Catherine de Parthenay, Viscountess and Princess of Rohan (1554–1631) was a French noblewoman, mathematician, philosopher, poet, playwright, and translator.

Born into a family of ardent Huguenots, de Parthenay supported her husbands during the French Wars of Religion, losing both to battles.

Through her political plays, in the form of ballets, and a satire, de Parthenay expressed her opinions about the Huguenot cause and was bold in her criticism of Henry IV of France.

Anne and Catherine de Parthenay were considered "adroit [in] political manoeuvring and valour in defending Protestantism."

[3][6] Her father, away most of her childhood, fought in the religious wars under the command of Louis I, Prince of Condé or was at the court of Charles IX of France.

He received a severe wound to the jaw and returned to Mouchamps, where he found that his wife had fled to La Rochelle.

She learned from talking to Théodore de Bèze and Jeanne d'Albret, Queen of Navarre that the situation was grounds to end the marriage.

They were written in invisible ink of citrus juice and in Greek and Latin to her mother Antoinette d'Aubeterre and her former tutor.

[18] Aubeterre then wrote to King Charles IX and the case went before the Grand Council on 11 September 1571,[19] after which it was referred to boards of doctors and judges.

[20] On 23 August 1572, the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre broke out, and Quelennec fought to defend Gaspard II de Coligny, but he died at night.

[8] René of Rohan courted de Parthenay, and he wanted to marry her, but she would not accept until he had a title and inheritance.

[3] Their children include:[8] Rohan and de Parthenay were active and brave supporters of the Huguenots and fought the Catholic army throughout the French Wars of Religion.

[39] During the French Wars of Religion, a circle of Huguenot leaders encrypted their letters with numerical codes about military or political topics.

Women, like de Parthenay, passed on intelligence, which created "a highly successful network of information."

[10][11] De Parthenay enjoyed visiting the court of Henry IV and his sister Catherine of Bourbon, one of her closest friends, in Tours.

[43] De Parthenay also wrote the satire Apologie pour le roi Henri IV envers ceux qui le blasment de ce qu ’il gratifie plus ses ennemis que ses serviteurs (Apology for King Henry IV towards those who blaspheme him for gratifying his enemies more than his servants) in 1596.

[44][45] Henri IV was assassinated in 1610, after which de Parthenay wrote a famous eulogy to the king, Stances sur la mort du Roy.

[46] Marie de' Medici, the king's widow, became the Queen Regent of France, which strengthened the power of the monarchy as well as Cardinal Richelieu, thereby weakening the Protestant's position.

[51][52] Her son arrived later with an English fleet that came to La Rochelle to negotiate peace with France on behalf of England.

[52] De Parthenay found her son at Porte Saint-Nicholas and took his hand as she said so the mayor and others could hear the conversation, Come, my son, follow me without fear, with all those who are with you; all good people rejoice at your coming, and will rejoice even more when they consider how affectionate you have been for the freedom of the city which they hope to recover by the arms of the King of England, which you have had.

[52] Cardinal Richelieu's armies positioned themselves around La Rochelle in August 1627,[4] leading up to the Siege of the city (beginning 10 September 1627).

Anne and her mother survived on a daily ration of four ounces of bread and horsemeat towards the end of the war.

[4][54] Richelieu ordered the arrest of only two women, Anne and Catherine de Parthenay, for their efforts to lead the Huguenots.

[8][54] De Parthenay's residences in Josselin and Blain in Brittany were razed by the Catholic army[4] as ordered by Cardinal Richelieu to eliminate their military role.