In the new edition of this fascinating history, R. J. Knecht clearly and authoritatively describes the rise and fall of France in the sixteenth century. Drawing on more than forty years of research into primary and secondary sources, he combines narrative with analysis, whilst also reflecting on the cultural, economic and social contexts in which events occurred. Now updated to take account of new research in the USA, Britain and France since 1996, this is the most comprehensive and balanced history of sixteenth-century France available in English. For the revised edition the bibliography has also been brought up to date to ensure that the book remains indispensable reading for anyone interested in French history and culture, or Renaissance and Reformation Europe.