Beatrice d'Este (1475-1497) was the younger daughter of Ercole d` Este and Eleanora di Aragon (see post of 12/26/15), and grew up first in the court of Naples. Only as a young teenager was she allowed to come to the court in Ferrara.
She was engaged at the age of 15 to Ludovico Sforza (il "Moro" for his dark looks), Duke of Bari at the time, and married to him a year later.
Beatrice had the same excellent education as her male sibling and cousins (rare at the time), and proved herself excellent at diplomacy. In 1492, as ambassador for her husband, she visited the Republic of Venice, where her primary mission was to advance her husband's scheme to become the Duke of Milan.
This was accomplished in 1495 when il Moro usurped the role, on the somewhat mysterious death of Gian Galeazzo Sforza. Taking advantage of her position in the wealthy court of Milan, Beatrice gathered around her the leading artists, writers, and courtiers of the day, including Niccolo` di Correggio and Leonardo di Vinci, among many others.
Sadly, Beatrice died after the birth of her third child, at the young age of 21. She lived a short but glorious life, at the height of the Renaissance. Had she lived on, she might not have thought her life so charmed, as her husband lost power and ended up spending his final years in the underground dungeon of a French castle.
One of my favorite books about Beatrice is "The Duchess of Milan," by Michael Ennis, published in 1992. While Ennis does not give a bibliography (it is after all, a work of fiction), I have found no factual errors. Ennis earned a degree in history at UC Berkeley, so perhaps that accounts for the accuracy of details.
As a reviewer on Amazon says, it is a rich book, and worth reading and re-reading (which I have done). Highly recommended.
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