The Italian War of 1521–1526 pitted Francis I of France and the Republic of Venice against the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, Henry VIII of England, and the Papal States. The conflict arose from animosity over the election of Charles as Emperor in 1519–20 and from Pope Leo X’s need to ally with Charles against Martin Luther. It ended with Charles’ defeat of the French and the fall of Milan to the Ottomans in 1527.
About Italian War of 1521–1526 in brief
The Italian War of 1521–1526, sometimes known as the Four Years’ War, was a part of the Italian Wars. It pitted Francis I of France and the Republic of Venice against the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, Henry VIII of England, and the Papal States. The conflict arose from animosity over the election of Charles as Emperor in 1519–20 and from Pope Leo X’s need to ally with Charles against Martin Luther. At the Battle of Bicocca on 27 April 1522, Imperial and Papal forces defeated the French, driving them from Lombardy. Following the battle, fighting again spilled onto French soil, while Venice made a separate peace. The English invaded France in 1523, while Charles de Bourbon, alienated by Francis’s attempts to seize his inheritance, betrayed Francis and allied himself with the Emperor. Francis himself led a second attack on Milan in 1525; his disastrous defeat at theBattle of Pavia, where he was captured by the Imperial captain Charles de Lannoy and many of his chief nobles were killed, led to the end of the war. Despite these efforts, Francis would sign the Treaty of Madrid, surrendering his claims to Italy, Flanders, and Burgundy. Only a few weeks after his release, however, he repudiated the terms of the treaty, starting the War of the League of Cognac. The Italian Wars would continue for another three decades, but they would end with France having failed to regain any substantial territories in Italy.
The final outcome, however,. was not determined by the exorbitant bribes, which included promising to make the Archbishop of Mainz permanent legate of his army. The general gave the idea of a French army, and Charles put an army in the field near Frankfurt, where they were put on the field of battle near Frankfurt. Charles retaliated by borrowing vast sums from the Fuggers, and offered to three million florins to the Electors of Frankfurt in exchange for their votes, but Francis offered to give up his legate. The Emperor refused to accept the offer, but Charles gave up his army near Frankfurt and gave the French Electors a legate in Frankfurt. The result was a victory for the Habsburgs, who were able to take control of the Mainz Archbishop’s legate and make him permanent legates of the army. Charles was able to claim the title Emperor of Germany and the title of King of the Romans in 1526. The war ended with Charles’ defeat of the French and the fall of Milan to the Ottomans in 1527. It was the last major conflict of the 1518-1526 Italian Wars, which would last until 1528. The French would go on to become the dominant power in Italy for the rest of the century, but would lose most of its territory in the following decade. It would also be the last war to be fought in which France had any real influence in the Italian Peninsula. It ended with Francis I surrendering to Suleiman the Magnificent.
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