Catherine De Medici- Women and Power

I got a book called” Young Queens” for my birthday which includes articles about Renaissance women and the price of power. I am reading this book because I want to learn about the women that got power in history and the sacrifices/price they paid for that power. Also, I want to know if they got their power and used it! The book is called Young Queen’s- Three Renaissance Women and the Price of Power by Leah Redmond Chang.

              How did women in history gain power, the price of power, and how was it different because they were women?

Catherine De Medici gained power by marrying the son of the king of France and inheriting a large dowry that made her an attractive marriage target. She also came from a powerful family called the Medici’s – however she was an orphan. She gained it by marriage and inheritance, which cost her money and time, and it was different because she was a woman because most women at this time were not the actual rulers of there countries but there were a few, she reached close to the highest a women could reach during this time period. Catherine De - Medici was an orphan of an ancient powerful family, she was part of the Huguenot wars, and her uncle was the pope. Catherine De Medici was the product of the medieval period and rose to power with her inheritance and uncle being the pope- even as an orphan.

Catherine de Medici was from an ancient banking, ruling, artistic and political family called the Medici’s who ran the medieval city state called Florence. She was an orphan almost completely by birth and her great-grandfather Lorenzo-De-Medici was the first ruler of the city state of Florence. She ended up marrying the son of the King of France. The Medici’s were of common origin but had accumulated power, wealth and influence over hundreds of years by playing the long game. She was originally tolerant of Protestants but ended up killing a bunch during a wedding. The Protestant Revolution was a key point in Catherines life and of Europe.

Catherine de Medici was a key ruler that dealt with France’s Huguenot wars – or Protestant vs Catholics – however she was originally tolerant of the Protestants. The original Protestant revolution upended Europe’s political landscape by shifting the power away from Rome and caused lots of bloodshed. The red wedding in Game of Thrones came from the Huguenot massacre when hundreds of Protestants were murdered at a wedding that she probably was involved in. The Medici’s became a powerful force over Europe by the 14th century.

Catherine De Medici was the Niece of the Pope who arranged a Marriage with the future King of France. Medici’s had played a long game for hundreds of years, gaining power over Europe and eventually becoming the rulers of a massive banking system, art and ruling Urbino and Florence. The Medici’s had many of family members become Pope and others become leaders of the region or others becoming bankers/artists.  The Medici’s became very powerful over time- over centuries.

The Medici’s between the 12th century through the 16th century became incredibly powerful and took over Europe- even with common birth which helped them become more populists- and popular leaders compared to the Milan’s and Roman leaders- who were of noble birth. Catherine became the Queen of France then the regent of France and dealt with the foundation of Protestantism. 

Citations:

BBC History. "Catherine de Medici (1519–1589)." BBC History, accessed May 28, 2025. https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/de_medici_catherine.shtml.

1. Britannica Article on Catherine de’ Medici

Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Catherine de’ Medici." Last modified April 16, 2023. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Catherine-de-Medici.

2. Young Queens by Leah Redmond Chang

Chang, Leah Redmond. Young Queens: Three Renaissance Women and the Price of Power. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2023.lafayette.marmot.org+1Macmillan Publishers+1