Customer Reviews

Catherine de'Medici

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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Half French, half Italian, this 16th century queen of France was a fascinating figure in many aspects.
This book focuses on Catherine's struggle to survive and maintain herself as the head of the French Monarchy for almost 30 years. Witchcraft,massacres,poison, but also culture, arts, and architecture characterized the reign of Catherine.This book explores such myths, and places Catherine in the 16th century mentality.
however, I do not believe a 300 page book is enough to explain the life of such a controversial woman who lived 70 years.
Also I disagree with Knecht when he says that Catherine was an insignificant member of the Medicis clan. She was in fact the legitimate heiress of the Medicis, the great grand daughter of Lorenzo the Magnificent... how is that insignificant? Also Knecht minimizes Catherine's French roots. Francis the 1st of France surely wanted Italian territories, but he also wanted the rich and wealthy Auvergne region in the center of France. Who was the heiress of that noble and rich French family? Catherine herself, from her mother's side.Catherine was indeed countess of Auvergne, countess of Boulogne, countess of Clermont, and Baroness of de la Tour. In other words, she did have royal blood and she was Diane de Poitiers, Francois of Guise, Mary Stuart and the future Henry IV's relative.
This is a good book for people who have not read a anything about Catherine: it is brief and quite easy to understand. Hopfully there will be a better edition in the future.

I'm surprised that the author completely ignored the economic conditions of France during the reign of Catherine. No mention of the economic force played by the Huguenots. Just names and dates. Author took a three-dimensional figure and reduced her to one-dimension. Just names and dates.

Catherine de'Medici (consort of Henri II of France, daughter-in-law of François I, and great-granddaughter of Lorenzo the Magnificent), is a remarkable and mysterious figure in a Europe split by the Reformation and stung by religious wars. She is loved by some and distrusted or hated by others.

This work (by a renowned historian) is a `Profiles in Power' edition. Presumably the author was held to series guidelines (including brevity) since the text (11 chapters and a conclusion) is 275 pages, appended by a bibliographical essay, a list of main royal edicts, a chronology, maps, and genealogical tables. If the author was limited, this is a valuable contribution especially as it includes `names and dates' (precious if one wants to augment reading or research with other sources).

The reader is informed, for example, of the attendance of Catherine and her husband's mistress (Diane de Poitiers) at a joust 10 July 1559 that killed him (despite Catherine's warnings). He died wearing his mistress's colors. One learns Catherine forced Diane de Poitiers to abandon the celebrated Château de Chenonceaux for the less envied Château de Chaumont the following year (any who have visited either Château already know it). Discussion of the relationship between consort, king, and mistress is, however, limited: the longest section (`Henry II and Daine de Poitiers') numbers 4 pages.

As a condensed biography that arms the reader with facts, names, and dates this is well worth reading. It does not, however, fully treat a complex figure or an even more complex period (probably impossible given series restraints). Nor does it equal the same author's `Francis I' (François I: François de Angoulême, duc de Valois, Catherine de'Medici's father-in-law), which is among the best books on 16C Europe.

Highly recommended to those who desire a well-written (topical) resource that augments further reading.

I agree with "Names and Dates, Names and Dates." I'd forgotten why I hated history classes so much in middle and high school. Two graduate degrees later, and constant readings in sociology, psychology, and history - especially the Italian Renaissance (in which the Medici's played a very important role) I was painfully reminded by Professor Knecht. He knows his specialty, without a doubt, but either needed a few crash courses in effective sentence and paragraph construction or a better editor. The book is so poorly written, one might logically ask why I continued to plug away at it. A testament to my persistence and ultimately unrealized hope that it would magically transform itself somewhere before the final pages, I'm sure.

I didn't mind so much that it had very little information about Catherine specifically and much more about the religious wars and the stirrings of the Reformation. It certainly supplies numerous names and dates - definitely not a book to start with! Sadly, the man honestly cannot write however skilled and knowledgeable he may be as a university lecturer.