Christine de pizan biography
Christine de Pizan
Excerpt
Few medieval writers were as prolific as Christine de Pizan. Over a career that spanned almost four decades, she composed around thirty major works as well as several shorter poems. These survive in over two hundred manuscripts – an extraordinary figure for an individual medieval author. For comparison, just a single manuscript exists of the Old English epic poem Beowulf and even Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, which were being composed around the time that Christine was writing, survive in only 32 copies. What is even more remarkable in Christine’s case is that she oversaw the production of 54 of her manuscripts herself and several of them are written in her own hand. It is not known how many further copies of her works are likely to have been lost over the centuries.
Such an enormous literary production would not have been possible had its executor not been deeply familiar with contemporary culture and compositional practices. For her works to circulate, a pragmatic knowledge of writing, bookmaking and booktrading was required; for them to be popular, they needed to display a mastery of popular and fashionable poetic themes, which would also secure her valuable patronage from some of the highest-ranking nobles of the time. Gaining the dexterity required to be proficient in these various areas was no easy task in the Middle Ages – especially for a woman without a clerical education – so despite her prolific output, Christine did not turn to writing until relatively late in life. Before she was to take up her pen, her life was to undergo a series of twists and turns that would set her on the path to becoming an author.
Christine was born in Venice around , but she only spent a short amount of time in that city. Her father, Thomas de Pizan – Thomasso de Benvenuto da Pizzano, to give him his full Italian name – was appointed astrologer to the French court in Paris shortly before Once he h
Christine de Pisan
(b. , Venice, Italy; d. , Poissy, France)
Christine de Pisan (Christine de Pizan) was a medieval writer and historiographer who advocated for women’s equality. Her works, considered to be some of the earliest feminist writings, include poetry, novels, biography, and autobiography, as well as literary, political, and religious commentary. De Pisan became the first woman in France, and possibly Europe, to earn a living solely by writing.
De Pisan was raised at court in Paris with her father, Thomas de Pisan, the astrologer and secretary to King Charles V of France. Although her educational upbringing is unclear, through her father’s court appointment, she did have access to a variety of exceptional libraries. In , de Pisan married Etienne du Castel, a nobleman from Picardy. He was an unusual husband for the time in that he supported her educational and writing endeavors. When he died in , de Pisan was only in her early twenties. After receiving attention from patrons in the court for her poetry and love ballads dedicated to her husband, she decided that rather than remarry she would support her three children and newly widowed mother through her writing. While she was still establishing herself as a writer, de Pisan also transcribed and illustrated other authors’ works.
Her own writing, in its various forms, discusses many feminist topics, including the source of women’s oppression, the lack of education for women, different societal behaviors, combating a misogynistic society, women’s rights and accomplishments, and visions of a more equal world. De Pisan’s work, though critical of the prevailing patriarchy, was well received, as it was also based in Christian virtue and morality. Her writing was especially strong in rhetorical strategies that have since been extensively studied by scholars.
Her two most famous works are the books Le Dit de la Rose (The Tale of the Rose), , and Le Tresor de la Cit Italian-born French author ( – c. ) In this medieval Italian name, the name de Pizan is an indicator of birthplace, not a family name. Christine de Pizan Christine de Pizan (sitting) lecturing to a group of men standing Venice, Republic of Venice Poissy, Kingdom of France Etienne du Castel &#; &#; Christine de Pizan or Pisan (French:[kʁistindəpizɑ̃], Middle French:[krisˈtinədəpiˈzã]; born Cristina da Pizzano; September – c.&#;), was an Italian-born French court writer for King Charles VI of France and several French royal dukes, in both prose and poetry. Christine de Pizan 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 of Burgundy, and his son John the Fearless. Considered to be some of the earliest feminist writings, her work includes novels, poetry, and biography, and she also penned literary, historical, philosophical, political, and religious reviews and analyses. Her best known works are The Book of the City of Ladies and The Treasure of the City of Ladies, both prose works 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. Christine de Pizan was born in in the Republic of 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 village of Pizzano (currently part of the municipality of Monterenzio), southeast of Bologna. Her father worked as a physician, court astrologer and Councillor of the Republic of Venice. Thomas de Pizan accepted an appointment to the court o Christine de Pizan was a French Renaissance writer who wrote some of the very first feminist pieces of literature. During the Renaissance, Christine de Pizan broke with the traditional roles assigned to women in several ways during a time when women had no legal rights and were considered a man's property. Because she was one of the few women of the time period that were educated, she was able to write. When she was unexpectedly left to support herself and her family on her own, she became the first woman in Europe to successfully make a living through writing. She wrote in many different genres and styles depending on her subject and patron. Eventually, she began to address the debate about women that was happening during her life through works like Letters to the God of Love (), The Take of the Rose (), and Letters on the Debate of the Romance of the Rose (). Her writing finally culminated in her most famous book, The Book of the City of Ladies () and its sequel Book of the Treasury of Ladies (). Christine de Pizan's early life left her well prepared for the challenges that she would later face. Born in Italy, she moved to France at a young age when her father, Thomas de Pizan, became the astrologer of King Charles V. Her father assured it that she had the best education possible. She was married at the age of fifteen to Etienne de Castel. Though an arranged marriage, they were very happy together. Etienne was a nobleman and a scholar who encouraged Christine to continue her studies while they were married. Soon after their marriage, tragedy struck Christine 's life. When Charles V died in , her father lost his position at the court. he became ill and eventually died in She and her husband assumed the care for her family after this. Then, in , Etienne suddenly took ill while he was abroad with Charles VI. Christine was left alone to support her mother and her three small children. Despite wishing for death, Christine persevered and turned to Christine de Pizan
Born September Died c. () (aged&#;65–66) Occupation Writer Spouse Children 3 Parent Tommaso di Benvenuto da Pizzano Life
Early life and family (–)