Catherine de Medici. Biography

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 with the birth of 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.

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 through the viewing slit in the helmet into the eye socket 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. Buried in Blois, Paris was captured by opponents.

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EKATERINA MEDICI

"ECATERINA OF MEDICI"

French queen since 1547, wife of Henry II. To a large extent determined public policy during the reign of her sons: Francis II (1559-1560), Charles IX (1560-1574), Henry III (1574-1589). One of the organizers of St. Bartholomew's Night.

Entire volumes have been written about the history of the Medici family, but perhaps the most famous representative of this family was the daughter of the Duke of Urbino Lorenzo II, Catherine, who was destined to rise higher than anyone else in her family on the ladder of public success. She ruled the most influential country in Europe in the 16th century for almost thirty years; major events in history are associated with her name, but her personal destiny as a woman turned out to be extremely gloomy and meaningless.

From birth, Catherine was unlucky; she was left an orphan, and the Medici family used the baby as a hostage in the struggle for power in Florence. At the age of nine, she ended up in a monastery, and the Republicans besieged in the city offered to place the girl on the fortress wall under the continuous fire of her relatives’ cannons. Fortunately for the girl, her dad intervened and demanded not to touch the innocent child. However, the defeated townspeople finally gave little Catherine to the soldiers so that they could have fun with the heiress of a great family.

Her grandfather, who at that time occupied the papal throne in Rome - Clement VII, undertook to heal the consequences of mental trauma. This was probably the happiest and most carefree time for Catherine. Finally, she got a real home, lived calmly, was looked after and even loved in her own way. For Clement VII, his granddaughter represented a major trump card in the political game. A lively, sociable girl, with bright expressive eyes, short, thin, with beautiful miniature legs, from a rich and noble family, Catherine became the most prominent bride in Europe, and her father tried, as they say, to give her granddaughter “PR.”

"ECATERINA OF MEDICI"

She rarely appeared in society; her beauty was already legendary in secular circles. Dad thoughtfully played solitaire with suitable suitors.

The Medici herself, apparently, began to understand early on that they wanted to sell her for a profit, and was hardly against such a deal. A difficult childhood taught her cold calculation, distrust of others and secrecy. Many who knew Catherine back in the papal palace noted a sharp, painful mind and metallic coldness in the girl’s gaze. Many years later, having learned about the death of Catherine, the famous French historian Jacques Augustin de Thou exclaimed: “No, it was not a woman who died, the royal power died.”

In 1533, the wedding of the Medici and Henry of Orleans, the son of the French king, finally took place. The young men were fourteen years old. The wedding fanfare had barely died down when the flighty husband became seriously interested in his wife's cousin, Diane de Poitiers, who was twenty years older than him. For all the twenty years that Henry reigned, Diana remained the constant favorite at the French court, and for all twenty years Catherine was forced to endure the machinations of her rival and remain silent. The queen had a particularly hard time during the first years of her marriage. The couple had no children for ten years. And the lack of heirs made Catherine, to some extent, the king’s semi-legal wife, since the threat of divorce constantly hung over her.

The official version of history is known: supposedly Heinrich had some pathology, then agreed to the operation and after almost eleven years of tense waiting, children began to fall as if from a cornucopia. Catherine gave birth to, no less, ten sons and daughters. Some historians see Henry’s “miraculous healing” as an ordinary female deception and even try to provide evidence. But we will probably never know what really happened.

At first glance, meek and friendly Catherine interfered little with the life of the court.

"ECATERINA OF MEDICI"

However, the most ambitious plans were crowded in the head of this pretty woman. She understood that Henry, completely devoid of ambition, absorbed in his love for Diana, would not fight for the throne, while the eldest son Francis had excellent health and was going to live a long time.

The historical chronicles of the French court, of course, are silent about the real culprits of subsequent events, but the facts are such that on a hot August day the prince drank a glass of ice water and died immediately. No one denied poisoning, but the real culprits of the murder could not be established. It is clear that most of all, the death of Francis was beneficial to the Medici family, and this family knew a lot about poisons. However, Catherine's behavior at court did not give the slightest reason for suspicion.

By the time of Henry's coronation, Catherine was nearly forty. She was already a mature lady who understood the intrigues of the court, but the throne did not increase her power. As before, the omnipotent Diana controlled her husband’s heart. Occasionally, Catherine won minor victories over her rival: she tried to compromise her in the eyes of the king, looked for a replacement for her - after all, the favorite was already sixty years old, but the Medici still remained on the margins of the main political struggle. She could only observe, and did not have the strength to intervene.

It must be said that Catherine’s active nature was manifested in the fact that the queen gathered at court the entire flower of European art. She willingly patronized talents and patronized beginners. She was also interested in astrology. It was Catherine who invited the famous Nostradamus to the palace, who, according to legend, predicted the accidental death of the king:

The young lion will defeat the old one

In a strange duel on the battlefield

He will pierce his eye through the golden cage.

From one he will become two, then he will die,

Painful death.

Henry's death was truly absurd.

"ECATERINA OF MEDICI"

In a knightly duel with the Earl of Montgomery, the excited young opponent dealt Henry a strong blow to the head. The king defended himself with a spear, but the shaft could not withstand it, split into several splinters, and one of them flew into the right eye hole of the helmet. On the tenth day, Henry died in terrible suffering. So, thanks to a tragic accident, Catherine received the coveted power.

Formally, her son, sixteen-year-old Francis II, ascended the throne, but in fact, Catherine was faced with the fact that everything in the kingdom was ruled by the Guise family, which, thanks to Diana, seized all the key posts. Catherine acted mercifully with her grief-stricken rival - again, it was not an offended woman who spoke to the queen, but a calculating ruler. Why fight with an old woman no longer needed by anyone? But the Guises had to fight.

She found an ally in her faithful friend François Vendôme, whom she sincerely fell in love with, but the honest, independent Vendôme lost the war with the Guises. Under pain of death, Catherine was forced to first send her ally to the Bastille, and then to the next world. For her, there was a special code of honor - only the winner is right, and for the sake of power she was always ready to sacrifice anyone and anything.

The queen's position was further complicated by the fact that her reign coincided with an intensification of the religious confrontation between Protestants and Catholics. On the one hand, Catherine, who grew up in the papal palace, favored the Catholics, of course, but the influence of the Guises could only be reduced by supporting the Protestants. She immediately adopted tactics of maneuvering and pitting one against another. In an atmosphere of cruel squabbling, she gradually strengthened her power.

In the meantime, Francis II died, but the queen was in no danger of his death - she had given birth to enough sons for the French throne. The throne was taken by ten-year-old Charles IX. Catherine forced the newly-crowned king to write a letter to parliament, in which he asked his mother to take over the affairs of the kingdom.

"ECATERINA OF MEDICI"

So she became the sole ruler of France.

The name of Catherine de Medici is closely associated with the bloody event - the massacre of the Huguenots, known in history as St. Bartholomew's Night. Catherine's dual policy led to her beginning to lose control of what was happening. Having decided to marry her daughter Margaret to the Protestant King of Navarre, Catherine thought that in this way she was undermining the strength of her worst opponents, the Guises. However, while weaving intrigues, she herself fell into a trap, not noticing how the ardent Huguenot Coligny captured the heart of young Charles. With the persistence of a maniac, he persuaded the boy to declare war on Spain, and most importantly, he was not afraid to openly threaten the queen. Catherine could not tolerate this.

She summoned the Guises and allowed them to turn their swords against the Huguenots, which the Catholics had been seeking for a long time. A few days after the wedding of Margaret of Valois and Henry of Navarre, on the night of St. Bartholomew, the famous bloody massacre took place. Apparently, deep down in her heart, Catherine, as a cunning and insidious politician, hoped that the leaders of both camps would cut each other off, but the Catholics turned out to be more energetic and united. On the night of August 23-24, 1572, 2 thousand Huguenots died in Paris alone. Admiral Coligny was mortally wounded and died soon after.

St. Bartholomew's Night brought unexpected political dividends to Catherine. She was greeted by the King of Spain, and Pope Gregory XIII ordered Rome to be illuminated, knocked out a medal in honor of the great event and sent congratulations to “the most Christian king and his mother” in Paris.

But Catherine's joy was short-lived. Suddenly the king rebelled against her policy. He openly accused his mother and brother of the bloody massacre, and in his words, although clumsily, there was a threat. Catherine tried to influence Karl with affection, coercion, and persuasion, but everything was in vain. Karl's dislike for his cruel mother grew every day.

Catherine began to understand that she was no longer needed, and a strong, powerful woman could not allow this. She clenched her teeth in pain and made a decision. A week later, Karl felt unwell, fell ill, and had to call a priest.

The French crown passed to Catherine's third son, Henry of Anjou. The Medici queen still held the reins of power tightly in her hands. However, the new monarch brought only grief to his mother. Contrary to Catherine's wishes, he decisively refused to marry Queen Elizabeth of England and married Louise of Lorraine, daughter of Count Vaudemont from the house of the hated Guise. But the wedding was only a cover for Henry; he did not need women’s caresses, which means he could not produce heirs. The aged Catherine was seriously frightened by this circumstance.

In the kingdom, a new stage of the struggle between Protestants and Catholics was brewing. Overcoming illness and fatigue, Catherine was preparing for a new battle when news arrived that the youngest son of the Valois clan, Francis, Duke of Alençon and Brabant, had died. This was a terrible and final blow to the queen. Margaret lived separately from her husband and had no children from the hated Henry of Navarre.

Fate treated Catherine de Medici cruelly, as if taking revenge for her insatiable lust for power. She gave birth to ten children, but despite this, the dynasty of the French Valois kings ended with her. It was as if she had become a curse of this kind, bringing her life and the lives of her children to Moloch of ambition.

Henry III did not even bother to bury his mother with dignity. Her body was thrown into a common grave with beggars and vagabonds. Henry himself died a few months later.

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Name: Catherine Maria Romola di Lorenzo de' Medici

State: Italy, France

Field of activity: Queen of France

Greatest Achievement: The wife of Henry II, after his death and during the reign of her sons, had enormous influence on the politics of France.

Among the queens of France there are many beautiful women worthy of their title, who decided the destinies of people and helped their husbands in royal affairs. The names of some have not been preserved in the annals of French history (or there is only a mention). Others, on the contrary, are constantly on the lips - books are written about them, films are made.

And some are so “lucky” that their name is firmly associated with some event (and not always a good one). The Queen of France, Catherine de' Medici, ranks first among disreputable rulers. And if you remember the details of her reign, it becomes clear why. Although we won’t judge strictly - there were reasons for everything. So, who is she - an unhappy woman or a calculating queen trying to go over her head to achieve her goal?

early years

The future ruler of France was born in Italy, in the beautiful city of Florence, on April 13, 1519. Unfortunately, a few days after giving birth, her mother, the French Countess Madeleine de la Tour, died. And the father, Lorenzo Medici, soon followed his wife. He had been ill for a long time, so his death was only a matter of time. The baby was immediately given the nickname “child of death” (at that time society was full of prejudices). Left an orphan, the girl was raised by her aunt, Clarice Medici. She tried to give her niece a good education and instill good manners. After all, this was the only way to count on a profitable match. But Catherine could not boast of an ideal pedigree - her father’s family came from the “people”, only to become rich and own half of Florence. Only his mother, the Countess, had blue blood (and even then a rather modest one).

Her childhood was during the rebellious and turbulent years in Florence - the Medici were constantly fighting for power and influence in the city. The people were ready to destroy representatives of the hated family. Members of her family even became Popes. Therefore, it is not surprising that representatives of the Medici family tried to woo many rulers of Europe. And Catherine did not escape this fate. In 1533, Pope Clement VII began searching for a suitable groom for a young, 14-year-old relative. The choice fell on the equally young Duke of Orleans, Henry, the second son of the King of France, Francis I. The future spouses were the same age. For France, this marriage was both politically and financially beneficial - the bride was given a good dowry - 103 thousand ducats (a large sum at that time), as well as the Italian cities of Parma, Pisa and Livorno.

The wedding celebrations took place in Marseille on October 28 of the same year and lasted almost a month. Catherine, who did not have a beautiful appearance, captivated the French women with her unique style. She was one of the first to introduce the fashion for high-heeled shoes in the kingdom, appearing in them at her own wedding. Italian dresses became the main clothing of French aristocrats for many years. However, despite the fact that Catherine was able to win the trust of her subjects, she did not receive the most important thing - the heart of her husband. From the age of 11, the young Duke was in love with Countess Diana De Poitiers (the age difference between the lovers was twenty years). Catherine fought her rival as best she could, but ended up losing.

Queen of France

A year later, Pope Clement VII dies. The new ruler of the Vatican terminates the treaty with France and refuses to pay Catherine's dowry. The courtiers' trust in the young princess is completely undermined - now they begin to shun her and ridicule her Italian accent. The husband couldn’t do anything (and didn’t really want to). The beautiful Diana had all his attention. Catherine decided to wait - after all, the famous Italian philosopher Nicolo Machiavelli’s phrase correctly says that friends must be kept close, and enemies even closer. Medici did everything to remain on good terms with her rival. However, in 1536, thunder struck - the heir to the throne, Henry’s older brother, Francis, died. Now Henry is next in line to the throne.

For Catherine, this event meant another headache - the birth of heirs. In the first years of marriage, the couple did not have any children, which gave rise to all sorts of rumors about the princess’s infertility (Henry soon had a baby on his side). Long and persistent years of treatment began with the magicians and alchemists of that time, taking all sorts of potions that would make a modern person feel sick at the mere mention of them. Finally, in 1544, the long-awaited heir was born - the son Francis, named after his grandfather. It’s a strange thing - after the birth of her first child, Catherine quickly provided the royal family with other children - she and Henry had 10 children.

In 1547 the old king died, and Henry ascended the throne under the name of Henry II. Catherine becomes the Queen of France, but only nominally - Henry, as soon as he could, removed her from the conduct of state affairs. It would seem that life has become simpler - there are children, no worries. But, unfortunately, family happiness (in the royal chambers) did not last long - in 1559, during a knightly tournament, the king was seriously wounded - the spear of his rival, Earl of Montgomery, split, and the shaft passed through the helmet into Henry’s eye, hitting the brain. Catherine was warned about this by her personal astrologer, Michel Nostradamus. And she is the wife. But he didn't listen to her. Doctors fought for the king's life for several days, but to no avail - on July 10, 1559, the monarch died. Catherine was crushed by grief - despite all the differences, she loved her husband in her own way. Until her death, she wore only a black mourning outfit - in memory of her late husband. For this she was given the nickname "Black Queen".

Queen Mother

The father was succeeded by his eldest son, Francis. He was only 15 years old. Despite the fact that he was already married to the young Queen of Scotland, Mary Stuart, his mother completely took power into her own hands, although she understood little about state affairs. Shortly before his 17th birthday, Francis died in Orleans.

Charles became the next king. He was only 10 years old, but he was declared an adult. Again, history repeated itself - he had no desire to engage in the affairs of the kingdom, so his mother actually ruled the country. Catherine also sought to strengthen the position of her daughters - she found profitable parties. The most famous of which was the wedding of Margaret and Prince Henry of Navarre, which took place on August 18, 1572.

Such a joyful event was overshadowed by a terrible massacre, which went down in history as St. Bartholomew's Night. Henry was a Protestant, and France at that time was a predominantly Catholic country. And Gentiles (or Huguenots) were not welcomed there. In honor of the wedding of the Prince of Navarre, thousands of Huguenots gathered in Paris, which terribly irritated the Parisians and the royal family - after all, Protestants were richer and more educated. It was Catherine (judging by some historical chronicles) who gave the order for the murder. This event forever left its mark on the reputation of the Queen Mother.

Until the end of her days, Catherine remained an active politician, promoting her favorites to suitable positions. To be fair, we note that she patronized art at the French court - talented poets, artists, and actors gathered around her. The Queen collected valuable art objects and also introduced a lot of new things into French cuisine - thanks to her Motherland.

Her once large family began to melt before our eyes - her children died one after another. At the age of 24, King Charles IX died (according to legend, Catherine prepared a poisoned book for her enemy Henry of Navarre, but her son accidentally leafed through the book first). The third son, his mother's favorite, Henry III, becomes the new king. Not receiving the Polish throne, he returned to France and accepted the French one. There were rumors at court about his unconventional orientation - he dressed effeminately, surrounded himself with minions - that’s what they called him the favorite. Catherine had already given up hope of seeing grandchildren from her sons. Only the daughters did not disappoint - Princess Elizabeth became the wife of the Spanish King Philip II, from whom she gave birth to two daughters and died during subsequent births, as well as Princess Claude, who became the wife of the Duke of Lorraine. This marriage produced 9 children.

last years of life

Gradually the Queen Mother's health began to weaken. While attending her granddaughter's wedding, she fell ill. After lying in bed for some time, Catherine died at the Château de Blois on January 5, 1589. Without knowing that her beloved son Henry would be killed in a few months by the Dominican monk Jacques Clément. It will end the Valois dynasty (which was numerous just a few years ago). A new one will reign on the throne of France -. Queen Margot's ex-husband, Huguenot Henry of Navarre, will once again change his faith in order to save his life. And he will say the legendary phrase - “Paris is worth a mass.”

Ambitious, cunning and superstitious, like all Italians, Catherine de Medici, wife of the French king Henry II, for twenty-eight years controlled the destinies of her second fatherland with the help of all sorts of intrigues and intrigues, which, in her opinion, were supposed to increase the prestige of the house of Valois, at the end of her life I was forced to become convinced of the futility of my efforts and the complete destruction of my hopes.

Narrow selfishness, cruelty and indiscriminate choice of means when wanting to get rid of her political opponents, constant fluctuations in matters of religion, shocked by the Reformation, which entailed the terrible “Night of Bartholomew,” betrayed her name to eternal shame.

Catherine, the daughter of Pope Leo X's nephew Lorenzo II de' Medici, Duke of Urbana and Florence, and Madeleine de la Tour, Countess of Boulogne, was born in Florence on April 15, 1519. A few days after her birth, first her mother and then her father departed for a better world. Catherine's childhood, which coincided with the turbulent years of political life in Florence, was surrounded by all sorts of dangers. Having ascended the papal throne in 1523, after the death of Adrian VI, Cardinal Giulio de' Medici, who took the name Clement VII, wished to rule republican Florence from Rome without limit, resorting to means opposite to those that had once created the popularity of the house of Medici. The indignation of Florence caused by this course of action ultimately ended in the triumph of the pope, which destroyed its political freedom and independence. During the troubled years, Catherine remained in her homeland without a break, imprisoned by the verdict of the provisional government in the monastery of Santa Lucia. The Florentines looked at her as a hostage, certainly wanting to keep her within the walls of the city. She was strictly watched, not allowed to take a single free step outside the walls of the monastery, and once they even offered to expose her to enemy guns or give her to rude soldiers. At that time, Catherine was only 9 years old. Thus, from a young age, she became accustomed to seeing the struggle of political parties around her, and fear of them became a constant feeling in her.

But then Florence fell, and by order of Clement VII, the young Duchess of Urbino and Florence was transported to Rome, where, after the supervision of a suspicious democracy, she fell into the hands of her uncle, who looked at her only as a tool for expanding his political connections. To this end, he set about finding a suitable match for her. Soon, at his request, she was engaged to the young Prince of Orange, Philibert of Chalons, as a reward for her devotion to the house of Medici, but his death in one of the battles prevented the implementation of the papal project. Then John Stuart, Duke of Albany, Catherine's maternal uncle, who enjoyed the favors of the French king Francis I, offered the hand of his niece for his second son, Duke Henry of Orleans. With this combination, Pope Clement VII promised Francis I his support for the conquest of the Duchy of Milan. The marriage was immediately decided, and Catherine went to France, accompanied by the Duke d'Albani and a large retinue. A brilliant flotilla awaited them in Porto Venere. The galley intended for the future Duchess of Orleans sparkled with precious jewelry; the sails were woven from silk; on the draperies, furniture, carpets covering the deck, the Medici coats of arms with the motto: “Light and peace” could be seen; the entire crew was luxuriously outfitted. It seemed that Cleopatra was again in a hurry to meet Anthony! In Livorno, the flotilla was joined by Clement VII, who occupied the galley of the Duke d'Albani, entirely draped in golden cloth, lined with purple satin. The squadron entered Marseille harbor on the morning of October 11, 1535. All French ships were decorated with flags, port and fortress guns saluted, merging o with with the roar of church bells welcoming the bride of the royal son. Francis I arrived in Marseille the next day with a brilliant retinue that eclipsed the papal luxury, and after him arrived his second wife, Queen Eleanor of Austria, surrounded by a flower garden of young ladies-in-waiting.

The wedding ceremony took place on October 27. The newlyweds were still so young - Catherine was 14 years old, Henry was several months older - that the king and queen decided to place them in different rooms, but the pope protested and united the spouses on one bed. As a dowry to her husband, Catherine brought 100,000 gold ducats, for the same amount of outfits and the counties of Auvergne and Lorage. The festivities lasted 34 days and were distinguished by extraordinary splendor. Henry of Orleans, a little dark, although this suited him very well, slender and amiable, attracted all eyes, as did Catherine, who had a charming figure, lively eyes and a somewhat pale complexion, which, however, did not deprive him of his pleasantness. Although she often changed her outfits and coiffures, they all suited her so well that it is difficult to determine which suited her best. Besides all this, she had surprisingly tiny legs, and she loved to show them off at every opportunity. Contemporaries unanimously admired the brilliant education of the young Duchess of Orleans, who really brought to her new fatherland a lot of enlightened love for the arts and educated taste, which for a long time were, as it were, hereditary qualities of the House of Medici. In addition to them, Catherine inherited all the other virtues and vices of her ancestors. She adored gold, like old Cosimo I, and lavished it, like Pietro I and Cosimo II, her great-grandfathers; she was magnificent, like her great-grandfather Lorenzo I, and just like him, she knew a lot about politics, although she lacked either his magnanimity or generosity; her ambition was in no way inferior to that of her grandfather, Pietro II, and if she wanted to rule, she, like him, did not make a difference between legal and illegal methods to achieve certain goals; following the example of her father, Lorenzo II, she loved entertainment, but valued it only in accordance with the amount of expenses. Catherine expressed the dominant thought of her entire life in a few words: “Come what may, I want to reign!” Two turns later, Louis XV repeated this famous aphorism, slightly changing the wording: “After us, even a flood!”

Taking this opportunity, a long line of her fellow countrymen followed Catherine: artists, architects, doctors, alchemists, comedians, and finally, simply adventurers, whom France received very cordially and who soon, feeling at home in it, created a considerable number of misunderstandings, serving and obeying only one Medici daughter. At her first sign, all kinds of Rene and Ruggieri prepared poisonous drinks, foods, gloves, flowers, etc. Superstitious Catherine never undertook anything without consulting astrologers, and her greatest confidence was in the famous Nostradamus - later the physician of Charles IX - who with amazing accuracy predicted, among many other things, the death of Henry II and the horrors of Bartholomew's Night.

From her first appearance at the French court, Catherine showed extraordinary resourcefulness in her ability to get along among all kinds of parties and ingratiate herself with people who were clearly hostile to her interests. First of all, of course, it was necessary to please his father-in-law. Surrounded by the most beautiful ladies of the court, hunting deer with them, he did not pay the slightest attention to his pretty daughter-in-law. The Florentine woman's self-esteem suffered greatly. Oh, she will make him pay attention to herself! Francis I imagined that he was an unusually skillful politician and diplomat - although it is difficult to find a second sovereign who committed so many of the gravest mistakes - and the cunning Catherine cleverly took advantage of his vanity. She began to admire his genius, approved of all his projects that came to his mind, and the old king, succumbing to the bait, from then on almost never parted with his daughter-in-law, giving her first place on holidays and hunts, to the envy of others. It was much more difficult to get along with her husband, but even here Catherine was not lost. Henry of Orleans, a brave soldier and an excellent horseman, but deprived of any independence, distinguished by amazing laziness and slowness of mind, did little with his wife.

During this era, the French court was divided into two parties: the Duchess d'Etampes, the king's favorite, and the mistress of Catherine's husband, who was old enough to be his mother, Diana de Poitiers. The first party did not pose a danger, but the second had to be taken into account for two reasons. Diana was the only woman to whom everyone yielded, before whom all doors opened, who dared to order Catherine to leave her alone with Henry, and she had to obey. “The favorite,” says one of the contemporaries, “took control of Henry’s heart to such an extent that when the Duchess of Orleans wanted to be with her husband, she had to ask Diana for permission, and she only had to say: “Today you must go to your wife,” so that Henry would meekly obey her orders." In addition, too influential nobles were grouped around this favorite: Guise, Constable Montmorency and others, who dreamed of becoming the head of the administration of France with the accession of the frail and weak-willed Dauphin. But Catherine herself wanted to reign, and in her they acquired a hidden enemy, although outwardly she seemed to be their well-wisher. Henry's passion for his faded mistress in the eyes of his wife was an insult that women never forgive, but the young Florentine, instead of bursting into reproaches, suppressed her feelings of jealousy and redoubled her courtesies with her rival, soon becoming her closest friend, at the same time time, behaving so cunningly with her husband that he openly admitted that he did not feel as good anywhere as in his wife’s bed. Thus, both the wolves were fed and the sheep were safe.

Of all those around the young Duchess of Orleans in this era, the greatest influence on her was Gonto-Gondi, the future educator of Charles IX, who was later granted marshal by Catherine with the title of de Retz, and the Cardinal of Lorraine, Duke Charles of Guise. The latter at first even enjoyed her exceptional favor, as evidenced by Catherine’s note to Constable Montmorency. “He will come to me again today,” she writes, “but tomorrow we will part. Oh, I so wish that business would allow him to postpone his departure and he could stay with me longer.” However, the cardinal is the only stain on her reputation as a wife.

Being of a cheerful disposition, Catherine willingly laughed, sincerely or insincerely - that’s another question, and she loved to speak evil among the court ladies, diligently doing embroidery, and mastering the needle perfectly. Among the holidays, balls, carousels and various amusements, the Duchess of Orleans seemed to devote herself wholeheartedly to entertainment. No one imagined that at that time she was already considering means to achieve the throne. The only obstacle was the Dauphin. And after three years of hypocrisy and intrigue, she finally overcame him without arousing any suspicion: in 1536, the Dauphin suddenly died, and Henry of Orleans unexpectedly became heir to the throne. It goes without saying that the crime conceived by Catherine was carried out by her faithful Florentines, whom she generously rewarded and sometimes even appointed to important government positions, without thereby arousing sympathy from the French.

Francis I is dead, long live Henry II! It seemed that all of Catherine’s ambitious dreams had come true, and yet she felt far from calm. 10 years have passed since the wedding, and the queen remained childless. At the court that was at the feet of Diana de Poitiers, they were seriously talking about divorce, considering Catherine to be the culprit of infertility. The House of Valois needs an heir. The rosy future that the Medici daughter had once dreamed of was now pictured to her in the darkest colors. Finally, in 1544, the queen breathed freely: France solemnly celebrated the birth of the Dauphin Francis, and Catherine was saved. A year later, she gave her husband a daughter, Elizabeth (Isabella), later the wife of the Spanish King Philip II, and then five more children: Claudia (1547), who married Charles of Guise and died in childbirth, Charles of Orleans (1550), Henry of Anjou (1551) , Margaret (1552), the future wife of Henry of Navarre, and Francis of Alençon (1554). Some explained the late fertility of the queen by the heredity inherent in all women of the house of Medici, others - by the advice of the royal physician and at the same time astrologer Fernel. The birth of the Dauphin breathed new life and inspired Catherine's hopes. Now she considered herself entitled to intervene in the affairs of the board, from which she was removed.

And there was a lot to do. The Reformation moved quickly, carrying with it a huge number of people. Part of the French population, having joined the Protestants, or, as they were then called, Huguenots, threatened the security of the state, demanding exceptional measures. Adherents of the old religion of Don de Poitiers, Guise and Constable Montmorency restored Henry II against the Huguenots, and he decided to teach a good lesson to the heretics. To this end, in 1552, the king, at the head of a huge army, set out on a punitive expedition, establishing Catherine as regent of the state during his absence. It was then that the Florentine showed herself in her true form, resorting to tricks and tricks characteristic of her nature. As soon as any party hostile to the regent had time to form, she almost instantly dispersed it, attracting some with favors, intimidating others with threats. Her statesmanship boiled down only to concerns about balancing the forces of various political parties, so that none of them would gain the upper hand and become dangerous to herself. Intrigue was the mainspring of Catherine's policy. Having spies everywhere, she kept a vigilant eye on all prominent persons and intercepted private correspondence. It was not for nothing that the queen called Machiavelli’s work “I Principe” her Bible. With the Catholic party, she maintained herself as a zealous follower of the pope; with the Huguenots, she became an ardent admirer of Calvin, essentially not recognizing any religion other than her own boundless ambition. Considering infatuation with passion in others one of the most reliable means of maintaining her influence, for this purpose she was constantly surrounded by a crowd of beautiful ladies-in-waiting, wittily called by Brantome “the queen’s flying squadron.” While maintaining her own virtue, Catherine encouraged debauchery even in her own children. Her hypocrisy knew no bounds. Those whom she called “my friend” considered themselves dead.

“The Empress,” Madame Bois-Fézier, whom the queen had just called so, once begged, “do a special favor and call me “your enemy.”

The punitive expedition, which ended happily, made the name of the Guises even more popular to the detriment of Henry II, who became, as it were, a nominal king. Of course, Catherine did not like this turn of affairs. She hated the Guises and retained this feeling for them until her death. Having decided to strengthen her prestige with profitable connections, she married her second daughter, Claudia, to Charles Guise, the main leader and mentor of the young, weak in body and spirit, Dauphin Francis (1558), who hastened to marry the pupil to his own niece, the young Scottish queen Mary Stuart, with childhood, who lived in France under the patronage of her aunt Mary of Lorraine, and the eldest, Elizabeth, the spitting image of her portrait, married the newly widowed Spanish King Philip II, a fierce persecutor of Protestants. The last wedding took place on June 30, 1559. The luxurious festivities, unfortunately, were overshadowed by a sad ending. The knightly polite Henry II wished at the end of the holiday to “break the spear” in honor of the ladies present, choosing the brave gentleman Mongomri as his opponent. At the very first fight, Mongomri's spear, hitting the visor of the golden royal helmet, actually broke and pierced Henry II in the eye. The wound turned out to be fatal, the doctors expected a fatal outcome from minute to minute.

Less concerned about her husband’s hopeless situation than about her own interests, Catherine sent a stern order to “her close friend,” Diane de Poitiers: to immediately return the crown diamonds with which the dying king of France once loved to decorate the graying curls of his favorite, and immediately deliver to yard

- Is the king already dead? - Diana asked calmly.

“No, madam,” answered the messenger, “but he is unlikely to live until evening.”

“In that case, I refuse to obey.” Let my enemies know that as long as the king lives, I am not afraid of them! If, unfortunately, I am destined to survive him, my heart is too full of grief to be able to feel the insults that they want to inflict on him!

The favorite did not betray herself until the very end, remaining the same proud and arrogant. What did the queen do when Henry II died? She tried to play the touching role of an inconsolable widow, locking herself in her apartment, decorated very impressively with black cloth. On all prominent places were the mottos: “Her passion will outlive the very flame.” This Jesuit inscription surrounded the image of a mountain of quicklime, watered by abundant rain. How simple were the mistress’s speeches and how much theatricality was evident in the wife’s feigned sadness! Since the death of her husband, Catherine constantly wore deep mourning, but she did not deceive anyone: clothes do not make a monk, and the queen completely personified a wolf in sheep's clothing.

The Huguenots, who had never needed a bold leader as much as now, hurried King Antoine of Navarre, elected their leader, to rush to Paris to take custody of the young King Francis II. They had all the legal rights to do this, but the Gizas and the Queen Mother decided to do without him. The King of Navarre received an official order from the court to attend the burial of Henry II. The Huguenots triumphed, misled by this order, and eagerly awaited Antoine. Obviously, they did not know those with whom they were dealing well. No matter how much the King of Navarre was in a hurry, he nevertheless arrived too late, encountering a lot of obstacles along his entire path, prudently placed by Catherine - Henry II was already buried, and the new king, 16-year-old Francis II, lived in Saint-Germain. In order to detain Antoine and his brother, Prince Louis of Conde, longer in Paris and not allow them into the royal residence, the Florentine, knowing their inclinations towards the fair sex, entrusted this delicate task to two representatives of her “Flying Squadron”, the maidens de Limeil and de Rouet, who rose to the occasion. Guardianship of the king slipped out of the hands of the Huguenots.

Having finished with this matter, Catherine began to do something else. The expelled favorite, who had not lost her influence, continued to gather around her people dissatisfied with the new order. Her party posed a known danger to the Queen Mother. Having set herself the task of “weakening in order to strengthen,” she certainly changed her tactics. Catherine approved for Diana de Poitiers all the lands donated to the favorite by the late king, and she, in turn, not wanting to remain in debt, gave the queen part of her own estates. Moreover, the Florentine returned her former rival from exile. Having acquired an ally in her again, Catherine, with her help, distracted Constable de Montmorency from the Chatillon brothers - Admiral Coligny and Dandlo, the most zealous Huguenots who had enormous influence on the masses. This hypocrite was never embarrassed by anything, always taking the side of the strong, and at the moment that was the Gizas, and, of course, she, despite all her hatred, sought support from them. Francis II and Mary reigned only nominally; all affairs of the state were managed by the Queen Mother and the Catholics of Giza, who became almost the rulers of France, which finally outraged the Huguenots. Wanting to get rid of the king’s uninvited guardians, the Florentine secretly supported their enemies. And so in 1560, the so-called “Amboise conspiracy” was drawn up with the goal of exterminating the hated nobles. The Guises, having learned about this, turned things around differently, in turn deceiving Catherine with assurances that her life, like the life of Francis II, was in danger, and on the basis of this, in order to save the monarch of France, they wrested permission to act in accordance with the importance of the case. The conspirators were immediately arrested, and the main leaders, the King of Navarre and Admiral Coligny, were sentenced to execution. Their lives hung in the balance when the sudden death of Francis II (December 5, 1560) - as they say, poisoned by Guise in a desire to show his independence - saved the unfortunates.

The death of her eldest son did not make much of an impression on Catherine, who had three more. Oh, the house of Valois will not perish! Upon the accession of the minor Charles IX to the throne, the Queen Mother was declared regent, but this time placed under the control of the so-called triumvirs: Duke Francis of Guise, Constable Montmorency and Marshal Saint-André. Lacking the courage to openly fight the triumvirate, the Queen Mother relied on fate, supported by the predictions of astrologers.

Silent enmity between Catholics and Huguenots, which threatened the tranquility of the country, forced Catherine, however, to prevent civil strife in January 1562 to promulgate the “Edict of Saint-Germain”, which abolished previous punishments against those professing the Protestant religion. Passions seemed to have subsided when Duke Francis of Guise, without any reason, organized a bloody massacre of Huguenots in Vassy, ​​near Joinville, who were officiating their religious services. The Huguenots rebelled, and the first religious war broke out with horrific brutality on both sides. Catherine followed the course of events dispassionately. To please the Guises, she pretended to be a Catholic, and in order to get rid of them, she was ready to turn into a Huguenot. The events that decided her fate revealed the whole secret of the Queen Mother's policy. When, at the height of the Battle of Dreux, the first courier rode up, bringing the sad news of the mortal wound of Constable Montmorency, the death of Marshal Saint-André and the victory of the Huguenots, the entire court trembled, only Catherine remained calm.

“Well,” she said, “now we will pray to God in French!”

The second courier announced the complete defeat of the Huguenots thanks to the insane courage of Francis of Guise, and Catherine immediately expressed the most lively joy and deep devotion to the winner. This did not oblige the Queen Mother to anything: the triumvirate, which had been a thorn in her side, no longer existed! Fate, apparently, was still protecting her. During the siege of Orleans, the last of the triumvirs also died, treacherously killed by a Huguenot fanatic. Catherine triumphed, she ruled alone! However, the consequence of this religious and political murder was the desire to give peace to the country, for the sake of which the Queen Mother entered into new negotiations, and in March 1563 the “Edict of Amboise” was issued, repeating in its main features the previous year’s “Saint-Germain”. Thus, it seemed that the Florentine was taking the side of the Huguenots, who were eager to believe her sincerity, but in fact, now that the Catholic party had lost its best leaders, Catherine did not find it necessary to support the Huguenots, who retained their own, despite the defeat. This was first felt at court. It was announced that the queen would immediately remove everyone who did not fast to confession. Apparently, she sought to become the head of the Catholic party, which was expressed with particular clarity in the journey she undertook together with Charles IX, who was declared of age (1564), and with the entire court in France: everywhere she expressed sympathy for the interests of the Catholic population and hostility towards Protestants. After a meeting in Bayonne (June 1565) with their fellow countryman Philip II and daughter Elizabeth (Isabella), who insisted on vigorous action against the increasingly spreading heresy, to which Catherine agreed, the Huguenots realized that they had been deceived and began to prepare to a new war. This second religious war broke out on September 27, 1567, engulfing all of France. The court fled to Paris, whose population held fast to the old faith. The Battle of Saint Denis ended in a new defeat for the Huguenots, but reinforcements rushing to them from Germany forced Catherine to resort to her constant trick and make peace, confirming the provisions of the Edict of Amboise with the Treaty of Longjume (March 28, 1568). But such measures could no longer help the trouble. The flame should have spontaneously flared up from the hot soil: the court, carried away by the fanaticism of the Parisians and the successes of the Spaniards in Holland, made an irreparable mistake by replacing the “Treaty of Longjume” at the request of Pope Pius V with another that ran counter to the harassment of the Huguenots.

War broke out again - the third - again the Huguenots were defeated at Jarnac and Montoncourt (1569) and again they started talking about reconciliation. On August 8, 1570, a peace was signed in Saint-Germain-sur-Laye, which resulted in a rapprochement between Charles IX, mired in shameful debauchery, to which Catherine de Medici secretly incited him, and the leaders of the Protestant party. The brave admiral managed to convince Charles IX of the need for war with Spain, which ran counter to Catherine’s indecisive, changeable, dual policy, and to Guizam, horrified every day by the growing influence of Coligny, the war with Philip II, the main defender of all the interests of Catholicism, seemed an attack on the most religion. Seeing that a number of wars could not crush the forces of the Protestants, and making sure that their political teachings - a mixture of republican and feudal theories - threatened a serious danger to royal power, Catherine, perhaps for the first time in her life, was at a loss. The Catholics, irritated by the actions of the Protestants, under the influence of the passionate appeals daily made by the clergy, were only waiting for a signal to rush upon their enemies. That was the end of the matter.

Seeing their leader held in high esteem at court, the Huguenots blithely arrived in Paris for the marriage of Henry of Navarre, son of the late Antoine, once their main leader, with Margaret of Valois, the queen's youngest daughter (August 18, 1572).

Will Valois really marry Bourbon? Catholic with a heretic? What kind of strange idea came to Catherine, who stood up for Catholicism, to marry Margarita to a Huguenot when she was madly in love with Henry Guise, nicknamed Balafre, a convinced papist, and enjoyed reciprocity? At first glance, of course, all this seemed very curious, but the Queen Mother, in whose head a hellish plan arose, which later horrified the whole world, insidiously hoped to kill two birds with one stone. Hating the Guises, she did not want to get even closer to them; marrying her daughter to the King of Navarre, she attracted the Huguenots to her side, whom she decided to end once and for all.

Wedding festivities at court well masked the preparations for the massacre. At first, however, it was intended to eliminate only Coligny alone, but the failed attempt on his life (August 22) decided the fate of the Huguenots. Undoubtedly, Catherine alone has the shameful honor that doubts were awakened in the mind of Charles IX about the honesty and decency of the leaders of the Huguenot party and that consent to the crime that took place on the night of August 23-24, 1572, on the eve of St. Day, was torn from his lips. Bartholomew, when a massacre began in Paris and the provinces, unparalleled in history, during which about 30,000 Huguenots died. The hated Admiral Coligny suffered martyrdom, like most Protestant leaders. Not many of them managed to escape, following the example of Henry of Navarre, who was saved by his young wife. They say that Charles IX himself, in a frenzy of rage, shot from the window of the Louvre at the people, and Catherine, standing nearby, calmly watched him, encouraging her filial hunt for people. However, the terrible “Night of Bartholomew,” otherwise called the “Bloody Wedding,” had such an effect on the king that the 24-year-old young man, who had aged prematurely, lost sleep and peace. Everywhere he heard a discordant roar of voices, screams and cries, curses and sighs. The frail body could not bear such excitement, and on May 30, 1574, the insignificant Charles IX passed away.

The French crown passed to Catherine's third, most beloved son, Henry, Duke of Anjou, who had already been King of Poland for a whole year, who, upon learning of his brother's death, hastily returned to his homeland. Throughout his unhappy reign, the Queen Mother constantly interfered in affairs and gave advice, which, however, he did not want to listen to. If before she pursued state interests, now she cared only about dynastic ones. France must have a legitimate heir. After the unsuccessful project of marrying his favorite to the English Queen Elizabeth, Henry III, against the wishes of his mother, married Louise of Lorraine (1575), the daughter of Count Vaudemont from the House of Guise. The wedding did not live up to anyone’s hopes: the new king, surrounded by his “minions,” did not need female caresses... Being entirely under the influence of his wife’s relatives, Henry III continued the policy of Charles IX, deciding to try the power of his weapons on the Huguenots, who had rallied again. But this fifth - including the "Bartholomew's Massacre" - religious war was slowed down by a meeting of government officials in Blois (in December 1576), and in general was conducted very sluggishly, ending with a new peace treaty in Poitiers, which no longer satisfied anyone, neither Catholics nor Huguenots. The situation, apparently, was leading to the fact that the struggle was bound to inevitably resume; preparations began for it when, in June 1584, news arrived that the fourth, youngest son of Catherine de Medici and Henry II, Francis, Duke of Alençon and Brabant, had died. This completely defeated the Florentine. The king remained childless, which means the house of Valois was bound to inevitably fade away. The closest heir to the French throne was none other than Henry, King of Navarre, husband of Margaret, Bourbon, Huguenot, heretic! This is what Catherine did not foresee when marrying her daughter to him! The mourning she constantly wore now took on a deeper meaning.

The peace treaty in Poitiers resulted in the formation of the “Holy League”, which pledged to support Catholicism at all costs (January 1585), headed by the Spanish king Philip II, on the one hand, and Giza, on the other. The sixth religious war lasted almost two years. Henry III, surrounded by his “minions” and drowning in debauchery, seemed to have completely forgotten that he was wearing the French crown, which is why the capital of France declared Henry of Guise-Balafre its king and seriously threatened the rightful ruler. The dissolute and insignificant Henry III fled to Blois with his entire court. Being vindictive and cruel by nature, he lured the “King of Paris” and treacherously killed him (December 24, 1588).

“This morning,” the last Valois boasted that same day to his mother, who was lying in bed from an illness that had brought her to the grave, “I again became the king of France, ordering the death of the “king of Paris!”...

Catherine was horrified. With an effort, she rose up on her bed and smiled sadly.

“God grant, sir,” she said prophetically, “that this death does not take away your royal title altogether... You cut it well, my son, but can you sew it just as well?”

Recent events, for which everyone blamed the Queen Mother, had such an effect on the 70-year-old woman that she fell seriously ill and died on January 5, 1589 in Blois. One of the astrologers once predicted to her that “Saint Germain will be the first to know about her death.” Since then, she has constantly avoided places bearing that name, but blind chance justified the prophecy: Catherine de Medici died in the arms of a royal preacher named Saint Germain. Henry III was indifferent to the death of his mother, who adored him, and did not even take care of her burial. The population of France was also not particularly upset, and the Parisians mockingly asked each other:

-Who will conclude peace treaties now?

This was the epitaph of the widow of Henry II. Over the course of twenty-eight years, three reigns swept over France - three reigns, the soul and life of which was a woman, at first the spouse, and then the mother of the rulers, who turned everyone away from herself with her two-faced policies and hypocrisy. Her body was thrown like carrion onto the barge and buried in an ordinary grave. Only in 1609, under Henry IV, the ashes of the treacherous Florentine woman were transferred to the luxurious crypt she built in Saint Denis for herself, her husband and children. By paying posthumous honors to the woman who hated him, the former king of Navarre seemed to thank her for the crown of France. In only one respect did Catherine de Medici retain a good memory of herself: by patronizing the fine arts, she greatly contributed to their prosperity in France, whose court, owing to her refinement of manners, was famous throughout Europe. The construction of the Tuileries and the Soissons Hotel, now defunct, was undertaken by her, and besides them, many other castles have been preserved in France, built according to the plans of the widow of Henry II.