Everything about Francis Dauphin Of France 1518-1536 totally explained
Francis, Dauphin of France (French:
François, Dauphin de France), also
Francis III, Duke of Brittany (French:
François III, Duc de Bretagne) (
28 February,
1518 –
10 August,
1536), was the first son and heir of King
Francis I of France and
Claude of France, daughter of
Louis XII of France.
Life
Francis I said of his son at birth, "a beautiful
dauphin who is the most beautiful and puissant child one could imagine and who will be the easiest to bring up". His mother,
Claude of France, said, "tell the King that he's even more beautiful than himself". The Dauphin was christened at
Amboise on
April 25,
1519.
Leonardo da Vinci, who had been brought to Amboise by Francis I, designed the decorations.
One of the most researched aspects of the Dauphin's short life is the time he and his brother Henry (later
Henry II of France) spent as hostages in Spain. The king had been badly defeated and captured at the
Battle of Pavia (1525) and became a hostage of
Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, initially in the Alcázar in Madrid. In order to ensure his release, the king signed the
Treaty of Madrid (1526). However, in order to ensure that Francis abided by the treaty, Charles demanded that the king's two oldest sons take his place as hostages. Francis agreed.
On
March 15,
1526, the exchange took place at the border between Spain and France. The eight-year-old Dauphin and his younger brother Henry spent the next three years as captives of Charles V, a period that scarred them for life. The Dauphin's "somber, solitary tastes" and his preference for dressing in black (like a Spaniard) were attributed to the time he spent in captivity in Madrid.
Marriage arrangements
Being the first son and heir to a king of France made the Dauphin a marriage pawn to his father. He couldn't be wasted in marriage (as many felt his brother Henry had been with his marriage to
Catherine de' Medici), and there were several betrothals to eligible princesses throughout the Dauphin's life, the first, when he was an infant, to the four-year-old Mary Tudor (later
Mary I of England), daughter of
Henry VIII of England and
Catherine of Aragon; but this arrangement was abandoned around
1520.
Death
The Dauphin Francis died at Touron on
August 10,
1536, at the age of eighteen. The circumstances of his death seemed suspicious, and it's believed by many that he was poisoned. However, there's ample evidence that he died of natural causes, possibly tuberculosis. The Dauphin had never fully recovered his health from the years spent in damp, dank cells in Madrid.
After playing a round of tennis, the Dauphin asked for a cup of water, which was brought to him by his secretary, Count Montecuccoli. After drinking it, Francis fell ill and died several days later. Montecuccoli, who was brought to the court by
Catherine de' Medici, was accused of being in the pay of Charles V, and when his quarters were searched a book of different poisons was found. (
Catherine de' Medici was well known to have an interest in poisons and the occult.) Under torture, Montecuccoli confessed to poisoning the Dauphin.
In an age before forensic science, poison was usually suspected whenever a young, healthy person dropped dead shortly after eating or drinking something. There was no way to pinpoint and trace the substance after death; therefore, it was considered a quick, easy and non-traceable form of homicide. There are several other suspected cases of political-murder-by-poison in the French royal family through the ages. Among other suspected poisonings are the Dauphin's younger brother,
Charles, and
Gabrielle d'Estrée, mistress and fiancee of
Henry IV of France.
Other Titles
In
1524, the Dauphin inherited the Duchy of Brittany on his mother's death, becoming Duke Francis III, although the Duchy was actually ruled by officials of the French crown. The Duchy was inherited upon the death of Francis by his brother, Henry; upon his succession to the French throne in 1547, the Duchy and the crown were effectively merged, the Breton estates having already tied the succession of the Duchy to the French crown, rather than to the line of succession of the Dukes of Brittany, by vote in 1532.
Anecdotes
- Was known to prefer books to soldiering.
- Even though he died at a young age, he was known to have a mistress — Madame d'Estranges.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Francis Dauphin Of France 1518-1536'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://francis__dauphin_of_france__1518-1536.totallyexplained.com">Francis, Dauphin of France (1518-1536) Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
