Ferdinand I of Aragon

Ferdinand I

Ferdinand I being crowned by the infant Jesus in San Benito el Real Valladolid, by Juan Rodríguez de Toledo (c.141015), now in the Museo del Prado, Madrid.
King of Aragon, Valencia, Majorca and Sicily and Count of Barcelona
Reign 1412–1416
Coronation January 1414 (Zaragoza)
Predecessor Martin the Humane
Successor Alfonso the Magnanimous
Born 27 November 1380
Medina del Campo
Died 2 April 1416(1416-04-02) (aged 35)
Igualada
Burial Poblet Monastery
Consort Eleanor of Alburquerque
Issue
among others...
Alfonso V, King of Aragon
Maria, Queen of Castile
John II, King of Aragon
Henry, Duke of Villena
Eleanor, Queen of Portugal
Peter, Count of Alburquerque
House Trastámara
Father John I of Castile
Mother Eleanor of Aragon
Religion Roman Catholicism

Ferdinand I (Spanish: Fernando I; 27 November 1380 2 April 1416 in Igualada, Catalonia) called of Antequera and also the Just (or the Honest) was king of Aragon, Valencia, Majorca, Sardinia and (nominal) Corsica and king of Sicily, duke (nominal) of Athens and Neopatria, and count of Barcelona, Roussillon and Cerdanya (1412–1416). He was also regent of Castile (1406–1416).

Biography

Born at Medina del Campo, he was the younger son of King John I of Castile and Eleanor of Aragon.

In 1406, upon the death of his elder brother, King Henry III of Castile, 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 (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 Aragon in 1412 to succeed him in the Compromise of Caspe. The other candidate, Count James II of Urgell (see Counts of Urgell), revolted and Ferdinand dissolved the County of Urgell 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 Aragonese royal pantheon of the monastery of Poblet, 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 (1374–1435). They had seven children:

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..."[1]

Ancestry

See also

Further reading

References

  1. From Cronica de Juan II by Alvar Garcia de Santa Maria
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Ferdinand I of Aragon
Born: 27 November 1380 Died: 2 April 1416
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Martin the Humane
King of Aragon, Valencia, Majorca,
Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica;
Count of Barcelona, Roussillon and Cerdagne

1412–1416
Succeeded by
Alfonso the Magnanimous
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