Charles VII of France

Life

Youth

Charles was born at the Chteau d'Amboise in France, the only surviving son of King Louis
XI by his second wife Charlotte of Savoy.[2] His godparents were Charles II, Duke of
Bourbon (the godchild's namesake), Joan of Valois, Duchess of Bourbon, and the teenage
Edward of Westminster, the son of Henry VI of England who had been living in France since
the deposition of his father by Edward IV.[3] Charles succeeded to the throne on 30 August
1483 at the age of 13. His health was poor. He was regarded by his contemporaries as
possessing a pleasant disposition, but also as foolish and unsuited for the business of the
state. In accordance with the wishes of Louis XI, the regency of the kingdom was granted to
Charles' elder sister Anne, a formidably intelligent and shrewd woman described by her
father as "the least foolish woman in France."[4] She would rule as regent, together with her
husband Peter of Bourbon, until 1491.

Marriages

Further information: French-Breton War

Charles was betrothed on 22 July 1483 to the 3-year-old Margaret of Austria, daughter of the
Archduke Maximilian of Austria (later Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I) and Mary,
Duchess of Burgundy. The marriage was arranged by Louis XI, Maximilian, and the Estates
of the Low Countries as part of the 1482 Peace of Arras between France and the Duchy of
Burgundy. Margaret brought the Counties of Artois and Burgundy to France as her dowry,
and she was raised in the French court as a prospective Queen consort.

In 1488, however, Francis II, Duke of Brittany, died in a riding accident, leaving his 11-year-
old daughter Anne as his heir. Anne, who feared for the independence of her duchy against
the ambitions of France, arranged a marriage in 1490 between herself and the widower
Maximilian, thus making Anne a stepmother to Margaret of Austria. The regent Anne of
France and her husband Peter refused to countenance such a marriage, however, since it
would place Maximilian and his family, the Habsburgs, on two French borders. The French
army invaded Brittany, taking advantage of the preoccupation of Frederick III and his son
with the disputed succession to Mathias Corvinus, King of Hungary.[5] Anne of Brittany was
forced to renounce Maximilian (whom she had only married by proxy) and agree to be
married to Charles VIII instead.[6]
Marriage to Anne of Brittany at the Chteau de Langeais.

In December 1491, in an elaborate ceremony at the Chteau de Langeais, Charles and Anne
of Brittany were married. The 14-year-old Duchess Anne, not happy with the arranged
marriage, arrived for her wedding with her entourage carrying two beds. However, Charles's
marriage brought him independence from his relatives and thereafter he managed affairs
according to his own inclinations. Queen Anne lived at the Clos Luc in Amboise.

There still remained the matter of Charles' first betrothed, the young Margaret of Austria.
Although the cancellation of her betrothal meant that she by rights should have been returned
to her family, Charles did not initially do so, intending to marry her usefully elsewhere in
France. It was a difficult situation for Margaret, who informed her father in her letters that
she was so determined to escape that she would even flee Paris in her nightgown if it gave her
freedom. Eventually, in 1493, she was returned to her family, together with her dowry -
though the Duchy of Burgundy was kept in the Treaty of Senlis.

Around the king there was a circle of court poets, the most memorable being the Italian
humanist Publio Fausto Andrelini from Forl, who spread the New Learning in France.
During a pilgrimage to pay respects to his father's remains, Charles observed Mont Aiguille
and ordered Antoine de Ville to ascend to the summit in an early technical alpine climb, latter
alluded to by Rabelais.[7][8]

Italian War

For more details on this topic, see Italian War of 14941498.

Charles VIII

Anne of Brittany as Queen

To secure France against invasions, Charles made treaties with Maximilian I of Austria (the
Treaty of Barcelona with Maximilian of Austria on 19 January 1493)[9] and England, (the
Treaty of taples with England on 3 November 1492)[10] buying their neutrality with large
concessions. He devoted France's resources to building up a large army, including one of
Europe's first siege trains with artillery.

In 1489, Pope Innocent VIII (1484-1492), then being at odds with Ferdinand I of Naples,
offered Naples to Charles, who had a vague claim to the Kingdom of Naples through his
paternal grandmother, Marie of Anjou. Innocent's policy of meddling in the affairs of other
Italian states[11] was continued by Innocent's successor, Pope Alexander VI (1492-1503)
when the Pope supported a plan for a carving out a new state in central Italy. The new state
would have impacted Milan more than any of the other states involved.[citation needed]
Consequently, in 1493, Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan, appealed for help to Charles
VIII.[12] The next year in 1494, Milan faced an additional threat. On 25 January 1494,
Ferdinand I, King of Naples, died unexpectedly.[13] His death made Alfonso II, king of
Naples. Alfonso II laid claim to the Milanese duchy.[14] Alfonso II now urged Charles VIII to
take Milan militarily. Charles VIII was also urged on in this adventure by his favorite
courtier, tienne de Vesc. Thus, Charles came to imagine himself capable of actually taking
Naples and invaded Italy.

In an event that was to prove a watershed in Italian history,[15] Charles invaded Italy with
25,000 men (including 8,000 Swiss mercenaries) in September 1494 and marched across the
peninsula virtually unopposed. King Charles arrived in Pavia on 21 October 1494 and entered
Pisa on 8 November 1494.[16] The French Army subdued Florence in passing on their way
south. Reaching Naples on 22 February 1495,[17] the French Army took Naples without a
pitched battle or siege. Alfonso was expelled and Charles was crowned King of Naples.

There were those in the Republic of Florence who appreciated the presence of the French
king and his Army. The famous friar Savonarola believed that King Charles VIII was God's
tool to purify the corruption of Florence. He believed that once Charles had ousted the evil
sinners of Florence the city would become a center of morality. Thus, Florence was the
appropriate place to restructure the Church. This situation would eventually spill over into
another conflict between Pope Alexander VI, who despised the idea of having the king in
northern Italy where the Pope feared the King of France would interfere with the Papal
States,[18] and Savonarola, who called for the king's intervention. This conflict would
eventually lead Savonarola to be suspected of heresy and executed by the State.

The speed and power of the French advance frightened the other Italian rulers, including the
Pope and even Ludovico of Milan. They formed an anti-French coalition, the League of
Venice on 31 March 1495. The formation of the League of Venice, which included the
northern Italian states of Duchy of Milan, the Republic of Venice, the Duchy of Mantua, and
the Republic of Florence in addition to the Kingdom of Spain, the Holy Roman Empire and
the Kingdom of Naples, appeared to have trapped Charles in southern Italy and blocked his
return to France. Charles would have to cross the territory of at least some of the League
members to return home to France. At the Fornovo in July 1495, the League defeated
Charles. However, it was a pyrrhic victory because the French too celebrated Fornovo as a
victory for them.[19] The League lost 2,000 men to his 1,000 and, although Charles lost nearly
all the booty of the campaign and had to withdraw to France, the League was unable to stop
him from crossing their territory on his way back to France. Meanwhile, Charles' remaining
garrisons in Naples were quickly subdued by Aragonese forces sent by Ferdinand II of
Aragon, ally of Alfonso on 67 July 1495.[20] Thus in the end, Charles VIII lost all the gains
that he had made in Italy in 1494.

Over the next few years, Charles VIII tried to rebuild his army and resume the campaign, but
he was hampered by the large debts incurred in 149495. He never succeeded in gaining
anything substantive.

Death

Charles died in 1498, two and a half years after his retreat from Italy, as the result of an
accident. While on his way to watch a game of jeu de paume (real tennis) in Amboise he
struck his head on the lintel of a door.[21] At around 2pm, while returning from the game, he
fell into a sudden coma, and died nine hours later, perhaps of a subdural hematoma.[22]