars are the proper execution of justice. Nevertheless, she acknowledged that in a war "many great wrongs, extortions, and grievous deeds are committed, as well as raping, killings, forced executions, and arsons".<ref name="Whetham 2009 62–63"/> Christine limited the right to wage war to sovereign kings because as head of states they were responsible for the welfare of their subjects.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Charity Cannon |last1=Willard |first2=Sumner |last2=Willard |chapter=Preface |title=Book of Deeds of Arms and of Chivalry |publisher= Penn State Press|date=2010 |page=6|isbn= 978-0-271-04305-0 }}</ref> In 1411 the royal court published an edict prohibiting nobles from raising an army.<ref name="Karen Green 2010 13"/>

After civil war had broken out in France, Christine in 1413 offered guidance to the young dauphin on how to govern well, publishing ''Livre de la paix'' (''The Book of Peace'').<ref name="978-0-8028-3347-1 p.654">{{cite book |last=Allen |first=Prudence |title=The Concept of Woman: The Early Humanist Reformation, 1250–1500, Part 2 |publisher= Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |date=2005 |pages=654|isbn= 978-0-8028-3347-1 }}</ref> ''Livre de la paix'' would be Christine's last major work and contained detailed formulations of her thoughts on good governance.<ref>{{cite book |author=Karen Green|title=Preface – The Book of Peace |publisher= Penn State Press|date=2010 |pages=4|isbn= 978-0-271-04557-3 }}</ref>  The period was marked by bouts of civil war and failed attempts to bring John the Fearless to justice for assassinating his cousin. Christine addressed Louis of Guyenne directly, encouraging him to continue the quest for peace in France.<ref name="Karen Green 2010 6"/> She argued that "Every kingdom divided in itself will be made desolate, and every city and house divided against itself will not stand".<ref name="Karen Green 2010 7">{{cite book |author=Karen Green|title=Preface – The Book of Peace |publisher= Penn State Press|date=2010 |pages=7|isbn= 978-0-271-04557-3 }}</ref> Christine was acquainted with William of Tignonville, an ambassador to the royal court, and referenced Tignonville's speeches on the Armagnac–Burgundian Civil War.<ref name="Karen Green 2010 7"/> Christine's drew a utopian vision of a just ruler, who could take advice from those older or wiser. In arguing that peace and justice were possible on earth as well as in heaven, Christine was influenced by Dante,<ref>{{cite book |author=Karen Green|title=Preface – The Book of Peace |publisher= Penn State Press|date=2010 |pages=24|isbn= 978-0-271-04557-3 }}</ref> who she had referenced in ''Le Chemin de long estude''.<ref>{{cite book |author=Karen Green|title=Preface – The Book of Peace |publisher= Penn State Press|date=2010 |pages=25|isbn= 978-0-271-04557-3 }}</ref> Christine encouraged the dauphin to deserve respect, by administering justice promptly and living by worthy example. Christine urged young princes to make themselves available to their subjects, avoid anger and cruelty, to act liberally, clement and truthful. Christine's interpretation of the virtuous Christian prince built on the advice to rulers by St Benedict, [[Biography:Peter Abelard|Peter Abelard]] and [[Biography:Cicero|Cicero]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Karen Green|title=Preface – The Book of Peace |publisher= Penn State Press|date=2010 |pages=28|isbn= 978-0-271-04557-3 }}</ref>

[[File:Christine de Pisan and Queen Isabeau detail.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Christine de Pizan presents her book to Isabeau of Bavaria, Queen of France.]]
In 1414 Christine presented Queen Isabeau with a lavishly decorated collection of her works (now known as ''British Library Harley 4431'').<ref name="Karen Green 2010 11"/> The bound book contained 30 of Christine's writings and 130 miniatures.<ref>{{cite book |editor= Marilynn Desmond |title=Christine de Pizan and the Categories of Difference|publisher= University of Minnesota Press |date=1998 |pages=195|isbn= 978-0-8166-3081-3 }}</ref> She had been asked by the queen to produce the book. Noted for its quality miniature illuminations, Christine herself and her past royal patrons were depicted. As a mark of ownership and authorship the opening frontispiece depicted Queen Isabeau being presented with the book by Christine.<ref>{{cite book |editor= Marilynn Desmond |title=Christine de Pizan and the Categories of Difference|publisher= University of Minnesota Press |date=1998 |page=203|isbn= 978-0-8166-3081-3 }}</ref>

In 1418 Christine published a consolation for women who had lost family members in the Battle of Agincourt under the title ''Epistre de la prison de vie Humaine'' (''Letter Concerning the Prison of Human Life'').<ref name="978-0-8028-3347-1 p.654"/> In it Christine did not express any optimism or hope that peace could be found on earth. Instead she expressed the view that the [[Philosophy:Soul|soul]] was trapped in the body and imprisoned in [[Religion:Hell|hell]]. The previous year she had presented the ''Epistre de la prison de vie Humaine'' to Marie of Berry,<ref name="Karen Green 2010 27">{{cite book |author=Karen Green|title=Preface – The Book of Peace |publisher= Penn State Press|date=2010 |pages=27|isbn= 978-0-271-04557-3 }}</ref> the administrator of the Duchy of Bourbon whose husband was held in English captivity.<ref>{{cite book |author=Tracy Adams|title=Christine de Pizan and the Fight for France|publisher= Penn State Press|date=2014 |pages=169|isbn= 978-0-271-06633-2}}</ref>

Historians assume that Christine spent the last ten years of her life in the Dominican Convent of Poissy because of the civil war and the occupation of Paris by the English.<ref name="978-0-8028-3347-1 p.654"/> Away from the royal court her literary activity ceased.<ref name="Margaret C. Schaus 2006 133"/> However, in 1429, after Joan of Arc's military victory over the English, Christine published the poem ''Ditié de Jehanne d'Arc'' (''The Tale of Joan of Arc'').<ref name="978-0-8028-3347-1 p.654" /> Published just a few days after the coronation of Charles VII, Christine expressed renewed optimism. She cast Joan as the fulfilment of prophecies by [[Biography:Merlin|Merlin]], Cumaean Sibyl and Saint Bede, helping Charles VII to fulfill the predictions of Charlemagne.<ref name="Karen Green 2010 27"/>

Christine is believed to have died in 1430, before Joan was tried and executed by the English.<ref name="Margaret C. Schaus 2006 133"/> After her death the political crisis in France was resolved when Queen Isabeau's only surviving son Charles VII and John the Fearless' successor as Duke of Burgundy, Philip the Good, signed the Peace of Arras in 1435.<ref name="Karen Green 2010 6"/>

== Works ==
[[File:Harley MS 4431 knights jousting Pizan.png|thumb|300px|right|Detail of a miniature of ladies watching knights jousting, illustrating 'Le Duc des vrais amants', from a collection of works presented in 1414 by Christine to Isabeau of Bavaria.<ref name="British Library"/>]]
[[File:Meister der 'Cité des Dames' 002.jpg|thumb|300px|right|upright=1.2|[[Engineering:Illuminated manuscript|Illumination]] from ''The Book of the City of Ladies''. Christine is shown before the personifications of Rectitude, Reason, and Justice in her study, and working alongside Justice to build the 'Cité des dames'.<ref name="British Library"/>]]

Christine produced a large number of vernacular works, in both prose and verse. Her works include political treatises, mirrors for princes, epistles, and poetry.

Christine's book ''Le Dit de la Rose'' (''The Tale of the Rose'') was published in 1402 as a direct attack on Jean de Meun's extremely popular book ''Romance of the Rose'' which characterised women as seducers. Christine claimed that Meun's views were misogynistic, vulgar, immoral, and slanderous to women. The exchange between the two authors involved them sending each other their treatises, defending their respective views. At the height of the exchange Christine published ''Querelle du Roman de la Rose'' (''Letters on the Debate of the Rose'').<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/eascfa/dinner_party/place_settings/christine_de_pisan |title=Christine de Pisan|website= Brooklyn Museum |publisher= Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art |access-date=18 Nov 2017}}</ref> In this particular apologetic response, Christine belittles her own writing style, employing a rhetorical strategy by writing against the grain of her meaning, also known as antiphrasis.<ref>{{cite book |last=Redfern |first=Jenny |chapter=Christine de Pisan and the Treasure of the City of Ladies: a medieval rhetorician and her rhetoric |editor-last=Lunsford |editor-first=Andrea A. |title=Reclaiming Rhetorica: Women and in the Rhetorical Tradition |location=Pittsburgh |publisher=University of Pittsburgh Press |year=1995 |page=80 }}</ref>

By 1405 Christine had completed her most famous literary works, ''[[Biology:The Book of the City of Ladies|The Book of the City of Ladies]]'' (''Le Livre de la cité des dames'') and ''The Treasure of the City of Ladies'' (''Le Livre des trois vertus''). The first of these shows the importance of women's past contributions to society, and the second strives to teach women of all estates how to cultivate useful qualities.<ref>Charity C. Willard, Christine de Pizan: Her Life and Works (New York: Persea Books, 1984, p.135</ref>

In ''The Book of the City of Ladies'' Christine created a symbolic city in which women are appreciated and defended. She constructed three allegorical figures – Reason, Justice, and Rectitude – in the common pattern of literature in that era, when many books and poetry utilized stock allegorical figures to express ideas or emotions. She enters into a dialogue, a movement between question and answer, with these allegorical figures that is from a completely female perspective.<ref>Campbell, Karlyn K., Three Tall Women: Radical Challenges to Criticism, Pedagogy, and Theory, The Carroll C. Arnold Distinguished Lecture National Communication Association November 2001 Boston: Pearson Education Inc, 2003, p. 6</ref>  Together, they create a forum to speak on issues of consequence to all women. Only female voices, examples and opinions provide evidence within this text. Through Lady Reason in particular Christine argues that stereotypes of women can be sustained only if women are prevented from entering into the conversation.<ref>Campbell, Karlyn K., Three Tall Women: Radical Challenges to Criticism, Pedagogy, and Theory, The Carroll C. Arnold Distinguished Lecture National Communication Association November 2001 Boston: Pearson Education Inc, 2003, p. 7</ref>

In ''City of Ladies'' Christine deliberated on the debate whether the virtues of men and women differ, a frequently debated topic in late medieval Europe, particularly in the context of [[Philosophy:Aristotelian ethics|Aristotelian virtue ethics]] and his views on women.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bejczy |first=Istvan P. |editor-first1=Karen|editor-last1=Green|editor-first2=Constant|editor-last2=Mews |title=Virtue Ethics for Women 1250–1500 |publisher=Springer |date=2011 |pages=1–2 |chapter=Chapter 1: Does Virtue Recognise Gender? Christine de Pizan's City of Ladies in the Light of Scholastic Debate |isbn=9789400705296 }}</ref> Christine repeatedly used the theological argument that men and women are created in God's image and both have souls capable of embracing God's goodness. Among the inhabitants of the ''City of Ladies'' are female saints, women from the [[Religion:Old Testament|Old Testament]] and virtuous women from the pagan antiquity as portrait by Giovanni Boccaccio.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bejczy |first=Istvan P. |editor-first1=Karen|editor-last1=Green|editor-first2=Constant|editor-last2=Mews |title=Virtue Ethics for Women 1250–1500 |publisher=Springer |date=2011 |pages=10–11 |chapter=Chapter 1: Does Virtue Recognise Gender? Christine de Pizan's City of Ladies in the Light of Scholastic Debate |isbn=9789400705296 }}</ref>

In ''The Treasure of the City of Ladies'' Christine addressed the "community" of women with the stated objective of instructing them in the means of achieving [[Philosophy:Virtue|virtue]]. She took the position that all women were capable of humility, diligence and moral rectitude, and that duly educated all women could become worthy residents of the imaginary ''City of Ladies''. Drawing on her own life, Christine advised women on how to navigate the perils of early 15th century French society.<ref>{{cite book |last=Redfern |first=Jenny R. |editor-first=Andrea A. |editor-last=Lunsford |title=Virtue Ethics for Women 1250–1500 |publisher= University of Pittsburgh Press |date=1955 |pages=73 |chapter=Chapter 5: The Treasure of the City of Ladies: A Medieval Rhetorical and Her Rhetoric |isbn= 978-0-8229-7165-8 }}</ref> With reference to [[Biography:Augustine of Hippo|Augustine of Hippo]] and other saints Christine offered advice on how the noble lady could achieve the love of God. Christine speaks through the allegorical figures of God's daughters – Reason, Rectitude and Justice – who represent the Three Virtues most important to women's success. Through secular examples of these three virtues, Christine urged women to discover meaning and achieve worthy acts in their lives. Christine argued that women's success depends on their ability to manage and mediate by speaking and writing effectively.<ref>{{cite book |last=Redfern |first=Jenny R. |editor-first=Andrea A.|editor-last=Lunsford |title=Virtue Ethics for Women 1250–1500 |publisher= University of Pittsburgh Press |date=1955 |pages=74 |chapter=Chapter 5: The Treasure of the City of Ladies: A Medieval Rhetorical and Her Rhetoric |isbn= 978-0-8229-7165-8 }}</ref>

Christine specifically sought out other women to collaborate in the creation of her work. She makes special mention of a manuscript illustrator we know only as Anastasia, whom she described as the most talented of her day.<ref>[http://www.ripleyonline.com/Under%20Discussion/Christine/Christine.htm Christine de Pizan: An illuminated Voice] By Doré Ripley, 2004 Accessed October 2007</ref>

== Influence ==
[[File:Queen Fredegund addressing her troops City of Ladies 1475.png|thumb|250px|right|Queen Fredegund addressing her troops holding her baby. Miniature from a 1475 Dutch translation of ''The Book of the City of Ladies''. Published under the title ''De Stede der Vrouwen'' (''The Praise of Women'').<ref>{{cite web|url= http://blogs.bl.uk/digitisedmanuscripts/2017/03/index.html |title= The medieval origins of Mothering Sunday| date= 26 March 2017|publisher= British Library|access-date=11 June 2018}}</ref>]]
[[File:Page 1 The Book of Feats of Arms and of Chivalry eng.png|thumb|250px|right|Page 1 of ''The Book of Feats of Arms and of Chivalry''. Translated into English and printed in 1489 by William Caxton.]]
Christine published 41 known pieces of poetry and prose in her lifetime and she gained fame across Europe as the first professional woman writer. She achieved such credibility that royalty commissioned her prose and contemporary intellectuals kept copies of her works in their libraries.<ref>{{cite book |last=Redfern |first=Jenny R. |editor-first=Andrea A.|editor-last=Lunsford |title=Virtue Ethics for Women 1250–1500 |publisher= University of Pittsburgh Press |date=1955 |pages=74–75 |chapter=Chapter 5: The Treasure of the City of Ladies: A Medieval Rhetorical and Her Rhetoric |isbn= 978-0-8229-7165-8 }}</ref>

After her death in 1430 Christine's influence was acknowledged by a variety of authors and her writings remained popular. Her book ''Le Livre de la cité des dames'' remained in print. A Dutch edition of it exists from the 15th century, and French editions were still being printed in 1536.<ref name="978-0-8229-7165-8 p.75">{{cite book |last=Redfern |first=Jenny R. |editor-first=Andrea A.|editor-last=Lunsford |title=Virtue Ethics for Women 1250–1500 |publisher= University of Pittsburgh Press |date=1955 |pages=75 |chapter=Chapter 5: The Treasure of the City of Ladies: A Medieval Rhetorical and Her Rhetoric |isbn= 978-0-8229-7165-8 }}</ref> In 1521 ''The Book of the City of Ladies'' was published in English.<ref name="978-0-8229-7165-8 p.75"/> Christine's ''Le Livre des trois vertus'' (''The Treasure of the City of Ladies'') became an important reference point for royal women in the 15th and 16th century. Anne of France, who acted as regent of France, used it as a basis for her 1504 book of ''Enseignemens'', written for her daughter Suzanne Duchess of Bourbon, who as agnatic heir to the Bourbon lands became co-regent. Christine's advice to princesses was translated and circulated as manuscript or printed book among the royal families of France and Portugal.<ref>{{cite book |editor= Marilynn Desmond |title=Christine de Pizan and the Categories of Difference|publisher= University of Minnesota Press |date=1998 |page=34|isbn= 978-0-8166-3081-3 }}</ref> The ''City of Ladies'' was acknowledged and referenced by 16th century French women writers, including Anne de Beaujeu, Gabrielle de Bourbon, Marguerite de Navarre and Georgette de Montenay.<ref name="Christine de Pizan: A Casebook">{{cite book |first1=Barbara K. |last1=Altmann |first2=Deborah L. |last2=McGrady |title=Christine de Pizan: A Casebook |publisher= Routledge |date=2003 |pages=57|isbn= 978-0-415-93909-6 }}</ref>

Christine's political writings received some attention too. ''Livre de la paix'' was referenced by the humanist Gabriel Naudé and Christine was given large entries in encyclopedias by [[Biography:Denis Diderot|Denis Diderot]], Louis Moréri and Prosper Marchand.<ref name="Christine de Pizan: A Casebook"/> In 1470 Jean V de Bueil reproduced Christine's detailed accounts of the armies and material needed to defend a castle or town against a [[Social:Siege|siege]] in ''Le Jouvence''.<ref name="ReferenceB"/> ''Livre des fais d'armes et de chevalerie'' was published in its entirety by the book printer Antoine Vérard in 1488, but Vérard claimed that it was his translation of Vegetius.<ref name="ReferenceC">{{cite book |first1=Charity Cannon |last1=Willard |first2=Sumner |last2=Willard |chapter=Preface |title=Book of Deeds of Arms and of Chivalry |publisher= Penn State Press|date=2010 |page=1|isbn= 978-0-271-04305-0 }}</ref> Philippe Le Noir authored an abridged version of Christine's book in 1527 under the title ''L'Arbre des Batailles et fleur de chevalerie'' (''The tree of battles and flower of chivalry'').<ref>{{cite book |first1=Charity Cannon |last1=Willard |first2=Sumner |last2=Willard |chapter=Preface |title=Book of Deeds of Arms and of Chivalry |publisher= Penn State Press|date=2010 |page=2|isbn= 978-0-271-04305-0 }}</ref>

''Livre des fais d'armes et de chevalerie'' was translated into English by William Caxton for Henry VII in 1489 and was published under the title ''The Book of Feats of Arms and of Chivalry'' as print one year later,<ref>{{cite book |last=Whetham |first=David |title=Just Wars and Moral Victories: Surprise, Deception and the Normative Framework of European War in the Later Middle Ages |publisher= BRILL |date=2009 |pages=62|isbn= 9789004171534 }}</ref> attributing Christine as author.<ref name="ReferenceC"/> English editions of ''The Book of the City of Ladies'' and ''Livre du corps de policie'' (''The Book of the Body Politic'') were printed in 1521 without referencing Christine as the author. Elizabeth I had in her court library copies of ''The Book of the City of Ladies'', ''L'Épistre de Othéa a Hector'' (''Letter of Othea to Hector'') and ''The Book of Feats of Arms and of Chivalry''. Among the possessions of the English queen were tapestries with scenes from the ''City of Ladies''.<ref>{{cite book |author=Karen Green|title=Preface – The Book of Peace |publisher= Penn State Press|date=2010 |pages=30–31|isbn= 978-0-271-04557-3 }}</ref> However, when in the early 19th century Raimond Thomassy published an overview of Christine's political writings, he noted that modern editions of these writings were not published and that as a political theorist Christine was descending into obscurity.<ref name="Karen Green 2010 3">{{cite book |author=Karen Green|title=Preface – The Book of Peace |publisher= Penn State Press|date=2010 |pages=3|isbn= 978-0-271-04557-3 }}</ref> Suzanne Solente, Mathilde Laigle and Marie-Josephe Pinet are credited with reviving the work of de Pizan in the 20th century. A writer who had been forgotten in France but noted elsewhere. Laigle noticed that de Pizan's work for instance had not been translated into Spanish but other writers had borrowed extensively from her work.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5ciWDwAAQBAJ&q=mathilde+laigle&pg=PT18|title=The Epistle of the Prison of Human Life: With an Epistle to the Queen of France and Lament on the Evils of the Civil War|last=Pizan|first=Christine de|date=2019-06-03|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-429-64734-5|language=en}}</ref>

While de Pizan's mixture of classical philosophy and humanistic ideals was in line with the style of other popular authors at the time, her outspoken defence of women was an anomaly. In her works she vindicated women against popular misogynist texts, such as Ovid's ''Art of Love'', Jean de Meun's ''Romance of the Rose'' and Matheolus's ''Lamentations''. Her activism has drawn the fascination of modern feminists.<ref name="978-0-8229-7165-8 p.75"/> [[Biography:Simone de Beauvoir|Simone de Beauvoir]] wrote in 1949 that ''Épître au Dieu d'Amour'' was "the first time we see a woman take up her pen in defence of her sex".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Schneir|first=Miriam|title=Feminism: The Essential Historical Writings|publisher=Vintage Books|isbn=978-0-679-75381-0|year=1994}}</ref>

The 1979 artwork ''The Dinner Party'' features a place setting for Christine de Pizan.<ref>[https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/eascfa/dinner_party/place_settings Place Settings]. Brooklyn Museum. Retrieved on 2015-08-06.</ref> In the 1980s Sandra Hindman published a study of the political events referenced in the illuminations of Christine's published works.<ref name="Karen Green 2010 3"/>

== List of works ==
* ''Enseignements moraux'' (1395)
* ''L'Épistre au Dieu d'amours'' (1399)
* ''L'Épistre de Othéa a Hector'' (1399–1400)
* ''Dit de la Rose'' (1402)
* ''Cent Ballades d'Amant et de Dame, Virelays, Rondeaux'' (1402)
* ''Le Chemin de long estude'' (1403)
* ''Livre de la mutation de fortune'' (1403)
* ''La Pastoure'' (1403)
* ''Le Livre des fais et bonnes meurs du sage roy Charles V'' (1404)
* ''Le Livre de la cité des dames'' (1405)
* ''Le Livre des trois vertus'' (1405)
* ''L'Avision de Christine'' (1405)
* ''Livre du corps de policie'' (1407)
* ''Livre des fais d'armes et de chevalerie'' (1410)
* ''Livre de paix'' (1413)
* ''Epistre de la prison de vie humaine'' (1418)
* ''Les sept psaumes allégorisés''
* ''Ditié de Jehanne d'Arc'' (1429)

== See also ==
*Antoine Vérard
*List of French language poets
*Vernacular literature
*Women's history

== References ==
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{{Reflist}}
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== External links ==
{{NIE Poster|year=1905|Christine de Pisan}}
* {{Gutenberg author |id=4613}}
* {{Internet Archive author |search=( (Christine OR Christiné) AND (Pisan OR Pizan) )}}
*[http://www.arlima.net/ad/christine_de_pizan.html Comprehensive bibliography of her works, including listings of the manuscripts, editions, translations, and essays.] in French at [http://www.arlima.net/ Archives de littérature du Moyen Âge (Arlima)]


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