Marguerite de Valois

   1) (1492-1549)

(Marguerite d'Angoulême, Marguerite de Navarre)

   queen of Navarre, poet, writer

   Marguerite de Valois (or d'Angoulême, or de Navarre, as she is also known) was born in Angoulême, the daughter of Charles de Valois, count of Angou-lême, and Louise of savoy, and was the sister of King Francis i, to whom she was greatly devoted. In 1509, Marguerite married Charles, duke of Alençon and, after his death, married Henri d'Albret, king of Navarre (1527). One of the most educated women of the period, Marguerite de Valois made her court at Navarre a center of humanism. A devout adherent of the Reformation and protector of the Protestants, she supported the work of various Protestant theologians, including john calvin, whom she knew. Among the scholars and writers who were part of her circle were Robert Estienne (see estienne family), Bonaventure des Préiers, clément marot, and François Rabelais, who dedicated his Tiers Livre to her. Marguerite was herself a writer and, besides her Heptaméron, her most famous work, her poems (Les Marguerites de la Marguerite des princesses) and some comedies. She was the mother of jeanne III d'Albret, queen of Navarre.

   2) (1553-1615)

(Queen Margot, la reine Margot)

   queen of France and Navarre

   The queen of Navarre and France, Marguerite de Valois, or "la reine Margot" as she is known, was born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, the daughter of King henry II of France and Queen Catherine de' medici. In August 1572, she married the leader of the huguenots, Henri de Navarre (the future henry IV of France). The wedding, which was attended by many prominent Huguenots, far from being an occasion for reconciliation, was one of the causes of the saint bartholomew's day massacre, in which thousands of Protestants were killed. After estrangement from her husband, and being expelled from the court of King henry III because of her involvement in intrigues in favor of her brother François d'Alençon (francis ii), Marguerite retired to Nérac, where she held a brilliant court, with many literary figures in attendance. she then settled at usson, in Auvergne (1587-1605). Although her childless marriage to Henry IV was annulled with her consent (1599), 10 years after Henry ascended the throne, Marguerite retained the title of queen. she returned to Paris in 1605. Intelligent and cultivated, she left her Mémoires, which are held in high regard.