Page:Historyoffranc00yong.djvu/118

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94 HISTORY OF FRANCE. fcHAV. tlie phrase of the Two Si'cilies, which now begins to be used. 10. The League of Cannbray. 1508. — A new pope was chosen in i ^OT^Ju/nts //., an old man, but full of fire. His first object was to recover Ravenna and other cities held by the Venetians which were claimed by the Holy See. To this end he formed a league with the King of the Romans, the King of France, and the King of Aragon and the Sicilies, all of whom claimed parts of the Venetian dominions, for the partition of the territories of Venice. Lewis XIL claimed the cities of Brescia, Crema, Ber- gamo, and Cremona, as having been formerly held by the Dukes of Milan. He entered Italy, gained the victory of Agiiade//o, and won his intended share of the territory in a single month. Then Pope Julius, having gained his own share, made peace with Venice, and began to form an union against France. Lewis, with the help of Maximilian and certain cardinals, then professed to summon a General Council of tiie Church at Pisa to act against the Pope. Then the Pope formed what he called the No/y League with Venice and the Catholic King, for the purpose of driving out the French. This was afterwards joined by Henry the Eighth of Eng- land, who hoped to recover yquitaine. Maximilian also presently forsook the French alliance. Gaston of Foix, the newly-created Duke of Nemours, who commanded the French, was a man of much spirit and ability. He took /iresr/a, and gained the battle of Ra^'eiina in 15 12 over the anny of the League ; but he was killed in the moment of victory, and the great Roman commander Frospero Colonua forced the French to retreat beyond the Alps, and Milan was again restored to the house of Sforza. 1 1. Ferdinand's Conquest of Navarre, 1513. — The king- dom of Navarre, ever lapsing to the spindle side, had fallen to the grandmother of Gaston of Foix, and had since gone to the daughter of her eldest son, Calharinc, wife of Hefiry of Albret. On the death of Gaston, P'er- dinand of Aragon set up a preposterous claim on behalf of Gertnaine of Foir, Gaston's sister and his own second wife, and persuaded Henry V]. to send him troops to assist in the conquest of Navarre, as a step to the re- covery of Guicnne by the English. Catharine of Navarre was overpowered, telling her husband indignantly that things would be otherwise had she been the man and he