Lunches with mummies and other oddities of the most dissolute king of Naples: Ferrante of Naples

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

The passion for collecting was born, probably, together with the person. However, in the Middle Ages, when stamps, badges and matchboxes had not yet been invented, collectors of rarities had a hard time. Crowned persons could collect jewelry, military victories or mistresses, but the king of Naples, Ferdinand I, who lived in the 15th century, collected the mummies of his enemies. Interestingly, everyone around him, including his wife, was aware of the strange "infatuation", but never argued. Perhaps out of fear of becoming "exhibits" of an eerie collection.

The ninth king of Naples ascended the throne, according to his father's will, but this accession provoked a protest from the majority of the nobility. Not only was the son of Alphonse V, king of Aragon and Sicily, reputed to be a dishonest and dissolute man - these sins would be easily forgiven him, but the fact that Ferrante was not born of a legitimate wife caused numerous rumors.

This bastard on the throne was fully consistent with the traditions of the modern Gothic novel: he was not only unprincipled, but also showed clear signs of mental disorder. In the Trastamara family, by the way, this defect was encountered. Among the ancestors of Fernando I, Enrique IV the Powerless distinguished himself - one of the most mediocre kings in the history of Castile, and his descendant was Juana the Mad, who carried the body of her deceased husband across Spain for almost a year. Ferrante of Naples was remembered by descendants as one of the most cruel rulers in Italy.

By the way, Father Fernando was called Alfonso the Magnanimous. He, of course, was not an angel either, but he remained in history as the founder of the University of Barcelona and the patron of science and arts. But the son, according to modern experts, suffered from psychopathic personality disorder. According to Jovio's History of My Time, the king was especially pleased to see a defeated enemy - a pleasure so acute that he wanted to prolong it.

It is not known how soon after his accession to the throne, Ferdinand I decided to “collect” the corpses of his enemies, but very soon he acquired at least a dozen such “exhibits”. To keep the creepy collection longer, the acquired "rarities" had to be mummified. This art was not often required in the 15th century, but craftsmen were still found among the court doctors. One of the court halls was allocated to store the "collection". There, all the former opponents of the king were kept safe and sound, dressed in their own clothes.

This collection, which was akin to a collection of military or hunting trophies, was a source of pride for the owner. According to the recollections of contemporaries, the king often examined it, showed it to the guests, who after that stayed more accommodating, and also sometimes arranged terrible dinners. All the mummies were seated at the table, and Ferdinand I could fully enjoy his victories.

However, not all the cruel bastard on the throne managed to intimidate. Dissatisfied with the nobility of Naples, decided to bet on another potential contender for the throne, the Comte de Guise, who remained in history under the name of King Rene the Good. His son gathered a mercenary army and really gave Ferdinand I a lot of trouble. Perhaps he would not have withstood the onslaught if not for the help of his wife.

It is difficult to say how Isabella Chiaramonte treated her husband's “special hobbies”, but in difficult times she really supported him: she personally bypassed the main wealthy of Naples and collected a round sum, and then in the enemy camp she managed to win her uncle, Prince of Tarentum, to the side of Ferdinand. Perhaps this practical woman believed that a collection of mummies was better than a collection of favorites, but she ensured the victory for her husband in this war.

Riots and unrest in the possessions of a cruel ruler almost never stopped. Once even the Pope supported the next rebels, and then the character of Ferrante of Naples was fully manifested. With a fragile peace, the king lured most of the forgiven rebels to his niece's wedding and then set a scene that George Martin would be proud of. The real "bloody wedding" took place in 1486 in Naples. Almost all the guests on it were captured and executed. Less than a hundred years later, this tactical technique was applied again in France, on an even larger scale, on the eve of St. Bartholomew's Day.

Despite the fact that this cruel reprisal turned out to be disastrous for the dynasty, Ferdinand I himself ended his life quite safely. He lived to a very old age, had eight children by two wives, and ended his days in glory and respect. Like his father, he was known as the patron saint of artists, poets and musicians, and the Naples court flourished under him.

After the death of the cruel ruler, all the hidden discontent poured out on the son of Ferdinand I. The Pope excommunicated all the descendants of this "self-styled family" and called on the feudal lords to overthrow the lawless dynasty. In just a few years, Naples lost its independence and fell into the possession of the Spanish Habsburg dynasty.

The last dynasty today serves as an example of an unsuccessful practice of intimate relations and has many representatives with mental and physical disabilities. Historians and geneticists today are studying how dynastic marriages destroyed one of the most powerful families in European history.