page_title: Ferdinand I of Naples
section_title: Ferdinand's reputation
hierarchical_section_title: Ferdinand I of Naples / Ferdinand's reputation
caption_attribution_description: English: Statuts, Ordonnances et Armorial de l'Ordre de la Toison d'Or (Statutes, Ordonnances and armorial of the Order of the Golden Fleece) Place of origin, date: Southern Netherlands; 1473. Added sections: Southern Netherlands; 1478 or shortly after and 1491 or shortly after Material: Vellum, ff. 86, 249x187 (167x106) mm, 23 lines, littera cursiva (lettre bourguignonne). French. Binding: 18th-century brown leather Decoration: 1 full-page miniature (170x115 mm) with border decoration; 92 miniatures (185/155x120/100 mm); 1 historiated initial (80x90 mm) with border decoration; decorated initials with border decoration (ff., Added section: miniatures&#160;; 4 drawings for miniatures (not finished) Provenance: Presented in 1473 by Gilles Gobet, King of Arms of the Order of the Golden Fleece, to Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy and the other Knights during the Chapter of the Order held at Valenciennes; Treasure of the Golden Fleece, Brussls; taken away by the Treasurer C.-F. Humyn (d. 1735) or his daughter C.Ch. de Corte; by legacy to her daughter M.-L. de Corte, wife of Ph.-E. de Poederlé; purchased in 1781 at the Poederlé sale by G.-J- Gérard of Brussels; acquired in 1832 as part of the Gérard collection (no. A 27)
context_page_description: Ferdinand I, also called Ferrante, was King of Naples from 1458 to 1494. He was an illegitimate son of Alfonso V of Aragon.
context_section_description: According to the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, "Ferdinand was gifted with great courage and real political ability, but his method of government was vicious and disastrous. His financial administration was based on oppressive and dishonest monopolies, and he was mercilessly severe and utterly treacherous towards his enemies."
  Ferdinand had many enemies, especially considering his kingdom's importance to other rulers, and he was ruthless in response to any perceived slight. He even fiercely plotted against Pope Alexander VI, after he realized that the pontiff could not secure his position.
  As further testimony to the latter, Jacob Burckhardt described his recreational activities as follows: "Besides hunting, which he practiced regardless of all rights of property, his pleasures were of two kinds: he liked to have his opponents near him, either alive in well-guarded prisons, or dead and embalmed, dressed in the costume which they wore in their lifetime." Fearing no one, he would take great pleasure in conducting his guests on a tour of his prized "museum of mummies".
caption: 1473 depiction Ferdinand I of Naples
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