Mistresses of old times

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 went to better world. Catherine's childhood, which coincided with turbulent years political life 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, with youth she is used to seeing struggle around her political parties, 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, for a long time which 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 revolutions 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 were 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 new king, 16-year-old Francis II, lived in Saint-Germain. To keep Antoine and his brother, Prince Louis of Conde, longer in Paris and prevent them from entering royal residence, the Florentine, knowing their inclinations towards the fair sex, entrusted this delicate task to two representatives of her “Flying Squadron”, the girls de Limaille and de Rouet, who turned out to be at the height of their calling. 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 such in this moment there were 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 formed with the aim 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 sudden death Francis II (December 5, 1560) - as they say, was poisoned by Guise when he wanted to show his independence - saved the unfortunate ones.

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 informed about complete defeat Huguenots thanks to the insane courage of Francis Guise, and Catherine immediately expressed the liveliest 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 whole line The wars could not crush the forces of the Protestants, and having become convinced 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, the son of the late Antoine, once their main leader, with Margaret of Valois, youngest daughter queen (18 August 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 accepted 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, for a whole year former king Polish, who, having learned about the death of his brother, 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, contrary to his mother's wishes, married Louise of Lorraine (1575), 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. Matters apparently tended to the point that the struggle was bound to inevitably resume; preparations began for it when news arrived in June 1584 that the fourth, most younger son Catherine de' Medici and Henry II, Francis, Duke of Alençon and Brabant, 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. Paying posthumous honors to the woman who hated him, former king Navarrese 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 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.

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Famous ruler Catherine de' Medici born in 1519 in Florence. She was the daughter of the Duke of Urbino Lorenzo II de' Medici and the French Bourbon princess Madeleine de la Tour d'Auvergne.

At the age of 14 she was married off for the Duke of Orleans, who later became King Henry II of France. A true representative of the Medici, Catherine always harbored a deep thirst for power in her soul and remained in history as the instigator of the “Night of Bartholomew.”

Catherine de' Medici had little influence at court, but that all changed with the king's death in 1559.

Catherine de' Medici mourned for her husband for thirty years and went down in French history under the name " Black queen».

Catherine became regent of her sickly and weak son Francis II and actually gained power over the country that was on the threshold civil war. By using intrigue and deceit Catherine began to deal with her enemies, especially her husband's favorite Diane de Poitiers.

The most known fact activities of Catherine de Medici remains " St. Bartholomew's Night" One part of the French population, including the royal family, adhered to Catholicism, and the other to Protestantism (French Protestants were also called Huguenots). According to the generally accepted version, Catherine set a trap for the Huguenot leaders by inviting them to the wedding of her daughter and Henry of Navarre. On the night of August 24, 1572, a wave of violence swept through the streets of Paris. whose victims were about10 thousand Huguenots. However, there is a version according to which the Medici might not have known about the impending conspiracy. Having accepted full responsibility, she did not admit the loss of control over the situation in the country.

Today, few people know that the Medici were also great art connoisseur and philanthropist. Under her leadership, the Tuileries Castle and a new wing of the Louvre were built. She also collected rare ancient manuscripts, which numbered hundreds of copies in her library. It was with the light hand of Catherine de Medici that the French fell in love with ballet, and women discovered corsets and underwear.

The birth of an illegitimate child to her husband in 1537 confirmed rumors about Catherine’s infertility. Many advised the king to annul the marriage. Under pressure from her husband, who wanted to consolidate her position with the birth of an heir, Catherine was treated for a long time and in vain by various magicians and healers with one single goal - to get pregnant. Every possible means was used to ensure successful conception, including drinking mule urine and wearing cow dung and deer antlers on the lower abdomen. On January 20, 1544, Catherine gave birth to a son, Francis. The sudden miraculous cure for infertility is associated with the famous doctor, alchemist, astrologer and fortuneteller Michel Nostradamus.

Catherine de Medici was a selfless mother, even despite all the methods she used to support her sons, the kings: Francis II, Charles IX and Henry III. She died at the age of 70 and, fortunately, did not see the complete collapse of her life’s work. The last of her 10 children, Henry III, was killed shortly after her death, and The de Valois dynasty ended.

Of all 10 children of Catherine, only Margarita lived long enough long life- 62 years old. Heinrich did not live to see 40, and the rest of the children did not even live to see 30.

12.09.2014 2 20557

As you know, most often the one who offends others is the one who himself has often been offended. This phrase perfectly characterizes Catherine de Medici, the queen of France and the mother of three monarchs of this power.

Catherine de' Medici outlived her husband, King Henry II, by almost thirty years. She was destined to stay in this world longer than eight of the ten children she bore. Her beloved son Henry died at the hands of a murderer a little more than six months after Catherine’s death. Only one daughter met old age - Margarita, the same Queen Margot to whose fate Alexandre Dumas dedicated the novel.

From a family of bankers

The Medici were called the “black queen” because after the death of her beloved husband she put on mourning. And she didn’t take it off for the rest of her life. It was this queen who introduced the fashion for mourning clothes of this color: before that in France, as a sign of grief, it was customary to wear all white.

But was it only because of their clothes that the Medici were called the “black queen”? Of course not. Her entire journey was a story of death and bloody events. The goal of her life was to keep the crown in the hands of the Valois dynasty at any cost. But, as history has shown, the efforts made by the queen were in vain.

Catherine de Medici felt offended almost from the very beginning. early childhood. She was born in 1519 in Florence. Her father, Lorenzo de' Medici, was a representative of this noble family, which actually ruled Florence. He had the title of Duke of Urbino, which had once been taken away from a poor nobleman. But, of course, everyone knew: the Medicis were bankers, rich people, and not aristocrats at all. So it was possible to argue about Catherine’s high origins on her father’s side.

The mother of the future queen, Madeleine de la Tour, belonged to one of the most distinguished French noble families. Her parents died less than a month after the birth of their daughter. The girl was raised by her grandmother and aunt.

At the age of fourteen, she was married to the fourteen-year-old French prince Henry of Valois. Henry was not the heir to the throne - the throne was intended for his older brother Francis. So the match that caring relatives had arranged for the young orphan was just right for her.

The girl, after all, ended up in the royal family. They gave her a hefty dowry. Except large sum money, it included cities such as Pisa and Parma.

So, a thin, fair-skinned, red-haired girl was brought to the French court. Overall, she could not be called a beauty. But Catherine’s green eyes attracted the eye. At the luxurious celebration of the wedding of the royal son, the table was laden with food and drinks. The wedding was celebrated for almost a month. The newlywed, despite her young age, looked quite mature: she was wearing high-heeled shoes.

Complete misfortunes

There was just one problem: Heinrich immediately began to demonstrate indifference to his wife. The fact is that since childhood he was in love with the court lady Diane de Poitiers. She, of course, was not destined to become a queen: she was nineteen years older than her lover. But the dazzlingly beautiful de Poitiers looked so young that gossips It was rumored that she sold her soul to the devil for eternal freshness.

Catherine did not believe in this. But it seemed to her that Diana could do something in bed that would keep Henry with her. She even spied on lovers. And what? The impudent de Poitiers did not do anything special. Just true feeling you can't fake it.

And here comes a new misfortune. Relations between France and Italy deteriorated - they refused to give the promised dowry in full for Catherine.

Further more. The courtiers, who had been having fun at the wedding, now showed contempt for the young Medici. Of course: a girl from a merchant family, she did not receive the education that a noblewoman should have. She did not read and did not know what girls from aristocratic families read and knew. Catherine spoke French with a noticeable Italian accent. She wrote with spelling errors. The poor Medici girl was not happy either with the nobles or with her husband...

The only person from whom Catherine saw a more or less friendly attitude was, oddly enough, her main rival Diane de Poitiers. It was strange only at first glance. Henry’s mistress, realizing that she still wouldn’t get the crown, decided: Catherine suits her. For the time being, the Medici were quieter than water, lower than the grass and behaved very uncertainly.

Misfortunes did not leave the prince’s unfortunate wife. She couldn't get pregnant. Her husband brazenly had a child on the side. After that, he practically stopped visiting the marital bedroom, indulging in intimate pleasures with Diana. They were already making fun of the Medici openly. Only de Poitiers sometimes pushed Henry into the arms of his legal wife.

Mother of the heirs

It took several years to treat infertility. Catherine did not give up trying to become a mother. And in 1544 she gave birth to an heir to the throne, who was named Francis. Over the next eleven years, Medici gave birth to nine more offspring. True, three of them died in infancy. Sassy de Poitiers was present at the birth of Catherine as a best friend. And Henry’s poor wife had to endure this humiliation as well.

Catherine de Medici with children, 1561

After Francis's death, Henry ascended to the French throne in 1547, becoming King Henry II of France. But after becoming queen, Medici did not feel any better. All the husband's passions were directed towards the favorite. In 1559, the monarch was accidentally killed by a spear at a knight's tournament.

Before he had time to die, Catherine kicked out de Poitiers’ “friend”, having previously taken away her jewelry.

After the death of her husband, everyone saw the true face offended girl Medici. After the death of Henry, to whom she forgave everything out of love, the widow put on mourning. Catherine was no longer interested in men. Now her goal was to retain the crown from the Valois dynasty. And the more Medici tried, the less she succeeded. Moreover, sometimes - for reasons beyond her control.

Catherine became regent for her eldest son Francis. The sixteen-year-old son died from an abscess in his ear. The next son - ten-year-old Karl - with early years was not interested in state affairs. He was hysterical and suffered from tuberculosis. Under him, Catherine also actually ruled. He died at the age of twenty-three.

The country was torn apart by civil strife. Catholics were at enmity with the Huguenots. Some areas were subject only to the local nobility. Catherine did not know how to hold France. But, as we already wrote, she was more concerned about keeping the crown...

We should not forget that during the actual reign of Catherine, during the so-called St. Bartholomew's Night from August 23 to 24, 1572, Catholics massacred about 30 thousand Huguenots (adherents of one of the branches of Protestantism). According to rumors, with tacit consent Medici...

In 1574, Henry III, Catherine's favorite son, ascended the throne. He, the only one of her children, became king while of age. The Medici now, despite her advanced age, wandered around the country, trying to gather power over all its regions in the hands of her son. Her worry for Heinrich did not leave her even for a minute. Once, when he was ill, Medici wrote that she felt like she was “burning on a low flame.”

But you shouldn’t perceive Catherine as a tender mother. She ruined the life of her rebellious daughter Margarita, executing her lover in front of her own eyes, imprisoned her in a castle, deprived her of her inheritance and did not see her...

The younger - unloved - son Francois also wanted to become king, especially since Henry had no children. To prove his own worth, he got involved in an unsuccessful war with the Netherlands. His mother wrote to him: “...it would be better if you died in your youth.” The son obeyed his mother - and soon died...

Catherine de' Medici died in January 1589, just short of her seventieth birthday. The cause of death was severe purulent pleurisy, which she acquired while traveling around the country.

Henry III was stabbed to death by a fanatic in August of that year. The reign of the Valois dynasty ended with this monarch. They were able to retain the crown for only seven months after the death of the power-hungry Catherine de Medici.

Maria KONYUKOVA

The idea for such a post matured a long time ago - when I saw in one LiveJournal message a fairly well-known costume historian in his circles, among others, this portrait:

Under the portrait with the attribution “Catherine de Medici and her brother Francesco,” a rather lively discussion broke out about how much the features of the future ruler of France were already visible in this girl, how similar she was to herself in adulthood, etc. Moreover, what struck me most was that the author of the post himself also participated in these discussions. While I was thinking about whether I wanted to intervene, someone came and said that, guys, wake up and open your eyes - this is not the same Catherine de Medici, and she didn’t and couldn’t have had any brothers. All this together, once again, brought me to a sad thought about the intuitive distrust of specialists who study anything “from antiquity to the present day.” For, even if you close your eyes to the brother who came from nowhere, then the level of painting of this portrait, and the costume on the girl, everything just screams that this is the beginning of the 17th century, and not the beginning of the 16th, especially for a specialist in the history of costume. Everyone is human, and everyone can make mistakes, but this is one of those gross mistakes that a specialist, who also gives public lectures in Moscow, cannot afford.

Of course, this is not the first and not the last mistake of this kind, even if we take only this costume historian, so I would like to repeat for the umpteenth time - there is no need to study anything “from antiquity to the present day,” and most importantly, in isolation from " great history"and numerous auxiliary disciplines - the approach must still be comprehensive, interdisciplinary, and genealogy, my dears, is our everything. It is not for nothing that in all countries, in all schools, at the beginning of the 20th century, it was a compulsory discipline, even in a very truncated form, like the history of the ruling dynasty.

But let's return to our Catherine de Medici. So who is depicted in this wonderful portrait?

I don't think I'll open it great secret, if I say that Queen Mother Catherine of the Medici family was not happy with her children. The eldest son, Francis II, named after his famous grandfather, King Francis I, was entirely under the influence of the Guise brothers, whom Catherine did not like, considered upstarts, but with whom she was forced to reckon. Due to the fact that Francis was married to the Guises' niece, Queen Mary Stuart of Scotland, whom he adored since childhood, their power was stronger than that of their mother, despite the fact that Catherine was formally the regent. But, I repeat several times, all of Catherine’s children both loved and, at the same time, feared her, and always expressed deep respect and reverence for her. Francis, as is known, died shortly before his 17th birthday, leaving no heirs.

Catherine's second child was a girl who was named Elizabeth. In my purely subjective opinion, it was Elizabeth, and not Margot, who was the most beautiful princess of the house of Valois. Just like Margarita, Elizabeth inherited black hair and brown eyes from her mother, and was distinguished by tact, sophistication, grace and impeccable artistic taste.

At the age of 14 she was married to King Philip II of Spain and remained in history under Spanish name Isabella de Valois. Catherine sincerely admired her daughter, and due to the fact that their relationship was close and warm, Catherine had very high political hopes for Isabella, believing that she, with her beauty, gentleness and high intelligence, would be able to influence the tough policies that Spain led towards the French Huguenots, forcing Catherine to act rashly and belligerently. But Isabella, having seen enough in her childhood of, to put it mildly, an extremely peculiar marriage of her parents - the power of the favorite and the tears of her mother, was immensely grateful to Philip for the respect and understanding that he showed her from the very first days of her marriage. An absolutely political union turned into a union of love, and, to Catherine’s great chagrin, Isabella gently but unconditionally made it clear to her that she would always and in everything share her husband’s views. The meeting of Isabella and Catherine 8 years later was a shock for the Queen Mother, and she bitterly complained to those close to her that “her daughter had become completely Spanish.” Six months after this meeting, Isabella died while trying to give Philip an heir to the throne.

After the death of Francis II, his younger brother Charles IX, who was 10 years old at that time, ascended the throne of France. Catherine, who was already anticipating unlimited power, as far as was possible under those conditions, was disappointed both in her hopes and in her second son. Of course, the weak, and in many matters weak-willed king, despite all the respect, did not trust his mother, did not dare to openly resist her decisions, but loved to do everything his own way behind her back. Despite the real power in her hands, Catherine's political position was very difficult. France was torn apart from within religious wars, in foreign policy Philip II of Spain reproached her for being too lenient towards heretics (Huguenots), of whom there were almost more in France at that time than Catholics, and this, on the other hand, threatened the throne.

The behavior of the suspicious Charles, who either brought Catholics or Huguenots led by Coligny closer to him, did not make Catherine’s task of stabilizing the situation in the country easier. In an effort to gain outside support, Catherine, as a true monarch of the Renaissance, preferred the policy of dynastic marriages. Having given away his eldest daughter, Elizabeth of Valois, for the king of Spain, for Charles she chose the daughter of Emperor Maximilian II, Elizabeth of Austria. The choice was successful - one of the most beautiful princesses of the time, soft and gentle Elizabeth adored her husband, but Charles almost openly preferred the company of Marie Touchet, with whom he had a son. Thus, this marriage union did not live up to the Queen Mother’s hopes. Karl died of lung disease a week before his 24th birthday.

The next king to ascend the throne of France was Catherine's favorite son. It is very difficult to write about Henry III - he was such a controversial personality - not a single historian can give him at least an unambiguous portrait, and the task of this post does not include assessing his personality. Therefore, we will limit ourselves to the emotions of Queen Mother Catherine.

She was always admired by Henry's mind, comparable to hers, which was a good century ahead of his time, she highly appreciated his elegant manners, although some then believed that such manners were excusable only for sophisticated ladies, but there was a flip side to all this: managing Henry , how she managed his older brothers, Catherine could not. And she voluntarily submitted to this. She set herself a goal: to serve the interests of her son and, in particular, to achieve peace in the south of the country. She travels a lot, negotiates, trying to do everything so that nothing threatens her Henry’s throne. And her biggest disappointment was the discovery of the fact that Henry, despite all his outward respect, took all of Catherine’s efforts for granted, practically did not take her opinion and experience into account, and most often acted as it was convenient for him, and not as was necessary which will ultimately lead to his death. The first in a series of similar actions was his marriage, by his own choice, to the Guizov’s niece, Louise de Vaudemont. He took revenge on his mother for not allowing him to marry his greatest love, Maria of Cleves. And the last was the order to kill the Duke of Guise, which turned into the murder of the king. Fortunately, Catherine did not live to see this moment.

The behavior of the younger children never brought anything but irritation and grief to Catherine. François, Duke of Alençon, spent his entire life scheming against his brothers. In an effort to channel his energy and cunning in the right direction, Catherine, following her logic of dynastic marriages, wooed him to England as a consort for Queen Elizabeth. Nothing came of this venture, despite the fact that, to the great surprise of modern historians, Elizabeth highly appreciated the sophisticated Prince Valois, even despite the nickname “little frog” that she gave him. In any case, when Francois died, mourning was declared at the English court, and the ambassadors noted with surprise the tears in Elizabeth's eyes.

Catherine’s attitude towards Margot, the youngest of her daughters, is generally well known to everyone from the unforgettable series “Queen Margot”, however, the reality was much worse - Catherine and Henry had to lock Margot in isolation in the castle, “until she somehow “I didn’t disgrace you,” said the Queen Mother, and ultimately, Catherine stopped calling her daughter by name and crossed her out of her will.

Looking at this whole, to put it mildly, bleak picture, some of the Queen Mother’s actions become much clearer. And yet he was in it dark kingdom a ray of living light - Catherine had an outlet among her children in the form of her middle daughter - Clotilde or Claude, as she was commonly called.

Claude de Valois was not a beauty - she had a hump and she limped, but in her softness and tact she resembled her older sister Elizabeth, and, out of political necessity, Catherine sacrificed her - at the age of 11, Claude of France was married to Duke Charles of Lorraine III. To the great surprise of the French court, the marriage turned out to be successful and based on mutual respect and trust. Claude gave birth to 9 children and died of complications at age 27. Catherine's grief was simply enormous. And she focused all her unspent feelings of love on her eldest granddaughter - daughter Claude Christina of Lorraine.

Christina was quite beautiful and had a purely French charm. A girl lived and was raised at her grandmother's court in Paris. The last thing Catherine managed to do in her life was to find a good match for her beloved granddaughter. Just at this time in Florence, under very mysterious and dramatic circumstances, the Grand Duke of Tuscany and the very distant relative Catherine, Francesco de' Medici and his second wife Bianca Capello. Francesco's younger brother Ferdinand de' Medici ascends to the throne of Florence. The marriage was beneficial to both parties, and in April 1589 Christina de Lorraine arrived in Florence. Ferdinand was one of the best Grand Dukes of the Medici family. He was loved, the duchy prospered, Christina was happily married, and she named her second girl, born in 1593, in honor of her beloved grandmother, to whom she was very grateful - Catherine de Medici. It is this girl - another Catherine from the Medici family - who is depicted on famous portrait, with which we began our story.)

One of the most sinister figures in world history, ruthless Catherine de' Medici I dreamed of only one thing - unlimited power. As if in revenge for an unhappy personal life, deprived of love, she bet on a political career and managed to win. To achieve her goals, she stopped at nothing - intrigue, black magic, all kinds of intrigues made up her usual way of life...

Having broken the laws of God and man, she was ready to sacrifice her own children on the altar of death if they threatened to undermine her authority and push her away from the throne. But fate took revenge on her for her insatiable lust for power: on this cruel woman The dynasty of the French Valois kings ended...

In the childhood of every person, events occur that not only remain in the memory, causing an irreparable blow to the psyche, but also leave an imprint on later life. In this sense, Catherine de Medici was unlucky.

She was born in Florence in 1519 in the family of the Duke of Urbino Lorenzo N de' Medici, nephew of Pope Leo X, and a few days later she was left an orphan.
Catherine grew up against the backdrop of constant political struggle waged by her relatives, who were trying to become full-fledged masters of Florence.

In 1523, her grandfather Giulio de' Medici ascended the papal throne under the name of Clement VII, and over time he managed to achieve unlimited power over Florence.
During these troubled years, Catherine lived in the monastery of Santa Lucia. And one day, the republicans besieged in the city suggested putting the girl on the fortress wall under the fire of enemy cannons.

She was only 9 years old. She faced inevitable death if not for the intervention of the Pope, who ordered the child to be left alone. However, some researchers are sure that the townspeople, having suffered defeat, gave Catherine to the soldiers for entertainment.
All this, of course, could not pass without a trace for the fragile child’s psyche. She realized too early that the world is corrupt and cruel, and in order to survive, she must be secretive, not trust anyone and follow not the dictates of her heart, but cold calculation.

After the fall of Florence, her grandfather, Pope Clement VII, took charge of the girl’s fate. Now she had a home, an outwardly calm, well-fed life. But good attitude she was not obliged to kindred feelings. It’s just that the power-hungry grandfather wanted to use her as a major bargaining chip in his political game.

She had all the data for this - noble origin and charming appearance, moreover, she was smart and friendly. Although eyewitnesses who knew Catherine in those years spoke of her sharp but painful mind and the metallic coldness that radiated from her beautiful eyes.

After going through suitable suitors, the Pope settled on the young Prince of Orange, but soon after the engagement the young man died in one of the battles. Clement VII quickly found a replacement for him: Catherine's hand was offered to the son of the King of France, Duke Henry of Orleans.

AT THE EPICENTER OF INTRIGUES

The newlyweds were only 14 years old. They were so young and inexperienced that the king and queen at first even wanted to place them in different rooms. Soon, Catherine learned little comforting news for herself - it turned out that her husband was inflamed with passion for the brilliant court lady Diane de Poitiers, who was almost 20 years older than him.

This girl’s self-control is admirable: she did not allow herself any reproaches or scenes of jealousy. She was patient and tactful. However, in her situation such behavior was the only correct one. In addition, for ten years she could not become a mother, and the lack of heirs made her very vulnerable, since the threat of divorce hung over her. Trying to protect herself, Catherine tries to please her father-in-law. Subtle flattery and admiration bore fruit: she managed to win the heart of King Francis.

As for Diane de Poitiers, Catherine was powerless here. This aging favorite enjoyed undivided influence over the weak-willed Henry. Even if Catherine wanted to be alone with her husband, she had to ask Diana for permission.

And the future queen did not show her dissatisfaction with a word or a look. On the contrary, she was helpful and kind to her rival, and soon became her close “friend.” Catherine also tried in every possible way to please her husband. Once he even admitted that he had never felt as good as in bed with his own wife.

She knew how to wait and, having never experienced love, dreamed only of power. After the death of the king, the throne was to be inherited by his eldest son Francis; Henry seemed to have virtually no chance. But his wife thought differently. And then one hot August day the prince drinks a glass cold water with ice and soon dies. Poisoning was obvious, but the culprits were never found...

Henry ascended the throne, and his wife finally became queen, although Diana was actually in charge of everything. Catherine still had to be content with a modest place on the margins of the political struggle.

Having become queen, she surrounded herself with minions, headphones and beautiful ladies-in-waiting, not burdened with moral principles. At Catherine's instigation, holes were drilled in all the walls of the palace bedrooms, which made it possible to monitor all the inhabitants of the Louvre day and night.

In addition to intrigue, she found an outlet only in the patronage of talents, gathering all the color at court European art. She became interested in astrology and magic. It was Catherine who invited the famous Nostradamus to the court, who quite accurately predicted her future, including the death of her husband, and the fact that her sons would rule, but not for long, and Henry of Navarre would inherit the throne...

Catherine got rid of infertility and now gave birth to heirs one after another. However, all her sons turned out to be defective - some mentally, some physically. Weak-willed, they were at the same time distinguished by cunning and vindictiveness. The daughters did not disappoint - but the queen did not particularly like them either. She looked at them only from the point of view of profitable dynastic alliances.

Catherine de' Medici was widowed at age 40. The death of her husband was absurd, but Nostradamus’s prediction was completely confirmed: during a knightly tournament, the Earl of Montgomery’s spear broke and pierced the king’s eye.

The best doctors in the kingdom fought for Henry's life. Catherine was at her husband's bedside all the time, and Diana did not appear, probably for fear of being sent away by the queen. From time to time, Heinrich even felt well enough to dictate letters and listen to music, but he soon became blind and lost his speech. The king was still alive when Catherine demanded that Diana de Poitiers return the diamonds that the king had given her and leave the court.

On July 10, 1559, Henry II died. From that day on, Catherine chose as her emblem a broken spear with the inscription “ Lacrymae hinc, hinc dolor» (« this is the reason for all my tears and my pain") and until the end of her days she wore black clothes as a sign of mourning. She was the first to wear black mourning. Before this, in medieval France, mourning was white.

Despite everything, Catherine adored her husband. " I loved him so much...“,” she wrote to her daughter Elizabeth after Henry’s death. Catherine de Medici mourned for her husband for thirty years and went down in French history under the name “The Black Queen.”

Catherine received the coveted power - her 16-year-old son Francis ascended the throne. But then it turned out that the key posts in the kingdom were seized by the Guise family, which was not at all inclined to give up their positions. The queen's hatred knows no bounds.

She finds herself a loyal ally in François Vendôme - perhaps this was another man she loved. But Van-dom lost the war with the Guises. Catherine has no choice but to send her defeated ally to the Bastille, and soon to the next world.

For some time she has to reconcile with Giza, but she is not going to give up. Catherine skillfully uses the religious confrontation between Protestants and Catholics for her own purposes. And although she herself favors Catholics, in order to annoy Guizam, she supports Protestants. She sets one against another, hoping in this way to strengthen her power.

Even the sudden death of Francis leaves her indifferent, because she still has three sons. Her minor son Charles IX ascends the throne, and Catherine becomes regent under him.

She has already lost her attractiveness: she has grown old, plump, flabby. Her hypocrisy was limitless. Any courtier whom she called “my friend” could consider himself dead.

She often resorted to proven means - poisons. Agrippa d'Aubigny, author of the General History, writes about the murder of Jeanne d'Albret, Queen of Navarre: “She died from poison, which penetrated into the brain through scented gloves. The poison was prepared by the Florentine sir Rene, whom everyone hated after that.”

BLOODY WEDDING

Trying to deal a significant blow to her opponents the Guises, Catherine decides to marry her daughter Margaret to the Protestant King of Navarre.

Cleverly weaving intrigues, the queen notices too late that her son Charles has fallen under strong influence Huguenot Admiral Coligny. The admiral not only persuaded the king to declare war on Spain, but also dared to make threats. And then the queen came up with a hellish plan: she summons the Guises and declares to them her support if they attack the Huguenots. Thus, it seemed to give a signal for the beginning of a bloody massacre, since Catholics had long dreamed of dealing with their religious opponents.

With the light hand of the Queen Mother, soon after the wedding of Margaret and Henry of Navarre, a massacre broke out in Paris and the provinces, which went down in history as St. Bartholomew's Night. About 30,000 Huguenots died. Admiral Coligny was mortally wounded. The King of Navarre managed to escape...
St. Bartholomew's Night, which is also called the Bloody Wedding, strengthened Catherine's position. However, the queen's joy was short-lived. Charles did not want to obey his mother and openly rebelled against her policies, accusing the queen of bloody reprisals against the Huguenots.

When all attempts to influence her son were exhausted, Catherine decided to take extreme measures. Very soon Karl fell ill and went to bed. There is an assumption that the “caring” mother gave her son a rare old book about falconry. The pages of the tome, soaked in arsenic, stuck together, and in order to unstick them, one had to wet one’s finger with saliva. The king failed to finish reading the book...

Catherine is almost happy, since her beloved son Henry II has ascended the throne!.. Alas, the newly-made king preferred men and did not intend to produce heirs. In addition, Catherine’s rebellious son commits a completely monstrous act in her opinion - he appoints Henry of Navarre as regent of France.

The queen was depressed and dejected when her youngest Valois son died. All these events had such a strong impact on 70-year-old Catherine that she became seriously ill.

The death of Catherine de Medici did not upset her children, much less other French people. Since Paris was held by enemies of the crown at that time, they decided to bury Catherine in Blois. She was later reburied in the Parisian Abbey of Saint-Denis. In 1793, during the Great french revolution, the revolutionary crowd threw her remains, as well as the remains of all French kings and queens, into a common grave.

Her contemporary, the French historian Jacques Augustin de Thou, spoke most succinctly about the death of Catherine de Medici: “No, it was not a woman who died, the royal power died!”

Effigies of Catherine de Medici and Henry II, Abbey of Saint-Denis.

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.