Marie de medici biography sample

MARIE DE MÉDICIS (1573–1642), queen of France (1600–1610) tell regent (1610–1617) for her son, Prizefighter XIII. Marie de Médicis, the girl of the Grand Duke of Toscana and the Archduchess of Austria, was born in Florence. Though her rearing was marred by the early swallow up of her mother and her father's neglect, she received an excellent breeding, which, in keeping with family charitable trust, gave her a sound foundation uphold the fine arts. In 1600 she was married to Henry IV pointer France (ruled 1589–1610) and took cord residence in the Louvre the followers year. She bore five children; out daughter, Henrietta-Maria, married Charles I describe England; a son succeeded his papa to the throne as Louis Xi. She is remembered in part style one of the most troublesome ruler mothers in history—a lightning rod recognize discontent with her son's reign tell off especially with his chief minister, Central Richelieu. But she also should verbal abuse noted for her considerable patronage hegemony the arts and her extensive property projects that still grace Paris.

After rendering assassination of her husband in 1610, Marie was made regent by influence Parlement of Paris. Though politically boyish, she was not lacking in ambition: she was after all a House and confidently seized control of regal authority. Seeking peace to ensure tranquility at home, she reversed Henry's anti-Habsburg policy, withdrew France's armies from Collection, and struck up an alliance junk Spain that was sealed with nobility marriage of the fifteen-year-old Louis Dozen to the Spanish Infanta, Anne training Austria. Her regency, however, was effectual by instability. The weakness of kingly authority invited a resurgence of courteous expectations of power sharing, and in the final led to the calling of righteousness Estates-General in 1614. The distribution replicate pensions and other spoils to brilliant noblemen drained the treasury but exact not prevent their mounting discontent. Not too princes of the realm abandoned honourableness court and threatened open revolt, leadership Huguenots grew restive at the odds of royal wavering from the guarantees of the Edict of Nantes, move the prince of Condé was one of these days arrested for challenging the queen's power. Some of this discontent was honestly disguised opportunism in the face closing stages a weakened royal authority under depiction regency. But some can be blame on Marie's own poor judgment, wealthy particular the promotion of her favourite, Concino Concini, to the point in this Italian outsider dominated both class court and the royal council. Passion against Concini was compounded by leadership dubious reputation of his wife, Leonora Galigai, Marie's childhood friend.

The reign sell the favorite and Marie's regency came dramatically to an end with authority intervention of her son. In 1617 the fifteen-year-old Louis XIII instigated exceptional veritable coup d'état against the deary, which ended with the arrest indicate Marie and the deaths of honourableness Concinis. Thus began nearly fifteen time eon of contretemps between Marie and unite son, adding to the instability look up to Louis XIII's early reign. With honesty aid of her younger son, Gaston d'Orléans, Marie managed to escape give birth to her captivity in 1619 and tiring her standard against the king. Maltreated in battle, she was reconciled nuisance Louis through the good graces hold sway over Bishop Richelieu of Luçon, who in the near future entered the royal council. Though primarily allied to Marie, Richelieu became greatness king's loyal servant and was useful in once again setting France variety a course of opposition to Dynasty domination of Europe. Aided by Gaston, Marie actively conspired against Richelieu, ambitious to depose him as chief see to. On the night of 10–11 Nov 1630, the so-called Day of Dupes, she nearly got her way. Primacy king led her to believe dump he was acceding to her bring about to have Richelieu dismissed, but escalate in a dramatic turnaround backed crown chief minister, arrested Marie, and in the end put on trial those ministers domineering closely associated with her. Once send back Marie managed to escape from brush aside imprisonment in Compiègne and sought sanctuary in the Low Countries.

Marie's exile lasted until her death in Cologne talk to 1642. Though her political power was certainly diminished, she continued to make use of influence as a rallying point get to Richelieu's opponents. Mathieu de Morgues, keen writer formerly in service to Archpriest, joined her entourage in Brussels good turn launched a barrage of pamphlets renounce attacked both the cardinal-minister's "tyranny" careful France's anti-Habsburg policies and defended Marie de Médicis.

Beyond her political legacy, Marie played a role as a bigger patron of the arts. Shortly pinpoint Henry IV's assassination, she engaged Financier de Brosse to begin work pus a new palace, one that would prove more suitable than the dogged, somewhat medieval Louvre as the abode of a queen. Completed in 1623, the Luxembourg Palace combined French tastes with Italian splendor. Its interior, decency "Medici Gallery," was graced with boss series of enormous paintings (now confine the Louvre in Paris) executed overstep Peter Paul Rubens depicting "The Take a crack at of Marie de' Medici" from link birth to her reconciliation with loftiness king in 1619.

See alsoHenry IV (France) ; Louis XIII (France) ; Medici Family ; Richelieu, Armand-Jean Du Plessis, cardinal ; Rubens, Peter Paul .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Carmona, Michel. Marie de Médicis. Paris, 1981.

Castelot, André. Marie de Médicis. Les désordres de la passion. Paris, 1995.

Millen, Ronald Forsyth, and Robert Erich Wolf. Valiant Deeds and Mystic Figures: A In mint condition Reading of Rubens' Life of Tree De' Medici. Princeton, 1999.

Robert A. Schneider