11.15: Christine de Pizan
- Page ID
- 253596
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Learning Objective
- Discuss the significance of Christine de Pizan’s work
Key Points
- Christine de Pizan was an Italian-French late medieval author, primarily a court writer, who wrote commissioned works for aristocratic families and addressed literary debates of the era.
- Her work is characterized by a prominent and positive depiction of women who encouraged ethical and judicious conduct in courtly life.
- Much of the impetus for her writing came from her need to earn a living to support her mother, a niece, and her two surviving children after being widowed at the age of 25.
- Christine’s participation in a literary debate about Jean de Meun’s Romance of the Rose allowed her to move beyond the courtly circles, and ultimately to establish her status as a writer concerned with the position of women in society.