Venetian Report on France - 1535

Report

Having been ambassador in the legation of France on behalf of Your Serenity for some forty months, I know my duty, according to the most laudable custom of this Most Serene Dominion, is not to give an account of all my actions during that legation, because day by day I have striven to keep Your Lordships advised of those matters that have seemed to me worthy of your notice: and therefore I shall not say a word about them, which will also be the cause of that brevity I desire. But I shall indeed endeavor to clarify for you, or rather to remind you of, certain things that are learned through long experience, worthy in my opinion of being understood by Your Most Excellent Lordships, although I am certain that so great is Your Lordships’ long experience in the public affairs of all human states, and therefore your perfect knowledge, that nothing can be noted by me that you have not already foreseen. But yet it will contribute greatly that a faithful servant of yours has noted in practice what you, with your reasoning, will have foreseen.

Territories

It is therefore my opinion not to consume the kindness of Your Serenity in vain and trivial matters, and I content myself, since I shall have to speak of the affairs of France, if you wish to understand its parts, to say that France is divided into Belgica, Celtica, and Aquitania according to Caesar, but according to others, into Narbonensis as well; which is the part that the Romans called the Province; and that Belgica is bounded on the west and north by the Ocean, on the east by the Rhine, and on the south by two most noble rivers, the Marne, alias Matrona, and the Seine, alias Sequana. But the Seine is swelled by two other rivers, the Marne and the Oise, which come from Champagne and Burgundy, which two rivers first make the commerce of Paris and Rouen very great, because they supply the farthest part of Belgica with all that which originates in the other extremity which is Champagne, and all the other places as far as the Rhine; and they then carry the same things, such as wines, grains, silks, cloths, to Ireland, England, Scotland, Flanders, Holland, Denmark, and the entire maritime region of Germany, and bring back salted fish—which is a very great commodity and of almost inestimable value—pitch, cloths, and tin from England, and money. In Belgica there are various provinces; Francia, which is that country where Paris is, a very good part of Normandy, because the Sequana passes through its middle; Picardy and Champagne, which also belong to the Most Christian King¹; there is Calais, belonging to the King of England²; belonging to Caesar [the Holy Roman Emperor] are the counties of Flanders and of Artois, Holland, Brabant, Liège, and Luxembourg; there are then the duchy of Cleves, the duchy of Jülich, the duchy of Guelders, and the duchy of Lorraine.

In France is Paris, a very rich and entirely mercantile city, most populous and very large; yet in wealth it falls short of that of Venice by a great measure; nor does it have a greater population, in my judgment, of which they boast. For all the people who are within are seen at every hour, due to the custom there, that all the women and men, old and children, masters and servants, stand in the shops, at the doors, or indeed upon the street; then, through those streets through which men go, go all the animals, and all the carts, mules, and other pack-beasts are led: all of which, if seen together upon the streets of that city, would make the number appear much greater than it is. I conclude that there is a greater number there, but ours is a more honorable populace. That city is also not larger, because Paris has been circled by many in three hours or less, on foot, at a moderate pace; and at its extremities are many gardens.

There is a university there for philosophy and theology. It is said there are twenty-five thousand scholars, but there are not so many. For the most part they are boys, because everyone, however poor he may be, learns to read and write.

In Paris there is a parliament of one hundred and twenty councilors who are divided into different sections, who decide not only all the cases in the last instance from the Île-de-France, Picardy, and Champagne, but all the other cases dispatched in the other parliaments of all the other parts of France. These, like all the other councilors of the other parliaments, have two hundred scudi a year, and hold their office for life. They judge both civil and criminal cases ex lectura from the proceedings; nor are lawyers admitted to defend any of the parties, after the case is concluded. Only doctors may enter, but some are not learned; and it happens that now all offices are sold, for which reason the Most Christian King gives these offices to his servants, who then sell them.

In the region of Normandy is Rouen, which is the second city of that kingdom. It is very mercantile, and reputed to be very rich; it has four fairs a year, and is strong, being a land of importance. It has a port at the mouth of the river Seine, whose tide flows back with great violence as far as Rouen, which is about sixty miles. There are many vessels there, and at times I have seen two hundred sails in that port, but they are small ships. In Normandy much grain grows, not only for its own need, but for the use of many other countries. No wine is produced there, but what is brought in is drunk, and therefore it is expensive, as is the case in Picardy and Brittany, and the people drink beer of pears and apples. They pay a very great duty on wine and beer, because for all the wine that is drunk, and likewise the beer, a third is paid to the king. The governor of the province is the Dauphin³. In Rouen there is a parliament of sixty councilors.

In Picardy is Amiens, the principal city, not very rich, moderately large, but strong, as are all the other frontier lands on that side; it is barren and poor. The governor is Monsignor di Vendôme.⁴

In Champagne is Reims, a good city where the kings of France are anointed, third in rank, without commerce. There grows much and infinite hemp, both fine and coarse. The governor is Monsignor di Guise.⁵

Celtica is bounded on the north by the same two rivers, the Seine and the Marne; on the east by the Rhine and the Rhône; on the south by the Garonne and Narbonensis; on the west by the Ocean: the provinces are the other part of Normandy, Brittany, Anjou, Touraine, Berry, Poitou, Limousin, Saintonge, part of Languedoc, Lyonnais, the Swiss lands, and Bresse, which belongs to the Duke of Savoy.

The noble cities are in Brittany Vannes, who are the Veneti; Rennes and Nantes; in Touraine Tours; Orléans and Bourges in Berry; Poitiers in Poitou; Limoges in Limousin; Saintes in Saintonge; Lyon in Lyonnais, and Toulouse in Languedoc, which surpasses all the others of Celtica in size, population, and wealth.

This part has three most noble rivers: the Loire, alias Ligeris, which comes from the Auvergne, passes through Nevers, Orléans, Blois, Amboise, Tours, Nantes, and goes into the Ocean; the Saône, alias Araris, which passes through the middle of Burgundy, and near Lyon enters the Rhône, which goes into the Mediterranean near Marseille; and the Allier which also comes from Auvergne.

In the aforementioned lands much grain is grown, beyond their need, to serve other countries, and especially Spain, when the kings are friends.

From Languedoc is drawn much woad (madder), which they call pastels, wines and wools in good quantity, some saffron and oils; so that much gold is brought into that country because of the said merchandise.

In Toulouse there is a gymnasium in law, the second in reputation after Paris; in Poitiers one, in Orléans one, in Bourges one, all in law; and in Montpellier one in medicine, and surgery. In Toulouse there is a council of fifty councilors.

The governor of Languedoc is the Grand Master; of Auvergne is the Duke of Albany⁶; of Burgundy is the Admiral.⁷

Aquitania is bounded on the north and part of the east by the Garonne; on the east and south by the Pyrenees; and on the west by the Ocean, wherein are two provinces, Guyenne and Gascony.

In Guyenne is Bordeaux, a most noble city, at the mouth of the Garonne, from where much wine is sent to England, and pastels to various places. In Bordeaux there is a parliament of forty councillors. The governor is the King of Navarre.⁸

Narbonensis is bounded to the north by the Rhône, and by the other borders of Celtica; to the east by the Alps, which divide Transalpine Gaul from Italy; to the south it has the Mediterranean Sea; to the west the Garonne, and the other borders of Celtica. In these parts are two provinces and part of Languedoc, in which are Narbonne, Carcassonne and Nîmes. The two provinces are Provence and Dauphiné. In Provence are Marseille and Aix, and there is a parliament of thirty councilors; the governor is the Count of Tende⁹. In Dauphiné are Avignon, Saint-Esprit, Valence, Vienne, and Grenoble; and there is a parliament of fifty councilors, and the governor is Monsignor of Saint-Pol.¹⁰ These two provinces are not very fertile.

Diplomacy

Having spoken of those qualities of France that have seemed necessary to me, I will speak of the disposition of this Most Christian King towards and against the Christian and infidel princes, and especially of those who matter most, and consequently towards Your Serenity.

The Most Christian King holds this Pope¹¹ in high regard, because His Holiness professes to His Majesty to be neutral between him and the Emperor, and therefore by this means the Pontiff keeps himself out of the league of 1532¹²; by which it seems to the Most Christian King to have gained a great deal. Of all the pontiffs, His Majesty will be content if they are neutral, things being as they are. He has many friendly cardinals, whom he wins over with many ecclesiastical benefices; and he desires to have this credit with each pontiff: that no one can be elected who does not owe his pontificate in large part to him. And on this subject, I say, that the right of nomination¹³ that that king has, is much greater than that which he had before, because he has ten archbishoprics to nominate, eighty-two bishoprics, five hundred and twenty-seven abbeys, and infinite priories and canonries.¹⁴ This right of nomination gives him a very great subservience and obedience from the prelates and laity, due to the desire they have for the benefices, and due to the manner in which the king confers them. And in this way he not only satisfies his subjects generously, but also wins over many foreigners. And for this reason, many cardinals keep their agents at that court, to provide news to the Most Christian King from all parts.

His Majesty has made the same offer to the Pontiff as he made to Your Serenity: offering his forces for the defense of His Holiness and of his state, whenever he might be disturbed by the Emperor. The latter, as far as I know, has never replied otherwise than by rendering him thanks, and that, should the need arise, he would make use of his loving offers, but that for now he has no need, and does not believe that His Imperial Majesty is about to give him any trouble. That Most Christian King professes to be an excellent Christian, and has shown himself to be such in these movements of the Lutherans, which have infected almost all of France, because the King has caused very great severity to be used. In the beginning, all those who were found guilty of the offense were burned¹⁵, and all their goods were confiscated. Afterwards, they mitigated the penalty considerably, since they punished with fire only the Sacramentarians¹⁶; for, knowing, as His Majesty told me, that the Emperor in Flanders had suspended all executions by death against these heretics, he has also granted that against every sort of heretic one should proceed as before, but citra mortem¹⁷, except for the Sacramentarians. Nevertheless, His Majesty maintains the closest friendship he can with all these Lutheran elector princes, for no other reason than to support them as enemies of the Emperor. In the negotiations he has had with the King of England, he has always made an exception for matters of religion, although he was greatly pressured on the point.¹⁸ When he wants money from the clergy (for during the time of my legation he has received five tithes on two occasions), the first thing he does is ask for license from the Pontiff; who, if he has raised difficulties, has had all the obedient prelates assemble, and has had himself offered what he intended to have under the name of a gratuitous gift for the defense of the kingdom, having the cardinals make the offer first, which is easy because of his rights of nomination. And he extracts two hundred thousand ducats from each tithe.

This King has placed the matter of an agreement between himself and the Emperor in the hands of His Holiness.¹⁹ The current relationship His Majesty has with the Emperor is as follows: At the time I went to France, it seemed to me that his mind was entirely bent on the recovery of the State of Milan and the County of Asti, for the reason, he stated, that his sons had through Madame Valentina, legitimate daughter of Duke Galeazzo Visconti, married to Monseigneur the Duke of Orléans, for whose dowry the County of Asti was given to him. And he claims succession to the State of Milan, adducing also an investiture that Maximilian made to King Louis XII; although the Most Christian King renounced the Duchy of Milan and the County of Asti and all of Italy.²⁰ In persuading the Emperor to this cession, smoothly and by agreement, he omitted no amicable means, through the delegates of both, and of Pope Clement, who several times through manifest nuncios attempted to persuade the Emperor, and through the Queen of France²¹, and that of Hungary²², and many others. And being unable to bring the Emperor to any condition, although the Emperor always gave good words, and never took away his hope (telling him, as the Emperor’s own delegate and many others have told me, that he could not satisfy His Most Christian Majesty at that time, because of the promise given to the Duke of Milan, but that when that state was in his hands, he would please him)²³, not content with this, the Most Christian King, because it seemed to him that he was being given empty words, turned to threats, of which there was public talk. And as these too did not work, he resorted to deeds so cautiously that they never came to open war, but in such a way that everyone knew of it. And with this in mind he held the meeting in Marseille with Clement²⁴, in which, hearing that Caesar stood firm in his deliberation, he arranged for the movements of arms in Germany under the pretext of wishing to restore the Duke of Württemberg to his home. In which, if God had not lent a hand through Caesar, who suddenly and with great skill, without the knowledge of the Most Christian king, made peace with the restitution of the Duchy of Württemberg²⁵, all those troops would have come into Italy under the secret favor of Clement. This deed was also aided by the Grand Master, who, always working against the war, delayed the sending of money to Germany. This was also a cause of the peace.

And at the same time, he resolved to make the agreement with the Turk. And so, as the court was going to Marseille, Barbarossa’s delegate came to find the Most Christian King at Le Puy, and after the meeting, another delegate from the Turk came to Châtellerault, where the understanding with the Turk and with Barbarossa was concluded. These two operations, just as they were intended to put the Emperor in such a necessity that he would be forced to satisfy the King, so His Majesty later realized that they made him greater than he was: because the French then saw that the Emperor turned his mind to reconciling and confirming the minds of all the German princes; and then he arranged the marriage of the daughter of the most serene King of the Romans with the firstborn of the Duke of Bavaria, and reconciled himself with the Duke of Saxony, the Duke of Württemberg, and the Landgrave of Hesse. In this way, the Most Christian King saw himself stripped of all the favor he had acquired in Germany, after spending a great quantity of money, and of the hope of being able to have that quantity of good German infantry he desired, except perhaps for adventurers. And the King saw that the expedition of Barbarossa²⁶ to Tunis, founded upon the friendship that the Turk had with his majesty, was the cause for the Emperor to go and ruin him by sea and by land in Africa; by which operation he sees so much reputation and greatness added to the Emperor, that he has begun to fear him.

Now that the Emperor is coming to Italy to hold the council²⁷, the Most Christian King is pushed into greater doubt, and he suspects that the Emperor will make himself greater through the council; because just as the diverse opinions on faith have caused the heretics to obey the Emperor little, so by attempting the council, which can unite and reconcile opinions, he fears that it might also unite the Germans in obedience to him. And by such means the Most Christian King fears that the Emperor will become more powerful, not only with the German princes, but with the free cities, and with the peoples. Whence a great fear for his kingdom arises in him, into which His Majesty has fallen, reasoning thus: “The Emperor, besides his many and great states, has become victorious against the Turk, and has deprived him of a large part of his maritime fleet; he holds all of Italy, part his, part confederate; he will unite Germany by means of the council; he will take revenge against the Duke of Guelders, whom his majesty is bound to defend.”²⁸ Then it is thought that he must move against the King of England, for the errors into which he has fallen.²⁹ He also notes that the Emperor is intent on placing the Count Palatine on the throne of the kingdom of Denmark. And thus surrounded on all sides, he fears being forced to accept all the laws that the Emperor will wish to impose upon him. Hence has arisen such great fear in this Most Christian King and his lords, that whereas before they coveted the Duchy of Milan, now their primary concern is the greatness of the Emperor, and secondarily to Milan. And this is one of the reasons that he offers his forces to the Pontiff and to Your Serenity for their defense, in case the Emperor should wish to alter the states of the Pontiff and of Your Serenity, and so of the rest of Italy. This the king desires infinitely, because he judges that in such a case the Pontiff and Your Serenity would call him into Italy: and then it would seem to him that he would be freed from the fear of the Emperor’s greatness, and that he would gain the Duchy of Milan and the County of Asti. And therefore the Most Christian King hopes that the Pope and Your Serenity will begin to fear the Emperor, seeing him hold the Duchy of Milan³⁰, and that perhaps he wishes to make himself master of the state of Florence, either with Duke Alessandro or with the Republic, either openly or secretly; so that the Pontiff and Your Serenity will become suspicious of the Emperor in Italy, and by this means he may be called there.

This fear is compounded by the fact that the Most Christian King knows well that he has violated the capitulation he has with Caesar, because he promised not to meddle with any of his subjects against him and particularly not to hire soldiers, and not only not to provision the Duke of Guelders, but, if it were necessary, to compel him by arms to remain in his obedience and capitulation; and nevertheless he knows that he has caused war to be moved in Germany by the Landgrave and Württemberg, his vassals, against the King of the Romans and Caesar; and that with his money he has come to an agreement with and paid the Duke of Guelders, on the condition of one thousand lances and fifteen thousand scudi of provision for all his men. Likewise, he knows he has offended Caesar in the understanding he has with the Turk, and especially at the time when he was going to Tunis. To this is also added his doubt that the Turk, his confederate, is so hindered by the Sofi³¹, that he cannot hope for him to impede Caesar and force him to an agreement, nor even for his help, should the Most Christian King himself be attacked. The firm conclusion, therefore, is, that the Most Christian king fears Caesar and holds him in hatred, both because of his greatness, and also because he holds a grudge against Caesar for the ill treatment of the Dauphin and of Orléans his sons, who were put in prison; besides the fact that he imposed upon him, as they say, too great an obligation for their recovery, and beyond reason.³²

From all the aforementioned things, several doubts arise. If the Emperor wished to give the Duchy of Milan on the condition that the Most Christian King give him aid against the Turk, I judge that the King would willingly accept the proposal; because in this way His Majesty would have the Duchy of Milan; and whatever was recovered from the state of the Turk would be divided among those who bore the expense; and thus the Emperor would not make himself greater; and because in such a way it would seem to the Most Christian King that he would cancel and remove the stain contracted by his friendship with the Turk: indeed, this proposal has been made by the French to the Emperor. But if the Emperor wished to give the state of Milan to the Most Christian King in order that he would permit him to ruin the King of England, I say that he would not accept the proposal. And this is no mere conjecture, for the Admiral has repeatedly told both of us ambassadors (which has also been confirmed by the Most Christian King) that he is not about to let the King of England be ruined, and that against those who would wish to offend the King of England with temporal arms, he is ready to oppose them with all his forces, and with his own person; though he did say that, should the council determine something, it would be another matter. Because if that king were ruined, the kingdom would fall to whoever was the husband of Madame Mary, daughter of this king and of Queen Catherine, or else to the King of Scotland, son of one of his sisters. Madame Mary could be the consort of the Dauphin, but the emperor would never tolerate it, because in such a case France and England would belong to the King of France; and then France would have Flanders so surrounded that it would easily be made a subject of France; a place that Caesar loves above all his other lands. If she were given to another, as they would be English and not French, the Most Christian King could never bear it; because whoever had her would acknowledge the consort and the kingdom as coming from Caesar. And then, the Most Christian King could not have any King of England with whom he could be on the same terms as he is with the present one, who, due to his alienation from the Church and the repudiation of his true consort, is so naked and deprived of friends, that out of necessity he remains a friend to the Most Christian King, and adheres to him almost as he wishes. As for the King of Scotland, although he is a very great friend and confidant of this king, yet, were the King of Scotland to be King of England, he would take on the same sentiment against the French that the English have; and then the King of Scotland, being also King of England, would be too great a neighbor not only for France, but also for Caesar. And if the Most Christian King now fears the King of England alone, he would much more fear the King of Scotland were he joined with the kingdom of England. Therefore, the King of France cannot abandon the current King of England, and holds for certain that the ruin of the latter would be the eve of his own.

As for the words of the admiral to us ambassadors, that his majesty wishes to defend the King of England against anyone who with temporal arms would wish to ruin him, even if it were Caesar, but that should the council determine anything, it would be another matter, I say that this exception of the council has been made because in truth this is the principal article that is now being treated between the King of France and the King of England. The King of France makes himself difficult, because it seems to him truly a difficult undertaking to defend a heretic against the decisions of all the Christian church, and perhaps a dangerous one; or because with this article so important, made so difficult by His Most Christian Majesty, he might draw the King of England to more generous terms; or perhaps that exception was made because saying that he wishes to defend the King of England against pontifical decisions seems to him a monumental, and perhaps not very religious, thing to say, and therefore he wishes to mitigate it with that exception, that should the council determine, it would be another matter. It could also be that he had specified that exception of the council, hoping that one would not be held. But if Caesar were willing to give the Duchy of Milan to the Most Christian King, with the pact to abandon the defense of the King of England, he would accept it, not minding for this end the ruin not only of one but of all the Christian princes of the world, including also Your Serenity, provided, however, that with that accord Caesar did not make himself disproportionately greater than the Most Christian King, so that France would not have to fear the Emperor. And this is for the great desire that the Most Christian King has to provide for the Duke of Orleans, his second born, for whom the duchy of Brittany is expected according to the matrimonial pacts made between the Duke of Brittany and King Charles, who was the first husband of Queen Anne, and King Louis in a second marriage: because he fears that this Orleans, after his death, will want that duchy, of which he has had the dauphin crowned, and that for this reason great confusion and war may arise in France between these brothers, with the help also of foreigners, such as the Emperor and the King of England.³³ And therefore he is so keen to place Orléans in the Duchy of Milan. But should the said arrangement make the Emperor disproportionately greater than him, and maintain him so, he would not accept it except with the intention of deceiving him. If now the arrangement were proposed to give Milan to the Most Christian King for a very large sum of money, certainly the King of France would give him a great, and perhaps inestimable, quantity of it.

I will now speak of the relationship between the Most Christian King and the Turk³⁴, because it seems to me that after the discussion we have had of what transpires between the King of France and the Emperor, it is opportune to speak of that with the Turk.

I say, therefore, that the Most Christian King, designing to diminish the greatness of the Emperor and to put him in the necessity of asking for his help, so that through that negotiation he might satisfy him regarding the state of Milan, and not wishing to do this openly, while negotiating an understanding with the Germans against the Emperor³⁵, also began to negotiate one with the Turk, who sent him a delegate of his own, or rather under the pretext of Barbarossa, who came to Le Puy when the Most Christian King was on his way to Marseille in July 1533. Then in December 1534, another of his delegates came to Châtellerault, with whom the understanding between them—that is, France, the Turk, and Barbarossa—was concluded; in which the French stipulated a truce for three years. This, in my opinion, which is based on countless grounds, I judge to be an understanding to help the Most Christian King obtain all that he claims from the Emperor. And I judge that such an understanding was likewise deliberated in Marseille with Pope Clement, as was also the one with Germany. And until the Most Christian King saw such great preparation by the Emperor against Barbarossa for Tunis, he judged that he had compelled His Imperial Majesty to ask for his help, and consequently to give him the Duchy of Milan. But since he has seen that Barbarossa’s sally and the taking of Tunis was the cause of making the Emperor known to be so powerful that not only has he routed and beaten Barbarossa, taking from him his naval fleet and his artillery, but has also made himself master of that place, it seems to him that the Emperor has grown so much in reputation that he has cause to fear him. So that he now maintains the friendship of the Turk, because it seems to him he can have no one who could more easily diminish the greatness of the Emperor. Hence it is that he keeps in Constantinople La Foresta, one of his ambassadors, who keeps him advised of every event. This the Most Christian King himself has confirmed to me openly with these words: “Ambassador, I cannot deny that I desire the Turk to sally forth powerfully; not indeed for his own benefit, for he is an infidel, and we are Christians; but to keep the Emperor at expense, and with so great an enemy as to weaken him, and to give greater security to every other potentate.”

And hence it is that with the greatest eagerness he desires that the Turk settle his affair with the Sofi and return to Constantinople, because, once he were there, not only would he consider himself secure from the Emperor, but he would hope to put him to such expense and consequently in such necessity, that he might condescend to some settlement regarding Milan. And it seems all the more necessary to the King to keep the Turk as a friend, because he knows he has attempted many things against His Imperial Majesty in violation of the capitulations; wherefore he may deservedly be wary of His Imperial Majesty, having, especially thus far, no prince of importance as a friend in whom he can trust. And because this friendship with the Turk seems to the French to bring them some infamy (and it is already manifest), they strive to excuse this understanding by saying that defense is admitted and granted to everyone in every cause, for every reason both natural and canonical, and that consequently it is honorable to take aid from anyone, even from infidels, adducing many texts in their favor and refuting those to the contrary. These words were said to me by the admiral. And this understanding of his, the Most Christian King makes out as honorable by the example of many Christian princes who have truce and peace with him; and of others who have sent ambassadors to the Turk himself to have it, by whom it was refused; and that he can more honorably accept an understanding sent to be offered to him right in his own kingdom.

This Most Christian King is necessitated to maintain a close friendship with the King of England for several reasons. First, because he could not undertake any enterprise of war that the English, if they were not his friends, would not disturb, for that people is greatly feared by the French (and in effect ten Englishmen are worth twenty Frenchmen), and because they have in other times subjugated France, such that nothing remained to the King of France but Orléans;³⁶ and from this comes the title that the King of England has to France, because having acquired Paris, he was crowned there to the Kingdom of France; and because the English returned Normandy to the Most Christian King, he gives them fifty thousand scudi a year as census, or rather tribute, perpetuis temporibus. The other is that the great sums of money he is said to possess make him a good partner in any war. Therefore the Most Christian King desires him; the common enemy joining these two kings. For it is already known that the King has no greater enemy among princes than the Emperor, as has already been said; and likewise the King of England, who has not only offended him, but expects war at home from the Emperor at any moment: which makes these two kings ally themselves easily. The opportunity of the place, in which these two kings can offend the Emperor, unites them; for France and England can trouble and win Flanders with the friendship of the Duke of Guelders, which is most dear to the Emperor. Then the scarcity of friends that both have makes them friends with each other; because the Most Christian King forsook his allies at the agreement of Cambrai in 1530, when he recovered his sons; and the King of England lost his for the repudiation of Queen Catherine, the Emperor’s aunt, and for his alienation from the Church. The fear that both kings have of the Emperor’s greatness, and the interest that the Most Christian King has in Milan, joins them against a common enemy to make a greater opposition to him. But between these two kings a distrust arises: for the King of England fears that by allying with France, the Emperor, in whose power it is to give him the Duchy of Milan, may whenever he pleases separate one from the other. And the same suspicion may now be in all other princes who might wish to adhere to France, and not to the Emperor. And therefore this English king, and these lords who govern, desire to make this marriage between Angoulême³⁷ and this daughter of this new queen³⁸, wishing with this marriage to give the King of France such an interest in the kingdom of England that that king may no longer fear that the Emperor might contaminate or corrupt the Most Christian King with Milan. And therefore Winchester, Bryan, and Wallop are ambassadors in France, who are negotiating this closer friendship. And in effect, from what can be seen, the English would want war with the Emperor if the French were to commit themselves fully; because it suits the English, rather than waiting at home for the Emperor to bring war to them, to start the war against the Emperor first, alongside the French. And it is said that the English would want it in Italy and in Flanders; and would contribute a third. The Most Christian King seems to enter this war reluctantly, and is proving difficult. What the cause may be, whether to extract from him greater and broader conditions, or to wait for a better opportunity, is not clear: except that the English see themselves constrained by the Pope, who wishes to proceed against them³⁹, and by the Emperor who wishes to execute the said sentence; for which it is necessary for them to ally with France.

The respect that the Most Christian King truly has for Your Serenity is such that he holds Your Serenity in great repute and love, both because your name is as esteemed as it ever was, and because you are reputed to be the sole foundation for maintaining that liberty which is now found in Italy⁴⁰, and the Italian name is esteemed wise, faithful, and powerful both in money and in state. Everyone confesses that your prudence and wisdom have guarded you from misfortunes, and after so many wars have brought you to the state in which, by God’s grace, you find yourself, from which any other would have been vanquished and overcome. Your Serenity has increased its credit with the French themselves, by not having wished to heed the propositions made to you by that King, which thing the Most Christian King confirmed to me upon my departure, who told me that he greatly loved Your Serenity because his love was natural, for preserving you, and that of others (meaning to imply Caesar) was to command you; and that he knew that in the reply Your Sublimity had given him in the last propositions, your Most Illustrious Lordships could not do otherwise because of their faith.⁴¹ The estimation of power is also attributed to Your Serenity; because they reckon that in these past seven years, you have arranged your affairs in such a way that money cannot be lacking, and that your state is so strong that each of your lands could withstand a defense of two years. So that it seems to them that an enterprise against Your Serenity would be of infinite trouble: and thus the good fortification of your state not only secures the state for you, but also makes princes wary of disturbing you; whence such fortification generates for you a longer peace. They add to your strength, that your peoples are so faithful, that neither fire nor plunder can change their spirit, nor can death itself strike terror into them: and they confirm this strength with your having placed Sforza, Duke of Milan, in his state, and maintained him in it, saying openly that no one can hold the state of Milan except with the good will of Your Serenity.⁴² That king also loves Your Serenity because he says that the love he bears for you is most natural, and useful for both. And he has affirmed to me that he has never experienced any companion and confederate who has gone further on the great road, that is, who has proceeded more sincerely than Your Serenity; and that he has never done well except when he has been with you. And to me, out of respect for Your Serenity, along with all those lords, he has shown me the greatest honor. And he desires nothing other than to strengthen the friendship with Your Serenity, because with that he would reckon that the greatness of the Emperor would not be so great, and consequently he would not fear it; and with you he would retake the Duchy of Milan and the County of Asti. And he seeks to reassure Your Serenity, saying that he would secure you in every possible way, and that he would never leave you for any deal that the Emperor might offer him. And I am certain that he would come to any agreements that this state might wish. Nor is he troubled by the fact that Your Serenity is allied with the Emperor, although this fact has been most irksome to him; because he admits the reason that Your Serenity has done so out of necessity.

And because the affairs of Milan have a certain connection with Your Serenity, because, in one way or another, they can alter your fortune, I say that although the Most Christian King has for his principal object the greatness of Caesar, he nevertheless does not depart from the claims of succession that he says he has in the state of Milan and in the County of Asti: adding to this the great desire he has to place Monsignor d’Orléans in that state, for the fear he has that the latter might wish to have the Duchy of Brittany. For the recovery of the state of Milan, His Majesty has had various hopes. One was in the death of Caesar, through which he hoped to have it, having a lesser adversary; the other was in the death of the Duke of Milan, at which time he esteemed that Your Serenity’s confederation would be broken and that Your Serenity, should the death of the Duke occur—by which Caesar would enter into possession of that state—would move vigorously not only to consent that the said King come into Italy to take the Duchy of Milan, but to call him as well: judging that it must not please Your Serenity that to the so great power of Caesar, the Duchy of Milan should also be added. Whence it has come that, the death of the Duke of Milan having occurred, the Most Christian King says he is waiting for Your Serenity to call him, and that he does not wish to move otherwise.

Wherefore, if I were asked whether the Most Christian King, uncalled by Your Serenity, would come into Italy, I would say that his Most Christian Majesty will maintain this reputation of not wishing to come into Italy unless called, until such time as he agrees with the English king to defend his kingdom of France, should the need arise, and until he sees that the Turk is in Constantinople ready and prepared to assault Germany by land, and Italy by sea, whereby the enterprise would be made easier. And he already repents that he did not assault Italy at the time the Turk went into Germany, and the Emperor to its defense, or when the Emperor went to Tunis. And the Grand Master was in large part the cause, who, because he agreed with the opinion that he ought not to go into Italy at that time, has received some charge and blame from the Most Christian King. For if the matter of the Turk could not favor him, but the English king were confederated with him, as is said, I would believe that in such a case he would come, if not with the hope of it being agreeable to Your Serenity, then with the judgment that what you are unwilling to do before he is powerful in friends and army, you would do upon seeing him accompanied by the English king and already armed in Italy (due to the interest he judges Your Serenity has in Milan not being added to the greatness of the Emperor); and if the Pontiff also concurred in wanting the Most Christian King in Italy, then I am certain that he would come, presupposing he would more easily win over Your Serenity. But should Your Serenity not call him, and make it known that it is not to your liking, but rather that you wish to oppose him with arms, I am certain that His Majesty would not come, unless with the help, and no small amount, of the Turk.

With the most illustrious Duke of Savoy, who was the brother of the late mother of this Most Christian King, he takes no account of friendship, for having received the County of Asti from the Emperor, which the Most Christian King claims belongs to his sons. Nor does he admit the Duke’s excuse, who says that it is a lesser evil for that county to be his, who is his relative and servant, than for it to belong to the Emperor who is so great. Likewise, for having given his son to the Emperor⁴³, which seems to him to be a most secure pledge of his feelings towards the Emperor, and a certainty of his alienation from that majesty. This ill disposition was increased by the refusal to give him Nice for the meeting between Pope Clement and his majesty, which was later held in Marseille.⁴⁴ Whence it proceeds that the differences which the Most Christian King had have grown—that is, to have back Nice, Villafranca, and other places, as the Most Christian King told me, pledged by the Count of Provence, where no prescription has ever occurred because they have been frequently demanded.⁴⁵ It has also been brought up that the Most Christian King wants a certain portion of the movable goods belonging to his late mother; with equal secrecy, a jurist of the crown insinuated a protest to the same effect, when the ratification of the treaty was registered in the parliament of Paris. With this artifice, unworthy of a king and destructive of public faith and the mutual trust on which pacts between nations rest, this king, who for many is a synonym of honor, thought he had conscientiously freed himself from the obligation to respect his given word, and maintained his right to those possessions. And he has several times planned, as compensation, to take from him his country upon the Saône, which is called Bresse, bordering Lyon and Geneva, which is very strong, and to which he claims a right of succession from his mother. He also has his eye on Geneva⁴⁶, and has already sent there Monsignor di Vera, a Savoyard, his gentleman of the chamber, who seems to have a reputation in those parts. This man, having requested from the lieutenant of the province the company of Signor Renzo, of eighty men-at-arms and one hundred fifty archers, with letters of credence from the Most Christian King to the same, they were routed by the countrymen and some soldiers of the Duke who were besieging the territory of Geneva, guarding the narrow passes, so soundly that not one hundred fifty horses returned. All the others were taken prisoner, so that more than two hundred horses and eighty good men were captured.

For which reason, the gentlemen of both sides having gone to the Most Christian king and to the Duke of Savoy, the king, by means of instructional letters to Monsignor de Chalant, Marshal of Savoy, made it known that he had known nothing of these men of his having to go to Geneva. The Duke of Savoy has shown that he believes him; and has decided to return the men, and to excuse himself for not being able to also return the horses, which are already dispersed in such places that they can no longer be recovered, and that should it please his majesty, he will pay for them. And with this order the Count of Chalant has gone to tell him openly that he did not want war with His Majesty, who is his kinsman and master. I, now, in the mountains, encountered six hundred foot soldiers who were passing through to go to Geneva. And in conclusion, as long as the Duke of Savoy adheres to Caesar, he will always be an enemy of France; he, due to the weakness of his state and his poverty, cannot contend with the King of France: e stantibus rebus sic, if the king is to begin a war against Italy, it is the opinion of all that it will begin in Savoy. And already, either as a demonstration of war, or to be able to make peace on better terms, the Most Christian King has sent Signor Marcantonio Clurano (Clauran) to the Duke of Savoy, to make him understand that His Majesty wanted everything that belonged to him and that he was occupying; and that for this reason he was sending Monsignor Poieto of his royal council, to whom he should give an immediate reply: because otherwise, if he did not give one, he would proceed to recover what was his by other means.

This Most Christian King maintains as close a friendship and understanding with the Germans as he possibly can. The reason this friendship is nurtured is that the King knows that although the German princes are allied with the Emperor, and departed from the confederation they had with France⁴⁷ (from which they excuse themselves, claiming not to have defaulted, because they say the confederation they have with the Most Christian King is only for mutual defense), nevertheless it seems to His Majesty that, seeing the Emperor as too powerful and fearing for their liberty, it is in their interest to remain friends with the King of France, who alone could defend them. Furthermore, he knows that these German princes are avaricious and poor, and he wishes to be very generous with them. But Württemberg and the Landgrave of Hesse, who are in effect evil men, and fear the Emperor for the many quarrels they have had or could have, cannot but always adhere to the King of France, as he is the one who maintains their state and reputation. Hence it is said that the Most Christian King, by a tacit promise from Württemberg and the Landgrave, is to have sixteen thousand German infantrymen, and others say more, because they have many captains, and among the other principal ones, Count Wilhelm von Fürstenberg, who has a very great reputation among the German soldiers. These men have no states of their own, and consequently have no fear of losing them: they live in the free lands, and do not fear those commands that forbid German infantry from entering the service of any foreign prince. And at the court of the Most Christian King is the son of the Duke of Württemberg, honorably maintained by His Majesty: and he has six thousand francs a year.

The Most Christian King does not trust the Swiss, nor does he love them, because he considers them not very faithful, and a disobedient people in an army. But still it behooves him to stay on good terms with them, because they are neighbors to his Burgundy, which, as they have done at other times, they could assault, and also trouble all of France. And therefore he keeps them provided for, both publicly and privately. Publicly, I say, because he ordinarily gives to each canton one thousand five hundred scudi a year; of which there are thirteen, which makes nineteen thousand five hundred scudi. Privately he gives pensions to individuals: which at other times, before these Lutheran sects, amounted to more than sixty thousand scudi a year, but after these sects appeared, some cantons do not want individuals to take pensions, and so now the private pensions do not exceed forty thousand scudi, which in total, with the public ones, sum to sixty thousand. Besides these, he also gives them a good deal of money every year, on account of old quarrels. These have been settled at a certain amount per year, so that in a few years they will be paid off. And because this king would not want them in any army, because he does not trust them, nor does he trust leaving them at home while his army is outside of France, because they would without fail assault France, he has decided to have four or five thousand of them and no more, so that there are not so many that they cannot be governed in the army. And it seems to him that in this way he secures himself against them.

The Most Christian King maintains friendship with the King of Portugal⁴⁸, who guards it with the greatest diligence and observance. The ambassador of Portugal has told me that his king greatly fears Caesar, for which reason he desires the greatness of France. The King of Portugal, as is known, in the lands of the Indies⁴⁹, which he has made his ex veteri occupatione, not only wishes to have superiority, but does not want any other man, whoever he may be, to go to those places. And since Frenchmen from Normandy, Brittany, and Picardy have gone many times to Brazil, they have been very badly treated by the Portuguese, so that great quarrels have arisen in France against the Portuguese. And yet the French and others who go there also wish to maintain this right.⁵⁰ And so this matter rests in a very long negotiation, on the part of the French with the admiral, and on the part of the Portuguese with their ambassador, who, with great presents that he gives to the admiral, draws the matter out. To this is then added that in Portugal there is a daughter of the Queen of France, who was married in her first marriage to the predecessor of this King of Portugal⁵¹, which daughter is very rich, because she has a dowry of four hundred thousand scudi; and the profit that this dowry has made in the Indies amounts to one hundred thousand; and then her mother’s dowry, which is in France, of two hundred thousand scudi, for which the county of Lorraine is obligated; and then all her garments and jewels, which are in effect of an inestimable value. This daughter, the King of Portugal offers to the King of France for the Dauphin; and the matter is much urged by the Queen of France, her mother; and with so much the greater insistence since they cannot give her to the firstborn of the King of the Romans, because it seems they are saving that prince for the Emperor’s daughter, whom they do not want to go outside the House of Austria, because they fear the weakness of the Emperor’s son, and in such a case, the daughter would succeed. Which is also the reason why he will never allow the marriage of the Emperor’s daughter to the Dauphin.⁵²

Portugal will therefore want, with this marriage of the Dauphin, to put an end to the quarrels over Brazil; that is, that the Most Christian King should bind his people not to go there. But the negotiation is drawn out, because in effect the marriage does not please the Most Christian King.⁵³

The Most Christian King bore no love for the most illustrious Duke Alfonso of Ferrara⁵⁴, because he knew in effect that he followed the Imperial party. And therefore he issued an edict in his kingdom that all those who held assets of the French crown, by whatever title, should relinquish them as assets that could not be alienated: so that all returned to the crown. And the greater part were restored, except for some estates that the Most Christian King had given by instrument to the said Duke, at the time when Duke Ercole took Madame Renée as his consort⁵⁵, from which he drew perhaps ten thousand scudi a year. The Duke of Ferrara was a creditor for money and munitions given to the French camp when it was in Italy; nor has the king ever been willing to actually repay the duke, although in words he has never denied it. Upon the death of Duke Alfonso, the French raised very great hopes that Duke Ercole his son, as one who had Madame Renée for a consort, would proceed more reservedly with the Emperor; and with this opinion the King has procured with all his power to reconcile him with the Pontiff, because he hoped that, once he had reconciled him with the Pope, he would be obligated to him. And so he promised him the ninety-one thousand scudi which he owes him. But since he has gone to Caesar⁵⁶, he has fallen into very bad standing with the French. And from what I understand, Monsignor della Matteglia, who was the King’s diplomat to the Duke, says that Madame Renée is not very well treated. So that, the assignment of the money for this whole year that began this January having already been given, and the necessary papers drawn up, the resolution seems to have come to naught.

Forces

Concerning the power of the Most Christian King, I esteem him to be stronger than any other King of France has been for a long time; because his realm of France is larger, and he holds it more obedient and more united than any of his predecessors. For he has joined Brittany to the crown, along with the other states, something no other king has achieved. He has also incorporated the Duchy of Bourbon⁵⁷; and with the death of Queen Mary, who was the consort of King Louis⁵⁸, he has saved thirty thousand scudi a year. He used to have three thousand lances, and six thousand light horse, which they call archers; but although these archers were all under the command of the captains and men-at-arms, the king made little use of them. Now he has reduced them to two thousand lances and three thousand archers, who have been very well paid for the last year and a half; they are very well armed and in good order, from what I have seen myself, and from what is said. He has seven legions of his countrymen, of six thousand infantry each, making forty-two thousand infantry; some are good, such as those on the frontiers of Burgundy, Gascony, the Dauphiné, Champagne, and Picardy; and some are inexperienced, such as those of Normandy, Brittany, and Languedoc. Of all these, the King plans to use only three legions in his army: the rest he intends to keep in France. He also has his guard of gentlemen, who are obliged to serve him at their own expense for a month and a half, numbering ten thousand, who are for the defense of the kingdom. He has now resolved to create a company of one thousand gentlemen on foot for war. From what was known at court upon my departure, this Most Christian King already had the said German infantry in his pay. He can have as many Swiss as he wants. On the side of Flanders, he has the Duke of Guelders, who can always raise seven thousand foot soldiers.

He also has plenty of artillery of all kinds in order; for, besides the rest, I have seen a battery of artillery pieces newly made in Paris, of one hundred double cannons and culverins, and they are of a softer metal than ours and consequently not as brittle. And for this reason they use less metal; which yields two benefits: one that they cost less, and the other that they are transported more easily and at less expense.

Therefore I judge that in a month and a half at the most, he could assemble an army of two thousand lances, three thousand light horse, eighteen thousand French, Gascon, Picard, Champagne, and Dauphiné foot soldiers, sixteen thousand Germans, and five thousand Swiss (because he wants no more of them), and five thousand Italians⁵⁹, of whom he likewise wants no more; which in total would make forty-eight thousand foot soldiers. It is true that, if he wished to wage war in Flanders as well, even though he had other legions, and had the seven thousand of the Duke of Guelders, and the English also joined in, I believe it would be necessary for him to take from this number of forty-eight thousand.

By sea, he has thirty galleys, of which only twenty-six are in order, and the other four could quickly be put in order. They are manned by convicts; but they do not have a reputation for being very good. They cost the Most Christian King four hundred scudi each per month, with the king providing the convicts; the captains provide the galleys and all other expenses. In Normandy, in the port of Grasse, he has that great ship of his of great tonnage, which has over sixty pieces of artillery, so they say; of which thirty are of metal, and are double cannons and culverins. He has five galleasses, both old and new; and they are shorter than our great galleys, taller, and wider, with two decks and two banks of oars, one per deck; the inner ones are twenty-four feet long; the upper ones thirty-six; but they are of little use, as they can serve for nothing but turning, and rounding a cape, and similar things. They carry a great number of artillery pieces. He also has four galleons.

He certainly has many fine fortresses, and has had them repaired with the fines from misdeeds, which are applied to the King, who, besides the power of arms, also has money and obedience.

Revenues

I say that His Majesty has an ordinary income of two and a half million. I say ordinary, because if he wishes to increase the taxes on his people, however great the levies he imposes, they pay him that much without any objection.

On this subject, I will say that the peasants, upon whom the burden of the levies falls, are very poor, so that any further burden he might place on them would be unbearable. But in this matter another thing is to be understood: that, although it is said that the Most Christian King has great obedience throughout his kingdom, nevertheless this proposition is both true and false: true because on those upon whom he is accustomed to place taxes, he can place as many as he wishes; it is false, because no gentleman of all France pays any levy, not only on feudal property, but also on that which they acquire, provided they have it worked. Thus, almost none of the principal lands of France pays levies, an exemption they have had from the kings in times past: such as Paris, Rouen, Amiens, Lyon, Loches, Blois, Dijon, Châlons, Vienne, Nevers, Narbonne, Toulouse, and all the others. It is true, however, that sometimes the King asks for a gift. For if the King could place the ordinary taxes and increase them on the gentlemen and the exempt lands, his revenues would increase most greatly.

His revenue of two and a half million in gold is: which he draws from Normandy (which is his most useful country) five hundred thousand scudi; from Languedoc (which contains many other places and countries), four hundred fifty thousand; from Brittany, two hundred fifty thousand scudi; from Picardy, one hundred fifty thousand; from Champagne, one hundred thousand; from Burgundy, one hundred thousand: from the Dauphiné and Lyonnais, one hundred thousand; from Provence, two hundred thousand; from Bourbonnais, fifty thousand.

There are then the casual profits, which are confiscations for crimes, heresies, vacant offices, foreigners who die without an heir, which amount to the sum of two hundred thousand scudi. Of which an order has presently been made, that for a time they may no longer be given away, but that all should be sold and accumulated. These used to be given away, and with them to gratify the lord gentlemen and all the king’s servants. These casual profits are so great, that for three consecutive years they have paid with them all the ordinary pensions, excepting those of England, the Swiss, and the Germans.

There is also the salt, the woods, and some revenues that are proper to the King, which are called of the domain, which are now more now less, according to what the King gives, and when those to whom he gives die. All therefore, in sum, amount to two and a half million.

Expenses

His expenditure is as follows: First, two thousand lances, I put, by the best account, at two hundred thousand scudi a year. The archers, one hundred fifty thousand scudi. The maritime fleet of thirty galleys, at a rate of four hundred scudi per month, about one hundred fifty thousand scudi. The fleet of Normandy costs him sixty thousand scudi.

The pensions for England, one hundred thousand; for the Swiss, sixty thousand scudi; for the Germans, it is not known; the pensions for princes and gentlemen, condottieri and captains are put at two hundred thousand scudi, including his officials: because the Duke of Guelders has five thousand scudi; Monsignor de Vendôme, the King of Navarre, the Queen of Navarre, the Duke of Lorraine, have twelve thousand scudi each; Monsignor de Saint-Pol, Guise, the Grand Master, the Admiral, Boisy, the Marshal of Marseille, Aubigny, Madame de Vendôme, Madame de Nevers, Aluigi Monsignor de Nevers, have five thousand scudi a year each.

They put for artillery and munitions twenty thousand scudi a year.

The King then has two hundred gentlemen of the household who serve in rotation, who have two hundred scudi a year, which makes forty thousand scudi. He then has four hundred forty archers in his guard, who have fifty scudi each, with other allowances for horses and pages, which amount to eighty scudi a year per man, making the sum of thirty-five thousand scudi. He has one hundred Swiss who have fifty scudi each, which makes the sum of five thousand a year.

Twenty-five thousand scudi a year are put into private buildings, and as much into public ones. And this is understandable; because when the King undertakes a building project, whether public or private, salaried supervising officials are appointed from the households of the governing lords, and these are never again dismissed. And hence it happens that no project once begun is ever finished.

His hunting and venery are estimated to be worth forty thousand scudi; the stables, twenty thousand scudi. For minor pleasures, which also include the purchase of jewels, especially diamonds, and public gifts made to the ladies of the court, for which ninety-six thousand scudi are allocated, he spends one hundred thousand, and one hundred and fifty thousand. And in this the king has no measure whatsoever.

The carts and mules that follow the court are set at ten thousand scudi. Then there are the expenses for letters, couriers, and gifts for ambassadors, which amount to about ten thousand scudi a year.

There are then the salaries of one hundred and twenty councilors of the Parliament of Paris, fifty of Toulouse, forty of Rouen, thirty of Burgundy, thirty of Grenoble, thirty of Aix-en-Provence, twenty of the Grand Council; which makes the number of three hundred and twenty: at two hundred scudi per person, they make in all sixty-four thousand scudi; and with the presidents who have six hundred scudi per person, they make the number of seventy thousand scudi.

There are then the expenses for the clothing of the king and queen, sons and daughters; and so for their living, which amount perhaps to seven hundred thousand scudi, although they say more.

So that about four hundred thousand scudi are saved per year from all the revenue, although they say that the king saves eighteen thousand scudi a quarter, which would be only seventy-two thousand scudi.

The Royal Family

This Most Christian King has three sons: the Dauphin, who is named Francis, the Duke of Orléans [Henry], and Monseigneur d’Angoulême [Charles]. He has two daughters: Madame Madeleine and Madame Marguerite.

The Dauphin is twenty years of age, and is of a melancholic complexion, and devoted to manual works and to arms. He shows love for the Italians and hatred for the Spaniards, because he says he remembers his imprisonment and the ill-treatment he received. He would like for a wife the daughter of the King of England, Madame Mary, daughter of Madame Catherine; but there is no arrangement for this marriage to succeed, given the king’s marriage to this new queen, and his alienation from the church. The King, for his part, would like to give him the Emperor’s daughter, hoping by this means to obtain the Duchy of Milan. But even if Caesar and the King of France were in agreement about Milan, Caesar would not, however, agree to give him his daughter as a wife, because Spain would never support a daughter of the King of Spain, who has a right of succession to those kingdoms, deficientibus masculis, entering the house of France. There is also the match with Portugal still under consideration, as has been said, which openly pleases neither the Most Christian King nor the Dauphin.

Monseigneur d’Orléans is sixteen going on seventeen years old; and he too is melancholic, but is held to be wiser. He is married to Madame Catherine de’ Medici, to the great dissatisfaction of all France, because it seems to everyone that Pope Clement has tricked this Most Christian King. Yet she is very obedient; and the King, her husband, the Dauphin, and the brothers show great love for her.⁶⁰

Angoulême is fourteen going on fifteen years old; he is a handsome, cheerful, and very courteous prince. For him, it is planned to give the daughter of the Queen of Navarre, who has a dowry of sixty thousand scudi, between her and her husband. Although there is also talk of marrying him to the youngest daughter of the king of England.⁶¹

It is not known for certain to whom Madame Madeleine should be given, whether to the King of Scotland, whom she would like, or to the son of the Duke of Lorraine, or to the Prince, son of the Emperor. The latter is too young: the one from Lorraine she does not want, because she says she wants no one but a king. And so the matter remains in doubt.⁶²

Madame Marguerite is planned to be given either to the son of Caesar, or to one of the sons of the King of the Romans in case of friendship and understanding, or else to the son of the Duke of Savoy, in case of reconciliation.⁶³

Court

Those who are in high standing with the Most Christian King are the Cardinal of Lorraine⁶⁴, who knows all the secrets of the Most Christian King, and especially since his return from Italy, because he enters into all the secret councils, and this man can do everything; but he does not negotiate, nor does he take on any office. Then the Admiral⁶⁵, who also can do everything with the King, and is so intimate with him that he speaks to him more freely than anyone else. And if he wished to negotiate, he would have all the offices; but he does not have the constitution for so much business, and he is pleased to keep himself thus without much business, because he cannot be judged, and he judges others. This man is very rich in money, movable goods, and revenues. He has made for himself a personal income of fifteen thousand scudi. But the King lets him enjoy a world of revenues for life. The Grand Master⁶⁶ also has a very great reputation; indeed, the respect between the Grand Master and the King is of greater importance, and he has all business in his hands. Monsignor de Tournon⁶⁷ is a man of reputation; and is esteemed wise and of a calm intellect. Then enter the council the Chancellor⁶⁸, and President Poyet⁶⁹; but they do not yet have a reputation in the practice of statecraft, and the entire government is with the Grand Master and the Admiral. The Grand Master has always been inclined to peace with Caesar, nor has he ever allowed war to begin, nor has he ever wanted friendship with the Germans.⁷⁰ The admiral, although he has not been very keen on war, has not, however, been far from it: and he has been the one who advised the Most Christian King to friendship with the German electors, England, and the Turk.

My legation lasted forty months, which God willed that I should spend entirely in travels, because shortly after arriving in Paris, the Most Christian King set out on the journey to Marseille, and passing through Bourbonnais and Lyonnais, we went on to Auvergne and Languedoc and Provence in that excessive heat. And the meeting⁷¹ was so prolonged that, just as when we departed from Paris, everyone judged that it should take place in summer, so it was held in November. Wherefore it happened that the ambassadors, having brought with them nothing but summer clothes, had to have winter clothes made; and we paid for the furs half again as much as they were worth. And on that journey I was bitten by a horse and a mule.

After leaving Marseille we went through Provence, Dauphiné, Lyonnais, Burgundy, and Champagne, and arrived in Lorraine for the parley which the Most Christian King held with the Landgrave of Hesse; and from there we returned to Paris. It was a journey of a year; during which, having always been traveling, I promise Your Serenity, by the faith I bear you, that I spent of my own, besides the salary that Your Serenity gave me, six hundred scudi, reckoning the exchanges which at that time rose from Lyon to Venice by ten percent for that occasion, because everyone made use of that market; and Pope Clement drew forty thousand scudi.

Having finally arrived in Paris at the same lodging as my most illustrious predecessors, eleven of my horses and all their harnesses burned in a stable: from which only my mule was saved. This loss cost me more than four hundred scudi; because I had striven to be honorably mounted. But this loss was followed by another inconvenience; for, as the King was about to depart, I was obliged to mount myself again and repurchase another ten horses, at a time when His Majesty had commanded that a review of his rear-guard on horseback and in arms be held—which caused me to pay very dearly for them. For which, waiting in vain for some assistance from Your Serenity, I was forced to sell some of my silver.

Afterwards, the Most Christian King (for never in my time has the court stayed so long that I could judge it to be in one place for fifteen days) went to Lorraine, Poitou, and other parts of Belgica, then to Normandy and France, and from there once again to Normandy, Picardy, Champagne, Burgundy. And this continual wandering was the cause of an excessive expense and my intolerable loss, not only for me, who am a poor gentleman, as everyone knows and is aware, but it would have been so for any other rich man as well.⁷² And so, to conclude, I reverently beseech Your Serenity to deign to hold me in your favor, showing some sign by which I may know that my service has been pleasing to you.

1. Francis I of France, reigned 1515-1547

2. It was taken by Edward III in 1347, and will be retaken by Francis of Guise in 1558.

3. Francis, firstborn son of Francis I, who died shortly thereafter (August 10, 1536) from a chest inflammation, and not from poison as some believed, at the age of eighteen.

4. Charles, then head of the House of Bourbon, and grandfather of Henry IV.

5. Claude of Lorraine, first Duke of Guise, father of Francis, and grandfather of Henry, heroes fatal to France.

6. John Stewart, son of a brother of James III of Scotland. He was born in France where his father had settled, and he always served the interests of this his second homeland.

7. Philippe de Brion-Chabot, who a few years later, out of jealousy for the favor he enjoyed with the king, accused by the Constable of very grave crimes, was imprisoned and condemned to enormous penalties; from which, although the king later absolved him, Brantôme says that from grief over the sentence received, he was brought to his death on 1st June 1543.

8. Henry II d’Albret, the last of his line, to whom, through the marriage contracted with his daughter Jeanne, was succeeded by Antoine de Bourbon, son of Duke Charles of Vendôme, and father of Henry IV.

9. Claude of Savoy, son of René, Count of Tende by reason of his marriage with Anne, heiress of Tende and Ventimiglia, whose father gave the groom, on that occasion, all his estates. Count René was the natural son of Philip Lackland, brother of Duke Amadeus IX of Savoy, legitimized in 1499 by Duke Philibert the Fair, legitimate son of the same Philip and Margaret of Bourbon; but then, due to the hatred of the wife of said Philibert, was obliged to take refuge in France with Louise of Savoy, she too a legitimate daughter of Philip and Margaret, married to the Count of Angoulême, first cousin of Louis XII. From this Duchess of Angoulême was born, as is known, Francis I, King of France, of whom consequently Count René, considering his legitimation, was uncle, and Count Claude, who is discussed here, nephew. Count Claude succeeded his father, who died in the Battle of Pavia, in the government of Provence, and was praised for his great religious tolerance.

10. François de Bourbon, Count of Saint-Pol. He conducted the wars of 1528 and ‘29 in Italy very disgracefully.

11. Alessandro Farnese, elected pope on October 12, 1534, under the name of Paul III. Pope from 1534-1549

12. He alludes to the defensive league against France formed at the second conference of Bologna between Charles V and Clement VII, together with the Italian princes and republics, except for Venice; a league which, moreover, Clement VII himself boasted to the French cardinals should rather turn to the favor than to the detriment of their king, because, he said, “What I have done for the Emperor was two lines on a sheet of paper, while he, in this trust, has removed an army from Italy.”

13. Means the right to nominate to benefices.

14. This power to nominate to benefices was recognized for Francis I by Leo X in the Concordat of Bologna (1515) in return for the release that the King granted him from the commitment made with the Gallican church to convene the decennial councils.

15. “They say that Francis was the first who showed the way of these ‘burnings’” (Brantôme)

16. Thus were called the followers of Carlstadt and Zwingli, who denied the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Of this sect was, as is known, Calvin.

17. “except death”

18. Henry VIII had annulled his marriage with Catherine in 1533

19. Nor did Paul III refuse, who after many preliminary negotiations succeeded in bringing them to the conference of Nice (1538), where a ten-year truce was signed between them, which was not later respected. We shall publish in its proper place the Venetian Relazione of that famous conference.

20. By the Treaty of Cambrai.

21. Eleanor of Austria, sister of Charles V, reigned 1530-1547

22. Maria, governor of Flanders, also a sister of Charles V

23. The event soon showed with what sincerity Charles V made those promises.

24. On the occasion of the marriage of his second son Henry with the Pope’s niece Catherine de’ Medici (October 1533).

25. And it was the peace called that of Cadan, from the country of this name in Bohemia, where, on June 29, 1534, it was ratified by the King of the Romans.

26. This bold pirate, the terror of the Mediterranean, brother of another Barbarossa who in 1516 had conquered Algiers and who, upon his death two years later, ceded it to him, in 1534 seized Tunis in no other way than his brother had done with Algiers, reassured in that bold attempt by the recent treaties of France with the Ottoman Porte, as the Relation narrates. But the open defense of a Muslim pirate was too shameful for Francis I to dare attempt it, and he abandoned him to his fate against the arms of Charles V, which was to lose those excellent conquests. This great man of the sea, known to the Arabs by the name of Khair Eddin, was, it is said, the son of a potter from Lesbos. Having paid homage to Suleiman for his dominion of Algiers, he was named by him admiral of his fleets, deeming him the only man capable of fighting against Andrea Doria. He died in Constantinople in 1546, full of years and of a glory not always, to tell the truth, generously acquired.

27. Charles V entered Naples on his return from his glorious expedition on November 25, 1535.

28. Charles of Egmont, Duke of Guelders, who had come to an agreement with the Emperor stipulating that he would never again return to the pay of France, to which he had been attached for a long time, was incited by Francis I to break this pact, returning with a thousand lances to his service.

29. Henry VIII’s religious errors are meant here.

30. Francesco Sforza had died without issue on October 24, 1535.

31. Tahmasp, king of Persia, with whom Suleiman was in almost continuous war.

32. The price of the ransom was, as is well known, two million scudi; of which eight hundred thousand having been paid in various installments, there remained only one million two hundred thousand to be disbursed at the very moment of the liberation. This specially minted money was transported to the Spanish border in forty-eight chests, escorted by the Grand Master of France, Montmorency, and a large body of troops; at which the Constable of Castile took alarm, and fearing that it had been brought there with deceit, that is, to take possession of the princes without disbursing the money, he fled quickly with them towards the interior of the kingdom, until, all necessary precautions having been taken, the exchange took place on July 1, 1530.

33. The province, or rather the Duchy of Brittany, was still governed under the rule of its own dukes in an independent government, when in 1491 Charles VIII married Anne, the only daughter of Duke Francis II and consequently heir to that duchy. Charles VIII was succeeded by his collateral kinsman Louis XII, who married the widowed Queen Anne, by whom he had, as his only offspring, Claude, to whom the hereditary right of the Duchy of Brittany was transmitted. Francis I took this princess as his wife, who by her will bequeathed the duchy to the Dauphin, her firstborn, contrary to a clause in the will of her mother Anne, by virtue of which the Duke of Orléans, the second-born, was designated heir; for it is to be noted that before the ordinance on domains of 1566, which united and assimilated the particular domains of the king to the domains of the crown, the kings of France could freely dispose of their patrimonial goods. Francis I upheld Claude’s disposition; and the Dauphin was crowned Duke of Brittany under the name of Duke Francis III; but then, due to the remonstrances of Chancellor Duprat, that his sons, upon becoming adults, might for this cause come into contention with each other, he was persuaded to make the union of that duchy to the kingdom of the kings of France whole and definitive; which took place by a mercenary declaration of the Parliament of Brittany itself on August 4, 1532. The foreseeable case of collision was, however, removed by the premature death of the Dauphin.

34. Suleiman the Magnificent

35. For this purpose, he treated with the confederates of the Schmalkaldic League, and dispatched Guillaume Du Bellay to them with a specific commission.

36. Famous, among others, are the three great victories won by the English against the French at Crécy, Poitiers, and Agincourt. The first in 1346 won by Edward III against Philip VI, the first king of the Valois dynasty; the second in 1356 won by the same Edward against John II, who died a prisoner in England; the third in 1415 won by Henry V against Charles VI. It was following this victory that Henry V was crowned King of France in Paris, as the Report mentions later.

37. Third-born son of Francis I.

38. Elizabeth, the newborn daughter of Anne Boleyn.

39. Placing them under the ban of Europe with excommunication.

40. It should be noted for the honor of truth and of Venice that although she bent to all the conditions, even the least honorable, of the Treaty of Cambrai, she nevertheless absolutely refused to take part in the new confederation provoked in 1529 by Charles V.

41. Francis I, ever having his mind on the Duchy of Milan, upon hearing of the death of Sforza, dispatched to Venice Monsignor di Bions in order to urge the Senate to enter into a league with him, and to undertake that enterprise “for which he proposed to them most honorable rewards. To which things, it not seeming an opportune time to lend an ear, it was replied in general terms: the Republic by its ancient custom has always desired and procured peace, and at this time it was all the more fitting to follow the same counsels, inasmuch as due to the troubles of the long and grievous past wars, it was in a state of needing rest, and inasmuch as the present travails of Christendom, due to the many heresies arisen in diverse parts, persuaded that one should rather turn to extirpating these, than to becoming embroiled in other new wars. Nevertheless, it gave many thanks to the king for this offer and this confidential communication; of which things, as most dear, a record would be kept, and perhaps a more opportune time would come to make use of them.” (Paruta P. I. L. VII, under the year 1535).

42. The solicitations of the Senate hastened the restitution of the city of Como and the fortress of Milan to the Duke, to whom the Venetians also offered to lend the money for the ransom, and they quieted his state from many troubles that, before that restitution, were being fomented by the partisans of France.

43. Charles III Duke of Savoy, requested in 1533 by the Emperor to grant him the Prince of Piedmont, his firstborn, to take him to Spain to be educated at court with his own son Philip, consented; but the young prince then died there around the time of this Report, leaving the succession free to his younger brother Emmanuel Philibert, the splendor of his house. The Duke of Savoy was linked to the house of Austria through Beatrice of Portugal, his wife, sister-in-law of Charles V.

44. Francis I and Clement VII had agreed to meet in Nice, and there celebrate the marriage of Catherine de’ Medici with the Duke of Orléans; and the Duke of Savoy had initially consented to lend that place for this purpose; but having learned of the Emperor’s aversion to the marriage and the meeting, he refused; whence those conclusions then took place in Marseille.

45. Francis I was knowingly lying in alleging this supposed right, because no one knew better than he how the Angevins, lords of Provence, in 1388, during their troubles in the kingdom of Naples, had consented to the alienation of Nice and Villafranca in favor of Amadeus VII of Savoy, called the Red Count.

46. The city of Geneva had rebelled against the Dukes of Savoy, and on August 27, 1535, by a solemn deliberation, had adopted the principles of the religious reformation and abolished the worship and practice of the Catholic religion. This kept it at war with the Duke of Savoy, who still wished to place it back under his authority. Now Francis I, who had heretics burned in his own kingdom, but favored them abroad wherever a political interest advised him to do so, thought to turn to the aid of the Genevans, as the Report notes in this passage.

47. The Schmalkaldic League, by establishing and announcing itself as a political body, soon obtained the favor of Francis I, who thought to make use of it for his constant aim of reducing the power of Charles V. And already, through his skilled negotiator Guillaume Du Bellay, he had laid the foundations of an alliance between France and the Protestant princes of Germany with the fairly explicit consent of the King of England and of the Catholic Duke of Bavaria; when the Emperor, finding himself at the mercy of those princes, felt the need to withdraw from the severe determinations of Augsburg, and to hasten at any cost an agreement between himself and the German dissidents. And the Elector of Mainz, deputed to the Landgrave of Hesse, obtained, with very large concessions entirely departing from the severity of the latest edicts, the return, at least in appearance, of the allied princes to their ancient dependence on him. And, in addition to the articles of general tolerance, the Landgrave of Hesse was pardoned for the capital crimes of felony, and Duke Ulrich of Württemberg was restored to his state, as we have said elsewhere.

48. John III, reigned 1521-1557

49. This is to be understood as the West Indies, and specifically Brazil.

50. The right to travel there, that is

51. Eleanor of Austria, sister of Charles V, married in 1526 to Francis I, king of France, was the widow of the great Manuel of Portugal, who died in 1521, with whom she had had the daughter Maria, who is spoken of here.

52. And indeed Maria of Austria, the daughter of Charles V, to whom the discourse now refers, was united in 1548 to the firstborn of Ferdinand I, Maximilian, who was the second emperor of his name, and with whom she had most fruitful progeny.

53. And indeed it did not take place, and the princess Maria of Portugal of whom we speak, died in 1578, illibata virginitatis flore, singularisque virtutis exemplo spectatissima (Vasconcelli Anacephaleosis XVIII).

54. Speaking in the past tense, because at this time the Duke was dead

55. Ercole II, son of Alfonso I, married in 1528 Renée, second daughter of Louis XII, and sister of Queen Claude, first wife of Francis I.

56. The preponderance of Caesar in Italy, and the true interests of the state, which were better secured in the alliance with the Emperor, who had so openly protected them in 1530 against the Pontiff, held more sway over Ercole II than the bonds of blood, and he is feared to be alienated from France; which, having in its designs to favor the Pontiff, presented itself as an insecure defender of the interests of the Duke of Ferrara.

57. Confiscated in 1523 for the rebellion of the Constable.

58. Louis XII, having repudiated on January 7, 1499, Joan, second daughter of Louis XI, whom he had married against his will during his minority, married, as we have seen above, Anne of Brittany; who having died on January 1, 1514, in October of the same year, he entered into a third marriage with Mary of England, sister of Henry VIII, of whom this passage speaks. This princess then, in the same year of the death of her husband King Louis (1515), was united with Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, with whom she had the unfortunate Jane Grey. She died in June 1533.

59. The companies of Italian emigrants led by Renzo da Ceri.

60. It is known how Clement VII, overshadowed by the overwhelming power of the Emperor in Italy, managed to persuade Francis I to unite in marriage his second-born son with Catherine de’ Medici, the pope’s own niece and the last legitimate descendant of his house, without the Emperor being able to complain too openly. Francis I overcame the opposition of his court to that kinship in the hope that the pope would help him accomplish his designs in Italy. Francis did not realize how little one could rely on the existence of a weak old man such as Clement VII was then, who in fact died shortly after returning from Marseille, where he himself, in October 1533, had accompanied the bride. The one who truly gained from that union was Catherine, who, upon the death of the Dauphin, ascended to the throne of France, and France itself, which had the fortune of being protected by this strong woman in the calamitous times of its civil wars.

61. Neither of these two marriage projects came to fruition: the prince died a bachelor in 1545.

62. She was then finally united, on January 1, 1537, to the King of Scotland, James V.

63. This last match prevailed, and the princess went as a bride, on June 27, 1559, to Emmanuel Philibert, by then already Duke.

64. Jean de Lorraine, brother of Claude, first Duke of Guise. He, for his part, fulfilled that common aim of all the Lorraine princes residing in France: to unite in their family the three principal means of exercising great authority over the people: ecclesiastical dignities, the glory of arms, and the administration of the state. Born in 1498, he was made a cardinal in 1518, and added a great number of other prelatures to the bishopric of Metz. He was a minister of state not only under Francis I, but also under his son and successor, Henry II. He was magnificently liberal, and in this his reputation was so great that in Rome a blind man, having asked him for alms and having received a considerable sum from him, exclaimed: “You are either Christ, or the Cardinal of Lorraine.” He died in 1550. More famous in history under this title of Cardinal of Lorraine, however, was his nephew Charles, of whom we will have ample occasion to speak in other Relations.

65. Philippe Chabot.

66. Anne de Montmorency, later created constable in the following year.

67. François, son of Jacques, Count of Tournon. He was employed from an early time in important affairs by Francis I, in reward for which labors, after his return from Madrid, he had him invested by Clement VII with the cardinal’s hat. He governed the politics and finances of the state with great credit until the death of this king, and was also employed in the most serious disputes by the three successive kings, as we will have occasion to note in its proper place. He is accused of cruel severity against the Reformed. He died on April 21, 1562, at the age of seventy-three.

68. Antoine Du Bourg, father of the unfortunate Anne, councilor to the Parliament of Paris, who was hanged and burned in the Place de Grève on December 20, 1558, for the crime of Calvinist heresy.

69. President of the Parliament; in 1538, upon the death of the aforementioned Du Bourg, he succeeded him in the dignity of chancellor. He used the intellect given to him by nature for the sole purposes of base ambition and vile avarice, which then brought about his disgrace: in 1545 he was removed from his office, and declared incapable of ever again holding a royal office. He died three years later, scorned and detested by all.

70. He means the Protestant princes.

71. With Pope Clement VII.

72. Several pages follow in this tone, which we omit for the reasons stated elsewhere, contenting ourselves with reporting the following passage for its singularity. “One night it seemed to me that my eldest daughter appeared to me, who lamented with me that not only was I not increasing her fortune, but that I was spending it, and that I answered her that I was treasuring up with a most pious and most liberal lady, showing her Your Serenity, who had under the mantle of her liberality and piety many rewarded, and promised the greatest advantage to all those who faithfully served her, and thus she was appeased.”