Henry II, King of France 1547-1559 PDF Download

Author: Frederic J. Baumgartner
Publisher: Durham, NC : Duke University Press
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 392

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Author: R J Knecht
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317896866
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 268

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Catherine de' Medici (1519-89) was the wife of one king of France and the mother of three more - the last, sorry representatives of the Valois, who had ruled France since 1328. She herself is of preeminent importance to French history, and one of the most controversial of all historical figures. Despised until she was powerful enough to be hated, she was, in her own lifetime and since, the subject of a "Black Legend" that has made her a favourite subject of historical novelists (most notably Alexandre Dumas, whose Reine Margot has recently had new currency on film). Yet there is no recent biography of her in English. This new study, by a leading scholar of Renaissance France, is a major event. Catherine, a neglected and insignificant member of the Florentine Medici, entered French history in 1533 when she married the son of Francis I for short-lived political reasons: her uncle was pope Clement VII, who died the following year. Now of no diplomatic value, Catherine was treated with contempt at the French court even after her husband's accession as Henry II in 1547. Even so, she gave him ten children before he was killed in a tournament in 1559. She was left with three young boys, who succeeded to the throne as Francis II (1559-60), Charles IX (1560-74) and Henry III (1574-89). As regent and queen-mother, a woman and with no natural power-base of her own, she faced impossible odds. France was accelerating into chaos, with political faction at court and religious conflict throughout the land. As the country disintegrated, Catherine's overriding concern was for the interests of her children. She was tireless in her efforts to protect her sons' inheritance, and to settle her daughters in advantageous marriages. But France needed more. Catherine herself was both peace-loving and, in an age of frenzied religious hatred, unbigoted. She tried to use the Huguenots to counterbalance the growing power of the ultra-Catholic Guises but extremism on all sides frustrated her. She was drawn into the violence. Her name is ineradicably associated with its culmination, the Massacre of St Bartholomew (24 August 1572), when thousands of Huguenots were slaughtered in Paris and elsewhere. To this day no-one knows for certain whether Catherine instigated the massacre or not, but here Robert Knecht explores the probabilities in a notably level-headed fashion. His book is a gripping narrative in its own right. It offers both a lucid exposition of immensely complex events (with their profound imact on the future of France), and also a convincing portrait of its enigmatic central character. In going behind the familiar Black Legend, Professor Knecht does not make the mistake of whitewashing Catherine; but he shows how intractable was her world, and how shifty or intransigent the people with whom she had to deal. For all her flaws, she emerges as a more sympathetic - and, in her pragmatism, more modern - figure than most of her leading contemporaries.

Author: Kathleen Wellman
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300178859
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 449

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Tells the history of the French Renaissance through the lives of its most prominent queens and mistresses.

Author: Charles Donald O'Malley
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN:
Category : Medicine
Languages : en
Pages : 568

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Author: Retha M. Warnicke
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521406772
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 372

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Retha Warnicke's fascinating and controversial reinterpretation focuses on the sexual intrigues and family politics pervading the court, offering a new explanation of Anne's fall.

Author: Countess De La Motte
Publisher: Legare Street Press
ISBN: 9781019591284
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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This gripping memoir tells the true story of a scandal that rocked the French court in the 18th century. It is a must-read for fans of historical true crime. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Author: Susan Broomhall
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004461817
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 408

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An innovative analysis of the representational strategies that constructed Catherine de’ Medici and sought to explain her behaviour and motivations.

Author: Israel Smith Clare
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : World history
Languages : en
Pages : 848

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Author:
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004474986
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 501

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Author: M.S. Anderson
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317892763
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 329

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This study examines the early years of the post-medieval European states and the growth of a recognisably 'modern' system for handling their international relations. M S Anderson gives much of his space to France, Spain and England and to the state of the relations between them, as their various power plays rolled over Italy and the Low countries, but, he also incorporates the Northern and Eastern states including Russia, Poland and the Baltic world into the main European political arena. He provides a broad narrative of European politics and its impact on diplomacy including the Italian Wars 1494-1559, the French Wars of Religion, the Reformation and Counter-Reformation, and the relations of Christendom and Islam with the advance of the Ottoman empire. He also gives considerable attention to the influence of military and economic factors on international relations.