Francis I of France de Valois 1 2 3
- Born: 12 Sep 1494, Cognac, Poitou, France
- Marriage (1): Claude de France on 18 May 1514
- Marriage (2): Eleonore of Austria on 4 Jul 1530
- Died: 31 Mar 1547, Chateau de Rambouillet, Ile de France, France aged 52
- Buried: St. Denis, Ile de France, France
General Notes:
Also called (UNTIL 1515) FRANCIS OF ANGOULÊME, French FRANÇOIS D'ANGOULÊME king of France (1515-47), the first of five monarchs of the Angoulême branch of the House of Valois. A Renaissance patron of the arts and scholarship, a humanist, and a knightly king, he waged campaigns in Italy (1515-16) and fought a series of wars with the Holy Roman Empire (1521-44).
Early years.
Francis was the son of Charles de Valois-Orleáns, comte d'Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. On the accession of his cousin Louis XII in 1498, Francis became heir presumptive and was given the Duchy of Valois. With his sister Marguerite, he was raised by his mother, who had been widowed at the age of 20 and whom he deeply revered; he knelt whenever he spoke to her. No one had as much power over him as these two women. Idolized, he grew up following his own whims, without discipline and more infatuated with chivalrous romances, songs, and violent exercise than with classical studies. He was greatly admired by the gay, young circle of his mother's cultured court for his athletic build and the elegance of his demeanour and manners. His need for female companions stemmed from this upbringing, as did his lack of realism and his chivalrous imagination.
Louis XII, distrustful of Francis, did not allow him to dabble in affairs of state but sent him off at the age of 18 to the frontiers, which had been attacked in force. There, Francis learned more about warfare and, being of a sensual nature, about the licentiousness of camp life than about how to govern the state or, even more, to govern himself. Shortly before his death, Louis XII married him to Claude, his 15-year-old daughter. On Jan. 1, 1515, at the age of 20, Francis became king of France.
His quick and shrewd mind, his amazing memory, and his universal curiosity compensated for his inexperience. But, because he was outgoing and trusting and incapable of dissembling, he was always a bad politician. The pomp of the Reims coronation, the sumptuous cortege of the solemn entry into Paris, and the lavish feasts revealed his love of ceremony and also pleased the people of Paris, who had been disheartened by a long succession of morose and sickly sovereigns.
Noted events in his life were:
• He was a Duke of Orleans. King of France.
Francis married Claude de France, daughter of Louis XII of France and Anne of Brittany de Dreux, on 18 May 1514. (Claude de France was born on 14 Oct 1499 and died on 20 Jul 1524.)
Marriage Notes:
Francis and Claude had the following children:
1) Louise (1515 - 1517);
2) Charlotte (1516 - 1524);
3) François (February 28, 1518 - August 10, 1536);
4) Henri II (March 31, 1519 - July 10, 1559);
5) Madeleine (August 10, 1520 - July 2, 1537) married James V of Scotland;
6) Charles (January 22, 1522 - September 9, 1545);
7) Marguerite (June 5, 1523 - September 14, 1574).
Francis next married Eleonore of Austria, daughter of Philip I the Handsome Habsburg and Joanna the Mad of Castile, on 4 Jul 1530. (Eleonore of Austria was born on 15 Nov 1498 and died on 25 Feb 1558.)
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