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 east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

politics of the

Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon (, ) ;, ; ; . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of Barcelona (later Principality of Catalonia) and ended as a consequence of the War of the Sp ...

in the early 16th century.

Life

Born in

Andria Andria (; Barese: ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Apulia region of 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 ...

Apulia Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...

as the son of the future King Frederick and his second wife, Isabella del Balzo. 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), also known as Louis of Orléans was King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples (as Louis III) from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Marie of Cleves, he succeeded his second ...

and

Ferdinand II of Aragon Ferdinand II, also known as Ferdinand I, Ferdinand III, and Ferdinand V (10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), called Ferdinand the Catholic, was King of Aragon from 1479 until his death in 1516. As the husband and co-ruler of Queen Isabella I of ...

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

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, 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. He led military campaigns during the Conquest of Granada and the Italian Wars, after which he served as Viceroy of Naples. For his e ...

, and was moved to

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of 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 language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

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

Germaine of Foix Ursula Germaine of Foix (c. 1488 – 15 October 1536) was an Early modern period, early modern French nobility, French noblewoman from the House of Foix. She was the daughter of John, Viscount of Narbonne, and Marie of Orléans, Viscountess of Na ...

, in 1526. He designated them as joint viceroys of

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

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, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...

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 publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

. ''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 Heirs apparent who never acceded People from the Kingdom of Naples

Life

Ancestry

See also

Sources

External links