FRANCIS I., King of France; born in Cognac, France, Sept. 12, 1494; suc ceeded to the throne in 1515, on the death of Louis XII., who died without male issue. Scarcely had he ascended, than he, as grandson of Valentino of Milan, put himself at the head of an army to assert his right over the Milanese. The Swiss, who opposed him in his entry into the duchy, were defeated at Marignano (or Melegnano), and Milan fell immedi ately after this victory. After a short war with England, the famous interview between Henry VIII. and Francis took place, in 1520, in Flanders, which, from the magnificence displayed on the oc casion, was called THE FIELD OF THE CLOTH OF GOLD (q. v.). In the same year, Charles V. of Spain, having in herited the empire after the death of Maximilian, Francis laid claim to the im perial dignity, and declared war against his rival. In this struggle, however, he met with nothing but reverses. After the defeat of Marshal Lautrec at Bi coca, in 1522, the retreat of Bonnivet, and Bayard's death, Francis was him self, in 1525, beaten at Pavia, and taken prisoner. The fight had been a fierce one,
and the king wrote to his mother, "All is lost, except honor." Led captive into Spain, he only recovered his liberty at the cost of an onerous treaty, signed at Madrid in 1526; but which Francis sub sequently declared null and void. He im mediately recommenced war in Italy, met with fresh defeats, and concluded a sec ond treaty at Cambrai in 1529. He once more invaded Italy, in 1536, and, after various successes, consented to a defini tive arrangement at Crespi, in 1544, by which the French were excluded from Italy, though Milan was given to the Duke of Orleans, the second son of Francis. Francis was a friend to arts and literature, which flourished during his reign; and he was called the "Father of Letters." Justice, also, began to be better administered in his reign. He founded the Royal College of France, the Royal Library, and built several palaces. He died at the Château de Rambouillet, March 31, 1547, and was succeeded by his son, Henry II.