Editing Charles VIII of France (section)

==Death==
Charles died in 1498, two and a half years after his retreat from Italy, as the result of an accident. While on his way to watch a game of ''jeu de paume'' ([[real tennis]]) in Amboise he struck his head on the [[lintel]] of a door.<ref>Heiner Gillmeister, ''Tennis: A Cultural History'' (London: Leicester University Press, 1998) p. 21. ({{ISBN|978-0718501471}})</ref> At around 2:00&nbsp;p.m., while returning from the game, he fell into a sudden coma and died nine hours later. However, more recent analysis disputes this narrative of his death with a 2021 study concluding that such an injury would cause only minor trauma. That same study also hypothesized Charles actually died of severe brain injuries that could have been caused by an [[Epilepsy|epileptic condition]], itself a result of [[neurosyphilis]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Zanello |first1=Marc |last2=Roux |first2=Alexandre |last3=Gavaret |first3=Martine |last4=Bartolomei |first4=Fabrice |last5=Huberfeld |first5=Gilles |last6=Charlier |first6=Philippe |last7=Georges-Zimmermann |first7=Patrice |last8=Carron |first8=Romain |last9=Pallud |first9=Johan |date=December 2021 |title=King Charles VIII of France's Death: From an Unsubstantiated Traumatic Brain Injury to More Realistic Hypotheses |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34537407/ |journal=World Neurosurgery |volume=156 |pages=60–67 |doi=10.1016/j.wneu.2021.09.056 |issn=1878-8769 |pmid=34537407}}</ref>

[[File:Armes charles 8 france et naples.png|thumb|Coat of arms of Charles VIII, showing ''[[France Moderne]]'' and ''[[France Ancient]]'' quartered with [[Jerusalem cross]], representing Charles's claim to the [[Kingdom of Jerusalem]]]]

Charles bequeathed a meagre legacy: he left France in debt and in disarray as a result of his ambition. However, his expedition did strengthen cultural ties to Italy, energizing French art and literature in the latter part of the [[Renaissance]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rorimer |first=James J. |date=1954 |title=The Glorification of Charles VIII |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3257546 |journal=The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin |volume=12 |issue=10 |pages=281–299 |doi=10.2307/3257546 |jstor=3257546 |issn=0026-1521}}</ref> Since his children predeceased him, Charles was the last of the elder branch of the [[Valois Dynasty|House of Valois]]. Upon his death, the throne passed to his brother-in-law and second cousin once removed, [[Louis XII]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rorimer |first=James J. |date=1954 |title=The Glorification of Charles VIII |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3257546 |journal=The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin |volume=12 |issue=10 |pages=281–299 |doi=10.2307/3257546 |jstor=3257546 |issn=0026-1521}}</ref> Anne returned to Brittany and began taking steps to regain the independence of her duchy. In order to stymie these efforts, Louis XII had his 24-year childless marriage to Charles's sister, [[Joan of France, Duchess of Berry|Joan]], [[Annulment|annulled]] and married Anne.<ref>Frederic J. Baumgartner, ''Louis XII'' (New York: St. Martin Press, 1996) p. 79.</ref>