Francis I of France was a king.
Francis I ( Franz Stefan , François Étienne 8 December 1708 -- 18 August 1765 ) was Holy Roman Emperor and Grand Duke of Tuscany , though his wife effectively executed the real powers of those positions . Francis I ( François Ier ) ( 12 September 1494 -- 31 March 1547 ) was the first King of France from the Angoulême branch of the House of Valois , reigning from 1515 until his death . He was also known as François au Grand Nez ( `` Francis of the Large Nose '' ) , the Grand Colas , and the Roi-Chevalier ( the `` Knight-King '' ) for his personal involvement in the wars against his great rival the Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain Charles V. When this was unsuccessful , he formed a Franco-Ottoman alliance with the Muslim sultan Suleiman the Magnificent , a controversial move for a Christian king at the time . The Italian war of 1536-1538 was a conflict between King Francis I of France and Charles V , King of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor .