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.1410–15), 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 (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	House of 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:

• Alfonso V of Aragon (1396–1458), king of Aragon, Sicily and Naples
• Maria of Aragon, (1396–1445), queen of Castile, first wife of John II of Castile
• John II of Aragon (1398–1479)
• Henry of Aragon (c. 1400-1445), duke of Villena, count of Alburquerque and Empuries, lord of Sogorb, etc. and grand master of the military Order of Santiago
• Eleanor of Aragon, (1402–1445), queen of Portugal, who married Edward I of Portugal
• Peter of Aragon (1406–1438), count of Alburquerque and duke of Noto
• Sancho of Aragon (1410–1416), 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..."^[1]

Ancestry

Ancestors of Ferdinand I of Aragon

16. Ferdinand IV of Castile               8. Alfonso XI of Castile                       17. Constance of Portugal               4. Henry II of Castile                             18. Pedro Núñez de Guzmán               9. Eleanor of Guzman                       19. Beatriz Ponce de León               2. John I of Castile                                   20. Manuel of Castile               10. Juan Manuel, Prince of Villena                       21. Beatrice of Savoy               5. Juana Manuel                             22. Ferdinand de la Cerda               11. Blanca de La Cerda y Lara                       23. Juana Núñez de Lara               1. Ferdinand I of Aragon                                         24. James II of Aragon               12. Alfonso IV of Aragon                       25. Blanche of Anjou               6. Peter IV of Aragon                             26. Gombald d'Entença               13. Teresa d'Entença                       27. Constance of Antilon               3. Eleanor of Aragon                                   28. Frederick III of Sicily               14. Peter II of Sicily                       29. Eleanor of Anjou               7. Eleanor of Sicily                             30. Otto III, Duke of Carinthia               15. Elisabeth of Carinthia                       31. Euphemia of Legnica

See also

• Crown of Aragon

Further reading

• J. N Hillgarth, The Spanish Kingdoms. ISBN 0-19-822531-8
• T. N. Bisson, The Medieval Crown of Aragon. ISBN 0-19-820236-9

References

1. From Cronica de Juan II by Alvar Garcia de Santa Maria

External links

• Ferdinand I of Catalonia-Aragon in the Catalan Hyperencyclopaedia
• H. J. Chaytor, A History of Aragon and Catalonia, ch. 14, "The 'Compromise' of Caspe".
• La Monarquía Hispánica: Fernando I el de Antequera (1412-1416) (in Spanish)
• Article of Francesca Español Bertran on his tomb in Poblet (in Spanish)