Francis 1 of Valois ruled his state for a long 32 years. Over the years, thanks to his love of art, the Renaissance came to France. At the same time, his domestic policy significantly strengthened the absolutist features of royal power. This controversial monarch and his manner of government will be discussed in this article.
Childhood
Francis was born on September 12, 1494. The son of Karl of Angouleme and Louise of Savoy, he spent all his childhood in a family castle located in the small town of Cognac, near Bordeaux. The future king of France received the same upbringing and education as most of the noble offsprings of that time: he knew a little from history and geography, but he was well versed in mythology, skillfully fenced and rode on horseback.
When he was twelve, he was engaged to a 7-year-old bride, the daughter of Louis and the heiress of the Duchy of Breton, and 2 years after this event, he left the parental castle in Paris. In 1514, he entered into a legal marriage. Claude, the first wife of Francis 1, gave birth to seven children, one of whom would later become King Henry II. A second marriage will be concluded after the death of his first wife, with K. Habsburg's sister, 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 family of Valois, but the energy and enterprise of his ambitious mother, Louise of Savoy, nevertheless served as a big and, one might say, decisive factor.
After the sudden death of King Charles XIII, there was hope that it was Francis who would occupy the empty throne, since the late monarch was childless. However, the crown passed into the hands of the Duke of Orleans, known by 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 a dauphin, i.e., the crown prince. And for this it was necessary to take possession of the Duchy of Orleans, which would reliably secure for Francis his desired position.
I must say that Louis XII at that time was only 36 years old, and to get an heir, he divorced his first wife, who could not have children. After that, he immediately married Anna Breton, who managed to give birth to only two daughters. Thus, this king was left without an heir. As a result, Francis 1 became the main contender for the royal throne, whom his mother had begun to prepare in advance for this mission. By the way, later it was she who was almost his main adviser on political issues.
The capture of Italian lands
Only a year passed after the accession of the new king to the throne, as his warlike disposition began to manifest itself in full. Francis gathered his entire army and moved towards Italy, overcoming the mountain pass. The hardest passage through the Alps lasted five days: his soldiers had to carry guns literally in their hands.
Descending from the mountains, French troops immediately captured Piedmont, and then Genoa. I must say that before Francis 1 no one was able to overcome the Alps in this way. Therefore, the Italians came as a big surprise when the French army suddenly appeared in front of the gates of Milan. The defenders of the city could not restrain the pressure of the attackers, and soon Milan fell. At the end of 1516, "eternal peace" was concluded. According to the document, Emperor Maximilian and Pope Leo X recognized the supremacy 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 became the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire in 1519. He had other plans for these territories. Now Charles V with his army crossed the Alps and approached Milan. Two opposing 30,000th armies came together in battle near Pavia. Here the French suffered a crushing defeat. The remains of the troops of Francis 1 fled, and the king himself was captured and imprisoned in the tower of the Madrid Castle.
It took a whole year before he was bought back, but before he was released, Habsburg forced him to sign a French monarch a document in which he recognized all the rights of Charles V to the lands he had previously conquered in Northern Italy. However, being at home, Francis said that he concluded the contract under great pressure. Therefore, he soon made another attempt to regain the territories selected by the enemy, but, as you know, it ended in nothing. Towards the end, in 1530, he became related with 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 pleasure, providing patronage to people of art.
Domestic policy
The huge costs of maintaining numerous courtiers and waging wars forced the French king to double the size of taxes, as well as resort to some innovations, which later would be called characteristic features of the "old order". Here we have in mind the practice of selling posts that has come into use, as well as the emergence of the concept of "public debt", which was expressed in municipal rents. At this time, the role of financial officials incredibly increased, and after that came the strengthening of the 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, and patronized both domestic and foreign trade. In addition, a sea expedition was carried out under him under the command of Jacques Cartier, which in 1534 culminated in the discovery of Canada.
Under Francis 1, a lengthy edict was adopted that existed until the beginning of the 19th century, signed at Ville-Cottre 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 citizens in Lyon (1529) and La Rochelle (1542), as well as other opposition from the parliamentary opposition and universities. In order to convince those who disagree with his decision, Francis did not use administrative-bureaucratic methods, but political means, which included negotiations, threats, concessions, even symbolic gestures and personal connections of the monarch were used.
Patron of art
Francis 1 became the last so-called traveling king. His court numbered twice as many people as it was under the previous monarch. The number of courtiers reached a thousand. To move so many people required about 18 thousand horses. In addition, the courtyard also needed premises, so the construction of new palaces was greatly accelerated, most of which are located in Fontainebleau and along the banks of the Loire River.
Both in life and in politics, the French king Francis 1 paid great attention to art, in particular sculpture and painting. He did this not only for the love of beauty, but also for the representation of his monarchy, as well as for the propaganda war with the Habsburgs. The contemporary French court would seem to modern man akin to the theater of the absurd, since most of the palaces were decorated with nude sculptures of ancient deities. Francis 1 himself preferred to be portrayed in the guise of Mars, the god of war.
What was he like
Contemporaries of the monarch have always especially noted his magnificent posture, athletic physique, high growth (about 180 cm), courage and extreme liveliness of the mind. He was an excellent politician who skillfully surrounded himself with talented advisers such as Cardinal de Tournon, Antoine Duprais, Guillaume du Belle and others. Despite the fact that Francis 1 often had outbursts of anger, he was a rather merciful king compared to others who ruled country before and after it.
Controversial personality
The dual attitude of historians to the person of this monarch is an indisputable fact. On the one hand, Francis 1, king of France, who ruled from 1515 to 1547, was a good warrior and a real knight, patron of the arts, during which the Renaissance began, when scientists, musicians and artists reached the court. On the other hand, he loved to fight and dreamed of joining part of Italian lands to his possessions.
At the beginning of the reign, the people adored him, and at the end of his life, he decided to arrange persecution of heretics. It was during his reign that the first inquisition bonfires burned in France, which forced the Protestants to flee far from the rabid obscurantist monks far beyond the borders of their native country.