Catherine de Médicis
At a glance:
- Series: Dictionary of World Biography: Renaissance
- Categories: Government and Politics, Women’s Issues, Royalty, Rulers, Nobility
- Subcategories: Kings, Queens, Kingdoms, Monarchy
- Curriculum: Women’s History, Italian History, Renaissance History, French History
Article abstract: Catherine de Médicis contributed to maintaining a strong centralized monarchy in spite of challenges from noble and religious factions. Her attempts to balance Roman Catholic and Calvinist interests in France also encouraged at least a minimum of toleration in the seventeenth century.
Early Life
Catherine de Médicis’ father, Lorenzo de’ Medici, was capo dello stato in Florence, gonfalonier of the Church, and, after a victorious expedition, Duke of Urbino. His uncle, Pope Leo X, hoping to restore the Medicis to their...
[The entire page is 2272 words long]
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