FRANCIS I., King of France, son of Charles, comte d'Angouleme, was b. at Cognac, Sept. 12, 1494, and in his youth manifested an ardent love for literature, especially for the romances of chivalry, whence, probably, he drew his brilliant but erroneous views of a kingly character. At the age of 20, he married Claude, daughter of Louis XII., and succeeded his father-in-law, Jan. 1, 1515. His first act, after mounting the throne, was to set about the reconquest of Milan, which had been wrested from his predecessor two years before; and at the head of 40,000 men, among whom were such great warriors as the constable Bourbon, Bayard, Lautrec, and Tri vulzio, F. crossed the Alps, and attacked the Swiss allies of the Milanese at Marignano, 10 in. from Milan. Here a sanguinary battle, afterwards called the " battle of the giants," ensued (13th Sept., 1515), in which F. obtained a complete victory—the Swiss losing 12,000 men. In accordance with his chivalrous propensities, F. accepted knight hood on the field from the renowned Bayard. After some further successes, F. returned to Paris in the month of Feb., 1516. On the death of Maximilian, emperor of Ger many, in Jan., 1519, F. and Charles of Spain became rival candidates for the impe rial crown. The election of the latter excited the auger of F., who immediately pre pared for war, and endeavored to secure the alliance of Henry VIII. of England. An interview took place in 1520 between the two monarchs on the famous field of the cloth of gold, between Guines and Ardres, but it led to no result, and shortly after, Henry formed an alliance with the pope and the emperor against Francis. The papal troops drove the French out of Italy; and the soldiers of Henry and the emperor invaded France on the n., while, to complete his perplexities, the constable Bourbon, who was discovered to be conspiring against his sovereign, fled to Charles, who gladly the sword of the renegade warrior. F. gallantly faced the dangers that now threatened his kingdom. A large army was sent to Italy under the command of Bonuivet, who, however, proved incapable, and was forced to retreat across the Alps. In the course of this retreat, Bayard lost his life. The imperialists now advanced into Provence, but, on the approach of the French king, withdrew into Italy, whither they were followed by F., who overran Lombardy, but was totally defeated and taken prisoner at the battle of Pavia, 24th Feb., 1525. Charles carried his captive to Madrid, and only granted him his liberty on the hardest conditions. F. had to renounce the suzerainty of Flanders and Artois, the duchy of Burgundy, and all his Italian possessions and prerogatives, to promise the restoration of Bourboh to his former dig nities, and to surrender his two sons as hostages. He obtained his freedom, Mar. 17, 1526; but regarding the conduct of Charles as utterly base, his first act, on his return to his dominions, was a refusal to fulfill the pledges he had given. Pope
Clement VII. absolved him from his oath; England, Rome, Venice, Florence, and Genoa—all of whom were growing alarmed at the immense power of Charles—with drew from the imperial alliance, and sided with his antagonist. The war in Italy now recommenced. On the 5th May, 1527, Bourbon's " black banditti" stormed and sacked the " Eternal City," and captured the pope. F. now sent troops into Naples, which, after a series of brilliant successes, were almost wholly cut off by disease, mainly through the negligence of the king, who failed to supply them with the means of subsistence. About the seine time, F. sent a challenge to Charles to decide their quarrel by single combat. The challenge was accepted, but the duel never came off. At last, a peace was concluded at Cambray, in July, 1529, much to the'advantage of the Spaniards. In 1334, however, war broke out between F. and the duke of Milan; and in the following year the former overran Savoy, to which he laid claim by the absurdest pretensions. The conduct of Charles at this period was marked by the greatest moderation, but he was ultimately reinvolved in hostilities with his inveterate opponent. Little definite result ensued, but the war was marked by a circumstance regarded as horrible in those days—viz., an alliance between Christians and Turks. F. formally entered into a league with the sultan Soliman, who went so far as to land troops in the s. of Italy, but the French king shrunk from a practical co-operation with the arch-enemy of Christen dom. By the efforts of pope Paul III., a treaty was concluded for ten years at Nice between Charles and F., 18th June, 1538. In point of fact, however, peace lasted only four years, and in 1542, F., insatiable of glory, launched five different armies against the emperor. The battle of Cerisolles, 14th April, 1544, in which the French were completely victorious, partially wiped out the dishonor of the defeat at Pavia, but a second alliance of F. with the Turks renewed the indignation of Christendom Charles, and Henry.
king of England, marched upon Paris, and F. was compelled to make peace at Crept' 18th Sept., 1544. His political role was now finished. He died at Rambouillet, Mar. 31, 1547. It is not difficult to estimate the character of this monarch. Gay and voluptu ous (it was the physical consequences of an amour which cost him his life), he was still capable of heroic impulses and acts of splendid generosity. But no amount of "chiv alry" could compensate for the lack of political sagacity; it could not even save hint from deeds of cruelty. His persecution of the Vaudois and other " heretics" has left a. dark stain on his memory, which all his patronage of arts and letters will not efface. F. was himself a writer of verses; but these were so bad, that even French critics pro nounce them almost intolerable.