Charity Cannon Willard

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).

Main article: Descendants of Simon Willard

External links

• Charity Cannon Willard papers at Smith College

References

1. "Charity Willard Obituary (2005) – Times Herald-Record". www.legacy.com. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
2. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. "Collection: Charity Cannon Willard papers | Smith College Finding Aids". findingaids.smith.edu. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
9. 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.