France, History Of, France in the 16th century

When Charles VIII (1483–98) led the French invasion of Italy in 1494, he initiated a series of Italian wars that were to last until the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis in 1559. These wars were not especially successful for the French, but they corresponded to the contemporary view of the obligations of kingship. They also had their effects upon the development of the French state; in particular,