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François 1er

Francis I
Francis1-1.jpg
Portrait by Jean Clouet, c. 1530
King of France
Reign 1 January 1515 – 31 March 1547
Coronation 25 January 1515
Predecessor Louis XII
Successor Henry II
Born (1494-09-12)12 September 1494
Château de Cognac, France
Died 31 March 1547(1547-03-31) (aged 52)
Château de Rambouillet, France
Burial Basilica of St Denis, France
Spouse Claude, Duchess of Brittany
Eleanor of Austria
Issue
among others...
Francis III, Duke of Brittany
Henry II of France
Madeleine, Queen of Scots
Charles, Duke of Orléans
Margaret, Duchess of Savoy
House Valois-Angoulême
Father Charles, Count of Angoulême
Mother Louise of Savoy
Religion Roman Catholicism
Signature Francis I's signature
Royal styles of
King Francis I
Par la grâce de Dieu, Roi de France
France moderne.svg
Reference style His Most Christian Majesty
Spoken style Your Most Christian Majesty
Alternative style Monsieur Le Roi

Francis I (French: François Ier) (12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was the first King of France from the Angoulême branch of the House of Valois, reigning from 1515 until his death. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his cousin and father-in-law Louis XII, who died without a male heir.

A prodigious patron of the arts, he initiated the French Renaissance by attracting many Italian artists to work on the Château de Chambord, including Leonardo da Vinci, who brought the Mona Lisa with him, which Francis had acquired. Francis' reign saw important cultural changes with the rise of absolute monarchy in France, the spread of humanism and Protestantism, and the beginning of French exploration of the New World. Jacques Cartier and others claimed lands in the Americas for France and paved the way for the expansion of the first French colonial empire.

For his role in the development and promotion of a standardized French language, he became known as le Père et Restaurateur des Lettres (the "Father and Restorer of Letters"). He was also known as François du Grand Nez ("Francis of the Large Nose"), the Grand Colas, and the Roi-Chevalier (the "Knight-King") for his personal involvement in the wars against his great rival the Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain Charles V.


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Wikipedia

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