Christine de Pizan in Bruges: about the Middle Dutch translation of 'Le Livre de la Cité des Dames'

Boek Christine de Pezan in Bruges
 

The book Christine de Pizan in Bruges. The 'Livre de la Cité des Dames' as 'Het Bouc van de Stede der Vrauwen' deals with the Middle Dutch translation from 1475 of Christine de Pizan’s Livre de la Cité des Dames.

Christine de Pizan composed her famous defense of women, Le Livre de la Cité des Dames, as a response to the misogynistic writings of the time. She used the allegorical form to present the life and deeds of virtuous women as the metaphorical building blocks for the City of Ladies. In 1475, some forty-five years after Christine’s death, Jan de Baenst, a descendant of a prominent Bruges family, ordered a translation. Het Bouc van de Stede der Vrauwen is the only Middle Dutch translation of a work by Christine de Pizan and it has survived in only one manuscript.

Christine de Pizan in Bruges tells the story of this unique codex by focusing on the background of the commissioner, the codicological aspects, the highly original but unfinished illumination program – the 41 miniatures executed are reproduced here in full colour – and the translator’s personal epilogue. The authors are Orlanda Lie (medieval culture, emeritus professor at Utrecht University), Martine Meuwese (art history, Utrecht University), Mark Aussems (codicology, alumnus of Utrecht University) and Hermina Joldersma (Germanic studies, women's studies, University of Calgary).

Book presentation

On 9 January 2016, the book will be presented in Bruges, in the previous residence of Jan de Baenst.

 

  • Title: Christine de Pizan in Bruges. The 'Livre de la Cité des Dames' as 'Het Bouc van de Stede der Vrauwen'
  • Authors: Orlanda S.H. Lie, Martine Meuwese, Mark Aussems and Hermina Joldersma
  • Publisher: Verloren, 2015 (presentation on 9 January 2016)
  • ISBN: 9789087045395