Henri II: His Court and Times

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Claude de France, first wife of François I — Conduct of the King towards
her — Hostility of his mother, Louise of Savoy — Her retired life — Her children
— Her vow to Saint-François de Paule — Birth of a Dauphin — Birth of
Henri, Duc d'Orléans, afterwards Henri II — Death of the Queen— She is accounted
a saint, and miracles are reported to have been performed at her tomb

First Italian campaign of François I — Battle of Marignano and recovery of the
Milanese — The Concordat — Treaties of Noyon and Cambrai — Character of the
King — Disastrous consequences of the government of Louise of Savoy and her
favourite Du Prat — Beginning of the rivalry of François I and Charles of
Austria — Charles elected Emperor — Negotiations with England: the Field of
the Cloth of Gold — War between François and Charles V begins — Early
successes of the French — Reverses in Italy — League formed against France —
The Connétable de Bourbon — A woman scorned — Conspiracy of Bourbon — His
flight — The French compelled to evacuate Italy: death of Bayard— Invasion of
Provence by the Imperialists — Siege of Marseilles — Retreat of the Imperialists —
François again invades the Milanese — He occupies Milan and lays siege to Pavia
— The Imperialists advance to the relief of the town — Battle of Pavia, in which
the French army is destroyed, and the King is taken prisoner

François in captivity — His letter to his mother — Critical situation of France:
energetic measures of Louise of Savoy — Demands of Charles V — The King is
removed to Spain— Truce of six months granted by the Emperor — François's
journey to Madrid — His rigorous imprisonment in the Alcazar — He falls seriously
ill, and is visited by Charles V — Arrival of the Duchesse d'Alencon (Marguerite
d'Angoulême) — The King is believed to be dying: scene at his bedside — His
recovery — Negotiations at Toledo: the Emperor insists on the cession of Burgundy — François announces his intention of abdicating in favour of the Dauphin,
but changes his mind and directs the French envoys to accede to the Emperor's
demands — Treaty of Madrid — Stipulation that the two elder sons of the King, or
the Dauphin and twelve of the principal personages of the kingdom, are to be
delivered up as hostages — Charles V's reasons for consenting to the release of
his rival considered— François swears to execute the treaty, but makes a formal
protest against it privately — Betrothal of the King to the Emperor's eldest sister,
Eleanor, Queen-Dowager of Portugal — He remains a prisoner in the Alcazar —
Meeting between him and the Emperor — Visit of the two monarchs to Queen
Eleanor at Illescas — François sets out for France — Louise of Savoy decides to
send Henri, as well as the Dauphin, as a hostage to Spain — The English Ambassador's impressions of the young princes — The exchange of the King for his
sons takes place on the Bidassoa — Joy of François on regaining his freedom —
Departure of the princes for Vittoria

Refusal of François I to execute the Treaty of Madrid — His conduct severely
condemned by modern historians, but generally condoned by his contemporaries — The League of Cognac formed against the Emperor — Inaction of
François, who for more than a year leaves his Italian allies to shift for
themselves — Fall and sack of Rome — François concludes the Treaty of Westminster with England — Lautrec invades the Milanese with an army subsidised
by England, and carries all before him — Escape of Clement VII from Rome —
Contemplated duel between François and Charles — Siege of Naples — The folly
of François causes the withdrawal of Andrea Doria's fleet from the blockade
— The French, weakened by disease, raise the siege, and are subsequently
obliged to capitulate — Genoa lost to France — Battle of Landriano and defection
of the Pope — Peace of Cambrai (
la Paix des Dames
), which contains a stipulation
that the young princes are to be released on payment of a ransom of two million
crowns.

The usher Bodin despatched to Spain to visit the young princes — His journey
to Pedraza, where he finds them deprived of their French attendants and subjected to the most rigorous confinement — His interview with them — Extraordinary precautions taken by the Spaniards to guard against the escape of
their prisoners — A copy of Bodin's report is sent to Margaret of Austria, thanks
to whose intercession the boys' captivity is rendered more tolerable — François
marries Eleanor of Austria by procuration at Toledo — Arrival of Anne de
Montmorency and the Cardinal de Tournon at Bayonne to make the final
arrangements for the release of the princes — The counting and weighing of the
ransom — Montmorency and the Constable of Castile — Release of the Dauphin
and the Duc d'Orléans — Arrival of the Queen and the princes at Bayonne —
Meeting of François and Eleanor at the Convent of Veyrières, near Mont-de-Marsan

Change effected in the characters of the Dauphin and the Duc d'Orléans by
their captivity in Spain — Impatience of François I, who "does not care for
dreamy, sullen, sleepy children" — Eagerness of the King to regain a footing in
Italy — Charles V's Italian league — Position and policy of Clement VII — Catherine
de' Medici — Her early years — Her adventures during the revolution in Florence
— Her suitors — François I sends envoys to Rome to propose a marriage between
her and the Duc d'Orléans — Embarrassment of the Pope, who, while anxious for
the French alliance, fears to give umbrage to the Emperor — Proposed interview
between François and Clement at Nice — Duplicity of the Pope — The intimacy
between Catherine and her cousin, the Cardinal Ippolito de' Medici, a source
of disquietude to his Holiness — Catherine is sent to Florence and Ippolito to
Hungary — Interview between the Pope and Charles V at Bologna — Clement
skilfully outmanoeuvres the Emperor, and the marriage between Catherine and
the Duc d'Orléans is arranged

Dowry of Catherine de' Medici — Her trousseau — Her pearls — A
marvellous casket — The Florentines compelled to defray the greater part of the
expense incurred by the Pope — François I's pensions to his son and future
daughter-in- law — Efforts of Charles V to prevent the Pope's journey to Nice —
Catherine's departure from Florence — She receives the presents of François I
and the Duc d'Orléans — Objection of the Duke of Savoy to the marriage and the interview
taking place at Nice necessitates the rendezvous being changed to Marseilles — Clement sails from Leghorn — Preparations at Marseilles — Arrival and reception
of the Pope — His ceremonial entry into Marseilles — He is visited in secret by
François I — Entry of Catherine — The marriage — Personal appearance of the
bride and bridegroom — Presents given by the Pope and François to one another
— Result of the conference between the two sovereigns — The death of Clement
in the following year destroys the hopes which François has based on this
alliance

Early married life of Henri and Catherine de' Medici — Unpopularity of the
marriage — Diplomacy of Catherine, who contrives to secure the favour of
François I and the friendship of Marguerite d'Angoulême and the King's
mistress, Madame d'Étampes — Sketch of the last-named lady — Execution of
François's agent, Maraviglia, at Milan — The King prepares to invade the
Milanese, but the death of Clement VII and the expedition of Charles V against
Tunis cause him to suspend operations — Death of Francesco Sforza — François
demands the Milanese for the Duc d'Orléans — The French occupy Savoy and
Piedmont, but the King allows the Emperor to delude him with negotiations
— Charles's speech to the Pope and the Sacred College — Treachery of the
Marchese di Saluzzo — The Emperor invades Provence — Devastation of the
country by Montmorency — Death of the Dauphin François makes Henri heir to
the throne — Grief of the King — The Conte Sebastiano Montecuculli arrested on
a charge of having poisoned the prince — He confesses, under torture, to having
been instigated by the Imperialists to poison the King and his three sons — His
execution — The Imperialists repudiate the charge and accuse Catherine de'
Medici

Failure of the Emperor's invasion of Provence — The new Dauphin joins
Montmorency's camp at Avignon — His letter to the Maréchal d'Humières —
Singular character of the Grand-Master — The Dauphin saves a quack doctor
from being hanged — Arrival of the King in the camp — Retreat of the
Emperor from Provence, with the loss of half his army — Warm attachment
conceived by the Dauphin for Montmorency — Operations on the northern
frontier — Campaign of Henri and Montmorency in Picardy — Truce of Bomy
— Despatch of a fresh army to Piedmont — The Dauphin commands the
vanguard with the Grand-Master — Affair of the pass of Susa — Barbarous
treatment of the garrison of Avigliana — Armistice of Monçon — Conference at
Nice — Conclusion of a ten years' truce — Interview at Aigues-Mortes between
François I and the Emperor

Diane de Poitiers — Her childhood — Her marriage with Louis de Brézé, Grand
Sénéchal of Normandy — Arrest of her father, M. de Saint-Vallier, for complicity
in the conspiracy of the Connétable de Bourbon — He is condemned to death,
but his sentence is commuted when actually on the scaffold — Accusation of the
Huguenot historian, Regnier de la Planche, that Diane redeemed her father's
life by the sacrifice of her honour to François I — Anecdote of Brantôme —
Opinions of various historians on this point — Conclusions of Georges Guiffrey —
Assertion of Lorenzo Contarini, Venetian Ambassador to the French Court, that
Diane became François's mistress at a later period — Arguments of Ludovic
Lalanne as to the authorship of a packet of love-letters addressed to the King — 
Opinions of Champollion, Sainte-Beuve, and Guiffrey — Question of the relations
between Diane and the poet Clément Marot considered — Extraordinary respect
shown by the Grande Sénéchale for the memory of her husband — Date of the
beginning of her liaison with the Dauphin — Verses of Clément Marot — Methods
adopted by the lady in the subjugation of the young prince — Politic attitude of
Catherine de' Medici towards her husband's inamorata — Antagonism of Madame
d'Étampes to Diane — Vouté's epigrams against the Sénéchale — The enmity
between the two ladies divides the Court into rival factions

Serious illness of the King — Policy of Montmorency — Charles V
invited to pass through France on his way to the Netherlands — His magnificent
reception — His entry into Paris — His departure for Flanders — The illusions of
François I and Montmorency in regard to the cession of the Milanese rudely
dispelled — The new proposals of the Emperor received with indignation by the
French Court — Charles V invests his son Philip with the Milanese, and a fresh
rupture between the two sovereigns becomes inevitable — Affection of the Dauphin
for Montmorency — Increasing bitterness of the struggle between Madame d'Étampes and
Diane de Poitiers — Diane and the Constable procure the disgrace of Chabot de
Brion — Fury of Madame d'Étampes, who succeeds in alienating François from
the Dauphin, and in convincing the King that Montmorency has sacrificed his
interests to those of his eldest son — Disgrace of the Constable — Assassination of
Rincon and Fregoso — Failure of Charles V's expedition against Algiers — François declares war against the Emperor

François decides to remain on the defensive in Italy and to invade Luxembourg
and Roussillon — Success of the French in Luxembourg compromised by the folly
and egotism of the Duc d'Orléans — The Dauphin, with an army of 40,000 men,
invades Roussillon and arrives before Perpignan, only to find that the Imperialists
have rendered it almost impregnable — Futile efforts of the French to reduce the
place — Gallantry of Brissac — The King orders the Dauphin to raise the siege
— Retreat of the army — François and the Spanish women-captives — Birth of a
son to the Dauphin — Precarious situation of Catherine de' Medici previous to the
birth of her child — Her diplomacy saves the situation — Baptism of the little
prince — Campaign in the Netherlands — Failure of the Dauphin to reduce the
citadel of Binche — Charles V arrives at Speyer — Fatal inaction of François —
Düren stormed by the Imperialists — The Duke of Clèves makes his submission
to the Emperor — England joins Charles V — Indecisive operations in the
Netherlands — The Turks on the coast of Provence

Critical situation of France at the beginning of the campaign of 1544 — Brilliant
victory of Enghien at Ceresole — France invaded by Charles V and Henry VIII —
The mutual suspicion of the allies prevents their adhering to their original plan
of advancing straight upon Paris — Henry VIII lays siege to Boulogne and
Montreuil, and the Emperor to Saint-Dizier — A pretended letter from the Duc de
Guise causes the garrison of Saint-Dizier to capitulate — Charge of treason against
Madame d'Étampes considered — The Dauphin entrusted with the command of
the French Grand Army, with orders to remain entirely on the defensive —
He entreats the King to recall Montmorency, but François angrily refuses — Henry VIII declines to advance on Paris until Boulogne and Montreuil have
fallen— Capture of the Dauphin's magazines at Épernay and Château-Thierry by
the Imperialists — The Dauphin falls back to Meaux — Panic in the capital — The
King succeeds in restoring the confidence of the Parisians — Charles V, finding
that his ally still refuses to cross the Somme, makes overtures for peace — Peace
of Crépy — Indignation of the Dauphin, who enters a secret protest against the
treaty — Henry VIII and the bulk of his army return to England — The Dauphin
in Picardy — Failure of the camisado of Boulogne