Part 387

"On the 15th of September, the day after the battle [of Marignano], the Swiss took the road back to their mountains. Francis I. entered Milan in triumph. Maximilian Sforza took refuge in the castle, and twenty days afterwards on the 4th of October, surrendered, consenting to retire to France, with a pension of 30,000 crowns, and the promise of being recommended for a cardinal's hat, and almost consoled for his downfall 'by the pleasure of being delivered from the insolence of the Swiss, the exactions of the Emperor Maximilian, and the rascalities of the Spaniards.' Fifteen years afterwards, in June, 1530, he died in oblivion at Paris. {1188} Francis I. regained possession of all Milaness, adding thereto, with the pope's consent, the duchies of Parma and Piacenza, which had been detached from it. … Two treaties, one of November 7, 1515, and the other of November 29, 1516, re-established not only peace, but perpetual alliance, between the King of France and the thirteen Swiss Cantons, with stipulated conditions in detail. Whilst these negotiations were in progress, Francis I. and Leo X., by a treaty published at Viterbo, on the 13th of October, proclaimed their hearty reconciliation. The pope guaranteed to Francis I. the duchy of Milan, restored to him those of Parma and Piacenza, and recalled his troops which were still serving against the Venetians." At the same time, arrangements were made for a personal meeting of the pope and the French king, which took place at Bologna in December, 1515. "Francis did not attempt to hide his design of reconquering the kingdom of Naples, which Ferdinand the Catholic had wrongfully usurped, and he demanded the pope's countenance. The pope did not care to refuse, but he pointed out to the king that everything foretold the very near death of King Ferdinand; and 'Your Majesty,' said he, 'will then have a natural opportunity for claiming your rights; and as for me, free, as I shall then be, from my engagements with the King of Arragon in respect of the crown of Naples, I shall find it easier to respond to your majesty's wish.' The pope merely wanted to gain time. Francis, putting aside for the moment the kingdom of Naples, spoke of Charles VII.'s Pragmatic Sanction [see above: A. D. 1438], and the necessity of putting an end to the difficulties which had arisen on this subject between the court of Rome and the Kings of France, his predecessors. 'As to that,' said the pope, 'I could not grant what your predecessors demanded; but be not uneasy; I have a compensation to propose to you which will prove to you how dear your interests are to me.' The two sovereigns had, without doubt, already come to an understanding on this point, when, after a three days' interview with Leo X., Francis I. returned to Milan, leaving at Bologna, for the purpose of treating in detail the affair of the Pragmatic Sanction, his chancellor, Duprat, who had accompanied him during all this campaign as his adviser and negotiator. … The popes … had all of them protested since the days of Charles VII. against the Pragmatic Sanction as an attack upon their rights, and had demanded its abolition. In 1461, Louis XI. … had yielded for a moment to the demand of Pope Pius II., whose countenance he desired to gain, and had abrogated the Pragmatic; but, not having obtained what he wanted thereby, and having met with strong opposition in the Parliament of Paris to his concession, he had let it drop without formally retracting it. … This important edict, then, was still vigorous in 1515, when Francis I., after his victory at Melegnano and his reconciliation with the pope, left Chancellor Duprat at Bologna to pursue the negotiation reopened on that subject. The 'compensation,' of which Leo X., on redemanding the abolition of the Pragmatic Sanction, had given a peep to Francis I., could not fail to have charms for a prince so little scrupulous, and for his still less scrupulous chancellor. The pope proposed that the Pragmatic, once for all abolished, should be replaced by a Concordat between the two sovereigns, and that this Concordat, whilst putting a stop to the election of the clergy by the faithful, should transfer to the king the right of nomination to bishoprics and other great ecclesiastical offices and benefices, reserving to the pope the right of presentation of prelates nominated by the king. This, considering the condition of society and government in the 16th century, in the absence of political and religious liberty, was to take away from the church her own existence, and divide her between two masters, without giving her, as regarded either of them, any other guarantee of independence than the mere chance of their dissensions and quarrels. … Francis I. and his chancellor saw in the proposed Concordat nothing but the great increment of influence it secured to them, by making all the dignitaries of the church suppliants at first and then clients of the kingship. After some difficulties as to points of detail, the Concordat was concluded and signed on the 18th of August, 1516. Five months afterwards, on the 5th of February, 1517, the king repaired in person to Parliament, to which he had summoned many prelates and doctors of the University. The Chancellor explained the points of the Concordat. … The king ordered its registration, 'for the good of his kingdom and for quittance of the promise he had given the pope.'" For more than a year the Parliament of Paris resisted the royal order, and it was not until the 22d of March, 1518, that it yielded to the king's threats and proceeded to registration of the Concordat, with forms and reservations "which were evidence of compulsion. The other Parliaments of France followed with more or less zeal … the example shown by that of Paris. The University was heartily disposed to push resistance farther than had been done by Parliament."

_F. P. Guizot, Popular History of France, chapter 28 (volume 4)._

"The execution of the Concordat was vigorously contested for years afterwards. Cathedrals and monastic chapters proceeded to elect bishops and abbots under the provisions of the Pragmatic Sanction; and every such case became a fresh source of exasperation between the contending powers. … But the Parliament, though clamouring loudly for the 'Gallican liberties,' and making a gallant stand for national independence as against the usurpations of Rome, was unable to maintain its ground against the overpowering despotism of the Crown. The monarchical authority ultimately achieved a complete triumph. In 1527 a peremptory royal ordinance prohibited the courts of Parliament from taking further cognisance of causes affecting elections to consistorial benefices and conventual priories; and all such matters were transferred to the sole jurisdiction of the Council of State. After this the agitation against the Concordat gradually subsided. But although, in virtue of its compulsory registration by the Parliament, the Concordat became part of the law of the land, it is certain that the Gallican Church never accepted this flagrant invasion of its liberties."

_W. H. Jervis, History of the Church of France, volume 1, pages 109-110._

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FRANCE: A. D. 1515-1547. The institution of the Court. Its baneful influence.

"Francis I. instituted the Court, and this had a decisive influence upon the manners of the nobility. Those lords, whose respect royalty had difficulty in keeping when they were at their castles, having come to court, prostrated themselves before the throne, and yielded obedience with their whole hearts. A few words will describe this Court. The king lodged and fed in his own large palace, which was fitted for the purpose, the flower of the French nobility. Some of these lords were in his service, under the title of officers of his household—as chamberlains, purveyors, equerries, &c. Large numbers of domestic offices were created solely as an excuse for their presence. Others lived there, without duties, simply as guests. All these, besides lodging and food, had often a pension as well. A third class were given only a lodging, and provided their own table; but all were amused and entertained with various pleasures, at the expense of the king. Balls, carousals, stately ceremonials, grand dinners, theatricals, conversations inspired by the presence of fair women, constant intercourse of all kinds, where each could choose for himself, and where the refined and literary found a place as well as the vain and profligate,—such was court life, a truly different thing from the monotonous and brutal existence of the feudal lord at his castle in the depths of his province. So, from all sides, nobles flocked to court, to gratify both the most refined tastes and the most degraded passions. Some came hoping to make their fortune, a word from the king sufficing to enrich a man; others came to gain a rank in the army, a lucrative post in the finance department, an abbey, or a bishopric. From the time kings held court, it became almost a law, that nothing should be granted to a nobleman who lived beyond its pale. Those lords who persisted in staying on their own estates were supposed to rail against the administration, or, as we of the present would express it, to be in opposition. 'They must indeed be men of gross minds who are not tempted by the polish of the court; at all events it is very insolent in them to show so little wish to see their sovereign, and enjoy the honor of living under his roof.' Such was almost precisely the opinion of the king in regard to the provincial nobility. … Ambition drew the nobles to court; ambition, society, and dissipation kept them there. To incur the displeasure of their master, and be exiled from court was, first, to lose all hope of advancement, and then to fall from paradise into purgatory. It killed some people. But life was much more expensive at court than in the castles. As in all society where each is constantly in the presence of his neighbor, there was unbounded rivalry as to who should be most brilliant, most superb. The old revenues did not suffice, while, at the same time, the inevitable result of the absence of the lords was to decrease them. Whilst the expenses of the noblemen at Chambord or Versailles were steadily on the increase, his intendant, alone and unrestrained upon the estate, filled his own pockets, and sent less money every quarter, so that, to keep up the proper rank, the lord was forced to beg a pension from the king. Low indeed was the downfall of the old pride and feudal independence! The question was how to obtain these pensions, ranks, offices, and favors of all kinds. The virtues most prized and rewarded by the kings were not civic virtues,—capacity, and services of value for the public good; what pleased them was, naturally, devotion to their person, blind obedience, flattery, and subservience."

_P. Lacombe, A Short History of the French People, chapter 23._

FRANCE: A. D. 1516-1517. Maximilian's attempt against Milan. Diplomatic intrigues. The Treaty of Noyon.

After Francis I. had taken possession of Milan, and while Pope Leo X. was making professions of friendship to him at Bologna, a scheme took shape among the French king's enemies for depriving him of his conquest, and the pope was privy to it. "Henry VIII. would not openly break the peace between England and France, but he offered to supply Maximilian with Swiss troops for an attack upon Milan. It was useless to send money to Maximilian, who would have spent it on himself"; but troops were hired for the emperor by the English agent, Pace, and "at the beginning of March [1516] the joint army of Maximilian and the Swiss assembled at Trent. On March 24 they were within a few miles of Milan, and their success seemed sure, when suddenly Maximilian found that his resources were exhausted and refused to proceed; next day he withdrew his troops and abandoned his allies. … The expedition was a total failure; yet English gold had not been spent in vain, as the Swiss were prevented from entirely joining the French, and Francis I. was reminded that his position in Italy was by no means secure. Leo X., meanwhile, in the words of Pace, 'had played marvellously with both hands in this enterprise.' … England was now the chief opponent of the ambitious schemes of France, and aimed at bringing about a league with Maximilian, Charles [who had just succeeded Ferdinand of Spain, deceased January 23, 1516], the Pope, and the Swiss. But Charles's ministers, chief of whom was Croy, lord of Chievres, had a care above all for the interests of Flanders, and so were greatly under the influence of France. … France and England entered into a diplomatic warfare over the alliance with Charles. First, England on April 19 recognised Charles as King of Spain, Navarre, and the Two Sicilies; then Wolsey strove to make peace between Venice and Maximilian as a first step towards detaching Venice from its French alliance." On the other hand, negotiations were secretly carried on and (August 13) "the treaty of Noyon was concluded between Francis I. and Charles. Charles was to marry Louise, the daughter of Francis I., an infant of one year old, and receive as her dower the French claims on Naples; Venice was to pay Maximilian 200,000 ducats for Brescia and Verona; in case he refused this offer and continued the war, Charles was at liberty to help his grandfather, and Francis I. to help the Venetians, without any breach of the peace now made between them. … In spite of the efforts of England, Francis I. was everywhere successful in settling his difficulties. On November 29 a perpetual peace was made at Friburg between France and the Swiss Cantons; on December 3 the treaty of Noyon was renewed, and Maximilian was included in its provisions. Peace was made between him and Venice by the provision that Maximilian was to hand over Verona to Charles, who in turn should give it up to the King of France, who delivered it to the Venetians; Maximilian in return received 100,000 ducats from Venice and as much from France. The compact was duly carried out: 'On February 8, 1517,' wrote the Cardinal of Sion, 'Verona belonged to the Emperor; on the 9th to the King Catholic; on the 15th to the French; on the 17th to the Venetians.' Such was the end of the wars that had arisen from the League of Cambrai. After a struggle of eight years the powers that had confederated to destroy Venice came together to restore her to her former place. Venice might well exult in this reward of her long constancy, her sacrifices and her disasters."

_M. Creighton, History of the Papacy, during the Period of the Reformation, book 5, chapter 19 (volume 4)._

ALSO IN: _J. S. Brewer, The Reign of Henry VIII., chapters 4-6 (volume 1)._

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FRANCE: A. D. 1519. Candidacy of Francis I. for Imperial crown.

See GERMANY: A. D. 1519.

FRANCE: A. D. 1520-1523. Rivalry of Francis I. and Charles V. The Emperor's successes in Italy and Navarre. Milan again taken from France. The wrongs and the treason of the Constable of Bourbon.

"With their candidature for the Imperial crown, burst forth the inextinguishable rivalry between Francis I. and Charles V. The former claimed Naples for himself and Navarre for Henry d'Albret: the Emperor demanded the Milanese as a fief of the Empire, and the Duchy of Burgundy. Their resources were about equal. If the empire of Charles were more extensive the kingdom of France was more compact. The Emperor's subjects were richer, but his authority more circumscribed. The reputation of the French cavalry was not inferior to that of the Spanish infantry. Victory would belong to the one who should win over the King of England to his side. … Both gave pensions to his Prime Minister, Cardinal Wolsey; they each asked the hand of his daughter Mary, one for the dauphin, the other for himself. Francis I. obtained from him an interview at Calais, and forgetting that he wished to gain his favour, eclipsed him by his elegance and magnificence [see FIELD OF THE CLOTH OF GOLD]. Charles V., more adroit, had anticipated this interview by visiting Henry VIII. in England. He had secured Wolsey by giving him hopes of the tiara. … Everything succeeded with the Emperor. He gained Leo X. to his side and thus obtained sufficient influence to raise his tutor, Adrian of Utrecht, to the papacy [on the death of Leo, December 1, 1521]. The French penetrated into Spain, but arrived too late to aid the rising there [in Navarre, 1521]. The governor of the Milanese, Lautrec, who is said to have exiled from Milan nearly half its inhabitants, was driven out of Lombardy [and the Pope retook Parma and Placentia]. He met with the same fate again in the following year: the Swiss, who were ill-paid, asked either for dismissal or battle, and allowed themselves to be beaten at La Bicoque [April 29, 1522]. The money intended for the troops had been used for other purposes by the Queen-mother, who hated Lautrec. At the moment when Francis I. was thinking of re-entering Italy, an internal enemy threw France into the utmost danger. Francis had given mortal offence to the Constable of Bourbon, one of those who had most contributed to the victory of Marignan. Charles, Count of Montpensier and Dauphin of Auvergne, held by virtue of his wife, a granddaughter of Louis XI., the Duchy of Bourbon, and the counties of Clermont, La Marche and other domains, which made him the first noble in the kingdom. On the death of his wife, the Queen-mother, Louise of Savoy, who had wanted to marry the Constable and had been refused by him, resolved to ruin him. She disputed with him this rich inheritance and obtained from her son that the property should be provisionally sequestered. Bourbon, exasperated, resolved to pass over to the Emperor (1523). Half a century earlier, revolt did not mean disloyalty. The most accomplished knights in France, Dunois and John of Calabria, had joined the 'League for the public weal.' … But now it was no question of a revolt against the king; such a thing was impossible in France at this time. It was a conspiracy against the very existence of France that Bourbon was plotting with foreigners. He promised Charles V. to attack Burgundy as soon as Francis I. had crossed the Alps, and to rouse into revolt five provinces of which he believed himself master; the kingdom of Provence was to be re-established in his favour, and France, partitioned between Spain and England, would have ceased to exist as a nation. He was soon able to enjoy the reverses of his country."

_J. Michelet, Summary of Modern History, chapter 6._

"Henry VIII. and Charles V. were both ready to secure the services of the ex-Constable. He decided in favour of Charles as the more powerful of the two. … These secret negotiations were carried on in the spring of 1523, while Francis I. (having sent a sufficient force to protect his northern frontier) was preparing to make Italy the seat of war. With this object the king ordered a rendezvous of the army at Lyons, in the beginning of September, and having arranged to pass through Moulins on his way to join the forces, called upon the Constable to meet him there and to proceed with him to Lyons. Already vague rumours of an understanding between the Emperor and Bourbon had reached Francis, who gave no credence to them; but on his way M. de Brézé, Seneschal of Normandy, attached to the Court of Louise of Savoy, sent such precise details of the affair by two Norman gentlemen in the Constable's service that doubt was no longer possible." Francis accordingly entered Moulins with a considerable force, and went straight to Bourbon, who feigned illness. The Constable stoutly denied to the king all the charges which the latter revealed to him, and Francis, who was strongly urged to order his arrest, refused to do so. But a few days later, when the king had gone forward to Lyons, Bourbon, pretending to follow him, rode away to his strong castle of Chantelles, from whence he wrote letters demanding the restitution of his estates. As soon as his flight was known, Francis sent forces to seize him; but the Constable, taking one companion with him, made his way out of the kingdom in disguise. Escaping to Italy, he was there placed in command of the imperial army.

_C. Coignet, Francis I. and his Times, chapter 4._

ALSO IN: _Miss Pardoe, The Court and Reign of Francis I., volume 1, chapters 14-19._

See, also, AUSTRIA: A. D. 1519-1555.

FRANCE: A. D. 1521. Invasion of Navarre.

See NAVARRE: A. D. 1442-1521.

FRANCE: A. D. 1521-1525. Beginning of the Protestant Reform movement.

See PAPACY: A. D. 1521-1535.

FRANCE: A. D. 1523-1524. First undertakings in the New World. Voyages of Verrazano.

See AMERICA: A. D. 1523-1524.

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FRANCE: A. D. 1523-1525. The death of Bayard. Second invasion of Italy by Francis I. His defeat and capture at Pavia.