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Poland : A Mother’s Gift of Catherine de’ Medici ? The Ceremony of presentation of the Decretum Electionis of Henry of Valois This article offers an interpretation of a splendid ceremony which took place at the French court in 1573 : a bestowal of the Decretum electionis, the decree of the election of Henry of Valois, the future Henry III of France, to the throne of the Polish-Lithuanian kingdom. Drawing on the full complement of French and Polish sources, this study situates the ceremony in its political, social and ritual context. In addition, it argues that Catherine de’ Medici, the Queen Mother, ordered and displayed the elaborated decoration of the Decretum in white and green, her emblematic colours, as a way of presenting herself as a devoted mother, skilful politician and promoter of the Valois monarchy.