Catherine de' Medici left behind a bright mark. Some experts in the field of the Middle Ages are not at all shy when they call this trail bloody. But what if she had to live in such times. Her short reign as regent and that of her sons was marked by constant protracted wars - civil and religious. Whether this woman, offended by fate, had a choice is a big question.

Childhood and youth

According to biographers, the Medici family was very happy about the birth of a girl. But the parental joy was short-lived. Half a month after giving birth, the girl’s mother died, and six days later her father died. And although it is officially accepted that the child’s mother died of puerperal fever, most likely the cause of death of both spouses was syphilis.

One way or another, the newborn child immediately became an orphan. Caring relatives took sufficient part in the fate of the child. The king of France, Francis I, was ready to take the baby into her upbringing. But another, no less influential relative, Pope Leo X, determined the girl’s life differently. He decided that this would be an excellent match for his nephew, who would become the ruler of Florence. True, Leo X was unable to complete this project because he died two years later. Meanwhile, the baby was raised by her aunt.

When the young duchess was barely 10 years old, trouble came to Florence. The city came under siege by Charles V of Habsburg. Calls began to come in to deal with the future potential ruler of Florence. They suggested either hanging the teenage girl from the central gate leading into the city or simply dishonoring her.

It is not surprising that when the conflict was resolved, the current Pope Clement VII, also a relative of Catherine, met her in Rome in tears. Now Pope Clement VII decided to arrange the life of the grown-up girl. Soon such a chance arose - the King of France, Francis I, saw in the girl a bride for his second son. So Catherine turned into a newlywed. The girl was the same age as Henry de Valois. They were fourteen years old when they became husband and wife.

French court

The duchess's political value was very high for France. Family ties with the Pope and a good dowry made the girl a valuable acquisition for France.

Although not a beauty, she was able to make a good first impression on the entire French court. Her fiancé, Henry de Valois, was not the crown prince, but his wedding became a grandiose event for all of France. The festivities did not stop for 34 days, changing feasts to balls.

Trouble began when Clement VII died in September 1534. Not all of Catherine's dowry was paid, and the new Pope refused to pay it. The value of the “Italian” and “merchant’s wife,” as the girl was called at court, fell sharply. The courtiers did not hide their arrogant and disdainful attitude. Many pretended not to understand her, although Medici spoke good French. Prince Henry did not hide his indifference to his wife. The young man had a constant favorite - Diane de Poitiers, with whom he spent time. Catherine was completely alone in this foreign and unfriendly country.

Relationship with husband

Catherine tried to get along with her husband. She followed the actions of Diane de Poitiers, trying to understand what was so attractive about her husband in this woman, but she did not find anything special. Apparently, Henry really was in love with the beautiful Diana, although her mistress was 19 years older than the prince. There were whole legends, similar to fables, about the beauty of de Poitiers. But one way or another, she kept Heinrich near her for many years.

Diane de Poitiers was not only beautiful, she was also smart. Realizing that she was not destined to become Henry’s wife, the favorite was able to create the most favorable environment for her beloved. She skillfully manipulated her lover, sometimes pushing him into the marital bed. True, all attempts to acquire a legal heir were in vain for a long time; Catherine did not become pregnant for 10 years.

The Medici owe their miraculous liberation from infertility to Nostradamus. After the birth of her first child, difficulties with conception no longer bothered Catherine. She gave birth to ten children one after another, creating a strong foundation for herself at the French court. Thirty-seven-year-old Catherine’s last birth was very difficult. Two girls born died, one immediately, the second six weeks later. Doctors saved the woman, but advised her not to give birth again.

Since then, Henry did not visit his wife’s chambers at all, preferring the company of his favorite. But it is known for sure that the prince loved his children, often played with them and spoiled them with gifts.

Black queen

Some historians are confident that Henry II owes his throne to his wife, who poisoned Henry’s older brother. And although modern scientists have found evidence that the eighteen-year-old boy, the first heir to the throne, died of tuberculosis, no one abandoned the version of poisoning.

In 1547, Catherine became queen. This didn't improve the situation. She was only the mother of the heirs and did not take any part in governing the country.

Everything changed after the death of her husband, who was accidentally killed at a military tournament. Having received a mortal wound, the king lived for 10 days. All this time, Catherine was near her husband, not allowing her favorite Diana to see him, although the monarch demanded her presence. And those around her no longer dared to contradict the queen, realizing that now it was she who became the first person in the state.

Although Catherine’s husband had a constant favorite all his life and assigned his wife a supporting role, she loved him very much. After Henry's death, Medici vowed that she would now wear mourning dresses for the rest of her life. She kept her promise and dressed the same way for all 30 years of her life as a widow. This became the reason for the nickname that stuck - the Black Queen. But not only this fact made her “black”.

Regency

Now that there was no need to wear a mask of submission in front of her beloved husband, the Medici showed France her true face. Catherine's eldest son was a fifteen-year-old teenager, and she became regent. The Queen plunged into state problems and began to make decisions, including political ones. She didn’t do it very well, largely due to the fact that she didn’t understand much. The country was in chaos, with local nobles taking power in some parts of France. In addition, she underestimated the religious differences between Catholics and Protestants, who were called Huguenots in France.

Meanwhile, the young king led an idle life and, although he was legally of age, he could not and did not want to rule. He died before his seventeenth birthday from a sudden illness.

Catherine was now regent for her second son, Charles IX, who was barely ten years old. But the growing boy was also never interested in the affairs of France, so the rule of the country was concentrated in the hands of the Queen Mother. This young man, like his older brother, was not in good health. He died at the age of 23 from pleurisy. But many historians claim that the young king died of poisoning. Moreover, his two younger brothers Heinrich and Francois, as well as Marie de Medici herself, are suspected of the crime.

Now it is the turn of the third son of Catherine de Medici to rule France. He was her favorite son, and the Queen Mother helped him greatly. Henry III Valois was educated and well-read, he easily held conversations on educational topics, knew literature and history, and danced and fenced beautifully. The main thing is that of all the Medici, he had the best health.

Henry did not shy away from ruling the country, and the Queen Mother's role was selective. She often acted as a state performer. The elderly woman traveled throughout the country with the goal of strengthening royal power and restoring peace. She helped her son until the last days of her life.

St. Bartholomew's Night

This is the same event that confirmed the title of Catherine de Medici as the black queen.

During the reign of the Medici dynasty in France, a very difficult situation developed between Catholics and Protestants. Religious wars broke out throughout the country. The threat of losing control over the entire state was constantly in the air over the monarchs.

From the beginning of her reign, Catherine underestimated the scale of the tragedy, naively believing that the main thing was to reach a constructive agreement with the leaders. But the strength of religious differences led to a complete split not only in the ranks of the nobility; the common people were also outraged.

Catherine decided to marry her Catholic daughter, Margaret of Valois, to the Protestant Henry of Navarre, and thus at least somehow try on the people. Consent to the marriage on the part of the groom was obtained only on the condition that he would remain in his Huguenot faith. Of course, true Catholics did not approve of such actions. The Pope did not give his consent to this marriage. The Queen literally persuaded Archbishop Charles de Bourbon to marry the couple.

The wedding took place in Notre Dame Cathedral. On this occasion, a large number of Protestants gathered in Paris.

There was a second part of the plan, according to which the queen decided to deal with the Huguenot leaders. It was decided to eliminate someone, capture someone. But things didn't go as planned. The angry crowd of the mob mercilessly began to kill everyone in a row, recognizing the Huguenots by their black clothes. In this confusion, both the Huguenots who came to Paris and the local residents suffered. There was real robbery for several days. The dead were stripped of their clothes and valuables were taken away. The maddened killers destroyed everything in their path.

Historians do not give an exact number of those killed, and the figure varies from 3 thousand to 30 thousand throughout France. This horror began on the night of August 23-24, 1572, just before St. Bartholomew's Day. This is how the event got its name - St. Bartholomew's Night.

The massacre continued for a whole week in all provinces. The riots and killings did not stop. The Catholics destroyed the Huguenots mercilessly, and converted Catherine’s newly-made son-in-law to their faith.

The Last Days of Catherine de Medici

Catherine de Medici lived for almost 70 years, in recent years she so diligently helped her son in governing the country.

She devoted her whole life to ensuring that the Valois dynasty strengthened and expanded. The Queen gave birth to a large number of children, of whom five sons and three daughters grew to adulthood. She created dynastic marriages for her children, with one goal - to strengthen the family tree. True, the Medici's contemporaries believed that the entire Valois dynasty was unsuitable for royal rule.

Less than a year after the death of Queen Catherine de Medici, who cared so much about the family tree, the Valois dynasty was interrupted forever.

The queen died in January 1589, most likely from pleurisy in the city of Blois. She was buried there. Later, the remains were reburied in the main Parisian monastery, the Abbey of Saint-Denis. And more than two hundred years later, during the Great French Revolution, in 1793, along with the remains of other monarchs, her relics fell into a common grave.

Catherine de' Medici, future Queen of France. She was born in Florence on April 13, 1519. Catherine's parent, Duke of Urbino, was a nobleman of relatively low birth. However, the connections of the mother, Countess of Overenskaya, contributed to her future marriage to the king. Shortly after the birth of their daughter, the parents die six days apart. King Francis I of France tried to take the girl to himself, but the Pope had his own far-reaching plans. The girl remained in the care of her grandmother, Alfonsina Orsin. In 1520, after the death of her grandmother, the girl was taken by her aunt, Clarissa Strozzi. The girl grew up in the same family, with her aunt’s daughters and sons. The relationship between the children was good, Catherine did not feel any deprivation. After the death of Leo X in 1521, political events make Catherine a hostage. She spent eight whole years in this status. In 1529, after the surrender of Florence to King Charles V, the girl gained freedom. The new Pope Clement was expecting his niece in Rome. After her arrival, the search for a suitable party began. A large number of candidates were considered. After a proposal from King Francis I, the choice was made. This marriage suited everyone.
The 14-year-old girl became the future companion of Prince Henry. Catherine did not stand out for her beauty, the usual appearance of an ordinary girl at 14 years old. Having turned to one of the most famous masters for help, she acquired high-heeled shoes and managed to impress the French court. The wedding celebrations, which began on October 28, 1533 in Marseille, lasted 34 days. After the death of Clement VII, Catherine's position deteriorated sharply. The new pope refused to pay the dowry. Florentine education lacked versatility. The girl’s non-native language also brought a lot of grief. Catherine was left alone, the courtiers showed her all sorts of hostility.
The heir to the French throne, Dauphin Francis, unexpectedly dies, and Catherine's husband becomes heir. The future queen has new worries. With this event, speculation about “Catherine the poisoner” begins.
The appearance of an illegitimate son by the king proved Catherine’s infertility. The future queen underwent all kinds of treatment, wanting to get pregnant. In 1544, a son was born into the family. The child was given the name Francis, in honor of his grandfather, the king on the throne. The first pregnancy completely solved the problem with infertility. Several more children appeared in the family. Catherine's position at court became stronger. After an unsuccessful birth in 1556, doctors recommended that the couple stop. Henry lost interest in his wife and spent all his time with his favorite.
On March 31, 1547, due to the death of his father, King Francis I, royal power passed to his son, Henry II. Henry's wife turns into a queen. The king limited his wife's ability to participate in government and her influence was minimal.
In the summer of 1559, the king had an accident at a knight's tournament. A splinter from a broken spear penetrated into the eye socket through the viewing slit in the helmet and damaged brain tissue. The doctors tried to save the king; Catherine did not leave the room where the king was. Soon the king stopped seeing and speaking. In 1559, on July 19, Henry passed away. From that time until her death, Catherine wore black clothes as a sign of mourning.
Her son, Francis II, ascended the throne of France at the age of 15. Catherine had to delve into the affairs of the state. Lack of experience often led Catherine to wrong decisions. Because of her naivety, she could not appreciate the full depth of the problems.
The reign of the new king lasted about two years. Francis II died of an infectious disease. The position of king passed to his 10-year-old brother, Charles IX. This child, even having reached adulthood, was not able to rule the state, and did not show any desire. Tuberculosis brought him to his grave. On Catherine’s conscience lies the bloodiest event of those times - St. Bartholomew’s Night. There is no doubt that according to her decision, Charles IX gave the order to kill the Huguenots. Catherine de Medici died in 1589, on January 5th. The diagnosis is lung disease. She was buried in Blois; Paris was captured by the enemy.

An intelligent and purposeful woman who took control of half the states of medieval Europe into her own hands, a representative of the Medici banking family, a relative and contemporary of the famous. The wife of the king of France, mother and regent, patroness and victim, grandmother of the English and Spanish kings - all this is Maria de Medici.

Childhood and youth

The future queen was born on April 26, 1575 in Florence. Father - Grand Duke of Tuscany Francesco I. Mother - Joanna, Duchess of Austria, from the House of Habsburg. At the time of the birth of Mary, the sixth child in the family, there were four survivors: a brother and three sisters. Mother died when Maria was only five years old. Evil tongues suspected poison.

Two months later, the widower married his long-time mistress Bianca Cappello, who was popularly called the Sorceress. The stepdaughter could not stand her stepmother. When Maria was 9 years old, her brother Philip and older sister Anna died. Then sister Eleanor left for her new possessions, marrying the Duke of Mantua. In 1587, at the age of 47, his father died. The word “arsenic” is heard in gossip.

The legends with which the Medici biography is rich say that lightning struck her room in Palazzo Pitti three times. The palace itself was shaken by an earthquake - a rare event in Tuscany. During a trip to Pisa, the girl almost drowned.

By the age of 12, a lonely girl finds herself surrounded by strangers. The best friend of the lonely aristocrat is her chambermaid Leonora Dori Galigai, who is five years older than Maria. The young aristocrat receives a traditional medieval education. He is learning to play the guitar and lute and is interested in natural sciences.

The expensive bride remains a maid for a long time - up to 25 years, despite all the efforts of her uncle to arrange her fate with maximum benefit for the Medici clan. She twice refused suitors who were worthy, but not kings. The reason for the refusals was the prediction of Passitea, a nun from Siena. Mary is destined to be queen, so dukes and earls are not for her.

Queen of France

Since 1572, the French king has been married to the barren Margaret of Valois, but is not close to her. Henry is in love with Gabrielle d'Estrée, which, however, does not prevent him from having bastards from numerous mistresses. Divorce in those days, even in a rich and noble family, was a complex, long and expensive matter, but in 1599 Henry IV received consent from Pope Clement VIII for a new marriage.

The sudden death of Gabrielle d'Estrée turns the king's attention to a relative of Ferdinand de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. France owed a large sum to the Medici banking house; Henry needed funds for wars and the fight against the opposition. Ferdinand I gives Maria the largest dowry that the brides of the kings of France ever brought to their grooms - it almost completely covered the debts.

In October 1600, a wedding by proxy took place at the Pitti Palace. The role of the absent groom was played by the bride's uncle, and Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini performed the ceremony. Among the guests at the ceremony was a young man, who later painted a series of paintings depicting significant events in Mary’s biography.

The bride sails to France, then travels from Marseille to Lyon, where celebrations for the royal wedding began immediately upon her arrival. On September 27, 1601, the young queen gave birth to her husband’s son, the heir to the French throne. At the same time, Henry's mistress, Henriette d'Entragues, also gave birth to a son for the king. Court life is full of competition, intrigue and struggle for power and influence.

Maria is jealous of her husband’s mistresses and bastards. He surrounds himself with an “Italian clique”, headed by Leonora’s husband, Concino Concini. In 1610, Henry was often ill, he was 57 years old, the king was gloomy and feared an imminent death. Getting ready to go to war with Protestants in German lands, he decides to crown his wife. The king declares his will: in the event of his death, the queen will remain regent for the nine-year-old Louis.

On May 13, 1610, Mary was crowned in Saint-Denis. Henry's worries about possible illnesses and the dangers of a military campaign turn out to be in vain. A day after the celebration, May 14, 1610, the king dies from Ravaillac’s dagger. The suspicion of complicity that fell on the queen's favorites was neither proven nor refuted.

For four years of her regency, Mary was supported by the clerical and Spanish parties. The main allies at court were the ambassadors of Spain and Rome. For his faithful service to the Queen Mother, the minor nobleman Concini was promoted and in 1614 became known as the Marquis d'Ancre.

Even as Louis XIII grew into adulthood, his mother's party retained influence at court, and Marie ruled the Council. In 1617, the young king destroyed Concini at the hands of his protege Albert de Luynes. Leonora Galigai was accused of witchcraft and sent to the chopping block. The Queen Mother was exiled to Blois. In February 1619, Mary fled to Angoulême and made peace with her son. In 1621 she again headed the State Council.

To strengthen her power, she helped her adviser Richelieu get the cardinal's hat and take the post of Prime Minister of France. The cardinal turned out to be no less power-hungry than the Medici, and quickly pushed the benefactor away from the levers of government. The minister understood that France's main competitor on the world stage was Habsburg Spain. Together with the pro-Spanish party, the queen also fell into disgrace.

Personal life

During the ten years of her life with Henry, Maria became the mother of six children, five of whom grew up safely.

• 1601 – Louis. The future king of France, Louis XIII.
• 1602 – Isabella. Subsequently the wife of Philip IV of Habsburg, King of Spain and Portugal.
• 1606 – Christina Maria. Married to Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy, who bore the sonorous but useless title of King of Cyprus and Jerusalem.
• 1607 – Nicolas, died in 1611.
• 1608 – Gaston, Duke of Orleans and Anjou, Count of Chartres and Blois.
• 1609 – Henrietta Maria. She became the wife of Charles I Stuart, king of England, Scotland and Ireland, and later the mother of Charles II and James II.

Maria preferred simple entertainment: shooting crows, folk scenes, puppet theater. She kept a pet zoo and played cards. Spent a lot of money on diamonds. To decorate the Luxembourg Palace, her favorite residence, she commissioned Peter Paul Rubens to paint 22 huge canvases.

Death

In July 1631, fearing an attempt on her life, Marie de' Medici fled from Paris to Brussels. All diamonds remained in France. In 1638, fleeing persecution from the minister, she moved to England, then to Amsterdam. On July 3, 1642 she died in Rubens's house in Cologne. The rich artist received his patron with honor, but the aristocrat, accustomed to living in grand style, still left behind a bunch of debt receipts.

Biographers of Marie de' Medici talk about her love for a parrot, which she kept with her until the end of her life and bequeathed her favorite to Armand du Plessis Richelieu. However, the cardinal survived her by only six months, her son by a year. The body was transported for a long time with all the ceremonies from Cologne in order to be buried with due honor in the tomb in Saint-Denis. Louis XIII died ten days after the Queen Mother's ashes were laid to rest in consecrated ground.

Memory

• 1615-1631 – Luxembourg Palace
• 1616 – Parc Cours la Reine
• 1622-1625 - Medici Gallery in the Louvre
• 1980 – Film “The Casket of Marie de Medici”
• 2016 – TV series “Medici: Lords of Florence”

Catherine de Medici can be called the most “hated” woman in history. “The Black Queen”, poisoner, child killer, instigator of St. Bartholomew's Night - contemporaries did not spare epithets for her, although some of them were unfair.

Child of Death

The sinister image of Catherine de Medici was not the invention of Dumas. She was born under a terrible star. It’s no joke, immediately after birth in 1519 the child was dubbed “the child of death.” This nickname, like a trail, will accompany her throughout her future life. Her mother, 19-year-old Duchess Madeleine de la Tour, died six days after giving birth, and her father, Lorenzo de' Medici II, died two weeks later.

Catherine de' Medici is credited with poisoning her husband's elder brother, Francis, the Queen of Navarre, Jeanne Dalbret, and even her son, Charles IX. Her most terrible prank was St. Bartholomew's Night.

However, she did not become the “Black Queen” because of her reputation. Catherine wore black mourning for the first time. Before this, in France, white was considered a symbol of grief. In some ways, and in fashion, she was the first at court. Catherine mourned for her deceased husband Henry II for 30 years, she made broken spears as her emblem, and her motto was “This is the reason for my tears and my pain,” but more on that a little later.

According to the marriage lottery, Catherine was chosen as the wife of the second son of the French king, Henry of Valois. But the marriage became virtually fictitious. The king already had the love of his life - his children's teacher Diane de Poitiers. He had been in love with her since he was 11 years old. She already had an illegitimate son from the king, and Catherine, on the contrary, could not get pregnant. The situation was complicated by the fact that the Medici loved her husband. Subsequently, in one of her letters to her daughter, she wrote: “I loved him and will be faithful to him all my life.”

The French court rejected her, as did Henry. They kept saying behind my back: “Merchant’s wife! Where does she care about the noble Valois! Poorly educated, ugly, barren. When, after the death of the first contender for the throne, Francis, she became the wife of the Dauphin, the situation did not improve.

There were rumors that Francis I, Henry's father, had practically agreed to annul his son's marriage to Catherine.

Meanwhile, the cult of Diana flourished at court. Henry II adored his favorite until his death, when she was already 60. He even performed at tournaments under her flowers. The queen next to her is just a shadow. In order to somehow gain her husband’s favor after the birth of such long-awaited children, she gave them to Diana to raise. At court, Catherine completely dissolved in the politics that the king and his Diana were engaged in. Perhaps, if this had happened in Russia, she would have ended her days in a monastery.

Trendsetter

But during the life of Henry II, Catherine remained with her own path, in which she had no equal: she was the main trendsetter in all of Europe. The entire aristocracy of France listened to her taste.

It was to her that the fair sex of Europe owed subsequent fainting spells - she set a limit for the waist - 33 cm, which was achieved with the help of a corset.

She also brought with her from Italy heels that concealed the shortcomings of her short stature.

Ice cream came with it to France. It first appeared at her wedding, which lasted 34 days. Italian chefs served a new dish every day, a new variety of these “ice pieces.” And after that, their French colleagues mastered this dish. Thus, the first thing that Catherine de Medici brought to France became the only thing that took hold there. The dowry was quickly squandered, all her political contributions led only to the fall of Valois, but the ice cream remained.

Nostradamus is a favorite

The position of shadow with the king's favorite did not suit Catherine. She did not give free rein to her emotions and patiently endured all the insults of the court, but universal contempt only fueled her vanity. She wanted her husband's love and power. To do this, Catherine needed to solve the most important problem - to give birth to an heir for the king. And she resorted to an unconventional path.

Even as a child, when she studied at a monastery in Siena, Catherine became interested in astrology and magic.

One of the main confidants of the French queen was the predictor Nostradamus.

Contemporaries said that it was he who cured her of infertility. It must be said that the traditional folk methods that she used were very extravagant - she had to drink a tincture of mule urine, wear cow pus and fragments of deer antlers on her stomach. Some of it worked.

From 1544 to 1556 she continuously gave birth to children. In 12 years she gave birth to ten children. Just a fantastic result.

Francis, Elizabeth, Claude, Louis, Charles Maximilian, Edward Alexander, who would later be Henry III, Margaret, Hercule, the last adored son, and in 1556 the twins Victoria and Jeanne, but the latter died right in the womb.

The name of Nostradamus is also associated with the most important prediction in Catherine’s life. Historian Natalya Basovskaya says that once the queen came to him with the question “How long will her sons rule?” He sat her down by the mirror and began to spin a wheel. According to Francis the Young, the wheel turned once, he really ruled for less than a year; according to Charles the Ninth, the wheel turned 14 times, he ruled for 14 years; according to Henry the Third, 15, and he ruled for 15.

In the family

On July 10, 1559, Henry II died due to wounds received at the tournament. The enemy's spear slid across his helmet and pierced his eye, leaving a splinter in his brain. Catherine de Medici put on her famous black mourning, made herself a symbolic emblem of a broken spear and prepared to fight her way through her children to power. She succeeded - she achieved the status of “governess of France” under her sons. Her second heir, Charles IX, solemnly declared right at the coronation that he would rule together with his mother. By the way, his last words were also: “Oh, mom.”

The courtiers were not mistaken when they called Catherine “uneducated.” Her contemporary Jean Bodin subtly noted: “the most terrible danger is the intellectual unsuitability of the sovereign.”

Catherine de Medici could be anyone - a cunning intriguer, an insidious poisoner, but she was far from understanding all the intricacies of domestic and international relations.

For example, her famous confederation in Poissy, when she organized a meeting of Catholics and Calvinists in order to reconcile the two faiths. She sincerely believed that all the problems of the world could be resolved through emotional negotiations, so to speak, “within the family circle.” According to historians, she could not even understand the true meaning of the speech of Calvin’s close associate, who stated that eating bread and wine during communion is only a remembrance of the sacrifice of Christ. A terrible blow to Catholic worship. And Catherine, who had never been particularly fanatical, only watched in amazement as the conflict flared up. All that was clear to her was that for some reason her plan was not working out.

Her entire policy, despite Catherine’s terrible reputation, was painfully naive. As historians say, she was not a ruler, but a woman on the throne. Its main weapon was dynastic marriages, none of which were successful. She married Charles IX to the daughter of Emperor Maximilian of Habsburg, and sent her daughter Elizabeth to Philip II, a Catholic fanatic who ruined the latter’s life, but did not bring any benefit to France and Valois. She wooed her youngest son to Elizabeth I of England, the main enemy of the same Philip. Catherine de Medici believed that dynastic marriages were the solution to all problems. She wrote to Philip: “Start arranging marriages for children, and this will make it easier to resolve the religious issue.” Catherine intended to reconcile the two conflicting faiths with one wedding of her Catholic daughter Margaret with the Huguenot Henry of Navarre. And then, immediately after the wedding, she carried out a massacre of the Huguenots invited to the celebration, declaring them in a conspiracy against the king. It is not surprising that after such steps the Valois dynasty sank into oblivion along with its only surviving son, Henry III, and France fell into the nightmare of the Civil War.

Crown of thorns?

So, how should you treat Catherine de Medici? Was she unhappy? Undoubtedly. An orphan, an abandoned wife, a humiliated “merchant’s wife” at court, a mother who outlived almost all her children. An energetic, always-busy queen mother whose political activities were, for the most part, meaningless. At her combat post, she traveled and traveled around France until ill health overtook her in Blois, where she died during her next visit.

Her “loyal subjects” did not leave her alone even after her death. When her remains were taken to Paris to be buried in Saint-Denis, the city's citizens promised to throw her body into the Seine if the coffin appeared at the city gates.

After a long time, the urn with the ashes was moved to Saint-Denis, but there was no place next to the husband, just as during his lifetime. The urn was buried aside.

Recently, historian Gulchuk Nelya published a book called “The Crown of Thorns of Catherine de Medici.” She, of course, had a crown, but can it be compared to a crown of thorns? An unhappy life does not justify her methods - “everything for the sake of power.” It was not fate, but her terrible but naive policy that destroyed in one generation the prosperous Valois dynasty, as it was under her father-in-law Francis I.

At the age of 14, Catherine was married to Henry de Valois, the second son of Francis I, King of France, for whom this union was beneficial primarily due to the support that the Pope could provide to his military campaigns in Italy.
The bride's dowry amounted to 130,000 ducats, and extensive possessions that included Pisa, Livorno and Parma.

Contemporaries described Elizabeth as a slender, red-haired girl, of small stature and with a rather ugly face, but very expressive eyes - a Medici family trait.

Young Catherine so wanted to impress the exquisite French court that she resorted to the help of one of the most famous Florentine craftsmen, who made high-heeled shoes especially for her petite customer. It must be admitted that Catherine achieved what she wanted; her presentation to the French court created a real success.

The wedding took place on October 28, 1533 in Marseille.
Europe has not seen such a gathering of representatives of the highest clergy, perhaps, since the times of medieval councils: Pope Clement VII himself was present at the ceremony, accompanied by his numerous cardinals. The celebration was followed by 34 days of continuous feasts and balls.

However, the holidays soon died down, and Catherine was left alone with her new role.

The French court has always been famous for its sophistication, nobility of manners and brilliantly educated and sophisticated ladies. Under the influence of a revived interest in antiquity, the courtiers of Francis I spoke to each other in Latin and Greek, read Ronsard's poems and admired the sculptural sculptures of Italian masters. In merchant Florence, as opposed to France, the fathers of families were not concerned with giving their wives and daughters such a comprehensive education, as a result of which in the first years of her life at the French court, Catherine felt like an ignoramus who did not know how to elegantly construct phrases and made many mistakes in letters. She felt isolated from society and suffered severely from loneliness and from the hostility shown to her by the French, who contemptuously called the daughter-in-law of Francis I “Italian” and “merchant’s wife.” The only friend that young Catherine found in France was her father-in-law.

In 1536, the heir to the French throne died unexpectedly.
According to the official version, death was caused by a cold, which the Dauphin caught after swimming in icy water after playing ball. According to another, the crown prince was poisoned by Catherine, who desired the accession of her husband to the throne. Fortunately, these rumors did not in any way affect the warm relationship between Francis I and his daughter-in-law, but be that as it may, since then the Florentine woman has firmly established herself as a poisoner.

Under pressure from her husband, who wanted to consolidate her position by giving birth to an heir, Catherine, who had not yet produced any offspring for him, was treated for a long time and in vain by various magicians and healers with one single goal - to become pregnant.
In 1537, Henry's illegitimate child was born from a certain young lady named Philippa Duchi. This event finally confirmed that it was Catherine who was infertile. At court they started talking about the possibility of divorce.

As you know, misfortune does not come alone, and Catherine was faced with another test: a woman appeared in the life of Henry de Valois, whom many considered the true ruler of France over the next few years. We are talking about Diane de Poitiers, Henry's favorite, who was a full 20 years older than her crowned lover. Probably due to the difference in age, the relationship between Henry and Diana was based more on reason than on sensual passion. Henry highly valued Diana's wisdom and foresight, and listened carefully to her advice before making important political decisions. Both shared a passion for hunting. Many paintings have come down to us in which lovers are depicted in the image of the Roman goddess-hunter Diana and the young god Apollo.

The deceived wife, forgotten by everyone, had no choice but to come to terms with her humiliation. Overcoming herself, Catherine, like a true Medici, nevertheless managed to step on the throat of her pride and win over her husband’s mistress, who was quite happy with such friendship, because the appearance of another, more prolific and less friendly wife could put her position at court in jeopardy.
For a long time, all three formed a rather strange love triangle: Diana occasionally pushed Henry to her wife’s bed, and Catherine, accepting him, was tormented by jealousy and her own powerlessness to change anything.

Comparison with the lovely Diana was clearly not in Catherine’s favor. She was never a beauty, but with age she gained considerable weight, and, as her contemporaries put it, she looked more and more like her uncle. The latter, of course, could not possibly be a compliment. A particularly repulsive feature was her excessively high forehead. Evil tongues claimed that a second face could easily fit between her eyebrows and the roots of her hair. In all likelihood, this was a consequence of hair loss, which Catherine carefully concealed by using wigs.

The fact that Catherine stoically experienced her husband’s betrayal does not mean that she did not try to do something to get rid of her rival.
Echoes of a palace scandal have reached us, in which, in addition to Catherine, a certain Duke of Nemours was involved. From the letters of the participants in this story, it is known that, apparently, Catherine asked the Duke, seizing the moment, in the midst of fun, under the guise of a cute prank, to throw a glass of water in Diana’s face. The “joker” was not supposed to know that the glass should have had burnt lime instead of water.
The plot was discovered, and Nemur was exiled, but later pardoned and returned to court.

The news that Catherine was pregnant came as a complete surprise to everyone. The miraculous healing of the barren Dauphine was attributed to Nostradamus, a physician and astrologer who was part of Catherine's close circle of confidants.
Her firstborn, named Francis after his grandfather, was born in 1543.

Francis I died in 1549. Henry II ascended the throne, and Catherine was proclaimed Queen of France.
She reinforced her position with the birth of several more heirs.

10 years later, in 1559, Henry died as a result of an injury received in a tournament.
In all of France, perhaps, there was no person who mourned the death of the king so inconsolably as the beautiful Diana.
Catherine finally had the opportunity to give vent to her pent-up anger and get even with her rival. She demanded that de Poitiers return the jewels belonging to the crown to her, and also leave her home - the Chanonceau castle.

With the accession to the throne of the sickly and weak 15-year-old Francis II, Catherine became regent and de facto ruler of the state.

The courtiers, who did not like Catherine the heir, did not accept her as their empress. Her enemies called her the “black queen,” referring to the constant mourning clothes that Catherine donned after the death of her husband and did not take off until the end of her days. For many centuries, she gained the reputation of a poisoner and an insidious, vengeful intriguer who mercilessly dealt with her enemies.

One of the bloodiest events in the history of France is associated with the name of Catherine - St. Bartholomew's Night.

According to the generally accepted version, Catherine set a trap for the Huguenot leaders by inviting them to Paris for her daughter's wedding to Henry of Navarre.
On the night of August 23-24, 1572, with the ringing of bells, thousands of citizens filled the streets of Paris. A horrific bloody massacre ensued.
According to rough estimates, about 3,000 Huguenots were killed in Paris that night. One of the victims was their leader, Admiral Coligny.
The wave of violence that originated in the capital also swept the outskirts. In a bloody orgy that lasted a week, another 8,000 thousand Huguenots were killed throughout France.

It is possible that the brutal massacre of the opponents was actually carried out on the orders of Catherine, but there is, however, the possibility that she was not aware of the impending attack, and in the chaos that followed, she had no choice but to accept take responsibility for what happened, so as not to admit the loss of control over the situation in the state.

Was Catherine really exactly what her spiteful critics described her as? Or has only a distorted image of this personality reached us?

Few people, perhaps, know that Catherine was a great lover of art and a philanthropist. It was she who came up with the idea of ​​building a new wing of the Louvre and the Tuileries Castle. Catherine's library consisted of hundreds of interesting books and rare ancient manuscripts. It was thanks to her that the French court discovered the delights of Italian cuisine, including artichokes, broccoli and several varieties of spaghetti.
With her light hand, the French fell in love with ballet (baletto), and ladies began to wear corsets and underwear - Catherine was a passionate lover of horse riding and became the first woman to wear pantaloons, despite protests from the clergy.

It is also impossible not to admire Catherine the Mother. Regardless of the methods she used in the fight against her opponents, she was, first of all, a friend, support and support to her three sons who ascended the French throne: Francis II, Charles IX and Henry III.

The “black queen” died at the age of 70 at the Château de Blois and was buried next to her husband, Henry II, in the Abbey of Saint Denis. Catherine was lucky enough to die in ignorance, she never learned that the last of her ten offspring, Henry III, was killed shortly after her death, and everything that she had fought for for many years had sunk into oblivion. The de Valois dynasty ceased to exist.