Ferdinand I of Aragon

Template:Short description Template:Infobox royalty 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, 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). He was the first Castillian ruler of the Crown of Aragon.

BiographyEdit

Ferdinand was born 27 November 1380 in Medina del Campo, the younger son of King John I of Castile and Eleanor of Aragon.Template:Sfn

On 15 August 1403 in Medina del Campo, Ferdinand founded a new order of knighthood, the Order of the Jar.Template:Sfn

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.Template:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn

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 Crown of Aragon's 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 childrenEdit

In 1394 Ferdinand married Eleanor of Alburquerque (1374–1435). They had seven children:

Alfonso V of Aragon (1396–1458), king of Aragon, Sicily and Naples,Template:Sfn married Maria of Castile Template:Sfn
John II of Aragon (1398–1479)Template:Sfn
Henry of Aragon (Template:Circa-1445),Template:Sfn 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 Template:Sfn
Eleanor of Aragon, (1402–1445), queen of Portugal, who married Edward I of Portugal Template:Sfn
Maria of Aragon, (1403–1445), queen of Castile, first wife of John II of Castile Template:Sfn
Peter of Aragon (1406–1438), count of Alburquerque and duke of Noto
Sancho of Aragon (c.1400–1416),Template:Sfn grand master of the Orders of Calatrava and Alcántara

Appearance and characterEdit

"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..."<ref>From Crónica de Juan II by Alvar García de Santa María</ref>