Louis XII, king of France

Louis XII, 1462–1515, king of France (1498–1515), son of Charles, duc d'Orléans Orléans, Charles, duc d' (shärl dük dôrlāäN`)
..... Click the link for more information. . He succeeded his father as duke. While still duke, he rebelled against the regency of Anne de Beaujeu and was imprisoned (1488), but was released (1491) by his cousin King Charles VIII, whom he succeeded (1498) on the throne. Immediately after his accession he ensured the continuance of the personal union of Brittany and France by having his first marriage annulled and marrying his predecessor's widow, Anne of Brittany Anne of Brittany, 1477–1514, queen of France as consort of Charles VIII from 1491 to 1498 and consort of Louis XII from 1499 until her death. The daughter of Duke Francis II of Brittany, she was heiress to his duchy.
..... Click the link for more information. . Thereafter the king and his minister, Georges d'Amboise Amboise, Georges d' (zhôrzh däNbwäz`), 1460–1510, French statesman, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church.
..... Click the link for more information. , attempted to assert French claims in Italy (see Italian Wars Italian Wars, 1494–1559, series of regional wars brought on by the efforts of the great European powers to control the small independent states of Italy.
..... Click the link for more information. ). Louis conquered Milan and Genoa, but he failed to secure Naples, which he had conquered in alliance with King Ferdinand II Ferdinand II or Ferdinand the Catholic, 1452–1516, king of Aragón (1479–1516), king of Castile and León (as Ferdinand V, 1474–1504), king of Sicily (1468–1516), and king of Naples (1504–16).
..... Click the link for more information. of Aragón. By the treaties of Blois (1504), Louis attempted a compromise with Spain and with Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, who had so far remained an inactive opponent; the treaties subsequently collapsed, and the king's daughter Claude, whose marriage to Maximilian's grandson Charles of Austria (later Holy Roman Emperor Charles V) was to have been the keystone of the new entente, was betrothed to her cousin, Francis of Angoulême, later King Francis I Francis I, 1494–1547, king of France (1515–47), known as Francis of Angoulême before he succeeded his cousin and father-in-law, King Louis XII.
..... Click the link for more information. . In 1507, Louis suppressed the revolt of Genoa (1506–7), and in 1508 he joined the League of Cambrai (see Cambrai, League of Cambrai, League of, 1508–10, alliance formed by Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, King Louis XII of France, Pope Julius II, King Ferdinand V of Aragón, and several Italian city-states against the republic of Venice to check its territorial expansion.
..... Click the link for more information. ) against Venice, defeating the Venetians at Agnadello (1509). When his Italian territories were attacked (1511) by Pope Julius II's Holy League Holy League, in Italian history, alliance formed (1510–11) by Pope Julius II during the Italian Wars for the purpose of expelling Louis XII of France from Italy, thereby consolidating papal power.
..... Click the link for more information. , he committed their defense to Gaston de Foix, but after Gaston's death (1512) his troops were forced by the Swiss (then the pope's main allies) to evacuate Milan. In 1513 the Swiss routed his army at Novara while another army was defeated at Guinegate by Maximilian and King Henry VIII of England, also the pope's allies. In 1514 he made a truce with all his enemies save Maximilian. Louis endeavored to rule France with justice and moderation, and was known as the Father of the People.

Bibliography

See J. S. C. Bridge, A History of France from the Death of Louis XI, Vol. III–IV (1929).

Louis XII

(born June 27, 1462, Blois, France—died Jan. 1, 1515, Paris) King of France (1498–1515). He became king on the death of his cousin Charles VIII. He annulled his marriage to marry Charles's widow, Anne of Brittany, and to reinforce the union of her duchy with France. He continued France's part in the Italian Wars, often with disastrous results. He conquered Milan in 1499, then lost it, but was later recognized as duke of Milan by Emperor Maximilian I. He concluded a treaty with Ferdinand V that partitioned Naples (1500), but the two kings went to war and Louis lost all of Naples (1504). In 1508 he consolidated the League of Cambrai, but when the league fell apart in 1510 its members joined England in a Holy League against France, invading it several times. Despite his failures, Louis was highly popular with the French, who called him the “Father of the People.”

Louis XII

1462--1515, king of France (1498--1515), who fought a series of unsuccessful wars in Italy