CHARLES VIII., son of Louis XL, succeeded to the throne upon the death of his father in 1489, being little more than thirteen years old. Ilia father had failed to appoint any regency, and the guardian ship of the king and tho kingdom became consequently an object of ambition to those whose proximity in blood to the crown authorised them in aspiring to such an elevation. The dignity of president of the council of state was bestowed on the Duke of Widens, next heir to the throne; but the guardianship of the king's person, together with the real power of the government, was bestowed upon Anne of Franco, lady of Beaujeu, the king's eldest slater, at that time about twenty-two yours of age.
The minority of Charles was troubled by the disturbances raised by the ambitious nobles, impatient of the predominance of the lady of Beaujeu. In 1485 the Duke of Orldaus and tho Count Dunois, son of the amous Count Dunoie who had defended Orleans against the English [Cuaetes VII.], raised the standard of rebellion, but sub mitted on the king's approach; their discontent however continued, and Orli/anis retired into Bretagne, the duke of which province afforded him protection, and united with Maximilian, king of the Remane, in intrigues against France. In 1485.86 Dunoia, with the Count of AngoulOme, attempted an insurrection in Guienne, but was forced to submit; and after this success the king marched into Picardie to oppose Maximilian. The following year the war continued on the side of Picardie, and the king ordered the invasion of Bretagne by a con siderable force. The invasion was renewed in 1488, when the French commauder, Louis de la Trdmoille, or Tremouille, one of the first generals of his day, gained a complete victory over the troops of Bretagne, and of the insurgent lords and their allies at St. Aublo de Cormier. The Duke of Orleans, the Prince of Orange, and other per sons of note were taken; and La Tremouille executed without delay such of his prisoners as were of rank, except the duke and prince, who were kept In close imprisonment. The submission of the Duke of Bretagne, which resulted from the defeat of his troops at St. Aubin de Cormier, was speedily followed by his death; and the hand of Anne, his daughter and heiress, was eagerly sought by several suitors. Of these, Maximilian, king of the Romans, obtained the preference, and a marriage by proxy took place, probably in 1590; but before the arrival of Maximilian, who delayed above a year, the match was broken off, and the young duchess was united io a firmer union to the King of France. This marriage was preceded by an unexpected revolution at the court of France : Charles, now in his twenty-first year, freed him self from the guardianship of his sister, released the Duke of Orleans, and broke off his engagement with a daughter of Maximilian, to whom he had been betrothed, and who had been sent for her edu cation to the court of France. These events led to a war with Maxi milian, who was supported by Henry VII. of England, and by Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain; but the French averted the hostility of Henry, who had commenced the siege of Boulogne, by a payment of money, and of Ferdinand by the cession of Roussillon and Cerdague. Maximilian also agreed to terms ; the counties of Bourgogne (French(' Comt6) and Charolois were ceded to him ; and the treaty of Senile (1493), by delivering Charles from the pressure of hostilities at home, enabled him to turn his thoughts to the prospect opening to his ambition at the extremity of Italy.
The house of Anjou, a younger branch of the royal family of France, bad claimed and contested the crown of Naples with a branch of the royal house of Aragon, which latter bad obtained possession. The
right of the house of Anjou had been purchased by Louis XL and transmitted to Charles VIII.; and this prince, instigated by Ludovico Sforza, surnamed Le More (usurper of the government of Milan under the guise of being regent for his imbecile nephew, Giovanni Oaleazzo), determined to support his claim to the kingdom of Naples by force of firma. lu 1494 he eet out for Italy, at the head of an army of 3600 men at-arms, 20,000 native infantry, 8000 Swiss mercenaries, and a formid able train of artillery. In his advance he experienced little resistance, and, in despite of the advice of his most sagacious counsellors, who recommended him to make himself master of the Milanese and of Genoa, he pushed on towards Naples. Excepting Sforza, none of the Italian potentates seem to have supported him Pietro do' Medici, who governed Florence, opposed him, as also Pope Alexander VI. Charles however entered Florence and Rome, where he made a treaty with the pope, and early in 1495 he set out from Rome for Naples. He entered this city also without a struggle, the King of Naples having quitted it three days before his arrival. At his entry he wore the insignia of the Eastern Empire, having purchased the rights of Andrew Palwologus, nephew of the last of the eastern emperors, Constantine Palecologus ; for his ambitious views extended from the possession of Naples to that of Constantinople, and from that again to the redemption of the Holy Sepulchre.
While Charles was staying at Naples a league was farmed between the pope, the emperor, Ferdinand of Spain, the republic of Venice, and the treacherous Sforza, to intercept him on his return. The Nea politans, who had at first welcomed the French, began to grow disgusted with them, especially the nobles, who saw themselves excluded from the great offices of state. Charles determined to retnrn with hie army, which, after deducting the forco left at Naples, was reduced to about 9000 men. The confederates awaited him with a far superior force (approaching 40,000 men), near Fornovo, not far from the foot of the Apennines, about ten miles from Piacenza. The French were victorious ; but the victory obtained for them little more than a secure retreat, and the deliverance of the Duke of Orleans, who was besieged in Novara. Naples was recovered by the great captain Gonsalvo of Cordova, a Spanish general, who forced the French under the Duke of Montpensier to an accommodation, and enabled the King of Naples to re-enter his capital three months after he was driven from it. Charles meditated a second expedition into Italy, and the Duke of Orleans!, who had claims on the Milanese, was appointed to the com mend ; but the duke was not anxious to be distant from the court, and the influence of the party opposed to the expedition, and the want of money, retarded the preparations, and the affair was not pressed with any activity. Charles had three sons by his queen, Anne of Bre tagne, but all had died; and Orl6ana was still next heir to the throne, the prospect of ascending which was brought nearer by the declining health of the king. The short remainder of Charles's reign was occupied in attention to the internal government of the country, in which some useful reforms were commenced. Ho died iu 1498, of the effects of a blow on tho head, received while passing through a door-way which was not high enough.