Claude de Seyssel's important political treatise, The Monarchy of France (1515) illuminates the link between warfare, the state, and the social order in the Renaissance. Raised and educated in Turin, Seyssel entered the service of the French king to facilitate the French invasion of Italy. His wide experience as a jurist, royal counselor, diplomat, propagandist, translator, historian, and prelate informed his unique political perspective. As a witness to the failures of the French in the Italian Wars, he maintained that successful conquest and occupation resulted from superior...