Christine de Pizan in Bruges : le livre de la cité de dames as het bouc de stede de vrauwen

Christine de Pizan composed her book on 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, forty-five years after Christine’s death came a translation. Het Bouc van de Stede der Vrauwen is the only Middle Dutch translation and it has survived in only one manuscript. She 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.