Francis I embodied the French Renaissance: Italian Wars, patronage of the arts, Loire and Île-de-France châteaux, and the growth of royal power under the Valois.
Italian Wars and Marignano
He won at Marignano (1515) and recovered Milan, then faced Charles V. Defeat at Pavia (1525) led to his captivity in Madrid and the Treaty of Madrid, later repudiated.
Renaissance king
He invited Italian artists (including Leonardo da Vinci), developed Fontainebleau, and fostered French as a language of administration (Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts, 1539).
Religion and succession
Protestantism appeared in his reign; repression hardened later. His son Henry II succeeded him in 1547. See the Renaissance.