Page:A history of architecture on the comparative method for the student, craftsman, and amateur.djvu/556

 498 COMPARATIVE ARCHITECTURE. the guest of Louis XIV. A band of Italians journeying from place to place was responsible for much of the picturesque early Renaissance south of the Loire. vi. Historical. — The English were driven from France in 1543, and the accession of Louis XI. in a.d. 146 i practically led to the consolidation of France into one kingdom by the reconcilia- tion of the Duke of Burgundy. During the first half of the six- teenth century Italy became the battlefield of Europe. In 1494 Charles VIII. of France, claiming the kingdom of Naples, marched through Italy, and in 1508 Louis joined the league of Cambray formed against Venice, Florence being the ally of France during all this period. Francis I. was defeated and taken prisoner by the Spaniards at the Battle of Pavia, 1525. In these wars the French kings, although failing in their actual object, were thus brought into contact with the superior civilization of Italy, and drawn into the Renaissance movement, at the same time becoming more absolute in their own country. From 1558 to the end of the century, the religious wars, between the Huguenots and Catholics, distracted the country. The Massacre of S. Bartho- lomew took place at Paris, 1572, after which there was an emigration of Huguenots to England. During the reign of Louis XIII. ( 1 610-1643) Cardinal Richelieu strengthened the royal power. Cardinal Mazarin continued his policy, and Louis XIV., ascending the throne in 1643, became an absolute monarch. His conquests, in the Netherlands and Germany, led to a general coalition against him, and to his great defeat at the hands of Marlborough. The Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 led to a further emigration of Protestants to England. In the reign of Louis XV. (1715-1774) the evil effects of despotism and bad government became more marked, and the writers Voltaire, Rousseau, and others weakened authority by their attacks, and prepared the ground for the great revolution that began in 1792. 2. ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER. Refer to pages 439, 442. The style may be divided into three periods : — (a.) The Early Renaissance Period, 1461-1589 (or sixteenth century), comprising the reigns of: — Louis XI. 1461-1483, Charles VIII. 1483-1498, Louis XII. 1498-1515, Francis I. 1515-1547. Henri II. 1547-1559, Francis II. 1559-1560, Charles IX. 1560-1574, and Henri III. 1574-1589. (b.) The Classical Period, 1589-17 15 (or seventeenth century), comprising the reigns of: — Henri IV. 1589-1610 (introduced classic type), Louis XIII. 1610-1643, and Louis XIV. 1643-1715.