Dr Charlotte Cooper-Davis

BBC Radio 4 Great Lives with Matthew Parris - Gloucester History Festival Free event Join us for a special live recording of the much-loved Radio 4 series from Blackfriars Priory. Host Matthew Parris is joined by Helen Carr and Charlotte Cooper-Davis. They will be on stage ...

Can't wait for next Monday when I'll be recording an episode of Great Lives for BBC Radio 4 with @helencarr.bsky.social and Matthew Parris at the Gloucester History Festival. Tickets are free if you can make it! www.gloucesterhistoryfestival.co.uk/events/great...

BIG NEWS!
Women of the Hundred Years’ War (working title) is under contract with @yalebooks.bsky.social and expected in 2029 — the 600th anniversary of the rise of Joan of Arc 🥳 Looking forward to sharing the stories of the incredible badass women who played a part in this epic conflict!

In our latest blog, @ciditcharlotte.bsky.social talks about her engagement with a fifteenth-century manuscript of Christine de Pizan, now @newnhamcollege.bsky.social & recently digitised @camdiglib.bsky.social. specialcollections-blog.lib.cam.ac.uk?p=30146

Newnham College : Christine de Pizan, Epistre Othea Although today, Christine de Pizan (d. c. 1430) is remembered primarily as the author of Le Livre de la Cité des Dames (Book

Newly digitised! An early C.15th manuscript of Christine de Pizan's Epistre Othea from @camdiglib.bsky.social held @newnhamcollege.bsky.social I was lucky enough to be asked to write the description, together with Geneviève Young. Enjoy! cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-NEWN...

Image from @britishlibrary.bsky.social MS Harley 4431, fol. 100r, a manuscript of the Epistle of Othea that Christine helped to prepare (and had a hand in creating the images for). Transcription and translation by yours truly.

Christine herself is at the heart of the picture, showing us what to do, holding her heart close to her chest, instead of holding it up to Venus like all the others.

So go ahead everyone, love and lust and celebrate all things romantic today – but don't pursue foolish love. There lies madness.

On first appearance, it seems to depict a group of men and women worshipping and celebrating love by handing up their hearts to a deity. But the accompanying text tells a different story. This is actually a warning not to pursue lusty or burning love, represented by the goddess Venus in the image.

This picture from Christine de Pizan's Epistre Othea does the rounds every year on Valentine's Day, and I'm here to ruin it for you (sorry) 🧵

YouTube video by Talking Tudors Episode 277 - The Life and Works of Christine de Pizan with Dr Charlotte Cooper-Davis

Life & works of #ChristineDePizan @ciditcharlotte.bsky.social talks to @onthetudortrail.bsky.social about her writings, ideas on women's roles in society, & influence on the Tudor court. Fascinating

youtu.be/AnWgjlPekS0?...

Dr Charlotte Cooper-Davis talks about the life, works and legacy of Christine de Pizan.

talkingtudors.podbean.com/e/unraveling...

@ciditcharlotte.bsky.social @onthetudortrail.bsky.social #Tudors #Podcast

Such fun being on the Talking Tudors podcast to talk about Christine! Especially enjoyed sharing a bit about her possible influence on Tudor women…

Looking forward to Talking Tudors with @onthetudortrail.bsky.social by brushing up on copies of #christinedepizan’s work made for the Tudor court.
🖼️ Brian Anslay’s 1521 translation of the City of Ladies (STC 7271) and Robert Wyer’s 1549 translation of the Epistre Othea (STC 7272). Images from EBBO.

One of my favourite details in #ChristinedePizan 's manuscripts: a tiny marginal note in her own hand, saying 'ycy' ('ici' or 'here'), indicating to the illuminator where to place the image.
From @labnf.bsky.social MS fr. 848, the earliest surviving copy of the Epistre Othea, c. 1400.

It turns out poetic translation is *hard*! I hope you like this one.

I've included the French text from Maurice Roy's edition of 1886, available on Gallica. (There are more recent editions, but this one is open access)

The illumination from @britishlibrary.bsky.social MS Harley 4431, fol. 95r shows Christine on bended knee presenting her works to the Duke of Orleans. Christine wears black in this image, perhaps for compositional reasons, or perhaps bc the time the MS was finished, the Duke had been murdered.

Christine de Pizan wrote ca. 500 poems, and I'm on a mission to make them better known by translating them poetically into English. Here's a stab I had at one of her roundels/rondeaux. The meter and rhyme scheme are the same, though this one is more assonanced than rhymed.

Would love to be added 🙏

Tonight! Looking forward to sharing some thoughts on Christine de Pizan and why Joan of Arc was so significant to her. Join me at Murray Edward’s College from 6:30pm #freeevent #cambridge #medieval

Hello Bluesky 👋
Just moved over from the other place. I work on Christine de Pizan and have written two books about her (one academic, one not so much). I dressed up as her once for a Zoom party and the post went kinda nuts. Will resharing it help me regain some followers over here…?