140 The Swiss and Their Neighbours, 1460–1560
did not relieve Geneva, the king of France would, a man he described as duplicitous,
inconsistent, violent, and ambitious.612
These manoeuvrings turned out to be shadow-boxing. By then the die was cast.
On 1 November 1535 Francesco II Sforza, duke of Milan, had died without heirs.
While Emperor Charles V was quick to lay claim to the duchy, King Francis
I’s hopes of regaining Milan for France were rekindled. By 16th December Bern
had concluded that war was inevitable,613 though it was not until 27th December
that the Great Council publicly endorsed the decision.614 But instead of a war
between Savoy and Bern over Geneva, widely predicted at Aosta,615 the ensuing
Italian War of 1536 to 1538 between the Empire and France transformed the situ-
ation in the Romandie into rivalry between Bern and France for control of Geneva
and a struggle over dismemberment of the duchy of Savoy.616 The outcome was by
no means straightforward.
612 De Crue, ‘Délivrance’, 268. 613 Freymond, ‘Politique’, 128.
614 Feller, Geschichte Berns, 2, 372; Paquier, Pays de Vaud, 2, 264. In an instruction to all its admin-
istrative districts the Bernese council described the long-running conflict with Savoy, and the spread
of the new doctrines in Geneva. It repeated its demand for reparations and its view that war would be
too costly. But it did indicate that it would at last cancel its alliance with Savoy. This was clearly
intended to reassure its subjects. SABE, Teutsche Missiven-Buch 24 W, pp. 104–6 (27 Dec. 1535).
615 Documenti di Storia Sabauda, 116–17.
616 Santschi, Crises et Révolutions, 15. On the international background see Michael Mallett and
Christine Shaw, The Italian Wars, 1494–1559 (Harlow, 2012), 229–30.