Christine de Pizan

Christine de Pisan
Born	1364 Venice
Dee'd	1430 Poissy, Fraunce
Hauf-marrae(s)	Etienne du Castel
Bairns	3
Pawrents	Thomas de Pizan

Christine de Pizan (seen as de Pisan an aw) (1364 – c. 1430) wis an Italian French late medieval author who challengit misogyny an stereoteeps prevalent in the late medieval cultur. As a poet, she wis well kent an heichlie regardit in her awn day; she completit 41 wirks durin her 30 year career (1399–1429), an can be regarded as Europe’s first profeesional wuoman writer. She marriet in 1380, at the age o 15 an wis widaeed 10 years later. Hintle o the impetus for her writin came frae her need tae earn a livin for hersel an her three childer. She spent maist o her bairnhuid an aw o her adult life based in Paris an then the abbey at Poissy, an wrote entirely in her adoptive tongue o Middle French.

Her early courtly poetry is marked bi her knawledge o airistocratic custom an fashion o the day, pairticularly involvin weemen an the practice o chivalry. Her early an later allegorical an didactic treatises reflect baith autobiografical information aboot her life an views an her awn individualisit an humanist approach tae the scholastic learned tradeetion o meethologie, legend, an history she inheritit frae clerical scholars an tae the genres an courtly or scholastic subjects o contemporary French an Italian poets she admired an aw. Supportit an encouragit bi important ryal French an Inglis patrons, she influencit 15t-century Inglis poetry. Her success stems frae a wide range o innovative writin an rhetorical techniques that critically challengit renouned male writers, such as Jean de Meun who incorporatit misogynist beliefs athin their literary wirks.

In recent decades, de Pizan's wirk haes been returned tae prominence bi the efforts o scholars such as Charity Cannon Willard, Earl Jeffrey Richards an Simone de Beauvoir. Certain scholars hae argued that she shoud be seen as an early feminist who efficiently uised leid tae convey that weemen coud play an important role athin society. This characterisation haes been challengit bi ither critics who claim either that it is an anachronistic uise o the wird, or that her beliefs wur no progressive enough tae merit such a designation.

Influence

De Pizan contributit tae the rhetorical tradeetion bi coonteractin the contemporary discourse. Rhetorical scholars hae studiet her persuasive strategies. It haes been concludit that she successfully forgit a rhetorical identity for hersel, an encouragit weemen tae embrace this identity bi coonteractin misogynist thinkin through persuasive dialogue. Simone de Beauvoir wrote in 1949 that Épître au Dieu d'Amour wis "the first time we see a wumman tak up her pen in defence o her sex" makkin Christine de Pizan aiblins the Wast's first feminist, or protofeminist as some scholars prefer tae say.

Selectit bibliografie

• L'Épistre au Dieu d'amours (1399)
• L'Épistre de Othéa a Hector (1399–1400)
• Dit de la Rose (1402)
• Cent Ballades d'Amant et de Dame, Virelyas, Rondeaux (1402)
• Le Chemin de long estude (1403)
• Livre de la mutation de fortune (1403)
• La Pastoure (1403)
• Le Livre des fais et bonners meurs du sage roy Charles V (1404)
• Le Livre de la cité des dames (1405)
• Le Livre des trois vertus (1405)
• L'Avision de Christine (1405)
• Livre du corps de policie (1407)
• Livre de paix (1413)
• Ditié de Jehanne d'Arc (1429)