Ferdinand I King Naples 1423-1494

Memoires Jacques du Clercq. Around the feast of Saint John the Baptist [24th June], in the year 1458, in the city of Naples, Alfonso [aged 62], King of Aragon, King of Sicily, King of Naples, and lord of many other lands, and the richest king, as was said, that had been for a long time before him, ended his days and died a natural death. He left the kingdom of Naples with its dependencies, and likewise that of Sicily, to a bastard son he had, named Ferrand [aged 35]. And moreover he left to him, as was reported to Pope Calixtus, sixty thousand florins of gold, amounting to six million in gold, without counting his chapel, which was said to be the richest in the world, which he left to him with his jewels and treasury, valued, as was said, at more than a million. The said Alfonso, among many great vessels he had caused to be made for fighting at sea, had built a ship that was held to be the largest in the world; for it was so great that it could scarcely go to sea, and it was always kept in the port of Naples. A little before the king's death, this ship had been put out to sea; and at the very hour that King Alfonso died, it was brought back into the port of Naples, and upon arriving it struck the seabed so that it split apart, and broke the main mast, which was so large that five men could not have encircled it with their arms; and when it fell, the mast shattered the ship into more than a thousand pieces, and made such a great sound and noise that all in Naples and the surrounding region thought the land would collapse, as had happened in some places about two years before, as has been said above. Likewise, in the hall of King Alfonso, which was very beautiful and richly painted, there was a tabernacle above the seat where the king sat, gilded with fine gold and bearing painted arms and crowns; this tabernacle, eight days after the king's death, at the very hour he had died, broke together with its arms and crown, and fell down from above his seat. The said Alfonso, King of Aragon, was reputed a very bold and valiant man in war and otherwise, and very wise by natural sense, as he had well shown, for he had acquired most of the lands and kingdoms he held by force of arms and by the sword; and he also held, as was said, by force a part of the patrimony of the Church of Rome, although the pope did not make war upon him, the reason being, as was said, that he was so powerful and feared that no one dared to move against him. And although he was far from the lands of Philip of Burgundy, nevertheless the said king and duke were allied and companions in arms; the king bore the duke's order, which was the Golden Fleece, and the duke bore the king's order, which was a white band; and although they had never seen one another, they loved one another greatly, as was said. After his death, Pope Calixtus, although during Alfonso's lifetime he had agreed that his son should succeed to the kingdom of Naples, caused a revoking bull to be proclaimed, by which he expelled the bastard from the kingdom, not wishing him to succeed his father, and excommunicated him and his adherents, and all those who would give him aid or support, saying that the kingdom belonged to him, since Alfonso had no legitimate children. But after the death of Pope Calixtus, who died soon after the said king, Pope Pius received the bastard in homage for the kingdom of Naples, and it was said that the bastard had given a great sum of gold to Pope Pius.

ENVIRON le jour St Jehan Baptiste, mil iiija lviij, en la ville de Naples, Alphonse, roy d'Arragon, roy de Cecile, roy de Naples, et sieur de plusieurs aultres terres, et le plus riche roy, comme on disoit, qui avoit esté grand temps devant lui, cloist son dernier jour et mourut de mort naturelle, et laissa le royaume de Naples avecq les dependances, et illecq de Cecile, a ung fils bastard qu'il avoit nommé Ferrand; et avecq ce lui laissa, comme on certifia au St pere de Rome Calixte, six fois x mille florins d'or, qui font six millions d'or, sans sa chapelle qui estoit la plus riche du monde, laquelle il lui laissa avec ses joyaulx et sa credence qui valloient, comme on disoit, plus d'ung million; lequel Alphonse, entre aultres plusieurs grands vaisseaulx qu'il avoit fait faire pour combattre sur mer, avoit fait faire une navire, que on tenoit la plus grande du monde, car elle estoit sy grande que a grande peine pooit aller en mer, et estoit toujours au port de Naples; laquelle nef ung peu devant la mort du roy, on l'avoit mise en mer, et a ceste propre heure que icelluy roy Alphonse mourut, on ramena icelle nef au port de Naples, et a l'arrivée toucha au fond du gravier de la mer, tellement qu'elle se fendit, et rompit l'arbre du moilon, qui estoit de telle grosseur que cinq hommes ne l'eussent sceu embrasser aulx bras, et au cheoir ledit arbre rompit la nave en plus de mille pieches, et feit sy grand son et grande noise, que chacun de Naples et d'entour cuidoit que le pays deubt fondre, comme il avoit fait en aulcuns lieux environ deux ans devant, comme cy devant est dit. Et pareillement en la salle dudit roy Alphonse, qui estoit moult belle et richement peinctrée, en laquelle salle, il y avoit ung tabernacle dessus le siege ou le roy se seoit, lequel estoit doré d'or fin, et y estoient peinctes les armes et courronnées, icelluy tabernacle, huict jours après la mort dudit roy, a telle heure propre que le roy rendit l'ame, rompit avecq ses armes et sa courronne, et cheit de dessus son siege. Icelluy Alphonse, roy d'Arragon, estoit reputé très hardy et valliant homme de son corps en guerre et aultrement, et très sage de sens naturel, et bien le avoit monstré, car il avoit acquis la plus grande part des pays et royaume qu'il tenoit par forche d'armes et a l'espée; et sy tenoit, comme on disoit, par forche une partie du patrimoine de l'eglise de Rome, combien que le pape ne lui livroit la guerre, et estoit la cause, comme on disoit, qu'il 1 estoit sy fort et redoubté que nul ne se osoit mouvoir contre lui; et ja fust ce vray qu'il estoit bien loing des pays de Philippe de Bourgogne, toutesfois estoient alliés et compagnons d'armes lesdits roy et duc ensemble, et portoit le roy l'ordre du duc, qui estoit la Toison d'or, et le duc portoit l'ordre du roy, qui estoit une bande blanche; et combien qu'ils n'euissent oncques veu l'ung l'aultre, sy s'entre aimoient ils très fort, comme on disoit. Après la mort duquel, le pape Calixte, combien qu'il euist, durant la vie dudit Alphonse, accordé que son fils succedat au royaume de Naples, feit publier une bulle revocatoire par laquelle il chassoit le bastard du royaume, non voullant qu'il succedat a son père le roy, et excommunia le bastard et ses adherants, et touts ceulx qui lui presteroient ayde ne confort, et disoit le pape que le royaume lui appartenoit, puisqu'il n'avoit nuls enfants legitimes; mais après la mort du pape Calixte, qui mourut assés tost après ledit roy, le pape Pius receupt le bastard en hommaige du royaume de Naples, et disoit on que le bastard avoit donné grande somme d'or audit pape Pius.