Alfonso V (Aragon)

Alfonso V of Aragon

Alfonso V on a silver medal created by Pisanello in 1449

Alfonso V of Aragon (also: Alfonso IV of Barcelona , Alfonso III of Valencia and Alfonso II of Mallorca and Sardinia ), called el Magnànim (the magnanimous) (* 1396 in Medina del Campo ; † June 27, 1458 in Naples ) was the eldest son of King Ferdinand the Just and his wife Eleonore Urraca of Castile . At the age of 20 he ascended the throne of the Kingdom of Aragon as successor to his father . As Alfonso I , he was also King of Naples and Sicily .

Life

Called for help by Johanna II of Naples, Alfonso V defeated their enemies Muzio Attendolo Sforza and Ludwig III in 1421 . of Anjou and seized Giovanni Caracciolos , the queen's hostile favorite. This then declared Alfonso V of his claims to Naples forfeited and adopted Ludwig von Anjou. Alfonso V only claimed that he owned a few places.

After the death of Queen Johanna (February 2, 1435) and the installation of Duke René I of Lorraine, who was then in captivity with the Burgundians, as heir, Alfonso began the siege of Naples. During the siege of Gaeta, however, on August 5, 1435, he was defeated by the Genoese fleet in the sea battle near the island of Ponza , captured with his brother and handed over to Duke Filippo Maria Visconti of Milan (1435). However, Alfonso V managed to secure his release and win the support of Milan. After five years of struggle, he reached the Pope Eugene IV. , The investiture of Naples (1442).

In 1445 he was elected to the Burgundian Order of the Golden Fleece as the first foreign king , but he did not join until two years later.

He was considered a wise and mild ruler, even if he is said to have been inclined to love splendor and lust . Leaning towards science, Alfonso V accepted the scholars who had fled the city after the fall of Constantinople in 1453 . He died on June 27, 1458. His brother John II , King of Navarre , followed him in his heir, and his son Ferdinand, legitimized by the Pope, in Naples .

Marriage and offspring

Alfons married on June 12, 1415 Maria (1401–1458), daughter of King Heinrich III. of Castile . The marriage remained childless. Alfons left three children born out of wedlock with Giraldona Carlino:

• Ferdinand (1424–1494), King of Naples
• Maria († 1449) ⚭ 1444 Leonello d'Este , Margrave of Ferrara
• Leonora ⚭ 1444 Mariano Marzano, Prince of Squillace

literature

• Hermann Hefele : Alfonso I - Ferrante I of Naples: writings by Antonio Beccadelli , Tristano Caracciolo , Camillo Porzio . Jena: Diederichs, 1912.
• Ruggero Moscati:  Alfonso V d'Aragona. In: Alberto M. Ghisalberti (Ed.): Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (DBI). Volume 2:  Albicante – Ammannati. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome 1960, pp. 323-331.
• Alan Ryder: Alfonso the Magnanimous: King of Aragon, Naples, and Sicily, 1396-1458 , Clarendon Press, Oxford 1990, ISBN 9780198219545
• Emilio Sáez, Raoul Manselli and Walter Rüegg : Alfons I. (V.) . In: Lexicon of the Middle Ages (LexMA). Volume 1, Artemis & Winkler, Munich / Zurich 1980, ISBN 3-7608-8901-8 , Sp. 401-403.
• Raphael de Smedt (ed.): Les chevaliers de l'ordre de la Toison d'or au XVe siècle. Notices bio-bibliographiques. (Kieler Werkstücke, D 3) 2nd, improved edition, Verlag Peter Lang, Frankfurt 2000, ISBN 3-631-36017-7 , pp. 95-99.

Web links

Commons : Alfons V of Aragón  - collection of images, videos and audio files

predecessor	Office	successor
Ferdinand I.	King of Aragón Count of Barcelona King of Valencia 1416–1458	Johann II.
Ferdinand I.	King of Sardinia 1416–1458	Johann II.
René I.	King of Naples 1442–1458	Ferdinand I.