In 1401, Christine de Pizan (1365–1430?), one of the most renowned and prolific woman writers of the Middle Ages, wrote a letter to the provost of Lille criticizing the highly popular and widely read Romance of the Rose for its blatant and unwarranted misogynistic depictions of women. The debate that ensued, over not only the merits of the treatise but also of the place of women in society, started Europe on the long path to gender parity. Pizan’s criticism sparked a continent-wide discussion of issues that is still alive today in disputes about art and morality, especially the civic responsibility of a writer or artist for the works he or she produces. In Debate of the “Romance of the Rose,” David Hult collects, along with the debate documents themselves, letters, sermons, and excerpts from other works of Pizan, including one from City of Ladies—her major defense of women and their rights—that give context to this debate. Here, Pizan’s supporters and detractors are heard alongside her own formidable, protofeminist voice.  The resulting volume affords a rare look at the way people read and thought about literature in the period immediately preceding the era of print.

Debate of the Romance of the Rose (The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe)

Literature & Fiction

Pizan, Christine De

History & Criticism

University of Chicago Press

In 1401, Christine de Pizan (1365–1430?), one of the most renowned and prolific woman writers of the Middle Ages, wrote a letter to the provost of Lille criticizing the highly popular and widely read Romance of the Rose for its blatant and unwarranted misogynistic depictions of women. The debate that ensued, over not only the merits of the treatise but also of the place of women in society, started Europe on the long path to gender parity. Pizan’s criticism sparked a continent-wide discussion of issues that is still alive today in disputes about art and morality, especially the civic responsibility of a writer or artist for the works he or she produces. In Debate of the “Romance of the Rose,” David Hult collects, along with the debate documents themselves, letters, sermons, and excerpts from other works of Pizan, including one from City of Ladies—her major defense of women and their rights—that give context to this debate. Here, Pizan’s supporters and detractors are heard alongside her own formidable, protofeminist voice. The resulting volume affords a rare look at the way people read and thought about literature in the period immediately preceding the era of print.

Christine de Pizan (ca. 1364-ca. 1421) is Europe’s first professional woman writer. She wrote an astonishing body of work in many genres, including lyric poetry, allegorical dream visions, history, political treatises, and biography. This Norton Critical Edition presents selections from eighteen of Christine’s major works in fresh, contemporary translations. Each text is fully annotated and is accompanied by an introduction placing it in the context of Christine’s oeuvre and tracing the literary developments and the historical situation of the period. The Book of Fortune’s Transformation and The Book of the City of Ladies include manuscript illuminations. "Criticism" collects seven important interpretations of the literary and historical aspects of Christine’s work, by Jacqueline Cerquiglini, Beatrice Gottlieb, Renate Blumenfeld-Kosinski, Sheila Delany, Patricia A. Phillippy, Joel Blanchard, and Kevin Brownlee. A Selected Bibliography is included.

The Selected Writings of Christine De Pizan (Norton Critical Editions)

W.W.Norton&Company

The Book of the Body Politic (Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought)

Politics & Social Sciences

Politics & Government

Cambridge University Press

This is the first translation into modern English of Christine de Pizan's major political work, The Book of the Body Politic (c. 1407). Written during the Hundred Years' War by France's first female professional writer, it discusses the education and behavior appropriate for princes, nobility and common people, so that all classes can understand their responsibilities toward society as a whole. The product of a time of unrest and disorder, the book provides a fascinating view of politics from the perspective of an educated woman.

History

Europe

Philosophy

Othea’s Letter to Hector, one of Christine de Pizan’s most popular works, is at the same time one of her most complex creations. Combining a somewhat Sibylline verse text based on a mythological figure with extensive citation of pagan sapiential authorities, the Bible, and the Church Fathers, it showcases Christine’s extraordinary learning and her innovative approach to didacticism. An appendix provides new insights on her skillful use of patristic sources and creative command of Latin authors.

Othea’s Letter to Hector (Volume 57) (The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe: The Toronto Series)

Literary

Iter Press

Recounts the progress of a fifteen-year, clandestine love affair between the Duke, a young knight, and a married noblewoman in fourteenth century France

The Book of the Duke of True Lovers

Poetry

Persea

Cent ballades d'amant et de dame (French Edition)

Gallimard]

Née à Venise en 1364, fille de l’astrologue de Charles V, poétesse, historienne, moraliste, Christine de Pizan serait « le premier auteur » de la littérature française. La Cité des Dames couronne son œuvre féministe. Profondément déprimée par la lecture d’une satire misogyne, l’auteure se lamente d’être née femme. Apparaissent alors pour la consoler trois envoyées de Dieu : Raison, Droiture et Justice. Avec leur aide, Christine de Pizan construira une cité imprenable où les femmes seront à l’abri des calomnies. Les pierres de ce bel édifice seront les femmes du passé, guerrières, artistes et savantes, amoureuses et saintes ! 
L’argumentation surprend par sa modernité : Christine de Pizan y aborde le viol, l’égalité des sexes, l’accès des femmes au savoir… La Cité des Dames apparaît comme un ouvrage capital pour l’histoire des femmes et pour la pensée occidentale à l’aube des temps modernes. 
Traduction et introduction de Thérèse Moreau et Éric Hicks.

La Cité des dames

Genre Fiction

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Pizan, Christine De. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Pizan, Christine De

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Pizan, Christine De. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Debate of the Romance of the Rose (The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe)

Debate of the Romance of the Rose (The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe)

The Selected Writings of Christine De Pizan (Norton Critical Editions)

The Book of the Body Politic (Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought)

The Book of the Body Politic (Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought)

The Book of the Body Politic (Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought)

Othea’s Letter to Hector (Volume 57) (The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe: The Toronto Series)

The Book of the Duke of True Lovers

Cent ballades d'amant et de dame (French Edition)

La Cité des dames