The Ship of Virtuous Ladies ed. by Symphorien Champier (review)

Symphorien Champier's The Ship of Virtuous Ladies, a defense of women first printed in 1503, was an early contribution to the querelle des femmes. Todd W. Reeser's translation, the first into English, is a part of the Toronto "Other Voice in Early Modern Europe" series. Reeser gives us a brief but useful publication history of Champier's text, but unfortunately does not tell his reader which edition of La nef des femme vertueuses he was working from, nor does he discuss, even broadly, the changes the text underwent in printings after 1503.

Other than these issues, Reeser's introduction to his translation is superb. It includes a very informative explanation of the rhetorical, cultural, textual, and historical context of The Ship of Virtuous Ladies, along with a fascinating description of Champier's own publishing career, which reveals to the reader much about the lives of authors and books at the time. Reeser firmly locates Champier's Ship in the late medieval and Renaissance tradition, both textual and visual, in which ships represent various aspects of humanity. Champier simultaneously participates in that tradition and breaks with it, using the metaphor of the ship to prove that women can be wise rather than foolish, and that they are not inherently slaves to their senses. Rather, according to Champier, women have the potential to transcend the body and the senses, and move toward virtuous, that is to say non-corporeal, love. One of the most interesting and valuable parts of the introduction is Reeser's discussion of whether Champier is truly an "Other Voice." Here Reeser considers the importance of participation in textual traditions and the significance of literary innovation during Champier's time. Reeser explores Champier's praise of women for their masculine attributes and actions, and his casting himself, not just as a chronicler of virtuous women, but also as their protector.

The original nef des dames vertueuses consisted of four books, of which Reeser translates three. Book 1, "Praise, Flowers, and Defense of Women," consists of brief descriptions of praiseworthy women of the past. Champier begins with a section on ancient women, composed of individual portrayals of fifty-eight women, a substantial paragraph describing the Sibyls, and a much shorter one about the wives of the Minyans. This is followed by a section on forty women of the Old Testament, beginning with Eve. She is included, Champier explains, because all humankind descended from her, and he reminds us that she sinned and did penance. Unsurprisingly, some of the women in book 1 are not identified by name, only as "wife of" or "widow of." Next is a section on women saints, beginning with the Virgin Mary, followed by twenty-eight other saints, and an ample paragraph on the 11,000 virgins who were converted by Ursula and martyred by the Huns. Champier closes the book with a section on five renowned women who were not regarded as saints. He explains that, in the interest of brevity, he has chosen to recount only some of the deeds of these remarkable women, and the portraits he provides of them are indeed brief, ranging from fewer than 50 to around 700 words in English translation.

Book 2 of The Ship of Virtuous Ladies is "Rules for Marriage" and consists of twenty short chapters. The book begins with a brief history of marriage, focusing mainly on men. Champier reiterates the views of many before him: the world was made for man, according to Cicero and Ovid. God created man, according to Josephus, to be master of all inferior beings. Again citing Josephus, Champier declares that woman was created to keep man company and to procreate. Following a discussion of Christian versus non-Christian marriage (some idolaters had multiple wives, he declares, or shared wives!), Champier presents a series of rules on marriage—how a woman should select a...