The Rise and Fall of Renaissance France

The Rise and Fall of Renaissance France
R. J. Knecht

The history of Renaissance France is rich and varied.The Renaissance in France, as elsewhere in Europe, saw glory crowned amidst conflict and squalor. At the beginning of the sixteenth century, France seemed set to become the most powerful nation of Europe, but as the century ebbed so did her fortunes. In between, during a century of more or less permanent combat which murdered the dreams, comforts and relatives of many Frenchmen and saw a soaring economy shot down, some of the greatest building, painting and thinking to come out of the whole European Renaissance was being done. Sixteenth-century France was a colourful, confusing and often downright fatal habitat, and we moderns might profitably look on the complexity of its successes and failures, to which Prefessor Knect is a matchlessly illuminating and genial guide.

The Rise and Fall of Renaissance France

1483–1610

R. J. KNECHT

Copyright (#ulink_c11322a2-54a3-521f-8a6c-66833081ddef)

Fourth Estate

An Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF

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Published by Fontana Press 1996

Copyright © R. J. Knecht 1996

R. J. Knecht asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

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Source ISBN: 9780007292097

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Dedication (#ulink_049cc3fd-3f93-51ff-b3be-57cc33e3073f)

In memory of Germaine Ganier

Contents

Cover (#u41714b5f-d45d-50d8-88e7-97400e7ffa93)

Title Page (#u7ba363f5-16d9-5f16-b195-08959f31202d)

Copyright (#u24b0969a-719d-5cbc-96a0-662b6f163d6e)

Dedication (#u8525c7a5-ba53-5c09-8442-0c8db28d5a31)

General Editor’s Introduction (#ua9672e23-b12a-5966-991f-9ba0efd6ac8d)

A Note on Coinage and Measures (#u8b8a3213-e4d5-52ac-b631-4e8360af17c0)

Map of France (1494) (#ue02cceec-8056-5a23-bb0b-421b99152401)

Map of France (1585–98) (#u8ee206dd-4ebd-5be9-85e3-09e711a2930a)

PREFACE (#ub0db3b0b-004e-51a6-b2f7-560acdce8e1d)

1 France in 1500 (#u1f2f1571-4af1-5746-b456-3fb83f3964d3)

2 The minority of Charles VIII and the Breton marriage (1483–94) (#ub0a7fd57-b6d1-5edd-8882-d7ef68b3cacc)

3 Charles VIII and the Italian Wars (1494–8) (#uddeb4bf2-f08d-555e-a246-a324ab8fd72e)

4 Louis XII, ‘Father of the people’ (1498–1515) (#u5544931e-d8c3-567e-be20-2f7b8836eed7)

5 The church in crisis (#u0b006da4-e8b6-58f1-b866-70f9df015035)

6 Francis I: The first decade (1515–25) (#u28d17765-8ea2-5829-b9ad-c0661de39179)

7 The New Learning and heresy (1483–1525) (#u351bec32-c062-5d46-a176-768ab7d573ac)

8 Defeat, captivity and restoration (1525–7) (#uf97a1d5a-62a9-5171-b99a-68fd4edb1579)

9 War and peace (1527–38) (#litres_trial_promo)

10 The court and patronage of Francis I (#litres_trial_promo)

11 Francis I: The last decade (1537–47) (#litres_trial_promo)

12 The absolutism of Francis I (#litres_trial_promo)

13 Henry II, the victor of Metz (1547–52) (#litres_trial_promo)

14 The arts and literature under Henry II (#litres_trial_promo)

15 Henry II: The tragic peace (1553–9) (#litres_trial_promo)

16 France overseas (#litres_trial_promo)

17 The mid-century crisis (#litres_trial_promo)

18 The failure of conciliation (1559–62) (#litres_trial_promo)

19 The First Civil War (1562–3) (#litres_trial_promo)

20 The fragile peace (1563–6) (#litres_trial_promo)