Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IV.djvu/121

 CATHAKINE OF ARAGON CATHARINE OF FRANCE 113 next undertook a war against Persia, but died of apoplexy, after an agony of 30 hours, leaving her empire, so greatly enlarged, to her son Paul. Catharine was possessed of great talents, susceptible of great ideas, and showed often a manly spirit and energy ; her ambition appeared grand ; but at the same time she was a woman in caprice, a slave of her sensuality and vanity, extremely selfish, and sometimes cruel. Her numerous favorites, some of them her tools and some her masters, were elevated by their official situation in the palace, by privileges, promotions, and presents, to dignity in the state ; while she was, on the other hand, prompted by the love of glory to flatter the representatives of public opinion, particularly in France, to invite Voltaire to her court, to call D'Alembert to complete the French Ency- clopedic in St. Petersburg, to suffer the famil- iarities of Diderot, to have a regular literary agent (Grimm) in Paris, and to write herself several books in French ; to promote literature and art, industry and agriculture, in her em- pire ; to reform its laws, and attempt the aboli- tion of many abuses ; to build fortresses, cities, canals, hospitals, and schools ; to organize ex- ploring expeditions on land and sea ; to annex and to conquer. She had the satisfaction of being called the Semiramis of the North, of being ranked by philosophers with Lycurgus and Solon, of hearing the words of Voltaire, " Light comes now from the North." But her fame was only a transient applause; her re- forms, undertaken for show, vanished without result ; most of her works came to nothing be- fore she died ; and her civilization did more to corrupt Russia than to elevate it. Lives of Catharine II. were written by Cast6ra, J. G. von Struve, and Tannenberg; and Hertzen pub- lished in London (1859) Memoir es de Vimpe- ratrice Catherine II. ecrits par elle-meme et precedes d'une preface. CATHARINE OF ARAGON. See HENRY VIII. CATHARINE OF BRAGANZA, queen of England, born in 1638, died Dec. 31, 1705. She was the daughter of John IV., after 1640 king of Portugal, and in 1662 married Charles II., king of England, bringing her husband, be- sides a rich dowry, Tangiers in Africa and Bombay in India. She had been bred in a convent, and was not accustomed to the free conversation and licentious manners which pre- vailed at the court of her husband. Her in- fluence was unavailing to produce any change, nor was she able to restrain the dissolute conduct of the king or to gain his love. In 1678 accusations against her of plots in favor of the Catholic religion were received favor- ably by the house of commons, but rejected by the lords. After the death of Charles (1685), she was treated in England with atten- tion and respect. She returned to Portugal in 1693. Made regent of that country by her brother, Dom Pedro, in 1704, she proved her ability in the war with Spain, which she carried on with success, though 67 years old. CATHARINE FIESCHI ADORNO, Saint, born in Genoa in 1447, died Sept. 14, 1510. Her fa- ther was viceroy of Naples. At the age of 13 she desired to* consecrate herself to God in the religious state ; but in obedience to her parents she married at the age of 16 Julian Adorno, a gay young nobleman of Genoa. Her life with him was for ten years a series of sorrows, suf- ferings, and mortifications. He was profligate, brutal, and prodigal in the use of the fortune which she brought him. In a short time they found themselves reduced to poverty ; but her patience and good example caused his reforma- tion, and he died a penitent. After his death Catharine was for many years mother superior of the great hospital of Genoa, and extended her care to the sick and suffering throughout the city. St. Catharine, next to St. Theresa, is the most profound female writer that the Roman Catholic church has produced. Her two principal treatises, which for the most part may be considered as the records of her own experience, are entitled "Purgatory" and "Dialogue between the Soul and the Body." She was canonized in 1737 by Clement XII., and her anniversary is celebrated on Sept. 14. An American translation of her treatises and of her life, written by her confessor, Mara- botto, appeared in 1858. CATHARINE OF FRANCE, or of Valois, queen of England, born in Paris, Oct. 27, 1401, died in the abbey of Bermondsey, England, Jan. 3, 1438. She was the youngest child of Charles VI. of France and Isabeau of Bavaria. Henry V. of England, having asserted his claim to the crown of France, applied for her hand, but demanded an enormous dowry in money and the cession of Normandy and several other provinces. The court of France declining these terms, Henry V. invaded the country, and, after the victory of Agincourt and the capture of Rouen, renewed his application, which was this time favorably entertained./ By the treaty of Troyes, May 21, 1420, it was agreed that Henry should receive the hand of Catharine and succeed to the throne of France after the death of Charles VI., the regency of the kingdom being placed in his hands until that time. They were married at Troyes, June 2, with great ceremony, and in the following year sailed for England, where Catharine was crowned Feb. 24, 1421. Henry, being obliged to return to France, left his young wife in Eng- land, where she gave birth on Dec. 6 to a son, afterward Henry VI. She was soon recalled to France, where she found her husband dying. Immediately after his death (Aug. 31, 1422), his infant son was proclaimed king of France and England. A few years later, but when is not certainly known, Catharine was secretly mar- ried to Owen Tudor, a young and handsome "Welsh knight of good family, who had fought at Agincourt, and after holding the office of squire of the body to Henry V. had become clerk of the wardrobe to Catharine. By this husband she had three sons, the eldest of