[597]
Catherine de'Medici, 1519-1589. The wife of King Henri II, daughter of
the Florentine ducal family, and niece of Pope Leo X, three of
Catherine's four sons came successively to the throne of France after
the premature death of their father in a tournament accident (François
II, Charles IX, Henri III). Her eldest daughter, Elizabeth, married
Phillip II of Spain, her daughter Claude married the Duke of Lorraine
(it was at the celebration of this marriage that the fateful accident
occurred), and her youngest daughter Marguerite married Henri de
Navarre (Henri IV). Catherine has been largely reviled by history.
As a foreign women wielding the power behind the throne of France
during one of the worst times in its history, it probably could not be
otherwise. She has been largely blamed as the mastermind of Admiral
Coligny's murder and the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre (surely Jehan
du Lac believes it), but her role is hard to know for absolutely
certain. She did bring many aspects of Italian culture to France,
including the Commedia dell'Arte, ballet, fine cooking and table
manners, and Italian bankers. Her political maneuvering, while not
winning her any great popularity, kept the throne of France intact for
30 years, long enough for the Bourbons to inherit it. Her life-long
rival, Henri IV, paid her this tribute after his victory was complete
and his throne secure: "What could the poor woman do with five little
children on her arms, after the death of her husband, and two families
in France, ours and the Guises, attempting to encroach on the Crown?
Was she not forced to play strange parts to deceive the one and the
other and yet, as she did, to protect her children, who reigned in
succession by the wisdom of a woman so able? I wonder that she did not
do worse!" --c. t. iannuzzo
Catherine of Florence was the daughter of Lorenzo II de Medici,
Duca di Urbino and Madeleine de la Tour.2 She was born on 13 April
1519.1 She married Henri II, Roi de France, son of François I, Roi de
France and Claude de Valois, Duchesse de Bretagne, on 28 October 1533.1
She died on 5 January 1589 at age 69.
She gained the title of Comtesse de Lauraguais.1 She gained the
title of Comtesse d'Auvergne.1
Children of Catherine of Florence and Henri II, Roi de France:
François II, Roi de France b. 16 Jan 1544, d. 5 Dec 1560
Elizabeth de Valois, Princesse de France+ b. 1545, d. 1568
Claude de Valois b. 1547, d. 1575
Louis de Valois b. 1549
Charles IX, Roi de France+ b. 27 Jun 1550, d. 30 May 1574
Henri III, Roi de France b. 19 Sep 1551, d. 2 Aug 1589
Marguerite d'Angoulême b. 14 May 1553, d. 27 Mar 1615
Hercule François de Valois, Duc d'Alençon et Anjou b. 1554, d.
1584
Victoire de Valois b. 1556
Jeanne de Valois b. 1556
Citations
[771]
Baptismal record per research by Theo Kool in the Netherlands. Other
research by Lester Johnson of Bern, NC; 3 volumes in Delavan, WI
Library. Additional research by Jerry F. Richmond, Downers Grove, IL
_____________________
|
_George MEACHAM _____|
| m 1808 |
| |_____________________
|
|
|--Jane MEACHAM
|
| _Giles PEIRCE _______+
| | (1765 - 1835) m 1785
|_Amy PEIRCE _________|
(1787 - 1864) m 1808|
|_Hannah ARNOLD ______
m 1785
__
|
_Wulfrun MERCIA _____|
| |
| |__
|
|
|--Wulfric MERCIA
|
| __
| |
|_____________________|
|
|__
__
|
_Nobleman VISIGOTHS _|
| |
| |__
|
|
|--Leuvigild VISIGOTHS
| (.... - 0572)
| __
| |
|_____________________|
|
|__
_John WOODSON _______
| (1586 - 1644) m 1615
_John WOODSON _______|
| (1632 - 1684) |
| |_Sarah WINSTON ______
| m 1615
|
|--Robert WOODSON
| (1637 - ....)
| _____________________
| |
|_Sarah TUCKER _______|
|
|_____________________