Catherine de Médicis

Cath·e·rine de Mé·di·cis

C0163400 (kăth′ər-ĭn də mā-dē-sēs′, kăth′rĭn, kät-rēn′) or Catherine de' Me·di·ci (mĕd′ĭ-chē′, mĕd′ē-) 1519-1589. Queen of France as the wife of Henry II and regent during the minority (1560-1563) of her son Charles IX. She continued to wield power until the end of Charles's reign (1574).

Cath′erine de Mé•di•cis′

(də meɪ diˈsis)

also Cath′erine de' (or de) Med′i•ci

(dəˈmɛd ɪ tʃi)
n. (Caterina de' Medici) 1518–89, queen of Henry II of France.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.Catherine de Medicis - queen of France as the wife of Henry II and regent during the minority of her son Charles IX (1519-1589)

Catherine de Médicis

Born Apr. 13, 1519, in Florence; died Jan. 5, 1589, in Blois. French queen.

In 1533, Catherine, a member of the Medici family of Florence, married Henry II, who reigned as king of France from 1547 to 1559. During the reigns of her sons Francis II (from 1559 to 1560), Charles IX (from 1560 to 1574), and Henry III (from 1574 to 1589), she determined state policy to a considerable extent. During the religious wars she sought to bar the nobles from running the affairs of state. Catherine was maneuvering in her policy-making. In 1570 she insisted on the conclusion of the Treaty of St. Germain with the Huguenots. However, in 1572, fearing the increased power of the Huguenots and especially the strength of their leader Coligny’s influence on Charles IX, Catherine was one of the principal organizers of the Massacre of St. Bartholomew.

REFERENCES

Castelnau, J. Catherine de Médicis (1519–1589). Paris [1954].
Héritier, J. Catherine de Médicis. Paris [1959].