Francis I

(1494-1547) (François I)

   king of France

   King of France from 1515 to 1547, and remembered for his rivalry with the Habsburg Holy Roman Emperor Charles v, for his governmental reforms, and for his patronage of arts and letters, Francis I was born at Cognac, the son of Charles de Valois, count of Angoulême and Louise of Savoy. His mother and his elder sister, marguerite of navarre, influenced his upbringing and remained close to him during his reign. His first wife was Claude, daughter of louis xii, whom he succeeded. In 1515, Francis I achieved a spectacular victory over the swiss at Marignano, which allowed him to seize the duchy of Milan. In 1519, he was a candidate for the Imperial throne but was passed over for Charles of Habsburg. War against Charles then ensued in Italy, where Francis was defeated at Pavia and captured (1525). Imprisoned in Spain, he was ransomed and returned to France (1527). Peace was finally made and, in 1529, Francis married the emperor's sister, Eleanor. Later inconclusive wars were fought against the Habsburgs (1536-38 and 1542-44), during which periods Francis I allied himself with Protestant German princes and with the ottoman Turks. Earlier, he had gained an alliance with England (Field of Cloth of Gold, 1520). Under his sister's influence, Francis was, for a time, sympathetic to Protestantism, especially in its humanistic form, but later he abandoned his tolerance and persecuted French Protestants (see huguenots). In 1516, he concluded a concordat with the papacy in which he gained greater control of the Catholic Church in France. His military expenses caused him to undertake financial reforms, and he also began to sell judicial and financial offices, thus creating a new class of ennobled magistrates. An imposing monarch, Francis I centralized the royal government and reinforced royal absolutism. He spent much of his time, however, in liaisons and affairs, leaving the governing power to his mother or one of his favorites. The wealth of his court, derived from the economic prosperity of the kingdom, allowed him to introduce the Italian Renaissance to France and to patronize many artists, including Leonardo da vinci and Benvenuto Cellini. He employed the scholar Guillaume budé to create a royal library and to found professorships in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew, thus forming the nucleus of the later collège de france.