County of Savoy
Encyclopedia
For the later history of Savoy
Savoy
Savoy is a region of France. It comprises roughly the territory of the Western Alps situated between Lake Geneva in the north and Monaco and the Mediterranean coast in the south....

 see Duchy of Savoy
Duchy of Savoy
From 1416 to 1847, the House of Savoy ruled the eponymous Duchy of Savoy . The Duchy was a state in the northern part of the Italian Peninsula, with some territories that are now in France. It was a continuation of the County of Savoy...

.


The Counts of Savoy emerged, along with the free communes of Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

, from the collapse of the Burgundian Kingdom of Arles
Kingdom of Arles
The Kingdom of Arles or Second Kingdom of Burgundy of the High Middle Ages was a Frankish dominion established in 933 from lands of the early medieval Kingdom of Burgundy at Arles...

 in the 11th century.

Humbert I the White-Handed from the noble House of Savoy
House of Savoy
The House of Savoy was formed in the early 11th century in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, it grew from ruling a small county in that region to eventually rule the Kingdom of Italy from 1861 until the end of World War II, king of Croatia and King of Armenia...

 had received the comital title from the last King of Arles, Rudolph III of Burgundy
Rudolph III of Burgundy
Rudolf III of Burgundy was the last King of an independent Burgundy. He was the son of Conrad, King of Burgundy, and Matilda of France...

 in 1003. He backed the inheritance claims of Emperor Henry II
Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry II , also referred to as Saint Henry, Obl.S.B., was the fifth and last Holy Roman Emperor of the Ottonian dynasty, from his coronation in Rome in 1014 until his death a decade later. He was crowned King of the Germans in 1002 and King of Italy in 1004...

 and in turn gained lands in the Aosta Valley. Upon King Rudolph's death in 1032, Humbert immediately accepted the rule of Henry's successor, Emperor Conrad II
Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor
Conrad II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1027 until his death.The son of a mid-level nobleman in Franconia, Count Henry of Speyer and Adelaide of Alsace, he inherited the titles of count of Speyer and of Worms as an infant when Henry died at age twenty...

. In turn for his support in the conflict with Count Odo II of Blois
Odo II, Count of Blois
Odo II , Count of Blois, Chartres, Châteaudun, Provins, Rheims, and Tours from 1004 and Count of Troyes and Meaux from 1022, was the son of Odo I of Blois and Bertha, daughter of Conrad of Burgundy...

 he received the northern Maurienne
Maurienne
Maurienne is one of the provinces of Savoy, corresponding to the arrondissement of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne in France. It is also the original name of the capital of the province, now Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne.-Location:...

 part of the County of Vienne
Count of Vienne
The Count of Vienne was the ruler of the Viennois, with his seat at Vienne, during the period of the Carolingian Empire and after until 1030, when the county of Vienne was granted to the Archdiocese of Vienne....

, then a fief of the Vienne archbishops, as well as territories in the Chablais
Chablais
Chablais was a province of the Duchy of Savoy. Its capital was Thonon-les-Bains.This region is currently divided into three territories, the Chablais savoyard, the Chablais valaisan, and the Chablais vaudois, and is now split across two countries: France and Switzerland...

 region and in the Tarentaise Valley
Tarentaise Valley
The Tarentaise Valley is a valley of the Isère River in the heart of the French Alps, located in the Savoy region of France. The valley is named for the ancient town of Darantasia, the capital of the pre-Roman Centrones tribe.-Description:...

, a fief of the Tarentaise archbishops
Ancient Diocese of Tarentaise
The Archdiocese of Tarentaise was a Roman Catholic diocese and archdiocese in France, with its see in Moûtiers, in the Tarentaise Valley in Savoie. It was established as a diocese in the 5th century, elevated to archdiocese in 794, and disbanded in 1801...

 at Moûtiers
Moutiers
Moutiers and Les Moutiers is the name or part of the name of several communes in France:*Moutiers, in the Eure-et-Loir département*Moutiers, in the Ille-et-Vilaine département*Moutiers, in the Meurthe-et-Moselle département...

.

While the Arelat remained a titular kingdom of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...

, Humbert's descendants maintained their independence as counts. His younger son Otto in 1046 married Adelaide of Susa
Adelaide of Susa
Adelaide of Susa was the Marchioness of Turin from 1034 to her death. She moved the seat of the march from Turin to Susa and settled the itinerant court there...

, daughter of Margrave Ulric Manfred II of Turin
Ulric Manfred II of Turin
Ulric Manfred II was the Margrave of Turin and Susa in the early 11th century.- Biography:...

, and thereby acquired the adjacent Piedmont
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...

ese lands of the Turin march
March of Turin
The county or march of Turin was founded in 941 by Hugh of Italy, who appointed Arduin Glaber as its governor. Arduin had captured Turin and the Susa Valley from the Saracens...

 (Susa).

The counts further enlarged their territory when in 1218 they inherited the Vaud
Vaud
Vaud is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland and is located in Romandy, the French-speaking southwestern part of the country. The capital is Lausanne. The name of the Canton in Switzerland's other languages are Vaud in Italian , Waadt in German , and Vad in Romansh.-History:Along the lakes,...

 lands north of the Lake Geneva
Lake Geneva
Lake Geneva or Lake Léman is a lake in Switzerland and France. It is one of the largest lakes in Western Europe. 59.53 % of it comes under the jurisdiction of Switzerland , and 40.47 % under France...

 from the extinct House of Zähringen. Count Thomas I in 1220 occupied the towns of Pinerolo
Pinerolo
Pinerolo is a town and comune in north-western Italy, 40 kilometres southwest of Turin on the river Chisone.-History:In the Middle Ages, the town of Pinerolo was one of the main crossroads in Italy, and was therefore one of the principal fortresses of the dukes of Savoy. Its military importance...

 and Chambéry
Chambéry
Chambéry is a city in the department of Savoie, located in the Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France.It is the capital of the department and has been the historical capital of the Savoy region since the 13th century, when Amadeus V of Savoy made the city his seat of power.-Geography:Chambéry...

 (Kamrach), which afterwards became the Savoy capital. His younger son Peter II in 1240 was invited to England
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...

 by King Henry III
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...

, who had married Peter's niece Eleanor of Provence
Eleanor of Provence
Eleanor of Provence was Queen consort of England as the spouse of King Henry III of England from 1236 until his death in 1272....

. He was appointed Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports
Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports
The Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports is a ceremonial official in the United Kingdom. The post dates from at least the 12th century but may be older. The Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports was originally in charge of the Cinque Ports, a group of five port towns on the southeast coast of England...

 and Earl of Richmond
Earl of Richmond
The now-extinct title of Earl of Richmond was created many times in the Peerage of England. The earldom of Richmond was held by various Bretons, Normans, the royal families of Plantagenet, Capet, Savoy, Tudor and Stuart.-History:...

 and had the Savoy Palace
Savoy Palace
The Savoy Palace was considered the grandest nobleman's residence of medieval London, until it was destroyed in the Peasants' Revolt of 1381. It fronted the Strand, on the site of the present Savoy Theatre and the Savoy Hotel that memorialise its name...

 erected at London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

.

In 1313 Count Amadeus V the Great
Amadeus V, Count of Savoy
Amadeus V , surnamed the Great for his wisdom and success as a ruler, was the Count of Savoy from 1285 to 1323. He established Chambéry as his seat...

 officially gained the status of Imperial immediacy from the hands of Emperor Henry VII of Luxembourg
Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry VII was the King of Germany from 1308 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1312. He was the first emperor of the House of Luxembourg...

. The superordinated Kingdom of Arles effectively ceased to exist, after the Dauphiné
Dauphiné
The Dauphiné or Dauphiné Viennois is a former province in southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of :Isère, :Drôme, and :Hautes-Alpes....

 had passed to the French
France in the Middle Ages
France in the Middle Ages covers an area roughly corresponding to modern day France, from the death of Louis the Pious in 840 to the middle of the 15th century...

 crown prince Charles V of Valois
Charles V of France
Charles V , called the Wise, was King of France from 1364 to his death in 1380 and a member of the House of Valois...

 in 1349 and the "Green Count" Amadeus VI of Savoy
Amadeus VI, Count of Savoy
Amadeus VI , nicknamed the Green Count was Count of Savoy from 1343 to 1383. He was the eldest son of Aimone, Count of Savoy and Yolande of Montferrat....

 was appointed Imperial vicar
Imperial vicar
An imperial vicar was a prince charged with administering all or part of the Holy Roman Empire on behalf of the Emperor. Later, an imperial vicar was invariably one of two princes charged by the Golden Bull with administering the Holy Roman Empire during an interregnum.The Holy Roman Empire had no...

 of Arelat by Emperor Charles IV of Luxembourg
Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles IV , born Wenceslaus , was the second king of Bohemia from the House of Luxembourg, and the first king of Bohemia to also become Holy Roman Emperor....

 in 1365.

The "Red Count" Amadeus VII
Amadeus VII, Count of Savoy
Amadeus VII , surnamed the Red Count, was Count of Savoy from 1383 to 1391.He married Bonne of Berry, daughter of John, Duke of Berry who was the younger brother of Charles V of France. They had three children: Amedeo VIII;Bonne Amadeus VII (1360, Avigliana, Piedmont – November 1, 1391),...

 gained access to the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...

 by the acquisition of the County of Nice
County of Nice
The County of Nice or Niçard Country is a historical region of France, located in the south-eastern part, around the city of Nice.-History:Its territory lies between the Mediterranean Sea , Var River and the southernmost crest of the...

 in 1388, his son Amadeus VIII the Peaceful
Antipope Felix V
-External links:*...

 purchased the County of Geneva
County of Geneva
The County of Geneva, largely corresponding to the later Genevois province, originated in the tenth century, in the Burgundian Kingdom of Arles which fell to the Holy Roman Empire in 1032.-History:...

 in 1401. The extended Savoy lands were finally raised to a duchy in 1416 by the German king Sigismund of Luxembourg
Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor
Sigismund of Luxemburg KG was King of Hungary, of Croatia from 1387 to 1437, of Bohemia from 1419, and Holy Roman Emperor for four years from 1433 until 1437, the last Emperor of the House of Luxemburg. He was also King of Italy from 1431, and of Germany from 1411...

 (see Duchy of Savoy
Duchy of Savoy
From 1416 to 1847, the House of Savoy ruled the eponymous Duchy of Savoy . The Duchy was a state in the northern part of the Italian Peninsula, with some territories that are now in France. It was a continuation of the County of Savoy...

 1416-1718).

Counts of Savoy

  • Humbert I the White-Handed : 1003–1047/48
  • Amadeus I of the Tail, son : 1030/48–1051/56
  • Otto I, brother : 1051/56–1060
  • Peter I, son : 1060–78
  • Amadeus II, brother : 1078–80
  • Otto II, son : 1080–1082/91
  • Humbert II the Fat, brother : 1082/91–1103
  • Amadeus III, son : 1103–48
  • Humbert III the Blessed, son : 1148–89
  • Thomas, son : 1189–1233
  • Amadeus IV, son : 1233–53
  • Boniface, son : 1253–63
  • Peter II the Little Charlemagne, uncle : 1263–68
  • Philip I, brother : 1268–85
  • Amedeus V the Great
    Amadeus V, Count of Savoy
    Amadeus V , surnamed the Great for his wisdom and success as a ruler, was the Count of Savoy from 1285 to 1323. He established Chambéry as his seat...

    , nephew : 1285–1323
  • Edward the Liberal
    Edward, Count of Savoy
    Edward , surnamed the Liberal, was the Count of Savoy from 1323 to 1329.He was married to Blanche of Burgundy, daughter of Robert II, Duke of Burgundy and Agnes of France, Duchess of Burgundy. They had a daughter, Joan , who married to John III the Good, duke of Brittany. but was...

    , son : 1323–29
  • Aymon the Peaceful, brother : 1329–43
  • Amadeus VI the Green Count
    Amadeus VI, Count of Savoy
    Amadeus VI , nicknamed the Green Count was Count of Savoy from 1343 to 1383. He was the eldest son of Aimone, Count of Savoy and Yolande of Montferrat....

    , son : 1343–83
  • Amadeus VII the Red Count
    Amadeus VII, Count of Savoy
    Amadeus VII , surnamed the Red Count, was Count of Savoy from 1383 to 1391.He married Bonne of Berry, daughter of John, Duke of Berry who was the younger brother of Charles V of France. They had three children: Amedeo VIII;Bonne Amadeus VII (1360, Avigliana, Piedmont – November 1, 1391),...

    , son : 1383–91
  • Amadeus VIII the Peaceful
    Antipope Felix V
    -External links:*...

    , son : 1391–1416

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