Treść książki
Przejdź do opcji czytnikaPrzejdź do nawigacjiPrzejdź do informacjiPrzejdź do stopki
SignatureandVoiceintheQueen’sMS
37
ThatshecastsherselfasatransmitterofdivinewisdomtoFranceisevi-
dentinthewayshetranscribeshersignatureattheconclusionoftheRose
DebateEpistlesinQueen’sMS,attheendofherlettertoPierreCol25.Thisis
howitreads:
SiprylaBenoiteTrinité,parfaiteetenterinesapience,quivueilletoyettousceulxpares-
pecialquiaimentscienceetnoblessedebonnemeursenluminerdesivrayeclartéque
estrepuissantconduisalajoiecelestille.Amen.Escriptetcompleitparmoy,xpinede
pizan,le.iie.jourd’octobre,l’anmil.IIIIc.etdeux.Tabienveillantamiedesciencexpine
(fol.254r,myemphasis).
IfChristineandherRoseDebateopponentsJeandeMontreuil,Gontier
andPierreColareall"amisdescience",Christine,byherwayofwirtingher
signatureonthepage,claimstobethevehicleforthereceptionof"parfaiteet
enterinesapience"inawaythattheyarenot.Thisisanespeciallysignifcant
passage,sinceitcomesattheendoftheoneRoseDebateEpistlethatChristine
didnotincludeinChantilly492.WithitChristineclosestheRoseDebatedos-
sierwitharingingaffrmationofhersapiencethatwasabsentfromtheearlier
collectionshehadpreparedfortheQueen.
TherenownedtheologianJeanGersonprovidedoutsideconfrmationof
thestatusChristinehadacquiredthroughherparticipationintheDebate.
InhisletterrebukingPierreColforhishereticalstatementsandpraising
thosemadebyChristine,hereferstoherasan"insigni[s]femina"a"virilisilla
femina"anda"virago26"–alltermsofthehighestpraise.Intheaboveexam-
pleChristinepostulates,bymeansofhersignature,thatshebringstogether
"sapience"and"science"inawayunknowntoheropponents.Thisexample,
fromfol.254v,isthelastinaseriesintheRoseDebateEpistlesintheQueen’s
MSinwhichChristineproclaimsheroralauthorityasdebaterandwritten
authorityasrecorderofthedocumentsinthatdebate.
Christine’scontroloverherself-imageisalsoapparentinthewayshe
arrangesthedocumentsintheRoseDebatedossier.IntheQueen’sMSthese
extendfromfol.237rtofol.254v.Herarrangementofthedocumentsispartof
herordonnance.InthePrologueadreçantalareinethatshecomposesexpressly
forthismanuscript,Christinetakesresponsibilityfortheorderingoftextsin
thecompilationwithheruseoftheverbordener,whichisthetermdescriptive
25Thisistheonlymanuscriptcontainingthisletter.Signifcantly,itisnotpresentinChan-
tilly492,anearliercollectionChristinepresentedtotheQueen.http://www.pizan.lib.ed.ac.uk/
gallery/pages/254r.htm
26JeanGerson,JeandeMontreuil,GontierandPierreCol,LeDébatsurleRomandelaRose,
éd.EricHicks,Genève,SlatkineReprints,1996,p.167-168.
