The definitive account of the French court, 1483-1589 The court of France in the sixteenth century has often been seen merely as a focus of political intrigue and conflict, but it was also a cultural center in which the visual arts, music, literature, and sport flourished. This book traces for the first time in English the court’s evolution from a nomadic institution to a more sedentary one over the course of a century that began gloriously for France and ended in the horrors of civil war. 
Robert Knecht, a renowned expert on Renaissance France, explores the political and cultural importance of the French court through seven reigns from Charles VIII to Henry III, including the tumultuous regency of Catherine de' Medici. Against a sharp precis of political events, he details the structure, daily activities, and festivals of the court. Sumptuously illustrated throughout, this is an enthralling account of an opulent and dynamic institution in which image and representation were key.

The French Renaissance Court

History

Knecht, Robert J.

Europe

Yale University Press

Francis I and Sixteenth-Century France (Variorum Collected Studies)

Biographies & Memoirs

Arts & Literature

Routledge

Drawing on more than 40 years of research and combining narrative with analysis, R. J. Knecht describes the rise and fall of France in the sixteenth century clearly and authoritatively.

The Rise and Fall of Renaissance France: 1483-1610 (Blackwell Classic Histories of Europe)

Wiley/Blackwell

The Rise and Fall of Renaissance France: 1483-1610

Hero or Tyrant? Henry III, King of France, 1574-89

Religion & Spirituality

King Henry III of France has not suffered well at the hands of posterity. Generally depicted as at best a self-indulgent, ineffectual ruler, and at worst a debauched tyrant responsible for a series of catastrophic political blunders, his reputation has long been a poor one. Yet recent scholarship has begun to question the validity of this judgment and look for a more rounded assessment of the man and his reign. For, as this new biography of Henry demonstrates, there is far more to this fascinating monarch than the pantomime villain depicted by previous generations of historians and novelists. Based upon a rich and diverse range of primary sources, this book traces Henry’s life from his birth in 1551, the sixth child of Henri II and Catherine de’ Medici. It following his upbringing as the Wars of Religion began to tear France apart, his election as king of Poland in 1573, and his assumption of the French crown a year later following the death of his brother Charles IX. The first English-language biography of Henry for over 150 years, this study thoroughly and dispassionately reassesses his life in light of recent scholarship and in the context of broader European diplomatic, political and religious history. In so doing the book not only provides a more nuanced portrait of the monarch himself, but also helps us better understand the history of France during this traumatic time.

Historical

The reputation of Francis I, king of France (1515-47 ) has fluctuated over the centuries. Acclaimed as ’noble’ and ’great’ in the sixteenth century, he came to be unfairly denigrated under the Bourbon kings and the republic. But, in the twentieth century, research based on archival material has restored his standing as one of the most important rulers of his age. The present volume brings together seventeen articles by Robert Knecht published over several decades on particular aspects of the reign, with three specially translated from French into English. They examine the period in more depth than was possible in the author's 1994 biography of Francis I, and include studies of the Concordat of 1516 with the papacy, the Field of Cloth of Gold in 1520, the lit-de-justice of 1527, and the visit to France of the Emperor Charles V in 1540. Other articles consider the king’s attitude to the Reformation, his court, his relations with Paris and visits to Aquitaine, his patronage of architecture as demonstrated by his building of the chÃ¢teau of Fontainebleau, and his relations with his mother, Louise of Savoy, and sister, Marguerite d’AngoulÃªme. The king’s love of books and the political advice he received from scholars are also considered as well as the extent of his ’absolutism’. Two articles compare the English and French Reformations and the nobilities of the two countries. The volume is intended as a contribution to the celebration of the 500th anniversary of Francis I’s accession.

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Books by Knecht, Robert J.