CATHERINE DE MEDICI (1519—I589), queen of France, was born in Florence in 1519. She was a daughter of Lorenzo II. de Medici and a French princess, Madeleine de la Tour d'Au vergne. Having lost both her parents at an early age, Catherine was sent to a convent to be educated; and she was only 54 when she was married (1533) at Marseilles to the duke of Orleans, afterwards Henry II. It was her uncle, Pope Clement VII., who arranged the marriage with King Francis I., Henry's father, who was glad to strengthen his influence in the Italian peninsula. For ten years after her marriage she had no children. In consequence, a divorce began to be talked of at court. But Catherine had the happiness of bringing her husband grandchildren ere he died. Dur ing his reign , Catherine lived a quiet and passive but observant life. Henry being completely under the influence of his mistress, Diane de Poitiers, she had little authority. In 1552, when the king left the kingdom for the campaign of Metz, she was nominated regent, but with very limited powers. This con tinued even after the accession of her son Francis II. Francis was under the spell of Mary Stuart, and she, little disposed to meddle with politics on her own account, was managed by her uncles, the cardinal of Lorraine and the duke of Guise. The queen-mother, however, soon grew weary of the domination of the Guises, and entered upon a course of secret opposition. On April 1,156o, she placed in the chancellorship Michel de l'Hopital (q.v.), who advo cated the policy of conciliation.
On the death of Francis (Dec. 5,156o), Catherine became re gent during the minority of her second son, Charles IX. She was then 41 years old, but, although she was the mother of nine chil dren, she was still very vigorous and active. She retained her in fluence for more than 20 years in the troubled period of the wars of religion. At first she listened to the moderate counsels of l'Hopital in so far as to avoid siding definitely with either party. Like so many of the Italians of that time she looked upon states manship as a career in which finesse, lying and assassination were the most effective weapons. By habit a Catholic, but above all things fond of power, she was determined to prevent the Protest ants from getting the upper hand, yet resolved not to allow them to be utterly crushed, in order to use them as a counterpoise to the Guises. This trimming policy met with little success ; rage and suspicion so possessed men's minds that she could no longer control the opposing parties, and one civil war followed another to the end of her life.
In 1567, after the "Enterprise of Meaux," she dismissed l'Hopi tal and joined the Catholic Party. But, having failed to crush the Protestant rebellion by arms, she resumed in 1570 the policy of peace and negotiation. She conceived the project of marrying her favourite son, the duke of Anjou, to Queen Elizabeth of Eng land, and her daughter Margaret to Henry of Navarre. To this end she became reconciled with the Protestants, and allowed Coligny to return to court and to re-enter the council. Of this step she quickly repented. Charles IX. conceived a great affection for the admiral and showed signs of taking up an independent at titude. Catherine, thinking her influence menaced, sought to regain it, first by the murder of Coligny, and, when that had failed, by the massacre of St. Bartholomew (q.v.). The chief responsi bility for this crime, therefore, rests with Catherine ; unlike the populace, she had not even the excuse of fanaticism. After the death of Charles in 1574, and the succession of Anjou under the name of Henry III., Catherine pursued her old policy of com promise and concessions; but as her influence is lost in that of her son, it is unnecessary to dwell upon it. She died on Jan. 5, 1589, a short time before the assassination of Henry, and the consequent extinction of the House of Valois.
In her taste for art and her love of magnificence and luxury, Catherine was a true Medici ; in architecture especially she was well versed, and Philibert de l'Orme relates that she discussed with him the plan and decoration of her palace of the Tuileries. Cath erine's policy provoked a crowd of pamphlets, the most celebrated being the Discours merveilleux de la vie, actions et deportemens de la reine Catherine de Medicis, in which Henri Estienne un doubtedly collaborated.