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POET HERO:
CHRISTINE DE PISAN
by Andrea Hopkins
 Christine de Pisan was born in Venice around 1364. Her father, Tomasso de
Pizzano, a famous physician and astrologer, was invited to the court of King
Charles V of France when Christine was five years old. She remained in
France all her life. She received an excellent education. She spoke French
and Italian, and Latin as well. In 1380, when she was about
fifteen, Christine married Etienne du Castel, a court secretary. The
marriage was exceptionally happy.
Unfortunately, King Charles V died that same year, and Tomasso's favored
status at the court, as well as much of his income, was reduced by the new
king. Etienne's income was reduced at the same time, and the family found
itself in more difficult circumstances. Soon Tomasso died after a prolonged
illness and in 1390, Etienne, too, died suddenly. Christine was left a widow
at the age of twenty-five with three small children, her mother and a niece
to support. The small amount of money left to her by Etienne was the subject
of dispute, and Christine was involved in a series of lawsuits in an attempt
to recover it.
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She decided to earn her income as a writer. Her poems, songs and ballads
were well-received and soon she was able to support her family. Christine de
Pisan became popular and her work was later supported by many lords and
ladies of medieval Europe, including Berry, Brabant and Limburg,the Dukes of
Burgundy, King Charles VI, and his wife Queen Isabella of Bavaria. Much of
her work contains a great deal of autobiographical information, which was
unusual for writers of that time. Some of her works are: The Changes of
Fortune, a long poem containing examples from her life and of other famous
people, The Epistles of Othea, a collection of ninety-nine allegorical
tales, and The Road of Long Study. In 1404, she was commissioned by the duke
of Burgundy, Philip the Bold, to write a biography of his deceased brother,
King Charles V. She wrote a very flattering first-hand account of the king
and his court in The Book of the Deeds and Good Manners of the Wise King
Charles V.
An autobiographical Vision of Christine was written in 1405. This volume was
written partly to silence her critics in a somewhat heated literary debate
on the subject of women. She followed this up with The Book of the City of Women in 1405, a collection of stories about heroines of the past, and
The Treasure of the City of Ladies : Or the Book of the Three Virtues in
1406.
Christine de Pisan was very devoted to France and was horrified by the civil
strife that erupted after the assassination of Louis of Orleans. In 1410,
she wrote Lamentations on the Civil War, and then The Book of Feats of Arms
and Chivalry, which was one of the first books to be translated later into
English. She was devastated by the hostilities with England and the Hundred
Years' War and, in 1418, she retired to live in a convent. Encouraged by the
early successes of Joan of Arc, she dedicated her last known poem Hymn to
Joan of Arc to Joan in 1429. Christine de Pisan died ca.1430.|
Written by
Andrea Hopkins
from
www.DistinguishedWomen.com
Photos courtesy of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Yukon Schools Medieval and Renaissance Project, Tulane University, and the U. of Iowa's Women's Studies Resource site. |
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Canada's Yukon Schools Medieval and Renaissance Project Women's Studies from University of Iowa "Seulette Suis" a poem by Pisan (in French) Christine de Pisan dedicated her last hymn to Joan of Arc. |
RECOMMENDED
READING | |
 Christine de Pizan by Edith Yenal |
 The Writings of Christine de Pizan by Charity Cannon Willard, Christine de Pizan |
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Last changed on:8/22/2005 2:41:26 PM
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