An Exploration of the Relationship Between Le Livre de la Cité des Dames and De Mulieribus Claris

Introduction

As both were bibliographical accounts of famous historical women, the most important source for Christine de Pizan’s Le Livre de la Cité des Dames was Giovanni Boccaccio’s De Mulieribus Claris. Throughout my essay, I argue that as a compilator, Pizan altered Boccaccio’s text through framing, adding, omitting, and changing certain details of the women’s narratives, specifically looking at Semiramis and Lucretia as examples. I argue that Pizan did this in order to better support her purpose for writing the Cité: to defend women against the slander they had endured under male authors and to prove the value that virtuous women provide to society. Likewise, this website analyzes the differences between the visuals in DMC and the Cité, paying special attention to how the miniatures reflected and supported each text.