Medieval Europe
Telling Women’s History: three Questions and an Answer with Nancy Marie Brown
Nancy Marie Brown and I first made contact when I was poking around the medieval world, working on the question of how Islam kept the flame of classical civilization alive and helped shape the culture of the West. That book never saw the light of day, but Nancy and I stayed in touch. We finally…
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A Woman’s Home is Her Castle
As I believe I’ve mentioned before, in Treasure of the City of Ladies; or the Book of the Three Virtues, author, intellectual, and champion of female education Christine de Pizan (1364–1430) instructed noblewomen of her time to learn the military skills they needed to defend their property: “She ought to have the heart of a…
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Shin-kickers from History: Christine de Pizan
Christine de Pizan (1364–1430) was one of the most important European writers of the late Middle Ages and the first woman known to make a living as a writer (1). She was born in Venice. When her father was appointed royal astrologer to the French king Charles V, the family moved to Paris, where she…
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