Francis I (Civ5)/Into the Renaissance/Civilopedia

King of France from 1515 AD until his death, Francis I (1494-1547) oversaw significant cultural and political changes in his country. His life-long rivalry with Holy Roman Emperor Charles V for hegemony over Christian Europe was the root of a ruinous military and economic conflict that contributed to the outbreak of the Protestant revolution. In 1514, upon the death of Louis, who had married three times but had no son, Francis was crowned King of France in the Cathedral of Reims on New Year's Day of 1515.
Francis did not receive the humanist education his mother had wanted, but nonetheless was renowned as a "man of letters." Renaissance ideas and ideals had arrived in France by the time he ascended the throne, and Francis patronized some of the greatest artists and scholars of his time, including da Vinci, Cellini, del Sarto and others, many of whom he encouraged to come to France and spending vast sums on their upkeep. He employed numerous royal agents to scour Italy for books and manuscripts, and in 1537 he decreed that his library be given a copy of every new book sold in France.
However it is as a military leader and diplomat that Francis I is remembered. Most of his actions were focused on Charles V, for whom he had a personal dislike, with Italy as the battleground. In 1515, shortly after taking the crown, he defeated the Swiss at Marignano, leading to his capture of the city-state of Milan. But following a decade of skirmishing, Francis was captured by Spanish forces at the Battle of Pavia in 1525. Held captive in Madrid, he was forced to sign the Treaty of Madrid the following year.
Returning to France, Francis promptly claimed he had signed the agreement with Charles under duress and repudiated it. This led to a second series of wars between the Habsburg and the French. With an alliance with the Ottoman Turks, the Italian wars of 1536-1538 and 1542-1546 were largely inconclusive until Francis finally forced Charles, facing scattered revolts in his lands, to sign the Treaty of Crepy. In the process of his wars, looking to counter-balance the power of Habsburg Spain, Francis I sought to establish holdings and contacts in the New World and Asia. The French port of Le Havre was founded in 1517 to facilitate this effort.
Francis I died in March 1547 at the Chateau Rambouillet. His legacy is still debated. He brought great cultural advances, but at the cost of a bankrupt economy. His persecution of Protestants, as embodied by the Edict of Fontainebleau in 1540, led to several massacres, and set off decades of civil unrest. Despite his interest in books and humanism, he issued orders for censorship, which forced thinkers such as John Calvin into exile. His cycle of wars resulted in no strategic or economic advantages for France. For better or worse, the shadow of Francis I lay across the continent for years after his death.