Catherine de Parthenay Viscountess and Princess of Rohan | |
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| Born | 22 March 1554 |
| Died | 26 October 1631 (aged 77) Château du Parc-Soubise, Mouchamps, Kingdom of France (present-day Vendée, France) |
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| Children | 6, including Henri II, Duke of Rohan; Benjamin, Duke of Soubise and Anne de Rohan |
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| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mathematics |
Catherine de Parthenay, Viscountess and Princess of Rohan (1554–1631) was a French noblewoman, mathematician, philosopher, poet, playwright, and translator.[3][4] She studied with the mathematician François Viète and was considered one of the most brilliant women of the era. De Parthenay was married twice, first to the Protestant baron Charles de Quelennec.[4] During the four years of their marriage, Quelennec was often away and was reported to have dishonored his wife. After she reached out for support from Jeanne d'Albret, Queen of Navarre, he kidnapped and imprisoned her in a castle in Brittany. During the period that she was confined, her mother notified the Duke of Anjou (future King Henri III), his mother Catherine de' Medici, and ultimately King Charles IX for resolution. Quelennec died soon after. She later married René II, Viscount of Rohan.
Born into a family of ardent Huguenots, de Parthenay supported her husbands during the French Wars of Religion, losing both to battles. She followed her sons Henri and Benjamin onto the battlefield and was probably at the signing of the Edict of Nantes (1598). She was a principal figure at the famous Siege of La Rochelle, for which the Catholic army imprisoned her and her daughter Anne de Rohan at Donjon de Niort. She was said to be the "last great heroine of the French Reform movement".
Through her political plays, in the form of ballets, and a satire, de Parthenay expressed her opinions about the Huguenot cause and was bold in her criticism of Henry IV of France. She criticised him for his conversion to Catholicism and friendship with his former Catholic foes.
Her two sons and her daughter Anne were also strident Huguenots. Henri II, Duke of Rohan, became a leader of the Huguenot party. Anne and Catherine de Parthenay were considered "adroit [in] political manoeuvring and valour in defending Protestantism."
She translated Greek works into French, including Precepts to Dominique by Isocrates.
- ^ Larsen 2016, p. 206.
- ^ Larsen 2016, p. 210.
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