County of Savoy

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County of Savoy
Comitatus Sabaudiae (Latin)
1003–1416
Konigsbanner 14Jh.svg
Imperial Banner
(was used by the first counts to prove loyalty to the Emperor)
Arms of the House of Savoy.svg
Coat of arms
County of Savoy locator map (1250).svg
The County of Savoy and its possessions (  red) within the Holy Roman Empire around the middle of the 13th century. The   cream area highlights the rest of the Kingdom of Burgundy. Note that some of Savoy's possessions lie outside of that kingdom (instead being part of the Kingdom of Italy). Savoy proper is the westernmost of the territories. The unmarked territory directly to the northwest of Savoy proper, Bresse, was acquired in 1272.
Status State of the Holy Roman Empire
Capital Chambéry (from 1295)
Religion
Roman Catholicism
Government Monarchy
Count of Savoy  
 1003–1048
Humbert I White Hands
 1391–1416
Amadeus VIII (Anti-Pope Felix V)
Historical era High Middle Ages
1003
 Inherited March of Turin
1046
1331
 Acquired County of Nice
1388
 Acquired County of Geneva
1401
 Raised to duchy by Sigismund
1416
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Banner of arms of the kingdom of Arles.png Kingdom of Arles
Duchy of Savoy Flag of Savoie.svg
  1. The Kingdom of Burgundy, to which the county owed suzerainty, became a part of the Empire on King Rudolph III's death in 1032; the County of Savoy gained Imperial immediacy from Emperor Henry VII in 1331.

The County of Savoy (Latin : Comitatus Sabaudiae) was a feudal state of the Holy Roman Empire which emerged, along with the free communes of Switzerland, from the collapse of the Burgundian Kingdom in the 11th century. It was the cradle of the future Savoyard state. [1]

Contents

History

Early Coat of arms of the Counts of Savoy Arms of the house of Savoy (Ancient).svg
Early Coat of arms of the Counts of Savoy

Sapaudia, stretching south of Lake Geneva from the Rhône River to the Western Alps, had been part of Upper Burgundy ruled by the Bosonid duke Hucbert from the mid-9th century. Together with the neighbouring Free County of Burgundy (today's Franche Comté ), it became part of the larger Kingdom of Burgundy under King Rudolph II in 933. [2]

Humbert the White-Handed was raised to count by the last king of Burgundy, Rudolph III, in 1003. He backed the inheritance claims of Emperor Henry II and in turn, was permitted to usurp the county of Aosta from its bishops at the death of Anselm. Following his support of Conrad II in annexing Arles upon Rudolph's death and suppressing the revolts of Count Odo and Bishop Burchard, he also received the county of Maurienne (formerly held by the archbishops of Vienne) and territories in Chablais and Tarentaise, formerly held by its archbishops at Moûtiers. [2]

While the Arelat remained a titular kingdom of the Holy Roman Empire, Humbert's descendants—later known as the House of Savoy—maintained their independence as counts. In 1046, his younger son Otto married Adelaide, daughter of Ulric Manfred II, marquis of Susa. When she inherited her father's lands in preference to other, male, relatives, [note 1] he thereby acquired control of the extensive March of Turin. This was then united with Savoy upon his inheritance from his elder brother. [3]

Chambery Castle Chambery palac savojskych vevodu.JPG
Chambéry Castle

The counts further enlarged their territory when, in 1218, they inherited the Vaud lands north of Lake Geneva from the extinct House of Zähringen. In 1220, Count Thomas I occupied the towns of Pinerolo and Chambéry (Kamrach), which afterwards became the Savoy capital. In 1240, his younger son Peter II was invited to England by King Henry III, who had married Peter's niece Eleanor of Provence. He was appointed Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports and Earl of Richmond and had the Savoy Palace erected in London.

In 1313, Count Amadeus V the Great officially gained the status of Imperial immediacy from Emperor Henry VII. What was left of the Kingdom of Burgundy effectively ceased to be entirely under the authority of the emperor after the Dauphiné had passed to the future King Charles V of France in 1349 and Amadeus VI of Savoy was appointed Imperial vicar of Arelat by Emperor Charles IV in 1365. [4]

Amadeus VII gained access to the Mediterranean Sea by the acquisition of the County of Nice in 1388, and his son Amadeus VIII purchased the County of Geneva in 1401. The extended Savoy lands were finally raised to a duchy in 1416 by the German king Sigismund (see Duchy of Savoy 1416–1718). [4]

Counts of Savoy

In 1416 Amadeus VIII was raised to the status of Duke of Savoy.

See also

Notes

  1. One of whom may have been Gundulph, the father of St Anselm.

Related Research Articles

Humbert I, better known as Humbert the White-Handed or Humbert Whitehand, was the count of Savoy from 1032 until his death and the founder of the House of Savoy.

Otto was count of Savoy from around 1051 until his death. Through marriage to Adelaide, the heiress of Ulric Manfred II, he also administered the march of Susa from around 1046 until his death.

Amadeus II was the count of Savoy from 1078 to 1080. His life is obscure and few documents mention him. During his rule, he was overshadowed by his mother, but he had good relations with the papacy and, for a time, the Holy Roman emperor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amadeus III, Count of Savoy</span> Count of Savoy

Amadeus III of Savoy was Count of Savoy and Maurienne from 1103 until his death. He was also known as a crusader.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas, Count of Savoy</span> Count of Savoy from 1189 to 1233

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Peter II, called the Little Charlemagne, was Count of Savoy from 1263 until his death in 1268. He was also holder of the Honour of Richmond, Yorkshire, England, the Honour of the Eagle also known as the Honour of Pevensey and the Honour of Eu also known as the Honour of Hastings. His significant land holdings in Sussex were also marked by his holding of the wardship of John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey which brought with it lands centred upon Lewes castle. Briefly, from 1241 until 1242, castellan of Dover Castle and Keeper of the Coast. In 1243 he was granted land by the Thames in London where he later built the Savoy Palace.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amadeus V, Count of Savoy</span> Count of Savoy

Amadeus V, also known as Amadeus the Great, was the Count of Savoy from 1285 until his death in 1323. He was a significant medieval ruler who played a crucial role in the expansion and consolidation of the House of Savoy’s influence in the regions that are now part of modern-day France, Italy, and Switzerland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aymon, Count of Savoy</span> Italian noble (1291–1343)

Aymon, Count of Savoy (1291–1343), also known as Aymon the Peaceful, was a nobleman who ruled the County of Savoy from 1329 until his death in 1343. He was a member of the House of Savoy, a prominent European noble family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">House of Savoy</span> Royal dynasty of Southern Europe

The House of Savoy is an Italian royal house that was established in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansions the family grew in power, first ruling a small Alpine county northwest of Italy and later gaining absolute rule of the Kingdom of Sicily. During the years 1713 to 1720, they were handed the island of Sardinia and would exercise direct rule from then onward.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">County of Burgundy</span> Medieval county of the Holy Roman Empire (982-1678)

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The County of Geneva, largely corresponding to the later Genevois province, originated in the tenth century, in the Burgundian Kingdom of Arles (Arelat) which fell to the Holy Roman Empire in 1032.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sapaudia</span> Territory in present-day Italy

Sapaudia or Sabaudia was an Alpine territory of Late antiquity and the Dark Ages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John II of Chalon-Arlay</span>

John II, lord of Chalon-Arlay was a member of the House of Chalon-Arlay. He succeeded his father Hugh I lord of Arlay to this title, and was himself succeeded by his son, Hugh II lord of Arlay.

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Mary of Burgundy was a Duchess of Savoy by her marriage to Amadeus VIII of Savoy, who was later known as Antipope Felix V.

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Amadeus VIII, nicknamed the Peaceful, was Count of Savoy from 1391 to 1416 and Duke of Savoy from 1416 to 1440. He was a claimant to the papacy from 1439 to 1449 as Felix V in opposition to Popes Eugene IV and Nicholas V.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amadeus III of Geneva</span>

Amadeus III was the Count of Geneva from 1320 until his death. He ruled the Genevois, but not the city of Geneva proper, and it was during his time that the term "Genevois" came to be used as it is today. He was the eldest son and successor of William III and Agnes, daughter of Amadeus V of Savoy. He played a major rôle in the politics of the House of Savoy, serving consecutively as regent and president of the council, and also sitting on the feudal tribunal—one of three tribunals of the Audiences générales—of the Duchy of Aosta.

Ermengarde was a medieval noblewoman. Through her first marriage, to Rotbold II, Count of Provence, she was countess of Provence, and from 1011 to 1032 Ermengarde was the last queen of independent Burgundy by virtue of her second marriage to Rudolf III of Burgundy.

Aymon de Briançon was a Burgundian nobleman and Carthusian monk who served as the archbishop of Tarentaise from around 1175 until his death. From 1186, he was a prince of the Holy Roman Empire. He took part in the Third Crusade in 1189.

References

  1. "House of Savoy | Italian Royal Family, European Dynasty | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
  2. 1 2 "Le Comté de Savoie – Musée du patrimoine militaire de Lyon et sa région" (in French). 2021-12-23. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
  3. "Savoie - Petit comté deviendra grand... - Herodote.net". www.herodote.net. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
  4. 1 2 Demotz, Bernard (1990), Cleyet-Michaud, Rosine; Étienne, Geneviève; Massot, Mireille; Carlin, Maryse (eds.), "le comté de Savoie", 1388, La Dédition de Nice à la Savoie, Histoire ancienne et médiévale (in French), Paris: Éditions de la Sorbonne, pp. 175–179, ISBN   979-10-351-0241-8 , retrieved 2024-08-07

Further reading