The Book of the City of Ladies | Glossary

Amazons: a tribe of warrior women in Greek mythology. Amazons were noted for extraordinary strength and skill with weaponry, fighting on the side of Troy in the Trojan War.

Apostles: the original 12 men who followed Christ with the addition of Paul. The Apostles were charged with the mission to spread Christianity throughout the ancient world.

Carthage: a North African port city in ancient times. A rival to Rome, Carthage was destroyed 146 BCE by the Roman army.

Doctors of the Church: four Greek and four Latin theologians of the early Christian church. De Pizan probably refers specifically to the four Latin theologians—St. Ambrose, St. Augustine, Gregory the Great, and Jerome in Part 1, Section 2.

misogyny: hatred of women. The opposite of misogyny is misandry, or hatred of men.

pagan: a person who does not believe in God or the Bible. Pagans included non-Christian ancients who lived before Christ or who were not members of the Christian church until the fall of Rome.

Saracens: people of the Islamic faith during the Middle Ages. The term came into popular use during the Crusades.

Sabines: ancient people living northeast of Latinum (pre-Rome).

Sybil: variant of sibyl. The Sibyls were the 10 prophetesses of the ancient world.

Trojans: people who lived in the ancient city of Troy. Trojans fought against the invasion of the Greeks in the Trojan War.

vernacular: the normal spoken or written form of a language. Languages in the vernacular refer to those of a specific region or culture.