Cent ballades d'amant et de dame

A collection of ballads telling of a love story, from the alternating point of views of its two main protagonists (although not only as, at some point, Love itself will intervene...). That, in itself, is a very creative retelling. What makes it particularly striking, though, is that here may be one of the first time ever that a woman's perspective is being given as much prominence as that of her lover when it comes to intimate relationships. This, at least, confers it quite an important historical value (well, Christine de Pizan isn't considered a proto-feminist for no reason...!).

Poetically, I personally found it merely ok. It's not the author's fault but mine. When it comes to poetical devices I tend to prefer modern poetry. I'm also show more a bit biased against translations (here, from Medieval French to contemporary French), as I personally believe that translation can rarely make justice to an original (and, because I don't read Medieval French, I had to rely on the translation most of the time).

Having said that, the tale itself is a beautiful story. It's deeply heartfelt; the characters are sincere and well-crafted/ believable; and I really think that whoever is or has ever been in love will truly relate to such display of romantic feelings and passionate emotions (I did!). The fact that the two lovers will have to face various obstacles (e.g. dealing with jealousy etc.) gives it a extra-depth making it more enthralling than what a simple love story could otherwise have been.

Another thing that truly stuck me was the powerful impact of the chivalric ideal upon the behaviours of the two lovers. The concept might be outdated by now (or, at least, has taken a different meaning) but both lovers are indeed deeply concerned about honour, their own as much as that of their partner. It translates differently depending on gender: to her, the main concern is her virtue and reputation as a respectable lady; to him, it's about dutifully serving his country (e.g. fighting a war abroad, where he is expected to prove his courage and bravery). Now, this is not the place to discuss how such ethos could be suffocating both to women (reducing them to mere household items, dependent on their man...) and men (much has been written about the male disposability paradigm and the expendability of males...). Suffice to say that this chivalric ideal and the behaviours that it lead to will badly backfire and have unexpected consequences. I, for one, was completely taken aback by the ending...

All in all, then, here's a beautiful love story which is worth reading as much for its depth when it comes to romantic feelings as for its historical interest (again: giving a prominent voice to otherwise silenced women). The poetry per se may have left me quite cold (but then again, I prefer more modern stuff when it comes to poetical devices). Nevertheless, this was a truly enjoyable read overall. show less