Biography
Since childhood, Ekaterina Medici pursued unpleasant nicknames. Her name was the child of death, because the mother died from his mother-in-law after childbirth, and his father died a few days later. At the courtyard, her was called a parchikha, hinting in the absence of noble origin. The subjects called Ekaterina Medici of the Queen of Death, since the period of its reign was marked by bloodshed and straightening.Childhood and youth
Ekaterina Maria Romola di Lorenzo de Medici, the Duchess of Mantui, the future queen of France, was born on April 13, 1519. From the young age, she was accompanied by wealth, fame and benefits, which had the father of the bankers of Medici, who ruled by Florence, as well as the relationship and status of the genus of the mother de la tour.
But Catherine felt lonely and deprived of love. She lost his parents and raised her grandmother of Orcini. After the death of a woman, the troubles about the child assumed the aunt Clarice Strozzi. Catherine grew up with cousins: Alessandro, Juliano and Lorenzo Medici.
Members of the Medici family have repeatedly become Roman dads, so the superiority of the genus is difficult to underestimate. The government was not unconditional. The position of the family often turned out to be risky, and small Catherine was dangerous. So, in 1529, in the siege of Florence, the troops of Charles V, the swollen crowd almost hung a 10-year-old girl in the city gate. Saved the young Duchess of the test word of the French king Francis I. Ekaterina was taken to the Siena Monastery, where for 3 years she received education.
In the abode, she was attacked by the invaders sent by the rulers of Florence, but Catherine managed to escape. Understanding that there was profits behind her, the girl squeaked his hair and put on the monastic dress. She appeared in front of the enemies and offered to carry her to Florence in this form so that people knew how they were treated with nuns.
Catherine was lucky: the girl was transferred to the monastery with strict content and did not insulted her dignity. The cruelty, with which Ekaterina Medici collided in childhood, influenced the formation of character. The unrest came to no, the Medici regained the power, and Catherine received the title of Duchess Urbinskaya. She became an enviable bride with rich dowry.
About the future, the girl took care of Julio Medici (Dad Clement VII). She was sucking for the son of the French king Henry. The wedding of young people took place in Marseille in 1533. Profitable marriage for both families made it possible to strengthen the connection of Italy and France. The first received a representative at the French court, and the second - the lands for which not one 10th anniversary fought.
Queen France
Ekaterina Medici Rules in France during bloody battles and constant battles between Catholics and Huguenots. The country was defeated by religious wars, which led to the Civil War. Stop what is happening Catherine was unable. She lacked wisdom and tricks to manage conflict. The queen approached the problem to solve the problem of politics, and attention should be paid to spiritual aspects of the confrontation.
Catherine was the regent of France at three sons, asked for the throne: Francis, Carla and Henry. The first with the struggle of Huguenot and Catholics was collided by the young Francis, who climbed the throne with a 15-year-old teenager. Two years later, he fell ill with a gangrene and after two weeks of illness died at the age of 17. Brother's place on the throne took Karl IX. The war was gaining momentum, and Medici could not help her, leading to the country on behalf of the Son.
Catherine decided to eliminate the problem with the combination of families. She planned to issue daughter Margarita married to Henrich Navarre, Son Jeanne d'Alba. Before the wedding, the acquaintance of Catherine and Zhanna. The future relative did not like the government. Therefore, when Jeanne died suddenly before the son's wedding, the poor reputation of Catherine strengthened. The poisoning version did not go from the mouth of the court and simple people.
Wedding Margarita Valua and Heinrich Navarre still took place. Hugugenotes and Protestants were present on it. At the festival, the leader of Huguenot Gaspar de Quini met the future king. They quickly found a common language. Ekaterina Medici was frightened by the influence of the admiral on her son and ordered to kill an objectionable one. The attempt failed.
Heinrich began an investigation, as a result of which everything would be learned about the Action of the Black Queen. Inquiry stopped the Bartholomeev night, which occurred from 24 to 25 August 1572. Researchers are still arguing about whether its medical staff provoked.
On this night, 2 thousand people were killed in Paris, and 30 thousand Hugugenov fell victims in all of France. The killers did not stop in front of children, women and old men. So Ekaterina Medici won the hatred of the whole country.
The main goal of Catherine was the preservation of the throne for the Valua dynasty. Fortuna did not favor her. Sons, rising to the throne, died. Karl IX in 23 years old died from tuberculosis, from which all the sons of the queen suffered. The throne went to Heinrich III, recently crowned in Poland. In fact, Heinrich escaped to rule France. He removed his mother from the throne, allowing only to travel and sometimes take part in royal affairs.
Personal life
Ekaterina Medici did not receive a sufficient number of love in childhood and did not gain the desired heat in marriage. Coming out married, she hoped to see in the wife of support and support. But the young feature did not shine with beauty and no matter how he tried to conquer the spouse with fashionable toilets, his heart belonged to another.
Since 11, Heinrich II was in love with Diana de Poitiers. The court lady was older than the lover for 20 years, but this did not prevent accompany the heir to the throne in life. Expressive beauty exceeded Medici. Catherine understood that it was not easy to argue with an opponent, because she was someone else's court. The only correct decision was to support a friendship with her.
A year after the wedding of Catherine and Heinrich Pope, Clement VII died, and his successor refused to pay the weighty part of the attached offered for Catherine. The positions of the Medici shake even stronger. No one wanted to communicate with her.
A big problem was infertility of the queen. Becoming Dofee France in 1547, Heinrich started a child on the side and began planning a divorce. But the legitimate spouse turned out to be pregnant. This was facilitated by doctors and astrologer Michel Nostradamus.
After the appearance of the firstborn, Ekaterina gave birth to 9 more children. Girls - Gemini, who appeared the last, almost killed the mother. The first turned out to be stillborn, and the second lived a little more than a month.
The long-awaited exemption from the rival Diana de Poitiers, who broke the Catherine personal life, came in 1559. During the Knight's tournament, the king was injured incompatible with life. The pinch from the spear got into the helmet's gap and the brain damaged through the eye. After 10 days, Heinrich II died, and his favorite was expelled.
Death
Catherine died in January 1589, 6 months earlier Heinrich III. The cause of death was a purulent pleurisite, which the queen fell ill on a trip to France. The body of the government was not lucky in the royal tomb in Saint-Denis, as the people threatened to throw him into the Seine.
Later the uronen with the ashes of the queen was taken to the tomb, but there was no place for the burial next to Henrich II. Ekaterina Medici found the last refuge near him.
Memory
The Medici Dynasty was famous for the patronage and the patronage of art and science. Catherine was not an exception among relatives. By her order was built by the castle of Tuileries, the Susson hotel, the wing of the Louvre and other magnificent buildings. Queen's library consisted of ancient manuscripts and books that calculated hundreds of copies. Ballet also became a novelty, which Ekaterina Medici introduced.
The biography of the French Queen is full of interesting facts. The history of her climb on the throne and government became a plot for several films. In 2013, the series "Kingdom" was released on TV screens, telling about the life of Mary Stewart. Catherine Medici plays in the narration an important role as the mother of Francis, the groom of Queen Scotland.
Interesting Facts
- Catherine Medici First at the French courtyard put on heels. The girl tried to compensate for a little height. Her dresses fell to the taste of French ladies who repeated the outfits of the vengeous person. Corsets and underwear also appeared thanks to Italian fashionista.
- The "black queen" of the Medici was called the color of the robes, which she did not replace the spouse after the death. She was the first lady who had a sign of grief into black, and not in white. So there was a new tradition. On most portraits, the queen is depicted in mourning outfits.
- Of 10 children, Catherine only daughter Margarita lived to old age, died in 62 years. Alexander Duma dedicated to the monarch of the novel Roman "Queen Margo". Heinrich III died at the age of 40, and his brothers and sisters did not live up to 30. The daughter of Catherine Medici, the Spanish Queen Elizaveta Valua, lived 23 years.
- Medici was superstitious. At the birth of children, she demanded the calculation of the location of stars under which the kids appeared on the light. The queen had a special astrological book, on the pages of which mobile constellations were located. By moving them, it was a combination for horoscopes.
- In the center of Paris, in the area of Le Al, there is a monument that resembles the estate of Catherine, a Medici column here. It is the architectural part of the Queen Astronomical Observatory.
- In 1560, when tobacco brought to Europe. Catherine did not smoke him, but ordered to erase into powder to sniff. For the healing properties of the courtesy nicknamed tobacco "Potion Queen". This name has echoed with the reputation of the poisoner who has consolidated for Catherine Medici.