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In this essay I explore themes of female authority and peacemaking in the Chronique, through the lenses of war, theater, and marriage. In 1468, according to Philippe, a nobleman named Henri de la Tour married a young girl whom he had seen perform the role of Catherine of Siena onstage. An evaluation of the episode in light of new evidence from its textual sources reveals a carefully shaped story that draws upon historical context and past narrative events in order to create a peaceful resolution for a decades-old conflict with the de la Tour family. Through the development of three characters named Catherinethe saint, the actor, and the play's female patron-Philippe promotes a model of power and sanctity that

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When I began my pursuit of the female actor and patron of the 1468 Catherine of Siena jeu, nearly a decade ago, my goals were modest: to identify these women and, with luck, to uncover some hidden bit of their history. 1 What I found was extraordinary. As I delved into the archives, libraries, and spaces of the city of Metz, a group of performers whom I came to call 'the Catherines' welcomed me. From financial documents that recorded their voices to well-caressed devotional sculpture, I found traces of these women everywhere: proof that the actor, the patron, and their peers had shaped not just the jeu, but a wide variety of public performances. The following pages represent an unfolding process of discovery that was both thrilling and moving, and I owe thanks to many people who provided assistance and encouragement along the way. In Metz, Pierre-Édouard Wagner, Dominique Ribeyre, and the staff of the Bibliothèque-Médiathèque offered invaluable guidance and aid. Archivists at the Archives départementales de la Moselle and the Archives municipales de Metz supported my progress during lengthy visits; Luc Defrene assisted with follow-up questions. In Paris, the experts of the manuscript department of the Bibliothèque nationale de France and the Archives nationales were helpful and patient. The Groupe d'étude du théâtre médiéval of the

Catherine Baudoche’s versatile patronage illustrates that, in Metz, female performance fed broader currents of cultural patronage and financial agency. This chapter develops a multifaceted portrait through the biographies of Catherine and her stepmother, Catherine Gronnaix, revealing a family history that positioned these women at a nexus of social and economic power. Through ceremonial practice and entertainments, these two Catherines forged connections with local and trans-regional elites that reinforced those created by the Saint Catherine jeu. Moreover, at multiple points in their lives – early childhood, youth, marriage, widowhood, old age – the Catherines took part in financial transactions that put them at the center of performative legal acts. Catherine Gronnaix, for example, enacted her vassalage to the dukes of Lorraine through a combination of spoken oath and physical sealing. Such performances served as a sign and representation of identity that was affirmed through public rite. Personal wealth enabled the financial power that supported acts of dramatic and liturgical patronage. Yet economic ownership and agency also positioned the Catherines to represent themselves in seals, legal language, ceremonies, and household performances that established them as full participants in the Messine legal and political spheres.