valois france

Prologue: An Awful Day In the spring of 1484, Charles VIII was returning to Paris from the Estates General at Tours with his regents, Anne of Beaujeu and the Duke of Bourbon. Having feigned illness to bring an end to the Estates General, the young king’s symptoms went undetected until he was...

By dint of reading about the Wars of the Roses, I wondered whether such a conflict could appear in France? And I think I can answer yes. Of course, it would not be a tracing but a real civil conflict around a dynastic crisis with an incapable king and ambitious nobles who kill each other...

19 August 1515 Francis I of France waited expectantly for his wife and queen, Claude, to give birth. Truthfully she was a bit young to go through childbirth but both were in desperate need of heirs to secure the successions of France and Brittany, although he did wish that she allowed Brittany...

France is, in the first quarter of the 15th century, in a serious situation where its fate seems to be at stake; after the victory of Agincourt and the formation of the Anglo-Burgundian alliance, King Henry V of England succeeds to impose a treaty in Troyes on the mad French monarch Charles VI...

Like it says on the tin. What if France managed to consolidate their control over Milan instead of being kicked out of there by the Habsburgs after the Battle of Pavia? Would the kingdom's finances be affected to a considerable degree (Lombardy was pretty rich after all)? What about the Wars of...

The two were betrothed as children before this arrangement was broken off. What if it hadn't been broken off? What if the two married in 1533, right before Mary was declared illegitimate? And because Francis' father and brother had seven and ten children, respectively, and Mary's mother was...

Having the Rhine as a border was a longstanding goal of French foreign policy for centuries, but it only reached said goal in the days of the Revolution and, even so, only retained it for a decade. With a POD after 1526, could the Valois or Bourbon dynasties get a Rhine border, provided several...

The Affair of the Placards was a scandal in which anti-Catholic posters were put in Paris, other major cities throughout France. One such poster was placed in the bedroom of king Francis I, who until then tolerated the Protestants - thanks to his rivalry with Charles V - but was convinced that...

There are plenty on discussions about the French winning the Battle of Pavia, but I don't remember seeing any that looked at the things that could happen outside of Italy as a result. So, what could Francis I get in a peace treaty if he won the battle and captured Charles V? Milan is a given...

19th to 20th of January. Ribeira Palace in Lisbon The pains of childbirth were starting in the late afternoon hours of the 19th day of the first month in the year of the Lord 1554. The young and newly widowed Dona Joana de Austria, wife of the late Infante Joao Manuel, was hopeful for a good...

Charles V of France was king of his country between the years of 1364 and 1380. During his reign, France saw a reversal of its bad fortunes in the Hundred Years' War (called the Caroline Phase of the war), almost managing to beat the English out of France altogether. However, Charles died...

Born after the death of his Father, who was the tenth child of a Grand King, for this young fatherless Boy his Future was full of Surprises. This boys father already had lost sons in three marriages and in his fourth one he was finally blessed with two living boys, one after another. The...

Is it possible for the main early modern french kings (Charles VIII, Louis XII, or Francis I) to effectively hold their gains in Italy, especially Naples and Milan, without succumbing to their enemies? If so, then which PoD is best for this? Charles VIII not dying early by hitting his head...

WI: Joan of France, Duchess of Berry (also known as St. Joan of Valois) had managed to bear her husband, the future Louis XII a healthy, living son prior to his ascension to the French throne after his brothers death? Would he still try to annul their marriage to force Anne of Brittany to marry...

What might have happened if Louis XII's daughters were to have died before him? Claude of France was a rather delicate girl and could have succumbed to her own ill health at some point before her marriage to Francois d'Angouleme. Renee of France herself while stronger than her sister could have...

The Italian Wars stretched from 1494 until 1559 and involved almost ever significant power in Europe at one time or another. In the end the Habsburgs emerged victorious and they would remain the dominant power in Italy for centuries after. My challenge/question is if and at what point in time...

If Mary were to have been with child at the time of Louis XII's death how might this have affected things? Likely Francis would have to hold off on becoming king for another nine months. Mary would not have had the chance to wed Brandon due to the fact that there'd be no reason for him to be...