[Music] the woman known to history as Katherine dadich was born on the 13th of April 1519 in the City of Florence in Renaissance Italy her mother was meline deur do Countess of bolog who came from an aristocratic background and was descended from an ancient and influential French family with links to the French ruling Elite her father was Lorenzo deichi ruler of Florence from 1516 to 1519 and Duke of urbino unlike his wife Lorenzo did not come from an aristocratic family but the Michi family had risen to prominence in the 1430s after making a fortune in
banking and acquiring Power by financing several European royal families the Michi promoted the cultural Renaissance in Florence and went on to rule the city for over 300 years from 1434 to 1737 many medich including Catherine made impressive marriages and several miches were elected as Pope Katherine's parents had been married for a year before her birth their Union had been planned as part of an alliance between King Francis I of France and Lorenzo's Uncle Pope Leo I 10th against their Mutual rival Holy Roman Emperor maximilan I as a result of her father's Heritage Katherine was perceived
as a Noble woman but not as a member of the upper echelons of the Italian aristocracy however her family did wield huge power wealth and influence which would be important in securing Catherine an advantageous match when she reached marrying age Catherine was an only child and was offened not long after her birth her mother died of either pueo fever caused by an infection picked up during child birth or the plague only a few days After Katherine's birth on the 28th of April 1519 a father died 21 days after his daughter's birth Poss possibly from syphilis
on the 4th of May 1519 at the Villa Michi at KI in Florence he was buried in the Michi Chapel of Florence's Church of San Lorenzo which was adorned in true Michi Style with Michelangelo's sculpture penseroso which represented the Duke Lorenzo's tomb has often been confused with that of his illustrious Grandfather Lorenzo the Magnificent which also had a Michelangelo sculpture Catherine spent her childhood passing between various prominent relations including her paternal grandmother alfonsina osini and after she died in 1520 her aunt clarista Michi where she was raised along with her cousins she was raised as
a Roman Catholic and received an education befitting a noble woman from nuns in Florence and Rome in line with the expectation that Catherine Would make an advantageous marriage possibly to a foreign Prince she would have been taught to speak fluently in Italian French and Latin at the very least Grand plans for Catherine's upbringing had been made by more than just her grandmother and aunt King Francis I of France had wanted Catherine to be raised at the French Court no doubt in order to see her married to a French Aristocrat or even one of his own
Sons but Pope Leo I 10th blocked this Scheme as he planned to have her marry ippolito to medich Lord of Florence Pope Leo made Katherine Duchess of urbino in line with his plan but then annexed most of the duy of urbino in the name of the Papal States reducing her status after the death of Pope Leo the 10th in 1521 Michi power in the Vatican was interrupted until until Cardinal Julio de Michi was elected as Pope Clement iith in 1523 it was during this period between The medich popes that Katherine's status as Duchess of urbino
became contentious the title and lands of the Duke of urbino were given to Francesca Maria I first DEA Roi by Pope Leo's successor Adrien v 6 the Florentine people continued to refer to Catherine as du cinaa meaning the little Duchess referencing her claim to the duche of urbino during this time Catherine stayed in The Palazo Michi ricardi the first Michi Palace the occasional workplace of Great artists like Donatello Michelangelo and belli and the modern-day seat of local government in Florence in 1527 the magii were overthrown in Florence by a faction which opposed Pope CL representative
Cardinal Sylvia pasini Catherine was taken hostage and moved from Convent to Convent finally she found consistency and peace at Santisima and uata de murati for 3 years a period which she described as the happiest of Her entire life this momentary interlude and a life defined by political maneuverings must have seemed tranquil however the City of Florence was not per permanently lost to the michis with an eye on europe-wide political events and in order to gain support for the recapture of Florence Pope Clement crowned the Holy Roman Emperor and king of Spain Charles I in an
elaborate and sacred ceremony in the San petronio Basilica in bolognia on the 24th of February 1530 the coronation aimed to heal the political and religious divides which had blown up when the mutinous Spanish German and Italian troops of Charles I had sacked Rome in 1527 the alliance would also be used against the threat posed by the ottoman Turks who were seeking dominance in Eastern Europe and had reached Vienna an important Royal City in the Holy Roman Empire in 1529 Charles I's Military Support in Florence was well rewarded as Charles I was the last holy Roman
Emperor to be awarded the honor of being crowned by a pope the retaking of Florence began in October 1529 and lasted until the city surrendered on the 12th of August 1530 during The Siege there were calls for Katherine's execution and even for her naked exposure and use by the troops for sexual gratification but this period of Siege and her residence in Santisima Anata de morati ented for Catherine when Pope Clement called her to Rome in 1530 in order to find her a husband while in Rome at the bequest of Pope Clement Catherine had many sutors
the most illustrious of her sutors was King James I of Scotland who sent the Duke of Albany to arrange the marriage on two separate occasions once in April 1530 and again 7 months later in no November although Catherine did not marry the eager Scottish King their stories would Later become entwined when Catherine helped to raise his daughter Mary Queen of Scots a second influential sutor was Henry Duke of oan second son of King Francis I of France and the Future King Henry II Henry belonged to the Vala Dynasty which had ruled France since the 14th
century by early 1533 Henry was openly courting her and he was to be a fortuitous match for the wealthy but common born Catherine Katherine deichi and Henry Duke of Oran were married at El San Le aastan in Marseilles on the 28th of October 1533 when Katherine was 14 the wedding was an extravagant affair with a grand display of giftgiving and festivities which went on late into the night the couple and their distinguished guests celebrated with dancing and feasting and Henry jousted his favorite pastime for his new wife's hand after leaving the ball the couple consumated
their Marriage apparently under the watch of King Francis I who was determined to see the union properly joined that morning the couple were visited and blessed in their marital bed by Pope Clement in the first year of marriage Catherine saw little of her husband who openly took Mistresses it was said that Henry was gloomy and introverted because he had spent four years as a captive in Spain during the formative years of his youth that Katherine's intelligence wit and Keenness to please made favorable Impressions on the ladies of the French Court however this favorable start to
her life in France was quickly reversed the death of her uncle Pope Clement on the 25th of September 1534 undermined Katherine's position and influence at court the situation worsened when Pope Clement's successor alesandro fesi broke off the alliance with France and ceased to pay Catherine's large dowy King Francis I Apparently lamented Katherine's reversal of Fortune and the marriage which had once seemed so fortunate by announcing the girl has come to me Stark naked as well as her tenuous position as a now darless Foreigner Catherine was also under huge pressure to provide the valir dynasty with
the air and spare which would ensure the Dynasty's survival the stakes were even higher in France as under salic law and ancient Frankish civil law code only males could Ascend the throne Catherine greatly desired a son a blessing which would cement her position in France but in the first 10 years of their marriage the couple had no children at all the pressure to conceive built when Henry's older brother the DOA of France Francis died of a fever in 1536 rumors began to spread that either Catherine or the Holy Roman Emperor Charles the had poisoned the
Doan Catherine became the sole Target of Blame for the of a legitimate Heir when Henry publicly acknowledged his affair with Philip ADI and the birth of his daughter Diane in 1537 it was at this time that divorce was discussed and many clamored for Catherine to be sent back to Italy in a period when witch hunting was reaching its peak rumors that Catherine practiced witchcraft began to circulate feeding into the image of her as the black queen which has persisted to today as a Woman's role was viewed in terms of her ability to create and sustain
life infertile women were seen as unnatural and as witches with the opposite power that of destroying Health life and fertility Catherine's connection with the astrologer and Seer Nostradamus and even more suspicious through jery brothers who it was believed engaged in necromancy and the Black Arts did little to help Katherine's reputation after trying every natural and Superstitious remedy for inducing pregnancy including drinking mul's urine Catherine finally gave birth to her first child and Son Francis on the 19th of January 1544 she went on to have a daughter Elizabeth on the 2nd of April 1545 and a
further eight children seven of whom survived infancy she succeeded eded in providing the dynasty with five boys who could inherit the throne the future Francis II Louie the future Charles I 9th the future Henry III and Francis Duke of onju the future of the Vala dynasty was now secure but Catherine's pregnancies did nothing to improve her marriage her husband was devoted to his favorite mistress dianda potier who was 19 years his senior Catherine influence was rooted solely in her motherhood as her husband ignored her and she would later become very skilled at presenting herself as
the devoted mother of future kings and of France itself the death of King Francis I on the 31st of March 1547 made Catherine Queen consort of France she was crowned in the Basilica of San Deni the resting place of many French Kings and a former medieval abbey church in Northern Paris on the 10th of June 1549 but she was to enjoy no political influence as Queen consort besides wielding the nominal power of regent During her husband's travels abroad the days of Catherine's power and influence were all still ahead of her instead of utilizing the wisdom
and skill of his wife Henry promoted the influence of his mistress dianda quer giving her the shadow of sheno it was even reported by the Imperial Ambassador that Henry would sit on Diane's lap discuss politics with her and stroke her breasts when in company Diane did not see Catherine as a threat having already essentially Usurped her position and privileges as the wife of the king Diane actually encouraged Henry to spend time with Catherine and to sire more legitimate children with her in 1556 Katherine almost died in childbirth the Royal surgeons only saved her life in
a terrible exchange for the life of one of her twin girls Joan who died in the womb while Victoria survived but only for seven more weeks as the king's Physician advised Henry against having any more children with Catherine he stopped visiting her and instead spent all of his time with his long-term mistress Diane Catherine would have no more children along with her own children Catherine played a role in raising Mary Queen of Scots daughter of her once suor James I of Scotland Mary's mother Mary of geese was the sister of Henry's Boyhood friend Francis Duke
of geize and had married King James I of Scotland in 1538 Mary of geize ruled Scotland as Regent for her daughter Mary who had taken the throne when she was less than one week old Mary Queen of Scots lived at the French Court from the age of five and was promised in marriage to Katherine's eldest son the Doan Francis Francis and Mary were married on the 24th of April 1558 when Francis was 15 years old and Mary was 17 years old they would be married for only 2 years due to The premature death of Francis
in 1559 Catherine's eldest daughter Elizabeth became the second among her children to marry the marriage like Catherine's own was part of a political Alliance after the death of Katherine's father Lorenzo de Michi in 1492 the balance of power and economic growth of Catherine's Home Country Italy collapsed this combination of wealth and political instability Drew in Italy's enemies and For over 50 years from 1494 to 1559 the Italian Peninsula became a Battleground between the French valir Dynasty the hapsburgs the ottoman Turks and the English these long Italian Wars sometimes called the hapsburg Vala wars were brought
to an end on the 3rd to the 4th of April 1559 when Henry II signed the peace of Kato cambresis with Philip II of Spain and Elizabeth the of England the treaty was sealed with the marriage of the 13-year-old Elizabeth to King Philip II of Spain a fellow Catholic the union was celebrated in Paris on the 22nd of June 1559 with five days of jousting festivities balls and masks a form of courtly entertainment from Italy in which particip dance and exchange gifts with their host while in Disguise despite the lavishness of the entertainments the marriage
was only a proxy wedding as the couple themselves were not present Henry took part in the Celebrator jousting boldly wearing his mistress Diane's black and white colors he was Victorious against his friend the Duke of geiz and the Duke of namur but was knocked off his saddle by Gabrielle delor the of Montgomery in an honorable J insisting on riding out again against Montgomery Henry's face was shattered by Montgomery's Lance reeling from The Clash with blood pouring down his face and large splinters buried deep in his eye and head Henry was carried away Katherine Diane and
Francis the DOA are said to have all fainted at the terrible sight after the splinters were removed from from his eye and brain at the shadow de tonel the king lay in a shifting State Catherine stayed with him but Diane stayed away for fear of being expelled by the queen over the next 10 days Henry sat up to dictate letters and listened to music but began to lose his sight speech and reason finally dying on the 10th of July 1559 at the age of 40 from this day Catherine adopted the broken Lance as her emblem
inscribed with the words Lai H H doore meaning from this come my tears my pain and wore mourning black for the rest of her life in memory of her husband Catherine recognized that image cultivation was an important part of successful kingship and worked to promote an image of herself as a faithful Widow and devoted mother in 1559 at 40 years old Catherine took her first steps into the political Spotlight after her husband's death she insisted on being called Queen Mother rather than daer which solidified the image of herself she wanted to project that of a
loving and devoted mother and the title Amplified her closeness to the next monarch her son Francis Francis II Katherine's oldest son became king of France at the age of 15 his coronation was held in ree on the 21st of September 1559 it was said that the crown was so heavy that Francis couldn't hold it up alone and required trusted Nobles to help hold it in place on his head it was rumored that Francis was frail and of ill health he he had married Mary Queen of Scots the year before and in what has been called
a catar Francis the Duke of geize and his brother Charles Cardinal of Lorraine seized power moving themselves into the loua palace with the Young couple the house of geese were staunch supporters of the Roman Catholic cause but after failing to Aid the Catholics in Scotland the old alliance between Catholic France and Scotland was dissolved causing the geers to focus their Catholic campaign on France out of necessity Catherine worked with the gers because she was not guaranteed a role in francis's government as he was deemed old enough to rule alone in France the Royal age of
majority was 14 yet she was To wield greater power as the mother of the king than she had done as the wife of the king king Francis II's official acts began with this being the good pleasure of the queen my lady mother and I also approving of every opinion that she holdeth am content and command that Catherine exploited her Newfound Authority she forced Dian detier to hand over the crown jewels and vacate the shadow de shenon so before proceeding to undo all of Diane's building work there All those at the court and in government who
had been patronized by Diane were quickly replaced including je bertron Keeper of the seals of France who was succeeded by Chancellor franois Olivier who had been dismissed by Diane a few years previously as the gay brothers and the new French government set to policymaking the issue of the religious conflict was becoming desperate religious divisions had grown across the Whole of Europe as the Protestant Reformation ignited by Martin Luther's criticism of the Roman Catholic Church Church Unleashed a complex political and religious storm which engulfed the whole of Europe and France in particular the valir royal family
were catholic but France had a growing Protestant population and its neighbors including Great Britain the Netherlands Scandinavia and parts of Germany were turning to protestantism the Hugo were a Group of French Protestants who followed the reformed or calvinist Protestant Faith they made up almost 10% of the French population and practiced their religion publicly the Hugo were vocal in their criticism of the Catholic Church denouncing the pope as a tyrant holding false sway over God's creation religious violence was played out on the streets of France lynchings and murders had religious motivations churches were sacked sacred texts
were destroyed and The bodies of saints were dug up and burned earn clearly the government had to do something but the policies of the geiz brothers did not at all fit with Katherine's preferred course of action the geize brothers began persecuting Protestants but Catherine adopted a more moderate stance and spoke out against the persecutions although she had been raised as a Roman Catholic and had been related to several popes the depth of her religious conviction was questioned As she prior prioritized peace over religious principles whether her conciliatory policy was rooted in her lack of religious
conviction her belief in freedom of worship desire for peace at any cost or more likely her political Acumen Katherine succeeded in crafting a place for herself in the political sphere in opposition to the gas the Hardline stance taken up by the geize brothers fueled the conflict the Hugo looked to antoan dubon King of Naar and then to his brother Louie dubon Prince of con for support to topple the gers with the rise of religious violence the Royal Court was moved to the Fortified chadow of Amba in the luir valley in central France the Duke of
geize then launched a surprise attack on the Hugo in the woods nearby and killed many including the Hugo's Commander lenoi as Catherine and her Court watched many of the rebels were slain drowned in the River or were strung up around the battlements Catherine found an ally for her strategies for defending the law in the face of the growing Anarchy when Chancellor Michel doop pel was appointed in June 1560 neither Catherine nor the new Chancellor agreed with the practice pursued by the geese Brothers of punishing Protestants who were peaceful and worshiped privately Catherine and Chancellor Deitel
put their policy of conciliation to an assembly of the privy Council at font blur on the 20th of August 1560 historians have seen this stroke of effective diplomacy as an early example of Katherine's talent for statesmanship as she set her policy for peace in opposition to the geize brothers meanwhile the prince of K's Army began attack in towns in the south of France in the Autumn of 1560 Catherine ordered the prince of con to the Royal Court and when he arrived had him imprisoned tried for offenses Against the crown and sentenced to death his life
was saved by the timely death of the king the result of an ear infection or abscess in his brain showing her astuteness Catherine recognized that her son's death was imminent and made a pact with antoan deur bbon a Hugo leader to the benefit of her second son Charles antoan dubon agreed to renounce his right to the Regency of the Future King Charles I 9th in return for the release of his brother So when Francis II died on the 5th of December 1560 Catherine was appointed governor of France by the privy Council for the first time
she was to have sweeping powers after her rise into the government Katherine wrote a letter to her daughter Elizabeth expressing her views about power my principal aim is to have the honor of God before my eyes in all things and to preserve my authority not for myself but for the conservation of This Kingdom and for the good of all your brothers the coronation of Charles I 9th saw Katherine's influence solidified the 9-year-old Charles I 9th is said to have cried through his coronation Catherine kept him close during the start of his Reign reportedly sleeping in
his chamber and certainly presiding over his council policymaking state business and patronage Charles was not just vulnerable due to his youth like his older brother he was not a Healthy child the Venetian Ambassador reported that Charles was an admirable child child though he is not robust he favors physical exercises that is too violent for his health for he suffers from shortness of breath the Frailty of the boy on the throne was compounded by the volatile situation in France at the time Catherine seized the Reigns of power for her frail son but she never controlled the
whole country as France was engulfed in a civil war large sway Of the country were ruled by noblemen and religious divides impeded political power Katherine summoned the church leaders from both sides of the religious divide to solve their doctrinal differences leaders of the Catholic and Protestant churches in France met on Katherine's instructions to find a compromise between their religious convictions despite Catherine's optimism the colloquy of PRI as this meeting was called failed and on the 13th of October 1561 the meeting dissolved itself without her permission politics had blinded Catherine to reality she had failed to
understand the religious divides which were impeding the functioning of political power she believed that getting the religious leaders to agree would resolve everything and completely underestimated the strength of religious convictions in an attempt to make a success of her conciliation policy Katherine issued the edict of San jamain in January 1562 the edict aimed to promote tolerance between the religious groups and pacify the Protestants however the massacre of vasi on the 1st of March 1562 undid all her efforts the Duke of geize and his men attacked worshiping Hugo in a barn at vassi killing 74 and
wounding 104 gize was treated as a hero by the Parisian population the Hugo called for revenge for the next 30 Years France flittered between states of outright Civil War and an uneasy truce within a month of the infamous Massacre of vasi Hugo's L de bbor and Admiral Gaspar du colini had raised an army of 1, 800 and formed a useful alliance with England the Duke of giza's Hardline policy towards the hugos fueled Hugo victories who began seizing town after town Catherine met with Admiral colun to find a compromise but the talks reached a stalemate and
Catherine resorted to Meeting violence with violence the Royal Army struck swiftly laying Siege to Hugo held rule Catherine visited the field herself against the warnings of her advisors and attended the deathbed of Hugo leader Anan de borbon king of naar when he was fatally wounded but the Catholic Triumph was shortlived as on the 18th of February 1563 a spy porro de killed the Duke of giz with an Arbus the first gun fired From the shoulder and resembling a rifle at the siege of oan triggering a blood Feud amongst the aristocratic families on either side of
the religious divide Catherine was delighted at giza's death as his hand was removed from her son's government she reportedly told the Venetian Ambassador that if M deiz had perished sooner peace would have been achieved more quickly finally the war was brought to an end on the 19th of March 156 3 with The signing of the Edict of ambas also known as the Edict of pacification but France's problems were not over as the English retained a power base on the French Coast so Katherine rallied both Hugo and Catholic forces to retake laav from the English these
successes did not change the fundamental fact that Katherine's power was not her own on the 17th of August 1563 it was declared at the parliament of raw that Charles the 9th had now reached majority age and Could rule alone but Charles continued to show little interest in the technicalities of ruling and Catherine continued to steer him intent on Reviving loyalty to the crown after a tumultuous period Katherine took a long Tour of France with Charles from January 1564 to May 1565 she aimed to bolst the Edict of ambas the hard one pieace and promote unity
and to this end she held talks with Jean dbre the Protestant queen Regent of Navar wife of the late antoan de bbon and mother of King Henry III of Navar that her attempts at Unity were not received with praise from everyone when visiting her daughter Elizabeth her son-in-law the devoutly Catholic philli of Spain refused to see her and instead sent the Duke of Alba to tell her to tackle heresy more brutally advice which Catherine ignored Katherine's consiliary policies were failing to bring the religious Conflict to an end on the 27th of September 1567 the Hugo
attempted to Ambush the king an event known as the surprise of Mo and the Civil War continued the French Court fled to Paris to escape the encroaching violence Bloodshed and civil unrest continued well after another Peace settlement was agreed the Peace of longju Mo on the 22nd to 23rd of March 1568 the surprise of Mo marked a turning point in Katherine's policy towards the Hugo she finally abandoned her policy of compromise for one of repression once the Hugo had targeted the king in June 1568 she told the Venetian amb Ambassador that the Hugo were traitors
and prais the Duke of Alba's reign of terror in the Netherlands where Calvinists and Rebels were executed in their thousands the royalist Army forced the hugos to retreat to the Fortified stronghold of lorel on the west coast Where xan dbre and her 15-year-old son Henry of naar joined them around this time Jean wrote to Catherine expressing her desire to die rather than abandon her God and religion Catherine who had always underestimated the religious conviction of the Hugo decried xan as the most Shameless woman in the world Katherine saw xan's decision to Rebel as a deliberate
dynastic threat rather than a move fueled by religious conviction but despite Catherine's anger fighting On was no longer an option on the 8th of August 15 1870 the pece of sanine oay was signed because the Royal Army had run out of money despite Katherine's decision to pursue a more Hardline policy this latest piece actually conceded wider Toleration to the Hugo than ever before whether this was the result of the throne's weak negotiating position or part of Catherine's old and preferred consiliary policy is unclear with a temporary peace in place Catherine sought to bolster valir interests
and Power by setting up several Grand dynastic marriages in 1570 King Charles I 9th married Elizabeth of Austria daughter of maximilan II Holy Roman Emperor in a proxy wedding in spa in modernday Germany Catherine also sought a match between one of her sons and England's Elizabeth the but this idea never took off she worked to replenish the family's connection with Philip II of Spain after his wife and Her oldest daughter Elizabeth died in childbirth in 1568 she planned to marry her youngest daughter Margaret to Phillip and also sought a union between Margaret and Henry of
naar the son of Jan DAL to combine Vala and born interests however Margaret was secretly involved with Henry of Gees son of of the late Duke of Gees which resulted in a beating from her mother Catherine and her brother the king when they found out Katherine succeeded in luring xan to Court and convinced her to agree to a marriage between Margaret and Jean's son Henry with the caveat that Henry be permitted to remain a Hugo the wedding that took place on the 18th of August 1572 at nraam Paris was overshadowed somewhat by the recent death
of Jean who was taken ill upon her arrival in Paris it was said that Catherine had murdered her with poisoned gloves the rumor that Catherine had killed Jean dbre was not the most damaging rumor about her Circulating that summer in 1572 Catherine's reputation was to be stained by the events of the St Bartholomew's Day Massacre which began only days after her daughter Margaret's wedding on the 21st of August 1572 3 days after The Royal Wedding which had brought influential Hugo to Paris Admiral K the Hugo leader was shot while walking home from the Lou a
smoking aquabus was discovered in a window but the culprit escaped colon was treated by Sergeon Ambrose par Who removed the bullet from his elbow and amputated a damaged finger with a pair of scissors Catherine made a tearful visit to KI despite apparently receiving the news of this attack without any display of emotion and promised revenge on his attacker several historians have blamed Catherine for the attack on Colin others have pointed to the gee family or to a Spanish papal plot to end Colon's influence on the king whatever the truth The blood bath that followed grew
quickly out of control to days later on the 23rd of August 1572 the St Bartholomew's Day Massacre broke out Roman Catholic mobs murdered Protestant Hugo or mass Innocents were targeted including children the elderly and pregnant women bodies were thrown into the river San and corpses were hung in the streets paintings of the Carnage on the streets of Paris show unimaginable Horrors and often such as the painting By Protestant painter franois du the black clad figure of Catherine looking coldly upon the violence it was said that Catherine was party to Charles I 9th's decision to kill
them all as he aimed to strike first against an expected Hugo Revenge attack for the shooting of colony the slaughter lasted for a week and spread outwards from Paris across much of France where it lasted into the Autumn becoming a season of Slaughter as Historian jeul Michelle put it in total approximately 3,000 Protestants were killed in Paris and a further 70,000 across the whole of France after the Bloodshed finally abated in Paris Katherine's reputation was in tatters but she was not downcast her son-in-law Henry of Navar knelt at an altar as a Roman Catholic on
the 29th of September having converted to avoid death and as the ambassadors reported Catherine had laughed triumphantly at the sight the Legend of the wicked Italian The Black Queen spread from this moment she was accused of being a disciple of mavelli of using the tactics of his Treatise the prince to remove all of her enemies in one deadly blow it was a well targeted criticism given that mavelli had dedicated the prince to Katherine's father Lorenzo the Hugo responded to the massacre with propaganda a tactic made doubly effective by their Mastery of the Relatively new art
of printing with a printing press within weeks propaganda papers were produced and distributed all mass and Catherine was their natural Target in 1575 a particularly influential manuscript by an anonymous author titled discor mury de a Catherine de medich blamed Catherine for the massacre and denounced her as the epitome of female evil the manuscript became a bestseller and triggered an avalanche of propaganda and Accusations against Catherine her reputation as a devoted Queen Mother was permanently blackened and old prejudices against her as a duplicitous Florentine and power hungry Med I resurfaced the black clothes she wore as
an ongoing sign of her loyalty to her late husband were turned into the costume of an Angel of Death the document had achieved its aim of preventing Catherine from consolidating her power after the death of her second son Charles I 9th some Even called for her to be put on trial for the murder of the Hugo the debate over the level of respons possibility Catherine held for the horrific events of St Bartholomew's day is still ongoing some historians have argued that Catherine perhaps ordered the assassination of several Protestant leaders while they were together in Paris
for the wedding but that the scale and unpredictability of the actions of the mob could not have Been ordered or controlled by anyone yet Catherine had almost always opted for a consiliary path she wanted unity and peace for the sake of political stability and the longevity of the valoir dynasty she had organized the wedding between her own daughter and Henry of naar and had invited prominent Hugo to the celebrations in Paris it seems unlikely that she would then set out to ruin this opportunity for Unity which she herself had created by calling Forth a violent
mob to Massacre the Hugo and she continued to act in line with her PO of conciliation well after the massacre and its aftermath but the Protestants and anyone who had become tired of Catherine's moderate policies remained convinced that she was to blame for the massacre as with the painting by Protestant painter Francois DuBois and the Disco marvier manuscript the criticism of Catherine would play out loudly on the public stage and in the Realm of the Arts and cther would not take it lying down Catherine believed as many Renaissance princes and Scholars did that power depended
as much on cultural display as on Force she had inherited the Michi family's taste for Fine Art and became a patroness of the Arts bolstering French culture as much as her family had in Florence in an age of declining loyalty to the monarchy she used the Arts to increase The Prestige of the Val Dynasty launching an artistic Patronage program which lasted for three decades she tapped into the rising popularity of portraiture by inviting resident portrait artists to the French court and commissioning thousands of portraits of her family although she spent enormous sums of money on
the Arts there was little permanent Legacy of her work the festivals and entertainments she arranged and the school of artists she patronized did not live on after she was Gone only her love for architecture left a lasting Mark including several restored Royal palaces two new palaces she had built in Paris the twery and the hotel Deen as well as the Italian Renaissance style tomb in which she and her husband would lay two years after the events of the St Bartholomew's Day Massacre another dynastic crisis threatened to unseat Catherine and the valir line King Charles I
9th died at the age of 23 of Tuberculosis apparently calling out Katherine's name with his last dying breath leaving no air Charles was succeeded by his brother Henry Duke of onju Henry was recalled from the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth where he had been elected King the year before abandoning this throne for the crown of France Henry came to the throne own as an experienced and grown man unlike his two older brothers although Catherine was grieved by Charles's death writing To Henry that she was grief stricken to have witnessed such a scene and the love which he
showed me at the end it was said that Henry was her favorite son she added in her letter to him that her only consolation is to see you here soon as your kingdom requires and in good health for if I were to lose you you I would have myself buried alive with you despite the advantages of experience maturity and health Henry proved to be as equally fitful as his brothers when It came to displaying interest in the tasks of government Henry's disinterest in ruling was perhaps rooted in his religious devotion he showed much more interest
in displays of piety pilgrimage and flagellation than in the politics of ruling just as Francis and Charles had Henry relied heavily on Catherine when it came to the practicalities of ruling so even though Katherine did not have the formal powers of a regent as she had when Charles had ruled as a minor she Continued to hold huge power and influence over the government Henry's coronation was held at ree Cathedral on the 13th of February 1575 and 2 days later he married Louise Deen vont his choice thwarting Katherine's plans for a political marriage to a foreign
princess this marriage was a childless one which had deep consequences for Katherine's family Henry III's Heir was his younger brother Francis Duke of alanson but instead of Fulfilling his duties as Doan Francis exploited the Anarchy of the Civil Wars to his own Advantage despite Catherine summoning him for a 6-hour telling off about his sub verive behavior in March 1578 Francis would not be stopped and the valare dynasty looked set to crumble Francis allied with the Protestant princes against the crown and his brother Henry III and besieged Paris in the spring of 1576 the resulting piece
of M francis's Nickname and Edict of buly was granted by Catherine on the 6th of May 157 6 and represented a huge concession to Hugo demands Protestants were now permitted to Worship in public build their own churches and were guaranteed representation in the strongly Catholic Parliament a guarantee which would later be rescinded by the states general of bla and cause the return of Henry of naar to his calvinist religion and to Leading armed Rebellion there was also To be compensation for the families of the victims of the St Bartholomew's Day Massacre it was said that
Francis forced Katherine and Henry to pass the ACT many Catholics were extremely opposed to these concessions and particularly to the recognition given to Protestant political organizations and formed their own political organization called the Catholic league in protest as well as deepening religious grievances the peace Treaty also failed to bring an end to francis's dangerous Behavior francis's Army launched a disastrous intervention in the low countries in the middle of 1584 but in June of that year Francis died of consumption despite their differences Katherine then wrote I Am So wretched to live long enough to see so
many people die before me although I realize that God's will must be obeyed that he owns everything and that he Lends Us only for as long as he likes the children whom he gives us the death of her youngest son was a dynastic Calamity she had no more living Sons to inherit the throne and any surviving daughters were not eligible to rule due to their gender the Hugo King Henry III of naar now became air presumptive to the French Crown although Catherine had wisely married her youngest daughter Margaret to Henry of Nar she could rely
on her Daughter Margaret little more than she could rely on her Troublesome son Francis Duke of alanson Margaret had returned to the French Court without her husband in 1582 and Catherine was overheard by rating her daughter for taking lovers after being sent back to her husband Margaret fled again in 1585 retreated to her property at aan and begged her mother for money C sent only enough money for food in an attempt to force Margaret to return home but Margaret moved on to the Fortress of Kala and took another lover a nobleman called Doak Catherine demanded
that Henry of naar act to resolve his marital difficulties before shame was brought upon them all and in October 1586 he locked Margaret up in the chatow doo Doak was executed Ed though not as Catherine had wished in front of Margaret Catherine cut Margaret out of her will and never saw her again Catherine's control over the crown Had reduced since the reign of her Elder two sons but she still functioned as Henry's chief executive of government and as a traveling Diplomat she traveled widely across the kingdom enforcing his authority and trying to head off war
in 15 78 at the age of 59 she embarked on an 18month Journey around the south of France to meet Hugo leaders her efforts won Catherine new respect from the French people and on her return to Paris in 1579 she was greeted outside the city by the Parliament and large crowds the Venetian Ambassador gero lipano wrote of Catherine she is an indefatigable princess born to tame and govern a people as unruly as the French they now recognize her merits her concern for Unity and are sorry not to have appreciated her sooner Catherine herself however was
under no Illusions about the desperate situation facing the valir Dynasty and on the 25th of November 1579 she wrote to the king you are on the eve of a general Revolt anyone who tells you differently is a liar as Catherine had predicted many leading Roman Catholics were appalled by her attempts to appease the Hugo and in particular by the Edict of Bui which had furthered Protestant rights local Catholic leagues were formed with the aim of protecting the Catholic religion and Catholic privileges from rising protestantism after the death of Francis The DOA in 1584 the Duke
Duke of geize assumed the leadership of the Catholic league in order to block the succession of Hugo Henry of naar and put Henry's Catholic Uncle Cardinal sh de bbon on the throne instead gese recruited powerful Catholic princes Nobles and Bishops formed a union with Spain under the Treaty of janil and Reed for war against the Heretics by 1585 King Henry III had to face the reality of War war against the Catholic League who were Stirring up the Civil War once more Catherine apparently counseled Henry on the delicate nature of the situation but also warned him
that peace is carried on a stick she wrote to her favorite son to take care especially about your person there is so much treachery about that I die of fear trapped in a difficult situation Henry was unable to fight both the Catholics and the Protestants at the same time both of whom had larger and Better resourced armies than his own Henry decided to initially seek peace with the Catholics and on the 7th of July 1585 signed the Treaty of neur agreeing to meet all of the League's demands even paying its troops then driven by his
religious convictions Henry retreated into hiding to fast and and prey taking with him his personal bodyguard a loyal Force known as the 45 and leaving Catherine to find a resolution to what was quickly becoming A constitutional crisis the valir monarchy had lost control of the country to make matters worse a europe-wide Catholic backlash against the Protestants was on the rise in 1587 the instability in France forced Henry III and Katherine to refuse assistance to England after the execution of Mary Queen of Scots on the 8th of February 1587 caused Fury amongst the Catholic world and
the Spanish prepared to launch its Amada against England recognizing The vulnerability of royal power in France the Spanish Ambassador apparently told King Philip II of Spain that the absis was about to burst the Catholic League honored their treaty with the Spanish and seized control of much of northern France to allow the Spanish Armada access to French ports with his rule completely undermined by the Catholic league and widespread religious divisions Henry then made several mistakes seeing that Paris was vulnerable Henry hired Swiss troops to help him defend the city and himself but the parisians took it
upon themselves to defend the city and built barricades in the streets on the 12th of May 1588 they refused to take orders from Henry and announced that they would take orders only from the Duke of geize Katherine reportedly forced her way through the barricades to mass the people acquiescing to her passing and Then as chronicler lewell reported cried all through lunch she later wrote to Statesman and future Chancellor pom B never have I seen myself in such trouble or with so little light by which to escape acting upon his mother's Sage advice Henry fled Paris
just in time and signed the act of Union on the 15th of June 1588 giving in to the League's latest demands to give himself the chance to fight again another Day then Henry made his second mistake on the 88th of September 1588 Henry dismissed all of his ministers without warning as the French Court gathered for a meeting of the Estates atypically he had not conferred with Catherine about this decision and she was kept in the dark about the events while she suffered from a lung infection Henry's mistake and the even greater one which followed effectively
ended Katherine's days of power and the valir dynasty at the Meeting of the Estates Henry thank thanked Catherine for everything she had done calling her mother of the king and mother of the state then on the 23rd of December 1588 Henry invited the Duke of geese to visit him at the chat DEA again without confirming with Catherine Henry acted to resolve all of the problems facing him and made his third great mistake as geiz entered the king's chamber for the proposed meeting the 45 Henry's bodyguard stabbed geese to death Symbolically at the foot of the
king's bed simultaneously Henry's men captured eight members of the geize family including the Duke of ge's brother and the Cardinal of geese Louis II who was later hacked to death in the palace dungeons once the murders were complete Henry finally shared his decisions with Catherine begged her for forgiveness and excused his Brash and violent scheme as an attempt to prevent giz doing the same to him although Catherine's initial Reaction to these events cannot be known her son's actions had certainly not reflected her own cautious and shrewd diplomacy on Christmas day she prayed with a frer
and lamented oh Wretched Man what has he done pray for him I see him rushing towards his ruin when she visited her old friend Cardinal Debon on the 1st of January 1589 her promise that he would be freed soon was met with the Cardinal's derision as he responded your words Madame have led us all to this Butchery Catherine died only a few days later on the 5th of January 1589 at the age of 69 it is likely that she died from puracy an inflammation on the lungs the condition which had kept her bed bound in
December and which had perhaps encouraged her son to move against the Duke of geize without confering with her first it was generally believed that Catherine's life had been shortened by the stress and by Her anger at her son's rash actions as Paris was still held by enemies of the crown Catherine could not be buried there with her husband instead she was initially buried at the S dubla Church in blua near the chatau Royal dublu where she had died her body was later moved to the Basilica Cathedral of Sani in Northern Paris the traditional resting place
for french monarchs of the period and placed next to her husband Henry II this reinterment was arranged By Henry II's illegitimate daughter with Philipa duci Dian de France duchess of angulam the tomb of Henry and Catherine an elaborate temple-like structure with four statues representing the cardinal virtues of prudence Justice fortitude and Temperance was desecrated during the French Revolution in October 1793 like those of many other kings and queens of France however the tomb was saved by archaeologist Alexandre Lenoir and preserved at the Museum of French Monument during the second bourbon restoration between 1815 and 1830
the tomb was returned to the Basilica of San Denise Catherine was not outlived by her son for very long as Henry III was stabbed to death by jacqu Clore 8 months after Catherine's initial burial when he was killed Henry had been besieging Paris with Henry of Nar who went on to succeed him as king Henry IV of France the death of Catherine's last son Represented the end of almost three centuries of valoir rule and brought the house of borbon to power Catherine had outlived all of her children except Henry who died only months later and
Margaret who she had disowned King Henry IV later said of Catherine his mother-in-law and enemy what could a woman do left by the death of her husband with five little children on her arms and two families of France who were thinking of grasping the crown our own And the gers was she not compelled to play Strange parts to deceive first one and then the other in order to guard as she did her sons who successively reigned through the wise conduct of that shrewd woman I am surprised that she never did worse Catherine had risen to
become the most powerful woman in 16th century Europe Born Into The prominent medich family then the rulers of Florence and famous patrons of the Arts she Rose to Become the queen of France by marriage to King Henry II and wielded immense power as the queen mother of three French Kings Francis II Charles I 9th and Henry III the last French King of the valir dynasty but her Legacy has been mired by attitudes towards power ful women and foreigners and by the controversies which coincided with her time as the power behind the French Crown the complexity
of the civil and religious wars which her three sons Ruled through make assessing her difficult Catherine's influence over her sons their governments and their policymaking made her an easy target for blame the blame she carried whether justly or not for the persecutions carried out under her Sons Rule and especially the St Bartholomew's Day Massacre of 1572 when thousands of Hugo were killed tainted her memory Catherine has been remembered as the black queen as a Follower of makaveli's cutthroat political theories rather than as a queen mother who pursued policies of conciliation patronized the Arts and above
all worked to save the valir dynasty although though Katherine's ruthlessness is not a fabrication of historians as it comes through clearly in her letters and in the words of those who knew her there is much more to her story like many female rulers before and after her she has been flattened out by History made into a two-dimensional character as her Monica The Black Queen chose while the complexities of her character and the situation are ignored her Authority was hugely limited by the effects of the Civil Wars and in the context of the political and religious
turmoil her policies appear to simply be desperate measures to keep the valoir monarchy on the throne from her policy of conciliation with the Hugo and marriage of her own daughter to the Hugo Leader Henry of naar to her patronage of the Arts in an attempt to glorify the monarchy without Catherine it seems unlikely that that her sons would have held on to the throne in their lifetimes what do you think of Katherine derich was she the black queen that history has remembered her as or was she the devoted mother and politically astute woman which she
hoped to be remembered as please let us know in the comment section and in the meantime Thank you very much for watching [Music] [Music] [Music]
