The young king of France, François 1 st , is still crowned with glory following its victory against the Holy League – a coalition composed of the Holy Roman Empire, the Duchy of Milan, the Swiss Confederates mercenaries of the Holy Empire, and the Pope – which took place in Marignan on 13 and September 14, 1515. This success gives France the duchy of Milan, generates the perpetual peace of Friborg (1516) between France and the Swiss cantons (which can no longer fight each other), as well as the Concordat of Bologna.
August 18, 1516
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François 1 st
Pope Leo X
Procedure
Indeed, for 5 days, between December 11 and 15, 1515, Pope Leo X and King Francis I st meet in Bologna. The pope arrived in the city on the 8th, and the king joined him on the 11th, as sumptuously dressed as the sovereign pontiff. The ceremony is grandiose and the interview opens with a speech given in Latin by Chancellor Antoine Duprat, full of praise for the Pontiff and the king. The requests of both led to the Concordat of Boulogne negotiated by Duprat and ratified on August 18, 1516.
This text returns in particular to the "Pragmatic Sanction of Bourg", signed by Charles VII in 1438. It affirmed the superiority of the national councils (assemblies leading to important decision-making) over the papacy.
From now on, abbots, bishops, archbishops are no longer elected but appointed by the King of France. However, the papacy reserves a right of veto. Members of the clergy who disagree with these appointments can now appeal to the Court of Rome, and no longer to the French Parliament, which gives full satisfaction to Leo X whose authority is increased. The pope can again receive annates (charges paid each time a holder changes – a member of the clergy who occupies an important position, such as a bishop). In addition, thanks to these agreements, the French sovereign obtains the status of "eldest son of the Church" at the expense of Maximilian of Habsburg, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
Consequences
Refusing to recognize the political authority of the Pope (what is called Gallicanism), the Parliament, the academics and part of the clergy, refuse to ratify the concordat. But, constrained by the king, the Parliament ended up bowing and signing it on March 22, 1518. Concerning internal policy, the appointment of the upper clergy by the king created an opposition with the lower clergy, always elected and not receiving only meager tributes. From now on, the sovereign can legitimately favor the nobles who have entered the orders (the ecclesiastical nobility, which is defined as the high clergy). The lower clergy felt forgotten, but the Concordat was not called into question until 1790, during the French Revolution.
Rarely has a sovereign had so much power over the Church of his kingdom. In addition, the State obtains the authorization to levy a decime (tax) on the clergy. Finally, the Bologna concordat positioned France as a privileged interlocutor of Rome, henceforth preventing the creation of any coalition between the papacy and other countries against France. On the strength of this agreement, the kingdom of François 1 st finds itself at the heart of the international political game.