GERMANY. 487 
peror witli the princefs of Burgundy. Meanwhile the 
king of France, liearing of the powerful league tliat 
was formed againfl him, fet out from Naples to return 
to his own dominions; but on his arrival at the plain of 
Fornova, he found the allies drawn up to difpute his 
palTage, and he was confequenlly obliged to give them 
battle. Fortune, however, favoured his arms upon this 
occafion, and he purfued his route wikhout further in¬ 
terruption. 
Soon after thefe tranfadfions, Ferdinand recovered 
the kingdom of Naples ; and the empei or was earnellly 
folicited to march into Italy in order to fruffrate the 
new deligns of aggrandifement of the French monarch. 
Maximilian readily acceded to this requelf, and eroded 
tlie Alps with a fmall body of troops; but his expedi¬ 
tion proved altogether fniitlefs. Louis XII. having 
now al'cended the throne of France, avowed his inten¬ 
tion of feizing Milan; fo that the emperor found it in- 
difpenlably necelfary to turn his arms againfl: the Swils, 
v.'ho had begun to make hoflile irruptions into the 
Auflrian territories, and had renewed their alliance with 
France. Maximilian therefore ordered a numerous 
army to rendezvous near Conftance, whence they fallied 
out, in leveral fmall detachments, to pillage tlie caffles 
and villages in the neighbourhood of Schalt'haufen : 
but wliillt they were thus employed, the enemy niihed 
upon them with irrefiliable fury, and put them nearly 
all to the fword. A limilar misfortune happened to a 
body of Swabians, who had plundered the cantons of 
St. Gall and Appenzel; for, whilfl: they were triumph¬ 
ing in their fuccels, they fell into an ambulcade, and 
were cut to pieces. .The emperor then repaired in per- 
fon to Conftance, and collected a body of forces conlift- 
ing of about fifteen tlioufand men : but thefe, together 
with fome powerful reinforcements, were defeated, and 
Maximilian was compelled to negbeiate a peace. 
Jn the inean time, Louis XII. having fubdued the 
Milanefe, and compelled the king of Naples to refign 
his fovereignty, A.D. 1501, refolved to cultivate Max"'i- 
milian’s triendftiip, and atfually demanded of that 
prince the inveftiture of Milan. The emperor was, at 
firft, greatly averfe to this propofal: but a pecuniary 
prelent effectually conquered his reluCtance; and a 
peace was concluded between the courts of France and 
Germany, by which the emperor granted the inveftiture 
of th.e Milanefe, and Louis engaged to aliift his ally 
againft the Turks, maintain tlie rights of his fuccelfors 
to the kingdoms of Hungary and Bohemia, and facili¬ 
tate his coronation at Rome. 
Soon after this occurrence, Maximilian undertook an 
expedition to receive the crown of Italy ; but, being 
refilled a palTage through the valley of Trent, he was 
obliged to defift from his enterprife, after having ful- 
tained confiderable lofs in an engagement with Barto¬ 
lomeo d’Alviano, general of the. Venetian republic. 
And, as he was aifo difappointed of his coronation at 
^ Rome, he laid injunctions upon all the ftates of the em¬ 
pire, to give him the appellation of “Roman emperor' 
elected,”—a title which has fince been ali'unied by all 
his luccelfors. The conduCt of the Venetians gave 
fuch umbrage to the French monarch, that, in 1509, he 
formed the projeCt of a league, in order to diveft the 
Venetians of all the dominions they had ufurped from 
the empire in Lombardy, frbm France and Spain in the 
Milanefe and Apulia, and from the ecclefiaftical ftate 
in Romagna. The emperor was fo far from oppofing 
this fcheme, that he entered into it with the greatelt 
cheerfulnels; and the combined armies proved lb fuc- 
cefsful, that the Venetians foon abandoned all their ter¬ 
ritories upon the continent, and were eventually reduced 
to fuch extremity, that they fent a ckarte blanche to the 
emperor, and implored his clemency in the moft fub- 
iniliive terms ; but their application was rendered fruit- 
lefs by the remonftrances of cardinal d'Aniboife^ who, 
about Jthis time, received tlie inveftiture of Milan in 
the name o'f his royal mafter. 
Louis had no fooner repafTcd the Alps, than the Ve¬ 
netians felt their courage revive; and they retook feve- 
ral places which were garrifoned by the imperial troops. 
Maximilian mUrched to check their progrefs, at the 
head of eighty thoufand mCn : but they defended thein- 
felves with uncommon refolution, and, by a capital 
ftroke ot policy, prevailed on the Roman pontiff to 
efpoufe their caufe. ’ At this time alfo the Florentines 
obtained an advantageous peace of the emperor, and, 
in confideration ot forty thoufand crowns of gold, he 
granted an amnefty for all their revolts, and confirmed 
tlicir privileges in the moft ample manner. 
The attempt of pope Julius to negociate an accom¬ 
modation, proved entirely fruitlefs ; and Julius, finding 
it impoflible to eft'ebt his defigns by mediation, declared 
war againft the French monarch, on pretence of his 
having refufed to reftore fome towns which belonged to 
the holy fee. Louis immediately convoked an aftembly 
ot his clergy, to enquire how far he ought to refpebt 
the power of tlie churcli, which the pope exercifed fo 
unjuftly; and the alTembly unanimoully declared that 
he might repel an unjuft attack by force of arms, and 
infift upon tlie common rights of mankind, according to 
the decrees of the council of Bafil. Tliis declaration 
was not more agreeable to Louis than the emperor, 
wlio, it is faid, entertained the lingular idea of procuring 
himlelf to be elebled pope, and h.ad adtually relolved 
to borrow a large fum of money to purchafe the votes 
of tJie cardinals. 
Whilft tile pope was employed againft the duke of 
Ferrara, Louis and Maximilian fent ambalTadors to the 
king of Arragon, complaining of his conduct, and ex¬ 
horting liim to fecond their endeavours for the copvo- 
cation of a council ; but he anl'wered very coldly upon 
both thefe fubjedts, and endeavoured, 'by private nego- 
ciation, to detach Maximilian from the intereft of 
France. His attempts, in that refpedl, were not alto¬ 
gether unfuccefsful; for the emperor foon began t» 
treat his ally with indifr'erence, ancl eventually declared 
for his enemies. Louis, thus forfaken, was foon liript 
of his conquefts in Italy, and found himfelf reduced to 
great extremities by an invafion of the Swifs and tlie 
Englifti ; tlie latter of whouihad denounced war againft 
him at the inftigation of Ferdinand, and joined the im¬ 
perial forces in Picardy, where they obtained the deci- 
live vibtory which is generally called the battle of the 
fpurs. Hoftilities v/ere carried on with various fuccels 
till the demife of Louis, A. D. 1515 ; when ins fuc- 
celTor Francis I. negociated an accommodation with the 
emperor, and concluded a treaty of peace with Venice 
and England. I he fubfequent fuccels of that prince 
in Italy alarmed Maximilian, and induced him to have 
recourfe to arms ; but he foon cor.feiited to make peace ; 
and Francis remained in tranquil polTellion of his im¬ 
portant conquefts.—See the article France. 
Maximilian now exerted'all his abilitiiiS to procure 
the elettion of his grandlbn Charles, who had recently 
taken poftellion of the Spanifli diadem : but, as there 
was no precedent for nominating a king of the Romans 
previoully to the emperor’s coionatioii at Rome, lie 
could not obtain the gratification of his defire. ids 
difappointment feenis to have preyed upon his fpints; 
for he was, foon afterwards, attacked with a lever, 
which brought him to the grave, in the fixtieth year c,f 
his age, and the twenty-fixth pf his reign, A. D. 1520. 
Maximilian was a prince of a very majeltic appearance, 
and a friend to literature : and .he poli'elfed lo tenacious 
a memory, that he never forgot the names ot perlons 
whom he had once feen, or heard mentioned. During 
his reign, the empire was divided into ten circles. 
Charles V. fon of Philip king of Caftile, upon the 
firft intelligence of his grandfather’s death, prelented 
bimfeii 
