François I, King of France (1494-1547). As a young prince of the Renaissance, François became caught up in the struggle between the Habsburg and Valois dynasties of Europe. On his accession to the throne in 1515 he invaded Milan, scene of many a French victory during the ongoing French Italian wars. He met the Swiss army fighting for Milan at Marignano, and the two armies fought each other to a bloody standstill. Thereafter the Swiss concluded a permanent alliance with France, and fought and were defeated with the French at Bicocca in 1522. Milan was lost, and in 1525 François faced a large Imperial-Spanish force outside Pavia. The result was a disaster for French arms and François was taken prisoner and forced to make peace. He renewed the war as soon as he was freed but made peace again at Cambrai in 1529. The struggle with the Habsburg Charles V continued and war flared up again in the Low Countries and Rhineland in 1535-8 and 1522-4. Although François managed to secure his borders the heartland of Habsburg and Spanish strength remained inviolate while France later slid into the French wars of religion. François was otherwise an able ruler, but his lust for military glory overcame his good sense on many occasions.
— Toby McLeod
