From the Agora to Charles V Court

The whole of Christine de Pizan's 'City of Ladies' reminded me of a film I watched last fall for a book history class--Agora. The movie is a fictionalized account of the events leading to the death of Hypatia, a female mathematician in Alexandria, ca AD 415. Hypatia is a true historical figure, and is considered one of the first known (or first well-documented) women in the field of mathematics. There are some remarkable similarities between Hypatia and Christine de Pizan -- two women that are well-educated, contributing to academic fields and early examples of feminism. In some ways, Hypatia goes a further as she actually taught at a Platonist school in Alexandria (public versus private space). And for that part, I think their stories are really cool.

That said, it is sad that societal norm dictated that these remarkable people were exceptions. They themselves work within these restrictions--Christine de Pizan was able to study and write due to her father's (and later her) social status. And although this is a city of ladies, much of the discourse is focused in a way of women working behind the scenes, in the household sphere.  I can't expect the norms to be turned on their heads overnight, and these women are making great strides in the direction. But I do wonder what other female mathematicians before Hypatia were working on or female writers that got lost during Christine de Pizan's time.