The Book of the City of Ladies

by Christine Pizan

  ‘I could tell you a similar story about the wise and noble Queen Blanche, the mother of Saint Louis, whose goodness was infinite. She ruled the kingdom of France with such skill and care until her son was old enough to accede to the throne, that no man could have done better. Even when he was grown up, she proved herself so worthy that she remained at the head of his advisors and nothing was decided without her consent. She even followed her son into battle.

  ‘There are so many others I could tell you about but lack of space prevents me. However, whilst we’re on the subject of queens of France, we don’t need to go too far back into history. In your childhood, you yourself knew Queen Jeanne, wife of Charles IV. If you can recall her, think about all the good things which she is remembered for having done: both the fine way in which she ran her court and exercised justice and the virtuous manner in which she lived her own life. Of no prince has it ever been said that he maintained the rule of law and safeguarded his lands and powers better than this lady did.

  ‘Her noble daughter, who was married to the duke of Orleans, the son of King Philip, was just like her mother in this respect. Throughout her long widowhood, she upheld justice in her lands so steadfastly that no one could have done better.

  ‘The same could be said of Queen Blanche, the late wife of King John, who retained control of her lands and enforced law and order.

  ‘And what about the brave and good duchess of Anjou, daughter of Saint Charles of Blois, Duke of Brittany, and late wife of the duke of Anjou, the younger brother of wise King Charles V, who became king of Sicily? This lady certainly ruled her lands and territories, both in Provence and elsewhere, with the strictest justice, keeping them intact for her noble children until they came of age. One cannot praise highly enough this lady in whom all virtues abounded. In her youth, she not only surpassed all other ladies in beauty, but was also as chaste as she was wise. In her later life, she proved herself to be supremely prudent in the way she governed, for her strength and fortitude were unfailing. After the death of her husband in Italy, the whole of Provence rebelled against her and her noble children. By using both force and gentleness, this lady succeeded in regaining the loyalty and obedience of her subjects and henceforth ruled Provence with such perfect fairness that no further murmurs or complaints were ever heard against her rule.

  ‘I could cite you so many more examples of other French ladies who, in their widowhood, governed their territories and conducted themselves with supreme skill. Take that great landowner who is still alive, the countess of La Marche who is also countess of Vendôme and Castres. What can one say about her powers of government? Isn’t it true that she has constantly sought to master the art of upholding justice? She applies herself most diligently and intelligently to this task. What more can I tell you? I assure you that the same can be said of a whole host of widowed ladies of high, middle and low rank who, if you looked at them closely, have been able to maintain their lands in just as good a state as their husbands did when they were alive, and who are as much loved by their subjects. Whether men like it or not, there is no doubt that there are countless women who fit this description. Though some women are undeniably silly, there are many others who have more intelligence, sensitivity and shrewdness than a whole group of men put together. If these women’s husbands trusted them or had as much sense as their wives, they would be much better off.

  ‘Yet, if women generally do not pass sentence or adjudicate in legal cases, this should not displease them, as it means that they are less physically and mentally bowed down with responsibilities. Though these tasks have to be done in order to punish the wicked and to dispense justice to all, the men who perform them must sometimes wish that they were no more learned than their mothers. Even if they all try to acquit themselves well of their duties, God knows that the punishment for those who fail to do so is very great.’

  14. More discussion and debate between Christine and Reason.

  ‘My lady, you have truly spoken well, and your words are like music to my ears. Yet, despite what we’ve said about intelligence, it’s undeniable that women are by nature fearful creatures, having weak, frail bodies and lacking in physical strength. Men have therefore argued that it is these things that make the female sex inferior and of lesser value. To their minds, if a person’s body is defective in some way, this undermines and diminishes that person’s moral qualities and thus it follows that he or she is less worthy of praise.’

  Reason’s reply was, ‘My dear daughter, this is a false conclusion which is completely untenable. It is definitely the case that when Nature fails to make a body which is as perfect as others she has created, be it in shape or beauty, or in some strength or power of limb, she very often compensates for it by giving that body some greater quality than the one she has taken away. Here’s an example: it’s often said that the great philosopher Aristotle was very ugly, with one eye lower than the other and a deformed face. Yet, if he was physically misshapen, Nature certainly made up for it by endowing him with extraordinary intellectual powers, as is attested by his own writings. Having this extra intelligence was worth far more to him than having a body as beautiful as that of Absalom.

  ‘The same can be said of the emperor Alexander the Great, who was extremely short, ugly and sickly, and yet, as is well known, he had tremendous courage in his soul. This is also true of many others. Believe me, my dear friend, it doesn’t necessarily follow that a fine, strong body makes for a brave and courageous heart. Courage comes from a natural, vital force which is a gift from God that He allows Nature to implant in some rational beings more than in others. This force resides in the mind and the heart, not in the bodily strength of one’s limbs. You very often see men who are well built and strong yet pathetic and cowardly, but others who are small and physically weak yet brave and tough. This applies equally to other moral qualities. As far as bravery and physical strength are concerned, neither God nor Nature has done the female sex a disservice by depriving it of these attributes. Rather, women are lucky to be deficient in this respect because they are at least spared from committing and being punished for the acts of appalling cruelty, the murders and terrible violent deeds which men who are equipped with the necessary strength have performed in the past and still do today. It probably would have been better for such men if their souls had spent their pilgrimage through this mortal life inside the weak body of a woman. To return to what I was saying, I am convinced that if Nature decided not to endow women with a powerful physique, she none the less made up for it by giving them a most virtuous disposition: that of loving God and being fearful of disobeying His commandments. Women who don’t act like this are going against their own nature.

  ‘However, dear Christine, you should note that God clearly wished to prove to men that, just because all women are not as physically strong and courageous as men generally are, this does not mean that the entire female sex is lacking in such qualities. There are in fact several women who have displayed the necessary courage, strength and bravery to undertake and accomplish extraordinary deeds which match those achieved by the great conquerors and knights mentioned in books. I’ll shortly give you an example of such a woman.

  ‘My dear daughter and beloved friend, I’ve now prepared a trench for you which is good and wide, and have emptied it of earth which I have carried away in great loads on my shoulders. It’s now time for you to place inside the trench some heavy, solid stones which will form the foundations of the walls for the City of Ladies. So take the trowel of your pen and get ready to set to with vigour on the building work. Here is a good, strong stone which I want you to lay as the first of your city’s foundations. Don’t you know that Nature herself used astrological signs to predict that it should be placed here in this work? Step back a little now and let me put it into position for you.’

  15. About Queen Semiramis.

  ‘Semiramis was a truly heroic woman who excelled in the practice and pursuit of arms. Because of her great military prowess, the people of th
e time – who were all pagans – said that she was so invincible both on land and sea that she must be the sister of the great god Jupiter and the daughter of the old god Saturn whom they regarded as the rulers of these two domains. This lady was married to King Ninus, who named the city of Nineveh after himself. With the help of his wife Semiramis, who rode into battle at his side, this fine lord conquered the mighty city of Babylon, the vast land of Assyria and many other countries.

  ‘When Semiramis was still quite young, it so happened that her husband Ninus was killed by an arrow during an assault on a city. Once he had been buried with all due ceremony as befitted a king, his wife didn’t lay down her arms but rather took them up with renewed vigour and seized the reins of power over the kingdoms and territories that she and her husband had conquered together in battle. She gained full control over these lands, thanks to her military skills, and likewise accomplished so many other marvellous deeds that no man could match her in strength and ability. This supremely courageous lady had no fear of pain and was undaunted by anything. Semiramis confronted any type of danger with such courage that she crushed all her enemies who thought that, once she was widowed, they could overthrow her in the lands which she had conquered. However, she had such a fearsome reputation as a warrior that she not only kept all the lands she had already taken but even added others to her empire. Accompanied by vast numbers of troops, she attacked Ethiopia with such force that she defeated it completely. From there she set off with a huge army to conquer India, a country on which no one had ever dared wage war. She attacked this nation so ruthlessly that it fell entirely into her hands. To keep the tale short, she then went on to attack still more countries so that, in the end, the whole of the East came under her control. Thanks to these magnificent and mighty conquests, Semiramis was able to rebuild and fortify the city of Babylon which had been founded by Nimrod and the giants on the plains of Shinar. Though the city was already powerful and fiercely protected, she strengthened it still further with more defences and deep moats all around.

  ‘One time, Semiramis was sitting in her room surrounded by her handmaidens, who were busy combing her hair, when news suddenly came that one of her territories had rebelled against her. She jumped up immediately and swore on her kingdom that the half of her hair which had not yet been plaited would remain loose until she could avenge this outrage and take the country back into her control. Without further delay, she ordered huge numbers of her troops to prepare for battle and attacked the rebels with such ferocity and might that they submitted once more to her rule. These rebels and all her other subjects were so intimidated by her that none ever dared to revolt against her again. In memory of this great and noble deed, an enormous bronze statue of her, richly decorated in gold, was erected on a massive pillar in the middle of Babylon. This statue, which stood for many years, depicted a princess holding a sword in her hand with only one side of her hair plaited. Queen Semiramis founded and built several new cities and fortresses, and performed so many other notable feats that no man has ever been commemorated in the history books for having as much courage and for doing as many marvellous things as she did.

  ‘It’s true that some authors have criticized Semiramis – and rightly so, if she had been a Christian – for having married her own son whom she had borne to her husband, the lord Ninus. Yet she had two main reasons for doing so: firstly, she wanted no other crowned lady to share her empire with her, as would have been the case if her son had married another woman; and secondly, in her opinion, no other man than her son was worthy of her. This terrible transgression of hers can partly be excused by the fact that, at that time, there was no written law: people observed only the law of nature whereby they were free to do as they pleased without fear of committing a sin. There’s no doubt that, since she was so proud and honourable, if she had thought she was doing anything wrong or that she might be subject to criticism for her actions, she would have refrained from doing as she did.

  ‘The first foundation stone of our city is now in place, but we must follow it up with many more stones in order to raise high the walls of the building.’

  16. About the Amazons.

  ‘There is a country near the land of Europe which lies on the Ocean, that great sea that covers the whole world. This place is called Scythia, or the land of the Scythians. It once happened that, in the course of a war, all the noblest male inhabitants of this country were killed. When their womenfolk saw that they had lost all their husbands, brothers and male relatives, and that only very young boys and old men were left, they took courage and called together a great council of women, resolving that, henceforth, they would lead the country themselves, free from male control. They issued an edict which forbade any man from entering their territory, but decided that, in order to ensure the survival of their race, they would go into neighbouring countries at certain times of the year and return thereafter to their own land. If they gave birth to male children, they would send them away to be with their fathers, but the female children they would bring up themselves. In order to uphold this law, they chose two of the highest-born ladies to be queens, one of whom was called Lampheto and the other Marpasia. No sooner was this done than they expelled all the men who were left in the country. Next, they took up arms, women and girls together, and waged war on their enemies, laying waste to their lands with fire and sword and crushing all opposition until none remained. In short, they wreaked full revenge for their husbands’ deaths.

  ‘This is how the women of Scythia began to bear arms. They were later known as the Amazons, a name which means “they who have had a breast removed”. It was their custom that, by a technique known only to this race of women, the most noble of them would have the left breast burnt off at a very early age in order to free them up to carry a shield. Those young girls who were of non-noble birth would lose the right breast so that they could more easily handle a bow. They took such pleasure in the pursuit of arms that they greatly expanded their territory by the use of force, thus spreading their fame far and wide. To get back to what I was saying, the two queens Lampheto and Marpasia each led a great army into various countries and were so successful that they conquered a large part of Europe and the region of Asia, subjugating many kingdoms to their rule. They founded many towns and cities including the Asian city of Ephesus, which has long been justly renowned. Of these two queens, it was Marpasia who died first in battle and who was replaced by a young daughter of hers, a beautiful and noble maiden called Synoppe. This girl was so proud that she chose never to sleep with a man, preferring instead to remain a virgin until her death. Her only love and sole pleasure in life was the pursuit of arms: she never tired of going into battle and seizing new lands. She also avenged her mother’s death fully by putting to the sword the entire enemy population and laying waste to their whole country, adding it to the others which she went on to conquer.’

  17. About the Amazon queen, Thamiris.

  ‘As you will now go on to hear, the state founded by the Amazons flourished for a very long time, with a whole succession of valiant ladies becoming queen. Since it would be tedious to tell you all their names, I’ll limit myself to the most famous individuals.

  ‘One of the Amazon queens was the noble Thamiris, who was as brave as she was wise. Thanks to her intelligence, cunning and military prowess, she defeated and captured Cyrus, a great and powerful king of Persia who had performed many marvellous feats, including the conquest of the mighty Babylon and a large part of the whole world. Having vanquished so many countries, Cyrus decided to attack the realm of the Amazons in an attempt to bring them too under his control. Once this wise queen had been informed by her spies that Cyrus was advancing towards her with an army big enough to defeat the entire world, she realized that there was no way to beat his troops by force and that she would have to use guile. So, like the battle-hardened leader she was, on learning that, as she had intended, Cyrus had now come well inside her territory having met no opposition, Thamiris ordered all her ladi
es to put on their armour and cleverly sent them off to set up strategic ambushes in the mountains and forests through which Cyrus would have to pass.

  ‘Hidden from view, Thamiris and her army waited for Cyrus and his men to move into the narrow passages and gullies between the trees and rocks where he had to pick his way. At the key moment, she had her horns sounded, taking Cyrus completely by surprise. To his dismay, he found his army attacked on all sides by ladies who were hurling down great piles of rocks to crush them. Because of the difficult terrain, his men could neither advance nor retreat: if they tried to go forwards or backwards, they were ambushed and killed as soon as they emerged at either end of the passages. All were crushed and slain, except Cyrus and his barons, who were taken prisoner by order of the queen. When the massacre was over, Thamiris had them brought before her pavilion, which she had ordered to be put up before the fighting began. She was so full of anger at Cyrus for having killed one of her beloved sons whom she had sent to his court that she decided to show no mercy. She had all his barons decapitated in front of him, saying: “Cyrus, you who were so cruel and bloodthirsty from killing other men, can now finally drink your fill.” Thereupon she had his head cut off and thrown into a barrel in which all the blood of his barons had been collected.