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Home / Historical Periods / Early Modern France / Reign of Francis I

Phase

Reign of Francis I

1515–1547

Francis I became king of France in 1515 and quickly established his military reputation with victory at Marignano. His reign was dominated by rivalry with Charles V, repeated Italian campaigns and competition for influence within Europe.

Francis also cultivated a brilliant court and sponsored Renaissance art, architecture and scholarship, inviting Leonardo da Vinci to France. Court ceremony and cultural patronage operated alongside warfare, taxation and diplomatic rivalry.

This context supports fiction about Queen Claude, Anne Boleyn’s French years, Leonardo da Vinci, the Field of the Cloth of Gold and the political culture of the Valois court.

Related people for Reign of Francis I

Anne Boleyn1501–1536 Charles V1500–1558 Claude of France1499–1524 Diane de Poitiers1499–1566 Francis I of France1494–1547 Henry VIII1491–1547 Leonardo da Vinci1452–1519 Mary Boleyn1499–1543 Renée of France1510–1574

Books

2 Best Novels About the Reign of Francis I

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