Considered one of the most hated historical figures by some and exonerated by other historians, Catherine de Medici (Florence, April 13, 1519 – Château de Blois, January 5, 1589) rose as one of the most prominent queens of France . Although her political actions were hampered by constant civil wars, she devoted her efforts to the Valois dynasty remaining on the French throne. The permanence of her children in power was thanks to all her work (Sutherlans, 1966: 26).
The childhood of a Medici
Caterina Maria Romula di Lorenzo de Medici He was born in Florence on April 13, 1519, within the Medici family, the most important in the city. However, the Medici were bankers of the European royal houses of the time. Her father was Lorenzo II de’ Medici, Duke of Urbino by grace of her uncle, Pope Leo X, but she did not keep the title, which was inherited by another Italian nobleman. However, on her mother’s side, Madeleine de la Tour de Auvergne, Countess of Boulogne, she was part of one of the most illustrious families of the French nobility. This aspect would favor the choice of her as the wife of the dauphin of France, Henry II.
Her mother, Magdalena, died on April 28 of that same year due to puerperal fever, a very serious infection caused by the suffering of Catalina’s childbirth. Her father, Lorenzo de Medici, died on May 4, days after his wife, of syphilis. The couple had married the previous year, in 1518. Their marriage was contracted in service of an alliance between Pope Leo X, belonging to the Medici house as the son of Lorenzo the Magnificent, and the King of France, Francis I. This intended oppose Emperor Maximilian I. After the death of his parents, Francis I wanted Catherine to remain in France, but Leo X sought to get another benefit from his great-niece. He intended to marry her to Ippolito de’ Medici, her illegitimate nephew, and for both of them to rule Florence in the future (Knecht, 1998: 8).
With her return to Florence, Catherine came under the care of Alfonsina Orsini, her paternal grandmother and wife of Piero de’ Medici. Only a year later, in 1520, she died. As a child, she was taken care of by Clarice Strozzi, her aunt. In 1521 Pope Leo X died and with it part of the power of the Medici family, at least until Giulio de’ Medici came to the papacy. Under the name Clement VII, in 1523 he attained the papacy. From that moment on, Catalina remained under his tutelage and she was transferred to the Medici Ricardi palace in Florence (Frieda, 2006: 23-24).
When Catherine was only 8 years old, in 1527, the Medici family was removed from Florentine power by Cardinal Silvio Passerini. She was confined in numerous convents (KNECTH, 1998: 11), until reaching the one of the Santissima Annunziata delle Murate, where they kept her for about three years. Times that, according to historian Mark Strage, were the happiest of her entire life (Strage, 1976: 13-15).
Faced with this situation of family defeat, Clement VII was forced to crown Carlos I of Spain as Holy Roman Emperor so that he would help him recover the city (Knecht, 1998:10-11). Since October 1529, Florence was besieged by the emperor’s forces and with their expansion, different voices began to rise up and propose the assassination of Catherine. They also intended the exhibition of her naked body on the city walls as humiliation. Even that it was delivered to the troops for her sexual satisfaction (Strage, 1976: 15). After the capitulation of the city in August 1530, Clement VII requested that his niece accompany him to the safety of Romewhere he began looking for a suitable marriage for her (Knecht, 1998: 12).
Marriage
Although the description of an envoy from the city of Venice described her as thin, short with strong features and with the peculiar bulging eyes of the Medici family (Frieda, 2006: 31), Catherine was not short of suitors. In it, they sought an alliance with one of the most important families in the Mediterranean.
Among the most important was James V of Scotland, who in 1530 sent a retinue of nobles to arrange his marriage to the young Florentine. However, the most interesting proposal and the one that most excited his uncle Clement VII was that of the King of France. In 1533, he proposed the marriage of his second son, the Duke of Orleans, with the young woman. This would mean his social ascent, since despite the money his family had, he was not of aristocratic origin (Frieda, 2006: 35).
Finally, Clement VII chose Henry of France as husband for his niece and the wedding was celebrated with great pomp on October 28, 1533 (Frieda, 2006:53). Following royal customs, the bride and groom, only 14 years old, left the celebration to attend the consummation of the marriage. King Francis I was present at it as a witness (Knecht: 1998: 16), while Clement VII gave them his blessing the next morning (Frieda, 2006: 53).
As long as Clement VII lived, Catherine’s position at the French court was privileged. Although she did not see her husband often, the court ladies were impressed by her personality and intelligence. On the contrary, with the death of her uncle in September 1534 and the accession to power of Paul III, her position at court became more tenuous. The new pope refused to pay her dowry promised by Clement to her and her court stopped admiring her (Frieda, 2006: 54).
The young prince showed no inclination towards his wife, coming to take several mistresses without it being a secret for the court. So much so that 10 years after marrying Catalina, with whom he had not had children until now, one of his mistresses gave birth to a girl, who was recognized by Enrique. This situation only put more pressure on Catherine, since her “worth” as her husband’s man had been proven, but hers to deliver a son to the Valois house had not (Knecht, 1998: 29-30) .
The year 1536 marked a turning point in the lives of the two young men, since Henry’s older brother and heir to the throne of France, Francis, died of a fever after getting cold playing sports. Henry became the dauphin of France, and with him Catherine. It was hoped that at this time the new dauphin would be able to give birth to the heir to the throne. However, given the alleged incapacity and, according to chroniclers of the time, several of his advisers recommended, both to the monarch and to the dauphin, that she be repudiated and thus be able to follow the line of succession with another wife (Knecht, 1998: 29) .
Faced with this situation and desperate not to lose her position, Catalina tried all possible remedies to get pregnant, such as drinking urine from a mule or rubbing cow dung (Frieda, 2006; 67). Finally, on January 19, 1544, the couple’s first son was born, whom they named Francisco, in honor of his grandfather.
After this first pregnancy, Catalina was able to repeat without any problem. It happened especially thanks to the help of the doctor Jean François Fernel, who detected the problem and put a solution to it (Frieda, 2006:68). Thus, on April 2, 1545, her second daughter, Isabel de Valois, was born. She was joined by eight other children, of whom only six survived childhood. Among those who are the kings Carlos IX and Enrique III and the Duke of Anjou, Francisco. The queen’s last pregnancy was in 1556, there were two girls, but the delivery was complicated. They had to break the legs of one of them, who died, to save the other, who also died some seven months later (Knecht, 1998: 34).
Although the birth of these 8 children ensured the continuation of the Valois dynasty on the French throne, the marriage did not improve their relationship. So much so that in 1538 Henry began a relationship with Diane de Poitiers, which he continued for the rest of his life.
In the political field, Henry did not allow Catherine to intervene in French politics. However, it came to exercise nominal regencies at the times when her husband left the court (Frieda, 2006:118). On the other hand, Diana de Poitiers was able to intervene in politics. Henry placed her at the center of her power, even giving her the Château de Chenonceau that Catherine wanted (Frieda, 2006: 80-86). So great were Diana’s benefits that she did not consider Catherine a rival at court. She even encouraged the king to continue her succession by lying with her.
The Queen Mother and the fight against the Huguenots
in 1559 Catherine had to face one of the biggest crises of her reign, the death of her husband. The first days of April of that year saw the signing of the Peace Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis. This was signed with the Empire and England to end the wars that were raging in Italy at the time. In that agreement, the wedding of the thirteen-year-old Infanta Isabel with the King of Spain was finalized. Her marriage to Felipe II of Austria was celebrated, by proxy, on June 22, 1559 in the city of Paris. The marriage between the two involved several days of celebration (Knecht, 1998: 55).
During these celebrations the king participated in numerous jousts. Among them, against the Dukes of Guise and Nemours, whom he won. However, the Earl of Montgomery defeated him. The king wanted to compete against him again and the situation ended in a worse way, since the count hit him with the spear and splinters stuck in one of his eyes and in his head. After the spectacular accident he moved the king to the castle of Tournelles where he was treated urgently to extract the splinters from his head. In the following days the health of the king had many oscillations. Although he improved enough to send letters, he rapidly began to lose his sight, speech, and reason until finally, on July 10, 1559, he died.
After the death of her husband, Catherine became the queen mother. She had to act actively in the reigns of three of her children: Francisco II, Carlos IX and Enrique III. Upon the death of her father, Francis IIthe oldest male of the marriage was the one who inherited the throne, with only 15 years. At that very moment, those who were the protectors and uncles of his wife, Mary of Scotland, the Cardinal of Lorraine and the Duke of Guise, carried out what is considered a coup d’état, since they took power and moved from rushed to the Louvre together with the young kings (Knecht, 1998: 58).
Despite his son’s youth, in France he was considered old enough to rule. Therefore, Catherine had no place in the government of the kingdom. However, all of her acts began with reference to her and her approval (Frieda, 2006: 149). That she did not have a large plot of power did not mean that the one she had was not used. In fact, the opposite happened, one of her first measures being the claim of all the royal jewels from Diana de Poitiers. She also of the different castles that were given to her. She even reversed the reforms that her husband’s mistress carried out.
During this period, the problems of faith in Francesince the…