The King of France Francis 1

Francis 1 Valois ruled his country for a long 32 years. Over the years, thanks to his love of art, the Renaissance came to France. At the same time, the domestic policy pursued by him significantly strengthened the absolutist features of royal power. This contradictory monarch and his manner of government will be discussed in this article.

Childhood

Francis was born on September 12, 1494. The son of Charles of Angoulême and Louise of Savoy, he spent all his childhood in a family castle, located in a small town of Cognac, near Bordeaux. The future King of France received the same upbringing and education as most of the noble descendants of that time: he knew a little from history and geography, but he was well versed in mythology, skilfully fencing and riding.

When he was twelve, he was betrothed to a 7-year-old bride, the daughter of Louis and the heiress of the duchy of Breton, and two years after that event he left his parental castle in Paris. In 1514 he entered into a legal marriage. Claude - the first wife of Francis 1 - gave birth to his seven children, one of whom later becomes King Henry II. The second marriage will be concluded after the death of his first wife, with the sister of K. Habsburg, Eleanor.

1515: France

Francis 1 as the new king ascended the throne on January 1, 1515. The coming to power largely depended on his belonging to the genus Valois, but much more and, perhaps, a decisive factor, nevertheless was the vigor and enterprisingness of his ambitious mother - Louise of Savoy.

After the sudden death of King Charles XIII, the hope arose that it was Francis who would occupy the emptied throne, since the deceased monarch was childless. However, the crown passed into the hands of the Duke of Orleans, known under the name of Louis XII, who also had no children by that time. The son of Louise of Savoy in this case was to receive the status of the Dauphin, that is, the crown prince. And for this it was necessary to take possession of the Duchy of Orleans, which would securely secure the desired position for Francis.

I must say that Louis XII at that time was only 36 years old, and to acquire an heir, he divorced his first wife, who could not have children. After that, he immediately married to Anna of Breton, who managed to give him only two daughters. Thus, and this king was left without an heir. As a result, Francis 1 became the main contender for the royal throne, which his mother began to prepare for this mission in advance. By the way, later she was almost his main adviser on political issues.

The seizure of Italian lands

It was only a year after the new king ascended to the throne, as his warlike nature began to manifest itself to the full. Francis gathered all his troops and moved towards Italy, overcoming the mountain pass. For five days, the hardest passage through the Alps lasted: his soldiers had to carry the cannons literally on their hands.

Descending from the mountains, the French troops immediately captured Piedmont, and then Genoa. I must say that before Francis 1, no one could overcome the Alps in this way. Therefore, for the Italians it was a big surprise when the French army suddenly appeared in front of the gates of Milan. Defenders of the city could not contain the pressure of the attackers, and soon Milan fell. At the end of 1516 the "eternal peace" was concluded. According to the document, Emperor Maximilian and Pope Leo X recognized the rule of Francis, after which he received the title of ruler of the duchy of Milan.

Captivity

The situation with the seizure of Italian lands by Francis 1 did not like his eternal opponent, Charles V Habsburg, who in 1519 became ruler of the Holy Roman Empire. He had other plans for these territories. Now, Charles V with his army crossed the Alps and approached Milan. Two opposing 30-thousand armies met in battle near Pavia. Here the French suffered a crushing defeat. Remnants of the troops of Francis 1 fled, and the king himself was captured and imprisoned in the tower of the Madrid castle.

A whole year passed before he was redeemed, but before releasing, Habsburg forced the French monarch to sign one document, where he recognized all the rights of Charles V to his previously conquered lands in Northern Italy. However, at home, Francis stated that he had concluded the treaty under great pressure. So he soon made another attempt to regain the territory selected by the enemy, but, as you know, it ended in nothing. In the end, in 1530, he became related to his former enemy Habsburg, marrying his sister Eleanor, since by this time his first wife Claude had already died. After that he calmed down and began to live for his own pleasure, providing protection to the people of art.

Domestic policy

The enormous costs of maintaining numerous courtiers and waging wars forced the French king to double the amount of taxes, as well as to resort to some innovations that would later be called the characteristic signs of the "old order". Here we have in mind the practice of selling posts, as well as the emergence of the concept of "public debt", which was expressed in municipal rent. At that time, the role of financial officials increased tremendously, and then followed by increased control of the authorities over their activities, which constantly threatened them with real repression.

King Francis 1 constantly pursued a policy of strengthening his own coin, for which he minimized the export of precious metals from the country, patronized both domestic and foreign trade. In addition, he carried out a sea expedition under Jacques Cartier, which in 1534 was crowned with the discovery of Canada.

Under Francis 1, a long edict was adopted, which existed until the beginning of the nineteenth century, signed at Viller Cotter in 1539, which was able to streamline and unify the judicial system. The monarch, in some incomprehensible way, always knew how to insist on his own, while successfully overcoming various forms of resistance, such as the uprising of townspeople in Lyons (1529) and La Rochelle (1542), as well as other opposition from the parliamentary opposition and universities. In order to convince those who disagreed with his decision, Francis did not use administrative-bureaucratic methods, but political means, which included negotiations, threats, concessions, even symbolic gestures and personal ties of the monarch were in the course.

Patron of Art

Francis 1 became the last so-called traveling king. His yard numbered twice as many people as it was under the previous monarch. The number of courtiers reached a thousand. To move such a large number of people required about 18 thousand horses. In addition, the courtyard was in need of rooms, so the construction of new palaces was greatly accelerated, most of which are located in Fontainebleau and along the banks of the Loire.

In both life and politics, the French King Francis 1 devoted great attention to art, in particular sculpture and painting. He did this not only for his love of the beautiful, but also for the representation of his monarchy, as well as for the propaganda war with the Habsburgs. To modern man, the then French court could seem like a theater of the absurd, since most of the palaces were decorated with nude sculptures of ancient deities. Francis himself preferred to be portrayed in the guise of Mars, the god of war.

What was he like

Contemporaries of the monarch always especially noted his majestic posture, athletic build, high growth (about 180 cm), courage and extreme liveliness of mind. He was an excellent politician who skilfully surrounded himself with talented advisors such as Cardinal de Turnon, Antoine Dupré, Guillaume du Belle, and others. Despite the fact that Francis often had outbreaks of anger, he was a rather merciful king compared to others who ruled Country before and after it.

Conflicting personality

The ambivalent attitude of historians to the person of this monarch is an indisputable fact. On the one hand, Francis 1, the King of France, who ruled from 1515 to 1547, was a good warrior and a true knight, patron of the arts, at which the Renaissance began, when scientists, musicians and artists were drawn to the court. On the other hand, he loved to fight and dreamed of annexing part of Italian lands to his possessions.

At the beginning of the reign he was adored by the people, and at the end of his life he decided to arrange persecution of heretics. It was with him in France that the first fires of the Inquisition flared up, which forced the Protestants to flee far from the rabid monk-obscurant far beyond the borders of his native country.