Charity Cannon Willard (August 9, 1914  – June 5, 2005) was an American scholar best known for drawing attention to the 15th-century poet and author Christine de Pizan in the English-speaking world.[1] Willard translated and wrote critical editions of Pizan's work, and "is widely regarded as the world's preeminent scholar"[1] on Christine de Pizan.[2] Honoured with several academic awards,[1] she is regarded by scholars as a trailblazer in the study of Pizan.[2][3][4][5][6]

Career

Willard graduated from Hiram College in 1934 with a Bachelor of Arts, going on to receive her Masters of Arts in French from Smith College in 1936, and attained a PhD in Romance Philology at Radcliffe College in 1940.[1][7] Willard's first published work on Pizan was from her PhD dissertation, and was published in 1958.[4] Her husband, Sumner Willard, was an officer and professor of foreign languages at the United States Military Academy in West Point, NY; officer's wives were not allowed to work full-time outside of the home.[1] As a result, she declined a position as a professor at Brown University,[8] instead filling in for professor's leaves of absences and travelling Europe in search of manuscripts of Christine de Pizan.[1] She eventually accepted a full-time position as a French and Spanish professor at LadyCliff College (1961–1979), becoming the first West Point colonel wife to have a full-time professional career.[1] After her retirement in 1979,[1] Willard began to focus on her studies of Pizan, and was the author and editor of many works concerning Pizan.

Contributions to the history of feminism

Pizan was a significant historic feminist figure as France's first "woman of letters".[9] However, before Dr. Willard's contributions, studies on Pizan were limited in the English-speaking world.[6][2] By translating many of Pizan's works and compiling her bibliographical information, Willard drew attention to the now-iconic feminist.[5][2] A review by feminist Ms. magazine acknowledged the significance of Willard's contribution to women's history.[9] Scholars are grateful for Willard's pioneering studies on Pizan, as her works spearheaded further studies on the poet-author.[3][4][6][5][2]

Major scholarly works

Christine de Pizan giving a lecture

Below is a list of Charity Cannon Willard's major published works:

  • The "Livre de Paix": A Critical Edition – the dissertation for Willard's PhD, published in 1958.[4][6]
  • Christine de Pizan: Her Life and Works - studies on Pizan, published in 1984.[5][3][10]
  • A critical edition of Christine de Pizan's Livres des trois Vertus with Eric Hicks, published in 1989.[8]
  • Translated Pizan's Livres des trois Vertus into English as A Medieval Woman's Mirror of Honor – The Treasury of The City of Ladies, published in 1989.[8]
  • Editor of The Writings of Christine de Pizan – published in 1993.[8]
  • Editor of Sumner Willard's English translation of The Book of Deeds of Arms and of Chivalry by Christine de Pizan, published in 1999.[11]
  • Wrote the foreword in Christine de Pizan: A Casebook, published in 2003.[8]
  • Editor of Les Faites d'armes et de chevalerie: Édition critique until her death (she did not finish this work).[8]

Willard also published a substantial number of book articles and reviews, journal articles, and replies to articles that are not listed here.

Awards

Willard was awarded the title of a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Palmes Académiques in the early 1980's (date is disputed),[8][1] an award from the French government which acknowledged her contributions to the studies of Christine de Pizan. In 1988, she was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award from Hiram College,[1] and was recognized with an L.H.D. from Saint Mary College in 1993.[8] In 1998, Willard received a Smith College medal as a distinguished alumna.[1]

Family

Charity's husband, Sumner Willard (1916–1995), was a 7th great-grandson (10th generation descendant) of the Massachusetts colonist, Simon Willard (1605–1676).

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Charity Willard Obituary (2005) – Times Herald-Record". www.legacy.com. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Margolis, Nadia (1992). "Review of : A Bibliography., ; Le livre des trois vertus., Christine de Pizan". Speculum. 67 (3): 761–764. doi:10.2307/2863736. ISSN 0038-7134. JSTOR 2863736.
  3. 1 2 3 Wilson, Katharina (1985). "Review of Christine de Pizan: Her Life and Works". Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature. 4 (2): 291–293. doi:10.2307/463703. ISSN 0732-7730. JSTOR 463703.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Bottke, Karl G. (1959). "Review of The "Livre de la paix" of Christine de Pisan; a critical edition". Romance Philology. 13 (1): 101–102. ISSN 0035-8002. JSTOR 44939874.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Ward, Marvin J. (1986). "Review of Christine de Pizan; Her Life and Works". The French Review. 59 (4): 607–608. ISSN 0016-111X. JSTOR 394368.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Holmes, Urban T. (1959). "Review of The "Livre de la Paix" of Christine de Pisan: A Critical Edition". Speculum. 34 (1): 147–149. doi:10.2307/2848004. ISSN 0038-7134. JSTOR 2848004.
  7. ↑ de Pizan, Christine; Cannon Willard, Charity (1958). The "Livre de la Paix": A Critical Edition. The Hague: Mouton. p. 7.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Collection: Charity Cannon Willard papers | Smith College Finding Aids". findingaids.smith.edu. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  9. 1 2 Willard, Charity C. (1990). Christine de Pizan: Her Life and Works. Persea Books, Inc. ISBN 0892551526.
  10. ↑ Howard, Donald R. (1986). "Review of Christine de Pizan: Her Life and Works". Renaissance Quarterly. 39 (1): 69–70. doi:10.2307/2861585. ISSN 0034-4338. JSTOR 2861585. S2CID 163351016.
  11. ↑ Wheeler, Everett L. (1999). "Review of The Book of Deeds of Arms and of Chivalry". The Journal of Military History. 63 (4): 958–959. doi:10.2307/120563. ISSN 0899-3718. JSTOR 120563.
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