Ferdinand I (Spanish: ''Fernando I''; 27 November 1380 – 2 April 1416 in Igualada, Òdena) named Ferdinand of Antequera and also the Just (or the Honest) was king of

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...

, Valencia,

Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...

, Sardinia and (nominal)

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

and king of Sicily, duke (nominal) of Athens and Neopatria, and

count of Barcelona The Count of Barcelona ( ca, Comte de Barcelona, es, Conde de Barcelona, french: Comte de Barcelone, ) was the ruler of the County of Barcelona and also, by extension and according with the Usages of Barcelona, usages and Catalan constitutions, of ...

Roussillon Roussillon ( , , ; ca, Rosselló ; oc, Rosselhon ) is a historical province of France that largely corresponded to the County of Roussillon and part of the County of Cerdagne of the former Principality of Catalonia. It is part of the reg ...

and

Cerdanya Cerdanya () or often La Cerdanya ( la, Ceretani or ''Ceritania''; french: Cerdagne; es, Cerdaña), is a natural comarca and historical region of the eastern Pyrenees divided between France and Spain. Historically it was one of the counties ...

(1412–1416). He was also regent of Castile (1406–1416).

Biography

Ferdinand was born 27 November 1380 in Medina del Campo, the younger son of King John I of Castile and Eleanor of Aragon. On 15 August 1403 in Medina del Campo, Ferdinand founded a new order of knighthood, the

Order of the Jar The Order of the Jar ( es, Orden de la Jarra, german: Kannenorden) was a chivalric order founded by Ferdinand of Antequera in 1403. After Ferdinand became King of Aragon in 1412, it became a royal order and lasted until 1516.D'Arcy Jonathan Dacre B ...

. In 1406, upon the death of his elder brother, King

Henry III of Castile Henry III of Castile (4 October 1379 – 25 December 1406), called the Suffering due to his ill health (, ), was the son of John I and Eleanor of Aragon. He succeeded his father as King of Castile in 1390. Birth and education Henry was born ...

, Ferdinand declined the Castilian crown and instead, with Henry's widow Catherine of Lancaster, became coregent during the minority of his nephew John II of Castile. In this capacity he distinguished himself by his prudent administration of domestic affairs. In a war with the Muslim Kingdom of Granada, he conquered the town of

Antequera Antequera () is a city and municipality in the Comarca de Antequera, province of Málaga, part of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia. It is known as "the heart of Andalusia" (''el corazón de Andalucía'') because of its central locat ...

(1410), whence his surname. After Ferdinand's maternal uncle, King Martin I of Aragon (Martin II of Sicily), died without surviving legitimate issue, Ferdinand was chosen King of

in 1412 to succeed him in the

Compromise of Caspe The 1412 Compromise of Caspe (''Compromís de Casp'' in Catalan) was an act and resolution of parliamentary representatives of the constituent realms of the Crown of Aragon (the Kingdom of Aragon, Kingdom of Valencia, and Principality of Catal ...

. The other candidate, Count

James II of Urgell James II (in Catalan ''Jaume II d'Urgell'' or ''Jaume el Dissortat'' "James the unlucky", in Spanish ''Jayme II el desafortunado'') (1380 – 1 June 1433) was the Count of Urgell (1408–1413), Viscount of Àger, and lord of Antillón, Alcolea de ...

(see Counts of Urgell), revolted and Ferdinand dissolved the

County of Urgell The County of Urgell ( ca, Comtat d'Urgell, ; la, Comitatus Urgellensis) is one of the historical Catalan counties, bordering on the counties of Pallars and Cerdanya. History The county of Urgell was carved by the Franks out of a former sectio ...

in 1413. Ferdinand created the title of Prince of Girona for the heir of the Crown of Aragon on 19 February 1416. The most notable accomplishment of his brief reign was his agreement in 1416 to depose the Antipope Benedict XIII, thereby helping to end the Western Schism, which had divided the Roman Catholic Church for nearly 40 years. He is buried in the Crown of Aragon's royal pantheon of the monastery of

Poblet Poblet Abbey, otherwise the Royal Abbey of Santa Maria de Poblet ( ca, Reial Monestir de Santa Maria de Poblet), is a Cistercian monastery, founded in 1151, located at the foot of the Prades Mountains, in the comarca of Conca de Barberà, in C ...

, in a magnificent tomb ordered by his son Alfonso to Pere Oller in 1417. The Italian humanist Lorenzo Valla wrote an official biography of Ferdinand, ''Historiarum Ferdinandi regis Aragonum libri sex''.

Family and children

In 1393 Ferdinand married

Eleanor of Alburquerque Eleanor, 3rd Countess of Alburquerque (1374 – 16 December 1435) was Queen of Aragon by her marriage to Ferdinand I of Aragon. In Spanish, she is known as ''Leonor Urraca de Castilla, condesa de Alburquerque''. She was the regent of Aragon ...

(1374–1435). They had seven children: *

Alfonso V of Aragon Alfonso the Magnanimous (139627 June 1458) was King of Aragon and King of Sicily (as Alfonso V) and the ruler of the Crown of Aragon from 1416 and King of Naples (as Alfonso I) from 1442 until his death. He was involved with struggles to the t ...

(1396–1458), king of

, Sicily and Naples, married Maria of Castile * Maria of Aragon, (1403–1445), queen of Castile, first wife of John II of Castile * John II of Aragon (1398–1479) *

Henry of Aragon Infante Henry of Aragon (1400 – 15 June 1445), 1st Duke of Villena, 4th Count of Alburquerque, Count of Ampurias, was the Grand Master of the Order of Santiago. Childhood A member of the House of Trastamara, Henry was the third son of Ki ...

(c. 1400-1445), duke of Villena, count of Alburquerque and Empuries, lord of Sogorb, etc. and grand master of the military Order of Santiago, married Catherine of Castile * Eleanor of Aragon, (1402–1445), queen of Portugal, who married Edward I of Portugal *

Peter of Aragon Peter of Aragon may refer to * Peter I of Aragon and Navarre (c. 1068–1104), King of Aragón and Navarre since 1094 * Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Provence (1158 - 1181), born as Peter of Aragón, Count of the Provence since 1173 * Peter II ...

(1406–1438), count of Alburquerque and duke of Noto * Sancho of Aragon (c.1400–1416), grand master of the Orders of Calatrava and Alcántara

Appearance and character

"He was tall, a little more than average, and thin and ruddy, and his cheeks had a few freckles... very patient to all who wanted to talk to him, even if their speeches were ordinary or not well-reasoned..."From ''Crónica de Juan II'' by Alvar García de Santa María

Genealogy

References

Bibliography

* * * * *

External links

Ferdinand I of Catalonia-Aragon in the Catalan Hyperencyclopaedia

* ttp://www.cervantesvirtual.com/historia/monarquia/fernando_i.shtml La Monarquía Hispánica: Fernando I ''el de Antequera'' (1412-1416)(in Spanish)
Article of Francesca Español Bertran on his tomb in Poblet
(in Spanish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferdinand 01 Of Aragon 1380 births 1416 deaths 15th-century Aragonese monarchs 15th-century Kings of Sicily People from Medina del Campo House of Trastámara Monarchs of Majorca Valencian monarchs Counts of Barcelona Castilian infantes Regents of Castile Burials at the Poblet Monastery Counts of Malta