[148] Nevertheless, Catherine was never formally accused or prosecuted despite the fact that her reign experienced the greatest number of prosecutions for witchcraft in Italy. Catherine de Margaret would later write that she trembled whenever she was summoned by her mother. 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." [135] Barbara Ketcham Wheaton and Stephen Mennell provided the definitive arguments against these claims. 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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. [141] This may be particularly true for Catherine as an Italian woman ruling in France; several historians argue that she was disliked by her French subjects, who labelled her "the Italian woman". Slowly, however, he lost his sight, speech, and reason, and on 10 July 1559 he died, aged 40. After Alfonsina's death in 1520, Catherine joined her cousins and was raised by her aunt, Clarice de' Medici. 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. Years later, Diane, daughter of Henry II and Philippa Duci, had Catherine's remains reinterred in the Saint-Denis basilica in Paris. The last two daughters were twins; one of the twins, Joan, died during the delivery and the other, Victoire, died a few weeks later. He remarried to Marie de Medici and had several children by her. Piero II de Medici+ b. [82], Two years later, Catherine faced a new crisis with the death of Charles IX at the age of twenty-three. She later kidnapped her half-brothers, Princes Charles and Henry, and attempted to drown them to punish her mother for abandoning her, but Mary hit Clarissa in the head with a rock, believing her to be dead. It has been suggested that Catherine educated her son, Henry III, in the dark arts,[145] and that "the two devoted themselves to sorceries that were scandals of the age". Catherine travelled to Chtellerault where she bid farewell to her 13-year-old daughter. Margaret of Valois, Frances Slandered 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. "[95], Many leading Roman Catholics were appalled by Catherine's attempts to appease the Huguenots. Both of her parents died within weeks of her birth, leaving her an orphan. 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. His troops surprised the rebels and killed many of them on the spot, including the commander, La Renaudie. She was educated by nuns in Florence and in Rome. He cared for her and also arranged her union to Henry, Duke of Orlans, the second son of King Francis I of France, in early 1533. WebIn Inquisition, it is revealed that Clarissa is the illegitimate daughter of Catherine de Medici and was born with a birthmark on her face. Historian Frances Yates has called her "a great creative artist in festivals. Died: January 5, 1589, in Blois, France. Franois Clouet drew and painted portraits of all Catherine's family and of many members of the court. 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. Clarissa educated Catherine, along with her own children, and Catherine was happy in her new atmosphere living with her aunt. Catherine de Medici 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. 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. Catherine de Medici L'Estoile wrote: "those close to her believed that her life had been shortened by displeasure over her son's deed. What happened to King Francis of France mother? "[123] Catherine gradually introduced changes to the traditional entertainments: for example, she increased the prominence of dance in the shows that climaxed each series of entertainments. Catherine de Medici, wife to one French king and mother to three more, died at Blois in 1589. She was born less than 20 years ago to the couple while the Queen's husband was away. His designs for the Valois Tapestries celebrate the ftes, picnics, and mock battles of the "magnificent" entertainments hosted by Catherine. [52] On 1 March 1562, however, in an incident known as the Massacre of Vassy, the Duke of Guise and his men attacked worshipping Huguenots in a barn at Vassy (Wassy), killing 74 and wounding 104. The start of Season One, in 1557, Diane de Poitiers was actually 58 years old. Her two children: Franoise de Brz and Louise de Brz. I have done to him what he was going to do to me. Catherine met Coligny, but he refused to back down. There is so much treachery about that I die of fear. 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. Catherine de' Medici In, This page was last edited on 29 April 2023, at 08:48. 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. She even encouraged the king to spend more time with Catherine and sire more children. Clarissa Delacroix(1539-1557) was the illegitimate daughter of Queen Catherine de Medici and the French noble Richard Delacroix. Clarissa [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. 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. Catherine outlived all her children except Henry III, who died seven months after her, and Margaret, who inherited her robust health. 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. She was crowned in the Basilica of Saint-Denis on 10 June 1549. [130] As the centrepiece of an ambitious new chapel, she commissioned a magnificent tomb for Henry at the basilica of Saint Denis. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. D'Aubiac was executed, though not, despite Catherine's wish, in front of Margaret. In 1533, at the age of 14, Catherine married Henry, the second son of King Francis I and Queen Claude of France, who would become Dauphin of France upon the death of his elder brother Francis in 1536. She gave birth to ten children, of whom four sons and three daughters survived to marriageable age. He noted that "each had shown valour in the joust". "[111] Catherine's immediate reaction is not known; but on Christmas Day, she told a friar, "Oh, wretched man! 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. During this time, she presided over a distinctive late French Renaissance culture in all branches of the arts. Clarice de' Medici During the period 156468, Catherine was unable, for complex reasons, to withstand the cardinal Lorraine, statesman of the Guises, who largely provoked the second and third civil wars. Huguenot writers branded Catherine a scheming Italian, who had acted on Machiavelli's principles to kill all enemies in one blow. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. As a baby, she was given to Nostradamus' father who tried to remove the mark but only ended up making it worse. WebThe marriage was not popular in France. On 16 October 1568, Catherine wrote to Elisabeths husband to offer advice during Elisabeths pregnancy. 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. Nevertheless, she was devastated at Elisabeths loss. Catherine was heard yelling at her for taking lovers. Francis II became king at the age of fifteen. Author of. She was the only one of Catherines children to inherit her good health. Henry of Navarre, son of Jeanne dAlbret, and Margaret of Valois, Catherines daughter. Thenceforth the problem of religion was one of power, public order, and administration. At an early age, she was offered as a bride for her sisters widower King Philip II of Spain, but nothing came of that. "[79] Historians have suggested that Catherine and her advisers expected a Huguenot uprising to avenge the attack on Coligny. They chose therefore to strike first and wipe out the Huguenot leaders while they were still in Paris after the wedding. Ronsard may be referring to Artemisia, who drank the ashes of her dead husband, which became part of her own body. She was left in the care of Nostradamus, who secretly brought her to the French court and allowed for her to live in the secret passageways of the castle, out of the sight of her family, who believed that she had died. 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. Seeing as they didn't know the other existed for the first 18 - to 20 years of their lives. She is also known for her involvement in the Massacre of St. Bartholomew's Day (1572)part of the CatholicHuguenot wars (Wars of Religion; 156298)and for being mother to three kings of France. However, she was never in a position to control the country as a whole, which was on the brink of civil war. [141] An infertile woman, and in particular an infertile queen, was therefore regarded as 'unnatural' and a small step from supernatural. They finally married on 18 August, but Margaret persisted until the end, she offered no resistance, she gave no assent. Her head was pushed down by her brother as if she were nodding yes and so she became the Queen of Navarre. For the next two years Catherines policy was one of peace and general reconciliation. Simply click 'close' in the top right corner to continue reading! Henry arrived in the bedroom with King Francis, who is said to have stayed until the marriage was consummated. For the next thirty years, France found itself in a state of either civil war or armed truce.[54]. "If Monsieur de Guise had perished sooner", she told the Venetian ambassador, "peace would have been achieved more quickly". Did Catherine de Medici have However, he denied ever providing such advice. The massacre lit the fuse that sparked the French Wars of Religion. After Charles died in 1574, Catherine played a key role in the reign of her third son, Henry III. Henry III's assassination ended nearly three centuries of Valois rule and brought the Bourbon dynasty into power. Catherine sent her only enough "to put food on her table". (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); To celebrate the 500th birthday of the formidable Catherine de Medici, we will be posting seven articles over the next seven days about her. The chronicler L'Estoile reported that she cried all through her lunch that day. Henry VIII was king of England and still (mostly) happily married to Catherine of Aragon. She also met her daughter Elisabeth at Bayonne near the Spanish border, amidst lavish court festivities. Clarissa Delacroix This probably cooled the relationship between Margaret and her mother considerably. [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. Victoire (24 June 1556 17 August 1556). Catherine, Diane, and Prince Francis all fainted. At times he even felt well enough to dictate letters and listen to music. On 27 September 1567, in a swoop known as the Surprise of Meaux, Huguenot forces attempted to ambush the king, triggering renewed civil war. Born: April 13, 1519, in Florence, Italy. Once in control of the royal purse, she launched a programme of artistic patronage that lasted for three decades. Catherine's husband, now Henry II, had been cared for at age eleven by Diane de Poitiers, who was twenty years his senior. The regency was traditionally the preserve of the princes of the blood. On 5 January 1589, Catherine died at the age of sixty-nine, probably from pleurisy. "[72] When Jeanne did come to court, Catherine pressured her hard,[73] playing on Jeanne's hopes for her beloved son. Diane and Catherine 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. 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. Over the years, the two Queens were to maintain an energetic correspondence. The surgery removed part of the birthmark, but left Clarissa greatly disfigured due to the use of potions. I see him rushing towards his ruin. Young Elisabeth constantly suffered from childhood ailments and had not inherited her mothers robust health. [20] Prince Henry danced and jousted for Catherine. [35] Henry reeled out of the clash, his face pouring blood, with splinters "of a good bigness" sticking out of his eye and head. Catherine believing her daughter had died in the forest, while Clarissa never knew who her birth parents were. She was soon part of marriage negotiations and was considered as a bride for King Edward VI of England. Did Key Accomplishments: A powerful force during the reigns of three successive kings, Catherine played a major role in 16th-century politics. On 20 August 1560, Catherine and the chancellor advocated this policy to an assembly of notables at Fontainebleau. Catherine de Medici was born in Florence, Italy, on April 13, 1519. In 1556, Catherine nearly died giving birth to twin daughters, Jeanne and Victoire. To create the necessary dramas, music, and scenic effects for these events, Catherine employed the leading artists and architects of the day. In 1585, Margaret fled Navarre again. Catherine de' Medici (Italian: Caterina de' Medici, pronounced[katerina de mditi]; French: Catherine de Mdicis, pronounced[katin d medisis]; 13 April 1519 5 January 1589) was a Florentine noblewoman born into the Medici family. [38] The English ambassador reported a few days later that "the house of Guise ruleth and doth all about the French king". Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Clarice de' Medici 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]. Charles had been largely brought up at the French Court and Claude probably knew him well. In the Series Season One Season Two Season Three Season Four WebElisabeth is Catherine's "plain Jane" daughter. "[136][139], Catherine de' Medici has been labelled by Wiccan Gerald Gardner a "sinister Queen noted for her interest in the occult arts". She inflicts her emotional pain on her mother and her siblings upon her arrival. [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. 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. [88] Francis died of consumption in June 1584, after a disastrous intervention in the Low Countries during which his army had been massacred. He sought the support of France's constitutional bodies and worked closely with Catherine to defend the law in the face of the growing anarchy. To some extent she was eclipsed by Louis of Nassau and a group of Flemish exiles and youthful Protestants who surrounded the King and urged him to make war upon Spain in the Netherlands, which Catherine inevitably resisted. [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. 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. WebDid Queen Catherine have an illegitimate daughter? In October 1586, therefore, he had Margaret locked up in the Chteau d'Usson. 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. He depended on Catherine and her team of secretaries until the last few weeks of her life. This is the sixth, and it will focus on her relationships with her daughters. The Guise brothers set about persecuting the Protestants with zeal. [76] Coligny was carried to his lodgings at the Htel de Bthisy, where the surgeon Ambroise Par removed a bullet from his elbow and amputated a damaged finger with a pair of scissors. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). His life was saved by the illness and death of the king, as a result of an infection or an abscess in his ear. Please select which sections you would like to print: Also known as: Caterina de Medici, Catherine de Mdicis, Emeritus Professor of Early Modern History, Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, University of London.