christine de pizan book of the city of ladies

Tommaso changed his name to Thomas de Pizan.

When Christine was four years old her father was offered a position at the court of Charles V in Paris and the family moved out of Italy into a completely new country. Her father, Tommaso di Benevenuto da Pizzano was an educated man who studied medicine and astrology at the University of Bologna. Her early life began as many other young women’s lives did in the late medieval era. I first learned about this amazing woman in an art history course in college and she has been a figure that I have wanted to highlight for a long time now.Ĭhristine de Pizan went through much hardship to find that she had talent as a writer and to realize her purpose. Christine’s version of feminism in the 15 th century is still not like it is today (as she was still a woman of her time), but it was extremely radical for the period she lived through. This is evident in two of her most famous books, The Book of the City of Ladies and The Book of the Three Virtues. She calls out the injustice of their treatment in a very progressive manner. Her name was Christine de Pizan.Ĭhristine is considered one of the first feminist figures as, through her work, she directly addresses many of the injustices her sex had been subjected to. She is considered France’s (even Europe’s) first profession female writer and was popular internationally. Well, such a champion did exist, though many may not have been familiar with her. This period lacked champions to stand up to the patriarchy that dominated society. This was an era of serfs/lords, arranged marriages, and a time when women were viewed as little more than property.

– The Book of the City of Ladies by Christine de Pizan, 1405įeminism in the 15 th century? This is considered a rare concept during the medieval period. “ The female sex has been left defenseless for a long time now, like an orchard without a wall and bereft of a champion to take up arms in order to protect it…”

Christine de pizan book of the city of ladies