ABSTRACT
The fifteenth century has at least one melancholy aspect in common: war and the rumour of war as a fact of life. North Americans and Europeans are by and large shielded from the worst aspects of war, yet for many in the world, war does not seem terribly more civilized today than during the later Middle Ages. This chapter addresses Christine de Pizan's most significant and yet paradoxical contribution to political theory. As a writer who dedicated her career to attempting to persuade French political leaders to choose peace, Christine's most influential and original offering to later thinkers was her just war theory. The chapter talks about Christine's lifelong campaign for peace and her theory of just war. Using Charles V as her model, she demonstrates how the wise king epitomized both a king's obligations and his virtues.
