ABSTRACT
The Chemin de long estude opens in fits and starts, beginning once, twice, and then again before it finds its way. Christine de Pizan presents three liminary scenes, then binds them together in a single narrative; each of the three continues, however, to influence her story. The Dit de la Rose, written just a few months before the Chemin de long estude, makes use of a narrative structure that Christine will recycle in large part in the latter work. The Dit de la Rose opens with a banquet in which Christine takes part; over the course of the meal Dame Loyaute arrives, announcing the creation of a new Order devoted to the honor and protection of ladies. Both the Chemin and the Dit de la Rose announce enterprises that will concern a considerable audience: nobles loyal to their ladies in the Dit and the world at large in the Chemin.
