Christine de Pisan was a French poet and essayist during the Middle Ages. She lived from
c. 1364 to c. 1431. Early on in her career, she stuck to popular forms of poems such as ballades, rondeaux, and virelays. Female writers were uncommon and it was hard for them to find jobs. Luckily, Christine de Pisan had family ties to nobility and was paid to write biographies for people such as Charles V and Philip the Bold. She was the first professional independent woman writer in all of Europe, possibly the whole world. Her success is attributed to her range of interests, and her focus on education for everyone. Christine was insubordinate to the customary women 's role. She wrote at least 15 major works during her lifetime, along with many shorter poems and essays. The de Pisan family first appeared in Pizzano, Italy, a city close to Bologna. Christine was born in Venice and spent the first 5 years of her life there. Due to her father 's job change, she had to move to Paris, France. She loved the country of France and refused well-paying jobs in other countries. She was offered places in their courts by both the English Henry IV and Milanese Galeazzo Visconti. People first showed interest in Christine when her poems were published. Her works spread through all of Europe and many were heavily influenced by her ideas. Even though she refused to leave her beloved country, her words changed lives of many Europeans. During her later years of life she lived in the Abbey of Poissey where her daughter had retreated to. She took an 11 year break in silence before writing her last piece. Thomas de Pisan was Christine de Pisan 's father. …show more content…
He was an adviser for the city government of Venice when she was born, but was promoted to a medical and astrological adviser to French king Charles V. Her education was better than most women 's because she participated in some of her brothers ' schooling. Her father also taught her many subjects, including religions, scientific advancements, and philosophical arguments of the day. Christine 's family had a massive library which encouraged her love of writing. She married Étienne du Castel, a royal secretary in the French court, when she was only 15 years old. They had 3 children, a daughter and 2 sons. She mentioned him in some of her essays and said he encouraged her self-expression and intellectual pursuits. But her husband died during a tragic epidemic in 1390 while on a mission for the French king. Christine was left with 3 children, no job, and in lots of debt. She made the unusual choice to not remarry or live off the support of family members. Instead, she started writing and trying to gain attention from nobles who would pay her to write. Most women in the Middle Ages were quiet and soft spoken. Christine de Pisan was the opposite of normal in her time. She’s the first feminist in the eyes of many. Her main focus was equal education for all. She first appeared as a feminist in 1402 when she started debating literature. Le Roman de Rose written by Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun attacked females and encouraged misogynistic ideas. She wrote an essay advocating against the ordinary role of women. Christine wanted women to receive equal education so they could further enhance abilities they already had. This was first directed towards her son, then the oldest son of the current French king. Christine enraged men even more when she suggested that women’s minds were insusceptible to