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ESTE

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Originally appearing in Volume V09, Page 794 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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ESTE , one of the See also:

oldest of the former reigning houses of See also:Italy. It is in all See also:probability of Lombard origin, and descended, according to See also:Muratori, from the princes who governed in See also:Tuscany in Carolingian times. The lordship of the See also:town of Este was first acquired by Alberto Azzo II., who also See also:bore the See also:title of See also:marquis of Italy' (d. c. 1097); he married Kunitza or Kunegonda, See also:sister of Well or See also:Guelph III., See also:duke of See also:Carinthia. Well died without issue, and was succeeded by Well IV., son of Kunitza, who married a daughter of See also:Otto II., duke of See also:Bavaria, and who obtained the duchy of Bavaria in 1070. Through him the See also:house of Este became connected with the princely houses of See also:Brunswick and See also:Hanover, from which the sovereigns of See also:England are descended. The See also:Italian titles and estates were inherited by Folco I. (1060-1135), son of Alberto Azzo by his second wife Gersende, daughter of See also:Herbert I., See also:count of See also:Maine.2 The house of Este i.e. See also:Margrave of the See also:Empire (marchio Sancti Imperil) in Italy. (See See also:MARQUESS.) 2 Another son of Azzo and Gersende became count of Maine as See also:Hugh III. (d. 1131).played a See also:great See also:part in the See also:history of See also:medieval and See also:Renaissance Italy, and it first comes to the front in the See also:wars between the Guelphs and Ghibellines; as leaders of the former party its princes received at different times See also:Ferrara, See also:Modena, Reggio and other fiefs and territories.

Obizzo I., son of Folco, was the first to See also:

bear the title of marquis of Este. He entered into the Guelphic See also:league against the See also:emperor See also:Frederick I., and was comprehended in the treaty of See also:Venice of 1177 by which municipal podestds (foreigners chosen as heads of cities to administer See also:justice impartially) were instituted. He was elected See also:podesta of See also:Padua in 1178, and in 1184 he was reconciled with Frederick, who created him marquis of See also:Genoa and See also:Milan, a dignity somewhat similar to that of imperial See also:vicar. By the See also:marriage of his son Azzo to the heiress of the Marchesella See also:family (the See also:story that she was carried off to prevent her marrying an enemy of the Este is a pure See also:legend), he came to acquire great See also:influence in Ferrara, although he was opposed by the hardly less powerful house of Torelli. Obizzo died in 1194 and Azzo V. having predeceased him, the marquisate devolved on his gra'hdson Azzo VI. (1170–1212), who became See also:head of the Guelph party, and to him the See also:people of Ferrara sacrificed their See also:liberty by making him their first See also:lord (1208). But during his lifetime See also:civil See also:war raged in the See also:city, between the Este and the Torelli, each party being driven out again and again. Azzo (also called Azzolino) died in 1212 and was succeeded by Aldobrandino I., who in 1213 concluded a treaty with Salinguerra Torelli, the head of that house, to See also:divide the See also:government of the city between them. On his See also:death in '1215 he was succeeded by his See also:brother Azzo VII. (1205–1264), surnamed See also:Novello, but Salinguerra Torelli usurped all See also:power in Ferrara and expelled Azzo (1222). In 1240 See also:Pope See also:Gregory IX. determined on another war against the emperor Frederick II., but deemed it See also:wise to begin by crushing the See also:chief Ghibelline houses. Thus Azzo found himself in league with the pope and various Guelph cities in his See also:attempt to regain Ferrara.

That town underwent a four months' See also:

siege, and was at last compelled to surrender; Salinguerra was sent to Venice as a prisoner, and Azzo ruled in Ferrara once more. The Ghibelline party was annihilated, but the city enjoyed See also:peace and happiness within, although her citizens took part in the wars raging outside. The Guelph cause triumphed, Frederick being defeated several times, and after his death Azzo helped in crushing the terrible See also:Eccelino da Romano (q.v.) who upheld the imperial cause, at the See also:battle of See also:Cassano (1259). He died in 1264 and was succeeded by Obizzo II. (1240–1293) his See also:grandson, who in 1288 received the lordship of Modena, and that of Reggio in 1289. He was a capable but cruel ruler, and while professing devotion to the Guelph cause, did See also:homage to the See also:German See also:king See also:Rudolph I. when he descended into Italy. Obizzo II. died in 1293 and was succeeded by his son Azzo VIII., but the latter's See also:brothers, Aldobrandino and See also:Francesco, who were to have shared in the government, were expelled and became his See also:bitter enemies. The misgovernment of Azzo led to the revolt of Reggio and Modena, which shook off his yoke. Enemies arose on all sides, and he spent his last years in perpetual fighting. He died in 1308, and having no legitimate See also:children, his brothers, his natural son See also:Fresco, and others disputed the See also:succession. A papal See also:legate was appointed, and though the Este returned they were placed under pontifical tutelage. The history of the house now becomes involved and of little See also:interest until we come to See also:Nicholas III.

(1384–1441), who exercised sway over Ferrara, Modena, See also:

Parma and Reggio, waged many wars, was made See also:general of the See also:army of the See also:Church, and in his later years See also:governor of Milan, where he died, not without suspicion of See also:poison. To him succeeded Lionello (1407–1450), a wise and virtuous ruler and a See also:patron of literature and See also:art; then Borso (1413–1471), his brother, who was created duke of Modena and Reggio by the emperor Frederick III., and duke of Ferrara by the pope. In spite of the wars by which all Italy was torn, Ferrara enjoyed a See also:period of peace and prosperity under Borso; he patronized literature, established a See also:printing-See also:press at Ferrara, surrounded himself with learned men, and his See also:court was of unparalleled splendour. He also protected See also:industry and See also:commerce, and ruled with great See also:wisdom. His brother Ercole I. (1431-1505), who succeeded him in 1471, was less fortunate, and had to engage in a war with Venice, owing to a dispute about the See also:salt See also:monopoly, with the result that by the peace of 1484 he was forced to cede the See also:district of Polesine to the See also:republic. But the last years of his See also:life were peaceful and prosperous, so that afterwards men looked back to the days of Ercole I. as to a See also:golden See also:age; his See also:capital was noted both for its luxury and as the resort of men eminent in literature and art. See also:Boiardo the poet was his See also:minister, and See also:Ariosto obtained his patronage. Ercole's daughter See also:Beatrice d'Este (1475-1497), duchess of Milan, one of the most beautiful and accomplished princesses of the Italian Renaissance, was bethrothed at the age of five to Lodovico See also:Sforza (known as it See also:Moro), duke of See also:Bari, See also:regent and afterwards duke of Milan, and was married to him in See also:January 1491. She had been carefully educated, and availed herself of her position as See also:mistress of one of the most splendid courts of Italy to surround herself with learned men, poets and artists, such as Niccolo da See also:Correggio, Bernardo See also:Castiglione, See also:Bramante, Leonardo da See also:Vinci and many others. In 1492 she visited Venice as See also:ambassador for her See also:husband in his See also:political schemes, which consisted chiefly in a See also:desire to be recognized as duke of Milan. On the death of Gian Galeazzo Sforza, Lodovico's usurpation was legalized, and after the battle of Fornovo (1495) both he and his wife took part in the peace See also:congress of See also:Vercelli between See also:Charles VIII. of See also:France and the Italian princes, at which Beatrice showed great political ability.

But her brilliant career was cut See also:

short by death through childbirth, on the 3rd of January 1497. She belongs to the best class of Renaissance See also:women, and was one of the culture influences of the age; to her patronage and See also:good See also:taste are due to a great extent the splendour of the See also:Castello of Milan, of the Certosa of See also:Pavia and of many other famous buildings in See also:Lombardy. Her sister See also:Isabella d'Este (1474-1539), marchioness of See also:Mantua, was carefully educated both in letters and in the arts like Beatrice, and was married when barely sixteen to Francesco See also:Gonzaga, marquis of Mantua (1490). She showed great See also:diplomatic and political skill, especially in her negotiations with Cesare See also:Borgia (q.v.), who had dispossessed Guidobaldo da Montefeltro, duke of See also:Urbino, the husband of her sister-in-See also:law and intimate friend Elisabetta Gonzaga (1502). She received the deposed duke and duchess, as well as other princes in the same See also:condition, at her court of Mantua, which was one of the most brilliant in Italy, and like her sister she gathered together many eminent men of letters and artists, See also:Raphael, See also:Andrea See also:Mantegna and Giulio Romano being among those whom she employed. Both she and her husband were greatly influenced by Baldassare Castiglione (1478-1529), author of II Cortigiano, and it was at his See also:suggestion that Giulio Romano was summoned to Mantua to enlarge the Castello and other buildings. Isabella was " undoubtedly, among all the princesses of the 15th and 16th centuries, the one who most strikingly and perfectly personified the aspirations of the Renaissance " (See also:Eugene Miintz); but her See also:character was less attractive than that of her sister, and in her love of See also:collecting See also:works of art she showed a somewhat grasping nature, being ever anxious to cut down the prices of the artists who worked for her. To Ercole I. succeeded his son See also:Alphonso I. (1486-1534), the husband of Lucrezia Borgia (q.v.), daughter of Pope See also:Alexander VI. During nearly the whole of his reign he was engaged in the Italian wars, but by his diplomatic skill and his military ability he was for many years almost always successful. He was gifted with great See also:mechanical skill, and his See also:artillery was of See also:world-wide reputation. On the formation of the league of See also:Cambrai against Venice in 1508, he was appointed to the supreme command of the papal troops by See also:Julius II.; but after the Venetians had sustained a number of reverses they made peace with the pope and joined him against the See also:French.

Alphonso was invited to co-operate in the new See also:

combination, and on his refusal war was declared against him; but although he began by losing Modena and Reggio, he subsequently inflicted several defeats on thepapal troops. He fought on the See also:side of the French at the battle of See also:Ravenna (1512), from which, although victorious, they derived no See also:advantage. Soon afterwards they retired from Italy, and Alphonso, finding himself abandoned, tried to make his peace with the pope, through the See also:mediation of Fabrizio See also:Colonna. He went to See also:Rome for the purpose and received See also:absolution, but on discovering that Julius meant to detain him a prisoner, he escaped in disguise, and the pope's death in 1513 gave him a brief See also:respite. But See also:Leo X. proved equally See also:bent on the destruction of the house of Este, when he too was cut off by death. Alphonso availed himself of the troubles of the papacy during the reign of the equally hostile See also:Clement, VII. to recapture Reggio (1523) and Modena (1527), and was confirmed in his See also:possession of them by the emperor Charles V., in spite of Clement's opposition. He died in 1534, and was succeeded by his son Ercole II. (1508-1559), who married Renee, daughter of See also:Louis XII. of France, a princess of See also:Protestant proclivities and a friend of See also:Calvin. On joining the league of France and the papacy against See also:Spain, Ercole was appointed See also:lieutenant-general of the French army in Italy. The war was prosecuted, however, with little vigour, and peace was made with Spain in 1558. The duke and his brother, See also:Cardinal Ippolito the Younger, were patrons of literature and art, and the latter built the magnificent See also:Villa d' Este at See also:Tivoli. He was succeeded by Alphonso II.

(1533-1597), re-membered for his patronage of See also:

Tasso, whom he afterwards imprisoned. He reorganized the army, enriched the public library, encouraged See also:agriculture, but was extravagant and dissipated. With him the See also:main See also:branch of the family came to an end, and although at his death he bequeathed the duchy to his See also:cousin Cesare (1533-1628), Pope Clement VIII., renewing the Church's hostility to the house of Este, declared that See also:prince to be of illegitimate See also:birth (a doubtful contention), and by a treaty with Lucrezia, Alphonso's sister, Ferrara was made over to the See also:Holy See. Cesare held Modena and Reggio, but with him the Estensj cease to See also:play an important part in Italian politics. For two centuries this See also:dynasty had been one of the greatest See also:powers in Italy, and its court was perhaps the most splendid in See also:Europe, both as regards pomp and luxury and on See also:account of the eminent artists, poets and scholars which it attracted. The subsequent heads of the family were: Alphonso III., who retired to a monastery in 1629 and died in 1644; See also:Francis I. (1610-1658), who commanded the French army in Italy in 1647; Alphonso IV. (1634-1662), the See also:father of See also:Mary Beatrice, the See also:queen of, See also:James II.. :of England, who fought in the French army during the See also:Spanish War, and founded the picture See also:gallery of Modena; Francis II. (166o-1694), who originated the Este library, also at Modena, and founded the university; Rinaldo (1655-1737), through whose marriage with See also:Charlotte Felicitas of Brunswick-See also:Luneburg the See also:long-separated branches of the house of Este were reunited; Francis III. (1698-178o), who married the daughter of the regent See also:Philip of See also:Orleans. Francis III. wished to remain neutral during the war between Spain and See also:Austria (1740), but the imperialists having occupied and devastated his duchy, he took the Spanish side and was appointed generalissimo of the Spanish army in Italy.

He was re-established in his possessions by the treaty of See also:

Aix-la-Chapelle (1748), and on being reconciled with the empress Maria See also:Theresa, he received from her the title of governor of Lombardy in 1754. With his son Ercole III. Rinaldo (1727-1803), who at the peace of Campoformio lost his duchy, the male See also:line of the Estensi came to an end. His only daughter, See also:Marie Beatrice (d. 1829), was married to the See also:archduke See also:Ferdinand, third son of the emperor Francis I. Ferdinand was created duke of See also:Breisgau in 1803, and at his death in 18o6 he was succeeded by his son Francis IV. (q.v.), to whom the duchy of Modena was given at the treaty of See also:Vienna in 1814. He died in 1846 and was succeeded by Francis V. (q.v.), who lost his possessions by the events of 1859. With his death in 1875 the title and estates passed to the archduke Francis Ferdinand, See also:heir to the Austro-Hungarian See also:throne. The children of See also:Lady See also:Augusta See also:Murray, daughter of the See also:earl of See also:Dunmore, by her marriage with See also:Augustus Frederick, duke of See also:Sussex, See also:sixth son of See also:George III. of Great See also:Britain, assumed the old name of 794 d' Este, and claimed recognition as members of the royal family; but as the marriage was in violation of the royal marriages See also:act of 1773, it was declared invalid, and their claims were set aside.

End of Article: ESTE

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