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 Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

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 Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

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

, duke (nominal) of

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

and

Neopatria The Duchy of Neopatras ( ca, Ducat de Neopàtria; scn, Ducatu di Neopatria; gr, Δουκάτο Νέων Πατρών; la, Ducatus Neopatriae) was a principality in southern Thessaly, established in 1319. Officially part of the Kingdom of Sici ...

, 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 Medina del Campo is a town and municipality of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Part of the Province of Valladolid, it is the centre of a farming area. History Medina del Campo grew in importance thanks to its fairs ...

, the younger son of King

John I of Castile John I ( es, Juan I; 24 August 1358 – 9 October 1390) was King of Castile and León from 1379 until 1390. He was the son of Henry II and of his wife Juana Manuel of Castile. Biography His first marriage, to Eleanor of Aragon on 18 June 1375, ...

and Eleanor of Aragon. On 15 August 1403 in

, 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 Catherine of Lancaster ( Castilian: ''Catalina''; 31 March 1373 – 2 June 1418) was Queen of Castile by marriage to King Henry III of Castile. She governed Castile as regent from 1406 until 1418 during the minority of her son. Queen Catherine ...

, became coregent during the minority of his nephew

John II of Castile John II of Castile ( es, link=no, Juan; 6 March 1405 – 20 July 1454) was King of Castile and León from 1406 to 1454. He succeeded his older sister, Maria of Castile, Queen of Aragon, as Prince of Asturias in 1405. Regency John was the ...

. In this capacity he distinguished himself by his prudent administration of domestic affairs. In a war with the Muslim

Kingdom of Granada ) , common_languages = Official language:Classical ArabicOther languages: Andalusi Arabic, Mozarabic, Berber, Ladino , capital = Granada , religion = Majority religion:Sunni IslamMinority religions:Roman C ...

, 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 the Humane (29 July 1356 – 31 May 1410), also called the Elder and the Ecclesiastic, was King of Aragon, Valencia, Sardinia and Corsica and Count of Barcelona from 1396 and King of Sicily from 1409 (as Martin II). He failed to secure th ...

(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 d ...

(see

Counts of Urgell This is a list of the counts of Urgell, a county of the Principality of Catalonia in the 10th through 13th centuries. c. 798–870 Counts appointed by the Carolingians *798–820 Borrell, count of Urgell and Cerdanya *820–824 Aznar Galíndez I ...

), 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 200px, The Coat of Arms of the Princes of Girona The Prince or Princess of Girona ( ca, Príncep o Princesa de Girona) is a title that was historically accorded to the heir apparent or heir presumptive to the Crown of Aragon. Current legislatio ...

for the heir 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 B ...

on 19 February 1416. The most notable accomplishment of his brief reign was his agreement in 1416 to depose the

Antipope Benedict XIII Pedro Martínez de Luna y Pérez de Gotor (25 November 1328 – 23 May 1423), known as in Spanish and Pope Luna in English, was an Aragonese nobleman who, as Benedict XIII, is considered an antipope (see Western Schism) by the Catholic Church ...

, thereby helping to end the

Western Schism The Western Schism, also known as the Papal Schism, the Vatican Standoff, the Great Occidental Schism, or the Schism of 1378 (), was a split within the Catholic Church lasting from 1378 to 1417 in which bishops residing in Rome and Avignon bo ...

, which had divided the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

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 Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...

Pere Oller Pere Oller (fl. 1394 - 1442) was a Catalan Gothic sculptor. From 1395 to 1399 he served as an apprentice on the choir of Barcelona Cathedral. He then relocated to Girona, where the keystone of a vault from the chapel of Pia Almoina is attributed ...

in 1417. The Italian humanist

Lorenzo Valla Lorenzo Valla (; also Latinized as Laurentius; 14071 August 1457) was an Italian Renaissance humanist, rhetorician, educator, scholar, and Catholic priest. He is best known for his historical-critical textual analysis that proved that the ''Don ...

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

and

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, married

Maria of Castile Maria of Castile (14 November 1401 – 4 September 1458) was Queen of Aragon and Naples as the spouse of Alfonso V of Aragon. Maria acted as the regent of Aragon during the reign of her spouse, as he was absent during most of his reign; her reg ...

* Maria of Aragon, (1403–1445), queen of Castile, first wife of

John II of Aragon John II (Spanish: ''Juan II'', Catalan: ''Joan II'', Aragonese: ''Chuan II'' and eu, Joanes II; 29 June 1398 – 20 January 1479), called the Great (''el Gran'') or the Faithless (''el Sense Fe''), was King of Aragon from 1458 until his death i ...

(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 Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, who married

Edward I of Portugal Edward ( pt, Duarte (; 31 October 1391 – 9 September 1438), also called Edward the King Philosopher (''Duarte o Rei-Filósofo'') or the Eloquent (''o Eloquente''), was the King of Portugal from 1433 until his death. He was born in Viseu, the son ...

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