Christine de pizan biography of abraham lincoln
•
One of the interesting side effects of writing this blog is when I stumble across a hidden gem like Christine de Pizan, who I discovered not only while researching the life of Joan of Arc but also from Vanora Bennett's novel Blood Royal. She was one of the first women to make her living solely as a writer. This was in the 14th Century before the printing press, when most people, including women, were illiterate.
Christine was born in Venice in 1363, but but she moved to France with her family when she was 5. Her father Tommasso di Benvenuto da Pizzano was a doctor, astrologer as well as Councillor of the Republic in Venice. Soon after she was born, her father accepted a position at the court of Charles V. No one knows how Christine received an education. There is speculation that she may have been allowed to sit in on lessons with the Dauphin and his brother. Or perhaps her father made sure that she was well educated. Due to his position, Christine might have be
•
National Foundation for Women Legislators National Women’s History Museum Initiative
In 1827, Sarah Josepha Hale, a magazine editor and noted author launched a campaign to establish a national day of thanks. For 36 years, she published numerous editorials and sent letters to governors, senators, presidents and key officials. In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln finally heeded her request with a proclamation declaring Thanksgiving a national holiday.
This is only one of thousands of facts that we generally don’t know about the important role that women have played in building the America we know today, simply because we are not taking an active enough role in the education our children are receiving. Only 1 in 10 figures in today’s history textbooks is a woman, few statues are in our national parks and less than a dozen of the 214 statues in our nation’s Capitol Building portray woman leaders. Yet, women have impacted every aspect of our lives whether it is education
•
Spartacus Educational
Primary Sources
(1) Christine dem Pizan, The Life of Charles V (1409)
I gathered my upplysning concerning his life, surroundings, behaviour life-style and his specific acts either from chronicles or from talking to famous people who are still alive.
(2) Christine de Pizan, City of Ladies (1405)
One day inom was surrounded by books of all kinds... my mind dwelt at length on the opinions of various authors whom inom had studied... it made me wonder how it happened that so many different dock - and learned dock among them - have been and are so inclined to express... so many wicked insults about women and their behaviour... it seems that they all speak from one and the same öppning. Thinking deeply about these matters, inom began to examine my character and conduct as a woman and, similarly, I considered other women whose company I frequently kept, princesses, great ladies, women of the mittpunkt and lower classes, who had told me of their most private and intimate