The republic of Florence becomes the grand duchy of Tuscany.
He opened his reign by a very astonishing victory. He led his troops into Italy over a pass which had hitherto been regarded as impracticable for cavalry, and defeated the Swiss—who were in the pope's pay—at Marignano. He then occupied Milan and opened negotiations with Leo X, who was glad to make terms with the victorious young king. The pope agreed that Francis should retain Milan, and Francis on his part acceded to Leo's plan for turning over Florence once more to the Medici. This was done, and some years later this wonderful republic became the grand duchy of Tuscany, governed by a line of petty princes under whom its former glories were never renewed.[260]
Sources of discord between France and the Hapsburgs.
Friendly relations existed at first between the two young sovereigns, Francis I and Charles V, but there were several circumstances which led to an almost incessant series of wars between them. France was clamped in between the northern and southern possessions of Charles, and had at that time no natural boundaries. Moreover, there was a standing dispute over portions of the Burgundian realms, for both Charles and Francis claimed the duchy of Burgundy and the neighboring county of Burgundy—commonly called Franche-Comté. Charles also believed that, through his grandfather, Maximilian, he was entitled to Milan, which the French kings had set their hearts upon acquiring. For a generation the rivals fought over these and other matters, and the wars between Charles and Francis were but the prelude to a conflict lasting over two centuries between France and the overgrown power of the house of Hapsburg.
Henry VIII of England, 1509–1547.
In the impending struggle it was natural that both monarchs should try to gain the aid of the king of England, whose friendship was of the greatest importance to each of them, and who was by no means loath to take a hand in European affairs. Henry VIII had succeeded his father (Henry VII) in 1509 at the age of eighteen. Like Francis, he was good-looking and graceful, and in his early years made a very happy impression upon those who came in contact with him. He gained much popularity by condemning to death the two men who had been most active in extorting the "benevolences" which his father had been wont to require of unwilling givers. With a small but important class, his learning brought him credit. He married, for his first wife, an aunt of Charles V, Catherine of Aragon, and chose as his chief adviser Thomas Wolsey, whose career and sudden downfall were to be strangely associated with the fate of the unfortunate Spanish princess.[261]
Charles V goes to Germany.
In 1520 Charles V started for Germany to receive the imperial crown at Aix-la-Chapelle. On his way he landed in England with the purpose of keeping Henry from forming an alliance with Francis. He judged the best means to be that of freely bribing Wolsey, who had been made a cardinal by Leo X, and who was all-powerful with Henry. Charles therefore bestowed on the cardinal a large annuity in addition to one which he had granted him somewhat earlier. He then set sail for the Netherlands, where he was duly crowned king of the Romans. From there he proceeded, for the first time, to Germany, where he summoned his first diet at Worms. The most important business of the assembly proved to be the consideration of the case of a university professor, Martin Luther, who was accused of writing heretical books, and who had in reality begun what proved to be the first successful revolt against the seemingly all-powerful mediæval Church.
General Reading.—For the Italian wars of Charles VIII and Louis XII, Cambridge Modern History (The Macmillan Company, $3.75 per vol.), Vol. I, Chapter IV; Johnson, Europe in the Sixteenth Century (The Macmillan Company, $1.75), Chapter I; Dyer and Hassall, Modern Europe (The Macmillan Company, 6 vols., $2.00 each), Vol. I; Creighton, History of the Papacy (see above, p. 320), Vols. IV, V. For Savonarola, Cambridge Modern History, Vol. I, Chapter V; Creighton, Vol. IV, Chapter VIII; Lea, History of the Inquisition (see above, p. 232), Vol. III, pp. 209–237; Symonds, Age of Despots (see above, p. 352), Chapter IX; Pastor, History of the Popes (see above, p. 320), Vol. V. For Spain, Cambridge Modern History, Vol. I, Chapter XI.