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→ Henri II and Catherine de Medici’s 10 children

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  He greeted first with a dip of the head, a gentle offering of welcome. Though they were no longer married, animosity had not been the cause of it’s end, and it wouldn’t be a part their interactions now that such things had changed. “Madame.” A hand extended in her direction, bidding her to stand and do something other than admire the fine leather of his boots. His fingers slid against her palm before little else could be done, raising it      and her      to a standing position. “You have traveled well, I see. You look well.“

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   “Hen-Your Highness.”

    The familiarity with which his given name had threatened to cross her lips was difficult to check. Their short-lived marriage had not been an intimate one, but they had at least always called each other by name. But it was no longer Catherine’s right to do so, for she was no longer his wife. Instead, she dipped into the obeisance expected of a mere courtier, her gaze lowered so that all she saw of Henri were the buckles of his shoes. She could feel that all eyes were on them, eager to take in this curious interaction. 

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#happppppy birthdaaaaaaaaaaaay

*throws self into you arms*

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@mmeserpent

Chenonceau by David Tamargo on Flickr.

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@mmeserpent

Elijah Mikaelson + blue (requested by anon)

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we would send you birthday greetings, but we already did that this morning. *winkwonk*

    Life Hack for Men: Get yourselves an Italian wife with good head game.

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that face, man - 150/?

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY:  March 31, 1519- Henry II of Francis is born

Henry was born in the royal Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, near Paris, the son of Francis I and Claude, Duchess of Brittany on March of 1519.

At fourteen, he went on to marry Catherine de’ Medici, a member of the ruling family of Florence, in 1533, though became romantically involved with a thirty-five-year-old widow, Diane de Poitiers, the following year.  When his elder brother Francis died in 1536 after a game of tennis, Henry became heir apparent to the throne. He succeeded his father on his 28th birthday and was crowned King of France on July 25th, 1547 at Reims Cathedral.

Henry suffered an untimely death in a jousting tournament held to celebrate the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis at the conclusion of the Eighth Italian War. The king’s surgeon, Ambroise Paré, was unable to cure the infected wound inflicted by Gabriel de Montgomery, the captain of his Scottish Guard. He was succeeded in turn by three of his sons, whose ineffective reigns helped to spur the ghastly consequences of the French Wars of Religion between Protestants and Catholics

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40 days of positivity {13/40} –> Elijah Mikaelson

“No one hurts my family and lives. No one.”

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mmeserpent

     It had been almost surreal-leaving the festivities on Henri’s arm while Diane gawked from a distance. For almost the entirety of her marriage, the positions had been reversed, with Catherine always retreating alone to her chambers to nurse her perpetually wounded heart. But tonight Henri had only had eyes for her. Perhaps it had something to do with her being the mother off the daughter he had just married off. Or an onset of nostalgia brought about by the wedding ceremony taking him back to the early days of their marriage. Regardless of the reason, she could not help but relish the attention.

     “Did you not have enough at the feast?” Catherine felt light-hearted enough to tease. “Or were you too busy glaring down Philip’s proxy?” 

    Unlike women, Henri had a single focus. He hadn’t noticed Diane’s upset as they’d left the hall, just as he hardly noticed when others were upset unless they explicitly said so. His mind had been elsewhere, then, considering the departure of their eldest daughter  Only Catherine would know just how losing a daughter to a faraway marriage felt, so he had drifted toward her instead. His expression had softened to something guilty. “I would not have called it glaring.” Even though it was. He took a few slow steps toward the door, tempted to go through with his request. “I wouldn’t be opposed to more, to settle the stomach.”

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I have quite a few new followers and I appreciate every one, but I just wanted to clarify that I do not play Henri in Reign canon verses. This is not a Reign affiliated roleplay blog and I do not follow Reign storylines. Any Reign characters or Reign/historical crossovers will have to meet in a historical verse to interact with this blog. 

Any assumptions that this blog is related to Reign will be met with a warning, and unfollowing as a last resort. If you aren’t familiar with who Henri really was, feel free to ask and I’ll brief you or send you in the right direction for background. 

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PILON, Germain Monument for the Heart of Henri II 1560-66 Marble, height 150 cm Musée du Louvre, Paris

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For example, Henry II’s favourite minstrel was Roland La Pettour. The king rewarded him with 30 acres of land for his masterwork, described as “a leap, a whistle, and a fart.” Roland’s great musical talent, it seems, is that he could fart tunes. The land was solemnly passed down the line from father to son for many generations, on the condition the incumbent turn up at court each Christmas Day to perform the leap, the whistle, and the fart.

Terry Jones’ Medieval Lives (via hamsterfur)

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To have a good enemy, choose a friend: He knows where to strike.

Diane De Poitiers,1499-1566, Mistress of Henri II of France (via porcelainhime)