Christine De Pisan and Murasaki Shikibu as Medieval Feminists

Abstract

The Middle Ages is generally considered to be the dark ages, especially in Europe. The political turmoil, the ever-going fight between emperors and the papacy, the Black Death which killed almost half of the European population, all happened in this period. From this point of view, yes, it is really dark. However, it is also this period that witnessed the beginnings of a radical change in philosophy. Through the end of it, great writers like Petrarca and Boccaccio prepared the grounds for humanism. While they are marked as the shining stars of the Middle Ages, there is also another change which is quite important, yet a little unnoticed when compared to the dominant belief patterns of the period. This development in question is the emergence of women writers and their calling attention to the position of women in society. Therefore, it can be asserted that besides humanism, the foundations of feminism was also laid in the Middle Ages.