Character Catalog

Christine's first openly feminist text, in which she denounces the misogyny of clergymen and defends the honor of women. It marks the beginning of her engaged literary career.

A long allegorical poem of 23,636 verses in which Christine traces the history of the world and her own life, making Fortune a central figure of human existence.

Christine's masterpiece: an imaginary city built with the help of three allegorical figures (Reason, Rectitude, Justice) and populated by illustrious women from history. A founding work of Western feminism.

A practical education treatise addressed to women of all social backgrounds, from princess to peasant. It constitutes a valuable testimony on the lives of women in the Middle Ages.

A biography commissioned by Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, in tribute to the late king. It is an important historical source on the reign of Charles V.

A military treatise drawing on Vegetius and Frontinus, which was printed in England by William Caxton in 1489. It bears witness to the extraordinary breadth of Christine's knowledge.

The only contemporary poem celebrating Joan of Arc, written after the lifting of the siege of Orléans. It is the last known text by Christine, composed after eleven years of silence in a convent.

I, Christine, found myself one day seated in my study, surrounded by many volumes of various authors... And then I felt great displeasure with myself and with all of womankind.

It is truly worthy of remembrance That God, through a tender virgin, Wished — a miracle made manifest — To pour His grace upon France.

Many clerics say in general, And many people believe them well, That woman is worthy of no good, That all are fickle.

Every woman, whatever her station, must have in her heart strength and vigor to resist the adversities of Fortune.

At that time, I, Christine, Left my bed early in the morning, And from my chamber to a hall I went directly without delay.

Christine de Pizan's birthplace, where she was born in 1364. Her Italian origins gave her a humanist culture that she brought with her to the French court.

Residence of the French court where Christine grew up alongside her father, astrologer to King Charles V. This environment allowed her to receive an exceptional education for a woman of the time.

Parisian residence of Charles V and later Charles VI, where Christine frequented the court, received literary commissions, and met the great patrons who would fund her works.

Dominican convent where Christine took refuge in 1418 to escape political unrest. She spent her final years there alongside her daughter, a nun in that community.

The principal intellectual centre of medieval Europe, with which Christine was closely connected through scholars and theologians such as Jean Gerson, who supported her in the Querelle du Roman de la Rose.

A slanted lectern rested on the knees or on a table, allowing Christine to hold her parchments while she wrote. Christine is often depicted at her writing desk in the illuminations of her manuscripts.

A quill cut from a reed or goose feather, dipped in a horn inkwell. Christine wrote and corrected her texts herself, also supervising the copying of her manuscripts.

A book copied by hand on parchment and adorned with coloured miniatures. Christine personally oversaw the production of her manuscripts, particularly those offered to Queen Isabeau of Bavaria and to great lords.

A widow's garment that Christine wore after the death of her husband in 1389. She herself refers to it in her autobiographical writings to underscore her condition as a woman alone who had to provide for herself.

An indispensable light source for working after sunset in her study. Christine herself describes her long nightly vigils spent reading and writing in The Path of Long Study.

A reusable medium for taking notes or drafting texts before transcribing them onto parchment. A common tool among medieval scholars for the first drafts of their writings.