The Beatitudes Attend the Court: The Princess's Christian Education in Christine De Pisan'S The Treasure of the Book of the City of Ladies
Maria Ascencao Ferreira Apolonia
Citation : Maria Ascencao Ferreira Apolonia, The Beatitudes Attend the Court: The Princess's Christian Education in Christine De Pisan'S The Treasure of the Book of the City of Ladies International Journal on Studies in English Language and Literature 2018, 6(6) : 1-8
As a consequence of the indissoluble monogamous marriage, women's participation became relevant in the political and cultural scene of the Court, which required "the mastering of experiences" of the princess in several aspects: protocol rules, diplomatic management, social relationships and conflicts related to power, besides some particular prudence to survive and get along with a universe dominated by deals and intrigues, hate and sympathy, all of them moving to the rhythm of political tension and decision taking that characterized the XVth-century Court. To fulfil the demand for a Christian education for the princess, an education appropriate to the historical time and the secular world, the first part of The book of the three virtues focuses on the princess's education, which was more complex and embracing than that of other ladies and peasant women. The education of the latter two ones is dealt with in the two other parts of the book. It is our aim to analyze the insertion of the princess's education in the cultural heritage of the Late Middle Ages: Christine de Pisan's original adaptation of the beatitudes and Christian virtues to the palace life. The treasure of the book of the city of ladies constitutes an exercise of rereading the precepts of both the Gospel and the contemplative life at the level of the circumstances of the active life.