Charity Cannon Willard

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Charity Cannon Willard (August 9, 1914  – June 5, 2005), an American scholar, is best known for drawing attention to the 15th-century poet and author Christine de Pizan in the English-speaking world.[1][2][3][4][5][6] Willard translated and wrote critical editions of Pizan's work,[1] and "is widely regarded as the world's preeminent scholar"[3] on Christine de Pizan.[4] Honoured with several academic awards,[1][2][3] she is regarded by scholars as a trailblazer in the study of Pizan.[4][7][6][5][8]

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.[3][2][1][9] Willard's first published work on Pizan was from her PhD dissertation, and was published in 1958.[6][2] Her husband, Sumner Willard, was an officer and professor of foreign languages at the United States Military Academy in West Point, NY;[2][3] officer's wives were not allowed to work full-time outside of the home.[2][1][3] As a result, she declined a position as a professor at Brown University,[2][1] instead filling in for professor's leaves of absences and travelling Europe in search of manuscripts of Christine de Pizan.[3] 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.[2][3] After her retirement in 1979,[3] Willard began to focus on her studies of Pizan, and was the author and editor of many works concerning Pizan.[2]

Contributions to the history of feminism[]

Pizan proves to be a significant historic feminist figure as France's first "woman of letters".[10] However, before Dr. Willard's contributions, studies on Pizan were limited in the English-speaking world.[8][4] By translating many of Pizan's works and compiling her bibliographical information,[3] Willard drew attention to the now-iconic feminist.[5][4] A review by feminist Ms. magazine acknowledged the significance of Willard's contribution to women's history.[10] Scholars are grateful for Willard's pioneering studies on Pizan, as her works spearheaded further studies on the poet-author.[7][6][8][5][4]

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.[2][6][8][9]
  • Christine de Pizan: Her Life and Works - studies on Pizan, published in 1984.[2][5][7][11]
  • A critical edition of Christine de Pizan's Livres des trois Vertus with Eric Hicks, published in 1989.[2]
  • 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.[2]
  • Editor of The Writings of Christine de Pizan – published in 1993.[2]
  • Editor of Sumner Willard's English translation of The Book of Deeds of Arms and of Chivalry by Christine de Pizan, published in 1999.[2][12]
  • Wrote the foreword in Christine de Pizan: A Casebook, published in 2003.[2]
  • Editor of Les Faites d'armes et de chevalerie: Édition critique until her death (she did not finish this work).[2]

Willard also published a substantial number of book articles and reviews, journal articles, and replies to articles that are not listed here.[2]

Awards[]

Willard was awarded the title of a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Palmes Académiques in the early 1980's (date is disputed),[2][3] 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,[2][3] and was recognized with an L.H.D. from Saint Mary College in 1993.[2] In 1998, Willard received a Smith College medal as a distinguished alumna.[2][3]

Family[]

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

Main article: Descendants of Simon Willard

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Willard, Charity Cannon – Social Networks and Archival Context". snaccooperative.org. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v "Collection: Charity Cannon Willard papers | Smith College Finding Aids". findingaids.smith.edu. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Charity Willard Obituary (2005) – Times Herald-Record". www.legacy.com. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  4. ^ a b c d e f 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.
  5. ^ a b c d e Ward, Marvin J. (1986). "Review of Christine de Pizan; Her Life and Works". The French Review. 59 (4): 607–608. ISSN 0016-111X.
  6. ^ a b c d e 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.
  7. ^ a b c 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.
  8. ^ a b c d 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.
  9. ^ a b de Pizan, Christine; Cannon Willard, Charity (1958). The "Livre de la Paix": A Critical Edition. The Hague: Mouton. p. 7.
  10. ^ a b Willard, Charity C. (1990). Christine de Pizan: Her Life and Works. Persea Books, Inc. ISBN 0892551526.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ 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.
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