the dawn of modern times,

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7

The Dawn ofModern Times,

1461-1515

The half century that separates the accession of Louis XI from that of Francis Ican be seen as a period of transition. During the reconstruction that followed theHundred Years' War the outlines of new institutions and new modes of thoughtand behavior appeared among the ruins of the medieval order. The personality andaccomplishments of Louis XI reflect this mixture of ancient and modern.

The change in direction was particularly noticeable in foreign policy. Untilthenexcept for the adventure of the Crusadesthe vision of the French kingsstopped at the boundaries of the kingdom. Now that they enjoyed undisputedauthority at home and the strength provided by military and financial power,they could seek an active role in Europeas the adventure of the wars in Italydemonstrates.

I. LOUIS XI (1461-83)An Unusual Personality. When Louis XI became king at thirty-eight, he

was repulsive to look at. His small body, thin and potbellied, was set oncrooked legs. His bald head was dominated by a large nose that hung overthin lips. He shook continually with nervous agitation. He dressed


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8The Birth of theAbsolute Monarchy

1515-1559

uring the first half of the sixteenth century, in the reigns of Francis I andHenry II, the kingdom suffered but survived the struggle against the house

of Austria. In the end royal power was consolidated. Under Francis I newinstitutions strengthened royal power. The luxury with which the king sur-rounded himself and the protection he gave to literature and the other arts con-tributed to the incomparable prestige of the crown. Finally, economic progressbrought about a transformation in the social order.

I. THE STRUGGLE AGAINST HAPSBURG HEGEMONY

Francis I. King at twenty, Francis I quickly charmed the French. He wastall, vigorous, brave in battle, cheerful, likable, generous, a lover of sports,tournaments, and hunting. He was endowed with a very keen taste for artsand letters, composed verses and songs, and was a brilliantconversationalist and writer of charming letters. But above all, he was aspoiled child all his life. He had been raised in an atmosphere of permissiveadoration by his mother, Louise of Savoy, and his elder sister, Margaret ofAngouleme. Impulsive and fickle, easily bored by serious affairs of state,

he displayed an egotism that nonetheless helped to

D


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110 History of Francerobe" to distinguish it from the ancient feudal and military nobility, the"nobility of the sword."

Francis I, Protector of Arts and Letters. Humanists and writers enjoyedconstant favor during the reign of Francis I. Printing, introduced into Parisaround 1470, developed rapidly. An estimated 25,000 publications wereproduced during the sixteenth century by Paris printshops, most notably bythe Estienne family of humanist scholars and master printers. Shops inLyons may have published some 13,000 works.

The royal library, directed by the great scholar Guillaume Bude, wasenormously enriched by the requirement that printers send it a copy of eachof their publications.

In 1530 Francis I instituted a college of royal lecturers where such new

subjects as Hebrew, Greek, Latin philology, and science might be taught,free from the narrow control of the Sorbonne. This was the origin of themodern-day College de France.

More important still, Francis I exercised a decisive influence on thespread of Italian art in France. The chateaux that he built or remodeled forhis pleasureBlois, Chambord, St.-Germain-en-Laye, Fontaine-bleauserved as models for those built by the aristocracy. The painters,sculptors, goldsmiths, furniture makers, and tapestry weavers who workedfor the court conformed to the Italian style that the king preferred. FromItaly Francis I summoned such great artists as Leonardo da Vinci andBenvenuto Cellini. Francesco Primaticcio and Il Rosso, who decorated thechateau at Fontainebleau, created a true school whose conventions becamethe rule for all French painting.

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING

Blunt, Anthony.Art and Architecture in France, 1500-1700.Harmonds-worth, Eng., 1970.

Denieul-Cormier, Anne.A Time of Glory: The Renaissance in France,1488-1559. Garden City, N.Y., 1968.

Hackett, Francis. Frances the First. New York, 1935.

Ladurie, Emmanuel Le Roy. The Peasants of Languedoc. Urbana, 111.,1976.

Mandrou, Robert.Introduction to Modern France, 1500-1640: An Essay inHistorical Psychology. New York, 1976,

Tbt Birth of the Absolute Monarchy 111Stone, Donald. From k the Sixteenth Century: A Medieval Society Trans-

formed. New York, 1969.

Hauser, Henri, and A. Renaudet.Les Debuts de VAge moderne: La Renais-

sance et la Rtfomt. 4th ed. Pans, 1956.


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I.

9

The Wars ofReligion

The introduction of the Protestant Reformation into France unleashed the

cruelest of civil wars. If the Protestants, despite their initial successes andfanatical zeal, failed to triumph here as they did in other states, it was becausethe monarchy remained faithful to the Catholic church and the great majority ofpeople violently resisted religious innovations. Unable to destroy each other inthirty years of fighting, Protestants and Catholics had to learn to coexist.

I. THE BEGINNINGS OF THE PROTESTANTREFORMATION IN FRANCE

The Meaux Circle. It was not only in Martin Luther's Germany that thecorruption of the clergy and the inadequate response of the churchestablishment to spiritual unrest inspired a desire for reform. Even beforeLuther's doctrines became known in France, the return to Scripture and amore personal religion has been preached by Jacques Lefevre d'Etaples.This gentle scholar produced a French translation of the New Testament in1523. His friend the bishop of Meaux, Guillaume Bricon-net, brought himto Meaux, and the two established a small circle of


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The last Valois, the Bourbons, and the Montmorencys in the sixteenth century

Louis IXr.1214-70

I -----Philip III

r. 1270-85(see alsop.73)

Robert of Francecount of Claremont

Beatrixof Bourbon

Philip IVr.1285-1314

Charles de VALOISd.1325

Louis dukeof BOURBON

Francis Ir. 1495-1547 (see alsop.86)

Henry IIr. 1547 59

------- 1Margaret

of Angoulemequeen of Navarre

d.1549

Joan of Albretqueen of Navarre

d.1572

Antionetteof Bourbonm.Claude,

duke of Guise

iLouis I,

prince of Conde1530-69

Francis IIr. 1559 -60 r

Mary Stuart

Charles IXr. 1560 -74

Francis,duke of Alengon

d.1584

=

Elizabeth(3) ofValoisd.1568

Philip III =king of Spain(see alsop. 173)

Henry III =Marie(2) king of Navarre | deMedicis

Henry IVr.1553-1610

Louis XIIIr.1610-43

(see alsop.256)

Henry I,prince of Conde

1552-88

Henry II,prince of Conde

1588-1646

I

Louis II,(the Great Conde)

1621-86

The Last Valois, Bourbons, and Montmorency in the Sixteenth Century

MONTMORENCY

Jean IIIof Coligny

_______ I ____________.Henry II

r.1547-59Anne

de Montmorency,constable

d.1567

Louise deMontmorency

Gaspardde Chatillon

DianeFrance

Francis,duke of Montmorency

d.1579

Henry d'Anville

Odet de Chatillon,cardinal

Gaspard de Coligny,admiral

Henry d'Andelot colonelgeneral

Claudiaof France

Henry IIof Albret

king of Navarred.1555

Charles,duke of Bourbon

d.1527

Anthonyduke of Bourbon

1518-62

Catherine deMedicis

Charles(X),cardinal ofBourbon1523-90

Henry IIIr. 1574-89

Margaret(1) ofValois

Anne(4)of Hapsburg

Philip II kingof Spain

Isabel-Claire


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