The life of Catherine de 'Medici - the "black queen" as her contemporaries called her - was filled with mysticism, witchcraft and terrible prophecies. For almost 30 years she ruled France - the most powerful country in Europe in the 16th century. Many historical events are associated with her name, she patronized the sciences and art, but in the memory of the descendants of Catherine de Medici remained as "a witch on the throne."
Deprived of love
Catherine was born in Florence in 1519. The daughter of Lorenzo, Duke of Urbino, she was left an orphan from birth and was brought up at the court of her grandfather, Pope Clement VII. Many of those who knew Catherine in the papal palace noted a sharp mind and ruthlessness in the girl's eyes. Alchemists and magicians were the main favorites among her confidants even then. For Clement, the granddaughter was a big card in the political game - he methodically sought out her the best groom in the ruling houses of Europe.
In 1533, the wedding of Catherine de 'Medici and Henry of Orleans, son of the French king, took place. Apparently, she was ready to sincerely love her young husband, but he did not need her love, giving his heart to Diana de Poitiers, who was twenty years older than him.
Catherine's life was unhappy. Although she behaved modestly and outwardly did not interfere in state affairs, the French disliked the "stranger" who was neither beautiful nor pleasant in communication. Spiky eyes, stubbornly compressed thin lips, nervous fingers always fiddling with a handkerchief - no, cheerful France did not want to see her queen like that. In addition, for the Medici family, the gloomy glory of sorcerers and poisoners has long and rightly followed. But Catherine's life was especially spoiled by the fact that for ten years she and Henry did not have children. The threat of divorce hung over her all this time.
What gave Catherine de Medici the strength to endure her husband's neglect, the intrigues of a successful rival, the ridicule of the courtiers? Undoubtedly, the confidence that her hour will come.
Nature endowed Catherine with the gift of foresight, although she tried to hide it from strangers. Testimonies remained only from the closest ones. Her daughter, Queen Margot, famed by Alexandre Dumas, said: “Every time a mother had to lose one of her relatives, she saw a huge flame in her dream.” She also dreamed of the outcome of important battles, impending natural disasters.
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However, Catherine was not content with only her own gift. When an important decision was needed, she turned to the help of astrologers and sorcerers, many of whom she brought with her from Italy. Card fortune-telling, astrology, rituals with magic mirrors - everything was at her service. As Catherine once confessed to the same Margot, more than once she was on the verge of asking her husband for a divorce and return to Italy herself. Only the image appearing in the magic mirror held her back - she was with a crown on her head and surrounded by a dozen children.
Patroness of Nostradamus
Catherine's life changed little in 1547, when Henry ascended the throne. Diana was still in control of her husband's heart and state affairs, while her unloved wife continued to seek solace from the masters of the occult sciences.
Catherine had already heard about the famous predictor Nostradamus, when the thirty-fifth quatrain (quatrain) from his "Prophecies" came to her attention. It was about the fate of the French king: “The young lion will surpass the old one on the battlefield in a single duel, he will pierce his eye through a golden cage. Two wounds in one, then he will die a painful death."
This was the second "bell". The first sounded a little earlier - another astrologer, Luke Gorik, warned Catherine that her husband was in mortal danger from injury at a certain tournament. Concerned, Catherine insisted: it is necessary to invite Nostradamus to the court in order to clarify the details of the prophecy. He arrived, but the queen's anxiety from communicating with him only intensified.
On July 1, 1559, celebrations were scheduled in honor of the wedding of Princess Elizabeth, daughter of Catherine, with the Spanish king Philip II. Heinrich ordered to remove part of the pavement from the Parisian rue Saint-Antoine in order to organize the lists there.
Catherine already knew - the hour of trouble had come. She had a dream: again fire, a lot of fire. When she woke up, the first thing she did was to send her husband a note: “I conjure you, Henry! Refuse to fight today!"
He coldly crumpled the paper into a ball, not in the habit of listening to the advice of a hateful wife.
… The festival is grandiose! The audience applauds and screams deafeningly. Of course, all precautions have been taken: spears are blunt, participants are chained in steel armor, strong helmets are on their heads. Everyone is excitedly excited. And only Catherine's fingers tug at the handkerchief with such force that a huge hole appears on it.
As soon as the king left for the field, they gave the signal to start the tournament. Here Henry directed his horse towards one knight, here he crossed a spear with another. "The king is an excellent fighter," Catherine instills in herself. "And today he is especially excited." But my heart sank in anticipation of the tragedy.
Henry orders the Earl of Montgomery, the young captain of the Scottish army, on whose shield is the image of a lion, to take up a spear. He hesitates - he remembers too well how his father almost killed another French king, Francis I, hitting his head while playing with a burning torch. But Henry is adamant, and the count obeys.
Opponents rush towards each other. And - horror! - Montgomery's spear breaks with a crash, hitting the king's golden helmet. One shard falls into the opened gap of the visor, piercing the eye, the second - bites into the throat.
After suffering ten days, Henry died. And many remembered the prophecy of Nostradamus. The cardinals wanted to send him to the stake. Peasants who believed that the prediction was in fact a curse burned the images of the seer. Only the intercession of Catherine saved him from reprisals.
Becoming regent with her minor son Francis II, she gained the coveted power. Nostradamus remained at court, having received the post of medical life. There is a story that, at the request of Catherine, he had a chance to make another prediction for the royal house, which turned out to be no less sad.
Calling an angel named Anael, Nostradamus asked him to reveal in a magic mirror the fate of the queen's children. The mirror showed the reign of her three sons, and then the whole 23 years in power of her despised son-in-law, Henry of Navarre. Suppressed by this news, Catherine stopped the magical effect. She was ready to fight fate by any means.
Black mass
At least two episodes are reliably known when Catherine de 'Medici resorted to the most terrible form of black magic - "the prophecy of the Bleeding Head."
The first episode took place on a cold May night in 1574. Francis, the eldest of the Queen Mother's sons, had long since been buried in his grave. And now the second son was dying - King Charles IX, stricken with an inexplicable illness. His position worsened every day. Catherine had only one way out - the Black Mass.
The sacrifice required an innocent child, which, however, was not difficult to find. For the first communion, the child was prepared by the courtier in charge of the distribution of alms. On the night of the sacrifice, the apostate monk, who had deserted to the priests of black magic, served a black mass in Charles's chambers. In a room where only confidants were admitted, in front of the image of a demon, at whose feet an inverted crucifix was placed, he consecrated two wafers - black and white. The white one was given to the child, the black one was put on the bottom of the diskos. The boy was killed with one blow immediately after the first communion. His severed head was placed on a black wafer and transferred to a table where candles were burning.
Dealing with evil demons is difficult. But things turned out especially badly that night. The king asked the demon for a prophecy. And when he heard the answer from the head of the little martyr, he shouted: "Take this head away!"
“I suffer from violence,” the head said in a frighteningly inhuman voice.
Karl shook in convulsions, foam flew from his mouth in shreds. The king is dead. And Catherine, who had not previously questioned her abilities for magic, was horrified: did even the devil turn his back on her offspring?
However, the failure of the terrible rite did not change her attitude towards witchcraft. Catherine still relied on the help of the magicians. When, a few years later, her next son, King Henry III, fell ill, she, without hesitation for a long time, again turned to those who not so long ago served a black mass to save Charles.
Catherine was sure: magic can only be fought with the help of magic. It was her political opponents, the Gizov family approaching the throne, who condemned the young king to death. The cards told her about the damage they had caused. Her court astrologer warned her about her. Later, a servant witness, trembling with fear, told Catherine how it all happened.
The wax figurine of the king was placed on the altar at which the priest of Gizov celebrated Mass. They pierced her with a needle during a prayer full of threats and anathemas. They asked for Henry's death. “Due to the fact that His Majesty did not die quickly enough, they decided that our king is also a sorcerer,” the narrator whispered, pulling his head into his shoulders.
Catherine just shrugged her shoulders contemptuously. Is Heinrich a sorcerer? Only fools can believe this. He is weak and weak-willed, his spirit is not ready for such trials. And communication with the dark forces is, as she knows very well, a cruel test that takes all her strength. It was obvious to her that the monstrous sin would again have to be accepted.
And again the child was brought into the patient's room. The candle flame went out again for a moment. But this time Catherine was stronger. Death touched the king's face and retreated, Henry survived.
Death is called Saint Germain
No matter how hard Catherine tried, she could not deceive her fate.
One of her many astrologers warned the queen against "some Saint Germain." Since then, Catherine has stopped visiting her castle in Saint-Germain-en-Laye and the Louvre - after all, next to the Louvre is the Church of Saint-Germain. When drawing up travel plans, she vigilantly made sure that her path ran as far as possible from the churches and settlements of the same name. The queen settled in the castle of Blois, which she did not love before, just to protect herself from any surprises.
Once, when she was ill, she reassured the lady-in-waiting: “Nothing threatens me in Blois, do not worry. You heard I die next to Saint Germain. And here I will certainly recover."
But the disease progressed. And Catherine ordered to call a doctor. A doctor she didn’t know came, examined her and decided to be on duty at her bedside until morning while she slept.
“You are too tired, your majesty. You just need to get some rest,”he said.
“Yes,” the queen nodded. - But who are you? What is your name?
“My name is Saint-Germain, madame,” the Aesculapius bowed deeply.
Three hours later, Catherine de Medici was gone.
“I was crushed by the rubble of a house,” these dying words of the “black queen” were prophetic. A few months later, the last of her sons, Heinrich, went to the grave after his mother. Instead of the House of Valois, the Bourbon dynasty reigned in France.
