IN THE SUMMER of 1473, Eleonora d’Aragona made her maiden journey to her marital home of Ferrara. Accompanied by noblemen, ladies-in-waiting, servants, luxury goods, and gifts for those she met along the way, Eleonora also carried a set of instructions written by the king of Naples. Using the specific and succinct vocabulary of the diplomatic instruction genre, Ferrante d’Aragona charged his daughter with representing the interests of her natal family during her journey from Italy's south to its northeast marshlands. In Rome, for example, she was instructed to humbly recommend Ferrante and her older brother, Alfonso, to His Holiness, offering Pope Sixtus IV the use of Naples’ vast lands as an escape from the Roman summer. While she was in Florence, Eleonora was asked to reinforce the importance of her father's friendship with the powerful Lorenzo de’ Medici to ensure the continued flow of shared information between the two states.

However, Ferrante was less enthusiastic about Eleonora's new husband, the fickle duke of Ferrara, Ercole d’Este: “If you were to ever see that the duke was of another opinion or knew something that we did not, we beg you to make him take notice of the bigger picture, since he must believe that we regard his affairs as our own.” Ercole and Ferrante were no stranger to each other's schemes, having grown up together when the former was sent to Naples at age fourteen. A decade after Ercole betrayed Ferrante at a crucial moment in the Neapolitan War of Succession (1458–1462), Eleonora was made a key intermediary between former friends.

This chapter will analyze Eleonora d’Aragona's role as a mediator within the Aragonese network during two military conflicts. In the first, the Pazzi War (1478–80), Eleonora's natal and marital families were opposed; they were then united during the War of Ferrara (1482–84). Unlike a traditional ambassador, Eleonora had to serve two masters, which required a blend of strong interpersonal skills and expectation management. Using familial correspondence, this chapter will contribute to the emerging literature on the role of women in dynastic epistolary networks during wartime.

In order to fulfill her role as mediator, Eleonora required access to a number of diplomatic tools.