Catherine de'Medici [Paperback]

R.J. Knecht (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0582082412 | ISBN-13: 978-0582082410 | Publication Date: December 11, 1997 | Edition: 1

Catherine de' Medici (1518-89) is one of the most controversial of all historical figures. Wife of one French King and mother of three others she was a key figure Renaissance France and ineradicably associated with the St Bartholomew Massacre. Professor Knecht goes behind the familiar Black Legend to assess the real Catherine and reveals a more sympathetic figure than most of her contemporaries. This study - the first recent biography of her in English - by a leading scholar, is a major event.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"far more readable than any of its predecessors...a crisp, no-nonsense political analysis"Ecclesiastal History

From the Back Cover

BACK OF COVER:

PROFILES IN POWER
General Editor: Keith Robbins, Vice-Chancellor, University of Wales Lampeter

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.

R.J.KNECHT is Emeritus Professor of French History, and Honorary Senior Research Fellow, at the University of Birmingham.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Longman; 1 edition (December 11, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0582082412
• ISBN-13: 978-0582082410
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,304,031 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WELL-RESEARCHED AND INTERESTING, January 16, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Catherine de'Medici (Paperback)

I agree completely with the previous reviewer from Florida and I, too, would like to know why all of Catherine's children were considered bad. Professor Knecht has done a very admirable job in this well-researched book and it is quite obvious that he knows his subject well. Catherine de'Medici was an interesting woman--a member of the Florentine Medici, but an insignificant one. All that changed when she married the man who was to become Henry II, King of France. Although she may have been a peripheral member of the Italian aristocracy, Catherine was of pre-eminent importance to French history. She was controversial, but, as the previous reviewer states, Professor Knecht was very fair. He explores both Catherine's virtures and faults in a level-headed fashion. This book, however, is far more than a biography of one of France's most controversial and enigmatic figures. It is also a fascinating narrative heavily laced with French history. If you like your biographies a little light, I wouldn't recommend this book. But if you really want to understand this period in French history, and this fascinating woman, I would recommend it highly.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars MYTHS EXPLODED AND QUESTIONS RAISED, August 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Catherine de Medici (Profiles in Power Series) (Paperback)

I enjoyed Prof. Knecht's profile of Catherine de' Medici. It was carefully written and humanized this lady who was, first and last, a mother. A number of her own writings (letters) are used, which shed light on her courage and determination. This treatment is balanced and even-handed, whatever the reader's preconceptions may be. I appreciated the author's fairness. However, the preface says that "there is no denying that her children were all dreadful." I'm still uncertain...why? Maybe the author will follow up and explore the dreadfullness of Catherine de' Medici's offspring? I would love to know more.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A survey rather than a biography..., April 5, 2007

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Catherine de Medici (Profiles in Power Series) (Paperback)

Catherine de' Medici is the topic of much controversy and little publication. There are very few biographies of her printed in the English language, so I was very hopeful that R. J. Knecht's would fill in that gap with a scholarly study. However, there is a bit to be desired in this volume. It is more of a survey of Catherine's political career and events in France during her lifetime, than it is a biography. This is not necessarily a fault--however, events are passed over lightly. I was very surprised that some topics were not elaborated upon more, such as Catherine's relations with Mary Queen of Scots. Knecht sometimes does not even explain when a new monarch has come to power in other parts of Europe; for example, Henry VIII of England's death is not noted but in a few lines later, Edward VI is mentioned. And there is not a decent character analysis of Catherine herself.

This book is part of the Profiles in Power collection, so one would assume that it is geared more towards the novice in history, and that would make sense given its brevity, but if one completely new to the era read this book, they may get lost in its sometimes lack of explanation. If one desires a summary of Catherine de' Medici's political tenure in France, this book may fit the bill--but don't have expectations set too high.