Editing Louis XII (section)

===Governance===
[[File:Louis XII 1514.jpg|thumb|upright|Louis XII on a coin of 1514]]
Although he came late{{sfn|Baumgartner|1996|p=56}} (and unexpectedly) to power, Louis acted with vigour, reforming the French legal system,{{sfn|Baumgartner|1996|pages=88–90}} [[tax cut|reducing taxes]],{{sfn|Baumgartner|1996|pp=100–101}} and improving the government{{sfn|Baumgartner|1996|pp=84–87}} much like his contemporary [[Henry VII of England|Henry VII]] did in the [[Kingdom of England]]. To meet his [[budget]] after having reduced taxes, Louis XII reduced the pensions for the nobility and for foreign princes.{{sfn|Baumgartner|1996|p=102}} In religious policy, Louis XII reinstituted the Pragmatic Sanction, which established the Roman Catholic Church in France as a "Gallic Church" with most of the power of appointment in the hands of the king or other French officials. As noted above, these reforms had been proposed at the meeting of the Estates General in 1484.

Louis was also skilled in managing his nobility, including the powerful [[House of Bourbon|Bourbon]] faction, greatly contributing to the stability of French government. In the Ordinance of Blois of 1499{{sfn|Baumgartner|1996|p=95}} and the Ordinance of Lyon issued in June 1510{{sfn|Baumgartner|1996|pp=202–204}} he extended the powers of royal judges and made efforts to curb [[corruption]] in the law. Highly complex French [[customary law]] was codified and ratified by the royal proclamation of the Ordinance of Blois of 1499.{{sfn|Baumgartner|1996|pp=95–97}} The Ordinance of Lyon tightened up the tax collection system requiring, for instance, that [[tax collectors]] forward all money to the government within eight days after they collected it from the people.{{sfn|Baumgartner|1996|p=203}} Fines and loss of office were prescribed for violations of this ordinance.