Romancing the Renaissance:
the Feminization of Early Modern Culture in Twentieth Century Mass Media

English 339

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Catherine de Medicis

Her Life

 Catherine De Medici was born on April 13, 1519.

Father :Lorenzo De Medici II Dude of Urbino

Mother : Madeleine de la Tour d'Auvergne

Catherine was left an orphan at only a few weeks old. Her mother died April 28, 1519 and her father soon after on May 4, 1519.

In 1513, Catherine's uncle Francis, the King of France, arranged a marriage for her by secret contract. At the age of 13, she was promised to Henry Duc d' Orleans for the political advantages the union might guarantee the King.

Catherine's wedding day followed two years later, October 28, 1533. Catherine loved her husband, but he did not return her ardor. He loved his mistress, Diane de Poitiers, to his death. To please Henry, Catherine made a great effort to attain the favor of his mistress. Catherine once wrote, "never did woman who loved her husband succeed in loving his mistress. ... if I made good cheer for her it was really him I was entertaining"(Williamson, Catherine De Medice, 48).

Catherine became Queen of France on March 31, 1547, when her husband, Henry, succeeded Francis I on the throne.

Henry died, July 10, 1559, leaving Catherine's son, Francis II as King of France.

1560 brought a year of religious unrest between the Protestants and the Catholics. In March, Catherine agreed to put a stop to the Protestant uprising known as the conspiracy of Amboise. For the next few moths France was run as a Catholic dictatorship.

King Francis II died December 5, 1560. Catherine's second son, Charles IX became King of France. As he was only 10 years old, Catherine ruled as regent and she enjoyed an autonomous monarchy for the first time.

To ensure the political stability of the French royalty, Catherine negotiated on and off for years between Protestant England and Catholic Spain.

In 1572, Catherine secured a politically convenient marriage between her daughter, Marguerite de Valois, a Catholic, and Henry de Bourbon, King of Navarre, a Protestant. Catherine hoped that tying a marital know between a Catholic and a Protestant under the royal roof would, in turn, foster a sense of religious unity within France itself. The marriage took place August 12.

Less than a week later, August 24, 1572, mayhem broke out in the streets. Fearing Admiral de Coligny's Protestant influence over King Charles IX, Catherine arranged for an assassination. Her first attempt failed, but it did not go unnoticed by the Protestants. Both sides drew up arms and the event that followed has gone down in history as the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre. The bloodshed went on for hours and , in the end, approximately 6,000 people were slaughtered, Coligny among them.

King Charles IX died May 30, 1574. His brother Henry, Duke of Anjou, stepped onto the throne. Catherine had less influence over Henry and he allowed for ongoing religious strife among the people of France.

Catherine urged her son to look beyond his close circle of courtiers and work for unity and peace, but she died before her dreams were realized. Catherine took her last breath on January 5, 1589.

 Films:

Queen Margot (Virna Lisi)

Books

Balzac, Horace De; About Catherine De Medici

Balzac, Horace De; Ale Secret des Ruggieri

Grey, Shirley; The Crescent Man; a Romance Set in the Time of Diane de Poitiers

Knecht, R.J.; Catherine De Medici Profiles on Power

Mahoney, Irene; Madame Catherine

Neale, J.E.; Catherine De Medici

Plaidy, Jean; Catherine De Medici

Roeder, Ralph; Catherine De Mediciand the Lost Revolution

Roessner, Michaela; The Stars Dispose

Sichel, Edith Helen; Catherine De Medici and the French Reformation

Sichel, Edith Helen; The Later Years of Catherine De Medici

Strage, Mark; Women of Power : The Life and Times of Catherine De Medici

Sutherland, N.M.; The French Secretaries of State in the Age of Catherine De Medici

Van Dyke, Paul; Catherine De Medici

Watson, Francis; The Life and Times of Catherine De Medici, Vol. . I - II

Williams, Hugh Ross; Catherine De Medici

Williams, Hugh Ross; The Florentine Women

Williams, Hugh Ross; The Last of the Valois

Movies

Intolerance - 1916

Ashes of Vengeance - 1923

The Loves of Mary, Queen of Scots - 1923

Henry King of Navarre - 1924

Dante's Inferno - 1935

Les Perles de la Couronne - 1937

Mary, Queen of Scots - 1971

Catherine de Medici - (TV) 1989

Dames Galantes - 1990

Nostradamus - 1994

Queen Margot - 1994

Description | Schedule | Syllabus | Class Handouts | Internet Resources

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