William I Count of Burgundy, the Great

Notes:

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_I,_Count_of_Burgundy

The County [Comté] of Burgundy was a medieval county (from 982 to 1678) within the traditional province and modern French region Franche-Comté, in the eastern part of France, bordering Switzerland. It should not be confused with the more westerly Duchy of Burgundy. The capital is Besançon.

Called the Great (le Grand or Tête Hardie, "the Stubborn"), William was Count of Burgundy from 1057 to 1087 and Mâcon from 1078 to 1087. He was a son of Renaud I and Alice of Normandy, daughter of Richard II, Duke of Normandy.

William married a woman named Stephanie and was the father of several notable children, including Pope Callixtus II.

Renaud II, William's successor, died on First Crusade

Stephen I, successor to Renaud II, Stephen died on the Crusade of 1101

Raymond of Burgundy who married Urraca of León and Castile and thus was given the government of Galicia (Spain) (died 1107)

Sybilla (or Maud), married (1080) Eudes I of Burgundy

Gisela of Burgundy, married (1090) Humbert II of Savoy and then Renier I of Montferrat

Clementia married Robert II, Count of Flanders and was Regent, during his absence. She married secondly Godfrey I, Count of Leuven and was possibly the mother of Joscelin of Louvain.

Guy of Vienne, elected pope, in 1119 at the Abbey of Cluny, as Calixtus II

William

Eudes

Hugh III (fr), Archbishop of Besançon[2]

Stephanie married Lambert, Prince de Royans (died 1119)

Ermentrude, married (1065) Theodoric I

William married Stephanie. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sibylla_of_Burgundy,_Duchess_of_Burgundy

She was a French noblewoman. She was a daughter of William I, Count of Burgundy and Stephanie. She was married to Odo I, Duke of Burgundy in 1080. A notable descendant of hers is Marie Antoinette.

They had the following children:

1. Helie of Burgundy 1080-1141, wife of Bertrand of Toulouse and William III of Ponthieu

2. Florine of Burgundy 1083-1097, wife of Sweyn the Crusader, prince of Denmark

3. Hugh II of Burgundy 1084-1143

4. Henry 1087-1125, a priest

Sibylla married Eudes (Odo) I of Burgundy, Duke of Burgundy. Eudes (son of Henry of Burgundy) was born 1060; died 1102, Turkey; was buried , Abbaye de Cîteaux Saint-Nicolas-les-Citeaux Departement de la Côte-d'Or Bourgogne, France. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gisela_of_Burgundy,_Marchioness_of_Montferrat

Daughter of William I, Count of Burgundy, she was the wife of Humbert II, Count of Savoy and later of Rainier I of Montferrat.

With Humbert II of Savoy her children included:

Amadeus III of Savoy

William, Bishop of Liège

Adelaide of Maurienne (d. 1154), wife of King Louis VI of France

Agnes, (d. 1127), wife of Arcimboldo VI, lord of Bourbon

Humbert

Reginald

Guy, Abbot of Namur

------------

GenealogieOnline. Coret Genealogie. http://www.genealogieonline.nl/en
Name: Gisela Burgundy
Gender: f (Female)
Birth Date: 1075
Death Date: 1133
Death Age: 58
Father: William I Burgundy
Mother: Stephanie Nn
Spouse: Humbert II Savoy
Renier I Montferrat
Children: Adelaide Maurienne
Agnes Maurienne
William V Montferrat
Amadeus Savoy

Gisela married Umberto II of Savoy, the Fat. Umberto (son of Amadeus II of Savoy and Joan of Geneva) was born 1065, County of Savoy; died 19 Oct 1103, County of Savoy. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helie_of_Burgundy

She was the daughter of Eudes I and Sibylla of Burgundy.

In June 1095, she married Bertrand of Toulouse, as his second wife. The two had one son, Pons of Tripoli (c.?1098-1137).

Bertrand succeeded his father as Count of Toulouse in 1105, and in 1108, he set out for Outremer to claim his father's rights as Count of Tripoli. Helie accompanied him on this expedition, which resulted in the capture of Tripoli in 1109; shortly after, their nephew, William-Jordan died of wounds, giving Bertrand an undisputed claim to Tripoli.

Bertrand died in 1112, and Pons succeeded him in Tripoli. Helie returned to France, where she married William III of Ponthieu in 1115.

The Gesta Normannorum Ducum says that they had five children, three sons and two daughters.

1. Guy II. He assumed the county of Ponthieu during his father Talvas' lifetime, but died in 1147 predeceasing his father.

2. William, Count of Alençon.

3. John I, Count of Alençon, married Beatrix d'Anjou, daughter of Elias II, Count of Maine and Philippa, daughter of Rotrou III, Count of Perche.

4. Clemence married (abt. 1189) Juhel, son of Walter of Mayenne.

5. Adela (aka Ela) married William de Warenne, 3rd Earl of Surrey. She married, secondly, Patrick of Salisbury.

Helie died on 28 February 1141, in Perseigne Abbey in Neufchâtel-en-Saosnois.

Buried:
Grave location:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=148237838

Helie married William (Guillaume) III (Talvas) of Ponthieu, Count of Ponthieu. William (son of Robert of Bellême, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury, Count of Ponthieu and Agnes of Ponthieu, Countess of Ponthieu) was born ca 1093, Abbeville, Picardie, France; died 1172, Abbeville, Picardie, France. [Group Sheet]

Helie married . Unknown [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_II,_Duke_of_Burgundy

The duke of Burgundy between 1103 and 1143, Hugh was son of Odo I, Duke of Burgundy. Hugh was selected custos for the monastery of St. Benigne.

He married, in about 1115, Felicia-Matilda of Mayenne, daughter of Gauthier, Count of Mayenne and Adelina de Presles.

They had the following:

1. Aigeline of Burgundy (b.1116), married Hugh I, Count of Vaudemont

2. Clemence of Burgundy (b.1117), married Geoffrey III of Donzy

3. Odo II, Duke of Burgundy, (1118-1162) married Maria of Champagne

4. Gauthier, Archbishop of Besançon (1120-1180)

5. Hugh le Roux (1121-1171) married Isabel of Chalon

6. Robert, Bishop of Autun (1122-1140)

7. Henry, Bishop of Autun (1124-1170)

8. Raymond, Count of Grignon (1125-1156) married Agnes of Montpensier

9. Sibylla of Burgundy (1126-1150), married Roger II of Sicily

10. Ducissa (b.1128), married Raymond de Grancy

11. Matilda of Burgundy (1130-1159), married William VII of Montpellier

12. Aremburge (b.1132), Nun


Buried:
Grave location and photo of abbey:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=68212557

Hugh married Felicia-Matilda de Mayenne. Felicia-Matilda was born 1095, France; died 02 Feb 1162, Beaune, Departement de la Côte-d'Or Bourgogne, France; was buried , Collégiale Notre-Dame de Beaune, Beaune, Departement de la Côte-d'Or, Bourgogne, France. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adelaide_of_Maurienne

She was the daughter of Humbert II of Savoy and Gisela of Burgundy and niece of Pope Callixtus II, and became the second wife of Louis VI of France.

They had seven sons and one daughter:

Philip of France (1116-1131)

Louis VII (1120-18 November 1180), King of France

Henry (1121-1175), Archbishop of Reims

Hugues (b. c. 1122)

Robert (c. 1123-11 October 1188), Count of Dreux

Constance (c. 1124-16 August 1176), married first Eustace IV, Count of Boulogne and then Raymond V of Toulouse.

Philip (1125-1161), Bishop of Paris. not to be confused with his elder brother.

Peter (c. 1125-1183), married Elizabeth, Lady of Courtenay

Adelaide was one of the most politically active of all France's medieval queens. Her name appears on 45 royal charters from the reign of Louis VI. Among many other religious benefactions, she and Louis founded the monastery of St Peter's (Ste Pierre) at Montmartre, in the northern suburbs of Paris.

After Louis VI's death, Adélaide did not immediately retire to a convent, as did most widowed queens of the time. Instead she married Matthieu I of Montmorency, with whom she had one child. She remained active in the French court and in religious activities.

In 1153 she retired to the abbey of Montmartre, which she had founded with Louis VII. She died there on 18 November 1154. She was buried in the cemetery of the Church of St. Pierre at Montmartre, but her tomb was destroyed during the French Revolution.

Buried:
Grave location, biography, and tomb photo:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=36523021

Adelaide married King Louis VI France. Louis (son of Philip I of the Franks, the Amorous and Bertha of Holland) was born 01 Dec 1081, Paris, France; died 01 Aug 1137, Béthisy-Saint-Pierre, France; was buried , Saint Denis Basilica, Paris, France. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amadeus_III,_Count_of_Savoy

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

He was born in Carignano, Piedmont, the son of Humbert II of Savoy and Gisela of Burgundy, the daughter of William I of Burgundy. He succeeded as count of Savoy upon the death of his father. Amadeus had a tendency to exaggerate his titles, and also claimed to be Duke of Lombardy, Duke of Burgundy, Duke of Chablais, and vicar of the Holy Roman Empire, the latter of which had been given to his father by Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor.

He helped restore the Abbey of St. Maurice of Agaune, in which the former kings of Burgundy had been crowned, and of which he himself was abbot until 1147. He also founded the Abbey of St. Sulpicius in Bugey, Tamié Abbey in the Bauges, and Hautecombe Abbey on the Lac du Bourget.

In 1128, Amadeus extended his realm, known as the "Old Chablais", by adding to it the region extending from the Arve to the Dranse d'Abondance, which came to be called the "New Chablais" with its capital at Saint-Maurice. Despite his marriage to Mahaut, he still fought against his brother-in-law Guy, who was killed at the Battle of Montmélian. Following this, King Louis VI of France, married to Amadeus' sister Adélaide de Maurienne, attempted to confiscate Savoy. Amadeus was saved by the intercession of Peter the Hermit, and by his promise to participate in Louis' planned crusade.

In 1147, he accompanied his nephew Louis VII of France and his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine on the Second Crusade. He financed his expedition with help from a loan from the Abbey of St. Maurice. In his retinue were many barons from Savoy. Amadeus travelled south through Italy and marched east to meet Louis at Constantinople in late 1147. After crossing into Anatolia, Amadeus, who was leading the vanguard, became separated from Louis near Laodicea, and Louis' forces were almost entirely destroyed.

Marching on to Adalia, Louis, Amadeus, and other barons decided to continue to Antioch by ship. On the journey, Amadeus fell ill on Cyprus, and died at Nicosia in April 1148. He was buried in the Church of St. Croix in Nicosia. In Savoy, his son Humbert III succeeded him, under the regency of bishop Amadeus of Lausanne.

With his first wife Adelaide, he had Adelaide/Alice married Humbert III of Beaujeu.

In 1123 he married Mahaut (or Mafalda, or Matilda) of Albon,daughter of Guigues III of Albon, they had:

1. Mafalda (Mahaut) (1125?1158), married king Afonso I of Portugal

2. Agnes of Savoy (1125?1172), married William I, Count of Geneva

3. Humbert III (1135?1188)

4. John of Savoy

5. Peter of Savoy

6. William of Savoy

7. Margaret of Savoy (died 1157), founded and joined nunnery Bons in Bugey

8. Isabella of Savoy

9. Juliana of Savoy (died 1194), abbess of St. André-le-Haut

Buried:
Grave location, historical portrait, and biography:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=88073842

Amadeus married Mahaut of Albon, Countess of Savoy. Mahaut (daughter of Guigues III of Albon, Count of Albon and Matilda) was born 1112; died 1148. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_II_of_Ponthieu

He was the son of William III of Ponthieu and Helie of Burgundy. He succeeded his father as Count of Ponthieu before 1129; this was during William's lifetime. Around 1137, he founded the Cistercian Valloires Abbey.

In 1146, he joined the Second Crusade under King Louis VII of France. He died of a disease on 25 December 1147 in Ephesus. He was succeeded by his son John I of Ponthieu.

His wife was called Ida; he had three children with her:

1. John I (d. 1191), Count of Ponthieu

2. Guido (d. between 1208 and 1218), Lord of Noyelles

3. Agnes, abbess in Montreuil

Guy married Ida. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_de_Warenne,_3rd_Earl_of_Surrey

She was daughter of Count William III of Ponthieu, by his wife Helie daughter of Odo I, Duke of Burgundy. They had one child and sole-heiress, a daughter, Isabel de Warenne, 4th Countess of Surrey in her own right.

Buried:
Grave location, biography, and photo of priory:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=82479006

Adela married William de Warenne, 3rd Earl of Surrey. William (son of William II de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey and Isabel de Vermandois) was born ca 1119, Lewes, East Sussex, England; died 1148, Battle of Mount Cadmus, Anatolia,Turkey; was buried , Unknown. [Group Sheet]

Adela married Patrick Evereaux FitzWalter, Earl of Salisbury. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odo_II,_Duke_of_Burgundy

He was Duke of Burgundy between 1143 and 1162. Eudes was the eldest son of duke Hugh II and Felicia-Matilda of Mayenne, daughter of Gauthier, Count of Mayenne and Adelina de Presles. He married Marie de Champagne, daughter of Theobald II, Count of Champagne and Matilda of Carinthia.
They had three children:

1. Alix (1146-1192), married in 1164 to Archambaud (died 1169), son of Archambaud VII (died 1171), Lord of Bourbon

2. Hugh III (1148-1192), his successor in the duchy

3. Mahaut (died 1202), married Robert IV, Count of Auvergne


Buried:
Grave location and photo of abbey:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=de+Bourgogne&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GScntry=7&GSob=n&GRid=68212561&df=all&

Eudes married Marie of Champagne. Marie (daughter of Theobald II of Champagne, Count of Champagne, Blois, and Chartres and Matilda of Carinthia) was born 1128, France; died 07 Aug 1190, Pays de la Loire, France; was buried , Fontevraud Abbey Fontevraud-l'Abbaye Departement de Maine-et-Loire Pays de la Loire, France. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_VII_of_France

He was King of the Franks from 1137 until his death. He was the son and successor of King Louis VI of France, hence his nickname, and married Eleanor of Aquitaine, one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in western Europe. Eleanor came with the vast Duchy of Aquitaine as a dowry for Louis, thus temporarily extending the Capetian lands to the Pyrenees, but their marriage was annulled in 1152 after no male heir was produced. They had two daughters, Marie and Alix.

Immediately after the annulment of her marriage, Eleanor married Henry Plantagenet, Duke of Normandy and Count of Anjou, to whom she gave the Aquitaine. When Henry became King of England in 1154, as Henry II, he ruled over a large empire that spanned from Scotland to the Pyrenees. Henry's efforts to preserve and expand on this patrimony for the Crown of England would mark the beginning of the long rivalry between France and England.

Louis VII's reign saw the founding of the University of Paris and the disastrous Second Crusade. Louis and his famous counselor Abbot Suger pushed for a greater centralization of the state and favoured the development French Gothic architecture, notably the construction of Notre-Dame de Paris.

Louis was born in 1120 in Paris, the second son of Louis VI of France and Adelaide of Maurienne. The early education of Prince Louis anticipated an ecclesiastical career. As a result, he became well-learned and exceptionally devout, but his life course changed decisively after the accidental death of his older brother Philip in 1131, when he unexpectedly became the heir to the throne of France. He spent much of his youth in Saint-Denis, where he built a friendship with the Abbot Suger, an advisor to his father who also served Louis well during his early years as king.

In the first part of his reign, Louis VII was vigorous and zealous in his prerogatives. His accession was marked by no disturbances other than uprisings by the burgesses of Orléans and Poitiers, who wished to organise communes. He soon came into violent conflict with Pope Innocent II, however, when the archbishopric of Bourges became vacant.

Louis VII then became involved in a war with Theobald II of Champagne by permitting Raoul I of Vermandois, the seneschal of France, to repudiate his wife, Theobald II's niece, and to marry Petronilla of Aquitaine, sister of the queen of France. He was personally involved in the assault and burning of the town of Vitry-le-François. More than a thousand people who had sought refuge in the church died in the flames. Overcome with guilt and humiliated by ecclesiastical reproach, Louis admitted defeat, removed his armies from Champagne and returned them to Theobald.

Desiring to atone for his sins, he declared his intention of mounting a crusade on Christmas Day 1145. In June 1147, in fulfilment of his vow to mount the Second Crusade, Louis VII and his queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, set out from the Basilica of St Denis, first stopping in Metz on the overland route to Syria. Just beyond Laodicea, the French army was ambushed by Turks. The French were bombarded by arrows and heavy stones, and the Turks swarmed down from the mountains. Louis VII and his army finally reached the Holy Land in 1148. His queen Eleanor supported her uncle, Raymond of Antioch, and prevailed upon Louis to help Antioch against Aleppo. But Louis VII's interest lay in Jerusalem, but this ended in disaster and the project was abandoned. Louis VII decided to leave the Holy Land, despite the protests of Eleanor, who still wanted to help her doomed uncle Raymond. Louis VII and the French army returned home in 1149.

The expedition to the Holy Land came at a great cost to the royal treasury and military. It also precipitated a conflict with Eleanor that lead to the annulment of their marriage. Perhaps the marriage to Eleanor might have continued if the royal couple had produced a male heir, but this had not occurred. The marriage was annulled on 21 March 1152. The pretext of kinship was the basis for annulment, but in fact, it owed more to the state of hostility between Louis and Eleanor, the decreasing likelihood that their marriage would produce a male heir to the throne of France, and the distinct possibility that Louis had learned of Eleanor's affair with Henry, Count of Anjou.

In 1154, Louis VII married Constance of Castile, daughter of Alfonso VII of Castile. She also failed to supply him with a son and heir, bearing only two daughters, Marguerite and Alys. Constance died in childbirth on 4 October 1160.

Five weeks after the death of Constance, Louis VII married Adèle of Champagne. In 1165, she bore him a son and heir, Philip II Augustus. Louis had him crowned at Reims in 1179, in the Capetian tradition (Philip would in fact be the last king so crowned). Already stricken with paralysis, Louis himself could not be present at the ceremony. He died on 18 September 1180 at the Abbey at Saint-Pont, Allier, and was buried in the Cistercian Abbey of Barbeaux (later moved to Saint-Denis in 1817).

From the point of view of the preservation and expansion of the French royal domains, the reign of Louis VII was a difficult and unfortunate one. Yet royal authority was more strongly felt in the parts of France distant from these domains: more direct and more frequent connections were made with distant vassals, a result largely due to an alliance between the clergy with the crown. Louis VII thus reaped the reward for services rendered the church during the least successful portions of his reign. His greater accomplishments lie in the development of agriculture, population, commerce, the building of stone fortresses, as well as an intellectual renaissance. Considering the significant disparity of political leverage and financial resources between Louis VII and his Angevin rival Henry II, not to mention Henry's superior military skills, Louis VII should be credited with helping to preserve the Capetian dynasty.

Louis' children by his three marriages:

Eleanor of Aquitaine:

1. Marie (1145-11 March 1198), married Henry I of Champagne[

2. Alix (1151-1197/1198), married Theobald V of Blois


Constance of Castile:

3. Margaret (1158-August/September 1197), married a) Henry the Young King; b) King Béla III of Hungary

4. Alys (4 October 1160-ca. 1220), engaged to Richard I of England; she married William IV, Count of Ponthieu


Adele of Champagne:

5. Philip II Augustus (22 August 1165-1223)

6. Agnes (1171-after 1204), who was betrothed to Alexius II Comnenus (1180-1183). but married first Andronicus I Comnenus (1183-1185), then Theodore Branas (1204)






Buried:
Grave location and tomb photo:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=21090

Louis married Constance of Castile. Constance (daughter of Alfonso VII Raimúndez of León, King of Galicia, King of León and Castille and Berenguela (Berengaria) of Barcelona, Queen of Castille, León and Galicia) was born 1140, Spain; died 04 Oct 1160, Paris, France; was buried , Saint Denis Basilique, Saint-Denis, Île-de-France, France. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_I_of_Courtenay

He was the youngest son of Louis VI of France and his second wife, Adélaide de Maurienne. In about 1150, he married Elizabeth de Courtenay (1127-September 1205),[1] the daughter of Renaud de Courtenay and Hawise du Donjon, thus starting the Capetian line of the House of Courtenay.

Pierre being the son of the king had important connections, a brother who was king, two brothers who were archbishops, one in Paris and one in Reims, his brother the Count de Dreux, and his sister Constance, the Countess of Boulogne. He died in Acre, Palestine, presumably as a Crusader.

Pierre and Elizabeth had ten children:

Phillip (1153-before 1186)

Peter, Latin Emperor of Constantinople (c. 1155 to 1218

Unnamed daughter (c. 1156)

Alice (died 12 February 1218), married Count Aymer of Angoulême

Eustachia (1162-1235), married firstly William of Brienne, son of Erard II of Brienne and of Agnès of Montfaucon, secondly William of Champlitte

Clémence (1164)

Robert, Seigneur of Champignelles (1166-1239), married in 1217 Mathilde of Mehun (d. 1240). Their eldest son was Peter of Courtenay, Lord of Conches.

William, Seigneur of Tanlay (1168-before 1248)

Isabella (1169-after 1194)

Constance (after 1170-1231)




Buried:
Grave location, biography, and portrait:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=58301000

Pierre/Peter married Elizabeth de Courtenay. Elizabeth (daughter of Renaud/Reginald de Courtenay, Seigneur of Courtenay and Helvis (Elizabeth) du Donjon) was born 1127, France; died Sep 1205, France. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matilda_of_Savoy,_Queen_of_Portugal

She was the first Queen of Portugal. Her husband was King Afonso I, the first sovereign of Portugal, whom she married in 1146.

She was the second or third daughter of Amadeus III of Savoy, Count of Savoy and Maurienne, and Mahaut of Albon (the sister of Guigues IV of Albon, "le Dauphin").

Three of her children lived to adulthood:

1. Infanta Urraca (1151-1188), married to King Ferdinand II of León.

2. Sancho I, King of Portugal (1154-1212), married to Dulce, Infanta of Aragon (daughter of Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona, and Queen Petronila of Aragon)

3. Infanta Theresa (1157-1218), married to Philip I, Count of Flanders, and next to Eudes III, Duke of Burgundy





Buried:
Grave location, historical portrait, and biography:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=99677140

Matilda married Afonso Henriques I of Portugal. Afonso was born 25 Jul 1109, Coimbra, Portugal; died 06 Dec 1185, Coimbra, Portugal; was buried , Monastery of Santa Cruz, Coimbra, Portugal. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humbert_III,_Count_of_Savoy

Umberto III (1136, Avigliana, Piedmont-4 March 1188, Chambéry, Savoy), surnamed the Blessed, was Count of Savoy from 1148 to 1188. His parents were Amadeus III of Savoy and Mathilde d'Albon the daughter of Guigues III of Albon. He ceded rights and benefits to monasteries and played a decisive role in the organization of Hautecombe Abbey. It is said that he would rather have been monk than a sovereign. On the death of his third wife he retired to Hautecombe, but then changed his mind and, by his fourth wife finally had son, Thomas.

He is an important figure in medieval society, as attested in the history of House of Savoy. His life was characterized by certain key features, including mysticism, borne of a vocation and tradition of the contemplative life, which came about in the events of his time as warrior and politician, which he undertook exclusively for dynastic reasons.

He inherited from his father, as well as from his grandfather, Umberto II, the dream of reconstituting the fragmented Kingdom of Burgundy, in stark opposition to the centralizing policy of the French royal family. In his efforts he was supported by Frederick I Barbarossa, and found himself induced to play a shrewd political subjugation of neighboring feudal lords or settled among his domains. Like his father, Umberto II, who died young when he was still a minor, Amadeus III entrusted the education of his son, Umberto III to St. Amedeus of Lausanne, former abbot of Hautecombe, and under his guidance the young Umberto made great progress in studies and spiritual formation, despising the apparent splendor of worldly things, and giving himself to prayer, meditation and penance. He always left the abbey with regret, every time the family and the Savoyard nobility called him back for occupy himself with political matters.

His father, Amadeus III, was a pilgrim in the Holy Land in 1122. In 1146 he participated in the Second Crusade, and died on the island of Cyprus in Nicosia on 1 April 1148, where he was buried, leaving the twelve-year old Umberto as heir. Although still at an early age, in 1151 Umberto was bethrothed to Faidiva, daughter of Alphonse Jourdain, Count of Toulouse. She would soon die without children. He later married Gertrude, daughter of Thierry, Count of Flanders and Sibylla of Anjou. This second marriage was annulled by reason of infertility.

In 1164, Umberto married Clementia of Zähringen, by whom he had two daughters: Alice and Sofia. She died in 1173, and he decided to retire to Hautecombe, but not for long. In 1177, the nobility in 1177 convinced him marry for the fourth time. As wife, he took Beatrice of Mâcon, daughter Géraud I of Mâcon and Maurette de Salins. At last he had a male heir, Thomas, to continue the dynasty. Beatrice also bore him a daughter who died at the age of seven.

Umberto's reign was long. It lasted forty years, and was characterized by struggles with the Holy Roman Emperor, various lords and count-bishops. This led to a gradual reduction of the possessions and authority of Umberto III on the Italian side, leaving him with the territories of the valleys of Susa and Aosta. In 1187, he was banished from the Holy Roman Empire by Henry VI, for supporting the emperor's opponents.

The death of Umberto III, March 4, 1189 in Chambéry, at the age of fifty-two, was mourned sincerely by all the people. He was the first prince of Savoy to be buried in Hautecombe Abbey, which has since become a burial place for the dynasty. The last King of Italy, Umberto II, and his wife, Marie José of Belgium, are buried here.

The spirituality of Umberto undoubtedly blossomed in an environment of ancient Christian traditions, favored especially by the example of his father, a pilgrim and crusader in the Holy Land, and of his tutor, St. Amadeus, Bishop of Lausanne. However, Umberto's life was full of contradictions: He was a lover of peace, but had frequent hostilities and wars. He was penitent, ascetic, contemplative, but was forced to take the reins of government, during which time he had a life of action, and found himself forced in marriage in order to have an heir. However, he let unmistakable signs of great moral balance, severity with himself and indulgence and love of neighbor. He was a benefactor to churches, monasteries, and charitable causes, the care of the poor. Throughout his life, he supported Hautecombe Abbey. In 1188 he founded the Monastery of Sant'Antonio di Ranverso.



Buried:
Grave location and abbey photo:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=89199245

Humberto married Beatrice of Vienne, Countess of Savoy. Beatrice was born 1160, Vienne, Rhône-Alpes, France; died 1230, Champagne-et-Fontaine, Aquitaine, France; was buried , Abbaye de Hautecombe Saint-Pierre-de-Curtille Departement de la Savoie Rhône-Alpes, France. [Group Sheet]