Piero doesn’t get to enjoy being the de facto lord of Florence for long before he has to deal with an impending French invasion of Italy. He decides to imitate his father’s boldest move, which would surely work…won’t it?
Transcript
The birth of the future King Charles VIII of France was even more celebrated than that of a normal heir. His father, King Louis XI of France, had two daughters, but by that time it would have been impossible even for their domineering father to have them accepted as his successors. Under what was called the Salic Law, daughters could not inherit the French throne. This law took its name from the Salian Franks, the Germanic people that first established the kingdom of France and gave it its name. In truth, the Salic Law just took its name from an old sixth century law that regulated property inheritance and had nothing to do with royal succession. But in the early fourteenth century it was a convenient excuse for King Felipe V to claim the throne instead of his elder brother’s daughter Jeanne. The excuse became even more convenient when King Edward III of England used the claim to the French throne he inherited through his mother to justify his invasion of France. By Louis XI’s time, the Salic Law was firmly locked in place. So without a son the crown would pass over his hated cousin and rival, Louis d’Orleans. However, since the day he was born to the happy parents Louis XI and his queen Charlotte of Savoy, Charles VIII was sickly. No wonder Louis XI was so afraid for his son’s survival that he kept him isolated and micromanaged his son’s governors.
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