Catherine de Medici (1519-1589), Queen Consort of Henri II

[Mirabel]

Catherine may not have been a witch, but I remember viewing the room in which she kept her poisons at Amboise.

Makes you wonder why anyone would keep a cabinet full of poisons...if she didn't mean to use them?

[An Ard Ri]

Originally Posted by Mirabel

Catherine may not have been a witch, but I remember viewing the room in which she kept her poisons at Amboise.

Makes you wonder why anyone would keep a cabinet full of poisons...if she didn't mean to use them?

The supposed poison cabinets of Catherine de Médicis at the Chateau d'Amboise are more or less for the benefit of tourists. Most of the original furniture at the chateau was lost during the revolution & the chateau was left almost a ruin.The chateau was later restored & refurbished & the poison cabinets added.

However I don't doubt that Catherine was adept in the arts of alchemy & may have poisoned a few of her opponents (Odet de Coligny ,Cardinal de Châtillon)

[THECLERK]

To my knowledge there is no Cabinet des Poisons at AMBOISE, but there is one room, behind the chapel in the chateau de BLOIS with many secret boxes called " chambre des secrets ".

[An Ard Ri]

Originally Posted by THECLERK

To my knowledge there is no Cabinet des Poisons at AMBOISE, but there is one room, behind the chapel in the chateau de BLOIS with many secret boxes called " chambre des secrets ".

Correct it is indeed the Château de Blois.

[Mirabel]

Originally Posted by THECLERK

To my knowledge there is no Cabinet des Poisons at AMBOISE, but there is one room, behind the chapel in the chateau de BLOIS with many secret boxes called " chambre des secrets ".

Right, it was Blois!

All those chateaux blur together after awhile.

[An Ard Ri]

Blois was also where Catherine died in 1589 & was initially buried at the now destroyed Collegiate church of Saint-Sauveur de Blois.

[Nice Nofret]

I'm sure, she wasn't worse then men in power of her time; but men are in favour of painting any women black who is bold enought to go for power as well and to contest them. And a lot of other women are happy to join in.

Nothing changed so far.

[An Ard Ri]

That's true Nice Nofret.Ivan the Terrible lived at the same time as Catherine

What is remarkable about that period is the number of Female Rulers & Regents

England : Mary I & Elizabeth I
France : Catherine de Médicis.
Navarre: Jeanne III
The low Countries : Mary of Hungary & Margaret of Austria (Regents)
Scotland : Marie de Guise & Mary I,Queen of Scots.

[An Ard Ri]

Catherine de Médicis in the BBC drama 'Elizabeth R'.

Elizabeth R 3 [2/8] - YouTube

[Kataryn]

Originally Posted by An Ard Ri

That's true Nice Nofret.Ivan the Terrible lived at the same time as Catherine...

Plus Süleyman I. favorite wife and mother of his heirs, Roxelana Hürrem Sultan, reigned instead of her husband when he was away, supported by the Grand Vizier, who was married to her and Süleyman's daughter, who acted officially as the Vice-Sultan, but was absolutely loyal to his mother-in-law, who was the most important advisor of her husband. She died in 1558.

[An Ard Ri]

I didn't know too much about her but thanks I looked her up!

[silverstar]

quote by Nice

The Medici's are a Florentine-Family - not Spanish.

end quote


The Borgias were Spanish were nt they ? Pope Roderigo etc
By the end of the 1400s the Spanish and the French were fighting over the dominance of Italy

Was nt it a free for all between the French armies and the armies of the Holy Roman Empire ?

[An Ard Ri]

The Holy Roman Empire were not directly involved at first but they later joined the Holy League to thwart the powerful French.

[silverstar]

Were nt the Spaniards controling Holland too, back then ?

[Warren]

The Spanish were actually Habsburgs then.

[silverstar]

yes , its so confusing isnt it !

[An Ard Ri]

Catherine de Médicis maternal family were French .

Her mother


Madeleine de La Tour d'Auvergne,Countess Boulogne, Dame de St Saturnin.

Madeleine de La Tour d'Auvergne - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Catherine's maternal aunt

Anne de La Tour d'Auvergne,Countess of Auvergne and later Duchess of Albany.

Anne de La Tour d'Auvergne - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Catherine's uncle in law

John Stewart, Duke of Albany

John Stewart, Duke of Albany - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[SallyPT]

I just finished reading "The Moon Mistress - Diane de Poitiers" by Jehanne D'Orliac this afternoon. On the third-to-last page is the following paragraph:

"In the Echo de Paris of July 21, 1924, it was related that before the tribunal of Mons, Antoine de Medicis, domiciled in Belgium, laid claim to his authentic patent of nobility as descendant of Philippe de Medicis, a natural son of Catherine, born at the castle of Guardasone in Italy, in 1560, that is to say a year after the death of Henri II. He won his case. It is a curious piece of information and deserves to be noted. Time has its tides like the sea, and throws up the flotsam of the past, most strange witnesses to causes in dispute."

I have never heard of another account of this alleged natural son of Catherine's. Has anyone else?

Thank you,
Sally

[Meraude]

I've never heard about an illegitimate son of Catherine and I can't think that she would have wanted to leave France for Italy, or having the time for that, during the year 1560 as her son Francis was only 15 years old and she wouldn't have wanted him to be on his own, ruled by the Guise family.

[An Ard Ri]

Originally Posted by SallyPT

I just finished reading "The Moon Mistress - Diane de Poitiers" by Jehanne D'Orliac this afternoon. On the third-to-last page is the following paragraph:

"In the Echo de Paris of July 21, 1924, it was related that before the tribunal of Mons, Antoine de Medicis, domiciled in Belgium, laid claim to his authentic patent of nobility as descendant of Philippe de Medicis, a natural son of Catherine, born at the castle of Guardasone in Italy, in 1560, that is to say a year after the death of Henri II. He won his case. It is a curious piece of information and deserves to be noted. Time has its tides like the sea, and throws up the flotsam of the past, most strange witnesses to causes in dispute."

I have never heard of another account of this alleged natural son of Catherine's. Has anyone else?

Thank you,
Sally

Catherine was 41 in 1560 and to the best of my knowledge never left France during her various regencies.Given all that has been written about Catherine during her life time and afterwards,this is a new one!

After the very difficult birth of Catherine's last children,the twin daughters,Jeanne and Victoria de Valois it was decided that Catherine would have no more children and that was in 1556.

Perhaps he was an illegitimate Medici child but I seriously doubt he the natural son of the French Queen Regent.