Francis I (France)

Francis I 1494-1547, king of France (1515-47), known as Francis of Angoulême before he succeeded his cousin and father-in-law, King Louis XII.

Wars with the Holy Roman Emperor

Francis resumed the Italian Wars , beginning his reign with the recovery of Milan through the brilliant victory at Marignano (1515). A candidate for the Holy Roman emperor's crown (1519), he was defeated by Charles V , king of Spain, whose supremacy in Europe Francis was to contest in four wars. In 1520 Francis tried to secure the support of King Henry VIII of England against the emperor in the interview on the Field of the Cloth of Gold .

Although no agreement was reached with the English king, Francis began his first war against the emperor (1521-25). He was defeated at La Bicocca (1522) and at Pavia (1525), where he was captured. Francis regained his freedom by consenting to the Treaty of Madrid (1526); he renounced his claims in Italy, agreed to surrender Burgundy to Charles, and abandoned his suzerainty over Flanders and Artois. Resolved to violate a treaty signed under duress, Francis created the League of Cognac (1526) with Pope Clement VII, Henry VIII, Venice, and Florence, and commenced his second war (1527-29) against Charles. It ended, unfavorably for Francis, with the Treaty of Cambrai (see Cambrai, Treaty of ), which left Burgundy to France but otherwise duplicated the Treaty of Madrid.

Francis fulfilled the treaty's terms until 1535, when the death of the duke of Milan, Francisco Sforza, opened the question of the Milanese succession. In a third attempt to regain Milan, Francis invaded (1536) Italy. Charles retaliated by invading Provence, and in 1538 a 10-year truce was arranged at Nice. In 1542 with the support of the Ottoman sultan Sulayman I , Francis for the fourth time attacked the emperor, who allied himself (1543) with Henry VIII. Their invasion of France resulted (1544) in the Treaty of Crépy, in which Francis relinquished his claims to Naples, Flanders, and Artois. Peace with England (1546) confirmed the loss of Boulogne.

The French Renaissance

Despite Francis's military failures, his reign saw domestic glory in the fullest development of the French Renaissance. Leonardo da Vinci, Benvenuto Cellini, and Andrea del Sarto worked at his court. Francis and his sister, Margaret of Navarre , were the patrons of François Rabelais , Clément Marot , and Guillaume Budé ; Francis also founded the Collège de France . The most permanent monuments of Francis's reign are the châteaus of the Loire, notably Chambord, and the royal residence at Fontainebleau .

Other Aspects of Francis's Reign

The king also had some notable political achievements, including a concordat with the papacy and an alliance with Switzerland (both in 1516). Jacques Cartier , exploring the coast of North America for Francis, established French interest in Canada. In domestic affairs, Francis expanded the absolutism of the monarchy. Government affairs were dominated by successive personal favorites, including Anne, duc de Montmorency , and Francis's mistresses. Louise of Savoy , the king's mother, was also influential. Francis's persecution of the Waldenses (1545), his ruinous expenditures for foreign wars, and the prodigality of his court foreshadowed some aspects of the reign of King Louis XIV. Francis I was succeeded by his son, Henry II.

Bibliography

See biographies by F. Hackett (1935, repr. 1968) and D. Seward (1973).

Francis I (1494–1547) King of France (1515–47). A leader of the Renaissance, he is best remembered for his patronage of the arts and his palace at Fontainebleau. Persecution of the Waldenses, centralization of monarchical power and foolish financial policies earned the dissatisfaction of his people. A costly struggle with the Emperor Charles V over the imperial crown led to a defeat at Pavia in 1525. Francis was imprisoned and forced to give up Burgundy as a condition of the Treaty of Madrid (1526). Two more wars (1527–29, 1536–38) ended ingloriously. In 1542, Francis concluded a treaty with Suleiman I and attacked Italy for a fourth time. He lost further territory. His son succeeded him as Henry II.

Francis I (1494–1547) King of France (1515–47). He was in many respects an archetypal Renaissance prince, able, quick-witted, and licentious, and a patron of art and learning, but he developed into a cruel persecutor of Protestants, and devoted the best part of his reign to an inconclusive struggle with the HABSBURGS. He began by recovering the duchy of Milan (1515), but failed in his bid to be elected Holy Roman Emperor (1519). In 1520 he tried to secure the support of HENRY VIII of England against the successful candidate, CHARLES V, at the FIELD OF THE CLOTH OF GOLD, and in 1521 he embarked on the first of four wars against the emperor, which ended with his capture at the Battle of PAVIA (1525). He gained his release from captivity in Spain by renouncing his claims in Italy, but hostilities were resumed and continued intermittently, with the recovery of Milan as a main object, until the Peace of Crespy in 1544. His foreign wars were ruinously expensive, and the prodigality of his court foreshadowed that of LOUIS XIV. The palace of Fontainebleau was rebuilt during his reign, and the artists Leonardo da Vinci, Benvenuto Cellini, and Andrea del Sarto worked at his court.