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FRANCIS I

Francis I was King of France. He was born in 1494 and died in 1547. His father was Charles of Orleans, count of Angouleme, and his mother Louise of Savoy, grand-daughter of Valentine, duke of Milan. He ascended the throne in 1515, having succeeded his uncle, Louis XII. In prosecution of his claim to Milan he defeated the Swiss in the plains of Marignano and forced the reigning duke Maximilian Sforza to relinquish the sovereignty. On the death of Maximilian in 1519 Francis was one of the competitors for the empire; but the choice fell on Charles of Austria, the grandson of Maximilian, henceforth known as the Emperor Charles V. From this period Francis and Charles were rivals, and were almost continually at war with one another. Both attempted to gain the alliance of England.

With this view Francis invited Henry VIII of England to an interview, which took place near Calais, between Guines and Ardres, in June, 1520. The magnificence of the two monarchs and their suites on this occasion has given to the meeting the name of the Field of the Cloth of Gold. In 1521 war broke out between the rivals, and in 1525 Francis was defeated and taken prisoner at Pavia. He could recover his liberty only by renouncing his claims to Naples, Milan, Genoa, and Asti, the suzerainty of Flanders and Artois, and promising to cede the Duchy of Burgundy and some other French fiefs. War was soon after renewed, an alliance, called the Holy League, having been formed between the Pope Clement VII, the King of France, the King of England, the Republic of Venice, the Duke of Milan, and other Italian powers, with the object of checking the advances of the emperor. In this war Rome was taken and sacked by the Constable of Bourbon in 1527, and Italy was devastated, but Francis gained little either of fame or material advantage. Peace was concluded in 1529, but hostilities again broke out in 1535, when Francis possessed himself of Savoy. A hastily made-up peace was soon broken, and Francis again found himself at war with the Emperor and the King of England.

Fortunately for France the union of the Protestant princes of Germany against the emperor prevented him from following up his success, and inclined him to a peace, which was concluded at Crespy in 1544. Charles resigned all his claims on Burgundy, and allowed Francis to retain Savoy. Two years after peace was made with England. Francis I possessed a chivalric and enterprising spirit, and was a patron of learning.
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