Christine de Pizan married Etienne du Castel, a royal secretary to the court, at the age of fifteen. She bore three children, a daughter (who went to live at the Dominican Abbey in Poissy in 1397 as a companion to the king's daughter, Marie), a son Jean, and another child who died in childhood.[5] Christine抯 familial life was threatened in 1390 when her husband, while in Beauvais on a mission with the king, suddenly died in an epidemic.[6] Following Castel抯 death, Christine was left to support her mother, a niece, and her three children.[7] When she tried to collect money from her husband抯 estate, she faced complicated lawsuits regarding the recovery of salary due to her husband. In order to support herself and her family, Christine turned to writing. By 1393, she was writing love ballads, which caught the attention of wealthy patrons within the court. These patrons were intrigued by the novelty of a female writer and had her compose texts about their romantic exploits. Christine's output during this period was prolific. Between 1393 and 1412, she composed over three hundred ballads, and many more shorter poems.