Cent ballades d'amant et de dame

by Christine de Pizan, Jacqueline Cerquiglini (Editor)

Christine de Pizan, née en 1364 à Venise et morte en 1430 à Poissy, a connu de son vivant une très grande renommée et a occupé une place majeure dans la vie intellectuelle et les débats d'idées de son temps. Poète certes, elle écrit aussi avec une autorité reconnue dans les domaines politiques, historiques, philosophiques et est généralement considérée comme la première femme ayant vécu de sa plume. Cependant son oeuvre tombe dans l'oubli après la Renaissance et il faut attendre le XXᵉ siècle pour qu'on la relise, regain d'intérêt qui est l'oeuvre de féministes qui voient en elle, souvent à juste titre, une pionnière de leur cause. Elle s'est par exemple opposée vivement à Jean de Meung et à la misogynie du Roman de la rose. Il est temps de relire et redécouvrir une oeuvre dont Jacques Roubaud considère qu'elle atteint un sommet dans l'art de la ballade. Cette parution est autant un événement littéraire qu'une justice rendue.

Genres: France, Poetry, Classics, School

157 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

Christine de Pizan (also seen as de Pisan) (1363–c.1434) was a writer and analyst of the medieval era who strongly challenged misogyny and stereotypes that were prevalent in the male-dominated realm of the arts. De Pizan completed forty-one pieces during her thirty-year career (1399–1429). She earned her accolade as Europe’s first professional woman writer (Redfern 74). Her success stems from a wide range of innovative writing and rhetorical techniques that critically challenged renowned male writers such as Jean de Meun who, to Pizan’s dismay, incorporated misogynist beliefs within their literary works.

In recent decades, de Pizan's work has been returned to prominence by the efforts of scholars such as Charity Cannon Willard and Earl Jeffrey Richards. Certain scholars have argued that she should be seen as an early feminist who efficiently used language to convey that women could play an important role within society, although this characterisation has been challenged by other critics who claim either that it is an anachronistic use of the word, or that her beliefs were not progressive enough to merit such a designation

Reviews

[Kleo · Rating 5 out of 5]

C'est un recueil poétique qui se lit comme un roman épistolaire : l'amant et la dame se répondent sur le thème de l'amour, de la naissance de celui-ci à sa disparition. La forme de la ballade permet d'imaginer sans peine une mélodie et favorise la lecture, et la traduction est excellente. Une oeuvre en forme de point culminant de l'amour courtois.

[Dame Silent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magnifique !

[Hélène Manca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slay middeleeuws boek ig, ahead of its time 🤪. Love story best wel intriguing. Poëzie verses Pop off.

[Chris 2.0 · Rating 5 out of 5]

She never disappoints

[Agathe · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[erich · Rating 5 out of 5]

mon doulz ami, se tu ne pues durer
sans moy veoir, saches que moins je dure
sans toy aussi, ce te puis je jurer
qu'en bonne foy un jour un mois me dure
se ne te voy.

книга любви

[Caroline Une Madeleine Littéraire · Rating 5 out of 5]

L'efficacité minimaliste de Christine de Pizan confère à la fin amor une dimension nouvelle : un lyrisme simple et mesuré. La Dame ici n'est plus juste celle que l'on désire, elle s'exprime et son intériorité est dévoilée. Magnifique.

[Aurélien Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of ballads telling of a love story, from the alternating point of views of its two main protagonists (although not only as, at some point, Love itself will intervene...). That, in itself, is a very creative retelling. What makes it particularly striking, though, is that here may be one of the first time ever that a woman's perspective is being given as much prominence as that of her lover when it comes to intimate relationships. This, at least, confers it quite an important historical value (well, Christine de Pizan isn't considered a proto-feminist for no reason...!).

Poetically, I personally found it merely ok. It's not the author's fault but mine. When it comes to poetical devices I tend to prefer modern poetry. I'm also a bit biased against translations (here, from Medieval French to contemporary French), as I personally believe that translation can rarely make justice to an original (and, because I don't read Medieval French, I had to rely on the translation most of the time).

Having said that, the tale itself is a beautiful story. It's deeply heartfelt; the characters are sincere and well-crafted/ believable; and I really think that whoever is or has ever been in love will truly relate to such display of romantic feelings and passionate emotions (I did!). The fact that the two lovers will have to face various obstacles (e.g. dealing with jealousy etc.) gives it a extra-depth making it more enthralling than what a simple love story could otherwise have been.

Another thing that truly stuck me was the powerful impact of the chivalric ideal upon the behaviours of the two lovers. The concept might be outdated by now (or, at least, has taken a different meaning) but both lovers are indeed deeply concerned about honour, their own as much as that of their partner. It translates differently depending on gender: to her, the main concern is her virtue and reputation as a respectable lady; to him, it's about dutifully serving his country (e.g. fighting a war abroad, where he is expected to prove his courage and bravery). Now, this is not the place to discuss how such ethos could be suffocating both to women (reducing them to mere household items, dependent on their man...) and men (much has been written about the male disposability paradigm and the expendability of males...). Suffice to say that this chivalric ideal and the behaviours that it lead to will badly backfire and have unexpected consequences. I, for one, was completely taken aback by the ending...

All in all, then, here's a beautiful love story which is worth reading as much for its depth when it comes to romantic feelings as for its historical interest (again: giving a prominent voice to otherwise silenced women). The poetry per se may have left me quite cold (but then again, I prefer more modern stuff when it comes to poetical devices). Nevertheless, this was a truly enjoyable read overall.

[Alealea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Que de plaisir ! Que de joie a découvrir les vers de Christine de Pizan dans cette ballade à,doublement deux voix, celle de l'amant et la dame,celle de personnages et de l'autrice,qui donne un relief sarcastique à ces beaux vers d'amour courtois.

[Anya · Rating 3 out of 5]

team ouin ouin, men are trash mais en même temps La Dame a l'air un peu trop bornée

[Gemmi00 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Une des premières écrivaines françaises en écrire au point de vue de la femme au moyen âge. Bravo!

[mayndbs · Rating 2 out of 5]

la prépa me fait lire tout et nimp

[Ariane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Manchild
Won't you let an innocent woman be?
#allmen #menaretrash

[Laurent Piché · Rating 4 out of 5]

le original male manipulator c'était terrible (mais slay christine de pizan)

[Benjamin Martel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christine a tellement mon cœur que j'ai un peu le itch d'être médiéviste

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 🌟

[alicia]

3.5