Treaty of Blois (1504)

The Treaty of Blois (1504), also known as the First Treaty of Blois,[1] was an agreement between Louis XII of France and the Holy Roman Emperor, Maximillian I and his son Archduke Philip, the father of the future Emperor Charles V. It was signed on 22 September 1504 at Blois.[2] The treaty centered on an agreement of marriage between Claude of France and Charles, with Claude carrying a dowry that included Brittany, Burgundy, and Blois,[3] and France and Spain agreeing to bestow Naples upon Charles.

Louis XII, King of France.

However, the terms of the treaty fell through when Claude was betrothed to her second cousin, the future Francis I of France. This seemed the likely outcome from the start, as Claude's mother, Anne of Brittany, was the only participant truly eager for the match (it would have kept her duchy of Brittany out of the control of the French crown).[4]

  1. ^ Kitchin, George William. A History of France. Vol. 2. Clarendon Press, 1896, p. 155.
  2. ^ Mowat, R.B. A History of European Diplomacy, 1451-1789. Longmans, Green & Co., 1928, p. 32.
  3. ^ Encyclopædia Britannica
  4. ^ Smedley, Edward. The history of France: from the final partition of the empire of Charlemagne, A.D. 843, to the peace of Cambray, A.D. 1529. Vol. 1. Baldwin, 1836, p. 475