Women's Reform

During this period the vast majority of Europeans were unable to read or write. Those families who could afford formal schooling usually sent only their sons. One woman spoke out against this practice. Christine de Pizan was highly educated for the time and was one of the first women to earn a living as a writer. Writing in French, she produced many books, including short stories, biographies, novels, and manuals on military techniques. She frequently wrote about the objections men had to education women. In one book,  The book of The City of Ladies, she wrote:

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"I am amazed by the opinion of some men who claim that they do not want their daughters, wives, or kinswomen to be educated because their mores [morals] would be ruined as a result...Here you can clearly see that not all opinions of men are based on reason and that these men are wrong."

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Christine de Pizan was one of the first European women writers to question different treatment of boys and girls. However, her goal of formal education for children of both sexes would not be achieved for several centuries.