Maria Maddalena of Austria (Maria Magdalena; 7 October 1589 – 1 November 1631) was

Grand Duchess of Tuscany The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was founded in 1569. It succeeded the Duchy of Florence. The grand duchy was initially ruled by the House of Medici, until their extinction in 1737. The grand duchy passed to the House of Lorraine, and then, to its cad ...

from the accession of her husband, Cosimo II, in 1609 until his death in 1621. With him, she had eight children, including a

duchess of Parma Duchess consort of Parma House of Farnese, 1545–1731 House of Bourbon-Anjou, 1731–1735 :None House of Habsburg, 1735–1748 House of Bourbon-Parma, 1748–1802 House of Habsburg-Lorraine, 1814–1847 House of Bourbon-Parma ...

, a grand duke of Tuscany, and an archduchess of Further Austria. Born in

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...

, she was the youngest daughter of Charles II, Archduke of Inner Austria, and his wife Maria Anna of Bavaria. During the minority of her son, Grand Duke Ferdinando, she and her

mother-in-law A parent-in-law is a person who has a legal affinity with another by being the parent of the other's spouse. Many cultures and legal systems impose duties and responsibilities on persons connected by this relationship. A person is a child-in-la ...

acted as regents from 1621 to 1628. She died on 1 November 1631 in Passau.

Grand Duchess consort of Tuscany

In 1608, Maria Maddalena was married to Cosimo de' Medici, Grand Prince of Tuscany. Cosimo's father, Grand Duke Ferdinando I of Tuscany, arranged the marriage in order to assuage Spain's (where Maria Maddalena's sister was the incumbent queen) animosity towards Tuscany, which had been inflamed due to a string of Franco-Tuscan marriages.

Regency

She and Cosimo enjoyed a contented marriage. Together they had eight children. Cosimo II died in 1621, leaving their ten-year-old son Ferdinando as grand duke. Maria Maddalena and her mother-in-law,

Christina of Lorraine Christina of Lorraine or Christine de Lorraine (16 August 1565 – 19 December 1637) was a member of the House of Lorraine and was the Grand Duchess of Tuscany by marriage. She served as Regent of Tuscany jointly with her daughter-in-law during ...

, acted as regents until the boy came of age. Their collective regency is known as the ''Turtici''. Maria Maddalena's temperament was analogous to Christina's. Together, they aligned Tuscany with the

Papacy The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

; re-doubled the Tuscan clergy; and allowed the trial of

Galileo Galilei Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. Commonly referred to as Galileo, his name was pronounced (, ). He was ...

to occur. Upon the death of the last

Duke of Urbino The Duchy of Urbino was an independent duchy in early modern central Italy, corresponding to the northern half of the modern region of Marche. It was directly annexed by the Papal States in 1625. It was bordered by the Adriatic Sea in the east ...

, instead of claiming the duchy for Ferdinando, who was married to the Duke's granddaughter, and heiress,

Vittoria della Rovere Vittoria della Rovere (7 February 1622 – 5 March 1694) was Grand Duchess of Tuscany as the wife of Grand Duke Ferdinando II. She had four children with her husband, two of whom would survive infancy: the future Cosimo III, Tuscany's longest- ...

, they permitted it to be annexed by Pope Urban VIII. In 1626, they banned any Tuscan subject from being educated outside the Grand Duchy, a law later resurrected by Maria Maddalena's grandson,

Cosimo III Cosimo III de' Medici (14 August 1642 – 31 October 1723) was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1670 until his death in 1723, the sixth and penultimate from the House of Medici. He reigned from 1670 to 1723, and was the elder son of Grand Duke Ferdinan ...

.Acton, p 192

Harold Acton Sir Harold Mario Mitchell Acton (5 July 1904 – 27 February 1994) was a British writer, scholar, and aesthete who was a prominent member of the Bright Young Things. He wrote fiction, biography, history and autobiography. During his stay in C ...

ascribes the decline of Tuscany to their regency. The Dowager Grand Duchesses sent Ferdinando on a tour of Europe in 1627. The Grand Duchess died aged 42 after a visit to her brother

Leopold Leopold may refer to: People * Leopold (given name) * Leopold (surname) Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Leopold (''The Simpsons''), Superintendent Chalmers' assistant on ''The Simpsons'' * Leopold Bloom, the protagonist o ...

in Innsbruck on the way back to Passau,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Her son had been in power for a year.

Issue

# Maria Cristina de' Medici (August 24, 1609 – August 9, 1632), she was deformed or mentally disabled #

Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany Ferdinando II de' Medici (14 July 1610 – 23 May 1670) was grand duke of Tuscany from 1621 to 1670. He was the eldest son of Cosimo II de' Medici and Maria Maddalena of Austria. He was remembered by his contemporaries as a man of culture ...

(July 14, 1610 – May 23, 1670) married

. #

Gian Carlo de' Medici Giancarlo de' Medici (24 July 1611 – 22 January 1663) was an Italian cardinal of the House of Medici. He was the second son of Grand Duke Cosimo II of Tuscany and his wife, Maria Maddalena of Austria, and the brother of Ferdinando II de' Medic ...

(July 24, 1611 – January 23, 1663) made Cardinal in 1644. #

Margherita de' Medici Margherita de' Medici (31 May 1612 – 6 February 1679) was Duchess of Parma and Piacenza by her marriage to Odoardo Farnese, Duke of Parma. Margherita was regent of Piacenza in 1635, and regent of the entire duchy from 1646 until 1648 during ...

(May 31, 1612 – February 6, 1679) married

Odoardo Farnese, Duke of Parma Odoardo Farnese (28 April 1612 – 11 September 1646), also known as Odoardo I Farnese to distinguish him from his grandson Odoardo II Farnese, was Duke of Parma, Piacenza and Castro from 1622 to 1646. Biography Odoardo was the eldest legit ...

. #

Mattias de' Medici Mattias de' Medici (9 May 1613 – 11 October 1667) was the third son of Grand Duke Cosimo II de' Medici of Tuscany and Archduchess Maria Maddalena of Austria. He was governor of Siena, with interruptions, from 1629. He never married. Biogra ...

(May 9, 1613 – October 14, 1667) appointed

Governor of Siena A list of the governors of Siena, a jurisdiction of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany (1569−1859) after the dissolution of the Republic of Siena. The republic was centered on the present day city of Siena, located in the Tuscany region of Italy. Gov ...

. # Francesco de' Medici (October 16, 1614 – July 25, 1634). #

Anna de' Medici Anna de' Medici (31 December 1569 – 19 February 1584) was the third child of Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Joanna of Austria. She was a member of the famous House of Medici. Life Anna was the third child of Grand Duke Fra ...

(July 21, 1616 – September 11, 1676) married Ferdinand Charles, Archduke of Austria (1628–1662) #

Leopoldo de' Medici Leopoldo de' Medici (6 November 1617 – 10 November 1675) was an Italian cardinal, scholar, patron of the arts and Governor of Siena. He was the brother of Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Biography Prince Leopoldo was born a ...

(November 6, 1617 – November 10, 1675), made Cardinal in 1667.

Ancestors

Citations

Bibliography

*Acton, Harold: ''The Last Medici'', Macmillan, London, 1980, *Strathern, Paul: ''The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance'', Vintage books, London, 2003, *Hale, J.R.: ''Florence and the Medici'', Orion books, London, 1977, {{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Magdalena Of Austria 17th-century House of Habsburg Regents of Tuscany House of Medici 1589 births 1631 deaths 17th-century German people Grand Duchesses of Tuscany 17th-century women rulers Burials at San Lorenzo, Florence