Charles VIII of France
Charles VIII (born June 30, 1470 at Royal Chateau of Amboise, France; died April 7, 1497 also at Amboise) was King of France from 1483 to 1498, a member of the Valois Dynasty.
He is probably best known for commencing the long series of Franco-Italian wars which so characterized Italian affairs in the first half of the 16th century.
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The only son of Louis XI of France, Charles succeeded to the throne upon his father's demise on August 30, 1483. In poor health and regarded by his contemporaries as being of pleasant disposition but foolish and unsuited for the business of the state, the thirteen-year-old king was placed under a regency headed by his eldest sister, Princess Anne, and her husband Pierre de Bourbon. His marriage in 1491 to Anne of Brittany, heiress to that duchy, brought independence from his relatives, and thereafter he managed affairs according to his own inclinations.
Having inherited a vague claim to the kingdom of Naples through his paternal grandmother, he imagined himself capable of seizing that realm, and he thereupon set France's resources toward that goal. He contracted several unfavourable treaties with Austria, England, and Aragon, in order to free himself of distractions, and then commenced a massive buildup of forces. He entered Italy in 1494, and marched across the peninsula, reaching Naples in early 1495. Crowned king of Naples, he then found himself the subject of an opposing coalition from the League of Venice, involving that republic with Austria, the Papacy, and Milan. Defeated at Fornovo in July 1495, he escaped to France at the cost of the loss of most of his forces. He attempted in the next few years to rebuild another force, but was hampered by being seriously in debt for the previous one - he never succeeded in recouping anything substantive. He died two and a half years after his retreat, of an accident - striking himself on the head while passing through a doorway, he succumbed to a sudden coma several hours later.
His legacy is meagre - he left France in debt and in disarray as a result of an ambition which can most charitably be characterized as unrealistic. On a more positive side, his expedition did broach contacts between French and Italian humanists, energizing French art and letters in the latter Renaissance.
He was the last of the elder stem of the House of Valois, and upon his death the throne passed to a cousin, Louis XII of France, duc d'Orleans.