Christine de Pizan

Lore & Background

Christine de Pizan was born in 1364 in Venice to Tommaso di Benvenuto da Pizzano, a physician and astrologer who later served King Charles V of France. She moved to Paris in 1368 and married Etienne du Castel in 1379. After her husband died of the plague around 1390, she became a court writer to support her family, composing love ballads that attracted wealthy patrons. Her patrons included dukes Louis I of Orleans, Philip the Bold of Burgundy, and John the Fearless.

Her best-known works, The Book of the City of Ladies and The Treasure of the City of Ladies, were prose works written while she worked for John the Fearless. She also wrote L'Épistre de Othéa a Hector, a political allegory, and a chronicle of Charles V commissioned by Philip the Bold. Christine was involved in the literary controversy known as the Querelle du Roman de la Rose, questioning the depiction of women in Jean de Meun's Romance of the Rose. She produced richly illustrated manuscripts and customized editions for different patrons.

Reader's Guide

Christine de Pizan is significant as one of the earliest known professional women writers in Europe, supporting herself and her family through her literary work after being widowed. Her writings, which include novels, poetry, biography, and political and philosophical analyses, are considered early feminist works for their defense of women's virtues and intellectual capabilities. She addressed works to Queen Isabeau of Bavaria and the dauphin, promoting wise governance and the role of women in society. Her books of advice to princesses, princes, and knights remained in print until the sixteenth century, indicating their lasting influence. Christine's career also illustrates the changing nature of literary patronage in the late Middle Ages, as she navigated the turbulent politics of the French court during the Hundred Years' War and the civil conflict between the Burgundian and Orléanist factions.

Did You Know?

• Christine de Pizan was born in Venice, Italy, but moved to Paris at age four when her father became astrologer to King Charles V.
• She became a court writer after her husband died of the plague around 1390, leaving her to support her mother and children.
• Her book The Book of the City of Ladies features intellectual and royal female leaders such as Queen Zenobia.
• She was involved in the Querelle du Roman de la Rose, a literary controversy about the depiction of women in Jean de Meun's Romance of the Rose.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"Christine de Pizan or Christine de Pisan (11 September 1364 – c. 1430) was a Venetian-born French poet and proto-feminist philosopher, sometimes said to be Europe’s first female professional writer." — Christine de Pizan "Car en mon cuer porte couvertementLe dueil qui soit qui plus me puet desplaire,Et si me fault, pour les gens faire taire,Rire en plorant et très amerementDe triste cuer chanter joyeusement." — Christine de Pizan "For what would I be otherwise but sport,In love with one who does not care for me?I will hide pain in smiles, sooner than beThe common talk.

It is a bitter art To sing a happy song with a sad heart." — Christine de Pizan "Rondeau "De triste cuer chanter joyeusement", line 8; Maurice Roy (ed.) Œuvres Poétiques de Christine de Pisan (1886) vol. 1, p. 154, as translated by by Sheenagh Pugh." — Christine de Pizan