Читать книгу The Rise and Fall of Renaissance France - R. Knecht J. - Страница 20

Louis duc d’Orléans was 36 years old when he succeeded his cousin as king of France on 7 April 1498. He was physically unattractive and subject to frequent bouts of ill-health, yet he was always a keen huntsman and took part in much violent exercise. From the start of his reign he sought popularity. He showed goodwill to the house of Bourbon by allowing the marriage of Suzanne, daughter of Pierre and Anne de Beaujeu, to her cousin, Charles de Bourbon-Montpensier, and he sought the loyalty of former opponents like Louis de La Trémoïlle. When delegates from Orléans excused themselves for not giving him more support in the past, Louis said that a king of France ought not to avenge the quarrels of a duc d’Orléans.

Louis XII ruled with a small council of less than ten members. Foremost among them was Georges d’Amboise, archbishop of Rouen, an old friend of the king whom he had served in various capacities. He had been imprisoned for two years (1487–90) for his part in Louis’s rebellion against the Beaujeus, and during Charles VIII’s Italian campaign he had helped to relieve Louis in Novara. Amboise became one of Louis XII’s most influential advisers. He combined a long experience of public affairs with dogged loyalty, but he lacked the duplicity needed for success in politics. That may be why he failed in his ambition to become pope. Another important member of the council was Florimond Robertet, an experienced civil servant with an unusual competence in foreign languages. After serving Charles VIII as a notary and secretary, he was drawn into the orbit of the house of Orléans by his marriage to the daughter of the treasurer, Michel Gaillard. Louis XII confirmed him as councillor and maître des comptes and Robertet later became secrétaire des finances and trésorier de France; but it was as the king’s personal secretary that he exercised an influence which may have been at least equal to that of Georges d’Amboise.