Holy Roman Empire: Savoy

SAVOY

Territorial Development and Dynastic History
413: Savoy is annexed to Burgundy
561: Savoy becomes a province of France
888: Savoy forms part of Arles
1027: Death of Berthold, Count of Maurienne, and founder of the house of Savoy
1034: Humbert I receives large accessions of territory from the Emperor Conrad II
1111: Amadeus III receive from Heinrich V of Germany the investiture of all Savoy as an Imperial county. His predecessors were merely counts of Maurienne, although they had extended their authority over the greater part of Savoy.
1207: Count Thomas receives large grants of land in Piedmont from Philip of Germany
1266: Peter of Savoy acquired the city of Berne
1285: Geneva enters into alliance with Savoy
1316: Amadeus V receives Maulevrier in Normandy from Philip V of France
1416: Savoy is erected into a duchy under Amadeus VIII. Geneva is brought under the dominion of the counts of Savoy
1418: The territory of Piedmont is added to Savoy
1419: NIce and other territories are ceded to Savoy by the treaty of Chambery
1487: Charlotte, Queen of Cyprus, confers that island upon the dukes of Savoy, who assume the title of King of Cyprus though they never take possession of their kingdom
1537: Francis I of France claims Piedmont as part of his hereditary kingdom
1559: the French conquests in Savoy are restored by the treaty of Cateau-Cambresis
1564: The Genevois passes to the house of Savoy
1601: The marquisate of Saluzzo is ceded to Savoy by the treaty of Lyons
1656: Death of Thomas Francis, founder of the house of Savoy-Carignano
1659: The Genevois is incorporated with Savoy
1713: Savoy is recognized as an independent state by the treaty of Utrecht, and Sicily is annexed
1720: The Duke of Savoy exchanges Sicily for Sardinia, and assumes the title of King of Sardinia, yby the Quadruple Alliance
1860: Savoy and Nice are ceded to France.

Rulers of Savoy

Humbert I
(c980-c1048)

Humbert aux Blanches Mains

Count of Savoy, c1027-c1047

"A powerful feudal lord of Arles, Count Humbert the White-Handed, consolidated his small holdings in Savoy and gained control of the various fiefs in Piedmont by marriage. In 1232 Humbert acquired Chambery, which he made the capital of his expanding domain...." (Minahan, p. 594)

Amedee I
Count of Savoy, c1047-c1051

Othon I

Count of Savoy, c1051-c1060

"...The grandson of Berthold espoused Adelaide of Susa, daughter and heiress of Manfred, marquis of Italy, and lord of Susa, by which marriage the house of Savoy acquired considerable domains in Italy, viz. the marquisate of Susa, the dutchy (sic) of Turin, Piedmont, and the vale of Aoste...." (Leckie, p. 215)

Pierre I

Count of Savoy, c1060-c1078

Amedee II
(c1048-1094)

Count of Savoy, c1078-1094

Humbert II
(d.1103)
Count of Savoy, 1094-1103

"...Humbert the 2d, count of Savoy, conquered the Tarantaise, in the year 1082...." (Leckie, p. 215)

Amedee III
(c1095-1149)

Count of Savoy, 1103-1149

"Amadeus III, who has been sometimes styled Amadeus II, received from Henry V of Germany the investiture of all Savoy as an Imperial county. His predecessors were merely counts of Maurienne, although they had extended their authority over the greater part of Savoy. Amadeus recovered also in part his ancestorial Italian dominions, and, above all, the city of Turin, of which he was acknowledged lord in the year 1131. In his diplomas Amadeus styles himself Count of Savoy, Count of Turin, and Marquis of Italy... About the year 1147 Count Amadeus III. proceeded with j the crusade to Syria, and died of disease at Nicosia in the island of Cyprus, in the year 1148. He was the founder of the magnificent abbey of Hautecombe in Savoy, which was for ages after the burial-place of the princes of the reigning dynasty, whose monuments remained to the end of the last century, when they were plundered and destroyed by the French revolutionists...." (Penny Cyclopedia, Vol. 20, p. 439)

Humbert III
(1136-1189)

Count of Savoy, 1149-1189
the Saint

"...This prince was an able ruler, as brave as he was pious, and valiantly defended his domains against Guy IV. of Dauphine. He also distinguished himself at the siege of Milan, and was always the ally and ardent defender of the rights of the Holy See. The religious education he had received from St. Amedee gave him a proper estimate of earthly things, and he would have gladly renounced the world and become a monk at Hautecombe, had it not been for the remonstrances of his people. He often retired here for a season, as well as at Notre Dame des Alpes, and when he felt his life was drawing to a close he took the holy habit and died a few days after with a reputation for sanctity which time has not dimmed. Pope Geogory XVI. authorized public honors to be paid him, and Savoy celebrates his festival on the 4th of March, believed to be the day of his death... Two brothers of Humbert the Saint, as he is called, Peter and John, and a sister named Margaret, embraced the monastic life and died in the odor of sanctity....." (Paulist Fathers, p. )

Thomas I
(c1177-1233)

Count of Savoy, 1189-1233

"Thomas I succeeded his father Humbert III. Having acknowledged Philip of Suabia as king of Germany..., Philip restored Thomas to all the titles and prerogatives of which his father had been deprived by Frederic I. Thomas purchased of the Viscount Berlion the seignory of Chambery for 32,000 sols of Susa, equal to 84,200 francs, and enlarged the town and built the castle... Thomas enjoyed the friendship of the emperor Frederic II., who appointed him his vicar in Lombardy. The citizens of Turin...refused allegiance to the count of Savoy. Thomas crossed the Alps and laid siege to Turin, but the people of Asti and other parts of Montferrato coming to its assistance, the count was obliged to raise the siege and return to Savoy. In the following year he came again with more force by the Val d'Aosta, but he fell ill and died, in January, 1233. He left a numerous family: three of his sons reigned in succession after him; another, Boniface, became archbishop of Canterbury; and another, Thomas, became count of Flanders by marrying Joan, the daughter and heiress of Baldwin, count of Flanders and emperor of Constantinople." (Penny Cyclopedia, Vol. 20, p. 439)

Amedee IV
(1197-1253)

Count of Savoy, 1233-1253

He was appointed by the Emperor Friedrich II as his vicar in Piedmont and Lombardy.

For being faithful in the war against the Lombard cities, Emperor Friedrich II gave him the title of Duke of Chablais.

Boniface
(1244-1263)

Count of Savoy, 1253-1263
le Roland

Pierre II
(c1203-1268)
Son of Thomas I of Savoy and Marguerite of Geneva
Married in 1234 Agnes (d.1268), Countess of Faucigny

12th Count of Savoy, Aosta & Maurienne, 1263-1268
Earl of Richmond, 1241-1266
Lord of Vaud, 1233-1268
the Little Charlemagne

""This Peter, Earl of Richmond, who gave the name to the Savoy, was called the Petit Charlemagne on account of his valor and other eminent qualities. He acquired great influence over Henry III, but returned to his native land at the death of his brother, to whom he succeeded in the government, being then sixty years of age. The abbot of St. Maurice, in gratitude for his services in behalf of the Valaisans against their suzerain, who oppressed them with his tyranny, gave him the celebrated ring of St. Maurice, that was henceforth used as the symbol of investitute by the counts of the house of Savoy. Count Peter died at the castle of Chillon in 1268...." (Paulist Fathers, p. 771)" (Paulist Fathers, p. 771)

Philippe I
(1207-1285)

Count of Savoy, 1268-1285

"This (that is, the acquisition of Bresse by the future Amedee V) happened during the reign of Amadeus's uncle Philip, who, upon quitting the See of Lyons for the throne of Savoy in 1268, had also married an heiress, Alice de Meranie, Countess of Burgundy (Franche-Comte), and who consequently governed that county for a few years. Alice however had no issue from her union with Philip of Savoy, and as she had, on the contrary, a large family from her first marriage with Hugh of Chalons, the sons of this latter, upon coming of age, succeeded as Counts of Burgundy." (Gallenga, pp. 277-278)

Amedee V
(c1249-1323)

Count of Savoy, 1285-1323
Prince of the Ampire, 1311

le Grand

"...Amedeus the 5th, was invested, in 1313, by the emperor Henry the 7th, with the town and county of Asti...." (Leckie, p. 215)
"Amadeus V (1285-1323), who inherited Savoy, obtained in 1290 the secular governorship of the city of Geneva. He accompanied Henry VII on his expedition to Italy, and was, as a reward, made a prince of the empire (1311)." (Catholic Encyclopedia: Savoy)

"...It was her son, Amedee V, surnamed the Great, whose large tomb, inscribed Belli Fulmen, stands on one side as you enter the nave. His is the most glorious name of the house of Savoy. He was famed for his deeds of valor, which read like a chapter from the old romances of chivalry. He is said to have taken part in twenty-two pitched battles and thirty-two sieges. His most famous exploit was his expedition to Rhodes to aid the Knights of St. John in defending the island against the Turks. At the request of the grand master he took the white cross on a red shield instead of the eagle, the original cognizance of the house of Savoy. He likewise assumed the famous device, F. E. R. T., which is generally interpreted, Fortitudo, ejus Rhodum tenuit---His valor saved Rhodes. He was on intimate terms with his royal kinsmand of England, was present at the marriage of Edward II with Isabella of Valois and at Edwards' coronation, and was employed in negotiations between England and France...." (Paulist Fathers, p. 771)
"The best part of Bresse came in as a dowry of Sibyl of Bauge, heiress of that province, who was wedded to Amadeus V at Chillon in 1272." (Gallenga, p. 277)

Edouard
(1284-1329)
Count of Savoy, 1323-1329

le Libéral

Aimon
(1291-1343)
the Peaceful
(Fr. le Pacifique)

Count of Savoy, 1329-1343

"...[Aymon] was the second son of Amedee V, and destined at first to the ecclesiastical state, but, his elder brother having died, he succeeded to the title and displayed great military ability on the side of the French in their wars with England and the Netherlands. He protected the poor, loved justice, established courts of assizes, and founded hospitals and churches. Pope Benedict XII. had a special esteem for him, and gave him and his successors the first place after crowned heads at the coronation of the Sovereign Pontiffs...." (Paulist Fathers, p. 772)
"Aymon devoted much of his strength to fight against the Dauphin Guigues VII (who died in the siege of La Ferriere in 1339), deaths that brought a long peace negotiation (hence its nickname of "peaceful" given to Count Aymon) especially since the new dolphin was in debt and highly threatened by the King of France." (La Maison Savoiee: Aymon)
"He represented the king of France in negotiating the Peace of Esplechin 23 Sep 1339, receiving 2,000 livres annually and the fiefdom of Maulévrier in return." (FMG: Savoy)

Wife (married 1330)

Violanta of Montferrat

(1318-1342)

Lady of Casella Ciria and Lanze

daughter of Teodoro I Paleologo of Montferrat and Argentina Spinola

"...She is spoken of by the chroniclers as a most ex cellent princess and the ornament of her age. Her husband raised a handsome monument to her memory, in the abbey of Hautecombe...." (SDUK, Vol. IV, Part 1, p. 360)

Aymon married, about 1331, Yolande, or Violante, daughter of Theodore Palœologus, Marquis of Monferrato. Theodore was a younger son of Andronicus Palaeologus the elder, Emperor of Constantinople, and he had inherited the marquisate in right of his mother Yolande, called Irene by the Greeks, who was sister of John, the last Marquis of Monferrato, of the dynasty of Aleramus, who died in 1305, without issue. By the marriage contract between Count Aymou and the younger Yolande, it was stipulated, that in ease of the extinction of the male line of the Marquis Theodore, the descendants of Yolande should succeed to the marquisate, and it was in virtue of this stipulation that, about two centuries later, the House of Savoy laid claim to Monferrato, which it eventually succeeded in annexing to its dominions. (SDUK, Vol. IV, p. 359)

Children

Amedee VI (1334-1383)

Bianca (1336-1388)

Amedee VI
(1334-1383)

Count of Savoy, 1343-1383
the Green Count (Fr. le Comte vert)

"Amedee VI...called the Comte Vert, or Green Count, was one of the most chivalric knights of the fourteenth century. His whole life was spent on the battle-field, and he rendered his name immortal by his courage and gallant deeds. He gained the battle of Abrets against France, aided Pope Gregory IX. and the Emperor Charles IV in crushing the Visconti, and rescued the Greek Emperor John Paleologus from the hands of the Bulgarians, who held him prisoner at Gallipolis, and replaced him on the throne of Constantinople. The tournament he gave at Chambery in 1348, on the Place de Verney, was celebrated by the poets and romancers of the day. The colors he wore on this occasion, as well as his followers, and even his steed, procured for him the name of the Comte Vert. He founded the supreme order of the Annonciade, one of the most ancient known, in honor of Our Lady..." (Paulist Fathers, p. 772)

Amedee VII
(1360-1391)

Count of Savoy, 1383-1391
the Red Count (Fr. le Comte rouge)

"...In the year 1388, Amedeus the 7th, received the voluntary submission of the inhabitants of the county of Nice, which were thus dismembered from Provence; and the counties of Tende and Beuil; which acquisition was the consequence of the intestine divisions which followed the contest of the factions of Durazzo and Anjou for the succession to the throne of Naples, and the county of Provence...." (Leckie, pp. 215-216)
"Amedee VII, styled the Comte Rouge, or the Red Count, from the color of his hair, was the son of the Comte Vert... He added Nice and Ventimiglia, and the valley of Barcelonette, to the domains of his ancestors, thus extending them to the sea... The Conte Rosso was remarkable for personal address and valor, which he loved to display at jousts and tournaments. He made his first essay at arms against the sire of Beaujeu, and at a tournament at Bruckberg defeated the earl of Huntingdon with the lance, and the earls, of Arundel and Pembroke with sword and battle-axe. His judgment and prudence caused him to be repeatedly chosen mediator by the sovereigns of Europe. He was a patron of letters and founder of the University of Turin. He died in his thirtieth year at Ripaille, some say of a fall from his horse; others, that he fell a victim to poison or the medicaments of a Bohemian quack, who promised him a luxuriant head of hair and an improved complexion...." (Paulist Fathers, p. 772-773)

Amedee VIII
(1383-1451)
le Pacifique

Count of Savoy, 1391-1416

Duke of Savoy, 1416-1451

1402: Odo of Villars, the last Count of Genevois, ceded his lands to Amedee VIII of Savoy.
"...Amedeus the 8th, in the year 1401, bought of Otho of Villars, the Genevese territory, and was created duke of Savoy by the emperor Sigismund." (Leckie, p. 216)

Louis I
(1402-1465)

Duke of Savoy, 1451-1565

Amedee IX
(1435-1472)

Duke of Savoy, 1465-1472
the Blessed
(Fr. le Bienheureux)

"Amadeus IX, duke of Savoy, succeeded Lewis 1465, and was a brave, as well as a

popular and charitable prince. His subjects, who knew the goodness of his heart, gave him the surname of the blessed. He had married Yolande, of France, and he died, 1472, universally lamented." (Lempriere & Lord, p. 76)

Philibert I
(1465-1482)

Duke of Savoy, 1472-1482
le Chasseur

Charles I
(1468-1490)

Duke of Savoy, 1482-1490

le Guerrier

Charles II
Charles-Jean-Amédée
(1489-1496)
Duke of Savoy, 1490-1496

Philippe II
(1438-1497)
Duke of Savoy, 1496-1497
sans Terre

Philibert II
(1480-1504)

Duke of Savoy, 1497-1504
the Handsome (Fr. le Beau)

"...Margaret's second real marriage was her happiest and most satisfying. Duke Philibert of Savoy (like her brother, he also earned the sobriquet 'the Handsome') was a fun-loving young man who had great resources of joie de vivre. He was not interested in governing his duchy; in fact, he had delegated this responsibility to his half-brother, Rene, Grand Bastard of Savoy... Once Margaret and Philibert were setlled in the chateau Pont d'Ain...Margaret began to take stock of her new situation. She quickly found that while her husband devoted himself to a life of pleasure and sensuality,...the rather too amiable Grand Bastard Rene had complete control over the government of Savoy... [S]he swiftly deposed him from his position of power by accusing him of conspiracy with the Swiss. Branded as a traitor, Rene fled to France, and Margaret took the reins of Savoy into her own hands... [O]ne September day in 1504...Philibert became bored. Against Margaret's advice he decided to organize a boar bunt... [H]e worked himself into a hot and cold sweat, which soon developed into pneumonia. Hastily summoned physicians had no remedy, and to Margaret's horror her beloved husband was dead before she could absorb what had happened. (Bell, pp. 81-82)