Christine de Pisan

#2

From the Introduction... Although The Book of the City of Ladies was written more than half a millenium ago, it is filled with potent observations for our times. The querelle des femmes the woman question in late fourteenth- and fifteenth-century France—articulated its arguments in much the same way as today's debate about the equality of women. Here, in The Book of the City of Ladies, Christine intersperses her tales of formidable and exemplary heroines of the past with down-to-earth remarks about the wrongs done to women by society's attitudes and opinions. Her tone is not shrill, but forbearing; her comments trenchant; she never whines. She indicts men, Portia-like, from a position of superior benevolence, enacting the drama of women's greater moral qualities by refusing the line of violence or suppliant weakness. Christine de Pizan was born in a court and she was an adept of courtly ways; her strategy in her attack is courteous, and her courtesy, with its appearance of frankness, even artlessness, conceals a fair bit of cunning, and a deal of rage.

#3

It is unexpected in any era to find a woman writing a book on the art of warfare, but in the fifteenth century it was unbelievable. Not surprisingly, therefore, Christine de Pizan's The Book of Deeds of Arms & of Chivalry, written around 1410, has often been regarded with disdain. Many have assumed that Christine was simply copying or pilfering earlier military manuals. But, as Sumner Willard & Charity Cannon Willard show in this faithful English translation, The Book of Deeds of Arms & of Chivalry contains much that is original to Christine. As a military manual it tells us a great deal about the strategy, tactics, & technology of medieval warfare & is one of our most important sources for early gunpowder weapon technology. It also includes a fascinating discussion of Just War. Since the end of the fifteenth century, The Book of Deeds of Arms & of Chivalry has been available primarily through Antoine Verard's imprint of 1488 or William Caxton's 1489 translation, The Book of the Order of Chivalry. Verard even suggested that the work was his own translation of the Roman writer Vegetius, making no mention of Christine's name. Caxton attributed the work to Christine, but it is impossible to identify the manuscript he used for his translation. Moreover, both translations are inaccurate. The Willards correct these inaccuracies in a clear & easy-to-read translation, which they supplement with notes & an introduction that will greatly benefit students, scholars, & enthusiasts alike. Publication of this work should change our perception both of medieval warfare & of Christine de Pizan. Includes information on Frontinus, Hannibal, defense of castles and towns, equipment for assault, sea battles, siege warfare, war machine, Scipio, Vegetius, etc.