FERDINAND
40
FERDINAND
also a man of action, and in liis boyhood his soul was
stirred by the heroic campaign against Ccuta. His
mother, the queen, ha<l nurtured the martial spirit of
her sons, and it is even said that on her deathbed she
gave them each a sword, charging them to use it in
defence of widows, orplians, and their country, and in
particular against unbelievers. An opportunity soon
presented itself. In 1437 Edward planned an expedi-
tion against the Moors in Africa and placed his broth-
ers Henry and Ferdinand in command. They set sail
22 Aug., 1437, and four days later arrived at Ceuta.
During the voyage Ferdinand became dangerously ill,
in consequence of an abscess and fever which he had
concealed before the departure, in order not to delay
the fleet. Through some mismanagement the Portu-
guese numbered only 6000 men, instead of 14,000, as
ordered by the king. Though advised to wait for rein-
forcements, the two princes, impatient for the fray,
advanced towards Tangiers, to which they laid siege.
Ferdinand recovered slowly, but was not able to take
part in the first battle.
The Portuguese fought bravely against great odds, but were finally compelled to make terms with the enemy, agreeing to restore Ceuta in return for a safe passage to their vessels. The Moors likewise de- manded that one of the princes be delivered into their hands as a hostage for the delivery of the city. Ferdi- nand offered himself for the dangerous post, and with a few faithful followers, including Joao Alvarez, his sec- retary and later Ms biographer, began a painful cap- tivity which ended only with his death. He was first brought to Arsilla by Sali, ben Sala, the Moorish ameer. In spite of sickness and bodily sufferings, he continued all his devotions and showed great cliarity towards his Christian fellow-captives. Henry at first repaired to Ceuta, where he was j oined by his brother John. Realizing that it would be difficult to obtain the royal consent to the restoration of the fortress, they proposed to exchange their brother for the son of Sala ben Sala, whom Henry held as a hostage. The Moors scornfully rejected the proposal, and both re- turned to Portugal to devise means of setting the prince free. Though his position was perilous in the extreme, the Portuguese Cortes refused to surrender Ceuta, not only on account of the treachery of the Moors, but because the place had cost them so dearly and might serve as a point of departure for future con- quests. It was resolved to ransom him if possible. Sala ben Sal.a refused all offers, his purpose being to recover his former seat of government.
Various attempts were made to free the prince, but all proved futile and only served to make his lot more unbearable. On 25 May, 1438, he was sent to Fez and handed over to the cruel Lazurac, the king's vizier. He was first condemned to a dark dungeon and, after some months of imprisonment, was compelled to work like a slave in the royal gardens and stables. Amid insult and misery Ferdinand never lost patience. Though often urged to seek safety in flight, he refused to abandon his companions and grieved more for their sufferings, of which he considered himself the cause, than for his own. His treatment of his persecutors was respectful and dignified, but he would not descend to flattery to obtain any alleviation of his sufferings. During the last fifteen months of his life he was con- fined alone in .a dark dungeon with a block of wood for his pillow antl the stone floor for a bed. He spent most of his time in prayer and in preparation for death, which his rapidly failing health warned him was near at hand. In May, 1443, he was stricken with the fatal di.sease to which he finally succuml:)ed. His per- secutors refused to change his loathsome abode, al- though they allowed a physician and a few faithful friends to atttmd him. On the evening of 5 Juno, after making a general confession and a profession of faith, he peacefully gave up his soul to Cod. During the day he had confided to hisconfessor, who fn'<[uently visited
him, that the Blessed Virgin with St. John and the
Archangel Michael had appeared to him in a vision.
Lazurac ordered the body of the prince to be opened
and the vital organs removed, and then caused it to be
suspended head downwards for four days on the walls of
Fez. Nevertheless he was compelled to pay tribute to
the constancy, innocence, and spirit of prayer of his
royal victim. Of Ferdinand's companions, four
shortly afterwards followed him to the grave, one
joined the ranks of the Moors, and the others regained
their liberty after Lazurac's death. One of the latter,
Joao Alvarez, his secretary and biographer, carried his
heart to Portugal in 1451, and in 1473 his body was
brought to Portugal, and laid to rest in the royal vault
at Batalha amid imposing ceremonies.
Prince Ferdinand has ever been held in great ven- eration by the Portuguese on account of his saintly life and devotion to country. Miracles are said to have been wrought at his intercession, and in 1470 he was beatified by Paul II. Our chief authority for the de- tails of his life is Joao Alvarez, already referred to. Calderon made him a hero of one of his most remarkable dramas, "E! Prfneipe Constante y Mdrtir de Portu- gal".
Alvarez, in Ada SS., June, I; Olfers. Lehen des standhaften Prinzen (Berlin. 1827); Dunham, History of Spain and Portugal (New York), III.
Henry M. Brock.
Ferdinand II, emperor, eldest son of Archduke Karl and the Bavarian Princess Maria, b. 1578; d. 15 February, 1637. In accordance with Ferdinand I's disposition of his possessions, Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola fell to his son Karl. As Karl died in 1590, when his eldest son was only twelve years old, the government of these countries had to be entrusted to a regent during the minority of Ferdinand. The latter began his studies under the Jesuits at Graz, and con- tinued them in company with Maximilian of Bavaria at the University of Ingolstadt, also in charge of the Jesuits, According to the testimony of his professors, he displayed remarkable diligence, made rapid pro- gress in the mathematical sciences, and above all gave evidence of a deeply religious spirit. On the comple- tion of his studies, he took up the reins of government, although not yet quite seventeen. During a subse- quent visit to Italy he made a vow in the sanctuary of Loreto to banish all heresy from the territories which might fall under his rule. He was of middle height, compact build, with reddish-blonde hair and blue eyes. His dress and the cut of his hair suggested the Spaniard, but his easy bearing towards all with whom he came into contact was rather German than Spanish. Even in the heat of conflict, a .sense of justice and equity never deserted him. On two occasions, when his tenure of power was imperilled, he was unflinching and showed a true greatness of mind. Ferdinand was a man of unspotted morals, but lacking in statesman- like qualities and independence of judgment. He was wont to lay the responsibility for important measures on his counsellors (Freiherr von Eggenberg, Graf von Harrach, the Bohemian Chancellor, Zdencko von Lob- kowitz, Cardinal-Prince Dietrichstein, etc.). Liberal even to prodigality, his exchequer was always low. In pursuance of the principle laid down by the Diet of Augsburg, 1555 {cuius regio cius et religio), he estab- lished the Counter-Reformation in his three duchies, while his cousin Emperor Rudolf II reluctantly rec- ognized the Reformation.
As Ferdinand was the only archduke of his day with sufficient power and energy to take up the struggle against the estates then aiming at supreme power in the Austrian hereditary domains, the childless Em- peror Matthias strove to secure for him the succession to the whole empire. During Matthias's life, Ferdi- nand was crowned King of Holipniia and of Hungary, but, when Matthias dice I during the heat of the religious war (20 March, IHI'O, Ferdinand's position was en-
