Ferdinand, Duke of Calabria (Spanish: ''Fernando de Aragón, Duque de Calabria'') (15 December 1488 – 20 October 1550) was a Neapolitan prince who played a significant role in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

politics of the

Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon ( , ) an, Corona d'Aragón ; ca, Corona d'Aragó, , , ; es, Corona de Aragón ; la, Corona Aragonum . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of ...

in the early 16th century. Coat of Arms of Ferdinand, Duke of Calabria

Life

Born in

Andria Andria (; Barese: ) is a city and '' comune'' in Apulia ( southern Italy). It is an agricultural and service center, producing wine, olives and almonds. It is the fourth-largest municipality in the Apulia region (behind Bari, Taranto, and Fogg ...

Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...

as son of the future King Frederick and his second wife,

Isabella del Balzo Isabella of Balzo (24 June 1465 – 1533) was a Queen consort of Naples. She was the second consort and only Queen consort of Frederick of Naples. Isabella was also suo jure Duchess of Andria and Venosa and Princess of Altamura. Biography Is ...

. He held the titles of

Duke of Calabria Duke of Calabria was the traditional title of the heir apparent of the Kingdom of Naples after the accession of Robert of Naples. It was also adopted by the heads of certain Houses that had once claimed the Kingdom of Naples in lieu of the royal ...

and of

. An alliance of

Louis XII of France Louis XII (27 June 14621 January 1515), was King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Maria of Cleves, he succeeded his 2nd cousin once removed and brother in law at the time ...

and

Ferdinand II of Aragon Ferdinand II ( an, Ferrando; ca, Ferran; eu, Errando; it, Ferdinando; la, Ferdinandus; es, Fernando; 10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), also called Ferdinand the Catholic (Spanish: ''el Católico''), was King of Aragon and Sardinia fro ...

(Frederick's cousin) had continued the claim of Louis's predecessor, Charles VIII, to the thrones of Naples and

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, and in 1501 they deposed Frederick, and Naples initially went to Louis, but by 1504 a new war led to Naples' seizure by Ferdinand of Aragon. Ferdinand was then taken prisoner by

Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba (1 September 1453 – 2 December 1515) was a Spanish general and statesman who led successful military campaigns during the Conquest of Granada and the Italian Wars. His military victories and widespread p ...

, and was moved to

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

as a hostage. Nevertheless, he gained the King of Aragon's friendship and later that of his grandson and successor

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

. Charles even arranged Ferdinand of Naples' marriage with his stepgrandmother, Ferdinand of Aragon's widow

Germaine of Foix Ursula Germaine of Foix (french: Ursule-Germaine de Foix; ca, Úrsula Germana de Foix; ; c. 1488 – 15 October 1536) was an early modern French noblewoman from the House of Foix. By marriage to King Ferdinand II of Aragon, she was Queen of Ar ...

, in 1526. He designated them as joint viceroys of

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

in 1537. After Queen Germaine's death on 15 October 1536, Ferdinand married the cultivated widow Mencía de Mendoza in 1541. They became renowned for their

patronage Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

of artistic and literary works.

Ancestry

Sources

* Bernadette Nelson, ''The court of Don Fernando de Aragón, Duke of Calabria in Valencia, c.1526–c.1550: music, letters and the meeting of cultures''.

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...

. ''Early Music'', Volume 32, Number 2, May 2004, pp. 194–224(31) * Maricarmen Gómez, "San Miguel de los Reyes y la capilla musical de Don Fernando de Aragón, duque de Calabria (1488-1550)", in ''San Miguel de los Reyes: De Biblioteca Real a Biblioteca Valenciana'' (Valencia, Generalitat, 2000 ), 91-111

External links

Digitized manuscripts
from his personal collection, a
SOMNI
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferdinand, Duke of Calabria 1488 births 1550 deaths People from Andria Dukes of Calabria House of Trastámara Sons of kings

Life

Ancestry

See also

Sources

External links