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Dromo's Den
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[Up] [Dromo's Den] Maria de Medici Biography MARIA DE' MEDICI, MARIE DE' MEDICI in English and MARIE DE MÉDICIS in French (1573-1642). The second wife of Henry IV of France. She was the daughter of Francis I, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and was born at Florence, April 26, 1573. She was married to Henry IV in 1600, and in 1601 gave birth to a son, afterward Louis XIII. Maria, though beautiful, was an obstinate, ambitious, passionate, and stupid woman. Her quarrels with Henry over her favorites and the King's gallantries became the talk of Paris. Two Italians, Leonora Galigai and her husband, Concini (see ANCRE), exercised a powerful influence over her mind and encouraged her dislike to her husband, who on his part avoided her as much as possible. She was not publicly crowned as Queen until the day before Henry's assassination (May, 1610). For the next seven years she governed as Regent, but proved incapable as a ruler. After the murder of Concini, in 1617, Louis XIII assumed royal power, aided by his favorite, the Duke de Luynes, who had put Concini out of the way. Maria was kept under surveillance in the castle at Blois. She escaped in 1619, and began a war against the King and court, being allied with certain of the disappointed nobles. The conflict was brief, and ended in the complete overthrow of Maria. In 1621 the death of Luynes led to her return to court. Maria hoped to win over Richelieu to her party, and he was created Cardinal and Minister of State, partly through her influence. She soon found out, however, that he did not care to be ruled by her, whereupon she resolved to undermine his influence with the King. Her intrigues for this purpose in 1630 failed, and she was imprisoned in Compiégne, from whence she escaped to Brussels in 1631. She finally found her way to England to the court of her son-in-law, Charles I, but was compelled to leave London in 1641. She died at Cologne on July 3, 1642. Maria de' Medici was a lover and patron of the fine arts, and Paris owes to her the Luxembourg Palace and other public works. The New International Encyclopaedia, Vol. XV (New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1920) 82-83. |