This chapter examines how literacy was depicted in Christine de Pizan's 1405 book Livre de la Cité des Dames. It analyzes the ways de Pizan shaped her different writerly personae to articulate a complex vision of empire that included prominent roles for female scribes, prophets, evangelists and governors. This chapter highlights the similarities between the stories of de Pizan and Dido and suggests that de Pizan used Dido as a key allegorical figure in attempting to establish her authority in a milieu where she was doubly an alien.

This chapter examines how literacy was depicted in Christine de Pizan's 1405 book Livre de la Cité des Dames. It analyzes the ways de Pizan shaped her different writerly personae to articulate a complex vision of empire that included prominent roles for female scribes, prophets, evangelists and governors. This chapter highlights the similarities between the stories of de Pizan and Dido and suggests that de Pizan used Dido as a key allegorical figure in attempting to establish her authority in a milieu where she was doubly an alien.