Today’s Google doodle is dedicated to Christine de Pizan

Today is dedicated to the woman who is considered the first European professional writer doodle of Google. Today she is considered one of the most important scholars of the Middle Ages and one of the most notable feminists of all time. Her work opened new horizons for women seeking a place in literature, gave voice to the proponents of equal education for men and women, and marked the common medieval practice of slandering women in literature.

She was well known at the time and had a great reputation, while the impetus to write was given to her by the fact that when she became unemployed she needed money to feed herself and her three children.

Christine de Pisan was born in 1364 in Venice. She was the daughter of Tomaso di Benvenuto da Pizano who was a physician, astrologer and adviser to Charles V of France. Because of her father’s profession, Christine was fortunate to grow up in an environment full of stimuli and access to knowledge, something very rare for a woman at the time.

She married a palace official at the age of 15 and had three children, one of whom died very young.

In 1389, however, her husband died of plague and Christine became a widow at the age of 25 with three children with no source of income. In addition, she found herself with the unbearable burden of debts left by her husband as well as the obligation to take care of her mother and her niece. AAfter the death of her husband, she tried to collect some of the money owed to him as well as some of the wages owed to him, but the law of the time, which was extremely unfair to women, did not provide for the collection of money from a widow despite the fact that they were entitled to them. Instead of taking her husband’s earnings, she became involved in a series of lengthy, complicated and soul-destroying legal proceedings following lawsuits she received from Archbishop Sensei and Royal Adviser François Santeprim, who refused to give her the money she owed her. .

In order for her and her family to survive, according to the relevant Wikipedia entry, she was forced to work despite the fact that this was extremely difficult for a woman of that time. She used her knowledge, education and exceptional literary skills to make a living and became one of the first professional writers in Europe. Wealthy nobles began to show their preference for this author who was at the same time exotic as female writers were something extremely rare but extremely capable and they began to assign her love poems and biographies. Her abilities were such that she soon secured a place in the court of Isabella of Bavaria, Queen of France. She soon gained a pan-European reputation and was often compared to Virgil and Cicero because of her technical skills and the intelligence shown through her work.

Her most famous work is the Trésor de la cité des dames which was published in 1405 and translated into English as The City of Ladies. in which he recorded the life and work of important women of history and mythology. This project also looks at the causes of social discrimination against women and includes advice to women on how they could increase their education and improve their social status.

Today the City of Ladies is considered one of the most basic feminist texts and is a source for those who believe that women should have equal educational opportunities with men. In her day, however, she was heavily attacked by those who felt threatened by the idea that women were equal to men.

In 1415 the Hundred Years’ War broke out, from which France emerged defeated. This development greatly influenced Christine de Pizan and she decided to retire to a convent. There he wrote the Discourse on Jean de Arc in 1429. He finally died in the monastery sometime between 1430 and 1431.