Christine de Pizan
Christine de Pizan depicted presenting her collected works to the Queen of France, Isabeau de Bavière, sometime between 140 and 1415. Image Source: Wikipedia
The Medieval era might not conjure too many images of feminism, but some scholars argue that Christine de Pizan was one such feminist. When she was widowed at age 25 (after ten years of marriage) de Pizan needed to find a way to support herself. In late 14th century Venice, there weren’t many ways for a woman to be self-sufficient, but Pizan had an upper hand since, unlike most women of her time, she had an education and was able to write.
It might seem far-fetched that anyone could support their mother, children and extended family on a writer’s income, but that’s what Pizan managed to do—in fact, she was the first woman in all of Europe to make a living as a professional writer. She wrote across several genres, styles and topics and created some of the first feminist manifestos, though many of her advanced ideas were (and perhaps still are) ahead of society in that regard. During her lifetime her work was appreciated in small circles, enough for her to make money from commissions, but she was never the literary sensation she could have been as a feminist icon.
Her most important work, The Book of the City of Ladies, was written specifically to call out society’s perception of women as lesser beings. The book, published in 1405, honored great women in history and elevated them to the same level as their male contemporaries. Unfortunately, many women of Pizan’s time would not have had access to the tome or have been able to read it, leaving it to be consumed primarily by the upper echelons of society—an audience which could appreciate Pizan’s commentary on aristocracy, fashion and chivalry.
While many contemporary scholars and writers believe that Pizan should be considered a feminist writer, many also argue that to call her such would be an anachronistic use of the word and a misinterpretation of her intentions as a writer.
