Cosimo Ruggeri
Cosimo Ruggeri, known in France as Côme Ruggieri (died 1615), was an Italian astrologer, alchemist, haruspex, and one of the favorite advisers of Catherine de' Medici, the queen mother of France. He was famous for his supposed knowledge of the occult, and many legends grew around him.
Ruggeri appears at the French court in 1571 as part of the Tuscan ambassador Petrucci’s entourage. He was respected for his scholarship and even taught Italian to Elisabeth of Austria, the queen of France.
After rumors that he could tell the future, Elisabeth’s view of him cooled. However, Catherine de' Medici kept him close, consulting him on state affairs because of his alleged foresight and occult knowledge.
In 1574, he became involved in a plot to harm Charles IX via sorcery and was arrested and sentenced to the galleys for complicity. The verdict was never carried out, and he was formally pardoned in 1585, likely because of his connection to the queen mother.
In 1598, Ruggeri was prosecuted for making a doll of Henry IV to murder him through magic, but he was released.
During Marie de' Medici’s time as queen, Ruggeri was a friend of Concino Concini and Leonora Dori. He died in Paris in 1615, and riots erupted after rumors of magicians spread because he refused to receive the sacrament on his deathbed; he was also the subject of libel accusing him of sorcery.
Many stories link Ruggeri to Catherine de' Medici. She is said to have summoned him after astrologer Luca Gaurico predicted her death, and she even gave him the Abbey of St. Mahé in Brittany to keep him at court. It’s claimed he correctly predicted that three of Catherine’s sons would become kings and how long they would reign, aided by an enchanted mirror at Chaumont-sur-Loire.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 03:49 (CET).