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Christine de Pizan (also seen as de Pisan) (1363–c.1434) was born in Venice but grew up in the court of King Charles V of France after her father accepted a position at the French court. As a child she spent many hours in the king's library learning languages and reading philosophy. Because she was one of the few women of the time period who was educated, she was able to write. When she was unexpectedly left to support herself and her family on her own, she became the first woman in Europe to successfully make a living through writing.
She strongly challenged misogyny and stereotypes prevalent in the male-dominated realm of the arts. As a poet, she was well-known and highly regarded in her own day and had a profound influence on fifteenth-century English poetry. She wrote in many different genres and styles depending on her subject and patron. Eventually, she began to address the debate about women that was happening during her life through works like Letters to the God of Love (1399), The Take of the Rose (1402), and Letters on the Debate of the Romance of the Rose (1401-1403). Her writing career peaked with her most famous book, The Book of the City of Ladies (1404-05) and its sequel Book of the Treasury of Ladies (1405). Her final work was entitled The Tale of Joan of Arc and celebrated the rise of a young woman who was destined to become a military leader.
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