Christine de Pizan was born in Italy and moved to the French court of Charles V when she was four years old. She led a life of learning, stimulated by her reading and by her drive to engage with the cultural and political issues of her day. As a young widow she sought to support her family through writing, and she broke new ground by pursuing a life as an author and self-publisher, producing an astonishingly large and varied body of work. Her books, owned and read by some of the most important figures of her day, addressed politics, philosophy, government, ethics, the conduct of war, autobiography and biography, and religious subjects.

The God of Love's Letter (1399), Christine de Pizan's first defense of women, is arguably her most succinct statement about gender. It also rebukes the thirteenth-century Romance of the Rose and anticipates Christine's City of Ladies. The Tale of the Rose (1402) responds to the growth in chivalric orders for the defense of women by arguing that women, not men, should choose members of the "Order of the Rose." Both poems are freshly edited here from their earliest manuscripts and each is newly translated into English.


About the Author
Christine de Pizan (c. 1364-c. 1430) was an Italian-born poet and author who grew up in France. Thelma S. Fenster is professor emerita of French and medieval studies at Fordham University, where she also directed the Medieval Studies Program. She has authored articles about Christine de Pizan and edited Christine's poetry. Christine Reno is professor emerita of French and Francophone studies at Vassar College, where she also taught in the Women's Studies Program. She has coedited two editions of Christine de Pizan's works and coauthored the Album Christine de Pizan.


Reviews
"These new editions and translations of two of Christine's early works engaging with the misogyny of the Roman de la Rose will be invaluable not only to undergraduate and postgraduate students but also to specialists and readers interested in the later Middle Ages. The new material covered here is a tribute both to the editors' meticulous scholarship and to the enormous strides made by Christine studies over recent years, particularly in our understanding of the manuscript tradition and Christine's constant reworking of her texts over time."-Angus J. Kennedy, University of Glasgow
"These new editions and translations of two of Christine's early works engaging with the misogyny of the Roman de la Rose will be invaluable not only to undergraduate and postgraduate students but also to specialists and readers interested in the later Middle Ages. The new material covered here is a tribute both to the editors' meticulous scholarship and to the enormous strides made by Christine studies over recent years, particularly in our understanding of the manuscript tradition and Christine's constant reworking of her texts over time." -- Angus J. Kennedy, University of Glasgow



Book Information
ISBN 9781649590060
Author Christine Fenster
Format Paperback
Page Count 210
Imprint Iter Press
Publisher Iter Press
Weight(grams) 390g
Dimensions(mm) 234mm * 155mm * 14mm