Alfonso V of Aragon
Alfonso V | |
---|---|
Poblet Monastery | |
Spouse | |
Issue among others... | Ferdinand I of Naples |
House | Trastámara |
Father | Ferdinand I of Aragon |
Mother | Eleanor of Alburquerque |
Signature |
Alfonso the Magnanimous (Alfons el Magnànim in
Early life
Born at
King Ferdinand died on 2 April 1416, and Alfonso succeeded him as
Alfonso's marriage with Maria was childless. His mistress
Alfonso was the object of diplomatic contacts from the Empire of Ethiopia. In 1428, he received a letter from
Struggle for Naples
In 1421 the childless Queen
After an attempt to arrest the queen herself had failed, Joan called on Sforza who defeated the Aragonese militias near
The duke of Milan, Filippo Maria Visconti, joined the anti-Aragonese coalition. Alfonso requested support from Braccio da Montone, who was besieging Joanna's troops in L'Aquila, but had to set sail for Spain, where a war had broken out between his brothers and the Kingdom of Castile. On his way towards Barcelona, Alfonso sacked Marseille, a possession of Louis III.[8]
In late 1423 the Genoese fleet of Filippo Maria Visconti moved in the southern
An opportunity for Alfonso to reconquer Naples occurred in 1432, when Caracciolo was killed in a conspiracy.
In Milan, Alfonso impressed his captor with his cultured demeanor and persuaded him to let him go by persuading that it was not in Milan's interest to prevent the victory of the Aragonese party in Naples.[10] Helped by a Sicilian fleet, Alfonso recaptured Capua and set his base in Gaeta in February 1436. Meanwhile, papal troops had invaded the Neapolitan kingdom, but Alfonso bribed their commander, Cardinal Giovanni Vitelleschi, and their successes waned.[11]
In the meantime, René had managed to reach Naples on 19 May 1438. Alfonso tried to besiege the city in the following September, but failed.
Alfonso, provided with the most impressive artillery of the times, again besieged Naples. The siege began on 10 November 1441, ending on 2 June the following year.[12] After the return of René to Provence, Alfonso easily reduced the remaining resistance and made his triumphal entrance in Naples on 26 February 1443, as the monarch of a pacified kingdom.[10]
Alfonso then reunited under his dominion the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily, divided since the Sicilian Vespers. After the personal union, he began to call himself Rex Utriusque Siciliae; this was then used by other kings and his successors who ruled over those territories.
Art and administration
Like many Renaissance rulers, Alfonso V was a patron of the arts. He founded the Academy of Naples under Giovanni Pontano, and for his entrance into the city in 1443 had a magnificent triumphal arch added to the main gate of Castel Nuovo.[13] Alfonso V supplied the theme of Renaissance sculptures over the west entrance.
Alfonso was particularly attracted to
After his conquest of Naples in 1442, Alfonso ruled primarily through his mercenaries and political lackeys. In his Italian kingdom, he maintained the former political and administrative institutions. His holdings in Spain were governed by his wife Maria.[15]
A unified General Chancellorship for the whole Aragonese realm was set up in Naples, although the main functionaries were of Aragonese nationality. Apart from financial, administrative and artistic improvements, his other accomplishments in the Sicilian kingdom include the restoration of the aqueducts, the drainage of marshy areas, and the paving of streets.[16]
Alfonso founded the first university of Sicily, the Siciliae Studium Generale.
Later life
Alfonso was also a powerful and faithful supporter of Skanderbeg, whom he decided to take under his protection as a vassal in 1451, shortly after the latter had scored his second victory against Murad II. In addition to financial assistance, he supplied the Albanian leader with troops, military equipment, and sanctuary for himself and his family if such a need should arise. This was because in 1448, while Skanderbeg was fighting off the Turkish invasions, three military columns, commanded by Demetrio Reres along with his sons Giorgio and Basilio, had been dispatched to help Alfonso V defeat the barons of Naples who had rebelled against him.[17]
He also supported
Alfonso, by formally submitting his reign to the Papacy, obtained the consent of Pope Eugene IV that the Kingdom of Naples would go to his illegitimate son, Ferdinand. He died in Castel dell'Ovo in 1458, while he was planning the conquest of Genoa. At the time, Alfonso was at odds with Pope Callixtus III, who died shortly afterwards.[citation needed] Alfonso's Iberian possessions had been ruled for him by his brother, who succeeded him as John II of Aragon.[15] Sicily and Sardinia were also inherited by John II.
Marriage and issue
Alfonso had been betrothed to
Genealogical records in the Old Occitan Chronicle of Montpellier in Le petit Thalamus de Montpellier indicate that Alphonso's relationship with his mistress, Giraldona Carlino (daughter of Enrique Carlino and his wife, Isabel), produced three children:[2]
- His successor in Naples, King Ferdinand I of Naples, (born 1423; reigned 1458–1494).
- Leonello d'Este, deceased 1450.
- Leonora d'Aragona, who married c. 1443, Mariano Marzano, Duke of Squillace, Prince of Rossano. Her daughter Francesca married Leonardo III Tocco.
Notes
- ^ also Alphonso
- Valencia (as Alfonso III), Majorca, Sardinia (as Alfonso II) and Sicily (as Alfonso I) and Count of Barcelona(as Alfonso IV).
References
- S2CID 159420253.
- ^ a b Widmayer 2006, p. 231.
- JSTOR 41299786.
- ^ Girma Beshah and Merid Wolde Aregay, The Question of the Union of the Churches in Luso-Ethiopian Relations (1500–1632) (Lisbon: Junta de Investigações do Ultramar and Centro de Estudos Históricos Ultramarinos, 1964), pp.13–4.
- ^ Girma Beshah and Merid Wolde Aregay, The Question of the Union of the Churches, pp.14.
- ^ O. G. S. Crawford (editor), Ethiopian Itineraries, circa 1400 – 1524 (Cambridge: the Hakluyt Society, 1958), pp. 12f.
- ^ a b Armstrong 1964, p. 164.
- ^ a b c d e f Armstrong 1964, p. 165.
- ^ Grierson & Travaini 1998, p. 245.
- ^ a b c d Bisson 1991, p. 144.
- ^ Gregorovius, Ferdinand (1859). History of the City of Rome in the Middle Ages.
- ^ "Alfonso V | king of Aragon and Naples | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
- ^ "Naples | History & Points of Interest". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
- ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 736.
- ^ a b Bisson 1991, p. 147.
- ^ "Alfonso V of Aragon (the Magnanimous) (1396–1458) - Dictionary definition of Alfonso V of Aragon (the Magnanimous) (1396–1458) | Encyclopedia.com: FREE online dictionary". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
- ^ "The Case of the Ruthless Ruler With a Deadly Disease". Medscape. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
- ^ Ćirković 1964, p. 288: Chapter 6: Učvršćivanje kraljevske vlasti (1422–1454); Part 7: Obnavljanje sistema ravnoteže snaga
- ^ Spremić 2005, pp. 355–358.
Sources
- Armstrong, Edward (1964). "The Papacy and Naples in the Fifteenth Century". In Previte-Orton, C.W.; Brooke, Z.N. (eds.). The Cambridge Medieval History: The Close of the Middle Ages. Vol. VIII. Cambridge at the University Press.
- Ćirković, Sima (1964). Историја средњовековне босанске државе [History of the medieval Bosnian state] (in Serbian). Srpska književna zadruga.
- Bisson, T.N. (1991). The Medieval Crown of Aragon. Oxford University Press.
- Grierson, Philip; Travaini, Lucia (1998). Medieval European Coinage: Volume 14, South Italy, Sicily, Sardinia. Cambridge University Press.
- Widmayer, Jeffrey S. (2006). "The Chronicle of Montpellier H119: Text, Translation and Commentary". In Kooper, Erik (ed.). The Medieval Chronicle IV. Rodopi. ISBN 978-90-420-2088-7.
- Spremić, Momčilo (2005). Balkanski vazali kralja Alfonsa Aragonskog [Balkan vassals of King Alfonso of Aragon]. Beograd: Prekinut uspon.
Further reading
- O'Callaghan, Joseph F. (1975). A History of Medieval Spain. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. pp. 549–577. OCLC 1272494.
- Ryder, Alan (1976). The Kingdom of Naples Under Alfonso the Magnanimous: The Making of a Modern State. Oxford: Oxford University Press. OCLC 2704031.
- Ryder, Alan (2003). "Alfonso V, King of Aragon, The Magnanimous". In Gerli, E. Michael (ed.). Medieval Iberia : an encyclopedia. New York: Routledge. OCLC 50404104.