Christine de Pizan and the different strategies of government for the prince and the princess: an analysis of The Book of Peace and The Treasury of The City of Ladies

• Grant number: 23/13728-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2024
• End date: July 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Philosophy
• Principal Investigator: Yara Adario Frateschi
• Grantee: Mel Ciqueira Santos
• Supervisor: Simona Vucu
• Host Institution: Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas (IFCH). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Toronto (U of T), Canada
• Associated to the scholarship: 21/14122-7 - Christine de Pizan in her ambiguous relationship with Aristotle: an analysis of The City of Ladies and The Book of Peace, BP.IC

Abstract

The genesis of this BEPE project stems from a question that emerged during the progression of my ongoing scientific initiation research. In this research, I seek to investigate the role that Pizan attributes to princesses in her political philosophy, as well as the performance of the virtue of prudence in this role. In the course of this inquiry, I notice how, even though she argues in The City of Ladies (1405) that women are just as capable as men to carry out a good government, Pizan seems to propose different strategies for the government of the prince and the princess when constructing their respective education manuals. In this regard, she argues that good government comes from choosing a good royal council when addressing the education of the prince in The Book of Peace (1412 - 1414). Conversely, Pizan seems to argue that good government comes from zeal for good reputation and honor when discussing the education of princesses in The Treasury of The City of Ladies (1405). My objective through this BEPE project is to conduct a comparative analysis of Christine de Pizan's educational manuals designed for princes and princesses. This analysis aims to uncover both divergences and convergences in the means proposed by Pizan to achieve good government and, in this way, gain a deeper insight into the role that she assigns to women within her philosophy.