Niccolò III d'Este (9 November 1383 – 26 December 1441) was

Marquess of Ferrara This is a list of rulers of the estates owned by the House of Este, Este family, which main line of Marquesses (''Marchesi d'Este'') rose in 1039 with Albert Azzo II, Margrave of Milan. The name "Este" is related to the city where the family came ...

from 1393 until his death. He was also a

condottiero Condottieri (; singular: ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italian military leaders active during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The term originally referred specifically to commanders of mercenary companies, derived from the ...

Biography

Born in

Ferrara Ferrara (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, capital of the province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main ...

on 9 November 1383, Niccolo was the son of

Alberto d'Este Alberto (V) d'Este (27 February 1347 – 30 July 1393) was Lord of Ferrara and Modena from 1388 until his death. He was associated in the lordship of the House of Este by his brother Niccolò II d'Este, Niccolò in 1361, becoming the sole ru ...

and Isotta Albaresani. He inherited the rule of the city in 1393 when only 10 years old. As a minor he was guided by a Regency Council supported by the Republics of Venice,

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

and

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

. In 1395 the troops of the Regency Council were attacked at the Battle of Portomaggiore by Niccolò's relative Azzo X d'Este, a descendant of Obizzo II d'Este, who contested Niccolò's right to rule in Ferrara due to his illegitimate birth, even though Niccolò had been legitimated by his father. However, Azzo's mercenary forces were defeated in the battle and Azzo himself was taken prisoner and subsequently imprisoned by

Astorre I Manfredi Astorre Manfredi (c. 1345 – November 28, 1405) was an Italian condottiero. He was the son of Giovanni Manfredi, who had been lord of Faenza (today's Emilia-Romagna) and other castles in the area before the Papal reconquest. Astorre lived fo ...

, commander of the Regency Council forces, thus removing the threat to Niccolò's rule. In 1397 Niccolò married Gigliola da Carrara, daughter of Francesco II da Carrara, lord of

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

. In 1403 he joined the league formed against

Gian Maria Visconti Gian Maria Visconti (or Giovanni Maria; 7 September 1388 – 16 May 1412) was the second Visconti of Milan, Visconti Duke of Milan, the son of Gian Galeazzo Visconti and Caterina Visconti. He was known to be cruel and was eventually assassinated ...

, Duke of Milan, being appointed Captain General of the Papal Army by

Pope Boniface IX Pope Boniface IX (; ; c. 1350 – 1 October 1404, born Pietro Tomacelli) was head of the Catholic Church from 2 November 1389 to his death, in October 1404. He was the second Roman pope during the Western Schism.Richard P. McBrien, ''Lives of t ...

. In 1405 he ceded the ancestral family lands near Este to Venice. In 1410 the fighting master Fiore dei Liberi dedicated his treatise, the Fior di Battaglia, to him. In 1413 he made a pilgrimage to the

Holy Land The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...

. In 1418 he remarried Parisina Malatesta, daughter of Andrea Malatesta. Two years later, fearing the ambitions of

Filippo Maria Visconti Filippo Maria Visconti (3 September 1392 – 13 August 1447) was the duke of Duchy of Milan, Milan from 1412 to 1447. Reports stated that he was "paranoid", but "shrewd as a ruler." He went to war in the 1420s with Romagna, Republic of Florenc ...

, he ceded to him the possession of

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

. In 1425 Niccolò had both his wife Parisina and his illegitimate son Ugo executed on charges of adultery, as well as decreeing that all women within his domains found to be guilty of adultery were to be put to death. He had to rescind this order once it was determined that this action would depopulate Ferrara. In that year he was again commander-in-chief of the anti-Visconti league. In 1429 his illegitimate son was named heir of the Marquisate. The role of Niccolò as a prestigious leader in Italy was confirmed when his city was chosen as the seat of a

council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

in 1438.

Marriages and children

Niccolò had children with at least eleven different women. He married first Gigliola da Carrara, daughter of Francesco II da Carrara, lord of

in June 1397. She died of the plague in 1416. They had no known children. He married secondly Parisina Malatesta, daughter of Andrea Malatesta. He had her executed on 21 May 1425 for allegedly having an affair with his illegitimate son Ugo d'Este. They had three children: * Ginevra d'Este (24 March 1419 – 12 October 1440). Married her maternal relative

Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta (19 June 1417 – 7 October 1468) was an Italian condottiero and nobleman, a member of the House of Malatesta and lord of Rimini and Fano from 1432. He was widely considered by his contemporaries as one of the mos ...

. * Luzia d'Este (24 March 1419 – 28 June 1437). Married Carlo Gonzaga of Milan, Lord of

Sabbioneta Sabbioneta () is a town and in the province of Mantua, Lombardy region, Northern Italy. It is situated about north of Parma, not far from the northern bank of the Po River. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages o ...

. * Alberto Carlo d'Este (born and deceased in 1421). He married thirdly Ricciarda of Saluzzo in 1429. She was a daughter of Thomas III of Saluzzo and Marguerite of Pierrepont. They had two children: *

Ercole I d'Este Ercole I d'Este (English: ''Hercules I''; 26 October 1431 – 25 January 1505) was Duke of Ferrara from 1471 until 1505. He was a member of the House of Este. He was nicknamed ''North Wind'' and ''The Diamond''. Biography Ercole was born in 143 ...

(26 October 1431 – 15 June 1505) * Sigismondo d'Este (1433 – 1 April 1507) He also had eleven illegitimate children: * Ugo d'Este (1405–1425). Son by Stella de' Tolomei. Executed by his father on 21 May 1425 for allegedly having an affair with his stepmother Parisina Malatesta * Meliaduse d'Este, Abbot of Pomposa and Ferrara, (1406–1452). Son by Caterina di Taddeo. * Leonello d'Este (1407–1450). Son by Stella de' Tolomei. * Margherita d'Este (1411–1452). Married Galeotto Roberto Malatesta (1411–1432). Married Galassio II Pio. *

Borso d'Este image:Borso d'Este.jpg, Borso d'Este, attributed to Vicino da Ferrara, Pinacoteca of the Castello Sforzesco, Sforza Castle in Milan, Italy. Borso d'Este (1413 – 20 August 1471) was the first duke of Ferrara and duke of Modena, Modena, which he ...

(1413–1471). Son by Stella de' Tolomei. * Alberto d'Este (1415 – 8 April 1502). Son by Filippa della Tavola. * Isotta d'Este (1425–1456). Daughter by Filippa della Tavola. Married first Oddantonio da Montefeltro,

Duke of Urbino The Duchy of Urbino () was an independent duchy in early modern central Italy, corresponding to the northern half of the modern region of Marche. It was directly annexed by the Papal States in 1631. It was bordered by the Adriatic Sea in the ea ...

and secondly Stjepan III Frankopan Modruški (Stephen Frangipani), Prince of

Krk Krk (; ; ; ; archaic German: ''Vegl'', ; ) is a Croatian island in the northern Adriatic Sea, located near Rijeka in the Bay of Kvarner and part of Primorje-Gorski Kotar county. Krk is tied with Cres as the largest Adriatic island, depending o ...

Senj Senj is a town on the upper Adriatic coast in Croatia, in the foothills of the Mala Kapela and Velebit mountains. The symbol of the town is the Nehaj Fortress () which was completed in 1558. For a time this was the seat of the Uskoks, who were ...

and

Modruš Modruš is a village, former episcopal see, and current Latin Church The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. T ...

* Beatrice d'Este (1427–1497). Married in her first marriage to Niccolò of Correggio, and in her second marriage Tristano Sforza son of

Francesco Sforza Francesco I Sforza (; 23 July 1401 – 8 March 1466) was an Italian condottiero who founded the Sforza dynasty in the duchy of Milan, ruling as its (fourth) duke from 1450 until his death. In the 1420s, he participated in the War of L'Aqui ...

* Rinaldo d'Este, Lord of Ostellato (c. 1435 – 1535). Son by Anna de Roberti. * Bianca Maria d'Este (18 December 1440 – 12 January 1506). Daughter by Anna de Roberti. Married Galeotto I Pico, Lord della Mirandola. * Gurone d'Este (d. 1484). An Abbot. * Camilla d'Este. Married Rodolfo da Varano of

Camerino Camerino is a town in the province of Macerata, Marche, central-eastern Italy. It is located in the Apennines bordering Umbria, between the valleys of the rivers Potenza and Chienti, about from Ancona. Camerino is home to the University of Ca ...

References

Sources

* * * * L. A. Muratori. ''Delle antichità Estensi''. 1717, Modena. * G. B. Pigna. ''Historia dei Principi d'Este''. 1570, Ferrara. * Antonio Menniti Ippolito, Este, Niccolò III d’, in Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, XLIII, Roma 1993, pp. 396–403. * M. Hollingsworth. ''Princes of the Renaissance.'' 2021, London.

External links

A listing of descendants of the d'Este family
{{DEFAULTSORT:Este, Niccolo 03 1383 births 1441 deaths Niccolo 3 Margraves of Ferrara 15th-century condottieri 14th-century Italian nobility Burials at the Corpus Domini Monastery, Ferrara Lords of Faenza