The initial conflict went wholly France's way, thanks to the brilliance of its twenty-three year old commander, Gaston de Foix, who swept across Northern Italy - defeating several enemy forces - before besieging Ravenna, and awaiting the Holy League's army. In April 1522 the French successfully defeated the League in battle, but Gaston was killed; this proved a turning point, and the League made swift gains, destabilising both the French conquests, and their allies. In the June of 1513 Swiss forces won a major victory at Novara and then entered France, were they laid siege to Dijon; English forces also attacked northern France, with much vaunted success. The French had been pushed firmly out of Italy; however, the League's members could not agree on further action and they split up; between September 1513 and July 1514 each of the allies made their own peace with France.

Santa Junta of 1520 - 21
The Santa Junta, or Holy League, was formed in the August of 1520 by a coalition of Castilian towns; these originally numbered four - Toledo, Salamanca, Segovia and Toro - but rose to thirteen in under a month. The Santa Junta was part of the larger 'Revolt of the Comuneros', an initially urban rebellion that occurred in Castile during 1520 - 21. The revolt was prompted largely by opposition to the policies of Spain's new King, Charles V, who levied heavy fiscal demands on Castile before leaving to pursue his own dynastic goals. The rebellion was driven forward by the Santa Junta's creation, and 'Comunero' refers to special councils set up by the rebel towns, who began to demand large-scale constitutional reforms.

Many Castilian towns stayed out of the Holy League; indeed some, including Seville, formed another coalition, the League of La Rambla. Those that did join frequently disagreed over strategy and direction, and the Santa Junta's armed forces were decisively beaten at Villas in February 1521, effectively ending the whole revolt. The size of the Royalist victory allowed leniency, and many of the rebels were pardoned.

(For more on the Comuneros, see 'Spain 1516 - Spain 1516 - 22: The Troubled Succession Of Charles V'.)

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For Citation And Footnotes
Title: Holy Leagues of the 16th Century
Author: Robert Wilde
Date: 2001