Louis XII.

Louis XII (1462-1514) - king of France from the Valois family, who reigned from 1498-1514. Son of the Duke of Orleans Charles and Maria of Kyiv.

2) from January 8 1499 Anne, Duchess of Brittany, widow of King Charles VIII of France (b. 1477 + January 9, 1514);

When Louis was born, it seemed incredible that he would take the throne of the French kings: after all, he was in third place in the line of heirs to the throne after the king's brother and his own father. Louis XI himself showed obvious irritation at the appearance of this “heir to the throne” and openly doubted the legality of his birth. Indeed, Louis’s father, the Duke of Orleans, was already at that time. He was 68 years old and was not in good health. Without thinking about the French throne, Louis in his youth was much more concerned about receiving his grandmother's inheritance. As the grandson of Valentina Visconti, he could lay claim to the Duchy of Milan.

Louis XI had a long-standing dislike for the Dukes of Orleans. This hostility gave him a truly diabolical idea - to strike a blow at the future of the House of Orleans. Soon after the birth of Louis, the king had a daughter, Jeanne, with a physical deformity, and before this fact became known to everyone, he managed to come to an agreement with Louis’s unsuspecting father about the future wedding of the children. One could not expect that this marriage would be happy, and besides, he could well remain childless. Later, when the condition of the unfortunate princess was no longer a secret to anyone, mother and son tried to thwart these plans. But the king remained inexorable and, despite resistance, forced the marriage. It was not in his power, however, to force the Duke of Orleans to reconcile with him. Jeanne sincerely loved her husband, looked after him, without fear of becoming infected when in 1483 he fell ill with smallpox, but she never managed to overcome the duke’s dislike. The sight of the newlyweds at a luxurious wedding feast - the young Duke did not touch the food and, not paying attention to anyone, sobbed with anger and powerlessness, and the bride shed tears of resentment and disappointment - did not bode well. Only the king's threats could force the young husband to visit - however, very rarely and not for long - the chambers of his wife, who lived separately from him in the castle of Liniers. Later, as soon as he ascended the throne, Louis started a case to declare the marriage invalid. At the trial, despite his wife’s objections, he argued that during the entire twenty years of their marriage there had never been a marital relationship between them.

The life of the Duke, removed from political activities by the king and trying to find solace in luxury and debauchery, seemed to be completely determined by numerous love affairs, hunting and other entertainments. However, when the brother of Louis XI died without leaving heirs, and the Dauphin Charles remained the only son of the king, the position of the Duke of Orleans noticeably strengthened: he now became the second contender for the throne, directly after the direct heir Charles. The rapidly decrepit Louis XI understood very well the threat this posed to the minor heir to the throne, and tried to reduce it with his latest orders. Upon the death of the king, his daughter and son-in-law, Anne and Pierre de Beaujeu, were to receive the regency. The Duke of Orleans was forced to swear on the Gospel that he would not seek regency under them. Of course, the Duke forgot about his promise immediately after the king's death. First, he tried to challenge his will before the Estates General, and when this did not work, he began an armed rebellion in 1485. But he was not successful on this path either. In July 1488, Louis almost died at the Battle of Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier. He was captured and thrown into prison without any trial. He spent the next three years in very strict confinement in terrible conditions, among guards who tormented him with rough treatment. Only in June 1491 did the grown-up Charles VIII decide, without asking Anne Beaujeu’s consent, to free Louis, return his favor to him and restore the rights taken from him. From that time on, Louis d'Orléans was officially considered his heir.

In April 1498, Charles died without leaving any sons. Having become king, Louis treated his former enemies very generously, and even Anna Boje did not remind him of the hardships of his three-year imprisonment. The country's financial situation was desperate. The Italian campaign of Charles VIII devastated the treasury. Nevertheless, the new king not only did not raise taxes, but even went to some extent to reduce them. He did not collect the usual tax for coronation celebrations, although he had every right to do so. The king diligently took up reforms, trying to improve the well-being of the country. His first decrees concerned monetary circulation, coinage, customs duties, trade and other economic and financial issues. He cared about the improvement of roads, the growth of trade, the rise of agriculture, and the prosperity of crafts. France's economic situation was quickly improving. The Italian War, which soon resumed, did not prevent this.

As before, Louis considered his main concern to be the acquisition of the Duchy of Milan. In June 1499, the king crossed the Alps and was greeted in a friendly manner in Savoy. After the first clashes with the French army, the mercenaries of the Duke of Milan, Louis More, began to scatter. He himself fled to Tyrol under the protection of the emperor. In September the French entered Milan. But the following year the Milanese rebelled against them. Louis More returned to his capital, but in March 1500 he suffered a final defeat and was captured. In April, the French captured Milan for the second time, and in November, Louis concluded an agreement with the Spanish king Ferdinand on the division of the Kingdom of Naples. In the summer of 1501, the French invaded southern Italy, took Capua and destroyed it. At the same time, the Spaniards landed in Calabria. The Neapolitan king Federigo gave up resistance and surrendered to Louis. As expected, the Kingdom of Naples was divided among the victors, but soon strife began between the French and the Spaniards, which escalated into open war in 1503. Louis, outraged by Ferdinand's treachery, gathered a new army and moved it to Italy. In November-December, the French were defeated in the seven-week Battle of Garigliano. Upon learning of this defeat, Louis fell ill, locked himself in his rooms and did not receive anyone. In March 1504, he signed peace with Spain and renounced all claims to southern Italy. Things didn't go well in the north either. Neither the pope nor the emperor wanted to recognize Louis' rights to Lombardy. Spain, Switzerland, Venice and England joined their union. In 1512 Milan again came under the rule of the Sforza family. At the same time, the Spaniards captured Navarre. The following year the Swiss invaded Burgundy and approached Dijon. To make peace, Louis had to give up all his conquests.

The same failure awaited the king in another respect: he never managed to secure the throne for his dynasty. Having parted with Jeanne, Louis soon married the widow of his predecessor, Queen Anne. In subsequent years, she bore him two daughters and two sons, but both boys died in infancy. After the death of his second wife, Louis married for the third time the young English princess Mary. But this new marriage only undermined his strength: two months after the wedding, the king died.

All the monarchs of the world. Western Europe. Konstantin Ryzhov. Moscow, 1999

Louis XII.
Reproduction from the site http://monarchy.nm.ru/

Louis XII
King of France
Louis XII Father of the Nation
Louis XII le Pere du Peuple
Years of life: June 27, 1462 - January 1, 1515
Reign: April 7, 1498 - January 1, 1515
Father: Charles of Orleans
Mother: Maria Klevskaya
Wives: 1) Jeanne of France (Saint Jeanne)
2) Anna Bretanskaya
3) Mary Tudor
Daughters: Claudia, Renata

Among the heirs to the throne, Louis occupied only third place after the Dauphin Charles and his father. His appearance on the throne seemed almost incredible, and therefore in his youth Louis paid more attention to obtaining the Milanese inheritance of his grandmother Valentina Visconti. Nevertheless, Louis XI sought to completely eliminate the Orleans branch of the Valois. When his physically handicapped daughter Jeanne was born, he agreed with Charles of Orleans about a marriage between the children before everyone knew about the princess’s deformity. Charles tried to annul this agreement, but the king was adamant. There were no more unhappy people at the wedding than the bride and groom. Zhanna sincerely loved her husband. When he fell ill with smallpox in 1483, she looked after him without fear of becoming infected. However, Louis openly neglected his wife, visited her bedroom extremely rarely, and soon moved her to another castle.

After the death of Louis XI, young Charles VIII became king, and his elder sister Anne Beaujeu became regent. Louis himself claimed the regency. Having united with Francis of Brittany, he went to war against Anna, but was defeated, captured and spent three years in prison in terrible conditions. Having begun to rule on his own, Charles freed Louis, restored him to rights and declared him his heir.

After the death of the childless Charles, Louis became king. He treated his enemies generously and did not even remind Anna Bozhe of past grievances. The treasury was devastated by Charles's Italian campaign, but Louis not only did not introduce new taxes, but even slightly reduced the old ones. His first decrees concerned monetary circulation, coinage, customs duties, trade and other economic and financial issues. He cared about the improvement of roads, the growth of trade, the rise of agriculture, and the prosperity of crafts. France's economic situation was quickly improving. The Italian War, which soon resumed, did not prevent this.

Louis did not abandon his former dream of capturing the Duchy of Milan. By 1500 Milan came under the rule of Louis. Soon he signed a treaty with Spain on the division of Southern Italy. Having attacked the Kingdom of Naples from two sides, Louis and Ferdinand quickly captured it, but very soon quarreled. Louis was defeated by the army of the Spanish king, and in March 1504 he renounced his claims to Southern Italy. In the north, things were also not going well. Spain, Switzerland, England and Venice united against Louis, not wanting to recognize his rights to Lombardy. In 1512, the Spanish captured Navarre, the Swiss invaded Burgundy, and Louis was forced to return Milan to the Sforza family, abandoning all his conquests.

Louis also failed to secure the throne for his dynasty. As soon as he became king, he began to seek a divorce from Jeanne, after which he took the widow of Charles VIII as his wife. However, of their children, only two daughters survived. After the death of Anne of Brittany, he married for the third time to the young English princess Mary, but died soon after the wedding.

Material used from the site http://monarchy.nm.ru/

Read further:

France in the 16th century(chronological table).

Louis XII (Louis XII, le Père du peuple) - French king (1498-1515); son of Duke Charles of Orleans, born in 1462. Lively and cheerful by nature, L. fought in tournaments, went hunting, loved to feast and in his youth was not interested in politics. L. was married to Joanna, daughter of King Louis XI. When the latter died, L. became a dangerous rival for the ruler of France, Anne de Beaujeu, who was the elder sister of his wife. The leader of the Orleans party was Dunois. With the help of the government. The officials of the Orleans party hoped to take power from Anna, but this failed. Soon, however, a new coalition was formed from L. and the Dukes of Brittany, Bourbon and Lorraine. The purpose of the alliance was to free the king from the hands of bad advisers (Anna). At the Battle of Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier (1488), the insurgents were defeated, and L. was captured and imprisoned in Bourges. Three years later, L. was released thanks to the requests of his wife. After Charles VIII, who died childless, L. unhinderedly ascended the throne and treated all his former enemies mercifully, forgetting the insults inflicted on him (“Le roi de France,” said L., “a oublié les injures du duc d’Orléans”) . Wanting to retain Brittany for France, L. married Anna of Brittany, the widow of Charles VIII (L. divorced his former wife, the ugly Joanna, with the permission of Pope Alexander VI). Weak and indecisive, L. was influenced by the advisers around him, especially Georges Amboise. At the beginning of his reign, he eased taxes and took care of improving legal proceedings. In March 1499, notables were assembled in Blois to develop rules for the trial. L. regulated the relations between peasants and owners, defining more precisely the feudal duties of the former. For judicial reforms, generosity and cordiality, L. received the nickname “father of the people.” Latvia's foreign policy led to a number of unfortunate wars. The grandson of Valentina, from the house of Visconti, he laid claim to the Duchy of Milan, continuing, following the example of Charles VIII, to think about the conquest of the Kingdom of Naples. On his side were the pope, the French nobility, Henry VII of England and the emperor. Maximilian. With experienced commanders, L. moved to Italy, crossed the Alps (July 1499) and on September 14. took Milan. The Milanese rebelled, but L. pacified them, capturing Louis the Moor. In 1500, L. concluded an alliance with Ferdinand of Spain in Grenada, dividing the Neapolitan kingdom with him. King Frederick of Naples was captured (1501); L. received the Abruzzi and Campania. The ruler of this part is L. appointed Armagnac, who argued over two regions with Gonsalvo, the Spanish commander. War began between France and Spain. Gonsalvo defeated the French and Swiss mercenary troops at Cerignola (1503); another Spanish commander, Andrada, defeated the French army at Seminara. L. himself was defeated at Garigliano and concluded an agreement with Isabella and Ferdinand, according to which he renounced claims to Naples (1504). L. now directed his concerns to maintaining and expanding his rule in the North. Italy, pacified Genoa (1507) and joined the League of Cambrai against Venice (Maximilian, Pope Julius II, Ferdinand of Spain; 1509). Julius II, wanting to oust the French from Italy, separated from Latvia and concluded a “holy league” against France. The council of clergy convened by L. in Tours (1510) decided to protect the rights of the Gallican Church, allowed the king to repel the attacks of the pope, and approved L.'s intention to convene an ecumenical council in Pisa. Since 1512, the war in Italy takes a turn unfavorable for L.: his troops suffer defeats, Milan slips out of his hands, Maximilian Sforza is proclaimed Duke of Milan. In 1513, French troops suffered heavy defeats at Novara and Guingata. The French treasury was empty. After long negotiations, L. made peace in August 1514 with the English and Spanish kings. Died 1515

Louis XII. Portrait by J. Perreal, ca. 1514

Internal reforms of Louis XII

The French king Charles VIII, who died childless in 1498, was succeeded by Louis XII, Duke of Orleans, a descendant of the brother of Charles VI. Until now, the people in France have suffered greatly from the standing army, which has appeared since the time of Charles VII and fed at the expense of the unarmed inhabitants: Louis XII freed the people from this burden, assigning certain incomes for the maintenance of the army, appointing famous and well-intentioned people as commanders of the army instead of seekers adventures and robber knights, as before, finally prohibiting troops from being stationed in villages and small towns, and allowing them to stand only in large cities, where the inhabitants could restrain them from rampaging. In addition, under Louis XII, useful changes were made regarding the courts, regarding coins, and all these concerns of the supreme power about improving the life of their subjects gave Louis the glorious nickname father people.

Italian Wars under Louis XII – French capture of Milan (1499)

But Louis soon showed that he did not intend to limit himself to internal orders alone: ​​he accepted the title of King of Neapolitan, Sicilian and Jerusalem, Duke of Milan. First of all, he wanted to take possession of Milan on the grounds that his grandmother was from the house of Visconti that previously reigned there. Wanting to ensure his success in taking possession of Milan, Louis XII attracted to his side Pope Alexander VI, whom he promised to establish dominion in Italy to his son, Caesar Borgia, famous for his immorality; entered into an alliance with the Venetians, dissatisfied with the Duke of Milan, Louis Moreau. But the French king had few troops, he considered it necessary to hire the Swiss, but there was no money; in such need, he demanded money from the tax collectors and began to sell their places, thus giving the buyers the right to collect their money from the poor tax payers. Money was raised, the Swiss were hired, and in 1499 Louis XII marched against Milan. The success was brilliant, because everyone in Milan hated Louis Moreau as a tyrant, a stealer of power, a murderer of his nephew, who belonged to the throne; Moreau was forced to flee Milan, then returned with the hired Swiss, was betrayed by them and sent to France. Having taken possession of Milan, Louis XII began to think about Naples. The success was incorrect, because an equally powerful Spanish state was formed next to powerful France, and Ferdinand the Catholic, who already owned Sicily, did not want to allow the French to strengthen themselves in Italy.

Rivalry for Southern Italy with the Spanish

Thus, the Italian wars acquire special significance for us: we see how France, seeking to strengthen itself at the expense of a divided and weak Italy, is restrained by Spain. In order not to have interference from the Spanish king Ferdinand the Catholic, Louis XII decides to share the spoils with him: both kings entered into an agreement according to which Apulia and Calabria should go to Ferdinand. In 1501, the French army under the command of d'Aubigny (Scottish Stuart) moved towards Naples; the uncle of the deceased King Ferdinand II, Frederick, reigned here: he was captured by the French and ended his life as a prisoner in France. Meanwhile, the famous commander of Ferdinand the Catholic, Gonzalvo of Cordua, had already occupied the southern regions of Neapolitan, and soon a quarrel arose between him and the French: the division was difficult! In the summer of 1502, a clear war broke out between the Spaniards and the French, a war in which the dying knighthood was expressed for the last time in all its strength; the French knight Bayard became especially famous here, “a knight without fear or reproach." It ended with the fact that in 1503, having suffered two defeats from the Spaniards, the French were forced to clear the Kingdom of Naples, which fell to the Spaniards; Louis XII sent a new army to conquer Naples, but it was also defeated by Gonzalve of Corduan under Garigliano In 1504, Spain and France concluded a truce: Naples remained with Spain, Milan with France.

Thus, the two most powerful continental powers established themselves at the two ends of Italy. Of the Italian powers, the strongest was Venice, with which Emperor Maximilian alone could not cope and therefore began to try to break it with an alliance; allies were found easily, because many wanted to humiliate the proud Venetian oligarchy and divide the possessions of the republic; In addition to Emperor Maximilian, the alliance was entered into by the French king Louis XII, Ferdinand the Catholic and Pope, now the warlike Julius I: the allies in Cambrai directly agreed to divide the Venetian possessions among themselves. The French began military operations and defeated the Venetian army at Agnadello (1509); King Louis began to take over Venetian cities. Then Venice hastened to break the alliance, giving the pope and Ferdinand the Catholic everything they wanted.

Holy League against Louis XII

The Pope, pleased with the humiliation of Venice, began to act against the French, because he did not at all want to strengthen them in Italy; Louis XII, for his part, took up arms against the pope, demanding church reforms; Through his efforts, a council was convened in Pisa, the fathers of which proclaimed the need for reforms of the Church, at its head and in its members, and proclaimed that the pope must submit to the decision of the council. But this church matter could not have consequences, because political relations were against it. Ferdinand the Catholic considered it necessary not to hand over the pope to the powerful French king, and in the fall of 1511 the so-called Holy League was formed, an alliance to protect the Roman Church. The members of the union were: the pope, the Venetians, Spain; Ferdinand also attracted his son-in-law, the English king Henry VIII, to the alliance; Ferdinand wrote that if the French were allowed to take control of Rome, the freedom of Europe would perish. In 1512, hostilities began: it was difficult for the allies to act against the French army, whose leader was the royal nephew, Gaston de Foix. nicknamed Italian Lightning, Gaston really ran through vast spaces with incredible speed with his army, unexpectedly appearing here and there where danger required. The Italians were against the French, who especially drove them out of patience with their immorality regarding women, but the French extinguished the uprising in the blood of the rebels, and behaved worse than the Tatars.

Expulsion of the French from Milan (1512)

In the spring of 1512, the Allied troops met the French at Ravenna: after a bloody battle, in which up to 20,000 people died on both sides, the French remained victorious, but lost their famous leader, Gaston de Foix. With the death of Gaston, happiness left the French, who could hardly stay in Italy, and meanwhile the Spaniards and the British attacked France itself; the French had to leave Milan, where the descendant of the Sforza family that had previously reigned here had established themselves; the fathers of the Council of Pisa had to retire first to Milan, and then to Lyon, and the cathedral was recognized by France alone.

In 1513, Louis XII sent a new army to conquer Milan; but the allies hired the Swiss, who defeated the French at Novara and forced them to flee to their fatherland; and at the very beginning of 1515, Louis XII died childless, leaving the throne to his cousin, Francis.

When writing the article, I used the “Course of New History” by S. M. Solovyov

When Louis was born, it seemed incredible that he would take the throne of the French kings: after all, he was in third place in the line of heirs to the throne after the king's brother and his own father. Louis XI himself showed obvious irritation at the appearance of this “heir to the throne” and openly doubted the legality of his birth. Indeed, Louis’s father, the Duke of Orleans, was already at that time. He was 68 years old and was not in good health. Without thinking about the French throne, Louis in his youth was much more concerned about receiving his grandmother's inheritance. As the grandson of Valentina Visconti, he could lay claim to the Duchy of Milan.

Louis XI had a long-standing dislike for the Dukes of Orleans. This hostility gave him a truly diabolical idea - to strike a blow at the future of the House of Orleans. Soon after the birth of Louis, the king had a daughter, Jeanne, with a physical deformity, and before this fact became known to everyone, he managed to come to an agreement with Louis’s unsuspecting father about the future wedding of the children. One could not expect that this marriage would be happy, and besides, he could well remain childless. Later, when the condition of the unfortunate princess was no longer a secret to anyone, mother and son tried to thwart these plans. But the king remained inexorable and, despite resistance, forced the marriage. It was not in his power, however, to force the Duke of Orleans to reconcile with him. Jeanne sincerely loved her husband, looked after him, without fear of becoming infected when in 1483 he fell ill with smallpox, but she never managed to overcome the duke’s dislike. The sight of the newlyweds at a luxurious wedding feast - the young Duke did not touch the food and, not paying attention to anyone, sobbed with anger and powerlessness, and the bride shed tears of resentment and disappointment - did not bode well. Only the king's threats could force the young husband to visit - however, very rarely and not for long - the chambers of his wife, who lived separately from him in the castle of Liniers. Later, as soon as he ascended the throne, Louis started a case to declare the marriage invalid. At the trial, despite his wife’s objections, he argued that during the entire twenty years of their marriage there had never been a marital relationship between them.

The life of the Duke, removed from political activities by the king and trying to find solace in luxury and debauchery, seemed to be completely determined by numerous love affairs, hunting and other entertainments. However, when the brother of Louis XI died without leaving heirs, and the Dauphin Charles remained the only son of the king, the position of the Duke of Orleans noticeably strengthened: he now became the second contender for the throne, directly after the direct heir Charles. The rapidly decrepit Louis XI understood very well the threat this posed to the minor heir to the throne, and tried to reduce it with his latest orders. Upon the death of the king, his daughter and son-in-law, Anne and Pierre de Beaujeu, were to receive the regency. The Duke of Orleans was forced to swear on the Gospel that he would not seek regency under them. Of course, the Duke forgot about his promise immediately after the king's death. First, he tried to challenge his will before the Estates General, and when this did not work, he began an armed rebellion in 1485. But he was not successful on this path either. In July 1488, Louis almost died at the Battle of Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier. He was captured and thrown into prison without any trial. He spent the next three years in very strict confinement in terrible conditions, among guards who tormented him with rough treatment. Only in June 1491 did the grown-up Charles VIII decide, without asking Anne Beaujeu’s consent, to free Louis, return his favor to him and restore the rights taken from him. From that time on, Louis d'Orléans was officially considered his heir.

In April 1498, Charles died without leaving any sons. Having become king, Louis treated his former enemies very generously, and even Anna Boje did not remind him of the hardships of his three-year imprisonment. The country's financial situation was desperate. The Italian campaign of Charles VIII devastated the treasury. Nevertheless, the new king not only did not raise taxes, but even went to some extent to reduce them. He did not collect the usual tax for coronation celebrations, although he had every right to do so. The king diligently took up reforms, trying to improve the well-being of the country. His first decrees concerned monetary circulation, coinage, customs duties, trade and other economic and financial issues. He cared about the improvement of roads, the growth of trade, the rise of agriculture, and the prosperity of crafts. France's economic situation was quickly improving. The Italian War, which soon resumed, did not prevent this.

As before, Louis considered his main concern to be the acquisition of the Duchy of Milan. In June 1499, the king crossed the Alps and was greeted in a friendly manner in Savoy. After the first clashes with the French army, the mercenaries of the Duke of Milan, Louis More, began to scatter. He himself fled to Tyrol under the protection of the emperor. In September the French entered Milan. But the following year the Milanese rebelled against them. Louis More returned to his capital, but in March 1500 he suffered a final defeat and was captured. In April, the French captured Milan for the second time, and in November, Louis concluded an agreement with the Spanish king Ferdinand on the division of the Kingdom of Naples. In the summer of 1501, the French invaded southern Italy, took Capua and destroyed it. At the same time, the Spaniards landed in Calabria. The Neapolitan king Federigo gave up resistance and surrendered to Louis. As expected, the Kingdom of Naples was divided among the victors, but soon strife began between the French and the Spaniards, which escalated into open war in 1503. Louis, outraged by Ferdinand's treachery, gathered a new army and moved it to Italy. In November-December, the French were defeated in the seven-week Battle of Garigliano. Upon learning of this defeat, Louis fell ill, locked himself in his rooms and did not receive anyone. In March 1504, he signed peace with Spain and renounced all claims to southern Italy. Things didn't go well in the north either. Neither the pope nor the emperor wanted to recognize Louis' rights to Lombardy. Spain, Switzerland, Venice and England joined their union. In 1512 Milan again came under the rule of the Sforza family. At the same time, the Spaniards captured Navarre. The following year the Swiss invaded Burgundy and approached Dijon. To make peace, Louis had to give up all his conquests.

The same failure awaited the king in another respect: he never managed to secure the throne for his dynasty. Having parted with Jeanne, Louis soon married the widow of his predecessor, Queen Anne. In subsequent years, she bore him two daughters and two sons, but both boys died in infancy. After the death of his second wife, Louis married for the third time the young English princess Mary. But this new marriage only undermined his strength: two months after the wedding, the king died.

All the monarchs of the world. Western Europe. Konstantin Ryzhov. Moscow, 1999

Louis XII, King Louis XIII
Louis XII(French Louis XII), nicknamed Father of the people(French le Père du peuple; June 27, 1462 (14620627) - January 1, 1515) - King of France since April 7, 1498. From the Orleans branch of the Valois dynasty, son of Duke Charles of Orleans. The main event of his reign was the wars that France waged on Italian territory.

• 1 Before accession to the throne
• 2 Beginning of the reign. Popular reforms
• 3 Italian wars
  • 3.1 First successes
  • 3.2 French-Spanish War
  • 3.3 Fight against Venice and the papacy
  • 3.4 Failure of Louis' plans
• 4 Family and children

Before accession to the throne

Lively and cheerful by nature, Louis fought in tournaments, went hunting, loved to feast and in his youth was not interested in politics.

Louis was married to Jeanne, daughter of King Louis XI. When the latter died, Louis became a dangerous rival for the ruler of France, Anne de Beaujeux, who was his wife's elder sister. The leader of the Orleans party was Count Dunois. With the help of government officials, the Orleans party hoped to take power from Anna, but this failed. Soon, however, a new coalition was formed: Louis of Orleans, the Dukes of Breton and Lorraine, Alain d'Albret and others. The purpose of the alliance was to free the king from the hands of bad advisers (Anna). The “Crazy War” of the coalition against the crown began. At the Battle of Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier in 1488, the insurgents were defeated, and Louis was captured and imprisoned in Bourges. Three years later, Louis was released thanks to the requests of his wife.

Beginning of the reign. Popular reforms

After Charles VIII, who died childless, Louis ascended the throne without hindrance and treated all his former enemies mercifully, forgetting the insults inflicted on him (“The King of France,” said Louis, “forgot the insults of the Duke of Orleans,” French Le roi de France a oublié les injures du duc d'Orléans).

Wanting to retain Brittany for France, Louis married Anne of Brittany, the widow of Charles VIII (Louis divorced his first wife, the ugly Jeanne, with the permission of Pope Alexander VI).

Louis made many political decisions under the influence of the advisers around him, especially Georges Amboise. At the beginning of his reign, he eased taxes and took care of improving legal proceedings. In March 1499, notables assembled in Blois to develop rules for the trial. Louis regulated the relations between peasants and owners, defining more precisely the feudal duties of the former. For his judicial reforms, generosity and cordiality, he was called the “father of the people.”

Italian wars

First successes

Louis's foreign policy led to a series of unhappy wars. As the grandson of Valentina Visconti, he laid claim to the Duchy of Milan, continuing, following the example of Charles VIII, to think about the conquest of the Kingdom of Naples. On his side were the pope, the French nobility, Henry VII of England and Emperor Maximilian. With experienced commanders, Louis moved to Italy, crossed the Alps (July 1499) and took Milan on September 14. The Milanese rebelled, but Louis pacified them by capturing Lodovico Moro. In 1500, Louis concluded an alliance with Ferdinand of Aragon in Granada, dividing the Kingdom of Naples with him. King Federigo of Naples was captured (1501); Louis received Abruzzo and Campania.

French-Spanish War

Louis appointed Armagnac as the ruler of this part, who argued over two regions with Gonsalvo, the Spanish commander. War began between France and Spain on Italian territory. Gonsalvo defeated the French and Swiss mercenary troops at Cerignol (1503); another Spanish commander, Andrada, defeated the French army at Seminara. Louis himself was defeated at Garigliano and concluded an agreement with Isabella and Ferdinand, according to which he renounced his claims to Naples (1504).

The fight against Venice and the papacy

Louis now directed his concerns to maintaining and expanding his rule in Northern Italy, pacified Genoa (1507) and joined the League of Cambrai against Venice (Maximilian, Pope Julius II, Ferdinand of Aragon; 1509). Julius II, wanting to oust the French from Italy, separated from Louis and concluded a “holy league” against France. Convened by Louis in Tours (1510), the council of clergy decided to protect the rights of the Gallican church, allowed the king to repel the attacks of the pope and approved Louis's intention to convene an ecumenical council in Pisa.

The collapse of Louis' plans

Since 1512, the war in Italy took a turn unfavorable for Louis: his troops suffered defeats, Milan slipped out of his hands, Maximilian Sforza was proclaimed Duke of Milan. In 1513, French troops suffered heavy defeats at Novara and Guingata. The French treasury was empty. After long negotiations, Louis made peace in August 1514 with the English and Spanish kings.

He died on January 1, 1515, as they joked then, “from trying to get an heir,” shortly before his death, having married Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry VII, for the third time (Anne of Brittany died in 1514). Louis left no sons; his successor was his cousin and son-in-law, Francis, Count of Angoulême.

Family and Children

• 1st wife: (from 1476) Jeanne de Valois(1464-1505), Princess of France, daughter of King Louis XI and Charlotte of Savoy. The marriage was annulled.

• 2nd wife: (from 1499) Anna of Breton(1477-1514), daughter of Francis II, Duke of Brittany, and Margaret of Foix. They had two daughters and several more children who died in infancy:
  1. Claude of France (1499-1524), Duchess of Brittany and Berry; husband (from 1514) Francis I (1494-1547), Count of Angoulême, then king of France.
  2. René d'Orléans (1510-1575), Duchess of Chartres, known in Italy as Renata of France; husband (from 1528) Ercole II d'Este (1508-1559), Duke of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio.

• 3rd wife: (from 1514) Mary Tudor(1496-1533), Princess of England, daughter of King Henry VII and Elizabeth of York.

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