Pike (weapon)A pike is a very long thrusting spear formerly used in European warfare from the Late Middle Ages and most of the early modern period, and were wielded by foot soldiers deployed in pike square formation, until it was largely replaced by bayonet-equipped muskets. The pike was particularly well known as the primary weapon of Swiss mercenary and German Landsknecht units. A similar weapon, the sarissa, had been used in antiquity by Alexander the Great's Macedonian phalanx infantry.
DauphinéThe Dauphiné (UKˈdoʊfɪneɪ,_ˈdɔː-, USˌdoʊfiːˈneɪ dofi'ne) is a former province in Southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was originally the Dauphiné of Viennois. In the 12th century, the local ruler Count Guigues IV of Albon (c. 1095–1142) bore a dolphin on his coat of arms and was nicknamed le Dauphin (French for 'dolphin'). His descendants changed their title from Count of Albon to Dauphin of Viennois.
House of ValoisThe Capetian house of Valois (UKˈvælwɑː , also USvælˈwɑː,_vɑːlˈwɑː , valwa) was a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty. They succeeded the House of Capet (or "Direct Capetians") to the French throne, and were the royal house of France from 1328 to 1589. Junior members of the family founded cadet branches in Orléans, Anjou, Burgundy, and Alençon. The Valois descended from Charles, Count of Valois (1270–1325), the second surviving son of King Philip III of France (reigned 1270–1285).
PaviaPavia (UKˈpɑːviə, USpəˈviːə, paˈviːa, paˈʋiːa; Ticinum; Medieval Latin: Papia) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the capital of the Ostrogothic Kingdom from 540 to 553, of the Kingdom of the Lombards from 572 to 774, of the Kingdom of Italy from 774 to 1024 and seat of the Visconti court from 1365 to 1413.
Francis I of FranceFrancis I (François I^er; Francoys; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once removed and father-in-law Louis XII, who died without a legitimate son. A prodigious patron of the arts, he promoted the emergent French Renaissance by attracting many Italian artists to work for him, including Leonardo da Vinci, who brought the Mona Lisa, which Francis had acquired.
PiacenzaPiacenza (pjaˈtʃɛntsa; Piaṡëinsa pi.aˈzəi̯sɐ; Placentia) is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, and the capital of the eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with over 102,000 inhabitants. Westernmost major city of the region of Emilia-Romagna, it has strong relations with Lombardy, with which it borders, and in particular with Milan. It was once defined by Leonardo da Vinci as "Land of passage", in his Codex Atlanticus, by virtue of its crucial geographical location.