The Book of the City of Ladies

by Christine Pizan

  ‘After these triumphs, her husband was killed by one of his relatives in an attempt to usurp the throne. However, nothing more came of it as this brave lady stopped the would-be usurper in his tracks and showed her courage and wisdom by taking control of the empire into her safekeeping until her children, who were still very young, could come of age. She had herself crowned empress, taking up the reins of power with skill and ability and governing with such good sense and military prowess that neither Gallienus nor, after him, Claudius, who were both emperors of Rome and had placed a substantial part of the East under Roman control, dared to raise a hand against her. The same can be said of the Egyptians, the Arabs and the Armenians, all of whom were so wary of her strength and reputation for taking firm action that they were happy just to keep their borders intact. This lady conducted herself so wisely that she was not only held in great esteem by her princes but also loved and obeyed by her subjects, and feared and respected by her knights. Indeed, when she went to war, as was often the case, she would never address her troops unless she was fully armed and helmeted. Moreover, in battle she would not allow herself to be carried in a litter, as was the usual custom for rulers at that time, but insisted on riding a lively steed, sometimes even going on ahead of her troops in disguise so as to spy on her enemies.

  ‘This heroic lady Zenobia surpassed all the knights of her time in her supreme mastery of the skills of warfare. She also outshone all other ladies in her noble and virtuous personal habits because she was renowned for her extreme sobriety. None the less, she sometimes organized great feasts and gatherings for her barons and for foreign visitors, offering them every luxury imaginable and showering them with handsome and costly gifts. She knew exactly how to win the affection and goodwill of the most eminent people. Furthermore, she was completely chaste: not only did she refuse to have anything more to do with men after her husband’s death, but even with him she consented to intercourse purely for the purposes of having children, making this apparent by sleeping alone when she was pregnant. In order to ensure that all aspects of her public appearance matched the virtue of her personal morals, she would not allow anyone who was dissolute or debauched to frequent her court and would only look favourably on those whose lives were virtuous and upright. Zenobia honoured her courtiers according to their goodness, valour and morality, not their wealth or birth, and she was particularly fond of those who were very sober in their ways or who were experienced knights. Her lifestyle was very opulent and regal: she spent money freely and maintained a magnificent court, as was the custom of the Persians, who generally lived in the most lavish style of all royalty. She ate off plates decorated with gold and precious stones and dressed in luxurious robes. She amassed a large treasury both from her own fortune and from the revenues which she had raised without imposing an excessive burden on her people. However, she also gave much of it away to those whom she thought deserving of it, thus outdoing all other princes in her generosity and splendour.

  ‘In addition to these virtues, her greatest accomplishment was her knowledge of the arts, which I’ll now mention briefly to you. Zenobia was well schooled in works written in Egyptian and her own tongue, diligently taking up her books whenever she had the time. Her chosen teacher was Longinus, the philosopher, who initiated her into his discipline. She knew Latin and Greek and wrote a very elegant abridged history of contemporary events in each of these languages. She also wanted her children, whom she had brought up very strictly, to receive a similar education to her own. So tell me, my dear Christine, if you have ever read about or known any prince or knight who was more perfectly endowed with all the virtues than she was?’

  21. About the noble Queen Artemisia.

  ‘Shall we dedicate any less space to Artemisia, the most noble and virtuous queen of Caria, than to these other valiant ladies? This lady, who was the widow of King Mausolus, so dearly loved her husband that on his death she left half her heart with him, so to speak, enshrining her feelings for all the world to see. But I’ll tell you more about that at the right time and place. She was left with many lands to govern but was not in the least troubled by this as she had all the right qualities needed to rule a country, being honest, sober in manner and politically astute. Moreover, she was a very courageous warrior and so well versed in the art of warfare that she achieved several victories which further enhanced the glorious reputation that she had won for herself. Not only did she govern the state wisely during her widowhood, she also took up arms on two particularly important occasions: the first being to defend her country; and the second to honour an alliance and oath of fealty which she had sworn.

  ‘The first of these occasions arose after the death of her husband, Mausolus, when the people of Rhodes, whose lands adjoined her own, were consumed with envy at the sight of a mere woman on the Carian throne. In the hope of usurping her and seizing her lands, they decided to attack her with a huge army and fleet of ships, heading for the city of Halicarnassus perched high above the sea on an outcrop called Icaria, which was naturally well defended. In addition, this city has two harbours, one of which is cleverly hidden inside the town with a very narrow entrance which could be used for going in and out of the palace without being seen either from outside or from inside the city itself, whilst the other harbour lies alongside the perimeter walls. When the brave and wise Artemisia learnt from her spies that the enemy were approaching, she ordered great numbers of her troops to arm themselves for battle. Before she left, she also instructed the inhabitants of the city, as well as some of her most faithful and trusted courtiers whom she had specially chosen for this purpose, to perform a certain task when they received an agreed signal from her. They were to make welcoming signs to the people from Rhodes and to call down to them from the walls and tell them that they wanted to surrender the city to them. The plan then was that they would do their utmost to persuade the unsuspecting Rhodians to leave their ships and to reassemble in the marketplace inside the city. Once she had delivered her orders, Artemisia and her army crept out of the narrow harbour and made for the open sea without her enemies even noticing. On giving her signal and receiving an answering one from the city that the enemy were now all gathered inside, she stole back through the main harbour and took possession of the enemy’s ships. She then burst into the city at the head of her army and attacked the Rhodians so fiercely on all sides that soon every one of them was overcome and killed. Victory was hers.

  ‘However, Artemisia’s bravery went one step further: she and her army took the enemy’s ships and set sail for Rhodes, making the sign of victory as if they were returning triumphant to their homeland. When the Rhodians saw them, thinking that it was their compatriots, they were overjoyed as they let them into port. As Artemisia entered the harbour, she ordered her men to take control of the waterfront whilst she headed straight for the palace where she then captured and killed all the royal princes. That’s how this lady defeated the people of Rhodes, who were completely unprepared for her attack, taking command of the city and, not long after, of the whole island itself. Having subjugated the Rhodians and fixed the tribute that they would pay to her, she left a garrison of her own trusty soldiers to defend the place and set off for home. Before she left, she had two bronze statues put up inside the city: one of Artemisia herself depicted as the victor and the other of the city of Rhodes portrayed as the vanquished foe.

  ‘The other most famous deed of all those that she accomplished was when Xerxes, King of Persia, had attacked the Lacedaemonians, occupying the country with a great army of horsemen and foot soldiers and flanking the shore with a fleet of ships big enough to destroy the whole of Greece. The Greeks, who had signed an alliance treaty with Queen Artemisia, called on her for help. She responded not simply by sending troops but, like the brave warrior she was, she herself set out at the head of a huge army. The queen more than fulfilled her duty to attack Xerxes by putting him completely to rout. After defeating him on land, she took to the sea once more and attacked his flagship as
soon as it came into range just off the coast of the city of Salamis. As the battle raged, the valiant Artemisia stood shoulder to shoulder with the chief barons and generals of her army, urging them on to ever greater deeds and shouting words of encouragement: “Forward, my brave knights and brothers-inarms; victory is in our sights! Cover yourselves in glory and my riches will be yours!” In short, she fought so well that she crushed Xerxes as thoroughly on sea as she had done on land. The dishonourable king then took to his heels and fled, despite the fact that, as many historians have pointed out, he had such a massive army with him that wherever they passed through, the springs and rivers in the area soon dried up. Thus this heroic lady won a magnificent triumph and returned home to her country resplendent in the glorious crown of victory.’

  22. About Lilia, mother of the valiant knight Theodoric.

  ‘Although the noble lady Lilia did not herself go into battle, she is no less deserving of praise for her courage in persuading her son, Theodoric, a very valiant knight, to return to combat, as you shall now hear. In his time, this Theodoric was one of the most powerful princes at the court of the emperor of Constantinople. He was very handsome and highly skilled in the military arts. Moreover, thanks to the fine upbringing and moral precepts which he had received from his mother, he was both upright and exemplary in his behaviour.

  ‘It so happened that a prince called Odoacer once attacked the Romans in the hope of destroying both them and the whole land of Italy, if he could. In response to a request for help from the Romans, the emperor of Constantinople sent Theodoric, whom he considered to be the finest of his knights, together with a great army. In the course of the battle against Odoacer, the tide of fortune turned against Theodoric who, out of fear for his life, had to flee the scene of battle and make for the city of Ravenna. When his brave, wise mother, who had been watching the conflict closely, saw her son turn tail, her sorrow knew no bounds since, to her mind, a knight could commit no greater sin than to run from battle. Her noble instincts made her put aside all motherly compassion as she would have preferred to see her son die a valiant death than cover himself in such shame. She ran directly to him and implored him not to dishonour himself in this way but instead to rally his troops once more and return to the battlefield. However, as her words appeared to be having no effect on him, she fell into a great rage and lifted up her skirts, saying: “My dear son, there is no place left for you to hide except my womb, so you should climb back up inside immediately!” Theodoric was so shamefaced that he turned on his heel, gathered his troops together and went back to fight. His mother’s words had inflamed him with such shame that he put all his efforts into defeating his enemies and killing Odoacer. The whole of Italy, which had been facing destruction, was now saved by this lady’s good sense. Indeed, in my view, it is to the mother rather than to the son that the honour of this victory should go.’

  23. More about Queen Fredegunde.

  ‘Coming back to Queen Fredegunde of France, whom I mentioned to you before, she too was supremely valiant in battle. Remember that I told you earlier how her husband Chilperic died, leaving her a widow with her son Clotar still at her breast and the country in the throes of war. At this point, she addressed her barons, saying, “My lords, don’t be alarmed at the fact that our enemies are here in great numbers to attack us. I have come up with a plan for beating them, if you will only put your trust in me. Putting aside my womanly timidity, I will strengthen my heart with manly courage and rouse you and your soldiers to acts of great valour, all for the sake of this tender, young prince. I will go ahead of you with him in my arms and you will follow on behind. Whatever I tell your high constable to do, I will expect you to do the same.” The barons replied that they would obey her every command.

  ‘She ordered her troops to line up carefully behind her as she rode out with her son in her arms, followed by the barons and with the battalions of knights positioned behind them. They made their way towards the enemy until nightfall, whereupon they headed into a forest. There the high constable cut off a great bough from a tree and all the others followed suit. The knights draped their horses from head to foot in may foliage and hung little bells on many of them as if they were animals going out to pasture. Flanking each other closely, they rode on towards the enemy camp, holding up large may branches in their hands. The valiant queen kept out in front, exhorting the others on to battle with promises and cajoling words, and still holding the little prince in her arms. Behind her rode the barons, who were filled with compassion at this sight, and were more resolved than ever to do their duty. When they judged that they were now close enough to the enemy, they called a halt and stood still without making a sound.

  ‘As dawn began to break, those who were keeping watch at the enemy camp caught sight of them and said to each other, “What an extraordinary thing! Last night there was no sign of a wood or a forest nearby but now look at this great thicket of trees here!” When the others saw this sight, they agreed that the wood must have been there all along and that they had been too stupid to notice it, since they were at a loss to explain it otherwise. That it could be nothing other than a wood seemed to be proved by the fact that they could hear the bells of the horses and other livestock grazing inside. As they were having this discussion, never for a moment dreaming that it might all be a trick, the queen’s troops suddenly threw down their branches and what the enemy had taken for trees turned out to be knights in full armour. They hurled themselves at the enemy with such swiftness that their opponents had no time to pick up their weapons as they were all still abed. The troops ran through the entire camp, capturing and killing everyone. They thus secured victory, thanks to the cleverness of Queen Fredegunde.’

  24. About the virgin Camilla.

  ‘I could tell you much more about such fine, brave women as these, and Camilla is no less worthy than any I’ve already mentioned. This Camilla was the daughter of Metabus, the venerable king of the Volscians. Her mother died giving birth to her and, soon after, her father was overthrown by his own subjects who had rebelled against him. He was in such danger that he was forced to flee for his life, taking nothing else with him but his beloved daughter Camilla. When he came to a great river which he would have to swim across, he was thrown into despair for he could see no way of taking his daughter with him. However, after a few moments’ reflection, the idea came to him of going and breaking off big pieces of bark from the nearby trees and putting them together to make a little boat. He placed the child inside it and strapped it to his arm with some sturdy vines of ivy. He then went into the water and swam across, dragging the little boat behind him, until both he and his daughter arrived safely on the other side. The king made his home in the woods as he was too afraid of being spotted by his enemies to go anywhere else. He fed Camilla with the milk of wild deer until she had grown a little bigger and stronger, and he used the skins of wild animals he had killed as clothing and bedding for himself and his daughter.

  ‘When she was in her early teens, Camilla took to chasing and killing animals with a slingshot. She ran so swiftly after them that she was fleeter than a hare. She carried on these pursuits until she was an adult, by which time she had become extraordinarily hardy and brave. Having learnt from her father the wrong that his subjects had done to him, she felt enough confidence in her strength and courage to leave his side and take up arms. To keep the tale short, her valiant efforts in battle were so successful that, with the help of some of her kinsmen, she managed to win the country back for her father. Even then, she didn’t give up her military activities until she had won a glorious reputation for herself. Moreover, she was so proud that she refused to take a husband or even to sleep with a man. This lady Camilla remained a virgin all her life, and it was she who came to Turnus’s aid when Aeneas landed in Italy, as the history books inform us.’

  25. About Queen Berenice of Cappadocia.

  ‘There was once a queen of Cappadocia called Berenice, a courageous lady of very noble stock who was th
e daughter of the great King Mithradates, who ruled over a large part of the East, and the wife of King Ariarathes of Cappadocia. This lady was left a widow, whereupon one of her late husband’s brothers began to wage war on her in the hope of disinheriting her and her children. In the course of this conflict, the uncle killed two of his nephews, Berenice’s sons, in battle. This terrible blow caused her to fly into such a rage that she lost all of her natural womanly timidity. Throwing on armour and attacking her brother-in-law with a huge army, she fought so hard that, in the end, she killed him with her own hands, driving a chariot over his dead body and winning victory for herself.’

  26. About the brave Cloelia.

  ‘The noble Roman lady Cloelia was as brave as she was wise, though it was not in the arena of war or battle that she distinguished herself. She and some other high-born virgins of Rome were sent as hostages to a certain king, who had been an enemy of the Romans, in order to fulfil the terms of a treaty that he had made with her countrymen. After having initially accepted her fate, Cloelia soon fell to thinking that it was a stain on the honour of the city of Rome to consent to sending all these virgins to be kept prisoner by a foreign king. She therefore plucked up enough courage to trick those who were guarding them with promises and entreaties and to steal away in the night with her companions. They walked on together until they reached the banks of the River Tiber, where Cloelia found a horse that was grazing in a meadow nearby. Though she had never before ridden a horse, she jumped up on to this animal’s back. Unafraid and undaunted by the deep water, she had one of her companions sit behind her as she rode across to the other side, coming back to ferry all the others over one by one in the same fashion until they were all safe and sound. Cloelia then led them back to Rome where she returned them to their families.