Le Livre du Chemin de long estude
The Livre du Chemin de long estude ("Book of the path of long learning / studying") by Christine de Pizan was written in 1402 and belongs to the genre of the dream allegory ( songe allégorique ), which in the literature of the French late Middle Ages thanks to the successful rose novel ( Le Roman de la Rose ) was very common.
The first-person narrator, intended to be identical to the author Christine, describes in about 6000 verses how a figure appears to her in a twilight state, namely the Sibyl of Cumae , who leads her into another world and takes her on a fictional journey. The motif of the guided journey is based on Dante's Divine Comedy , in which the Florentine poet is accompanied by the poet Virgil on his wandering through hell, purgatory and paradise .
Christine and the Sibyl traverse the entire medieval world, from Europe to Asia Minor to India, and finally arrive at the ladder that leads to heaven. There you will meet four allegorical figures , the heavenly queens Chevalerie (knighthood / chivalry), Richesse (wealth), Noblesse (nobility / nobility) and Sagesse (wisdom). These lead a dispute about who best embodies the ideal of a secular ruler with his characteristics. The dispute of a further allegory, namely presided Raison (reason). In addition, there is an embodiment of the earth itself, lamenting the miserable state of war and cruelty. In the end, the allegorical figures decide that the people should choose the perfect prince from among their own ranks; the best place for this is France . Christine is commissioned to write down the discussion and make it public among her contemporaries.
In her work, the author processes autobiographical elements such as the mourning for the death of her husband and her difficult living conditions as a widow and describes the path that led her to study science. The central theme, however, is the desolate situation in France of their time, which was caused by the fact that King Charles VI. suffered from a mental illness and that therefore behind him other members of the royal family, especially Duke Louis of Orléans , his younger brother, and Duke Philip the Bold of Burgundy, his youngest uncle, rivaled for the exercise of power, a situation of which ever English troops again profited, which plundered the country as well-organized small armies.
The Chemin de long estude is the first work by Christine in which her political awareness finds expression.
After several previous early prints, it was printed for the last time in 1549 under the title Le Chemin de long estude de Dame Cristine de Pise , in a linguistically modernized version rewritten in prose from the pen of a certain Jean Chaperon. (Ed. By Claire Le Brun-Gouanvic, Geneva: Slatkine, 2008). This print was also the last of a work by Christine up to modern times.
Text output
- Le Livre du Chemin de Long Estude Ed. By R. Püschell, Berlin 1887 (reprint Geneva 1974)