However, three months after his coronation at Wawel Cathedral, Henry abandoned that throne and returned to France in order to become King of France. [20] Prince Henry danced and jousted for Catherine. 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. Kill them all! Updates? [39] For the moment, Catherine worked with the Guises out of necessity. Suspicions of poison abounded, from Catherine to Emperor Charles V.[24] Sebastiano de Montecuccoli confessed under torture to poisoning the Dauphin.[24]. The challenges Catherine faced were complex and in some ways difficult for her to comprehend as a foreigner. Claude and Charles would go on to have nine children, of which seven would survive to adulthood. A distinctive new art form, the ballet de cour, emerged from these creative advances. Catherine de Medici was the queen consort of Henry II of France (154759) and regent of France. Some sources claim that Victoire was the one who was stillborn. Three of her sons were kings of France: Francis II, Charles IX, and Henry III. Unlike his brothers, he came to the throne as a grown man. 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. [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". WebClarice Orsini (on the left) with her sister-in-law Bianca Maria de' Medici. [122], Many of Caron's paintings, such as those of the Triumphs of the Seasons, are of allegorical subjects that echo the festivities for which Catherine's court was famous. Corrections? [65] She told the Venetian ambassador in June 1568 that all one could expect from Huguenots was deceit, and she praised the Duke of Alba's reign of terror in the Netherlands, where Calvinists and rebels were put to death in the thousands. [14] In October 1529, Charles's troops laid siege to Florence. WebClarissa 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. When Francis II died in 1560, she became regent on behalf of her 10-year-old son King Charles IX and was thus granted sweeping powers. Catherine stayed by his bedside, but Diane kept away, "for fear", in the words of a chronicler, "of being expelled by the Queen". I have had him killed. 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. Some even suggested that she be handed over to the troops to be used for their sexual gratification. She was just 11 years old when she married Charles, Duke of Lorraine in January 1559 in a splendid ceremony at the Notre-Dame. She was born at the royal Chteau de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, where she spent her childhood alongside her sisters, the princesses Elisabeth and Claude. On 11 April 1572, the wedding contract was signed, and Henry headed for France to be reunited with his mother and his new bride. She retreated to her property at Agen and begged her mother for money. His dying words were "oh, my mother" The day before he died, he named Catherine regent, since his brother and heir, Henry the Duke of Anjou, was in the PolishLithuanian Commonwealth, where he had been elected king the year before. Catherine de' Medici "[112] She visited her old friend Cardinal de Bourbon on 1 January 1589 to tell him she was sure he would soon be freed. "[95], Many leading Roman Catholics were appalled by Catherine's attempts to appease the Huguenots. She gave birth to ten children, of whom four sons and three daughters survived to marriageable age. In October 1586, therefore, he had Margaret locked up in the Chteau d'Usson. Clarice de' Medici [55] The royal army struck back quickly and laid siege to Huguenot-held Rouen. He remarried to Marie de Medici and had several children by her. Catherine, who was said to have received the news without emotion, made a tearful visit to Coligny and promised to punish his attacker. 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. [87] On 6 May 1576, Catherine gave in to almost all Huguenot demands in the Edict of Beaulieu. She is portrayed by Rebecca Liddiard. Victoire and Jeanne were twin daughters born in 1556; Jeanne was stillborn due to surgeons breaking her legs to save her mother's life;[a] Victoire survived, dying less than two months later. I've never thought that, as they say, you eat little children. Her relationship with her mother never did improve it was as if Catherine resented Margaret for being the healthiest child. Born: April 13, 1519, in Florence, Italy. Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter and stay up to date on History of Royal Women's articles! The massacre lit the fuse that sparked the French Wars of Religion. [98] As Catherine put it, "peace is carried on a stick" (bton porte paix). In an age of civil war and declining respect for the monarchy, she sought to bolster royal prestige through lavish cultural display. She was born with her father's birthmark on She was the only one of Catherines children to inherit her good health. Jeanne finally agreed to the marriage between her son and Margaret, so long as Henry could remain a Huguenot. Meanwhile, Cond raised an army and in autumn 1560 began attacking towns in the south. Henry's death in 1559 thrust Catherine into the political arena as mother of the frail 15-year-old King Francis II. 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. [146] As a result, some (more extreme) authors[147] believe Catherine to be the creator of the Black Mass, a Satanic inversion of the traditional Catholic Mass, although there is little to prove this aside from Jean Bodin's account in his book De la dmonomanie des sorciers. She had always enjoyed her visits to Claude, and now that would never be the same. 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. Unlike the proposals of Poissy, the edict was law, which the Protestants accepted and the Catholics rejected. Under Salic law, by which only males could ascend the throne, the Huguenot Henry of Navarre now became heir presumptive to the French crown.[35]. In 1585, Margaret fled Navarre again. 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. The legend that de' Medici introduced a long list of foods, techniques and utensils from Italy to France is discredited by food historians. Margaret, however, was secretly involved with Henry of Guise, the son of the late Duke of Guise. Catherine was heard yelling at her for taking lovers. The throne of France was held by Francis I, also known as Francis [50] Catherine failed because she saw the religious divide only in political terms. WebHistorically, by Louis, she had two daughters, who were influential members of the royal household- there's no mention of a son like in the show, Sebastian . Catherine had no more children. Heritier, 48, has the twins' deaths the other way round. "As the daughter of the Medici," suggests French art historian Jean-Pierre Babelon, "she was driven by a passion to build and a desire to leave great achievements behind her when she died. She is the younger half-sister of Clarissa and Sebastian, the younger sister of Francis, Louis, Elisabeth, Claude, Charles, Henry, Henrietta and Emone. Although Catherine spent ruinous sums on the arts,[133] most of her patronage left no permanent legacy. 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? [4] Some time later, she gave birth to Francis . Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. When Henry II died in 1559 Catherine de Medici went on to rule France in the name of her sons for the next 3 decades, until her death in 1589. Huguenot writers later accused Catherine of murdering her with poisoned gloves. What was Catherine de Medici best known for? For the next ten days, Henry's state fluctuated. However, she was never in a position to control the country as a whole, which was on the brink of civil war. "[79] Historians have suggested that Catherine and her advisers expected a Huguenot uprising to avenge the attack on Coligny. Margaret would later write that she trembled whenever she was summoned by her mother. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. [101] He went into hiding to fast and pray, surrounded by a bodyguard known as "the Forty-five", and left Catherine to sort out the mess. Nevertheless, the wedding did take place, at Nice in 1533. On 8 September 1588 at Blois, where the court had assembled for a meeting of the Estates, Henry dismissed all his ministers without warning. At the age of five and a half, Mary was brought to the French court, where she was promised to the Dauphin, Francis. Henry's reign also saw the rise of the Guise brothers, Charles, who became a cardinal, and Henry's boyhood friend Francis, who became Duke of Guise. Within a month Louis de Bourbon, Prince of Cond, and Admiral Gaspard de Coligny had raised an army of 1,800. 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. It is also necessary to understand this political struggle of the Catholic crown with its own ultramontane extremists and to perceive its fluctuations in changing circumstances, in order to realize the fundamental consistency of Catherines career. Elizabeth I of England's execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, on 8 February 1587 outraged the Catholic world. Now she sought a marriage between Margaret and Henry III of Navarre, Jeanne's son, with the aim of uniting Valois and Bourbon interests. D'Aubiac was executed, though not, despite Catherine's wish, in front of Margaret. WebClarissa Delacroix (1539-1557) was the illegitimate daughter of Queen Catherine de Medici and the French noble Richard Delacroix. [63] The war was ended by the Peace of Longjumeau of 2223 March 1568, but civil unrest and bloodshed continued. In spite of Henrys abiding attachment to his mistress Diane de Poitiers, Catherines marriage was not unsuccessful and, after 10 anxious years, she bore him 10 children, of whom 4 boys and 3 girls survived. Diane de Poitiers WebHenry II was the philandering king of France who carried out an affair with Kenna, lady-in-waiting to the queen of Scotland, despite already being married to Catherine de' Medici.He was an ambitious man, especially when it came to taking England, which he spent years trying to do.Following his son's marriage to Mary Stuart, Henry descended into madness It was only after Leo's death in 1521, that his successor, Adrian VI, restored the duchy to its rightful owner, Francesco Maria I della Rovere. Catherine sent her only enough "to put food on her table". [38] The English ambassador reported a few days later that "the house of Guise ruleth and doth all about the French king". The Duke of Guise launched an attack into the woods around the chteau. Catherine delayed her daughters departure as much as she could, but they finally set out of for Spain on 18 November 1559. 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." "[111] Catherine's immediate reaction is not known; but on Christmas Day, she told a friar, "Oh, wretched man! On one occasion, in March 1578, she lectured him for six hours about his dangerously subversive behaviour. The last two daughters were twins; one of the twins, Joan, died during the delivery and the other, Victoire, died a few weeks later. Viscount Catherine's former lover and Clarissa's father was Richard DelaCroix. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. 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. Catherine de Medici's Chamber of Secrets 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. On 27 September 1567, in a swoop known as the Surprise of Meaux, Huguenot forces attempted to ambush the king, triggering renewed civil war. The 10 years from 1560 to 1570 were, politically, the most important of Catherines life. The murder triggered an aristocratic blood feud that complicated the French civil wars for years to come. "The Louvre: Royal Residence and Temple of the Arts". By 1587, the Catholic backlash against the Protestants had become a campaign across Europe. He was also a Huguenot while Margaret was a Catholic. Margaret of Valois was the third daughter and seventh child of King Henry II of France and his Italian queen, Catherine de Medici. In the Series Season One Season Two Season Three Season Four Catherine De Medici Many portraits in her collection were by Jean Clouet (14801541) and his son Franois Clouet (c.1510 1572). [15] The city finally surrendered on 12 August 1530. Eight months later, Jacques Clment stabbed Henry III to death. Prince Henry showed no interest in Catherine as a wife; instead, he openly took mistresses. Then he set about the business of finding her a husband.[16]. [102] The monarchy had lost control of the country, and was in no position to assist England in the face of the coming Spanish attack. After the Edict of Beaulieu, they had started forming local leagues to protect their religion. 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. 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. [75] A smoking arquebus was discovered in a window, but the culprit had made his escape from the rear of the building on a waiting horse. In, This page was last edited on 29 April 2023, at 08:48. His designs for the Valois Tapestries celebrate the ftes, picnics, and mock battles of the "magnificent" entertainments hosted by Catherine. In fact, a large population of Italiansbankers, silk-weavers, philosophers, musicians, and artists, including Leonardo da Vincihad emigrated to France to promote the burgeoning Renaissance. Clarissa de Medici. After Franciss death, Catherine wrote to her daughter, Ma fille (my daughter) mamie (my friend), commend yourself to God, for you have seen me as happy as you are now, never knowing any sorrow but that I was not loved as much as I wished to be by the King your father, who honoured me more than I deserved, but I loved him so much that I was always in fear, as you know; and God has taken him from me and, not content with that, has deprived me of your brother.. [45] Neither saw the need to punish Protestants who worshipped in private and did not take up arms. Listed works of art included tapestries, hand-drawn maps, sculptures, rich fabrics, ebony furniture inlaid with ivory, sets of china, and Limoges pottery. His life was saved by the illness and death of the king, as a result of an infection or an abscess in his ear. Died: January 5, 1589, in Blois, France. Elisabeth had died, in a most Christian manner dressed in the habit of Saint-Franois, preceded to heaven by the child she carried who had received the holy water of the sacred baptism. Upon hearing the news of her daughters death, Catherine withdrew without a word to her private chapel. But she was unable to avert its revocation (August 1568), which heralded the third civil war. Even so, he respected Catherine's status as his consort. The death of Pope Leo in 1521 briefly interrupted Medici power until Cardinal Giulio de' Medici was elected Pope Clement VII in 1523. Not much later, she actually married Philip himself when he was widowed upon the death of Queen Mary I of England. [121] In the last two decades of her life, only two painters stand out as recognisable personalities: Jean Cousin the Younger (c.1522 c.1594), few of whose works survive, and Antoine Caron (c.1521 1599), who became Catherine's official painter after working at Fontainebleau under Primaticcio. [26] Catherine quickly conceived again and on 2 April 1545 she bore a daughter, Elisabeth. [134] The end of the Valois dynasty so soon after her death brought a change in priorities. 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. From that moment, she abandoned compromise for a policy of repression. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Biography Early Life Antonella Campanini, "The Illusive Story Of Catherine de' Medici: A Gastronomic Myth". They depict events held at Fontainebleau in 1564; at Bayonne in 1565 for the summit meeting with the Spanish court; and at the Tuileries in 1573 for the visit of the Polish ambassadors who presented the Polish crown to Catherine's son Henry of Anjou. To create the necessary dramas, music, and scenic effects for these events, Catherine employed the leading artists and architects of the day. She was buried, but she went on to escape from her gravesite. Possibly Catherines most concrete achievement was the Edict of January 1562, which followed the failure of reconciliation. He defeated the dukes of Guise and Nemours, but the young Gabriel, comte de Montgomery, knocked him half out of the saddle. In the Treaty of Nemours, signed on 7 July 1585, he was forced to give in to all the League's demands, even that he pay its troops. [70] After Catherine's daughter Elisabeth died in childbirth in 1568, she had touted her youngest daughter Margaret as a bride for Philip II of Spain. At times he even felt well enough to dictate letters and listen to music. WebCatherine de Medicis full name is Caterina Maria Romula di Lorenzo de Medici. In 1570, Charles IX married Elisabeth of Austria, daughter of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor. In August 1563 she declared the King of age in the Parlement of Rouen and, from April 1564 to January 1566, conducted him on a marathon itinerary round France. Catherine insisted on visiting the field herself and when warned of the dangers laughed, "My courage is as great as yours". Henry III's assassination ended nearly three centuries of Valois rule and brought the Bourbon dynasty into power. Margaret retained her titles and was financially taken care of, and perhaps for the first time, she had a good relationship with her husband. Upon the death of her brother Henry in 1589, her husband became the King of France and she the Queen. Webdecade of Catherine de Medicis marriage was attributed to Henry II, who was born with hypospadias and chordee. 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]. Today marks the 500th anniversary of the day Catherine de' Medici (15191589) came into this world. "[100], Henry was unable to fight the Catholics and the Protestants at once, both of whom had stronger armies than his own. [120], Beyond portraiture, little is known about the painting at Catherine de' Medici's court. Just six days after the wedding the St. Bartholomews Day massacre a group of assassinations followed by a wave of violence after the Huguenots who were there for the wedding took place. Her efforts won Catherine new respect from the French people. In 1536, Henry's older brother, Francis, caught a chill after a game of tennis, contracted a fever and died shortly after, leaving Henry the heir. She wrote to her daughter Elisabeth: "My principal aim is to have the honour of God before my eyes in all things and to preserve my authority, not for myself, but for the conservation of this kingdom and for the good of all your brothers". L'Estoile wrote: "those close to her believed that her life had been shortened by displeasure over her son's deed. Catherine de' Medici 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. After her brother's premature death in 1519, she educated his daughter Catherine, the future Queen of France . WebCatherine eventually gave birth to ten children, beginning in 1543. [19] Clement visited the newlyweds in bed the next morning and added his blessings to the night's proceedings. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. On 24 June 1556, Catherine gave birth to twin daughters Joan and Victoire. [81] On 29 September, when Navarre knelt before the altar as a Roman Catholic, having converted to avoid being killed, Catherine turned to the ambassadors and laughed. She had known Mary since the age of five and a half, when the little Scottish queen was brought to Paris and raised alongside Catherines own children. De Medici He called her not only the mother of the king but the mother of the state. [118] There were also hundreds of portraits, for which a vogue had developed during Catherine's lifetime. [136][137] They point out that Catherine's father-in-law, King Francis I, and the flower of the French aristocracy had dined at some of Italy's most lite tables during the king's Italian campaigns (and that an earlier generation had done so during King Charles VIII's invasion of 1494); that a vast Italian entourage had visited France for the wedding of Catherine de' Medici's father to her French-born mother; and that she had little influence at court until her husband's death because he was so besotted by his mistress, Diane de Poitiers. Catherine's marriage was arranged by her uncle Pope Clement VII. [49], She summoned church leaders from both sides to attempt to solve their doctrinal differences. Henry was carried to the Chteau de Tournelles, where five splinters of wood were extracted from his head, one of which had pierced his eye and brain. Huguenot writers branded Catherine a scheming Italian, who had acted on Machiavelli's principles to kill all enemies in one blow. As dauphine, Catherine was expected to provide a future heir to the throne. [117], An inventory drawn up at the Htel de la Reine after Catherine's death shows her to have been a keen collector. It spread to many parts of France, where it persisted into the autumn. She gave birth to ten children, of whom four sons and three daughters survived to marriageable age. 500: Catherine de Medici The Mother of three Kings, 500: Catherine de Medici Patron of the arts and follower of the occult. However, she failed to fully grasp the theological issues that drove their movement. In 1556, Catherine nearly died giving birth to twin daughters, Jeanne and Victoire. Nevertheless, she was devastated at Elisabeths loss. Catherines dowry was considered too small and alliances between royalty and merchant families like the Medicis, however rich, were still unusual. [41] When the Guises heard of the plot,[42] they moved the court to the fortified Chteau of Amboise. 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]. [99] "Take care", she wrote to the king, "especially about your person. Catherine had at least taken the precaution of marrying Margaret, her youngest daughter, to Navarre.
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