Charles VIII Charles VIII, Ecole Française, 16th century. Musée Condé, Chantilly. King of France Reign 30 August 1483 – 7 April 1498 Coronation 30 May 1484 (Reims) Predecessor Louis XI Successor Louis XII Regent Anne of France to 1491 Consort Anne, Duchess of Brittany among others... Issue Charles Orlando, Dauphin of France House House of Valois Father Louis XI of France Mother Charlotte of Savoy Born (1470-06-30)30 June 1470 Château d'Amboise, France Died 7 April 1498(1498-04-07) (aged 27) Château d'Amboise, France Burial Saint Denis Basilica, France (body) Notre-Dame de Cléry Basilica, Cléry-Saint-André, France (heart) Religion Roman Catholicism

French Monarchy Capetian Dynasty (House of Valois) Philip VI Children    John II John II Children    Charles V    Louis I of Anjou    John, Duke of Berry    Philip the Bold Charles V Children    Charles VI    Louis, Duke of Orléans Charles VI Children    Isabella of Valois    Michelle of Valois    Catherine of Valois    Charles VII Charles VII Children    Louis XI    Charles, Duke of Berry Louis XI Children    Charles VIII Charles VIII

Charles VIII, called the Affable, French: l'Affable (30 June 1470 – 7 April 1498), was a monarch of the House of Valois who ruled as King of France from 1483 to his death in 1498. He succeeded his father Louis XI at the age of 13. His elder sister Anne of France acted as regent until 1491 jointly with her husband Peter II, Duke of Bourbon. During Anne's regency, the great feudal lords rebelled against royal centralisation efforts in a conflict known as the Mad War (1485-1488), which resulted in a victory for the royal government.

In a remarkable stroke of audacity, Charles married Anne of Brittany in 1491 after she had already been married by proxy to the Habsburg Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I in a ceremony of questionable validity. Occupied elsewhere^[where?], Maximilian failed to press his claim. Upon his marriage, Charles became Duke of Brittany and created a Union of Brittany and France that enabled France to avoid total encirclement by Habsburg territories.

To secure his rights to the Neapolitan throne that René of Naples had left to his father, Charles made a series of concessions to neighbouring monarchs and conquered the Italian peninsula without much opposition. The coalition formed against the French invasion of 1494-98 finally drove out Charles' army, but Italian Wars would dominate Western European politics for over 50 years.

Charles died in 1498 after accidentally striking his head on the lintel of a door. Since he had no male heir, he was succeeded by his cousin Louis XII of France from the Orléans cadet branch of the House of Valois.

Childhood and youth[edit]

Charles was born at the Château d'Amboise in France, the only surviving son of King Louis XI by his second wife Charlotte of Savoy. His godfather was Edward of Westminster, the son of King Henry VI of England who had been living in France since the deposition of his father by King Edward IV. Charles succeeded to the throne on 30 August 1483 at the age of 13. His health was poor. He was regarded by his contemporaries as possessing a pleasant disposition, but also as foolish and unsuited for the business of the state. In accordance with the wishes of Louis XI, the regency of the kingdom was granted to Charles' elder sister Anne, a formidably intelligent and shrewd woman described by her father as "the least foolish woman in France." She would rule as regent, together with her husband Peter of Bourbon, until 1491.

Marriages[edit]

Charles was betrothed on 22 July 1483 to the 3-year-old Margaret of Austria, daughter of the Archduke Maximilian of Austria (later Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I) and Mary, Duchess of Burgundy. The marriage was arranged by Louis XI, Maximilian, and the Estates of the Low Countries as part of the 1482 Peace of Arras between France and the Duchy of Burgundy. Margaret brought the Counties of Artois and Burgundy to France as her dowry, and she was raised in the French court as a prospective Queen consort.

In 1488, however, Francis II, Duke of Brittany, died in a riding accident, leaving his 11-year old daughter Anne as his heiress. Anne, who feared for the independence of her duchy against the ambitions of France, arranged a marriage in 1490 between herself and the widower Maximilian, thus making Anne a stepmother to Margaret of Austria. The Regent Anne of France and her husband Peter refused to countenance such a marriage, however, since it would place Maximilian and his family, the Habsburgs, on two French borders. Brittany was invaded by the French army, Maximilian was unable to help, and Anne of Brittany was forced to renounce Maximilian (whom she had only married by proxy) and agree to be married to Charles VIII instead.

Marriage to Anne of Brittany at the Château de Langeais.

In December 1491, in an elaborate ceremony at the Château de Langeais, Charles and Anne of Brittany were married. The 14-year-old Duchess Anne, not happy with the arranged marriage, arrived for her wedding with her entourage carrying two beds. However, Charles's marriage brought him independence from his relatives and thereafter he managed affairs according to his own inclinations. Queen Anne lived at the Clos Lucé in Amboise.

There still remained the matter of Charles' first betrothed, the young Margaret of Austria. Although the cancellation of her betrothal meant that she by rights should have been returned to her family, Charles did not initially do so, intending to marry her usefully elsewhere in France. It was an abominable situation for Margaret, who informed her father in her letters that she was so determined to escape that she would even flee Paris in her nightgown if it gave her freedom. Eventually, in 1493, she was returned to her family, together with her dowry.

Around the king there was a circle of court poets, the most memorable being the Italian humanist Publio Fausto Andrelini from Forlì, who spread the New Learning in France. It is said^{[according to whom?]} that Charles observed Mont Aiguille during his travels and ordered Antoine de Ville to ascend to the summit in an early technical alpine climb noted by Rabelais.

The Italian War[edit]

Charles VIII.

Anne of Brittany as Queen.

To secure France against invasions, Charles made treaties with Austria and England, buying their neutrality with large concessions. He devoted France's resources to building up a large army, including one of Europe's first siege trains with artillery.

In 1489, Pope Innocent VIII, then being at odds with Ferdinand I of Naples, offered Naples to Charles, who had a vague claim to the Kingdom of Naples through his paternal grandmother, Marie of Anjou. In 1494, Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan, was threatened by Ferdinand's successor Alfonso II and urged Charles to take Naples. Charles was also urged on by his favorite courtier, Étienne de Vesc. Thus encouraged, Charles imagined himself capable of actually taking Naples.

Charles entered Italy with 25,000 men (including 8,000 Swiss mercenaries) in 1494 and marched across the peninsula, reaching Naples on 22 February 1495.^[1] The French army subdued Florence in passing and took Naples without a pitched battle or siege. Alfonso was expelled and Charles was crowned King of Naples.

There were those in the Republic of Florence who appreciated the presence of the French king and his Army. The famous friar Savonarola believed that King Charles VIII was God's tool to purify the corruption of Florence. He believed that once Charles had ousted the evil sinners of Florence the city would become center of morality and thus the appropriate place to restructure the Church. This situation would eventually spill over into another conflict between Pope Alexander VI, who despised the idea of having the king in Italy, and Savonarola, who called for the king's intervention. This conflict would eventually lead Savonarola to be suspected of heresy and executed by the State.

The speed and power of the French advance frightened the other Italian rulers, including the Pope and even Ludovico of Milan. They formed an anti-French coalition, the League of Venice. At the Fornovo in July 1495, the League defeated Charles, despite losing 2,000 men to his 1,000. Charles lost nearly all the booty of the campaign and had to withdraw to France. His remaining garrisons in Naples were quickly subdued by Aragonese allies of Alfonso.

Over the next few years, Charles tried to rebuild his army and resume the campaign, but he was hampered by the large debts incurred in 1494–95. He never succeeded in gaining anything substantive.

Death[edit]

Charles died in 1498, two and a half years after his retreat from Italy, as the result of an accident. While on his way to watch a game of jeu de paume (real tennis) in Amboise he struck his head on the lintel of a door.^[2] At around 2pm, while returning from the game, he fell into a sudden coma, and died nine hours later, perhaps of a subdural hematoma.^[3]

The Coat of arms of Charles VIII.

Legacy[edit]

Charles bequeathed a meagre legacy: he left France in debt and in disarray as a result of his ambition. However, his expedition did strengthen cultural ties to Italy, energizing French art and letters in the latter part of the Renaissance.

Since his children predeceased him, Charles was the last of the elder branch of the House of Valois. Upon his death, the throne passed to his father's second cousin, the Duke of Orléans, who reigned as King Louis XII.

Left childless at his death, Charles' widow, Anne returned to Brittany and there, as hereditary Duchess of Brittany, began steps to regain the independence of the Duchy.

Issue[edit]

The marriage with Anne resulted in the birth of four children:

• Charles-Orland, Dauphin of France (11 October 1492 – 16 December 1495).
• Charles, Dauphin of France (8 September – 2 October 1496).
• François, Dauphin of France (July 1497).
• Princess Anne of France (Tours, 20 March 1498).

Representations in Popular Culture[edit]

Charles VIII's invasion of Italy and his relations with Pope Alexander VI are depicted in the novel The Sultan's Helmsman.

In the 2011 Showtime series The Borgias, Charles VIII is portrayed by French actor Michel Muller.

In the 2011 French-German historical drama Borgia, Charles VIII is played by Simon Larvaron.

Ancestry[edit]

See also[edit]

Kingdom of France portal

• First Italian War

References[edit]