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Book/Printed Material The Book of the City of Ladies. Le Livre de la Cité des dames

About this Item

Title

  • The Book of the City of Ladies.

Other Title

  • Le Livre de la Cité des dames

Summary

  • Christine de Pisan (circa 1364--1430) was born in Italy and came to France at the age of four with her father. Arguably the first woman in Europe to earn a living as an author, she is widely regarded as an early feminist who spoke out for the rights of women and espoused female achievement. She wrote poems and prose texts that were often allegorical and philosophical and that reflected her own original and engaged personality. She prepared the books with the aid of copyists and illuminators and offered them to patron princes and kings. Le Livre de la Cité des dames (The book of the city of ladies) is perhaps the best expression of Christine's lucid and humanist feminism. An implied response to St. Augustine's City of God, and also inspired by the work of Boccaccio, the book was written as a dialogue between student and master. The allegorical figures of Reason, Justice, and Rectitude enter into a conversation with Christine and invite her to build a city for famous women of the past and virtuous women of all times in a world made for men. Among the approximately 30 known copies of the text, this well known and beautifully illustrated copy contains the signature of its owner, Jean de Berry (1340--1416), a great bibliophile of the House of Burgundy.

Names

  • Christine, de Pisan, circa 1364-circa 1431 Author.

Created / Published

  • Paris : [publisher not identified], 1405.

Headings

  • -  France
  • -  France--Île-de-France--Paris
  • -  1405
  • -  Allegory
  • -  Feminism
  • -  Illuminations
  • -  Literature, Medieval
  • -  Women

Notes

  • -  Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
  • -  Original resource extent: Vellum, 79 pages, miniatures, decorated letters.
  • -  Original resource at: National Library of France.
  • -  Content in French.
  • -  Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.

Medium

  • 1 online resource.

Source Collection

  • Illuminated Manuscripts from Europe

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2021667679

Online Format

  • compressed data
  • pdf
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

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The Library asks that researchers approach the materials in this collection with respect for the culture and sensibilities of the people whose lives, ideas, and creativity are documented here.

Credit Line: [Original Source citation], World Digital Library

More about Copyright and other Restrictions

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Christine, De Pisan, Circa Circa 1431 Author. The Book of the City of Ladies. [Paris: Publisher Not Identified, 1405] Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021667679/.

APA citation style:

Christine, D. P. (1405) The Book of the City of Ladies. [Paris: Publisher Not Identified] [Pdf] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2021667679/.

MLA citation style:

Christine, De Pisan, Circa Circa 1431 Author. The Book of the City of Ladies. [Paris: Publisher Not Identified, 1405] Pdf. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2021667679/>.