Frederic J. Baumgartner

Louis XII Frederic J. Baumgartner 1st edition

The reign of Louis XII (1498-1515) has been much neglected by historians. Bernard Chevalier has recently described it as belonging to a " no man`s land where neither the medievalists nor the modernists dare to penetrate. " Overshadowed by the spectacular rule of his successor Francis I, Louis XII has been oddly passed over. While not in the front rank of French monarchs, Louis XII, " The Father of the People, " remains an interesting and appealing figure. The events of his reign were highly significant to the future of the French state: from the unremittingly brutal Italian campaigns to Henry VIII`s invasion, from Louis`s disputes with the Papacy to his marriages` political complications. France`s church, legal system, and cultural life (most markedly the introduction of the Renaissance) were all subject to significant change, and many of the achievements commonly associated with Francis I were in fact rooted in those of his predecessor. This is a lucid and highly readable account of a fascinating period in French history and is essential to a clear understanding of sixteenth-century France.