I’ve written four books at this point about the French Renaissance, and Catherine de Medici is a major supporting character in all of them. You cannot get away from studying 16th Century France without a thorough understanding of Catherine’s life as Duchess, Dauphine, Queen Consort, and finally, Queen Mother of France. Free sources about Catherine
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You may be familiar with the story of Gabrielle d’Estrees, the woman who Henry IV loved so much that he eventually agreed to her despite the fact that she had little political clout outside of France and she was already his Baby Mama thrice over. If Gabrielle is an unknown figure to you, there’s quite
The Valois Mistress is my first full length novel, and I’m very excited to share it with you. The book’s still in the editing stage, but I’m hoping to get it out this December. If you want to get an advanced copy, click here. While you’re waiting, get to know the people of the French
I’ve gushed in the past about the prayers books that were created during Renaissance France. Before, they were books that belonged to royal and noblewomen. Color me shocked when I learned that Henry of Navarre, who became Henry IV of France, carried a prayer book of his own. I have the folks at Medievalists to
Meet the Cleves sisters and the people who made their lives. If you’ve read the Three Graces Trilogy, you’ll find several familiar names Youngest sister, Marie, is the Princess de Conde. While the title may sound impressive, the marriage (and the husband who came with it) was not. Marie tries valiantly to keep her arraigned
Where would a good Renaissance era Catholic be without a good prayer book, also known as a Book of Hours? I’ve looked at Henry IV of France’s prayer book earlier, but let’s not forget his illustrious predecessor, Francis I. The British and French began fighting over it (of course they did) as soon as it
I’m addicted to Francois Clouet’s work, probably because I’ve seen it so often that it seems “normal” to me. The last time I went to the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, I almost had a panic attack until I got to the Renaissance era paintings. (hashtag: “sad”). You can spend hours doing a Google search
Just when you thought people had run out of inappropriate things to steal from museums, news comes from Nantes, France, that Anne of Brittany’s heart is missing. Specifically, a reliquary containing Anne’s heart is now missing from the Thomas-Dobrée Museum. Anne, who became Queen of France twice in her lifetime, is a folk hero for
While Francis’ library began at the Chateau de Blois, by 1544, it was on the move once again. Determined to expand his literary reputation, Francis made an effort to start a separate collection at the Chateau de Fontainebleau. On May 22, 1544, he ordered in inventory of the library at Blois to prepare them for
Once Francis I ascended the throne of France, he immediately began creating a legacy of culture and power for his new dynasty. A large part of that legacy involved creating a royal library. As he carried on the tradition of warfare across Italy, he spent a large part of his time collecting books that soon