Charity Cannon Willard

Charity Cannon Willard (August 9, 1914 June 5, 2005) was an American scholar best known for drawing attention to the 15th-century poet and author Christine de Pizan in the English-speaking world. Willard translated and wrote critical editions of Pizan's work, and "is widely regarded as the world's preeminent scholar" Honoured with several academic awards, Willard's first published work on Pizan was from her PhD dissertation, and was published in 1958. instead filling in for professor's leaves of absences and travelling Europe in search of manuscripts of Christine de Pizan. However, before Dr. Willard's contributions, studies on Pizan were limited in the English-speaking world. Christine de Pizan: Her Life and Works - studies on Pizan, published in 1984. A critical edition of Christine de Pizan's Livres des trois Vertus with Eric Hicks, published in 1989. Wrote the foreword in Christine de Pizan: A Casebook, published in 2003. Editor of Les Faites d'armes et de chevalerie: Édition critique until her death (she did not finish this work). Willard also published a substantial number of book articles and reviews, journal articles, and replies to articles that are not listed here.

Awards Willard was awarded the title of a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Palmes Académiques in the early 1980's (date is disputed), an award from the French government which acknowledged her contributions to the studies of Christine de Pizan. In 1988, she was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award from Hiram College, and was recognized with an L.H.D. from Saint Mary College in 1993. In 1998, Willard received a Smith College medal as a distinguished alumna.

Family Charity's husband, Sumner Willard (1916–1995), was a 7th great-grandson (10th generation descendant) of the Massachusetts colonist, Simon Willard (1605–1676).