Niccolò III d'Este, Marquis of Ferrara

Niccolò III d'Este (November 9, 1383 – December 26, 1441) was Marquess of Ferrara from 1393 until his death. He was also a condottiero.

Biography
Born in Ferrara, the son of Alberto d'Este and Isotta Albaresani, he inherited the rule of the city when he was only 10 years old, under the protection of the Republics of Venice, Florence and Bologna. He was attacked by his relative Azzo X d'Este, a general of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Duke of Milan, a descendant of Obizzo II d'Este who contested Niccolò the right to rule in Ferrara due to his illegitimate birth. Azzo was however taken prisoner by Astorre I Manfredi in the ensuing war, and any menace over Niccolò's rule disappeared.

In 1397 he married Gigliola da Carrara, daughter of Francesco II da Carrara, lord of Padua.

In 1403 he joined the league formed against the Duke of Milan, being appointed Captain General of the Papal Army by Pope Boniface IX. In 1405 he ceded the ancestral family lands near Este to Venice. In 1410 the fighting master Fiore dei Liberi dedicated his treatise, the Fior di Battaglia, to him. This manuscript is a large part of the foundation of modern attempts to rebuild the Western martial arts. In 1413 he made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. In 1418 he remarried to Parisina Malatesta, daughter of Andrea Malatesta. Fearing the ambitions of Filippo Maria Visconti, two years later he ceded him the possession of Parma.

In 1425 Niccolò had both his wife Parisina and his illegitimate son Ugo executed on charges of adultery. In that year he was again commander-in-chief of the anti-Visconti league. In 1429 his illegitimate son was named heir of the Marquisate.

The role of Niccolò as a prestigious leader in Italy was confirmed when his city was chosen as the seat of a council in 1438.

Marriages and children
Niccolò had children with at least eleven different women.

He married first Gigliola da Carrara, daughter of Francesco II da Carrara, lord of Padua in June, 1397. She died of the plague in 1416. They had no known children.

He married secondly Parisina Malatesta, daughter of Andrea Malatesta. He had her executed on 21 May 1425 for allegedly having an affair with his illegitimate son Ugo. They had three children:


 * Ginevra d'Este (born 1419). Married her maternal relative Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta.
 * Luzia d'Este (24 March 1419 - 28 June 1437). Married Carlo Gonzaga of Milan, Lord of Sabbioneta.
 * Alberto Carlo d'Este (born and deceased in 1421).

He married thirdly Ricciarda of Saluzzo in 1429. She was a daughter of Thomas III of Saluzzo and Marguerite of Pierrepont. They had two children:


 * Ercole d'Este I (October 26, 1431 – June 15, 1505).
 * Sigimondo d'Este (1433 - 1 April 1507).

He also had eleven illegitimate children:


 * Ugo d'Este. Executed by his father on 21 May 1425 for allegedly having an affair with his stepmother Parisina Malatesta
 * Meliaduse d'Este, Abbot of Pomposa and Ferrara, (1406–1452). Son by Caterina of Medici.
 * Leonello d'Este (1407–1450). Son by Stella de' Tolomei.
 * Borso d'Este (1413–1471). Son by Stella de' Tolomei.
 * Alberto d'Este (1415 - 8 April 1502). Son by Filippa della Tavola.
 * Isotta d'Este (1425–1456). Daughter by Filippa della Tavola. Married first Oddantonio da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino and secondly Stjepan III Frankopan Modruški (Stephen Frangipani), Prince of Krk, Senj and Modruš, a member of Frankopan noble family (Croatia).
 * Beatrice d'Este (1427–1497). Married Niccolò of Correggio.
 * Rinaldo d'Este, Lord of Ostellato (c. 1435 - 1535). Son by Anna de Roberti.
 * Branca Maria d'Este (18 December 1440 - 12 January 1506). Daughter by Anna de Roberti. Married Galeotto I Pico, Lord della Mirandola.
 * Gurone d'Este (d. 1484). An Abbot.
 * Camilla d'Este. Married Rodolfo da Varano of Camerino.