Its principal purpose was to execute the edict and, through a meeting at Bayonne in June 1565, to seek to strengthen peaceful relations between the crown and Spain and to negotiate for Charless marriage to Elizabeth of Austria. Then he set about the business of finding her a husband.[16]. After Alfonsina's death in 1520, Catherine joined her cousins and was raised by her aunt, Clarice de' Medici. Henry wrote a note to Villeroy, which began: "Villeroy, I remain very well contented with your service; do not fail however to go away to your house where you will stay until I send for you; do not seek the reason for this my letter, but obey me." Blunt, 98, 100. Catherine de' Medici was born Caterina Maria Romula de' Medici[7] on 13 April 1519 in Florence, Republic of Florence, the only child of Lorenzo de' Medici, Duke of Urbino, and his wife, Madeleine de la Tour d'Auvergne, the countess of Boulogne. "[136][139], Catherine de' Medici has been labelled by Wiccan Gerald Gardner a "sinister Queen noted for her interest in the occult arts". [51] In January 1562, Catherine issued the tolerant Edict of Saint-Germain in a further attempt to build bridges with the Protestants. Meanwhile, Cond raised an army and in autumn 1560 began attacking towns in the south. In 1585, Margaret abandoned her husband and was even imprisoned. Catherine de Medici, also called Catherine de Mdicis, Italian Caterina de Medici, (born April 13, 1519, Florence [Italy]died January 5, 1589, Blois, France), queen consort of Henry II of France (reigned 154759) and subsequently regent of France (156074), who was one of the most influential personalities of the CatholicHuguenot wars. The years during which her sons reigned have been called "the age of Catherine de' Medici" since she had extensive, if at times varying, influence in the political life of France.[1]. On one occasion, in March 1578, she lectured him for six hours about his dangerously subversive behaviour. My name is Moniek and I am from the Netherlands. At the age of fifty-nine, she embarked on an eighteen-month journey around the south of France to meet Huguenot leaders face to face. Writing that she wanted to see Jeanne's children, she promised not to harm them. The birth nearly cost Catherine her life. In early 1572, Joan Henrys mother and Queen regnant of Navarre arrived in France feeling ill and tired but determined to see the marriage negotiations through. From that day, Catherine took a broken lance as her emblem, inscribed with the words "lacrymae hinc, hinc dolor" ("from this come my tears and my pain"), and wore black mourning in memory of Henry.[36]. Knecht 1998, p. 8 (dates of death); Hritier 1963, p. 15 (cause of Madeleine's death). Nevertheless, the Peace of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, signed on 8 August 1570 because the royal army ran out of cash, conceded wider toleration to the Huguenots than ever before. In 1561, with the support of the distinguished chancellor Michel de LHospital, she began by trying to propitiate the leaders of both religious factions, to effect reforms and economies by unassailably traditional methods, and to settle the religious conflict. Three of her sons became kings of France, while two of her daughters married kings and one married a duke. He cites Cloulas (. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. From that moment, she abandoned compromise for a policy of repression. Not interested? Of the chateaus she designed herselfincluding the TuileriesChenonceaux was her unfinished masterpiece. However, Catherine's ability to bear children failed to improve her marriage. Catherine could not hold back her sobs. Catherine stayed by his bedside, but Diane kept away, "for fear", in the words of a chronicler, "of being expelled by the Queen". [128], Catherine had emblems of her love and grief carved into the stonework of her buildings. Catherine did not hesitate to exploit her new authority. Unlike the proposals of Poissy, the edict was law, which the Protestants accepted and the Catholics rejected. [18] When Francis I of France proposed his second son, Henry, Duke of Orlans, in early 1533, Clement jumped at the offer. He will not be spoken of again. Catherine de' Medici Biography Some historians have excused Catherine from blame for the worst decisions of the crown, but evidence for her ruthlessness can be found in her letters. As Guise entered the king's chamber, the Forty-five plunged their blades into his body, and he died at the foot of the king's bed. Her marriage to Henry would remain childless. [78], The St. Bartholomew's Day massacre, which began two days later, has stained Catherine's reputation ever since. Catherine de Medici was the daughter of Lorenzo di Piero de Medici, duca di Urbino, and Madeleine de La Tour dAuvergne, a Bourbon princess related to many of the French nobility. In desperation, Catherine tried every known trick for getting pregnant, such as placing cow dung and ground stags' antlers on her "source of life", and drinking mule's urine. In 1558, she was considered for Don Carlos, the eldest son of King Philip II of Spain. Catherine ended the first civil war in March 1563 by the Edict of Amboise, an attenuated version of the Edict of January. At first Catherine kept him very close to her, and even slept in his chamber. Catherine and the king then beat her, ripping her nightclothes and pulling out handfuls of her hair.[71]. In Banished, it is revealed that Diane was responsible for the deaths of Emone and Henrietta . At times he even felt well enough to dictate letters and listen to music. [77] Whatever the truth, the bloodbath that followed was soon beyond the control of Catherine or any other leader. "[113] He added that she had no sooner died than she was treated with as much consideration as a dead goat. Catherine ordered him to court and had him imprisoned as soon as he arrived. Within a month of Catherine's birth, both her parents were dead: Madeleine died on 28 April of puerperal fever, and Lorenzo died on 4 May. Seeing as they didn't know the other existed for the first 18 - to 20 years of their lives. [62] Taken unawares, the court fled to Paris in disarray. Margaret of Valois, Frances Slandered Clarissa Delacroix was born in 1539, the illegitimate daughter of Queen Catherine de Medici of France and King Henry II of Frances boyhood friend Richard Delacroix. The death of Pope Leo in 1521 briefly interrupted Medici power until Cardinal Giulio de' Medici was elected Pope Clement VII in 1523. Blunt calls Caron's style "perhaps the purest known type of Mannerism in its elegant form, appropriate to an exquisite but neurotic society." Catherine met Coligny, but he refused to back down. She begged him to ensure that Elisabeth eats but two meals each day and only bread in between meals. Tragically, Elisabeth had died two weeks earlier after giving birth prematurely. Antonella Campanini, "The Illusive Story Of Catherine de' Medici: A Gastronomic Myth". Now she sought a marriage between Margaret and Henry III of Navarre, Jeanne's son, with the aim of uniting Valois and Bourbon interests. She went on to bear Henry a further eight children, seven of whom survived infancy, including the future Charles IX (born 27 June 1550); the future Henry III (born 19 September 1551); and Francis, Duke of Anjou (born 18 March 1555) and Claude (born 12 November 1547). * * *. In 1593, Henry proposed an annulment of their marriage because he desperately needed an heir. Suspicions of poison abounded, from Catherine to Emperor Charles V.[24] Sebastiano de Montecuccoli confessed under torture to poisoning the Dauphin.[24]. On 18 February 1563, a spy called Poltrot de Mr fired an arquebus into the back of the Duke of Guise, at the siege of Orlans. [108] Henry did not tell Catherine of his plan for a solution to his problems. [91] Catherine cut Margaret out of her will and never saw her again. Catherine, in bed with a lung infection, had been kept in the dark. She herself supervised their education. How Catherine de Medici Made The papal nuncio Salviati observed, "it is only with difficulty that we can imagine there will be offspring physicians and those who know him well say that he has an extremely weak constitution and will not live long." On 17 August 1563, Charles IX was declared of age at the Parlement of Rouen, but he was never able to rule on his own and showed little interest in government. To avoid questions about the baby's distinguishing birthmark, she gave the baby to Nostradamus' father. "[94] She was under no illusions, however. WebClarissa Delacroix (1539-1557) was the illegitimate daughter of Queen Catherine de Medici and the French noble Richard Delacroix. As time passed and the likelihood of children from the marriage receded, Catherine's youngest son, Francis, Duke of Alenon, known as "Monsieur", played upon his role as heir to the throne, repeatedly exploiting the anarchy of the civil wars, which were by now as much about noble power struggles as religion. From the notorious to the half-forgotten, Queens of Infamy, a Longreads series by Anne Thriault, focuses on badass world-historical women of centuries past. Jeanne finally agreed to the marriage between her son and Margaret, so long as Henry could remain a Huguenot. [84], Henry married Louise de Lorraine-Vaudmont in February 1575, two days after his coronation. This rejection was one basic element in the outbreak of civil war in 1562, in whichas she had predictedCatherine fell, politically, into the clutches of the extremists, because the Catholic crown might protect its Protestant subjects in law but could not defend them in arms. D'Aubiac was executed, though not, despite Catherine's wish, in front of Margaret. She was Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to King Henry II and the mother of French kings Francis II, Charles IX, and Henry III. Her ability and eloquence were acclaimed after the Spanish victory of Saint-Quentin in Picardy in 1557, possibly the origin of her perpetual fear of Spain, which remained, through changing circumstances, the touchstone of her judgments. Was she not compelled to play strange parts to deceive first one and then the other, in order to guard, as she did, her sons, who successively reigned through the wise conduct of that shrewd woman? [109] On 23 December 1588, he asked the Duke of Guise to call on him at the Chteau de Blois. However, the death of her uncle Clement on 25 September 1534 undermined Catherine's standing in the French court. Both of her parents died within weeks of her birth, leaving her an orphan. [4] Some time later, she gave birth to Francis . Catherine saw little of her husband in their first year of marriage, but the ladies of the court, impressed with her intelligence and keenness to please, treated her well. The Florentine people called her duchessina ("the little duchess"), in deference to her unrecognised claim to the Duchy of Urbino. Catherine de Medici Catherine de Medici was the daughter of Lorenzo di Piero de Medici, duca di Urbino, and Madeleine de La Tour dAuvergne, a Bourbon princess related to many of the French nobility. Within a month Louis de Bourbon, Prince of Cond, and Admiral Gaspard de Coligny had raised an army of 1,800. He sent the Duke of Alba to tell Catherine to scrap the Edict of Amboise and to find punitive solutions to the problem of heresy. His designs for the Valois Tapestries celebrate the ftes, picnics, and mock battles of the "magnificent" entertainments hosted by Catherine. "[95], Many leading Roman Catholics were appalled by Catherine's attempts to appease the Huguenots. [80], The slaughter in Paris lasted for almost a week. Catherines first great political crisis came in July 1559 upon the accidental death of Henry II, a traumatic bereavement from which it is doubtful that she ever recovered. [93] On her return to Paris in 1579, she was greeted outside the city by the Parlement and crowds. Your email address will not be published. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Margaret, however, became almost as much of a thorn in Catherine's side as Francis, and in 1582, she returned to the French court without her husband. On 34 April 1559, Henry signed the Peace of Cateau-Cambrsis with the Holy Roman Empire and England, ending a long period of Italian Wars. Caron's vivid Mannerism, with its love of ceremonial and its preoccupation with massacres, reflects the neurotic atmosphere of the French court during the Wars of Religion. Catherine's daughter, Marguerite, was understandably not thrilled with a scheme that involved her mother seducing her husband by proxy. Catherine de Medici's Chamber of Secrets Victoire died just under two months later on 17 August. Catherine de Catherines daughters Elisabeth and Claude bore children who lived into adulthood, including King Charles IX of France, Prince Louis, and Prince Henri of France. Labouvie suggested that women's power was believed to be the ability to create and sustain life, whilst witches were believed to have the opposite power; that of attacking health, life and fertility. [121], The musical shows in particular allowed Catherine to express her creative gifts. But she was unable to avert its revocation (August 1568), which heralded the third civil war. For the first ten years of the marriage, the royal couple failed to produce any children together. Elizabeth I of England's execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, on 8 February 1587 outraged the Catholic world. Simply click 'close' in the top right corner to continue reading! [11], In 1527, the Medici were overthrown in Florence by a faction opposed to the regime of Clement's representative, Cardinal Silvio Passerini, and Catherine was taken hostage and placed in a series of convents. Clarice Orsini (c. 1453 29 July 1487) was the daughter of Jacopo (Giacomo) Orsini (see Orsini family), lord of Monterotondo and Bracciano, and his wife and cousin Maddalena Orsini. [40] Nevertheless, all his official acts began with the words: "This being the good pleasure of the Queen, my lady-mother, and I also approving of every opinion that she holdeth, am content and command that". Her merciful Edict of Amboise (March 1560) was followed in May by that of Romorantin, which distinguished heresy from sedition, thereby detaching faith from allegiance. [116] She was inspired by the example of her father-in-law, King Francis I of France, who had hosted the leading artists of Europe at his court, and by her Medici ancestors. When Clarice's husband, Lorenzo, was in Milan as the godfather of the Sforza Prince Gian Galeazzo II Maria, he wrote the following letter to her: I have arrived here safely and am quite well. Also Known As : Caterina Maria Romola di Lorenzo de Medici. Moving on to the fortress of Carlat, Margaret took a lover called d'Aubiac. [24] According to the court chronicler Brantme, "many people advised the king and the Dauphin to repudiate her, since it was necessary to continue the line of France". [88] Francis died of consumption in June 1584, after a disastrous intervention in the Low Countries during which his army had been massacred. WebMaybe it goes without saying (because The CW did make a whole TV show about it called Reign), but Catherines daughter-in-law was the equally infamous Mary, Queen of Scots. The Protestants looked for leadership first to Antoine de Bourbon, King of Navarre, the First Prince of the Blood, and then, with more success, to his brother, Louis de Bourbon, Prince of Cond, who backed a plot to overthrow the Guises by force. How old was Catherine de Medici when she got married? Because their birth very nearly cost Catherine her life, the king's physician advised the king that there should be no more children; therefore, Henry II stopped visiting his wife's bedroom and spent all his time with his longtime mistress, Diane de Poitiers. Clarissa Delacroix was born in 1539, the illegitimate daughter of Queen Catherine de Medici of France and King Henry II of France's boyhood friend Richard Delacroix. Margaret had put up a good show for the Queen and Joan wrote enthusiastically to her son with one point, If she embraces our religions, I may say that we are the happiest persons in the world Margaret could not have opposed this match with Henry more, but it was going to happen whether she wanted or not. He was tried in November, found guilty of offences against the crown, and sentenced to death. At the same moment, eight members of the Guise family were rounded up, including the Duke of Guise's brother, Louis II, Cardinal of Guise, who Henry's men hacked to death the next day in the palace dungeons. The death of her husband's older brother in 1536 made Henry and Catherine next in line for the throne. As a baby, she was given to Nostradamus' father who tried to remove the mark but only ended up making it worse. The massacre lit the fuse that sparked the French Wars of Religion. Catherine then spent an hour trying to make Margaret presentable again. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. I see him rushing towards his ruin. [25] Divorce was discussed. He depended on Catherine and her team of secretaries until the last few weeks of her life. Catherine was also eager for a match between one of her two youngest sons and Elizabeth I of England. Catherine de Medici was the queen consort of Henry II of France (154759) and regent of France. For the next ten days, Henry's state fluctuated. The Venetian ambassador, Gerolamo Lipomanno, wrote: "She is an indefatigable princess, born to tame and govern a people as unruly as the French: they now recognize her merits, her concern for unity and are sorry not to have appreciated her sooner. Clarissa Frieda 2003, p. 47 (NY edition). [64] The Surprise of Meaux marked a turning point in Catherine's policy towards the Huguenots. 15 Feb 1471, d. 28 Dec 1503. She was buried, but she went on to escape from her gravesite. Her three other daughters did survive to adulthood. This lends some weight to the suggestion that people were labelled 'witches' simply because they did not act the way a woman would have been expected to act, or simply to suit personal or political agendas. The treaty was sealed by the betrothal of Catherine's thirteen-year-old daughter Elisabeth to Philip II of Spain. The investigators traced the house and horse to the Guises and claimed to have found evidence that the would-be killer was. Religious reconciliation was the conveners purpose of the Colloquy of Poissy (SeptemberNovember 1561). [23] This proved that Henry was fertile and added to the pressure on Catherine to produce a child. In what has been called a coup d'tat, the Cardinal of Lorraine and the Duke of Guisewhose niece, Mary, Queen of Scots, had married Francis II the year beforeseized power the day after Henry II's death and quickly moved themselves into the Louvre Palace with the young couple. Her essentially moderate influence was first perceptible during the Conspiracy of Amboise (March 1560), an instance of tumultuous petitioning by the Huguenot gentry, primarily against Guisard persecution in the name of the King. Babelon, Jean-Pierre. Surgeons saved her life by breaking the legs of Jeanne, who died in her womb. [9] Leo made Catherine Duchess of Urbino but annexed most of the Duchy of Urbino to the Papal States, permitting Florence to keep only the Fortress of San Leo. The Parisians, however, claimed the right to defend the city themselves. Viscount Catherine's former lover and Clarissa's father was Richard DelaCroix. Three days later, Admiral Coligny was walking back to his rooms from the Louvre when a shot rang out from a house and wounded him in the hand and arm. [59] Catherine held talks with Jeanne d'Albret, the Protestant queen regnant of Navarre (and the wife of Antoine de Bourbon) at Mcon and Nrac. What happened to King Francis of France mother? [57] Catherine, however, was delighted with the death of her ally. In 1570, Charles IX married Elisabeth of Austria, daughter of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor. [17] Suitors, however, lined up for her hand, including James V of Scotland who sent the Duke of Albany to Clement to conclude a marriage in April and November 1530. Knecht, 272. "[106] As usual, Catherine advised the king, who had fled the city in the nick of time, to compromise and live to fight another day. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Catherine-de-Medici, World History Encyclopedia - Catherine de' Medici, History Learning Site - Biography of Catherine de Medici, Lorenzo di Piero de Medici, duca di Urbino. WebThe marriage was not popular in France. [13] Clement had no choice but to crown Charles of Habsburg as Holy Roman Emperor in return for his help in retaking the city. Catherine had at least taken the precaution of marrying Margaret, her youngest daughter, to Navarre. At the age of five and a half, Mary was brought to the French court, where she was promised to the Dauphin, Francis. King Henry took part in the jousting, sporting Diane's black-and-white colours. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Catherines second great political crisis came with the premature death on December 5, 1560, of Francis II, whose royal authority the Guises had monopolized. She is the younger half-sister of Clarissa and Sebastian, the younger sister of Francis, Louis, Elisabeth, Claude, Charles, Henry, Henrietta and Emone. [4] Without Catherine, it is unlikely that her sons would have remained in power. The imperial ambassador reported that in the presence of guests, Henry would sit on Diane's lap and play the guitar, chat about politics, or fondle her breasts. Where was Catherine de Medici born and raised? She may have owed her change of fortune to the physician Jean Fernel, who may have noticed slight abnormalities in the couple's sexual organs and advised them how to solve the problem. She had always enjoyed her visits to Claude, and now that would never be the same. Victoire was born safely but Joan did not want to come and Catherine began to weaken quickly. Jeanne replied: "Pardon me if, reading that, I want to laugh, because you want to relieve me of a fear that I've never had. Joan became even sicker, and she died, shortly before her son arrived, on 9 June. Hoogvliet, Margriet. Did clarissa Rumours of Henry's inability to produce children were by that time in wide circulation. It spread to many parts of France, where it persisted into the autumn. Three of her sons were kings of France: Francis II, Charles IX, and Henry III. Margaret outlived her former husband, her mother, her father and all her siblings. [44], In June 1560, Michel de l'Hpital was appointed Chancellor of France. Even so, he respected Catherine's status as his consort. His interest in the tasks of government, however, proved fitful. [74] The wedding took place on 18 August 1572 at Notre-Dame, Paris. She quickly terminated the second (September 1567March 1568) with the Peace of Longjumeau, a renewal of Amboise. Born in Florence, she was the granddaughter of Lorenzo de' Medici, niece of Pope Leo X and sister to Lorenzo II de' Medici. Therefore, her policies may be seen as desperate measures to keep the House of Valois on the throne at all costs and her patronage of the arts as an attempt to glorify a monarchy whose prestige was in steep decline. On 20 August 1560, Catherine and the chancellor advocated this policy to an assembly of notables at Fontainebleau. Mark Strage described these years as "the happiest of her entire life". One of her first acts was to force Diane de Poitiers to hand over the crown jewels and return the Chteau de Chenonceau to the crown. By 1587, the Catholic backlash against the Protestants had become a campaign across Europe. She was born with her father's birthmark on Catherine built two new palaces in Paris: the Tuileries and the Htel de la Reine. 500: Catherine de Medici The Mother of three Kings, 500: Catherine de Medici Patron of the arts and follower of the occult.
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