Ercole I d'Este, possibly by Dosso Dossi (Galleria Estense, Modena)

Ercole I d'Este (October 26, 1431 – June 15, 1505) was Duke of Ferrara from 1471 until 1505. Dosso Dossi (c 1490 &ndash 1542, real name Giovanni di Niccolò de Luteri, was an Italian Renaissance painter who belonged to the Ferrara School of Painting Events 740 - An Earthquake strikes Constantinople, causing much damage and death Events 763 BC - Assyrians record a Solar eclipse that will be used to fix the Chronology of Mesopotamian history List of Dukes of Ferrara and of Modena In 1452 the Italian family of Este, Lords of Ferrara, were created Dukes of Modena and He was a member of the house of Este. "Este" redirects here For the city see Este Italy. For Tolkien's fictional character see Estë. He was nicknamed North Wind and the Diamond. [1]

Biography

Ercole was born at Ferrara to Nicolò III and Ricciarda da Saluzzo. Ferrara is a city in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. Niccolò III d'Este ( November 9 1383 &ndash December 26 1441) was Marquess of Ferrara from 1393 until his death His maternal grandparents were Thomas III of Saluzzo and Marguerite of Roussy. Thomas III of Saluzzo (Tommaso III di Saluzzo 1356 - 1416 was Margrave of Saluzzo from 1396 until his death

He was educated at the Neapolitan court of Alfonso, king of Aragon and Naples, from 1445 to 1460; there he studied military arts, chivalry, and acquired the appreciation for architecture all'antica and the fine arts, which would result in his becoming one of the most significant art patrons of the Renaissance. Naples ( Napoli, Neapolitan: Nàpule) is a historic City in southern Italy, the Capital of the Alfonso the Magnanimous (also Alphonso; Catalan: Alfons) (1396 &ndash 27 June 1458) was the King of Aragon (as The Renaissance (from French Renaissance, meaning "rebirth" Italian: Rinascimento, from re- "again" and nascere ^[1]

In 1471 he became Duke on the death of his half-brother Borso, who had designated him as his heir,^[2] and he married Eleonora d'Aragona, daughter of Ferdinand I of Naples, in 1473. Leonora of Naples or Eleonora of Aragon ( June 22, 1450 &ndash October 11, 1493) was the first Duchess of Ferrara. Ferdinand I of Naples should not be confused with Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies, a latter king of Naples The Este alliance with Naples was to prove a powerful one. Ercole and Eleonora had six children:

• Alfonso (who would later marry the infamous Lucrezia Borgia)
• Isabella (who would later prove to be one of the most powerful women of the Renaissance)
• Beatrice
• Ferrante (who was thrown in prison by his brother Alfonso in 1506, where he died 34 years later)
• Ippolito (cardinal, army commander and patron of the arts)
• Sigismondo

Ercole had two illegitimate children

• Lucrezia
• Giulio (who was also thrown in prison by his brother Alfonso in 1506, where he remained for 53 years. Alfonso d'Este ( 21 July, 1476 &ndash 31 October, 1534) was Duke of Ferrara during the time of the War of the League of This article is about the historical person For the biographical opera see Lucrezia Borgia (opera. Isabella d'Este ( 18 May 1474 &ndash 13 February 1539) was marchesa of Mantua and one of the leading women of the The Renaissance (from French Renaissance, meaning "rebirth" Italian: Rinascimento, from re- "again" and nascere Beatrice d'Este ( June 29 1475 &ndash January 2 1497) duchess of Milan, one of the most beautiful and accomplished princesses Ippolito (I d'Este ( March 20, 1479 &ndash September 3, 1520) was a Roman Catholic cardinal.
  After his release, he was ridiculed in the streets of Ferrara for his outdated clothes)

In 1482-1484 he fought a war with the Republic of Venice, which was allied with Ercole's nemesis, the Della Rovere Pope Sixtus IV, occasioned by the salt monopoly, the War of Ferrara. The Most Serene Republic of Venice ((Serenìsima Repùblica Vèneta or Repùblica de Venesia Serenissima Repubblica Pope Sixtus IV ( July 21, 1414 &ndash August 12, 1484) born Francesco Della Rovere, was Pope from 1471 to 1484 The War of Ferrara (also known as the Salt War, it Guerra del Sale) ending with the Peace of Bagnolo, was fought in 1482-1484 between Ercole I d'Este Ercole was able to end the war by ceding the Polesine at the Peace of Bagnolo, and Ferrara escaped the fate of destruction or absorption into the papal dominions, but the war was a humiliation for Ercole, who lay sick and immobilized while the besieging army destroyed Este properties in the surrounding neighborhoods. Polesine (poˈleːzine in Italian; written Połéxine in unified Venetan script and pronounced or) is a geographic and historic The War of Ferrara (also known as the Salt War, it Guerra del Sale) ending with the Peace of Bagnolo, was fought in 1482-1484 between Ercole I d'Este

After this, he remained neutral in the Italian War of 1494-1498, and tried for the rest of his rule to improve relations with the Papal states. The First Italian War ( 1494 – 95) sometimes referred to as the Italian War of 1494 or Charles VIII's Italian War, was the opening phase The Papal States, State(s of the Church or Pontifical States (in Italian Stato Ecclesiastico, Stato della Chiesa, Stati della Chiesa He succeeded in marrying his son Alfonso to Lucrezia Borgia, daughter of Pope Alexander VI, a marriage that brought notable territorial donations. This article is about the historical person For the biographical opera see Lucrezia Borgia (opera. Pope Alexander VI ( 1 January 1431 &ndash 18 August 1503) born Roderic Llançol, later Roderic de Borja i Borja (

His subsequent career as a patron may be seen to some extent as compensation for the early military setback: significantly, Ercole was the only Italian ruler who characterized himself as divus on his coinage, like a Roman emperor (Manca 1989:525, 529).

The scale and consistency of Ercole's patronage of the arts was in part a political and cultural statement. He hosted theatrical representations with elaborate scenery and musical intermezzi, some of the first purely secular theatre in Europe since Antiquity^[3] and was successful in setting up a musical establishment which was for a few years the finest in Europe, overshadowing the Vatican chapel itself. ^[4] For the next century Ferrara was to retain the character of a center of avant-garde music with a decidedly secular emphasis. Avant-garde (avɑ̃gaʁd in French) means "advance guard" or "vanguard In music history Ercole was one of the Italian nobles most responsible for bringing the talented Franco-Flemish musicians from northern Europe into Italy. In Music, the Franco-Flemish School refers somewhat imprecisely to the style of polyphonic Vocal music composition in Europe in the 15th The most famous composers of Europe either worked for him, were commissioned by him, or dedicated music to him, including Alexander Agricola, Jacob Obrecht, Heinrich Isaac, Adrian Willaert, and Josquin Desprez, whose Missa Hercules dux Ferrariae not only is dedicated to him, but is based on a theme drawn from the syllables of the Duke's name. Alexander Agricola (1445 or 1446 &ndash August 15, 1506) was a Franco-Flemish Composer of the Renaissance. Jacob Obrecht (1457/1458 &ndash late July 1505 was a Dutch composer of the Renaissance. Heinrich Isaac (also known as Ysaac, Henricus, Arrigo d'Ugo, and Arrigo il Tedesco – Tedesco meaning "Flemish" or "German" Adrian Willaert (c 1490 &ndash 7 December 1562 was a Flemish Composer of the Renaissance and founder of the Venetian School. Josquin des Prez (c 1450 to 1455 &ndash August 27 1521 often referred to simply as Josquin, was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance. The Missa Hercules dux Ferrariae is a setting of the Ordinary of the Mass composed by Josquin des Prez, and dedicated to Ercole d'Este I, Duke of Ferrara

Grosh issued under Ercole I d'Este. Groschen (Grossus Groschen grossone groš grosz garas гроші, грош grosh, gros грош was the (sometimes colloquial name for a Coin

Ercole is equally famous as a patron of the arts, as much an expression of his conscious magnificence as his cultivated aloofness, grave and stern as befitted the new ducal rank of Ferrara (Manca 1989:524ff). He made the poet Boiardo his minister, and also brought the young Ludovico Ariosto into his household. Matteo Maria Boiardo (c 1434 &ndash December 20, 1494) was an Italian Renaissance Poet.

Under Ercole Ferrara became one of the leading cities of Europe; it underwent substantial growth in the Ercolean Addition, approximately doubling in size, under Ercole's direct guidance, producing the first planned and executed urbanistic project of the Renaissance. To enclose it, he extended the city's walls, hiring architect Biagio Rossetti for the work. Biagio Rossetti, (c 1447 &ndash 1516 was an Italian Architect and Urbanist from Ferrara. ^[5] Many of Ferrara's most famous buildings date from his reign.

Ercole was an admirer of church reformer Girolamo Savonarola, who was also from Ferrara, and sought his advice on both spiritual and political matters. Girolamo Savonarola ( September 21, 1452 &ndash May 23, 1498) was an Italian Dominican priest and leader of Florence from Approximately a dozen letters between the two survive from the 1490s. Ercole attempted to have Savonarola freed by the Florentine church authorities, but was unsuccessful; the reformist monk was burned at the stake in 1498. ^[6]

In 1503 or 1504, Ercole asked his newly-hired composer Josquin des Prez to write musical testament for him, structured on Savonarola's prison meditation Infelix ego. Josquin des Prez (c 1450 to 1455 &ndash August 27 1521 often referred to simply as Josquin, was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance. Infelix ego ("Alas wretch that I am" is a Latin meditation on the Miserere, Psalm 51, composed in prison by Girolamo Savonarola The result was the Miserere, probably first performed for Holy Week in 1504, with the tenor part possibly sung by the Duke himself. The Miserere, by Josquin des Prez, is a Motet setting of Psalm 51 (Psalm 50 in the Septuagint numbering for five voices ^[7].

Ercole died in 1505, and his son Alfonso became Duke. Alfonso d'Este ( 21 July, 1476 &ndash 31 October, 1534) was Duke of Ferrara during the time of the War of the League of

See also

• List of Dukes of Ferrara and of Modena

References

• Chiappini, Luciano (2001). List of Dukes of Ferrara and of Modena In 1452 the Italian family of Este, Lords of Ferrara, were created Dukes of Modena and Gli Estensi. Mille anni di storia.  
• Gardner, Edmund G. (1904). Dukes and Poets in Ferrara: a Study in the Poetry, Religion and Politics of the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries.  
• Gundersheimer, Werner L. (1973). Ferrara, the Style of a Renaissance Despotism.  
• Lockwood, Lewis (1984). Music in Renaissance Ferrara, 1400-1505: The Creation of a Musical Center in the Italian Renaissance.  
• Macey, Patrick (1998). Bonfire Songs: Savonarola's Musical Legacy. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-816669-9.  
• Rosenberg, Charles M. (1997). The Este Monuments and Urban Development in Renaissance Ferrara.  
• Tuohy, Thomas (1996). Herculean Ferrara: Ercole d'Este, 1471-1505, and the Invention of a Ducal Capital.  

Footnotes

External links

• Ercole's career as a condottiero