LS in Spanish, signed “Yo el Rey,” one page, 11.75 x 10.5, June 26, 1477. Letter to the Duke and Duchess of Milan, in (translated): "We, Don Fernando, by the grace of God King of Castille, Leon, Toledo, of Sicily Portugal, Galacia, and Prince of the Kingdoms of Aragon, send you, Very Illustrious Galeazzo [Sforza], Duke of Milan, Our very dear and well-loved nephew as well as to you, Most Serene Lady, Good Duchess of Milan, our emphatic greetings to you both, whom we love tenderly and cherish, and to whom we wish long life and honor. Very dear relatives, since we received your news and learned of the death of the invincible Duke of Milan, Our well-loved cousin, as well as the circumstances and the way of this death, We are at the mercy of a great sorrow and regret which have their source in the circumstances of this death. In thinking about such a dastardly and unusual act, so horrible an event, so abominable a murder; one refuses even to imagine it. We are in great sorrow convinced that the death and disappearance of such a noble prince can present a considerable danger, contribute to the instability of the state and kingdoms, and can be neither useful nor profitable to the kings and princes who were on a footing of close friendship and frequent contact with him. But on reflection and after meditating on the secrets of God, and imagining how He disposes of kingdoms in accordance with His profound and sacred resolutions, that He gives and takes away as He pleases, and gives and takes away the lives of princes as He pleases, We derived some consolation. We remember how meritorious and certain it is, when Fortune befalls Us, to conform to Gods will, which is always just and equitable. And that is why we beseech you and appeal to your judgment to similarly take command of yourself and cast all sorrow and pain far from you, which needlessly affect the living and which cannot be of any pro/it to the dead, which means, very noble Duke and Duchess, that you should act in an edifying way conforming to the will of God.
It is from the mouth of Juan Antonio de Corbeta, your gentleman of the chamber; that We learned, very noble Duke and Duchess, in what favorable light the late Duke Galeazzo, Our well-loved cousin, considered what we are doing. Although the distance which separates Our two states prevented him from sending soldiers and auxiliary troops to defend Our two kingdoms in the wars against Our Portuguese enemy and the other peoples who came to his assistance, thanks to his well-known courage, recognizing Our obviously just cause and moved by the great love he had for Us, he nonetheless showed a special satisfaction every time he heard that Our cause prospered. He also was pleased with Our success and the battles which had been turned in Our favor and was satisfied every time he heard it said that We had repulsed the enemy and conquered friends for Our person and territories for Our kingdom.
The very illustrious Duke was not content to make Our progress, glory and name known in all the states where he had them disseminated, but showed himself to be a brother and sincere friend to Us in not authorizing Our enemies to procure arms or anything else useful in his territories and in refusing to lend an ear or receive his emissaries or messengers. He also did other things in Our favor which it would take too long to recount, and whose reciting would plunge Us into pain and sorrow For this reason, most beloved and very illustrious Duke and Duchess, believe, I beg you, that Our Royal Person, Our Kingdoms, Our states and the seas which wash them have a sentiment very acute to the debt which they have incurred towards you, and We thus exhort you and beseech you affectionately that if ever the necessity makes itself felt, God willing, you would lay claim to Our assistance by means of your accredited envoys, and it would be a great pleasure and great joy to Us to lend you aid and assistance in all possible ways in loyal brotherhood. We thus spoke for a very long time with the above-mentioned Juan Antonio de Corbeta, your servant, and discussed certain topics with him, and we also beseech you to believe absolutely the message he will bring you on Our part, We also beseech you to write Us to give Us detailed information on the state you are in, and the policies you plan to follow and in which may God assist you.” In very good to fine condition, with a few short edge tears, and a small area of repaired paper loss to the top edge.
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