LITMIR.BIZ

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was not yet free to marry and seemed doubtful about his chances of getting his marriage annulled. She even declared that no verdict on this matter, however authoritative, would satisfy her conscience. Yet Anne’s religious scruples were, it seems, less strong than her desire to become queen for the second time. On 19 August she and Louis reached an agreement at Etampes. He promised to hand over to her representatives three Breton towns which had been under French occupation. Anne, for her part, promised to marry Louis as soon as he was free. Shortly afterwards she returned to Brittany.

      On 7 January 1499, Anne and Louis signed their marriage contract in Nantes. This laid down that in the event of issue from the marriage, the second male child, or a female in default of a male, would inherit Brittany. If only one son were born, the heir to the duchy would be his second son. In any event, Anne would administer the duchy in her lifetime and draw its revenues. If she died first, Louis was to administer Brittany during his life; it would then revert to Anne’s relatives and heirs exclusively. On 19 January, Louis undertook to respect all the rights and privileges traditionally enjoyed by the Bretons.

      Meanwhile, on 8 January, Louis and Anne were married in the château of Nantes. Though often praised for her beauty, Anne had one leg shorter than the other, an infirmity which she concealed by wearing a high heel. Her genetic antecedents were poor, which doubtless explains why so many of her pregnancies failed. Her first child by Louis, Claude, born on 13 October 1499, was for eleven years the only child in the royal nursery and the pivot of Louis’s matrimonial diplomacy. Though plain, Claude was a desirable match on account of her rich dowry which included the Orléans patrimony, the duchy of Brittany, and the French claims to Asti, Milan, Genoa and Naples.

       The conquest of Milan

      On becoming king, Louis XII acquired the Angevin claim to Naples. He also regained the county of Asti which he had ceded to Charles VIII in 1496; but he was mainly interested in the duchy of Milan, to which he had a personal claim dating back to the marriage of his grandfather Louis to Valentina, daughter of Giangaleazzo Visconti, duke of Milan. The house of Sforza now ruled Milan and Louis XII, as duc d’Orléans, had tried on several occasions to make good his claim.

      Milan was among the richest, most powerful states in Italy. It had a flourishing agriculture and its arms industry enjoyed a reputation equalled only by that of Germany. Strategically, the duchy was well situated: in the north it controlled the mountain passes leading to the rich cities of south Germany; in the east its influence extended to the middle Po valley; and in the south it exercised a semi-protectorate over Genoa, giving it an outlet to the Mediterranean and access to Genoese banking facilities. For all these reasons, Milan was the envy of its neighbours. The Swiss wanted to annex the area near Lake Como controlling access to the Alpine passes; and Venice, having seized Brescia and Bergamo, was not averse to a further westward expansion of her terra firma.

      In seeking to make good his claim to Milan, Louis needed allies in Italy. He won over Pope Alexander VI by conniving at the creation of a new principality in the Romagna for Cesare Borgia, at the expense of lesser Italian states. From his own resources Louis gave Cesare the duchy of Valentinois, as we have seen, and also a pension and the hand of Charlotte d’Albret. He secured the neutrality of Venice by agreeing to her annexation of Cremona. Success also smiled on his diplomatic efforts outside Italy. Henry VII of England, who needed to consolidate his position at home, was easily persuaded to renew the Treaty of Etaples. Ferdinand of Aragon was glad to see the French king concerning himself with Milan rather than Naples. Philip the Fair, who ruled the Netherlands, took the unusual step in July 1499 of doing homage to Louis for the fiefs of Flanders, Artois and Charolais. The Swiss allowed him to raise troops in the cantons in return for a perpetual pension and an annual subsidy. As for Philibert duke of Savoy, he granted the king free passage through his territories in return for an annual pension of 22,000 livres payable after the conquest of Lombardy and a monthly payment of 3000 gold écus during the campaign. Within Milan itself, Lodovico Sforza was seen by many as a usurper. He claimed that he had assumed the dukedom in 1494 by popular invitation, but was widely suspected of having poisoned his predecessor. Unlike the king of France, he could count on little outside support.

      While Louis’s diplomats paved the way for a new French invasion of Italy, he reorganized his army. Some companies were disbanded and new ones formed. In the spring of 1499 he recruited infantry, mainly in Switzerland: eventually he built up an army of more than 6000 horse and 17,000 foot. After coming to Lyon on 10 July 1499, Louis inspected his troops but decided not lead them himself. His council apparently thought it would be beneath the dignity of a king of France to measure himself against a mere Sforza, but perhaps more important was the tradition that the king should not leave France as long as he had no direct male heir to succeed him. Command of the army was accordingly entrusted to three captains: Gian Giacomo Trivulzio, Stuart d’Aubigny (soon to be replaced by Charles de Chaumont) and Louis de Ligny.

      The vanguard entered the Milanese on 18 July, on the same day as the artillery and the rest of the cavalry left Lyon. A fortnight later the whole army regrouped in the Lombard plain. Sforza played for time by offering Louis the Milanese succession. His proposal, however, was rejected, and the French penetrated the Milanese from Asti. Their savage sacking of two small towns, Rocca d’Arezzo and Annona, was calculated to spread terror across the duchy. At Valenza they employed a different tactic. Three captured Italian captains were set free without a ransom being exacted, an act of royal clemency which encouraged other towns to surrender. Alessandria, however, after resisting a three-day siege, suffered terribly at the hands of the Swiss. Meanwhile, Genoa rallied to Louis, the Venetians marched on Lodi and a number of Lombard towns rebelled. On 2 September, Sforza fled to the imperial court. The citizens of Milan, anxious to avoid a sack, capitulated soon afterwards. Amidst popular rejoicing, the arms of Sforza were replaced by those of King Louis.

      On 6 October, Louis made his entry into ‘his city of Milan’ for the first time. He passed under a triumphal arch bearing the inscription: ‘Louis king of the Franks, duke of Milan’. Representatives of various Italian states came to congratulate him. Louis spent barely two months in the Milanese during which he tried to win the hearts of the people by severely punishing his troops for any excesses. He also abolished some old hunting laws, which were resented by the local nobility. While important families that had been persecuted by the Sforzas were given back their privileges and property, favours were showered on Sforza’s followers in the hope of winning them over. But Louis showed less concern for humble folk. He reduced direct taxation but raised indirect taxes. He also distributed offices, lands and lordships to captains who had distinguished themselves in the recent campaign.

      With men of trust occupying key posts in the duchy and a sizeable number of garrisons planted in various towns, Louis felt able to return home. But no sooner had he left Milan than his troops began to misbehave. The Milanese soon regretted Sforza’s rule and when he invaded in January 1500 he was acclaimed almost everywhere as a liberator. On 25 January the people of Milan threw out the French (except for a garrison in the castle), forcing them to withdraw to Novara, but Sforza obliged them to go further still. Early in March a new French army commanded by La Trémoïlle invaded Italy and advanced on Novara, where Sforza lay in wait. A battle seemed imminent, but his Swiss soldiers refused to fight their compatriots on the French side. La Trémoïlle allowed them to return to Switzerland. Sforza tried to conceal himself among them, but was recognized, taken to France and imprisoned at Loches, where he died a few years later.

      Georges d’Amboise, meanwhile, reorganized the administration of Milan. He pardoned the citizens in the king’s name and reduced the fine they had been asked to pay. A new French-style government was set up comprising two governors – one civil, one military – working alongside a senate with a Franco-Italian membership, its functions similar to those of a parlement in France. In May 1500 he handed over the government of Milan to his nephew, Chaumont d’Amboise.

       The reconquest of Naples

      Louis next turned his attention to Naples, where many of his courtiers had lordships they hoped to recover. He revived the idea, first mooted under Charles VIII, of taking the king of Aragon into partnership. In the secret Treaty of Granada

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