YEAR 1563 The most powerful woman in 16th-century Europe

                                                   

Catherine de' Medici, newfangled, considered more advanced, ahead of others,

      [and therefor in conflict with traditional, established ideologies and every perception,
this year signed The Edict of Amboise, it is unknown whether she was the bearer
                          [of good or evil, but certainly a mind beyond conventionalised intellection.

She was Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 as the wife of King Henry II of France.

                          [At the age of 14, she married Henry, second son of King Francis the First

an unique case in the history, as she is the only woman who gave birth to three Kings

             [who died earlier than her and after their coronation, some said she was cursed. 

During his reign, Henry II was more concerned with his mistresses than with his wife,

                       [an activity which, of course, in the positive work of a king is not reckoned.

Henry II died in 1559 and Catherine entered the political arena

                      [as the mother of her ailing 15-year-old first son, King Francis the Second. 

A year later the young king died and Catherine de' Medici, his mother,
                         [took over the regency of her second son Charles the Ninth, a boy 10-year-old 

who also died and Catherine continued to play role in the exercise of power over Henry ΙΙΙ, 

           [her third son, nowadays IRS would find it difficult to locate the Head of Household.

Catherine's three sick sons reigned in a time of social and religious upheaval in France,

                                                                          [she initially tried to join the Protestant faction,

the well-known Huguenots, but she soon  changed tactics, turned against them

       [and persecuted them relentlessly, it was said that she personally guided every action.

According to Mark Strage one of her biographers, Catherine was the most powerful woman

                                          [in 16th-century Europe, woe to anyone who reacted to her demands,

she was a tough and determined person and is described with a large mouth,

                                              [puffy eyes, but at the same time cute and with well-shaped hands.

The birth of Catherine (April 13, 1519) brought great joy to her parents,

                      [as if a boy had been born into the family, according to a historian of the time.

She grew up in luxury, married a king and lived her whole life in wealth,

                                           [fully protected and in palaces magnificently, absolutely sublime! 

The death of Pope Leo XI in 1521 reduced the influence of the Medici family

                                                   [until another Medici, Clement VII, was elected pope in 1523.

Clement installed Catherine in the palace of the Medici in Florence, 

  [and she became known to Florence as the Little Duchess with eyes reminiscent of the sea.

 Her facial features were not  impressive, especially her puffy eyes, which were characteristic

                                [of the Medicis, on the contrary her body is praised by her contemporaries. 

There were several suitors, but a marriage was eventually arranged with Henry, 

            [son of King Francis I of France, it was met with great disappointment by dignitaries.

Catherine's first and last marriage to Henry was part of an allied treaty between

          [King Francis I of France and Pope Leo IX, who also to the Medici family belonged. 

The family turned against Maximilian I of the Holy Roman Empire, 

                    [she lived an enviable life but with anxiety plus exhausting agony, prolonged.

                                                 

                                                              to be continued

____________________________________________

* ''IT COULD BE OTHERWISE in verse''

Texts and Narration: Odysseus Heavilayias - ROTTERDAM //

Language adjustments and text adaptation: Kellene G Safis -CHICAGO//

Digital adaptation and text editing: Cathy Rapakoulia Mataraga - PIRAEUS //

_______________________________________________________________

 ELEGHOS... at history