The astrologer also said—without knowing anything else about Catherine’s background—that her chart revealed that she lost her parents in early childhood, and faced a massive catastrophe during her life, as a result of the Grand Cross.
In your research of the astrological charts of Catherine and her family and the superstitions of the time period, what was the most interesting/surprising/shocking thing you learned?
Even though I enjoy reading about Renaissance magic and related matters, I’m a skeptic; I approach it the way an anthropologist would approach learning about the magical beliefs of an ancient culture. But I admit, I was shocked when I came across the link between the star Algol and the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre.
“Even though I enjoy…Renaissance magic and related matters, I’m a skeptic.”
Since ancient times, Algol has been associated with the violent shedding of blood on a mass scale; the Chinese called the star “the Heaped-Up Corpses,” and the Arabs called it al-ghul, “the demon” star. Renaissance magicians and modern-day astrologers believed it to be the most evil star in the heavens, predicting great catastrophe.
Algol rose and made an extremely bad aspect with the planet Mars (associated with war and bloodshed) less than an hour before the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre began. Catherine surely knew this—she made use of several astrologers, including her favorite, Ruggieri, and always checked their mathematical calculations against hers (which were always right).
* * *
To learn more about Catherine’s favorite black magic spells, dark charms, and mysterious incantations, visit www.stmartins.com/thedevilsqueen.
* * *
Ruth Miller
Historical Perspective
Catherine de’ Medici: A Timeline
April 13, 1519
Caterina de’ Medici is born
October 28, 1533
Caterina marries Henri
January 19, 1544
Catherine’s first son, François, is born
March 31, 1547
King François I dies; his son, Henri, becomes Henri II of France
June 27, 1550
Charles-Maximilien is born
September 19, 1551
Edouard-Alexandre is born
May 14, 1553
Marguerite (Margot) is born
July 10, 1559
Henri dies; his fifteen year-old son, François, becomes François II of France
December 5, 1560
François II dies; his brother, Charles, becomes Charles IX of France
August 18, 1572
Catherine’s daughter, Margot, marries the Huguenot king, Henri of Navarre
August 23, 1572
The St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre begins
May 30, 1574
Charles dies; his brother, Edouard, becomes Henri III of France
January 5, 1589
Catherine dies
Recommended Reading
Catherine de’ Medici:
Renaissance Queen of France
Leonie Frieda
Renaissance Warrior and Patron:
The Reign of Francis I
R. J. Knecht
Keep on Reading
Beneath the Cross:
Catholics and Huguenots in
Sixteenth-Century Paris
Barbara B. Diefendorf
Memoirs of Marguerite,
Queen of Navarre
Reading Group Questions
What did you know about Catherine de’ Medici—either from your own studies, or as portrayed in popular film/television adaptations—before reading The Devil’s Queen? How, if at all, did this book teach you about, or change your impression of, this important chapter in French history?
What do you see as Catherine’s most and least admirable qualities?
To what extent do you think Jeanne Kalogridis took artistic liberties with this work? What does it take for a novelist to bring a “real” period to life?
Discuss the nature of fact versus fiction in The Devil’s Queen. You may wish to take this opportunity to compare it with other historical novels you’ve read (as a group or on your own).
Catherine was orphaned at an early age, raised by an unaffectionate aunt, imprisoned for years, and misused by her cousin, Ippolito. What possible impact could such traumatic events have had on a child’s character? How do you think they affected Catherine?
What made Catherine capable of the ritual murder of an innocent? Was she evil at heart, or was her act understandable, if not justifiable?
Wicked, bloodthirsty, scheming…many adjectives have been used by historians to describe Catherine de’ Medici’s character. What words would you use to describe her?
Take a moment to talk about Catherine’s roles—as a prisoner, a marriage pawn, a princess, a queen, and later a regent—in Renaissance society. How was Catherine different from other women of her era? Do you think she was a “woman ahead of her time”?
As an astrologer and practitioner of magic, Catherine believed in fate. Do you believe that she could have taken a different course of action to avoid the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, or was it inevitable? If not, what steps could she have taken to stop it?
Why do modern readers enjoy novels about the past? How and when can a powerful piece of fiction be a history lesson in itself?
We are taught, as young readers, that every story has a moral. Is there a moral to The Devil’s Queen? What can we learn about our world—and ourselves—from Catherine’s story?
Table of Contents
PART I
PART II
PART III
PART IV
PART V
PART VI
PART VII
Jeanne Kalogridis, The Devil's Queen: A Novel of Catherine de Medici
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