An Introduction to Christine de Pizan (review)

Every so often, a study appears whose clear-cut organization, insightful commentary, and engaging style make it indispensable reading for specialists and non-specialists alike. Such is Nadia Margolis' An Introduction to Christine de Pizan. Although the title identifies it as introductory, this volume goes far beyond being a resource primarily for newcomers to Christine's literary world. Even experts who navigate the territory of late-medieval literature with ease are bound to increase their knowledge, thanks to Margolis' skill at tracing, contextualizing, and interpreting the defining moments of Christine's life and art.

One extremely useful feature of An Introduction is that roughly half of the book is devoted to supporting information that is crucial to understanding Christine's path toward becoming a formidable intellectual and author. The chapters that focus on Christine's works are bookended, on the one side, by a Chronology of Christine's Life and Influential Events and a Genealogy of the Valois Dynasty and, on the other side, by a Glossary, Bibliographical Guide, Notes, and Index. The Glossary cannot fail to be a tremendous boon both to students who are approaching the field for the first time and to instructors. Among other items, entries include historical figures, authors, and mythological personages; pertinent written forms (e.g., virelai, summa, epistle); specific works; and concepts that are central to medieval intellectual life. The Bibliographical Guide "a select bibliography of English- and French-languages sources while sections IIIa and IIIb list four bibliographies and two useful electronic sites (200). The rest of the guide inventories primary sources of Christine's writings.

The value of Chapter 1, "Christine's Life and Times," presents facts about the author's life, notably her intellectual debt to her father, Thomassos, astrologer to Charles V, and her grief at losing a beloved husband at the age of 25, while showing how profoundly she was affected by the chaos of the Hundred Years' War. Turmoil at the court of Charles VI ended Tomassos' career. He fell ill and died in 1388 or 1389. Shortly thereafter, Christine's beloved husband, Etienne de Castel, died, too, leaving her responsible for herself, their three children, her mother, and her niece. Writing would provide their livelihood.

Margolis' Chapter 2, "Early Works," deals with how Christine began by composing lyric poetry. Nonetheless, her skill at argumentation led to participation in the famous Debate on the Romance of the Rose. She also chronicled Charles V's reign in Le Livre des Fais et bonnes moeurs du sage roy Charles V. Through Margolis' adept treatment of the French political environment of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the reader is able to appreciate exactly what was at stake for Christine during this period when the fortunes of princes rose and fell.

With the passage of time, Christine de Pizan's authorial activities came to be determined more and more by political events in France, as well as the widespead climate of misogyny in medieval society. As concerns the latter, Le Livre de la Cité des Dames, "the first known history of women by a woman," has obviously received the most critical attention. Margolis gives this masterpiece its due in Chapter 3, "Later Works," but also presents excellent commentary on other pieces that address woman's identity and power within a political context. For example, the Epistre a la reine, written to Isabeau of Bavaria, wife of Charles VI, asks the queen to serve as mediator-or moyennerresse, a term coined by Christine-between the ruling class and its subjects. Le Ditié de Jehanne d'Arc likewise evokes the power of woman to save nations and all humankind.

As mentioned above, one of the great strengths of An Introduction is its author's ability to contextualize so many and such...