xv, 384 pages ; 21 cm

Christine de Pizan (1364-1429?), France's first woman of letters, is widely known for her Book of the City of Ladies (Persea, 1982), a classic work of revisionist history that seeks to show that women are the moral and intellectual equals of men. In recent years, Christine has taken her place within the canon of Western literature alongside Boccaccio and Dante, and yet very little of this writer's considerable oeuvre has been translated into English

The Writings of Christine de Pizan remedies this situation. In this volume, major scholars and acclaimed translators unite in a single endeavor: to make the full range of this important writer's work and thought widely known. Edited by Charity Cannon Willard, foremost authority on Christine de Pizan, The Writings presents lengthy excerpts from nearly all of Christine's works in accurate and gracious translations. Introductory essays by Dr

Willard mark the major divisions of the book and set the writings in an historical, biographical, and literary context. References are annotated, and the sources of the translations are cited. The volume also includes biographical notes on the translators, extensive bibliography, and an index. Many years in the making, The Writings of Christine de Pizan has been long-awaited by both the general reader and the specialist

. Among the writings are passages from Christine's autobiography; lyric and allegorical poetry; excerpts from her official biography of King Charles V the Wise; her writings on women, warfare, politics, love, and the human condition; writings from her part in the famous Quarrel of the Rose; and Christine's triumphant poem on Joan of Arc, the only contemporaneous account in existence

The translators are Barbara K. Altmann, Diane Bornstein, Regina deCormier, Dwight Durling, Thelma S. Fenster, Eric Hicks, Nadia Margolis, June Hall McCash, Glenda McLeod, Christine Reno, Earl Jeffrey Richards, Kittye Delle Robbins-Herring, Sandra Sider, James J. Wilhelm, Charity Cannon Willard, and Sumner Willard

Includes bibliographical references (pages 368-373) and index

Christine's autobiographical vision. From Christine's vision -- The courtly poet. From One hundred ballades ; From More ballades ; From Songs for sale ; From Christine's teachings for her son, Jean du Castel ; From The tale of Poissy ; From The book of the duke of true lovers ; From One hundred ballades of a lover and his lady -- Allegorical poetry. From The letter of Othea to Hector ; From The book of the long road to learning ; From The book of the mutation of fortune -- The defense of women. From The letter of the God of love ; Lesser treatise on The romance of the rose ; From The tale of the rose ; From The book of the city of ladies ; From The treasury of the city of ladies -- The biography of Charles V. From The book of the deeds and good character of King Charles V the Wise -- The fate of France. From The book of man's integrity ; Letter to the Queen of France, Isabel of Bavaria ; From the book of the body of policy ; From the book of the deeds of arms and of chivalry ; Lamentation on the woes of France ; From The book of peace -- The life of the spirit. From Prayers to our lady ; From The seven allegorized psalms ; From A letter concerning the prison of human life ; From The hours of contemplation on the passion of our Lord -- The miracle of Joan of Arc. From The poem of Joan of Arc

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