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Throughout the Renaissance, wealthy families, specifically the Medicis, held all of the power. The Medici family first gained their power by taking over the small town of Prato in 1512. Once the town was taken over, the chief magistrate Piero Soderini was forced to surrender the city of Florence to their rule. The Medicis utilized their power by throwing a once important military leader of Florence, Niccolo Machiavelli, into jail and then forcing him into exile for the rest of his life. This was the beginning of a less moral and more self-preserving type of politics.

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The wealthy families of Italy, specifically the Medici family, had a major influence on their culture, art and growth of the Renaissance. The Medici did not start off as the most powerful family in Italy but over the years, since they knew so much about getting ahead and staying ahead, they became the most powerful, controlling family in the Renaissance. They were known as the Godfathers of the Renaissance and the Medici bank became the most popular profitable business in Europe. Since they had a partnership with the Catholic Church and the Pope this gave the bank “immense power”. The Pope’s influence made the bank even more popular which led people wanting to have an account there. This gave the Medici family ultimate power and influence over many of the roman citizens. Wealthy families influenced the Renaissance because the city states relied on the money of the upper class families which gave them the power because the citizens were dependent on them.

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The wealthy families in Italy, such as the Medici's had a huge influence on society within the Renaissance. Because of their high class, they were able to be elected for high status roles such as the Pope. These families took advantage of any situations by creating governments more suited to their needs and more. The Medici played a very important part in the Renaissance, because of their influence and knowledge, the Renaissance was able to flourish.

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Wealthy families had powerful influence and ruled the city states of Italy; the Medici’s were a great example of those social classes. The Medici family who ruled ruthlessly for generations had started by Giovanni Medici, a simple merchant's son. Through sneaky and clever tactics, the family was able to rise to power. They operated by using people from peasants and nobles to do their bidding by using their motive to associate themselves with the Medici family to their advantage. However, despite their ambitious and dirty tricks that they had pulled in power, they had an eye for the arts and entertainment. The family had encouraged scholars and education throughout their land by supporting certain people under those fields, making them one of the main patrons who led Italy into its renaissance.

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Families such as The Machiavelli family contributed to, specifically Italian, cities such as Florence for ages for reasons varying from aiding scholarly innovations to expanding territory. It was particularly Niccolo Machiavelli, who had a legacy beyond his civic career, his motivation being the invasion of France in 1494.

Machiavelli was political adviser under Piero Soderini, and in that position he passed legislation banning any association with the, now in power, Medici family. However, Soderini eventually surrendered the city to Medici rule. Niccolo, now without hope, was thrown in jail by the Medicis, tortured and sent into solitary exile. Niccolo called his book “The Prince”, and dedicated it to the Medici family.
Niccolo Machiavelli and his combats with the Medicis was just one of many example of how much power the higher class had.
His name symbolizes a new take on politics, one of the Renaissance.

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The wealthy families of Italy strongly influenced the growth of the Renaissance due to their money, power, high status, and their important role played in society. A perfect example of how wealthy families influenced the Renaissance was the Medici family of Florence. The Medici family's wealth started from a successful banking company run by them. Cosimo Medici, decided that some of their profit would go into supporting artists and thinkers. As we know, the Renaissance had a lot to do with the flourishment of the arts and literature in Europe so, by putting money towards these interests, it allowed them to disperse and spread. Cosimo was very intrigued by almost all forms of art. He supported poets, philosophers, and even singers. The more effort and time he put into these peoples different interests within the arts, the more money he ended up giving to them. In conclusion families wealth allowed people involved in the arts to pursue their passions, and eventually spread enough to start the Renaissance.

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wealthy families influenced the rennaisance, by marrying into wealthy households and passing on their values and knowledge to their offspring. by marrying into other wealthy households, the wealthy were able to keep their authority over people, regardless of who they were ruling over. catherine de medici, one of the renaissance's most prominent ladies, descended from the illustrious medici family of italy. she is best known for marrying into the french valois line and rising to become france's queen consort, regent, and queen mother. after fourteen years after their marriage, catherine's husband became king of france, and she served as regent alongside him for five years. during her three sons' reigns, catherine used her political skills to assist them

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Wealthy families influenced the Renaissance by marrying into other wealthy families and passing down beliefs and knowledge to their children. By marrying into other wealthy families, they could continue to maintain power over people, no matter who the people were, and keep their name intact. Catherine de Medici, one of the most powerful women of the Renaissance, came from the notable Italian Medici family. However, she is known for marrying into the French Valois family and becoming the queen consort, regent, and queen mother of France. Catherine’s husband became the King of France fourteen years into their marriage, and five years into his reign, she became regent for a brief period. She used that political experience to advise her three sons during their respective reigns as king. She built up her own political power by guiding them and imparting to them her wisdom. Catherine used her role to promote peace and unity in France, although she is sometimes falsely known for doing the opposite.

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The wealthy families of Italy influenced the Renaissance through their generous contributions towards the growth of culture and art. Specifically, the Medici family was one of the largest supporters of the Renaissance. In fact, the Medici are known for their patronage of the arts. Patronage refers to the sponsorship of artists by a wealthy individual or family. For great works of art, they would pay commissions to painters. The Medici sponsorship had a significant impact on the Renaissance, allowing artists to concentrate on their work without worrying about finances. Though some reasoning of this patronage was not for the right intent, their contributions still helped shape the culture of the Renaissance.

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The wealthy families of Italy, specifically the Medici's had a major influence on the growth of the Renaissance because of their important roles in society. The Medici's had many advantages in being elected for certain high positions like the Pope. They were often chosen to be put in high positions because of their reputation and status. They were in charge of the decisions for their city state. One example is that they influenced Republicanism. Secondly, Alessandro de Medici was the first black head of state in the modern western world. He yielded great power because he became a patron of the arts and was the first Duke of Florence. These positions gave him freedom and power to control the city. Wealthy families provided the resources to allow much of the genius of the Renaissance to thrive and flourish.

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Money was an easy influence of culture and society during the Renaissance, making it easy for a powerful family like the Medicis, to gain power. The Medici family ran a large and powerful bank chain and used their money to support artists and thinkers. The money that they used to sponsor these creatives helped to fund the greater creativity of the Renaissance. The Medici family created such dramas and feuds with other families, that the constitution was even changed to favor them. Their support of philosophy, education, and arts led to the success of said topics in the Renaissance. The Medici’s abundance of wealth and patronage of the arts, not only advanced society, but politics as well.

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Well Cosimo Medici had great amount of wealth which he earned from the many banks he owned around European cities. He sponsored the platonic Academy which is a academy that supported artist and thinkers. He also collected books from all over Europe and put them in his impressive library in the Medici palace. His grandson Lorenzo followed in his footsteps by writing in Italian, Greek, and latin. Lorenzo was even in Botticelli( a famous artist during the Renaissance) painting showing Lorenzo as one of the kings to the Virgin Mary. Which shows how much Lorenzo influence and power he had during this time period.

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Wealthy families influenced the renaissance because they were able to provide the funds necessary to create the amazing works of the Renaissance. Extravagant structures and works of art were built because of the patronage system that was created. Rich people would fund the working class' thirst for knowledge and beauty. People were able to rediscover classical texts through this patronage system and create a larger understanding of human nature while also being able to learn from the ideas people had long ago and add on with their more "modern" understandings and findings.

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The Medici family was very influential and quickly grew in power. The Medici's took control of the banking system, which caused their wealth to blossom. The Medici family built many buildings dedicated to the arts and humanism. The two most famous Medici's, Cosimo and Lorenzo Medici were not content with wealth and yearned for something more. Cosimo began to support artists and intellect. That soon turned into a group specifically dedicated to humanism. Lorenzo was known as "Lorenzo the magnificent' because of his strong belief and support for humanism and the arts. The Medici's expanded the art's, ensuring it was taught at schools. They did all of this while still having a political hold on Italy.

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Wealthy families, like the Medicis, influenced the Renaissance with their strong connections and their impact over their subjects, politics and art. When Cardinal Giulio de Medici, a former head of the Medici household, became Pope Clement VII he was able to gain influence over religion. Additionally, Alessandro de Medici the illegitimate son of  Giulio born from a Black maid, Simonetta da Collavechio, became the first black head of state in modern western world. Since Alessandro was favored and supported by Emperor Charles V. after the war between the Papal and emperor, Charles V appointed Alessandro head of the state of Florence. The emperor even gave Alessandro his illegitimate daughter, Margaret of Austria, as a wife. In 1532, Alessandro was also declared hereditary Duke and perpetual gonfalonier of the republic by the new Florentine constitution and combined with being a patron of many leading artists of that era gave him lots of influence over Renaissance art. Another example of Medici influence came in 1527 when Emperor Charles V attacked Rome, and the Medicis used this opportunity to install a more democratic form of government. Overall, the Medici family influenced the Renaissance because of their power in the courts, the government, religion and patronage with many important artists.

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The influence of the Medici family in politics particularly stands out in the case of Niccolo Machiavelli. Around 1502, chief magistrate Piero Soderini chose Machiavelli as his political advisor and protégé. Soderini later passed a law which banned association or public reference to the Medici family because of their previous dictatorship. The Medici's used their power to conquer that small town (Prato), and Soderini had no choice but to surrender the city to their rule. Machiavelli faced the consequence of being tortured, thrown in jail, and then forced into solitary exile. Machiavelli wrote a book called "The Prince" and dedicated it to the Medici family in hopes that his political career would be won back, but he remained in exile for the rest of his life. Wealthy families similarly had this same level of power over the government and politics during the Renaissance.

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Wealthy families influenced the Renaissance by providing a voice for all perspectives and supporting astronomers and scientists. Firstly, during a war between Catholics and protestants, Catherine de Medici was known for hating the Protestants and favoring the Catholics. However, Catherine put reason over blind faith and wanted to end the wary by attempting to unify the two groups. Cathrine could use her status to advocate for others and promote unity which was an important part of the Renaissance. Secondly, Catherine supported and most likely sponsored astronomers and scientists which is an example of the patronage system. The patronage system was an exchange of sponsorship for talent that was very common during the Renaissance.

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The Medici's were a vastly powerful family that gained their wealth through the banking system. Through this, they were able to influence culture and politics from building educational centers to their patronage of the arts and humanism and their power that allowed them to control the political system. Cosimo de'Medici built an expansive library along with a humanist school called Platonic Academy. He also was a patron to many great artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Botticelli. By doing all of this, the Medici's were able to ensure a flourishing of the arts and education within the Renaissance while maintaining some political control.

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Group #5: Alessandro de Medici - Olivia Lauto

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Group #5: Alessandro de Medici - Olivia Lauto

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Wealthy families like the Medici family influenced the Renaissance by having important and powerful roles in society. Alessandro de Medici was the first duke of Florence and was a patron of the arts. Both of these positions gave Alessandro de Medici an enormous amount of control over Florence by ruling his city and dictating the amount of art produced. Alessandro de Medici’s father, Cardinal Giulio de Medici, became the Pope Clement VII, giving him religious power of Florence and the whole Catholic community. Alessandro’s son, Giulio, was First Admiral of the Knights of San Stephano. This gave the Medici family control of the Italian military.

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The Renaissance time period was a time for people to grow and become their own individual. Medici families in Europe had a big influence on politics and culture. Cosimo, the grandfather to Lorenzo, supported artists and thinkers. Lorenzo came up to be know as "Lorenzo the magnificent" for his politics and art. because Lorenzo was the head of the Medici bank just like his grandfather was. The Medici's started their banking industry in the fourteenth century with small bets that eventually grew.

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Group #1: The Medici's on PBS - Elana Frank

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Group #1: The Medici's on PBS - Elana Frank

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The wealthy families of Italy impacted not only the entire workforce, but the arts, religion, banking, politics and social influence. They put the patronage system into place encouraging artisans and a new place for the middle class. With the affluent families new founded curiosity they, helped discover and translate thousands of texts and scriptures. With all this knowledge now circling around in society new ideologies and beliefs were spread encouraging the individualism that allowed this era to become the Renaissance. This new knowledge also led to an increase of secularism in Europe, shattering centuries of corruption and power the Catholic Church held. Without the wealthy families of the Renaissance, the progression and growth that took place in that era would have ceased to exist.

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Ella Group #3: Lorenzo's Influence According to Machiavelli

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Ella Group #3: Lorenzo's Influence According to Machiavelli

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During the Renaissance, wealthy families had strong mercenaries. This helped them gain land and power. For example, in 1502 Machiavelli became the protégé of Piero Soderini. Piero Soderini later passed legislation banning association with the Medici family in order to stop them from creating a dictatorship. This caused the Medici family to fight against Piero Soderini and Machiavelli. And in 1512 the Medici family defeated Machiavelli's troops and took over Florence. This gave them the power to change the government and throw Machiavelli in jail, torture him, and send him into exile. Machiavelli remained in exile for the rest of his life because of the Medici family.

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Wealthy families were able to afford a newly discovered style of art. They could also afford bigger architecture that was made intentionally replicating the Classical past. These wealthy families were intent on retaining their power and wealth. But most families were unsuccessful in that feat.They gained statues and power through bribery, corruption and violence, but most families could not maintain what they had won.

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Despite the many portraits of this 16th century Italian Renaissance figure, his African heritage is rarely, if ever, mentioned.[ Editor's Note: For more on this omission as it has occurred in the art world, read this January 2005 update.]

Alessandro wielded great power as the first duke of Florence. He was the patron of some of the leading artists of the era and is one of the two Medici princes whose remains are buried in the famous tomb by Michaelangelo. The ethnic make up of this Medici Prince makes him the first black head of state in the modern western world.

Alessandro was born in 1510 to a black serving woman in the Medici household who, after her subsequent marriage to a muleteer, is simply referred to in existing documents as Simonetta da Collavechio. Historians today are convinced that Alessandro was fathered by the seventeen year old Cardinal Giulio de Medici who later became Pope Clement VII. Cardinal Giulio was the nephew of Lorenzo the Magnificent.

On being elected Pope in 1523, Cardinal Giulio was forced to relinquish the lordship of Florence but he appointed a regent for his thirteen year old son Alessandro who had just been created Duke of Penna, and a nephew, Ipollito. Even though both were bastards, they were the last of what has come to be referred to as the elder line of the family.

Republicanism had grown in Florence under the regent and when Emperor Charles V sacked Rome in 1527, the Florentines took advantage of the situation to install a more democratic form of government and both Alessandro and Ipollito fled. When peace was finally made two years later between the Papal and the Imperial factions, Charles V agreed to militarily restore Florence to the Medici. After a siege of eleven months Alessandro was finally brought back as the Emperor's designated head of state.

In 1532, the new Florentine constitution declared Alessandro hereditary Duke and perpetual gonfalonier of the republic. Though his common sense and his feeling for justice won his subjects' affection, those in sympathy with the exiled opposition hated Alessandro and accused him of using his power to sexually exploit the citizenry. However, only two illegitimate children with the possibility of a third, have been attributed to him and even these he fathered with one woman, Taddea Malespina, a distant cousin of his.

With the death of his father, the Pope, in 1534, the exiles attempted to oust the Duke Alessandro from Florence. But the Emperor decided to uphold Alessandro and in an obvious show of support, gave Alessandro his own illegitimate daughter, Margaret of Austria, as wife.

Despite the security this kind of support should have given him, Alessandro was finally assassinated a few months after his wedding by Lorenzaccio de Medici, a distant cousin who had ingratiated himself in order to win his confidence. According to the declaration he later published, Lorenzaccio claimed that he had executed Alessandro for the sake of the republic and that he had been able to disarm him of his personal bodyguards by setting up a sexual liaison for him as a trap. When the anti-Medici faction failed to use this occasion to overthrow the ducal government, Lorenzaccio fled in dismay. He was himself eventually murdered some twelve years later.

Allessandro's Children:

Although the initial reaction to the assassination on the part of the Ducal party had been to set up a regency for Alessandro's four year-old son, Giulio, they instead turned to Cosimo of the cadet branch of the family who as young man of seventeen they felt would be able to bring some equilibrium to the political instability that confronted them.

Since they were his cousins and since Cosimo had to consolidate the authority of the Medici family, Cosimo raised Alessandro's children in his own household and continued as their guardian until adulthood. Despite the awkward presence at his court of a potential pretender to the duchy of Florence, Cosimo apparently regarded his young wards with true affection.

Giulio married Lucrezia Gaetani in 1561 and a year later, Cosimo appointed him First Admiral of the Knights of San Stephano, an order especially founded to fight the Turks.

Giulio's sister, Giulia, was first married to Francesco Cantelmo, the Count of Alvito and the Duke of Popoli. When her husband died unable to give her children a few years later, Cosimo then married Giulia off in 1559 to a first cousin of his, Bernardino de Medici. Apparently Giulia's pride in her Medici ancestry was intense. In the early years of her second marriage, her insistence that she be treated at court as the equal of Cosimo's wife caused a rift between herself and Cosimo. Eventually she and her husband moved to Naples where, at an enormous expense to themselves, they acquired both the title and lands of the principality of Ottaiano. (Click here for more on Giulia and "Giulia's Portrait." Also, read the November 2001 Washington Post article on the race issue controversy over a portrait of Giulia.)

The greater majority of the noble houses of Italy can today trace their ancestry back to Alessandro de Medici. And, as shown in the two lines of descent to the Hapsburgs drawn up below, so can a number of other princely families of Europe:

Giulio de Medici, (Allessandro's son) Knight Commander of the Gallery of St. Stephen m. Lucrezia, Countess Gaetani

Cosimo de Medici (illegitimate) m. Lucrezia (II), Countess Gaetani

Angelica de Medici m. Gianpetro, CountAltemps

Maria Cristina, Countess Altemps m. 1646 Ipollito, DukeLante della Rovere

Antonio, Duke Lante m. 1682 Angelique, Princesse de La Tremouille

Marie Anne Lante m. Jean Baptiste, Duke ofCroy Havre

Louis, Duke of Croy Havre m. 1736 Marie Louise, Princess of Montmorency Luxembourg

Joseph, Duke ofCroy Havre m. 1762 Adelaide, Princess of Croy Solre

Adelaide, Duchess of Croy Havre m. 1788 Emanuel, Prince ofCroy Solre

Constance, Princess of Croy Solre m. 1810 Ferdinand, Duke of Croy

Augusta, Duchess of Croy m. 1836 Alfred, Prince ofSalm Salm

Alfred, Prince of Salm Salm m. 1869 Rosa, Countess Lutzow

Emanuel, Prince of Salm Salm m. 1902 Christina vonHapsburg, Archduchess of Austria

Rosemary, Princess of Salm Salm m. 1926 Hubert Salvator vonHapsburg, Archduke of Austria

ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF ALESSANDRO'S DESCENT:
Joseph, Duke of Croy Havre m. 1762 Adelaide, Princess of Croy Solre

Amalie, Duchess of Croy Havre m. 1790 Charles, Marquis of Conflans

Amalie de Conflans m. 1823 Eugene, Prince of Ligne

Henri, Prince of Ligne m. 1851 Marguerite, Countess of Talleyrand Perigord

Ernest Louis, Prince of Ligne m. 1887 Diane Marchioness of Cosse Brissac

Eugene, Prince of Ligne m. 1917 Phillipine, Princess Noailles

Yolanda, Princess of Ligne m. 1950 Karl von Hapsburg, Archduke of Austria

ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF ALESSANDRO'S DESCENT:

Giulio de Medici, Knight Commander of the Gallery of St. Stephen m. Lucrezia, Countess Gaetani

Cosimo de Medici (illegitimate) m. Lucrezia, Countess Gaetani

Angelica de Medici m. Gianpetro, Count Altemps

Maria Cristina, Countess Altemps m. 1646 Ipollito, Duke Lante della Rovere

Antonio, Duke Lante m. 1682 Angelique, Princesse de La Tremouille

Luigi, Duke Lante m. Angela, Princess Vaini

Fillipo, Duke Lante m. Faustina, Marchioness Caprianca

Maria Christina Lante m. Averado, Duke Salviati

Anna Maria Salviati m. Marcantonio , Prince Borghese

Camillo, Prince Borghese m. 1803 Pauline Bonaparte, Napoleon's Sister

ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF ALESSANDRO'S DESCENT:

Marie Anne Lante m. Jean Baptiste, Duke of Croy Havre

Adelaide, Croy Havre m. Emanuel, Prince of Croy Solre

Constance, Princess of Croy Solre m. 1810 Ferdinand of Croy Solre

Juste Marie, Prince of Croy m. 1854 Marie, Countess Ursel

Charles, Prince of Croy m. 1896 Matilda, Countess Robiano

Marie Imaculee m. 1926 Thiery, count of Limburg Stirum

Evrard, Count of Limburg Stirum m. 1957 Helen, Princess of France daughter of the Count of Paris

Researched and Written by Mario de Valdes y Cocom an historian of the African diaspora.

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Despite the many portraits of this 16th century Italian Renaissance figure, his African heritage is rarely, if ever, mentioned.[ Editor's Note: For more on this omission as it has occurred in the art world, read this January 2005 update.] Alessandro wielded great power as the first duke of Florence.

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Catherine de Medici was never meant to be queen. The 'orphan of Florence' suffered more losses during her childhood than most people do in a lifetime. Yet fate struck, and the 'duchessina' - as she went on to be called by the Florentine people - ended up marrying into the French royal family. Little did she know that, one day, she would become queen of France.

Catherine de Medici's family and upbringing

Catherine was born in Florence on 13 April 1519 to Lorenzo de Medici, the ruler of the kingdom of Florence, and his wife Madeleine de La Tour d'Auvergne. Within three weeks of her birth, Madeleine died from a violent fever and Catherine was left without a mother. Shortly afterwards, her father, who was also the Duke of Urbino, had to defend the region after it was attacked by Francesco Maria, a former duke of Urbino who had plotted his revenge during a vulnerable time for Lorenzo's family. Lorenzo sustained injuries in the town's defence and died of his wounds amid other disease complications in May 1519.

Despite relatives who stepped in to look after Catherine after the death of her parents, the little duchess was now alone in the world; nothing could replace parental love and protection - or, at least, almost nothing. Initially, Catherine was looked after by her paternal grandmother, Alfonsina Orsini, but when Alfonsina died in 1520, Catherine was left with her aunt, Clarice de Medici. By 1527, the ruling Medicis had been overthrown by a faction that opposed Giulio de Medici, who had been elected as Pope Clement VII in 1523. Catherine was then raised in several convents until peace was reached, at which point Clement summoned her to go and live with him in Rome. He cared for her and also arranged her union to Henry, Duke of Orléans, the second son of King Francis I of France, in early 1533. The young couple were married in Marseille on 28 October 1533.

Aged just 14, Catherine had now entered into the French royal family - a life-changing experience.

How did Catherine become governor of France?

Catherine's marriage to Henry II was not a happy one. As queen consort following the death of Francis I in 1547, Catherine was fully devoted to her husband, but in reality, she was the third wheel in the relationship; Henry II was profoundly in love with his royal favourite, Diane de Poitiers, who exercised enormous influence over Henry's life. There were three people in this union and, as a result, Henry spent very little time with his wife - to the point where courtiers gossiped that the queen was infertile (after all, Henry had illegitimate children with other mistresses). But after nearly a decade of further humiliations, Diane actually helped the royal couple conceive. Worried that she could lose her position and influence at court if the king were to remarry a younger and more enticing wife to sire an heir, Diane made sure that Henry frequented the royal bedchamber; Catherine was no threat to her, even with heirs, as Diane had secured the king's affection and sexual attraction. From 1544 onwards, Catherine and Henry had a total of 10 children - seven of whom survived to adulthood.

When Henry II died following injuries sustained during a jousting tournament in 1559, Catherine's situation at court changed in an instant. At first, she acted as a political advisor to her eldest son, Francis II of France. Though Henry had allowed her little influence as queen consort, she had previously been made regent by her husband in 1552 while Henry was absent at the siege of Metz, and she used this brief political experience under Francis II. Then, when Francis died of illness on 5 December 1560, her 10-year-old son, Charles IX, became the next king of France. In an attempt to prevent Catherine from taking control, a regency was put into place, but she overcame it and was made 'governor of France', ruling alongside Antoine de Bourbon, the king of Navarre. Although Antoine was a prince of the blood (a legitimate male heir to the French throne) and had been declared the 'official' regent, the arrangement was ultimately approved by parliament.

It was through her sons that Catherine built up her own political power. When Charles IX became of age to rule on his own, she took the title of 'queen mother of France', imposing herself on all governmental meetings and using the influence she had over her son to remain in power. She continued this strategy - though less successfully - with her next-youngest son, Henry III, who became king upon Charles's death in 1574.

Catherine and the St Bartholomew's Day massacre

The long regency of Catherine was marked by the French Wars of Religion, a period of war between Catholics and Huguenots (Protestants). Many urban legends depict Catherine as a murderer who hated Protestants, but it is important to note that the reality is quite different. In fact, Catherine spent a lot of her time in power trying to find peace compromises between Catholics and Protestants. Was she a fervent Catholic? Yes. Would she have preferred it if all her country was Catholic? Of course. But she also knew the importance of preserving stability in one's realm in order to secure the dynasty.

Catherine spent months negotiating a potential marriage between her daughter, Marguerite of Valois, to the Huguenot Henry of Navarre, son of Antoine de Bourbon and Jeanne d'Albret. Once the marriage was agreed, the wedding was arranged for 18 August 1572. But in the days following the union came one of the bloodiest events of early modern French history. With tensions already high in Paris, an assassination attempt was made on Admiral Gaspard de Coligny, the military and political leader of the Huguenots, and the event sparked days of bloodshed, not just in Paris but all over France: it later became known as the St Bartholomew's Day massacre.

How did Catherine react that night? She tried to save Coligny - the leader who had been targeted by the powerful Catholic Guise family - by sending for the royal doctor, Ambroise Paré, to treat his wounds. She also opened her doors to any Protestants who needed to find refuge, including the English ambassador at the time, Sir Francis Walsingham, when his apartments were no longer safe enough.

The bloodshed is traditionally believed to have been instigated by Catherine. Did she suspect that the Guise family would seek revenge on Huguenot leaders for the death of their father at the hands of a Huguenot noble in 1562? Very likely. But she could not possibly have known it would lead to the thousands of deaths that followed.

Did she encourage it? Hardly. Instability was never in the interest of the ones in power. Did she orchestrate it? No concrete evidence has ever been revealed.

How did Catherine de Medici die?

In September 1588 Catherine started to feel weak, and she eventually became ill with a lung infection. At this time, the situation in France was at its worst. The authority of Henry III, her favourite son, had been contested to the point when, in May 1588, he had to flee Paris as it was besieged by the Catholic League led by the Guises. Catherine spent her time trying to advise her son, but he no longer wished to listen to her.

Her illness progressed and she continued to feel powerless as she watched her son's own power being diminished. When, in December 1588, Henry III ordered the assassinations of his enemies - Henry, Duke of Guise and Louis, Cardinal of Guise - Catherine gasped at the horror she was witnessing. She knew that the French people would never forgive such treacherous behaviour from a king; she knew it would seal her son's fate.

Her lung infection spread further, and, on 5 January 1589, she gave her last breath in her own bed at the Castle of Blois. It is believed she died of pleurisy.

Why was she called the 'serpent queen'?

A dark legend has stained Catherine's reign and those of her sons, largely due to the fact that none of them put an end to the religious civil wars that ravaged France between 1562 and 1598.

Her Italian origins were also considered a problem by courtiers, as well as the fact that she showed interest in astrology and astronomy. She believed astronomers, such as Nostradamus, and asked them for predictions of the future. Some people saw this as being an interest in the occult, which she did not have, and - little by little - her detractors wrongly portrayed her as a 'serpent queen' who knew how to poison her enemies and who was heartless with the people of France. These attacks could not be further from the truth. Catherine, like any other ruler, did plot and lie when needed in order to protect her authority - or that of her sons - but she also showed how much she truly cared about the preservation of France, and always tried to find ways to promote peace and reach stability within the borders of her realm.

Catherine was also fond of art and a keen collector of it; during her lifetime she acquired a great deal of tapestries, sculptures, rich fabrics, furniture and pottery, as well as portraits she commissioned from Jean Clouet and his son, Francis Clouet. She also had a passion for architecture, ordering the renovations of important buildings such as the castles of Montceaux-en-Brie and Chenonceau. She spent a huge amount on the arts, but was never truly recognised as a patron - partly because of the dark legend that still hangs over her reign today.

By her end, Catherine had become a force to be reckoned with. From orphan to queen consort, to queen mother, she drastically influenced French history by producing three of the nation's kings. Though the Valois dynasty did not prevail after Henry III, Catherine's grandchildren from her other children went on to shape late 16th and 17th-century politics. In many ways, she was the grandmother of early modern Europe.
Dr Estelle Paranque is a lecturer in early modern history at New College of the Humanities. Her books include Elizabeth I of England Through Valois Eyes (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018) and a forthcoming joint biography of Elizabeth I and Catherine de Medici (Ebury Press). Find her on Twitter at @DrEstellePrnq

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Catherine de Medici: the 'Serpent Queen' who became one of France's most powerful 16th-century rulers

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Often regarded as brutal and calculating, the powerful Catherine de Medici is much maligned. But how should we regard her actions and power? Estelle Paranque considers the life and legacy of the fascinating royal, from her historical unpopularity to her influence on the history of Europe...

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Group #3: Lorenzo's Influence According to Machiavelli

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Group #3: Lorenzo's Influence According to Machiavelli

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Machiavelli was destined for a life of civil service, but became a victim of the times he lived in. This power-player bet against the Medici and paid for it for the rest of his life.

His enduring legacy is his theory on power and how to keep it, where the end always justified the means.

The Machiavelli family had long served Florence. Niccolo Machiavelli, born to a scholarly father at the dawn of the reign of Lorenzo the Magnificent, was also destined for a civic career until the armies of the King of France invaded Italy in 1494. His anger and helplessness at witnessing his beloved city lose its independence would color his opinions for the rest of his life.

By 1498, Florence was free of foreign invaders, Savonarola's theocracy and Medici dictatorship, and the leaders of the city wanted to resurrect Republican government. Machiavelli worked at the Chancery of the Republic of Florence.

Piero Soderini, elected chief magistrate for life in 1502, chose the clever young Machiavelli as his political adviser and protégé. With the Medici agitating for a return to power, Machiavelli had a tough job.

Soderini passed legislation banning any association with, or public reference to, the Medici family. The government placed a bounty on the heads of the Medici cousins. When the Medici marched towards Florence on behalf of Pope Julius II, it was Machiavelli who was entrusted with the city's defenses.

Despite his efforts, Machiavelli's troops were no match for the papal militia. In 1512 they decimated Prato, a fortified town just outside Florence. The game was up. Soderini surrendered the city to Medici rule. It was the end of everything Machiavelli had worked and schemed for yet Machiavelli was a survivor.

Abandoning his youthful idealism, the spin doctor lobbied hard for a job inside Giovanni de'Medici's new regime, but his ambition was short-lived. The Medici threw him in jail, tortured him and sent him into solitary exile at his country retreat. It was a punishment worse than death for a man who found high-level politics as necessary as breathing.

Machiavelli hated exile. He drank in the company of peasants, fought in local villages and railed at his fate. At night, he dressed in the old robes of office, sat at his desk, and wrote. He drew on his experiences in government and composed a manifesto for pragmatic leadership.

"Since love and fear can hardly exist together, if we must choose between them, it is far safer to be feared than loved... I see that one is obliged to look to the results of an action, and not to the means by which it was achieved... The fortunate man is he who fits his plan of action to the times."

Machiavelli called his book "The Prince", and dedicated it to the Medici family. He hoped it might win him back his political career. His plan backfired. Machiavelli remained in exile for the rest of his life.

His legacy was his name and his manifesto which came to symbolize a new breed of politics, shrewd but devoid of morality.

The Renaissance

Art
- Botticelli
- Donatello
- Ghiberti
- Gozzoli
- Leonardo
- Michelangelo
- Raphael
- Vasari

Politics
- The Republic
- Italy at War
- Machiavelli

Religion
- Heresy
- Counter-Reformation

Science & Architecture
- Galileo
- Brunelleschi

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Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance . Renaissance . Machiavelli | PBS

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Machiavelli was destined for a life of civil service, but became a victim of the times he lived in. This power-player bet against the Medici and paid for it for the rest of his life. His enduring legacy is his theory on power and how to keep it, where the end always justified the means.

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Wealthy families influenced the Renaissance by passing down their beliefs and advice through their children. This allowed the previous generations to pass on their ruling styles to the younger generations. An example of this is  Catherine de Medici influence on French history by producing and advising three French kings. She accomplished this by governing alongside each of her children therefore passing her knowledge and beliefs onto them. Her grandchildren also lead by her guidance as their parents passed down Catherines beliefs and advice.

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Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance . Home | PBS