A Female Voice in the Middle Ages

Abstract

Medieval texts frequently leave women out or overlook their contributions to society and describe them in a negative and hateful narrative. Christine de Pizan, a late fourteenth century poet, challenges these slanderous works produced by men. This paper highlights Christine de Pizan’s pro- feminine arguments that are made within one of her most popular works, The Book of the City of Ladies. de Pizan uses prose to effectively demonstrate the false accusations made about women. She uses historical and religious examples to prove that a women’s worth is more than what male authors make it out to be. Some scholars relate this work to early feminism, however, de Pizan is very aware of the female place in society and is simply asking for accurate representation and female virtue to remain in these sources rather demanding equality of the sexes. This article highlights some of the feminist arguments by classifying them as pro-feminine instead of feminist.