The XVI Century: François 1st and the alchimists

Francis I (French: François 1er and François d'Angoulême) (12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547), was crowned King of France in 1515 in the cathedral at Reims and reigned until 1547.
Francis I is considered to be France's first Renaissance monarch. His reign saw France make immense cultural advances. He was a contemporary of King Henry VIII of England and of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, his great rivals.

Francis poured vast amounts of money into new structures. The largest of Francis's building projects was the reconstruction and expansion of the royal château of Fontainebleau, which quickly became his favourite place of residence, as well as the residence of his official mistress - Anne, duchess of Étampes. Each of Francis's projects was luxuriously decorated both inside and outside. Fontainebleau, for instance, had a gushing fountain in its courtyard where quantities of wine were mixed with the water.



CHATEAU OF FONTAINEBLEAU




























































































The salamander was a symbol of enduring faith which triumphs over the fires of passion. It was also the badge of Francis I of France, with the motto, "I nourish [the good] and extinguish [the bad]." It appears in the arms of Fontainebleau and others castles.

Early in his reign, Francois 1st began construction of the magnificent Château de Chambord, inspired by the styles of the Italian renaissance, and perhaps even designed by Leonardo da Vinci.

CHATEAU OF CHAMBORD

700 salamenders are featured in the Château of Chambord.

However, some very few historians say that Francis 1st had chosen the salamender as badge because he was very interested in the alchemists theories.

Indeed, this amphibian was the symbol of the alchimists.

In alchemy, alchimists held the salamander to be a fire-eater and able to quench fire with its cool, moist body. In the alchemical philosophy, anything that had the power to transform something into something else was hugely important.

For these few historians, Francois 1st was so interested in the alchemy that, in 1521, he decided to forbid some books relating to alchemy.

His goal was to keep for him all the theories about alchemy and the philosophal stone.

The interest of Francois 1st in the alchemy would have come from his mother, Louise de Savoy.

Indeed, Agrippa, the famous alchimist, was the court physician of Louise de Savoy.

More about Francois 1st and the salamenders:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_I_of_France

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salamander_(legendary_creature)

http://www.marc-bielli.com/fr1.html