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On this day: Catherine de Medici dies at Chateau de Blois
On a Frigid January day, Catherine de Medici, Queen Consort, Regent, and Queen Mother of France died at the age of sixty-nine. Historians believe that she most likely died of pleurisy. During the last months of her life, contemporary doctors diagnosed her with “dropsy” and “gout.” Catherine’s last days were no doubt miserable for her. The previous December, her favorite child, Henry III of France, killed his rival, the Duc de Guise and his younger brother, the Cardinal de Guise, in an assassination plot that horrified Catherine. Politically speaking, killing the elder Guise was disasterous for Henri III, and his mnother advised him against doing so several times. Too many…
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On this day, Henri, Duc de Guise is assassinated at Blois by Henri III of France
In late 1588, Henri III called the Estates General for a meeting at Blois. The session stretched throughout Christmas and New Year that year, ending with an ill thought assassination and the death of the venerable Catherine de Medici. Henry and the Guise faction had been openly feuding, splitting Catholic support within France. Sick of compromises and half measures with the Guise who were within reach of snatching his crown form his head, Henri called the nobles to Blois in the hopes of settling the dispute with a public dressing down. It went terribly for Henri, as the Guise support grew stronger during the weeks from September through December. Eventually,…
