FREDERICK III, EMPEROR. — Born 21 Sept. 1415, died 19 Aug. 1493. Elected King of Germany on 2 Feb. 1440 (crowned in 1442), he was the last of the German sovereigns to receive the imperial crown at Rome on 9 March 1452.
Unable to pursue a firm and energetic policy, he failed to secure the obedience of Bohemia or Hungary, in contrast to two dangerous neighbours: George Podiebrad, King of Bohemia, and Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary. Nor was he able to impose his authority in the hereditary lands, and he had to wage a long struggle against the German princes and his own brother Albert VI. After a period of agreement, Matthias Corvinus waged war against him and occupied part of Austria and Vienna (1485). Yet he succeeded in preparing notable advantages for his family in the future, both by concluding agreements with Matthias Corvinus regarding the succession to the Hungarian throne and by arranging the marriage of his son Maximilian to Mary, heiress of the duchy of Burgundy.
FREDERICK I of Aragon, King of Naples. — Born to Ferdinand I and Isabella of Chiaromonte, probably on 16 Oct. 1451. His father destined him for diplomatic and military missions, including one to support Charles the Bold against Louis XI (1474) and to secure for Frederick himself the Burgundian inheritance through a marriage to Mary, daughter of the duke. The plan failed, and Frederick, though he had taken part in the battle of Grandson (2 March 1476), abandoned the field of the Bold One. Instead, he married Anne of Savoy, a niece of the King of France, and, after her death, Isabella del Balzo (1486).
During the conspiracy of 1485, he refused to accept the throne offered by the barons and managed to escape the trap laid for him. Upon Alfonso’s succession (25 Jan. 1494) and the beginning of Charles VIII’s offensive against the Kingdom, Frederick served with ill success as commander of the fleet in Ligurian waters (battle of Rapallo, 11 Sept. 1494). After Alfonso’s abdication and the brief reign of Ferdinand II, he himself became king (7 Oct. 1496). He succeeded in reconquering Gaeta and subduing the rebellious barons. He hoped, with the aid of the Catholic King, to resist Alexander VI, who had formed an alliance with Louis XII and excommunicated him on 15 Dec. 1499; his hopes were dashed by the death of his brother in Granada (11 Nov. 1500). Lacking other allies, Frederick had no recourse but to negotiate with the French (25 July 1501); in the following September he abandoned his kingdom, ceding it to Louis XII in exchange for the county of Maine. He died at Montils-lès-Tours on 9 Nov. 1504. During his exile he found solace in the friendship of Sannazaro, who generously followed him into exile.