In the 16th century, France repeatedly teetered on the brink of collapse amid civil wars, religious tensions, and revolts by the nobility. Amid this chaos, Catherine de' Medici managed to hold the system together for years. A Florentine member of the Medici family, she arrived at court at a very young age and married Henry II. At first, she was a marginal figure, overshadowed by the king's favourites, but after her husband's death in 1559, everything changed. Her children were still young, and someone had to govern in their place. Catherine became regent, and from then on, French politics passed through her hands.
France was divided between Catholics and Huguenots, the French Calvinists. Catherine initially attempted mediation, seeking to balance the factions and prevent one from prevailing over the other, because if one side prevailed, it would become too strong and the monarchy would lose control. For years, Catherine truly played a pivotal role: she negotiated with Protestants, reassured Catholics, and sought to maintain royal power at the centre.
In 1572, however, everything exploded. During the wedding between her daughter Marguerite and the Protestant Henry of Bourbon, Paris, a Catholic city, was filled with Huguenot nobles who had flocked to celebrate the event. A few days later, St. Bartholomew's Day occurred, during which the Huguenots in Paris were massacred. Catherine was probably not solely responsible, but she was certainly at the centre of the decisions. Her policy changed from mediation to repression. Balance transformed into control through force. Her image changed forever. For her contemporaries and for centuries to come, Catherine became the "Black Queen," manipulative, ruthless, and Machiavellian. But, in reality, her goal remained the same: to save the monarchy from anarchy.
She ruled through three of her sons, all rather weak personalities unsuited to managing a crisis that could have escalated: Francis II, Charles IX, and Henry III. For over thirty years, Catherine was the true centre of power.
Upon her death in January 1589, the wars continued, and only with Henry IV of Bourbon was a new stability achieved. A Protestant, he converted to Catholicism to take the throne of Paris, pacifying the kingdom by granting wide freedom to the Huguenots, isolating Catholic and Protestant extremists who also appealed to foreign powers, and finally defeating them.