Charles of Habsburg or Charles V, commonly Charles Quint3,4, born February 24, 1500 in Ghent (county of Flanders5) and died September 21, 1558 at the monastery of Yuste (Spain), son of Philip the Beautiful and Joan the Mad, heir through his father of the possessions of the House of Habsburg (kingdom of Hungary, kingdom of Bohemia, archduchy of Austria, etc.), of the seventeen provinces of the Netherlands and of Franche-Comté, through his mother of the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon and the Spanish colonial empire, as well as the Kingdom of Naples, elected Emperor of Germany in 1519, is the most powerful monarch of the first half of the 16th century.

This accumulation of territories and powers is partly the result of chance (the death of his aunt, Isabella of Aragon, princess of Asturias, in 1498, then of the latter's son, the Infante Miguel de la Paz, in July 1500, made his mother the heir to the two Spanish crowns), but above all the result of a deliberate policy of matrimonial alliances which made him the heir of four dynasties: grandson of Duchess Marie de Bourgogne , of Maximilian of Austria, of Isabella the Catholic, queen of Castile, and of Ferdinand the Catholic, king of Aragon and Naples, he is Duke of Burgundy under the name of Charles II, king of Spain under the name of Charles I (in Spanish Carlos I), but is mainly remembered as the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (in German Karl V.).

He appears to be the last emperor who wished to realize the Carolingian dream of an empire at the head of united Christianity. This desire for Christian unity in the face of the progression of the Ottoman Empire in the Balkans and the Mediterranean was systematically opposed by the kings of France François I and Henri II, who readily sought a Turkish alliance, and called into question by the Protestant Reformation, initiated by Martin Luther from 1517. To these problems which arose throughout his reign were added revolts in Castile, in the Holy Roman Empire, in Flanders and in Brabant.

At the end of a life of combat, physically undermined and disillusioned by his failures against France, the Lutherans and his own family, he voluntarily stripped himself of his powers. Through a series of conventions with his brother Ferdinand, he ceded the Austrian states and the imperial dignity to him. On October 25, 1555, in Brussels, he abdicated his rights over the Netherlands, united by the Pragmatic Sanction (1549) and separated from the Empire by the Augsburg transaction, in favor of his son Philippe, already Duke of Milan. and king of Naples, and finally ceded his rights to Spain in 1556. He then retired to a monastery for his last years of life.
Youth
Family origins
Portrait of Charles V as a child (around 1507).
Margaret of Austria, aunt of Charles V and regent of the Netherlands by Bernard van Orley.

Charles was born on February 24, 1500 at the now disappeared Prinsenhof palace in Ghent, then the largest city in the county of Flanders and the Burgundian Netherlands6.

He is the son of Philippe de Habsburg, known as “Philip the Beautiful” (1478-1506), Duke of Burgundy and sovereign of the Netherlands, and of Joan of Castile, known as “Jeanne la Folle” (1479-1555)6.

The young prince was carried to the baptismal font by his great-grandmother, the Dowager Duchess of Burgundy Marguerite of York (1446-1503), widow of Charles the Bold, from whom he received the first name, and by a Dutch aristocrat, Guillaume de Croÿ, Marquis of Aerschot, who will be his tutor.

From his birth he bore the title of Archduke of Austria. For reasons of prestige, several emperors having held this title, his father also conferred on him that of Duke of Luxembourg, instead of that, in accordance with the dynastic tradition of the Dukes of Burgundy, of Count of Charolais7.
A Dutch childhood

When Charles was only four years old, his parents left the Netherlands to take possession of the throne of Castile, vacant since the death of Queen Isabella the Catholic, mother of Joan. His father Philip the Beautiful died on September 25, 1506 in Castile in strange conditions (apparently from typhoid fever). Charles, aged 6, was proclaimed Duke of Burgundy, and became the sovereign of the duchies of Brabant and Luxembourg, the counties of Flanders, Holland and Burgundy, etc.

Marguerite of Austria, sister of Philippe and Maximilien his grandfather, take the place of the family for Charles and his sisters Éléonore, Isabelle and Marie, while their brother Ferdinand remains in Spain where he was born, his education being ensured by his grandfather Ferdinand II of Aragon. His sister Catherine, born in 1507, was raised in Spain with their mother, who had been driven mad by widowhood. The children of the princely couple who remained in Flanders grew up in their aunt's residences, mainly in Mechelen.

Marguerite, aunt of Charles, a fine politician, became regent on the death of Charles V's father, the Estates General having not accepted that Maximilian, with whom they had serious problems in the past, be appointed. Despite everything, it is this grandfather who is closest to his grandson with close ties; it is he who appoints as his tutor Adrien Floriszoon, rector of the University of Louvain who will later be named pope. He will also be the last non-Italian pope before John Paul II several centuries later8. Charles V owed him9: “a profound piety, an essential Christianity, non-denominational, contemporary with the brothers of the Common Life and devotio moderna”. Two men from the powerful house of Croÿ: Charles, Count of Chimay, then Guillaume, Lord of Chièvres, were also responsible for his education. The last named will be of great devotion to him8 and will serve him until his death8.
Training

Charles was above all raised in the traditions of the Burgundian court. The few Spaniards he met in his youth turned out to be political enemies of his grandfather Ferdinand, exiles who had not seen Spain for years.

His mother tongue is French, the language of the Dukes of Burgundy and the Flemish elites10. At the end of his life, he spoke camp German well11. It should be noted here that his grandfather Maximilien learned French and spoke mainly in this language. It is he who partly in connection with the chivalrous ideal of respect for the lady of his heart Marie de Bourgogne bequeathed to him according to Pierre Chaunu 11

    “The memory of a past carrying a strong identity, maintained by distrust of the older French branch and the maintenance – sluggishly – of the fragile Burgundian heritage. Maximilian's chivalric ideal finds meaning there: saving the lady of his heart and at least three-quarters of his inheritance. »

According to Pierre Chaunu12 the opposition with the Kingdom of France is also linked with an opposition on the mode of devolution of inheritances. With Salic law, only male children can inherit. However, Charles V holds a large part of his heritage from two women Marie de Bourgogne and Jeanne la Folle.

The education he receives is that of a knight. Although he had a penchant for weapons, physical exercises and horses, he nonetheless regretted during his adult life not having really learned Latin13 which was then the language of written culture13.

At the end of his life, he mastered Spanish so well that he supervised the translation of Le Chevalier deliberate, an epic poem by the Burgundian author Olivier de La Marche, of which he always keeps a copy with him. This epic reinforces in the young archduke an attachment to the broken lineage of the Valois-Burgundy dukes that his grandfather Maximilian also transmitted to him, as well as a deep distrust of the kings of France, that the Italian heritage of the kings of Aragon and the imperial election of 1519 will only amplify.
Portrait of Charles V as an adolescent by Bernard van Orley (c. 1516).
The heir of four dynasties
The European empire of Charles V in 1547 -- note that the kingdoms of Bohemia and Hungary came under his brother Ferdinand.

From 1506 to 1519, he inherited the property and titles of four dynasties, represented by each of his grandparents14:

    of his grandmother Marie de Bourgogne (died in 1482) and his father (died in 1506), the State of the Dukes of Burgundy of the House of Valois, notably Charles the Bold (1433-1477): the Seventeen Provinces of the Burgundian Netherlands and Franche-Comté (county of Burgundy); he also assumes the title of "Duke of Burgundy", although the Duchy of Burgundy (capital: Dijon) was taken over by the King of France in 1477;
    from his grandmother Isabella the Catholic (died in 1504), the crown of Castile and its dependencies, notably the Spanish possessions in America;
    from his grandfather Ferdinand the Catholic (died in 1516), the crown of Aragon and its dependencies;
    of his grandfather Maximilian of Habsburg (died in 1519), the possessions of the House of Habsburg: archduchy of Austria, territories of former Austria, etc. ; he also succeeds Maximilian to the electoral dignity of emperor.

As far as Spain is concerned, the succession of Isabella and Ferdinand goes to their daughter Joan, who did not die until 1555. But, given his state of mental health, a regency was exercised by Ferdinand over Castile from 1504 to 1516, and on Ferdinand's death, by Charles over both kingdoms. He will very quickly take on the titles of king of Castile and king of Aragon, without however formally depriving his mother of them in the nomenclature (“Doña Juana and Don Carlos, her son, queen and king of Castile, of Léon , from Aragon... ").

Born and raised at the Burgundian and Dutch court of Brussels15, through his concern for the unity of Catholic Christianity and through his incessant travels through possessions scattered throughout Western Europe he became a character of European dimension, transcending national affiliations.

Its motto in French, Plus Oultre (“Even further”), created by an Italian doctor to illustrate the Burgundian chivalrous tradition, became in its Latin form “Plus Ultra” the national motto of Spain.
Some aspects of his personality
Health issues

Charles suffered from Habsburg promandibulia, a congenital deformity of the jaw, which would worsen in later Habsburg generations. It is a disease linked to consanguineous marriages which are then practiced in ruling families16.

He also suffers from epileptic seizures17 and gout, probably linked to a diet based on red meats18.

When he retired to the Yuste monastery, he had to use a sort of wheelchair to get around. To facilitate access to his apartments, a ramp was built19.
The politician

According to Salvador de Madariaga, his genius lies in not having any, in knowing it and in agreeing to surround himself with the best without taking umbrage at their own genius20. Little prepared on a book level for the profession of king, he nevertheless learned some practice in Ghent, Brussels and Mechelen21.

Due to the dispersion of his territories and a very decentralized mode of management, from 1517 to 1558, he spent a quarter of his reign traveling. He was on campaign for five hundred days and spent two hundred days at sea20. If we take into account his time of presence in each of his territories, we must see that he spent seventeen years in Spain, ten years in the Netherlands, less than nine years in the Empire and two years and a half in Italy20.
Charles V and women
Isabella of Portugal.

Charles V married on Mars 11, 1526 in his palace in Seville with his cousin the Infanta Isabella of Portugal (1503-1539), sister of King John III of Portugal, himself married shortly before to Catherine of Austria, younger sister of Charles V, to consolidate his alliance with Spain and the Holy Roman Empire. From this union are born:

    Philippe (1527-1598) who married in 1543 his cousin, Mary of Portugal (1527-1545), then in 1554, his cousin, Queen Mary I of England (1516-1558), then in 1559, Elizabeth of France ( 1545-1568), then in 1570 his niece, Anne of Austria (1549-1580).
    Jean ( Mars 22, 1528-1530), died young.
    Marie (June 21, 1528 – February 26, 1603) who married her cousin Maximilian II of Austria (1527-1576) in 1548.
    Ferdinand (October 19, 1535-1538), died young.
    Jeanne (1537-1573) who married in 1553 her cousin Jean-Manuel crown prince of Portugal (1537-1554).
    Jean (April 30, 1539), stillborn.

We also know of him having illegitimate children but all of them were born before his marriage or during his widowhood:

    Isabelle (1518-?), daughter of Germaine de Foix, dowager queen of Aragon (1488-1538)
    Marguerite (1522-1586), daughter of Jeanne van der Gheynst
    Joan (1522-1530)
    Thadée (1523-1562), daughter of Orsolina della Penna (it)
    Juan (1547-1578), son of Barbara Blomberg (1527-1597)

The Empire of Charles V and his government
Queen Joan of Castile, mother of King Charles I of Spain, at the time of her marriage (around 1495).
Portrait of Charles V by Marco Calabrese (1519).
The circle of Burgundy

The circle (in German: Reichskreis) of Burgundy is a subdivision of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1512 by Maximilian I in order to regroup the territories of the Burgundian state remaining in the hands of Marie de Bourgogne, his wife, after the death of Charles the Bold22 , that is to say, on the one hand, the provinces of the Burgundian Netherlands, traditionally designated as the Seventeen Provinces, on the other hand Franche-Comté (county of Burgundy) and the free city of Besançon . French fiefdoms are linked to these lands of the Empire: the county of Flanders and the county of Charolais (taken over by Maximilian in the Treaty of Senlis in 1493). On the other hand, France regained control of the Duchy of Burgundy, Picardy and Artois.

On January 5, 1515, the States, meeting at the Coudenberg Palace in Brussels, proclaimed the majority of Charles who was proclaimed the same day in the Church of Sainte-Gudule duc de Bourgogne22 and became the effective lord of the provinces of the Circle of Burgundy (duke of Brabant, Count of Hainaut, Count of Holland, Count of Burgundy, etc.).

During this time, Charles began a journey during which he was received as effective sovereign by several large cities in the circle, according to the ritual of the Joyous Entry, swearing to respect and increase the privileges of the cities and the different provinces23.

The whole of which Charles took possession then had 3 to 4 million inhabitants. It is a group that creates wealth, but is reluctant to provide for the financial needs of the prince: the Estates General and the provincial Estates in fact exercise control over the creation of taxes. At the beginning of the reign, it was the heart of the empire but, around 1530-1540, it passed into Spain, which then had 6 million inhabitants and was in full colonial expansion24.

At the time when his majority was proclaimed, in Charles's entourage, an opposition emerged between Marguerite and Chièvres over the tactics to adopt to ensure communications between Spain and the Netherlands25 (from the battle of Marignan (1515 ) at the battle of Pavia (1525), the route through northern Italy was closed22). For the first, who distrusts the French, it is necessary to ally with the English to ensure a safe maritime connection while the other trusts the French.

From 1515 to 1523, the regent and then Charles had to face a revolt of countries and mercenaries known as the Arumer Zwarte Hoop (black mass of Arum). This rebellion led by Pier Gerlofs Donia and Wijerd Jelckama was initially successful but after a series of defeats, its leaders were captured and beheaded in 1523.

Charles extends his territories by the annexation of Tournaisis, Artois, the province of Utrecht, the province of Groningen and the Duchy of Gelderland. By the Pragmatic Sanction of 1549, Charles decided that the Netherlands would henceforth be a unified entity governed by his family26.

These territories were generally loyal to Charles during his reign, except for the rebellion of the important city of Ghent in 1539 in protest against large taxes demanded by Charles V to finance the war in Italy. The revolt did not last and was harshly put down by the Duke of Alba26, who did not hesitate to humiliate the rebels27,28.
Spain in 1516
The Spains

News of the death of Ferdinand of Aragon reached Brussels on February 8, 1516. On Mars 14, during a ceremony as grandiose as it was un-Spanish in the Sainte-Gudule collegiate church in Brussels, Charles proclaimed himself, jointly with his mother, “king of Spain”. If he had won his case by being listed in the will of the King of Aragon as his sole heir, the will of Isabella the Catholic had made Joan the sole heir of the most important kingdom of Spain, the kingdom of Castile and León. Charles can only be, at most, a regent in these territories. He therefore flouts the rights of his mother, a recluse in the palace-convent of Tordesillas, by proclaiming himself king in the same capacity as her. This “coup d’état” (according to the expression of Joseph Pérez) aroused discontent in Castile which darkened the first years of the reign.

The new king finishes his inaugural tour of Burgundy and prepares his departure for Spain. He landed on the Asturian coast on September 18, 1517, accompanied by his Flemish advisors and some Castilian exiles. Barely arrived, he sent his younger brother Ferdinand, who had come to meet him, back to the Netherlands. In Valladolid, the splendor of the Burgundian court displayed during the coronation greatly shocked the Spaniards, accustomed to a less ceremonial monarchy. In Mars 1518, Charles opened the Cortes of Castile there, in order to receive the oath of allegiance from the kingdom's delegates as well as important subsidies. The assembly accepts, under various conditions: Charles will have to learn Castilian (he proves incapable of addressing the Cortes in this language); government offices must be reserved for regnicoles; no precious metal should leave the kingdom in the form of money; finally, the legitimate queen must be maintained in her rights and treated well.

Well informed of the more complicated nature of his recognition in Aragon (it was necessary to repeat the ceremony of allegiance of the Cortes in each of the territories constituting the crown of Aragon), Charles stayed a short time in Valladolid and went to Zaragoza then to Barcelona, to be received there as King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona. During his first trip, he spent more time in Aragon than in Castile and multiplied his blunders: he appointed numerous Burgundians to key government positions, demanded subsidy after subsidy, and showed himself to be ignorant of local customs and languages. In barely a year, he deeply disappointed his new subjects despite the large amount of sympathy he enjoyed as the grandson of the Catholic Monarchs. In addition, he left the peninsula as soon as he learned of his election to the imperial throne, which made the Spanish fear that their kingdoms would become nothing more than a simple annex of an empire facing north.

Charles had to face several troubles in his Spanish states. Between 1520 and 1521, he faced a revolt in Castile, where his subjects did not accept the regent appointed by him, Hadrian of Utrecht (rewarded in 1516 with the office of archbishop of Tortosa), and his Burgundian-Flemish court . The rebellion led by Juan de Padilla was definitively crushed during the Battle of Villalar on April 21, 1521. In the meantime, on the advice of Adrian of Utrecht, Charles associated two “Great Ones”, the constable and the admiral of Castile, with the government of the kingdom. Subsequently, he included a greater number of Castilians in his Council and returned to settle in Castile where he resided for seven years continuously, from 1522 to 1529. He also satisfied his subjects by marrying in 1526 a princess perceived as Spanish: his first cousin Isabella of Portugal.
Main article: War of the Communities of Castile.

Between 1519 and 1523, Charles also had to face an armed uprising in the Valencia region, the Germanías, named after these local militias whose constitution was authorized by a privilege granted by Ferdinand the Catholic to fight against the Barbary Islands. In 1520, taking advantage of the abandonment of the city by the nobility following an epidemic of plague, these militias took power under the command of Joan Llorenç and refused the dissolution pronounced by Adrian of Utrecht. The Balearic Islands were in turn contaminated by the movement, which was not defeated by force until 1523.
Main article: Germanías.
The Kingdom of Spain under the reign of Charles V
Spanish expansion in America
Main article: Spanish Empire.

Under the reign of Charles V, the conquest of the New World, initiated under the Catholic Monarchs, continued. From 1521, Hernán Cortés conquered New Spain – a vast region which today covers Mexico, Central America and the southern United States – Francisco Pizarro subjugated Tahuantinsuyu – the Inca Empire – which became the vice -royalty of Peru, and Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada takes control of the kingdom of the Chibchas, today in Colombia.

Juan Sebastián Elcano completed the first circumnavigation of the world in 1522, completing the journey begun under Magellan's orders and marking the beginning of Spanish domination of the Philippines and the Mariana Islands. In 1536, Pedro de Mendoza founded the city of Buenos Aires on the right bank of the Río de la Plata. Shortly after, in 1537, Asuncion was founded by Juan de Salazar and Gonzalo de Mendoza, and became the center of conquest and administration of the region.

These immense territories were annexed as two new kingdoms to the Crown of Castile, ensuring substantial revenues in precious metals. The crown directly takes a fifth of the metals repatriated to Spain (Quinto real). This windfall allowed Charles to finance his imperial policy by guaranteeing, in particular, his exchange operations, borrowing and transfer of funds from the bankers of Augsburg, Genoa and Antwerp.
Accession to the imperial throne
Main article: Imperial elections of 1519.
Portrait of Charles V at the time of his election to the Empire by Bernard van Orley (around 1519).
The coronation in Aachen.
Expansion of Charles V's possessions in Europe after 1519

On January 12, 1519, the death of Emperor Maximilian opened the succession to the imperial crown. This crown, certainly prestigious and guarantor of a great aura within Christianity, constitutes, in many respects, a weight more than an advantage for its holder: it does not allow him to raise funds, and gives him the right to raise a feudal army unsuited to the new demands of war, the troops of the German princes being beyond his control. Charles, as a natural candidate to succeed his grandfather, was raised with the imperial election in mind and must face the candidacy of the kings of England Henry VIII and of France Francis I, as well as the Albertine Duke George of Saxony, known as “the Bearded”.

The competition quickly boils down to a duel between the king of France and Maximilian's heir. To convince the seven German prince-electors, the rivals used propaganda and hard-hitting arguments in turn.

The Austrian party presents King Charles as coming from the true “estoc” (imperial lineage), but the key to the election lies essentially in the ability of the candidates to buy the prince-electors. Francis I, supported by the Medici and the Italians of Lyon, lavished the French gold shields which opposed the German and Spanish florins and ducats, from which Charles benefited thanks to Marguerite of Austria (his aunt) who obtained the support determining factor of Jacob Fugger and the Welser family, wealthy bankers from Augsburg. These issued bills of exchange payable “after the election” and “provided that Charles of Spain is elected”, who also benefited from the riches of the American empire29. Charles, who spent two tons of gold (compared to one and a half tons for Francis I), and for whom Margaret of Austria surrounded the city with the election of an army intended to exert pressure, was elected “king of the Romans” on June 28, 1519 and crowned in Aachen on October 23, 1520N 1.

Very quickly, he realizes that he cannot be the sole pastor of Christianity, according to the ideals of “universal monarchy” of which his advisors, such as Mercurino Gattinara, try to convince him. Elected emperor, he tried to put his grandfather's affairs in order and dismissed the musicians from the imperial chapel, including Ludwig Senfl. It inherits the enemies of the Holy Empire, threatened on its south-eastern flank by the Turkish threat30; but he must also count on French rivalry, embodied initially by François I, then by his son Henri II.
Armed conflicts involving Charles V
The conflict with France
Portrait of Charles V around 1515-1520.
Clashes with Francis I
Main article: Italian Wars.

The rivalry with Francis I marks most of the imperial history of Charles V. The two sovereigns are inhabited by the demands of their predecessors. Francis I, whose kingdom is surrounded by the possessions of Charles V, wants to continue the action of Kings Charles VIII and Louis XII in the Italian peninsula, by claiming Naples and Milan. For his part, Charles V never ceases to want to recover the Duchy of Burgundy, cradle of the Valois-Burgundy dynasty to which he claims and which was seized on the death of Charles the Bold under dubious legal conditions, but now well integrated into French territory. Burgundy and Italy constitute the main theaters of confrontation between the two rivals, without either of them being able to satisfy their ambitions. Charles V had no difficulty countering French attacks31.

The first clash occurred in the kingdom of Navarre, part of which, located north of the Pyrenees - the overseas provinces or Lower Navarre from 1512 - had been under Spanish control since its conquest by Ferdinand of Aragon in 1512.

The House of Albret, which benefited from the support of the King of France, attempted a reconquest in 1521. The Franco-Navarrese took advantage of a partial demilitarization of the kingdom due to the War of the Communities of Castile and relied on the uprising of the Navarrese people to take the capital, Pamplona. The rapid recovery of the Spanish army and the strategic errors of French general André de Foix did not allow the victory to be consolidated, and the troops of Charles V achieved victory at Noain over an army largely inferior in numbers. After various sieges and battles, a diplomatic agreement was signed: Charles V retained Upper Navarre but returned Lower Navarre to the house of Albret.

During this same year 1521, Charles V opened two new fronts. Pursuing his Burgundian objective, he sent Franz von Sickingen and Count Philip I of Nassau to northern France; the latter forced the knight Bayard to lock himself in besieged Mézières. Bayard defends the city without capitulating, despite cannonades and assaults; Marshal de La Palisse, arriving as reinforcement, forced Nassau to lift the siege. In Italy, Charles V formed a coalition with Henry VIII and the Papal States to counter the alliance of France and the Republic of Venice. The Franco-Venetian army is beaten during the Battle of La Bicoque; Charles V and his allies retake the Duchy of Milan. The imperial army enters Provence but fails at the siege of Marseille. Francis I led a counterattack but was severely beaten at Pavia in 1525, during which he was taken prisoner. Charles V kept the King of France in Madrid for more than a year, until the conclusion of the Treaty of Madrid.
Main article: Sixth Italian War.

Under the terms of this treaty, Francis I must, among other things, cede the Duchy of Burgundy and Charolais, renounce all claims to Italy, Flanders and Artois, and marry Éléonore de Habsburg, sister of Charles. Francis is released from the four-year imprisonment of his two eldest sons, the Dauphin François and Henri de France (future Henri II).

Charles V did not benefit much from this treaty, which the King of France had also seen fit to declare unenforceable the day before his signature. Furthermore, on June 8, 1526, the Estates of Burgundy solemnly declared that the province intended to remain French.
Charles V wearing the collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece.

In 1526, a new league, sealed in Cognac, was formed, this time against Charles V, then in the middle of his honeymoon (he had just married Isabella of Portugal). The Cognac League brings together France, England, the Pope and the Italian principalities (Milan, Venice and Florence). The leagued armies entered Italy and encountered weak resistance from the imperial troops, poorly paid and weakened by disease. Naples is besieged, Rome is sacked by the thugs of the imperial army commanded by Charles de Bourbon. These events forced a devastated Charles to interrupt the festivities celebrating the birth of his son, the future Philip II of Spain.

However, the siege of Naples ended in failure and the League troops, weakened in turn by malaria and especially the overthrow of Andrea Doria's alliance, had to withdraw from the Kingdom of Naples. Circumstances seem to rebalance the forces of Charles V like those of Francis I and lead them to let Margaret of Austria, aunt of the emperor, and Louise of Savoy, mother of the king of France, negotiate a treaty which amends that of Madrid: On August 3, 1529, in Cambrai, the Peace of the Ladies was signed, then ratified by the two sovereigns. Francis I marries Eleanor of Austria, widow of the King of Portugal and sister of Charles V; he recovers his children in return for a ransom of two million crowns and keeps Burgundy; on the other hand, he must renounce his views on Artois, Flanders and Italy.
Main article: Seventh Italian War.
February 24, 1530, Basilica of San Petronio in Bologna: Clement VII crowns Charles V emperor of the Holy Roman Empire Gaspard de Crayer Ingres-Bourdelle Museum
Francis I and Charles V are reconciled under the leadership of Pope Paul III
by Sebastiano Ricci, 1687
Farnese Palace (Piacenza)

After the Treaty of Cambrai, Charles V found himself at the height of his power. On February 24, 1530, his thirtieth birthday, he was crowned in Bologna by Pope Clement VII, “emperor of the Romans”.
Portrait of Charles V by Christoph Amberger (1532).

In 1535, on the death of the Duke of Milan Francis II Sforza, Francis I claimed the inheritance of the duchy. At the beginning of 1536, 40,000 French soldiers invaded the Duchy of Savoy, an ally of Charles V, and stopped at the Lombard border, awaiting a possible negotiation. In June, Charles V retaliated and invaded Provence but came up against the defense of the constable Anne de Montmorency.

Thanks to the intercession of Pope Paul III, elected in 1534 and a supporter of reconciliation between the two sovereigns, the king and the emperor signed, in 1538 in Nice, a two-year truce, and promised to unite against to the “Protestant danger”. As a sign of goodwill, Francis I even authorized the free passage of the emperor's troops through France so that he could put down an insurrection in his hometown, Ghent, and on this occasion, in 1539, he organized for him, a parade of floats on the theme of ancient gods32. Charles V having refused, despite his commitments, the investiture of the Duchy of Milan to one of the king's sons, a new war broke out in 1542. On April 11, 1544, François de Bourbon-Condé, Count of Enghien, at the head of the French troops, defeated the Marquis Alfonso de Ávalos, lieutenant general of the imperial armies, at the battle of Cérisoles. However, the army of Charles V, with more than 40,000 men and 62 pieces of artillery, crossed the Duchy of Lorraine, the bishoprics of Metz and Verdun (future Trois-Évêchés) and invaded Champagne. In mid-July, part of the troops besieged the stronghold of Saint-Dizier, while the bulk of the army continued its march towards Paris. Serious financial problems prevented the emperor from paying his troops, where desertions increased. For his part, François I also had to face the lack of financial resources as well as the pressure from the English who besieged and took Boulogne-sur-Mer. The two sovereigns, using the good offices of the young Duke François I of Lorraine, ended up agreeing to a definitive peace in 1544. The Treaty of Crépy-en-Laonnois takes up most of the truce signed in 1538. France loses its suzerainty over Flanders and Artois and renounces its claims over Milanese and Naples, but temporarily retains Savoy and Piedmont. Charles V abandons Burgundy and its dependencies and gives one of his daughters in marriage, with the Milanese as an appanage, to Charles, Duke of Orléans and third son of the king.
Francis I and Charles V enter Paris (1540).

However, he wanted to consolidate the original base of his power, the Netherlands, or “country beyond”, as the Burgundian tradition calls them. He enlarged them to the north by recovering the territories occupied by the Duke of Gelderland and the Bishop of Utrecht, e