for teaching Frederick better French. Charles the Bold used the eventual marriage of his daughter as an instrument of his diplomacy. The engagement of Mary and Nicholas never came to fruition. On November 5, 1472, at the camp of Charles the Bold in Beaurevoir, Nicholas waived his promise of marriage without jeopardizing the alliance between the two dukes. Mary renounced her betrothal on 3 December. In 1473, due to both sides failing to meet the commitments of the alliance, along with the rumor of Charles's reckless plan to marry his daughter to Maximilian, the son of Emperor Frederick III, King Ferdinand began exploring the possibility of a union between Frederick and Joanna, daughter of John II of Aragon. He also raised the possibility of a marriage with a daughter of Luca Sanseverino, Prince of Bisignano, before returning to his original wedding arrangements. At the court of Charles the Bold King Ferdinand decided to promote the possibility of marriage between Frederick and the daughter of Charles the Bold and sought any opportunity that would require the Duke of Burgundy to accept the offer. On November 26, 1474, in Foggia, Ferdinand gave Francesco Bertini, Bishop of Capaccio, as ambassador to the court of Burgundy, full powers to conduct the negotiations. On November 28, Alphonse, Duke of Calabria, was confirmed as an ambassador for the negotiations by his father and his brother the bishop of Capaccio. Frederick left Naples on October 26, 1474, with a princely retinue and many visits in Italy, awaited the opportunity to go to Dijon. He was received in Rome, Urbino, and Ferrara with his brother-in-law Ercole d' Este. On January 5, 1475, accompanied by 400 members of his retinue, he was welcomed by the Doge of Venice Pietro Mocenigo in an elaborate reception, during which the delegations of the Serenissima Republic were welcomed at Bucentaure. The opportunity to join the court of Charles the Bold was furnished by the signing of a military agreement between Charles and Galeazzo Maria Sforza on 30 January. In early February, he left Milan for Turin where Yolande de France, who was the major broker of the alliance between the Dukes of Burgundy and Milan, entrusted him as the master of arms and archery. He was stationed at Besançon at the end of February, when Charles the Bold besieged Neuss. News spread quickly among the Italian courts, and Guy de Brimeu, counselor of