Bernardin Frankopan

Bernardin Frankopan

Croatian nobleman

title

Prince

Country

Croatia in national association
with Hungary

Ethnicity

Croatian

House

Frankopan

birth

1453 in Ozalj (?)

death

1529

parents

Stjepan III. Frankopan († 1481)
and Duchess Ižota (Isotta)
b. d'Este (* 1425 - † 1456),
∞1446

wife

Lujza (Luisa) b. Marzano , Duchess of
Aragon ,
∞1476

children

Matija, Krsto , Ferdinand ,
Marija Magdalena, Beatrica ,
Elizabeta (Ižota), Ivan Franjo ,
Eufrozina, Katarina

Bernardin Frankopan (* 1453 in Ozalj (?); † 1529 ) was a Croatian nobleman , general , diplomat and patron of the Frankopan family . As an aristocrat he was one of the defenders of the Hungarian-Croatian Union against the Ottoman Empire .

Life

Origin and family

Bernardin Frankopan was the only son of Stjepan III. Frankopan von Modruš (* ?; † 1481), Ban of Croatia , and his wife Ižota (Isotta) born. d'Este (* 1425 - † 1456), Duchess from Ferrara (today's Italy ), born. His grandfather Nicholas IV Frankopan (* approx. 1360 - † 1432), Prince of Krk , Senj and Modruš , the only owner of the huge Frankopan estates in what was then western Croatia, was Ban of Croatia between 1426 and 1432.

In some sources he is called Bernardin Frankopan Modruški ( from Modrusch ), as his father inherited the Modruš rule (with the fortified Tržan-grad castle ) when the inheritance was divided in 1449, giving his entire branch of Frankopan the name Modruški .

In other sources, however, he is referred to as Bernardin Frankopan Ozaljski ( von Ozalj ) because, together with his father, he took over the important Ozalj Castle after the death of his cousin Bartol X. Frankopan Ozaljski ( German : Bartholomäus ) on February 22, 1474 . Bartol had no offspring of his own and was the last offspring of his branch of the family.

In 1476 he married Lujza (Luisa) Marzano , Duchess of Aragon , and had nine children with her: Matija, Krsto (the famous general), Ferdinand , Marija Magdalena, Beatrica (the wife of Johann Corvinus ), Elizabeta (Ižota), Ivan Franjo ( the Archbishop of Kalocsa ), Eufrozina and Katarina.

Effect on turbulent events of the time

Bernardin's life was marked by constant tension, conflict and battles. As a child and adolescent, he sometimes accompanied his father on his diplomatic travels across Europe and got to know many famous and important people. At first he had good relations with the Emperor Friedrich III. , later also with the Croatian - Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus . Good relations with Corvinus were shadowed or damaged because of the royal seizure of the old Frankopan town of Senj in 1469.

Memorial plaque to Bernardin Frankopan on the wall of the Church of the Holy Trinity in Modruš

The particularly good relationships with Johann Corvinus , son of Matthias', were confirmed by Johann's marriage to Bernardin's daughter Beatrica in 1496. As a dowry, Beatrica received the cities of Bihać and Novi from his father .

Bernardin Frankopan took part in the battle of the Krbava field in 1493, along with a large number of Croatian nobility . The Ottomans won the battle because of poor tactics by Ban Emerik Derenčin , and most of the Croatian nobles were killed. Bernardin, however, managed to withdraw and save at the end of the battle. A little later (around 1500), after many battles against the Muslim conquerors, he had to leave Modruš and move to his newly built fortress Ogulin , because remaining in Modruš was too dangerous for him.

In contrast to his relatives from the Frankopan family, he did not favor and support the Habsburgs in the Croatian-Hungarian royal elections, but their opponents. In 1490 he supported Johann Corvinus against Maximilian , and in 1527 Ivan Zapolja against Ferdinand . As a man with diplomatic experience, he tried to get help for Croatia from all over Europe, but without much success. Well known are his inspired and fiery speeches before various European rulers, dignitaries or parliaments , such as B. 1522 before the Venetian Doge Antonio Grimani , as well as before the German Reichstag in Nuremberg on November 19, 1522 ( speech for Croatia , or in Latin called Oratio pro Croatia ).

Death and inheritance

In 1527 he lost two of his sons, Krsto (died during the siege of Varaždin ) and Ferdinand . He had only one grandson as successor and heir, namely Ferdinand's son Stjepan IV. Frankopan von Ozalj (* ?; † 1577). Stjepan's sister Katarina later married the famous Croatian ban and hero of Szigetvár Nikola Šubić Zrinski .

Bernardin Frankopan died in 1529 as an old person and doyen of the Croatian nobility at the time. A little later, during the 16th century, because of the overwhelming Ottoman military superiority, his relatives had to retreat to the west and northwest and leave many Franco-Panic holdings ( Bihać , Drežnik , Tržac , Furjan , Cetingrad , Mala Kladuša , Velika Kladuša , etc.).

In addition to the military and diplomatic fields, Bernardin was also significant in culture, education and construction. He cultivated and promoted the Croatian language and Glagoliza and had the Bible translated. In 1486 he published the well-known and important "Modruški urbar" ( Urbar of Modruš ) , the book of the Code of Legal Norms, written in Glagolitic script.