Louis XII of France
Louis XII ruled France from 1498 to 1515 and was called the Father of the People. Born at Blois in 1462, he was Duke of Orléans and a cousin of Charles VIII, and was forced at fourteen to marry Charles's sister Joan, who was disabled and whom he never wanted. He revolted against the regency in the Mad War of 1485-88, was defeated and captured at Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier, and spent three years in prison before Charles released and forgave him. He succeeded in 1498 when Charles died childless. To keep Brittany attached to France he needed to marry Charles's widow Anne of Brittany, and obtained an annulment of his first marriage from Alexander VI on grounds that Joan disputed with dignity; the price was a duchy and a cardinal's hat for Cesare Borgia. His domestic record is the reason for his epithet. He reformed the judiciary to speed and cheapen litigation, codified provincial customary law, reduced the taille substantially, and left a prosperous kingdom. The Estates-General gave him the title in 1506. His Italian ambitions consumed the rest. He claimed Milan through his grandmother and took it in 1499, held it for over a decade, and claimed Naples, which he divided with Ferdinand of Aragon and then lost to him. He joined the League of Cambrai against Venice in 1508, and was then the target of the Holy League that Julius II assembled in 1511. He lost Milan after Novara in 1513 and faced invasion from England and Spain. He married Mary Tudor in 1514 at fifty-two and died months later.
- Lived: 1462 CE – 1515 CE
- Nationality: French
- Roles: king, head_of_state
