On August 30, 1483, King Louis XI of France, known as the "Almighty Spider", died, and the able monarch left France as a largely unified kingdom, which was fortunate for his successors. Unfortunately, his successor, his 14-year-old son (later Charles VIII), was not a full-fledged crown prince. Charles VIII was infirm and had no education, so Louis XI was "negligent" in the upbringing of his children. So Charles VIII faced a civil war as soon as he ascended the throne, which was almost a fate he could not escape.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="4" > guardian battle</h1>
Although, according to the laws enacted by Charles V, Charles VIII could not be regarded as a young monarch in the strict sense, this did not change people's opinions at all. In fact, Louis XI also thought that Charlie was still a child. Thus Charles VIII's eldest sister took over the state affairs at her father's will, and the ministers of the time thought Anna had the ability to do so. Anna became the de facto guardian of the monarch.
The only one who didn't think so was Louis, Duke of Orléans (later Louis XII). The Duke of Orléans was a branch of the House of Valois, and his grandfather was the younger brother of King Charles VI of France. According to the tradition of the French royal family, when the monarch was young, the dukes of Orleans were generally in charge of the country, and now a woman who could not legally ascend the throne had the power to monopolize, which really made the Duke of Orleans a little indignant. So he challenged the young monarch.
The Duke of Orléans challenged the High Court of Paris, demanding that it change the current system. The President of the High Court, Lavagri, replied simply: "The High Court has no power to interfere in the administrative affairs of the State, only the three levels of parliament have such powers, but the high courts do not represent the three levels of parliament." On the surface, the High Court seems to be a partner of justice, but In fact, Lavagri is well aware of what kind of power the High Court will gain during the period when the young lord is not in power.
After the Duke of Orléans fell in the High Court, civil war broke out. The rebels, on the other hand, had the support of François II, Duke of Brittany, but they suffered consecutive defeats in two battles between Brittany and Saint-Aubin. General Latrimuy eventually captured the Duke of Orléans. He was imprisoned in a bourges prison for 3 years until Charles VIII ordered his release.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="12" > marriage brought peace to France</h1>
The fate of Louis VIII's reign was changed by a marriage, and after the capture of the Duke of Orléans, the young Charles VIII forced the pro-rebel Duke of Brittany to marry his daughter Anna to himself, and received the ducal territory as a dowry. Interestingly, this Miss Anna is not only considered to be the most beautiful woman in the world, but also originally a lover of the Duke of Orléans, who can be said to have lost his wife and folded his soldiers. Although ridiculous to say, it is true that the marriages of European kings at that time often determined the fate of their subjects.
Charles VIII, who was firmly on the throne at home, might have been able to become the ruler of Europe, but his enthusiasm for the conquest of Naples wasted his talents and consumed his body. So much so that a faint decision was made, ceding the northeastern region of Franche-Comte and part of the Countate of Artois (his wife's estate) to the German Emperor Maximilian, and also giving Sernada and Roussirong to the Catholic King Ferdinand of Spain, on the condition that Spain would not interfere in French military operations against Naples. History has proven that most of the time it is foolish to easily believe in the promises of political opponents.
Of course, Charles VIII's shocking behavior did not stop there, he made a profitable and loss-making deal with his old rival King Henry VII of England, and he paid 620,000 gold to england to ensure that the British did not cross the English Channel to attack Gaul during the French army's attack on Naples. For example, in this way, France directly became the tribute of Britain. Looking through all the history books, I can't find a reason why France must invade Naples, but the king is so fanatical, so willful, so persistent. So much so that he exposed all his weaknesses to predictable opponents.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="19" > France's southward journey to Italy was overwhelming</h1>
Although Charles VIII was obsessed with the conquest of Naples, it is strange that he did not actually have much "capital". From the very beginning, this military operation was faced with the dilemma of insufficient troops and lack of money and food. There were only 1,600 heavily armed knights, only 5,000 cavalry in the archers' army, and only 200 of the most important King's Guard. Together with 6,000 French and 6,000 Swiss infantry, it was a ragtag force. Even if the army was small, the French army could not keep up with supplies, and the king had to borrow money along the way to meet the material needs, and even mortgaged the gems lent to him by the Duke of Savoy to raise military expenses.
Pope Alexander VI, the Genoese, the Duke of Milan, and Louis the Moorish had pleaded with Charles VIII to come to Naples, but when the humble king did embark on his journey, these men began to organize armies against the French invaders, which was really ironic. Of course, Charles VIII had a good start (thanks to the Italians' scattered sand), became the master of Florence on his toes, and liberated Siena from the tuscan yoke, Charles VIII's cannon was aimed at Rome, and the Pope made representations to the King of France, but his mouth was always so pale and fragile in front of the cannon. Soon after, the city of Rome fell, and the Pope fled to the Château de Saint-Angers and begged the King of France for mercy.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="25" > a cardinal hat to get the King of France</h1>
Pope Alexander VI ostensibly succumbed to Charles VIII, but secretly he was giving a sock to his opponents. There is an interesting phenomenon in French political circles. Subjects could serve the king well before they held religious offices, and once they became clergy, such as cardinals, they began to support the king's hind legs, at least not to work.
Alexander VI gave the French Auditor-General Brissone a cardinal hat, and this man began to persuade Charles VIII not to break with the Pope completely, to leave dignity for both sides, and now the situation is favorable to our side, it is better to accept it when it is good. And the king's confessor priest also joined the lobbyist's camp. Charles could have deposed the Pope in order to revitalize the monarchy (he had the strength to do so), but he did not stick to his original intentions, thinking that he was so keen to conquer Naples and now he is so kind. Charles VIII eventually spared the Pope, which is why he failed.
The Pope, who had been given a respite, began to search for his allies, the Venetians and the Holy See had been looking for a long time, and Alexander VI had abandoned the religious conflict to request the assistance of the Turkish Sultan Bayezid II, and received a very rich sum of money, at the price of the Holy See was to poison his brother bayezid in his control, Zim, who had threatened the latter's dominance. On the other hand, King Charles VIII of France marched south into no man's land and soon occupied Naples. Perhaps Charlie eventually accepted the persuasion of his subjects, or perhaps too gullible to the Italians, and inexplicably left the new government to retreat north, leaving only 4,000 soldiers to guard.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="38" > "Naples disease" that is widely spoken of</h1>
There is also a theory that Charles VIII inexplicably retreated, possibly related to disease. In May 1495, Charles VIII was crowned in Naples in a triumphant manner, proclaiming himself "King of France, Naples and Constantinople". Speaking of this, many people wonder, this Constantinople was the capital of the Turks at that time and had a half-cent relationship with the French? It's actually a bit funny. After the Turks captured Constantinople, the members of the Eastern Roman royal family of Valleolio fled, and as a result, the nephew of the last Emperor of Eastern Rome, Constantine XI, announced that he would cede the throne to Charles VIII, who justifiably dreamed of being a Roman emperor.
But at the same time, a terrible disease also spread unconsciously in the French army, and when Charles VIII was still complacent, many soldiers were covered with pustules, itching, and the skin would ulcerate, which was later syphilis. So some think this is why Charles VIII abandoned Naples and retreated quickly with his unfiltered army to avoid greater losses. The French Chronicle records: "Since no one had heard of this terrible plague before they returned to their homeland, it was called 'Neapolitan disease'. However, the Neapolitans also cried out, believing that the disease was transmitted to them by the French army, so they called it "French disease". In short, it becomes a confused account.
Nevertheless, the disease was brought to France and even elsewhere in Europe. Because there were more than half of the mercenaries in the French army at that time, from Switzerland, Spain and Britain, syphilis spread in Europe and became a "terminal disease" that had plagued the world for centuries. As to whether Charles VIII had to choose to retreat because of this disease, it is difficult to say, at least there is no clear evidence to support such a view.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" Data-track="31" > won the battle and lost the city</h1>
When Charles VIII marched north to the vicinity of Piacencha, his scouts found an enemy force of 30,000 men, an army of reinforcements from the Holy See, Venice, the Duchy of Milan, Germany, and Spain. The King of France had only 8,000 men. He had no other choice, because to escape meant surrender. At Fervono, Charles VIII won the battle with an inferior force, with the French losing only 200 men and the Allied forces killing more than 4,000 men. It turns out that desperate battles can often lead to extinction.
But Charles's benefit was nothing more than a total retreat, and the Allies did not dare to pursue the French knights again, because the kings of Europe did not want to lose more troops for a small Naples. When Charles VIII retreated to Turin, the Pope sent him an ultimatum demanding that France unconditionally withdraw from Naples and Milan and report his whereabouts to himself, or else punish him, but in the end it only saved a little face for the Holy See.
Eventually Charles VIII returned to Paris, while Naples broke free from the shackles of France. Friedrich of the Neapolitan royal family declared himself the new King of Naples and recovered within a month the territory his family had swallowed up. Most dramatically, Charles VIII died young shortly after his return, leaving no heirs, and the Duke of Orléans, who had been defeated and imprisoned by him, became the new king, Louis XII.
Text: Lantai Lingjun
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