CATHERINE DE MÉDICIS. Autograph letter signed... Lot 1

CATHERINE DE MÉDICIS. Autograph letter signed "Catherine" to the Marshal de Matignon. Paris, December 20, 1582. 1 p. in-folio, marginal cut due to the opening formerly restored, trace of miter in the same margin. "My cousin, I have heard from Du Lorans, the present bearer of your news, that I have been very pleased and, knowing how you trust him and how he types the school from governo to lyeu de Sureyne, I have told him some thing that I desire infinitely that you take the chicken from the fayr fayre, for I want by hope When you have been able to come to the bust and, in order to have it hoped as I have, I have stolen from you what you have been told by me, that you have not been redirected by the present, and have put me back on my feet and have taught me of your good will in my heart, I will not give a damn about persuasion and finish the present in you all day until you have been able to do so, where you will be gracious, and make my good volanté all true... » A great man of war, peace and letters, the Count of Matignon Jacques de Goyon (1525-1597) came from one of the most illustrious families in Brittany, and was brought up alongside the future Henri II. He led a brilliant military career which led to his appointment as Governor of Normandy (1561), Marshal of France (1579), then Lieutenant General of Guyenne (1580). From 1572 onwards, he played a more political role and revealed an unusual stature: in the whirlwind of the religious wars, he showed moderation and remarkable loyalty to royalty. Thus, a Catholic but from a family with Protestant ties, he prevented the massacre of the Reformed in Saint-Lô and Alençon in 1572, but fought their armed troops on several occasions. In Guyenne, he managed to maintain a precarious balance, and was twice mayor of Bordeaux after Montaigne. Friend of letters, he made the career of the poet Jean Bertaut as the scholar and future cardinal Jacques Davy Du Perron. Letter a