Christine de Pizan against the Theologians: The Virtue of Lies in The Book of the Three Virtues

Recent work on lying and the “sins of the tongue” during the Middle Ages focuses almost exclusively on an Augustinian theological and pastoral tradition in which all lies were condemned as sinful and destructive to society. While undeniably important, this attention to scholastic and theological debate paints an oddly misshapen portrait of the medieval discourse of lying and deception. Attention to courtly treatises like John of Salisbury’s Policraticus and Christine de Pizan’s Treasure of the City of Ladies reveals an alternative discourse in which certain forms deceptive behavior and mendacious speech were conceived as inherently virtuous ways of achieving and maintaining necessary social harmony. Close comparison between scholastic writers (including Albert the Great, Thomas Aquinas, and John Buridan) and Christine’s work, highlights the precise differences between these conflicting ethical discourses, while suggesting that even theologians were growing increasingly dissatisfied with Augustine’s absolute prohibition against lies.