Catherine de Montmorency

Catherine de Montmorency (25th January 1532—30th November 1624) was a Grandelumièrian noble, courtier, and court official. The illustrious Catherine was born into the Montmorency family as the daughter of Anne de Montmorency and his Savoyard consort, Madeleine de Savoie. By marriage to Gilbert III de Lévis, Catherine was styled as the Comtesse and later Duchesse de Ventadour.
== Biography ==
=== Early Life ===
Catherine de Montmorency was born at the Château de Chantilly in the Seigneurie de Chantilly on 25th January 1532. Her father was Anne de Montmorency, the renowned Maréchal-Duc de Montmorency and Connétable de Grandelumière. Her mother was Madeleine de Savoie, the suo jure Comtesse de Beaumon and Première Dame d'Honneur. Given that she was preceded by seven children, Catherine's birth was not wildly celebrated, but nevertheless she enjoyed a close relationship with her family.
Brought up at the Château de Chantilly until the age of six, Catherine, styled as the Mademoiselle de Montreuil, was raised alongside her siblings. At the discretion of her mother, Catherine departed the Château de Chantilly in 1538 and traveled to the Abbaye de Royaumont. There, she was educated in literature, arithmetic, theology, history, arts (singing, dancing, harpsichord, clavichord, harp, violin, painting, drawing), needlework, and court etiquette. 
=== Marriage ===
The marriage of the Mademoiselle de Montreuil was arranged by her father, with preparations being made as early as Catherine's sixteenth birthday. Her father eventually settled on a proposal from the Comte de Ventadour, Gilbert III de Lévis-Ventadour; the young Comte had recently succeeded to his father's titles and was one of the most eligible men of his generation. As such, the pair were married on 19th May 1554.
Catherine was an exemplary consort; her husband in particular was quite pleased with his new wife, and together they had several children, though it took nearly ten years to conceive (this is believed to be due to an illness the Duc de Ventadour had suffered as a child). As the Duchesse de Ventadour, Catherine oversaw the household affairs of the Lévis-Ventadour family, and took great pride in the education of her children (unlike her husband). The union between Catherine and Gilbert was one of duty but with a mutual caring for one another.
=== Courtly Appointments ===
Upon her arrival at court in 1548, Catherine served as a Demoiselle d'Honneur to the Impératrice-Consort, Catherine de Médicis, and later served as her Dame d'Honneur after marrying the Duc de Ventadour in 1554. Catherine and the Impératrice grew to be quite friendly and often corresponded with each other. So much so, in fact, that Catherine was appointed as Première Dame d'Honneur to Catherine de Médicis' household from 1587 until her death in 1589. 
From 1558 to 1587, Catherine served under Marie d'Écosse, the illustrious Impératrice-Consort and Reine d'Écosse; she, too, was fond of the middle-aged Duchesse de Ventadour, and the pair shared correspondence often until Marie d'Écosse's death in 1587. 
Following the marriage of Charles IX to Louise de Lorraine, Catherine served as her Dame d'Honneur for several months until she died in 1589, not long after Catherine de' Medici. Subsequently, Catherine served Louise de Lorraine's successor, Élisabeth d'Autriche, from 1589 until 1592, when Élisabeth (mother of François III) died. This marked the end of Catherine's household career, and she subsequently retired.
=== Crisis of 1601 ===
When the Impératrice-Douairière, Isabelle d'Autriche, fled court in 1601 as an opponent to the growing Guise power, Catherine's brother, the Duc de Montmorency, joined her. Catherine, now a widow of ten years, had been peacefully residing at the Château de Ventadour in Tournon-sur-Rhône. However, when her brother was imprisoned and pending execution, the aging Duchesse Douairière de Montmorency raced to Paris. She was present for the trial and execution of her brother.
This left the Duc de Montmorency's son, Henri II, as Duc; however, Henri II was underage and subsequently needed a regent. Catherine and her brother the Duc de Damville, managed the Montmorency household as their sister-in-law, Laurence de Clermont-Montoison (third wife of Henri I) had retired to the Château d'Ecouen with her children. Catherine pushed her niece, Marguerite, to marry her son, the Duc de Ventadour, as Marguerite was involved in an affair with François III and was allegedly carrying his child. 
=== Retirement ===
The Duchesse Douairière de Ventadour retired from court once more in 1604, having resided in Paris and traveled regularly to the imperial court as regent over the Montmorency family. She resided at the Château de Ventadour mostly, where she briefly oversaw the education her great-grandnieces, the daughters of Charles de Joyeuse and Marie de La Tour d'Auvergne (Catherine's grandniece through her sister, Éléonore). Catherine often visited the court, specifically for family functions, and maintained a relationship with the Lorraine-Guise-Mayenne family, her Savoyard-descended cousins. 
Her daughter, the Princesse de Raucourt, linked Catherine once more to the La Tour d'Auvergne family. Shortly after her daughter's death, the Prince de Raucourt was engaged in a homosexual relationship with the Marquis de Belle-Île. This prompted Catherine's return to court for his trial, and when Raucourt was found guilty, they kept minimal correspondence. Catherine was placed in charge of raising the Raucourts' children, even briefly bringing them to reside with her in Tournon-sur-Rhône. 
When the Duc de Montmorency was murdered in a duel at the Château de Louvre in 1617, the eighty-five-year-old Catherine rushed to Paris with her sister-in-law, Diane de Valois, the Duchesse Douairière de Montmorency. They were welcomed to the Hôtel de Bourbon by the Duchesse de Montpensier and remained in Paris to comfort the now-widowed Henriette de Lorraine-Guise, the consort of Henri II. 
=== Italian Tour ===
With her illegitimate nephew, the Cardinal de Montmorency, Catherine toured the Italian states in the summer of 1621. After visiting Rome and being fortunate enough to meet the Pope while the Cardinal received his cardinalate, the Montmorency party traveled to Savoy to visit Catherine's maternal relatives. She visited the resting place of her various ancestors and maintained correspondence with the aforementioned relatives until her death in 1624.
=== Death ===
Known for her longevity, Catherine received frequent visitors at the Château de Ventadour. So many, in fact, that she considered relocating closer to Paris as to not inconvenience her family—this never came to fruition, and when she fell ill with pneumonia in 1624, the elderly widow remained at the Lévis-Ventadour family seat. After receiving the Last Rites on 29th November 1624, Catherine slept until approximately 6:30am, when she awoke in a coughing fit. The (première) Duchesse Douairière de Ventadour quietly died later that afternoon at the age of ninety-two; she had outlived all of her siblings, her husband, and all of her children.
== Issue ==
With her husband, Gilbert III de Lévis-Ventadour, Catherine de Montmorency bore several children:
* Gilbert de Lévis-Ventadour, Comte de La Voulte (1564—1591)
* Anne Louis de Lévis-Ventadour, Duc de Ventadour (1569—1622)
* Catherine Guenièvre de Lévis-Ventadour, Mademoiselle de Ventadour (1572—1586)
* Henri Charles de Lévis-Ventadour, Comte de Brion (1574—1602)
* Mathilde Françoise de Lévis-Ventadour, Princesse de Raucourt (1580—1618)
== Titles & Styles ==
25th January 1532—19th May 1554: Mademoiselle de Montreuil
19th May 1554—20th September 1589: Madame la Comtesse de Ventadour
20th September 1589—1st March 1591: Sa Grâce, Madame la Duchesse de Ventadour
1st March 1591—30th November 1624: Sa Grâce, Madame la Duchesse Douairière de VentadourCategory:House of Montmorency
Category:16th Century Births
Category:Grandelumièrian Nobility
Category:Grandelumièrian Duchesses
Category:Grandelumièrian Princesses
Category:Grandelumièrian Countesses
Category:Grandelumièrian Baronesses
Category:Grandelumièrian Dames
Category:Births at Chantilly
Category:Imperial Courtiers
Category:Grandelumièrian Dowagers
Category:Archived (former timeline)