Participation in wars: French-Spanish War. Crazy war. Italian campaign
Participation in battles:

(Le Père du Peuple, Louis XII of France) king of France from the Valois dynasty (Orléans branch)

The life of Louis XII was colorful and unusual. The boy was born on June 27, 1462 near Paris at the Castle of Blois. His father was Duke Charles of Orleans. Louis lost his parents at an early age and, after the death of his father, was raised by the king. Louis XI. The king patronized Louis and it was clear to everyone that the king had his own plans for the young man. At the age of 14, in 1476, Louis, by order of the king, marries his daughter Princess Jeanne.

Zhanna was a very sickly girl with a completely unattractive appearance. Moreover, as it turned out, she could not have children. For those especially close to him, it was clear that the king wanted to interrupt the younger branch Valois dynasty: if branch Dukes of Orleans is interrupted, then the senior branch of Valois will no longer be threatened by possible pretenders to the throne. However, after the death of the king, Louis seeks to have his marriage with the barren Jeanne dissolved. He justifies his decision by his too close relationship with his wife. The Pope approved the divorce and Jeanne, not too upset by the divorce, retires to Bourges. It was there that she founded the famous Order of the Annunciates. Subsequently, for her piety and good deeds, Princess Jeanne was canonized.

After the death of the king, the question arose of who would become regent for his young son. Charles VIII. Louis was counting on this position, but it goes to Anne de Beaujeu, daughter of the late king Louis XI. Of course, the Duke of Orleans did not disagree with this turn of events. Frustrated and angry, he decides with Francis II, Duke of Brittany, to start a war, which later became known as "crazy". However, the war ends in 1486 with the defeat of the Duke of Orleans and his allies. Louis d'Orléans is captured. He was held captive for several years, but later managed to reconcile with Charles VIII. Subsequently, Louis even accompanied the king on Italian campaign. However, the French hopes of taking the Duchy of Milan did not materialize.

On April 7, 1498, as a result of an accident, King Charles VIII died. He hit his head on the door frame and was seriously injured. After the death of a childless Charles VIII it became obvious to everyone that the throne would be taken next of kin tragically deceased king - Louis d'Orléans.

To celebrate the fulfillment of his cherished dream Louis forgives all the sins of his enemies. The reign of Louis was accompanied by the same foreign policy France: the king tried in vain to conquer Italy. At first, Louis was even lucky. However, fortune turned out to be insidious and changeable. Very soon Louis lost all his Italian conquests. He had to abandon the idea of ​​annexing Naples, Milan and Venice to his possessions.

Louis XII glorified his native Blois, making the region the center of all France. It was during the reign of the Duke of Orleans that the construction of a magnificent royal palace began in Blois.

The death of Louis XII was unexpected for everyone. After his second wife died, Anna of Breton, Louis marries again Mary Tudor. However, three months after marrying the young English princess, Louis XII dies. Tragic event occurred on January 1, 1515. Louis had no sons, so the French throne is occupied by his cousin,

Louis XII of France before his accession to the throne

At the birth of Louis on June 27, 1462, in his father’s castle in Blois, it would have seemed absurd to predict 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 birth of this “heir to the throne,” and in narrow circles openly questioned the legitimacy of such a late offspring, although he never officially declared this.

His father Charles, Duke of Orleans (d. 1465), who had been married to Mary of Cleves for 22 years at the time of Louis’s birth, was almost 70 years old, and he was not in good health. He was the grandson of King Charles V of France, thus Louis XII, like the reigning King Louis XI, was the great-grandson of Charles V. This descent gave him the right to claim the throne, provided that King Louis XI and his brother died without leaving behind male heirs, or these heirs would die before Louis, leaving no legitimate sons. King Louis had a direct heir - his only son, born on June 30, 1470, the future Charles VIII (1483-1498). Having almost no hopes for the French throne, Louis, apparently, was counting on another opportunity - the right to claim the Duchy of Milan, which passed to him after the death of his father in 1465. As the son of Valentina Visconti, daughter of the Duke of Milan Giangaleazzo Visconti, to whom, after the death of her brother Philippe Maria (who died in 1447, leaving no sons), the dukedom was to be inherited, Charles of Orleans considered himself the legitimate heir of Milan, and his son Louis followed behind him. Apart from accession to the French throne, one of Louis's most passionate aspirations was, apparently, to obtain this inheritance.

Louis XI's hostility to the House of Orleans had two reasons: firstly, their views on the throne and, secondly, their strong influence as large local princes who opposed the power of the king. This hostility prompted him to 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 with a physical deformity on April 23, 1464, 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; he could easily 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 him to conclude this marriage in 1476. It was not in his power, however, to force the Duke of Orleans to reconcile with him. Jeanne, who sincerely loved her husband, cared for him, without fear of becoming infected, when in 1483 he fell ill with smallpox - this was the beginning of a long string of diseases that befell him - 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. Having ascended the throne, within a few months he started an annulment case in order to marry the royal widow Anne, Duchess of Breton. At the trial, despite his wife’s objections, he argued that during the entire twenty-two years of their marriage there had never been a marital relationship between them.

The life of a duke removed by the king from political activity and who tried to find solace in luxury and debauchery, seemed to be completely determined by numerous love affairs, hunting and other entertainment “befitting his position.” However, when the brother of Louis XI died without leaving heirs, and 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 quickly decrepit Louis XI was very well aware of the threat this posed to the minor heir to the throne. In October 1482, he obliges the duke to swear allegiance to the heir to the throne and swear that he renounces the regency, which he had every right to claim. After the death of the king, the daughter and son-in-law of Louis XI, Anne and Pierre de Beaujeu, were to receive it. Of course, Louis of Orleans felt just as little bound by the oath taken on the Gospel as he did later, when he had already ascended the throne. He violated numerous agreements as often as the rest of their participants. The king saw a potential danger for his son primarily in the traditionally good relations of the House of Orleans with the Duke of Breton Francis II, the enemy of Louis and the ally of the Duke of Burgundy Charles the Bold, as well as with Louis's brother Charles - in their dispute over the possession of Normandy in 1467 and 1468. From This is why he tried to protect his son by binding Louis of Orleans with an oath. His fears were not unfounded. As soon as after the death of the king on August 30, 1483, the pressure on the duke weakened, he, in alliance with the old opponents of the deceased monarch, began to develop political activity - at first secretly - against the heir and his temporary guardians, de Beauge. How impatient he was can be seen from the fact that back in August 1483 he began secret negotiations with the Duke of Brittany, seeking to free himself from the burdensome burden placed on him by Louis XI, i.e. from his wife Zhanna. After his marriage to Joan was declared invalid, he wanted to marry Anne, the only daughter of the Duke and heir to the Duchy of Breton. The Duke readily agreed to this proposal. He realized his intention only 15 years later, since de Beauge managed to achieve Anna’s marriage with their ward, Charles VIII, which provided the crown with the right to the Duchy of Breton.

So in the second attempt to gain power and political influence the still inexperienced young duke was defeated. The opponents managed to curb the first manifestations of open hostility towards the son of the deceased king by generously distributing lands, titles, rents and other favors to noble local nobles, deprived of their power and might by Louis XI. Louis of Orleans himself also took advantage of this generosity. The troops placed under his command, a large annuity of 24,000 pounds, such a source of constant income as admission into the Order of St. Michael founded by King Louis, were honorary privileges that outwardly paid tribute to his position as the first prince of the blood, without, however, opening access to discussing government affairs. Louis hoped to receive such an opportunity from the Estates General, which had the right to remove the young king from the influence of de Beauge and appoint a royal council of several people selected by himself, and a regency under his control. At least, these could have been his immediate goals when, back in September 1483, he demanded - and achieved - the convening of the Estates General. However, he and the opposition associated with him (the supposed future members of the royal council - Duke John II of Bourbon, the elder brother of Pierre de Beaujeu, Francois of Orleans, Count of Dunois, Count of Comminges, as well as the bishops of Perigueux and Coutances) allowed de Beaujeu to achieve such an order for holding elections in Estates General that ultimately all the interests of the opposition at the meetings of the Estates General from January to March were doomed to failure. It was not to Louis’s advantage that almost last moment the seat of state meetings was moved from Orleans to Tours, loyal to the king. The chairmanship of the Duke of Orleans at the meetings of parliament was purely formal, since it was valid only in the absence of the king. When, in January 1485, the campaign of Louis, joined by the Duke of Brittany, failed in order to gather the Estates General in a renewed composition, Louis of Orleans no longer saw any other way to realize his claims other than a direct clash, even armed struggle, with the king . However, on this path he achieved as little success as before. His allies each had their own obligations, and at times pursued different goals, which did not at all contribute to success. Among them were the Count of Dunois, the Prince of Orleans, the Duke of Breton and Alain d'Albret, as well as his foreign supporters - the English king and the Austrian Archduke, Maximilian. Maximilian and Alain d'Albret, like Louis himself, tried through marriage with Anna , daughter of the Duke of Brittany, to gain Brittany.

The military conflict of the early 16th century, called the “senseless war” - “insana militia” (French Guerre folle), ended disastrously for Louis: he almost died on July 28, 1488 in the Battle of Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier, small Breton town. Poorly armed and significantly outnumbered by the enemy, the Allied army was defeated by the royal army, which was under the command of the 27-year-old Louis II of Tremouille, the Counts de Benon and de Guin and the Prince of Talmond, who later, in the Italian campaign, was to become one of the most prominent and military leaders loyal to Louis. The personal courage and competence in military affairs of Louis himself, who had managed to accumulate military experience over the past years, was beyond doubt. Only de Tremouille's caution saved him from the enraged Swiss landsknecht, who was already pressing him with weapons in his hands.

Louis was thrown into prison without trial and spent the next three years imprisoned in terrible conditions. The jailers tormented him with rough treatment, until finally he was transferred to Bourges, to the most secure dungeon. The fact that he alone of all the opposition was kept in custody for so long confirms what a danger he posed in the eyes of God to the king, who was still under their influence; after all, at court there were intercessors for his release. For this, however, he only had to thank his unloved wife Jeanne. After trying in vain to soften her sister, Anne de Beaujeu, she turned directly to her brother, Charles VIII - and was successful. Exactly three years after being taken into custody, on June 27, 1491, Charles decided, without asking Anna’s consent, to free Louis, return his favor to him and restore the morals that had been taken from him.

In contrast to Anna, who did not hide her hostile attitude towards the Duke, the king retained rather friendly feelings towards Louis. After all, it was Louis who knighted him during the coronation, and according to the then accepted code of noble honor, this bound them with personal ties. Release without any conditions or restrictions and reconciliation with the king, who rode from Tours to Firtzon, where he ordered a prisoner from neighboring Bourges to be brought to him, should have been a beneficial shock for Louis. With the return of the king's favor, as well as the receipt of Normandy, transferred to him in place of the Ile-de-France, Louis not only regained his former position as prince of the blood, but also received what he had sought for so long and in vain - the king was now open to his advice and influence . However, this required a certain price: all attempts to get rid of Jeanne had to be abandoned. This looked like a final refusal to marry Anna. Now, after the death of her father, which followed shortly after the crushing defeat at Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier and the signing of a humiliating peace treaty, she became the Duchess of Breton. And when Charles, in the face of increasing claims from Maximilian, in turn began to seek marriage with Anna in order to be able to annex Brittany to the kingdom, Louis, as the king’s adviser, negotiated on this issue with Anna on his behalf.

In order to marry Anna, Charles had to dissolve the alliance concluded during his father’s lifetime with Maximilian’s daughter Margaret; Back in 1488, at the age of three, she arrived in France, where she was raised as a future queen. In addition, Anna, despite breaking the peace treaty of 1488, promised her hand to Maximilian and even celebrated the engagement. Charles's success apparently also had the unfavorable consequence for Louis that Margaret, as the ruler of the Netherlands, could become a serious opponent of Louis XII. The marriage between Charles VIII and Anne was celebrated in December 1491. The question whether Louis made it one of the conditions of the marriage contract that in the event of the king's death she could only remarry his heir or successor remains open. That Louis still dreamed of marriage with Anna and, despite his illnesses, hoped to outlive the king, who was 8 years younger than him, is in principle possible, although implausible. His negative attitude towards Jeanne, despite everything she did to free him, remained. However, in other respects his whole being was profoundly changed. Although tournaments, feasts, extravagance and debauchery, as well as the financial problems associated with them, did not disappear from his life, they receded into the background and did not interfere with his serious and effective management of Normandy. Thus, it was thanks to his diplomatic efforts that the British abandoned the already planned landing in Normandy.

10/11/1492 Anna gave birth to a healthy son, who was christened Charles-Orlande. Charles's upcoming Italian campaign, as a result of which the king hoped to annex the kingdom of Naples, was an opportunity for Louis to realize the claims of his own house to the Duchy of Milan, which was in the hands of Lodovico Sforza, nicknamed "il Moro". However, the prudently concluded alliance between Lodovico and Charles VIII, which he undertook to observe during the campaign against Naples, frustrated these plans. The growth of Louis's power in the event of the capture of the Duchy of Milan could not but alarm the king and his advisers. The illness prevented Louis from accompanying the king on his campaign further to the south of Italy, and allowed him to linger in his fief of Asti. Charles did not put him at the head of the army, but only at the head of the fleet - an unusual task for Louis and clearly did not prove the king’s favor. When Lodovico Sforza tried to capture Asti, an important outpost on the route from France to Italy, in violation of the treaty, Louis resisted him. Encouraged by success, he took Novara with a single onslaught, almost without bloodshed, where the population joyfully welcomed him. However, he failed to take advantage of the chance and overthrow the usurper Lodovico, hated by the inhabitants, and he managed to reassemble the army and lock Louis in Novara.

Although Charles VIII was successful in Naples and emerged victorious from the battle with the troops of the Lombard League at Fornovo on July 6, 1495, he hesitated for more than a month before coming to the aid of the besieged Louis. The consequences of the siege became more and more noticeable: diseases spread in the city, food supplies were quickly depleted, drinking water not enough. Charles was already in the vicinity of Asti on July 27, but only on September 8 did he finally move his army to Lodovico, without, however, showing much haste. Only on September 28, Louis was able to leave the city, after Charles and Lodovico agreed to lift the siege and unhindered withdrawal of troops. For this, Novara was returned to the Duke of Milan. The behavior of Charles, who matched Louis himself in betrayal, led to the fact that the enmity between them escalated. However, in subsequent years, Louis could not be blamed for any disloyal actions towards the king. The sudden death of Charles's only son after a short illness in December 1495 contributed to the alienation that had begun. After two more sons of Queen Anne died barely born in 1496 and 1497, and at the beginning of 1498 she gave birth to a dead girl, Louis moved significantly closer to the coveted throne, especially since the king’s health clearly deteriorated. Only by extremely tactful behavior, a complete rejection of everything that could incite the royal couple and his opponents at court against him, did Louis avoid a new aggravation of relations.

With the death of Charles VIII on April 7, 1498, the path to the throne was clear for Louis. No one could anymore prevent him from divorcing his unloved wife Jeanne, and also from trying to conquer the Duchy of Milan, of which he considered himself the rightful ruler. Finally, the rights of the House of Angevin were now transferred to him: the right to the Kingdom of Naples.

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 Dunois. With the help of government officials, the Orleans party hoped to take power from Anna, but this failed. Soon, however, a new coalition formed from Louis and the Dukes of Breton, Bourbon and Lorraine. The purpose of the alliance was to free the king from the hands of bad advisers (Anna). The “Mad War” of the coalition of dukes against the crown began. At the Battle of Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier (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). Weak and indecisive, Louis 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. Louis regulated the relations between peasants and owners, defining more precisely the feudal duties of the former. For his judicial reforms, generosity and cordiality, Louis received the nickname “father of the people.”

Italian wars
First successes

Foreign policy Louis led to a series of unhappy 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 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 Grenada, 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 Cerignola (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 takes a turn unfavorable for Louis: 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 lengthy negotiations, Louis made peace in August 1514 with the English and Spanish kings. He died on January 1, 1515, shortly before his death he married for the third time Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry VII (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) Anne of Brittany (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:

Claude of France (1499-1524), Duchess of Brittany and Berry; m- (from 1514) Francis I (1494-1547), Count of Angoulême, then King of France.

René d'Orléans (1510-1575), Duchess of Chartres, known in Italy as Renata of France; m- (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.

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 was before, finally prohibiting troops from being stationed in villages and small towns, and allowing them to stand only in big cities, where residents could keep 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! last time in full force; The French knight Bayard, “a knight without fear or reproach,” became especially famous here. The matter 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 went to the Spaniards; Louis XII sent a new army to conquer Naples, but it was also defeated by Gonzalve of Corduan at 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 joined 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, to the alliance Henry VIII; Ferdinand wrote that if the French were allowed to take control of Rome, the freedom of Europe would perish. In 1512, hostilities began: the allies found it difficult 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 New history" S. M. Solovyova

Burial place: Basilica of Saint Denis, Paris, France Genus: Valois Father: Charles of Orleans Mother: Maria Klevskaya Spouse: 1) Joan of France (1476-1499)
2) Anne of Brittany (1499-1514)
3) Mary Tudor (from 1514) Children: daughters: Claude and Rene

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 made many of his 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

With experienced commanders, Louis moved to Italy, crossed the Alps (July) and took Milan on September 14. The Duke of Milan, Lodovico Moro, fled. The outrages of the French caused widespread discontent in the city and paved the way for its return. Two months later, Lodovico managed to drive the French out of Milan, but in the spring of 1500 he was defeated near Novara and soon betrayed by his Swiss mercenaries, who handed him over to the French. Having got rid of a dangerous rival, the king of France was able to continue his conquests in Italy.

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 Cerignola (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 ().

The fight against Venice and the papacy

Louis now directed his concerns to maintaining and expanding his rule in Northern Italy, pacified Genoa () and joined the League of Cambrai against Venice (Maximilian, Pope Julius II, Ferdinand of Aragon;). Julius II, wanting to oust the French from Italy, separated from Louis and concluded a “holy league” against France. The council of clergy convened by Louis in Tours () 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 at the time, “from trying to get an heir,” shortly before his death, having married for the third time Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry VII (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: (8 September 1476) Jeanne de Valois(1464-1505), Princess of France, daughter of King Louis XI and Charlotte of Savoy. The marriage was annulled on December 22, 1498 as barren.

• 2nd wife: (8 January 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 May 18, 1514) Francis I (1494-1547), Count of Angoulême, then King of France.
2. Son died at birth (1500).
3. Francis (1503).
4. Miscarriages (from 1505 to 1509).
5. René d'Orléans (1510-1575), Duchess of Chartres, known in Italy as Renata French; husband (from July 20, 1527) Ercole II d'Este (1508-1559), Duke of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio.
6. Son (1512).

• 3rd wife: (October 9, 1514) Mary Tudor(1496-1533), Princess of England, daughter of King Henry VII and Elizabeth of York.

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Literature

Capetians (987-1328)

987	996		1031		1060		1108		1137		1180		1223		1226
Hugo Capet		Robert II		Henry I		Philip I		Louis VI		Louis VII		Philip II		Louis VIII

1226	1270		1285		1314		1316		1316		1322		1328
Louis IX		Philip III		Philip IV		Louis X		John I		Philip V		Charles IV

1328	1350		1364		1380		1422		1461		1483		1498
Philip VI		John II		Charles V		Charles VI		Charles VII		Louis XI		Charles VIII

1498	1515		1547		1559		1560		1574		1589
Louis XII		Francis I		Henry II		Francis II		Charles IX		Henry III

Bourbons (1589-1792)

1589	1610		1643		1715		1774		1792
Henry IV		Louis XIII		Louis XIV		Louis XV		Louis XVI

1792	1804		1814		1824		1830		1848		1852		1870
-		Napoleon I (Bonaparte)		Louis XVIII		Charles X		Louis Philippe I (House of Orleans)		-		Napoleon III (Bonaparte)

Early rulers (c. 818 - 913) House of Nantes (938-958) Rennes House (958-1072) (1547 - present)

Excerpt characterizing Louis XII

“Mais on dit qu"il est aveugle, mon prince? [But they say he is blind?],” he said, reminding Prince Vasily of his own words.
“Allez donc, il y voit assez, [Eh, nonsense, he sees enough, believe me.],” said Prince Vasily in his bass, quick voice with a cough, that voice and cough with which he resolved all difficulties. “Allez, il y voit assez,” he repeated. “And what I am glad about,” he continued, “is that the sovereign gave him complete power over all the armies, over the entire region - power that no commander-in-chief has ever had.” This is a different autocrat,” he concluded with a triumphant smile.
“God willing, God willing,” said Anna Pavlovna. L "homme de beaucoup de merite, still a newcomer to court society, wanting to flatter Anna Pavlovna, shielding her previous opinion from this judgment, said.
- They say that the sovereign reluctantly transferred this power to Kutuzov. On dit qu"il rougit comme une demoiselle a laquelle on lirait Joconde, en lui disant: “Le souverain et la patrie vous decernent cet honneur.” [They say that he blushed like a young lady to whom Joconde would be read, while told him: “The sovereign and the fatherland reward you with this honor.”]
“Peut etre que la c?ur n"etait pas de la partie, [Perhaps the heart was not fully involved],” said Anna Pavlovna.
“Oh no, no,” Prince Vasily interceded hotly. Now he could no longer give up Kutuzov to anyone. According to Prince Vasily, not only was Kutuzov himself good, but everyone adored him. “No, this cannot be, because the sovereign knew how to value him so much before,” he said.
“God only grant that Prince Kutuzov,” said Anpa Pavlovna, “takes real power and does not allow anyone to put a spoke in his wheels - des batons dans les roues.”
Prince Vasily immediately realized who this nobody was. He said in a whisper:
- I know for sure that Kutuzov, as an indispensable condition, ordered that the heir to the crown prince not be with the army: Vous savez ce qu"il a dit a l"Empereur? [Do you know what he said to the sovereign?] - And Prince Vasily repeated the words that Kutuzov allegedly said to the sovereign: “I cannot punish him if he does something bad, and reward him if he does something good.” ABOUT! This the smartest person, Prince Kutuzov, et quel caractere. Oh je le connais de longue date. [and what a character. Oh, I've known him for a long time.]
“They even say,” said l “homme de beaucoup de merite, who did not yet have court tact, “that His Serene Highness made it an indispensable condition that the sovereign himself should not come to the army.
As soon as he said this, in an instant Prince Vasily and Anna Pavlovna turned away from him and sadly, with a sigh about his naivety, looked at each other.

While this was happening in St. Petersburg, the French had already passed Smolensk and were moving closer and closer to Moscow. The historian of Napoleon Thiers, just like other historians of Napoleon, says, trying to justify his hero, that Napoleon was drawn to the walls of Moscow involuntarily. He is right, as are all historians who seek an explanation of historical events in the will of one person; he is just as right as Russian historians who claim that Napoleon was attracted to Moscow by the art of Russian commanders. Here, in addition to the law of retrospectivity (recurrence), which represents everything that has passed as preparation for an accomplished fact, there is also reciprocity, which confuses the whole matter. A good player who has lost at chess is sincerely convinced that his loss was due to his mistake, and he looks for this mistake at the beginning of his game, but forgets that in every step of his, throughout the entire game, there were the same mistakes that no his move was not perfect. The error to which he draws attention is noticeable to him only because the enemy took advantage of it. How much more complex than this is the game of war, taking place in certain conditions of time, and where it is not one will that guides lifeless machines, but where everything stems from countless collisions of various arbitrarinesses?
After Smolensk, Napoleon sought battles beyond Dorogobuzh at Vyazma, then at Tsarev Zaymishche; but it turned out that due to countless collisions of circumstances, the Russians could not accept the battle before Borodino, one hundred and twenty versts from Moscow. Napoleon ordered from Vyazma to move directly to Moscow.
Moscou, la capitale asiatique de ce grand empire, la ville sacree des peuples d "Alexandre, Moscou avec ses innombrables eglises en forme de pagodes chinoises! [Moscow, the Asian capital of this great empire, the sacred city of the peoples of Alexander, Moscow with its countless churches, in the form of Chinese pagodas!] This Moscou haunted the imagination of Napoleon. On the transition from Vyazma to Tsarev Zaimishche, Napoleon rode on his nightingale anglicized pacer, accompanied by guards, guards, pages and adjutants. The chief of staff, Berthier, fell behind in order to interrogate a Russian prisoner taken by the cavalry. He galloped, accompanied by the translator Lelorgne d'Ideville, caught up with Napoleon and stopped his horse with a cheerful face.
- Eh bien? [Well?] - said Napoleon.
- Un cosaque de Platow [Platov Cossack] says that Platov’s corps is uniting with a large army, that Kutuzov has been appointed commander-in-chief. Tres intelligent et bavard! [Very smart and talkative!]
Napoleon smiled and ordered to give this Cossack a horse and bring him to him. He himself wanted to talk to him. Several adjutants galloped off, and an hour later Denisov’s serf, whom he had given over to Rostov, Lavrushka, in a batman’s jacket on a French cavalry saddle, with a roguish and drunken, cheerful face, rode up to Napoleon. Napoleon ordered him to ride next to him and began to ask:
-Are you a Cossack?
- Cossack s, your honor.
“Le cosaque ignorant la compagnie dans laquelle il se trouvait, car la simplicite de Napoleon n"avait rien qui put reveler a une imagination orientale la presence d"un souverain, s"entretint avec la plus extreme familiarite des affaires de la guerre actuelle" , [The Cossack, not knowing the society in which he was, because Napoleon’s simplicity had nothing that could reveal to the Eastern imagination the presence of the sovereign, spoke with extreme familiarity about the circumstances of the present war.] - says Thiers, recounting this episode Indeed, Lavrushka, who got drunk and left the master without dinner, was flogged the day before and sent to the village to fetch chickens, where he became interested in looting and was captured by the French. duty to do everything with meanness and cunning, which are ready to do any service to their master and who cunningly guess the master's bad thoughts, especially vanity and pettiness.
Once in the company of Napoleon, whose personality he recognized very well and easily. Lavrushka was not at all embarrassed and only tried with all his heart to serve the new masters.
He knew very well that it was Napoleon himself, and the presence of Napoleon could not confuse him more than the presence of Rostov or the sergeant with rods, because he had nothing that neither the sergeant nor Napoleon could deprive him of.
He lied about everything that was said between the orderlies. Much of this was true. But when Napoleon asked him how the Russians thought, whether they would defeat Bonaparte or not, Lavrushka squinted and thought.
He saw subtle cunning here, as people like Lavrushka always see cunning in everything, he frowned and was silent.
“It means: if there is a battle,” he said thoughtfully, “and in speed, then it’s so accurate.” Well, if three days pass after that very date, then it means that this very battle will be delayed.
It was translated to Napoleon as follows: “Si la bataille est donnee avant trois jours, les Francais la gagneraient, mais que si elle serait donnee plus tard, Dieu seul sait ce qui en arrivrait” [“If the battle takes place before three days, the French will win him, but if after three days, then God knows what will happen.”] - smilingly conveyed Lelorgne d "Ideville. Napoleon did not smile, although he was apparently in the most cheerful mood, and ordered these words to be repeated to himself.
Lavrushka noticed this and, to cheer him up, said, pretending that he did not know who he was.
“We know, you have Bonaparte, he beat everyone in the world, well, that’s another story about us...” he said, not knowing how and why in the end, boastful patriotism slipped into his words. The translator conveyed these words to Napoleon without ending, and Bonaparte smiled. “Le jeune Cosaque fit sourire son puissant interlocuteur,” [The young Cossack made his powerful interlocutor smile.] says Thiers. Having walked a few steps in silence, Napoleon turned to Berthier and said that he wanted to experience the effect that would have sur cet enfant du Don [on this child of the Don] the news that the person with whom this enfant du Don was speaking was the Emperor himself , the same emperor who wrote the immortally victorious name on the pyramids.