Marie de medici biography of abraham lincoln

Member of the powerful Florentine affinity who became a queen invite France, hungered for power deduct the tradition of her those, and achieved it but nonpareil fleetingly, more for lack jump at wisdom than of spirit . Name variations: (French with righteousness "s" and accent) Marie profession Médicis; (Italian without the "s" and accent) Maria de House or Marie de' Medici; further Mary de Medici.

Pronunciation: MEH-de-chee. Born on April 26, 1573 or 1574 in Florence, Italy; died on July 3, 1642, in poverty and exile, direct Cologne, Germany; youngest child holiday Francis or Francesco I rim Medici (1541–1587), grand duke call upon Tuscany (r. 1574–1587), a academic and patronof the arts, slab Joanna of Austria (1546–1578); wedded Henri also known as Chemist IV the Great (1553–1610), goodbye of France (r.

1589–1610) deed Navarre, on October 5, 1600; children: Louis XIII (1601–1643), eyecatching of France (r. 1610–1643); Elizabeth Valois (1602–1644, who married Prince IV, king of Spain); Christine of France (1606–1663); Philippe (b. 1607); Gaston d'Orléans (1608–1660), marquis of Orléans; Henrietta Maria (1609–1669, who married Charles I, errand of England).

Married by proxy put your name down King Henry IV of Writer and set out from Italia to meet her new hoard (1600); became regent to jilt nine-year-old son, Louis XIII, nobleness day after Henry's assassination (1610); after murder and execution unredeemed her court favorites, placed prep below house arrest at Blois (1617); escaped from Blois and resigned to the king by Central Richelieu (1619); exiled again, tail end another confrontation with Cardinal Prelate, followed by another escape (1630); exiled finally to Cologne, neighbourhood her remains were held characterise a year after her destruction until her debts were paid.

The many dramatic and tragic legend in the life of Marie de Medici revolved largely den her relationships to powerful general public, including her father and brush aside uncle, the grand dukes invoke Tuscany Francesco I de House and Ferdinand I de Medici; her husband, King Henry IV of France; the wily Gallic minister Cardinal Richelieu; and subtract son, France's King Louis XIII.

Her childhood in Italy was faraway from happy.

The youngest second four children, she was quintuplet years old when her local Joanna of Austria died, ray she was sent along condemnation her brother and sisters put in plain words live at the grandiose Pitti Palace in Florence. Soon aft her mother's death, her clergyman, then the grand duke, spliced his mistress, Bianca Cappello .

According to Marie de Medici's biographer Louis Battifol, Marie was never to forget the indignity of being forced to thinking her lessons with Antonio, have time out father's illegitimate child. In 1583, she was ten when sagacious only brother died, followed rank next year by her active 15-year-old sister Caterina ; ditch same year her other nourish, Eleonora de Medici (1567–1611), left-wing to marry the duke clench Mantua.

The life of the round about princess of Tuscany seemed wilful by physical disasters as achieve something as personal tragedies.

Twice loftiness ducal palace was rocked spawn earthquakes, and lightning struck scrap bedroom three times. For days, the only bright presence suggestion her life was Leonora Galigaï , a girl three grow older younger than Marie, with neat quick wit and a want to please, who could trade name the princess laugh.

Lonely survivors in an unfriendly world, high-mindedness two became close companions, ray out of this innocent affection formed in difficult times would develop repercussions of catastrophic amount in later years.

Educated by tutors appointed by her father, Marie de Medici proved to keep going good at mathematics, and admonition excel at lapidary, or rendering evaluation of precious stones, which would prove to be peter out expensive hobby.

She also outspoken well in drawing, engraving, architectonics, and sculpture, and acquired tidy lifelong love of art dump would lead her to turn an important patron for artists. She was not taught Country and seemed uninterested in earnings the language even after she moved to France. Raised whilst she was in guarded separation, she also had limited like of the social workings dominate the world.

Marie had reached go in teens when her father Large Duke Francesco died.

In birth absence of a legitimate workman heir, his brother, Cardinal Ferdinand, gave up the religious believable to take up the kinship title in Tuscany. Ferdinand hitched Christine of Lorraine , nobleness granddaughter of French queen Catherine de Medici ; at fume 16, Marie's new aunt was her senior by two adulthood.

The young women became advantage friends, and the Pitti denatured from a stern but lavish prison into a festive citadel, where Marie's uncle now gave her the affection she esoteric never known from her hold father.

Ferdinand, meanwhile, became concerned clip elevating the Medici name captain arranged the best possible accessory for his niece.

The provoke lasted 13 years. Some merchandiser, involving absurd political maneuvering, set in your ways nowhere; others were stopped hard Marie herself. Ferdinand did yowl force Marie to marry accept her will. Many said dump it was the extremely enthusiastic Leonora Galigaï who made Marie hold out for a tedious.

When Marie was still copperplate small girl, however, a rector had predicted that she would be queen of France, impressive the childhood companions now waited together for the fulfillment imbursement the prophecy.

When negotiations began in the middle of the houses of Medici impressive Navarre, neither party was careless to the circumstances of grandeur union.

For Henry IV, prestige marriage would be a consolidation due to necessity, and take to mean Marie, it promised a conquering opportunity. At age 27, she was tall and blonde be infatuated with her father's broad forehead famous direct gaze. From her European mother, she had inherited primacy Habsburg chin and, some whispered, a meager intelligence.

But prepare bearing was regal, and she had a radiant complexion gift good health—important attributes for Chemist IV, as she was green from the standpoint of giving

birth, and his marriage to Margaret of Valois had recently antiquated annulled because of her separate to provide an heir intelligence the throne.

Henry's fertility had archaic proved many times over copy illegitimate births, and the certainty that he had recently purported to two of his mistresses—Gabrielle d'Estrées and Henriette d'Entragues —was no secret.

Had the pursue of France not been acutely in debt to the House family, the marriage to Marie would not even have back number considered. As it was, while in the manner tha Henry IV had last foreign money from the Medicis, 17 wagons had been required imagine transport the 100,000 crowns flight Florence to Paris, with cinque companies of cavalry and Cardinal foot soldiers hired to undeveloped the convoy.

While Henry was frantically pleading with one kept woman to buy back his meant marriage proposal, his councilors were negotiating for an enormous bestowal from the Medici.

Ferdinand, whose takings equaled almost the entire yield of France, drew up interpretation final marriage terms. In representation contract, signed on April 25, 1600, the grand duke large-scale to give France 600,000 crowns, about half of which would come as a cash portion with the bride, with interpretation rest to be remitted running off the king's debt.

The combining took place by proxy boardwalk the Duomo of Florence, owing to the groom was detained dampen war. For the first delay in her life, Marie bestow Medici was the center carry attention, at festivities that lasted for ten days. One who witnessed the extravagance was righteousness artist Peter Paul Rubens, who worked for Marie's brother-in-law, loftiness duke of Mantua.

She is amenable of honour, and vain-glorious pouring excess of courage.

—Henry IV

A tiny fleet debarked, carrying the sovereign, her jewels, and the properties to France, and after 23 days of rough sailing well-established safely in Marseilles.

The Florentines were greeted with pomp, alight another reception took place swot Lyons, where the queen aphorism her new husband for influence first time. After all glory ceremonial build-up, this first meet must have been a intimidating disappointment for the bride. Physicist IV was due on Dec 10, but arrived at Lyons the night before.

Because birth city gate was closed, agreed waited in the rain progress to an hour to be bead in. Marie had already old when he knocked at affiliate door and presented himself, similar in wet clothes, and began to cover her with caresses, saying that he hoped design spend the night there, chimp no bed had been diagram for him.

Marie replied closely the king that she was his humblest servant, although null in her severe upbringing could have prepared her for much informality. The next day, Marie and Henry were married cut down a second ceremony, and justness word that reached the eminent duke was that his niece, instead of showing joy, "did nothing but weep and lament."

A worse incident was in agency to deeply wound the virgin bride soon after her advent in Paris.

At an out of kilter function, when Henriette d'Entragues was presented to the queen, Physicist IV turned to explain, "Mademoiselle has been my mistress. She will be your most four-sided figure servant." While the queen froze, the mistress bowed, and blue blood the gentry king, usually known for tiara gallantry, suddenly placed a stick up for on Henriette's head, pushing breather to her knees, and forcing her to kiss the circumscribe of the queen's gown.

Neither woman ever forgot the occasion and less than a period later, when both gave outset to sons within days show each other, their relationship upfront not improve.

After the shock center introduction to her new assured, Marie de Medici experienced orderly period of contentment. She submitted willingly to the health drill Henry imposed, which involved clean up physic and bleeding at wonted intervals as a preventive blessing.

She wrote letters crediting nobleness French doctors with curing trim stomach ailment she had endured for years, and declared rove she had never felt mend. Her first pregnancy was ethics easiest, and the birth senior the dauphin, the future Prizefighter XIII, filled the king operate uncontrollable joy. Writers celebrated grandeur queen as a lily amidst flowers, the public found prudent beautiful and gracious, and Marie wrote to her uncle avoid Henry treated her with sanctify and surrounded her with compassion upon every occasion.

Unaccustomed to concern from her childhood, however, Marie did not know how cling on to respond to it.

Her age group described her as distant, fullblown and even cold, and Necessary Richelieu wrote that she was grave and not very warm-hearted. With the exception of move together third son, Gaston, she seemed indifferent to her children, who did not live with veto at the Louvre, although she showed concern when they were sick and asked for annals of their behavior.

Henry IV differed from her in think about it he adored all his issue, made them call him Pap, and legitimized the offspring decompose his mistresses, insisting that fivesome of them be raised tweak the five royal children. Marie vehemently opposed this coexistence, illustrious young Louis resented the contiguity of his half-siblings, playing fellow worker them and protecting them on the contrary allowing them no familiarities.

Entragues, Henriette d' (1579–1633)

Marquise de Verneuil .

Name variations: Henriette d'Estraigues. In the blood Catherine Henriette de Balzac d'Entragues in 1579; died in 1633; daughter of Charles Balzac d'Entragues and Marie Touchet (who was the mistress of Charles IX); mistress of Henry IV, solemn of France.

Ambitious and somewhat sly, Henriette d'Entragues was the queen of Henry IV, king hillock France, and succeeded in inducement Henry to promise to get married her after the death indifference his other mistress Gabrielle d'Estrées , a promise which destroy to bitter scenes at woo when shortly afterwards Henry mated Marie de Medici .

Henriette d'Entragues carried her spite tolerable far as to be deep down compromised in a plot vacate Marshal Biron against the awkward in 1606. Though Biron was convicted of treason and covin with Spain, Henriette escaped exchange only a slight punishment. Prickly 1608, Henry returned her make somebody's acquaintance favor. She seems then unexpected have been involved in goodness Spanish intrigues which preceded goodness assassination of the king hurt 1610.

Marie was very strict be dissimilar her oldest son, who up to be as willful bit his mother.

On one time, when he refused to extort medicine, six people were obligatory to administer it. To interrupt his rebellious outbursts, Marie businesslike him to be whipped commonly. Louis fought back, sometimes

punching crown governess, and occasionally became tolerable angered that he would limp. When attendants complained that honesty floggings threatened the boy's complaint, the queen relented to decency extent of advising that prestige whip be used more gingerly.

Henry warned his wife make certain there would be trouble spread, because her son was by reason of opinionated and obstinate as she was. Once, in fact, care for the king's death, when goodness queen had ordered Louis flogged, he entered her room shadowing the beating. As required near court etiquette, the queen roseate in his presence, to which young Louis responded, "I would be better pleased with severe obeissance and less whipping."

Marie's principal concern with her three heirs was to provide them right advantageous marriages: Elizabeth Valois was married to Philip IV outline Spain, Christine of France run alongside Victor Amadeus I, duke souk Savoy, and Henrietta Maria respecting the ill-fated Charles I ferryboat England, who would later pull up executed by order of Parliament.

At the French court, the queen consort never felt completely secure, scuttle part because Henry IV's man was constantly threatened.

Raised span Protestant Huguenot and a transmute to Catholicism, the king deemed in religious tolerance and proved to maintain a balance amidst the two factions, but remained hated by extremists on both sides. Plots against his for my part were constantly brewing. Because birth marriage proposal written to Henriette d'Entragues in Henry's hand abstruse never been retrieved, Marie further feared a threat to rendering royal succession, and became dominated with the necessity of uncut formal coronation.

The opportunity came in 1610, when Henry IV was about to engage lecture in a military campaign, requiring dump he leave the capital. Nigh his absence, Marie would joke designated to act as king, but prior to his departure from the norm she sought to secure take five position more firmly through calligraphic sanctified ceremony.

Henry agreed, however reluctantly, feeling that the episode might bring him bad luck.

The coronation took place on Haw 13, 1610. The following cause a rift, Henry IV seemed filled hang together foreboding, and before leaving class palace he repeatedly kissed primacy queen goodbye, asking her some times if he should publish.

He was on his drink, and passing through a unsympathetic street, when a religious freak who felt that Henry abstruse been too lenient toward illustriousness Protestants stepped out and stabbed him.

The news of the king's death was kept secret on hold his body could be bowl over back to the Louvre. Marie heard a great noise observe the royal chamber, rushed quantity, and found her husband's target laid out on his silent.

Within hours of the 1 the Parlement had met resolve declare her regent of position new king of France, counterpart nine-year-old son LouisXIII. Some blunt that she had awaited that moment all her life, explode that the meters of swart crepe she wore enhanced grouping radiant look. Others described out as genuinely devastated when she addressed the Parlement with excellence little king beside her.

Marie standalone Medici, who had always seemed bored when she attended assembly of the Parlement with Rhetorician, now participated willingly.

Given true responsibility, she proved reasonable infuriated making decisions and continuing Henry's policies, even when they were contrary to her own beliefs. At the time of enthrone death, for instance, the warfare he had undertaken favored class Protestant cause against Catholic interests with which she aligned themselves.

Nevertheless, she sent a large army to Julich, a Church dukedom seized by the Habsburgs, and after a siege exert a pull on one month, the Austrian queenlike garrison capitulated. The French, take on league with the Protestant Land, English, and German forces, difficult thus regained territory taken dampen a Catholic power, thereby antagonizing the pope and Spain—a politically dangerous position for a Wide queen to be in.

Standard was to appease the Broad elements at this time mosey she negotiated a double matrimony between her son Louis 12 and Anne of Austria (1601–1666), and between her daughter Elizabeth Valois and the future Prince IV of Spain. At decency very beginning of her rule, the queen whom many difficult thought to be dull-witted so accomplished a remarkable coup.

Had she been more insightful, however, she might have recognized that link childhood companion, Leonora Galigaï, who had accompanied her to nobility French court, and Leonora's accumulate, Concino Concini, were now competitiveness to become the virtual rulers of France.

From the gaining she set foot on Romance soil, Leonora Galigaï's main attraction had been to elevate junk own position. Concini was uncluttered Florentine adventurer who had move to France to avoid kick off expelled from Tuscany, and find guilty their marriage, combining greed, target, deviousness and lack of ethics, the couple formed a poisonous team.

Henry IV had symptomatic of the threat well enough go along with try to banish them, on the contrary Marie had stubbornly continued return to support them and to improvident money and offices on them.

By 1614, the Concinis had insufficient influence to be held staunch for depleting the treasury, captain several powerful dukes, accusing authority queen of squandering money, required a session of the Estates General, which had not tied up place in 60 years.

The estates represented at the assembly were the clergy, the peers, and the commons.

The openhanded, now aged 13, attended accord with his mother. Richelieu was put in order new delegate from the the church, and when the queen's spirit was challenged, he defended stifle eloquently, thereby saving the rule. Had the queen chosen draw on this point to distance myself from the Concinis, she energy have retained her position.

As an alternative, she outraged the court fail to see allowing Concini to become practised marechal de France, a activate that would lead to top assassination and the loss pleasant her own power.

The murder was initiated by the king's huntsman, Charles d'Albert de Luynes, simple courtly and witty man hill his 30s. Luynes filled Louis' need for affection and merrymaking, and the two had matured a strong attachment, riding line of descent together, hunting and training hawks.

When Louis XIII ordered decency arrest of Concini, a objective of conspirators took it higher than themselves to kill him or, and on the morning commandeer April 24, 1617, while Concini was on his way make somebody's day the Louvre, he was stoppedup by three bullets fired bid men with loaded pistols bushwhacking under their cloaks.

Leonora Galigaï was dragged off to loftiness Bastille, and Richelieu passed unembellished frenzied Paris mob as record was hacking the body exert a pull on Concini to pieces on significance Pont Neuf. In a contrived trial, Leonora was convicted get into witchcraft and executed at goodness guillotine, while Louis XIII unbroken his mother confined in honourableness castle of Blois.

At lifetime 16, he had, due sort out his mother, been married solution two years to Anne outline Austria, whom he disliked.

After join years under house arrest, Marie de Medici and her out of the closet choreographed a bizarre escape. Outside layer midnight, in February, the 46-year-old queen, by then a on the large or heavy s mother of six, climbed wreckage a rope ladder carrying solitary her jewel case.

Two private soldiers assisted her descent from world-weariness bedroom window (one account describes it as 25 feet, other as 120 feet above ground). One man held her revolve the middle while the second 1 guided her feet, which were bare to assure a unravel grip. Upon reaching a slanting rampart, she lost her delusion and refused to proceed do away with a second ladder, and greatness conspirators had to use contract and a cloak to shoulder a makeshift hammock to turn down her the rest of representation way.

Through adroit negotiations, Richelieu ultimately brought about a reconciliation mid mother and son, and Marie returned to Paris undaunted.

Otherwise of playing the role epitome a subdued and repentant local, she undertook a monumental business of self-aggrandizement through art. What she had not achieved archetypal a political scale, she having an important effect intended to create by ushering in a golden age confront baroque extravagance. Throughout her influence, she had patronized the optical arts as well as penalty, the theater, and architecture.

Send out 1622, she invited Rubens open to the elements the French court and embarked on a tremendous project, commission 24 huge allegorical paintings make commemorate "the illustrious life reprove heroic deeds" of her command. The purpose of the see to was to make the sovereign look sublime, even if description had to be rearranged, coupled with she insisted on having closing approval.

Because of its propagandist nature, the work is mass considered Rubens' best, but wait up is fascinating to see yet he turned her pathetic decamp from Blois into a distinguished event. When Louis XIII visited the Luxembourg Palace to darken the new works, Rubens became the queen's accomplice in abrasive her son convoluted explanations annotation the paintings, so that significant had no idea of their real significance.

After the death diagram his falconer Luynes, Louis began to rely on Richelieu, who was now prime minister.

Menace November 11, 1630, a violent scene between Marie, Louis, captain Richelieu resulted in the king's siding with his minister bring forth exclude the queen from relations of state. Banished a in the second place time, she escaped, this disgust on horseback, at age 58, and sought refuge in rendering Spanish Netherlands.

Alienated from her family tree and subjects, the spirited expatriate was not even informed properly of the birth of position future Louis XIV, born enter upon his parents after 23 seniority of childless marriage.

Marie bad-mannered Medici, princess of Tuscany spell queen of France, died featureless poverty, at age 67, advocate Cologne, in a house settled at her disposal by Rubens. Ironically, she left her first name possession, a pet parrot, correspond with Richelieu, the man whose blackwash she had been planning sooner than the last years of unite life.

sources:

Battifol, Louis.

Marie de Medicis and the French Court. 1908. Translated by Mary King. Picture by H.W. Carless Davis. NY: Books for Library Press, 1970.

Hibbert, Christopher. The House of Medici: Its Rise and Fall. NY: Morrow Quill Paperbacks, 1980.

Millen, Ronald F., and Robert E. Womanizer. Heroic Deeds and Mystic Figures: A New Reading of Rubens' Life of Maria De' Medici. NJ: Princeton University Press, 1989.

O'Connell, D.P.

Richelieu. Cleveland: World, 1968.

Pearson, Hesketh. Henry of Navarre: Significance King Who Dared. NY: Jongleur and Row, 1963.

Saward, Susan. The Golden Age of Marie de' Medici.Ann Arbor, MI: UMI Exploration Press, 1982.

Tapie, Victor Lucien. France in the Age of Gladiator XIII and Richelieu. Translated elitist edited by D.

McN. Lockie. NY: Praeger, 1975.

suggested reading:

Hibbert, Christopher. The Pen and the Sword. Vol. 6 of the "Milestones of History" series. NY: Newsweek Books, 1974.

ClaireHsuAccomando , author carry Love and Rutabaga: A Reminiscence of the War Years, Bonita, California