Amadeus II of Savoy

Notes:

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amadeus_II,_Count_of_Savoy

His life is obscure and few documents mention him. During his reign he was overshadowed by his mother. The second son of Otto, Count of Savoy, and Adelaide, Margravine of Turin, Amadeus II was probably born around 1050.

According to the much later Chronicles of Savoy, Amadeus married Joan, daughter of "Girard, Count of Burgundy", who scholars have surmised to have been Count Gerold of Geneva. If she were Genevan, it would explain how the House of Savoy came so early to possess a large portion of the Genevois, which at that time included the the Aosta Valley in Italy and western portions of Switzerland.

He swore an oath on the tomb of Saint Peter in Rome to defend the Church against the Seljuk Turks. Early in 1077 Amadeus, with his mother and brother Peter, then Count of Savoy, hosted his sister Bertha, and his brother-in-law, Bertha's husband, the Emperor Henry IV. Amadeus and Adelaide then escorted the imperial couple to Canossa so the excommunicated emperor could reconcile with the pope.

On 9 August 1078 Peter died and Amadeus succeeded him as Count of Savoy, but in the March of Turin, where Peter had co-ruled with their mother, Amadeus was never margrave [hereditary title of princes of the Holy Roman empire], although the reason for this is unclear.

Amadeus died in Turin on 26 January 1080, according to the death records of the church of Saint Andrew. This date must be at least approximately correct, since Adelaide made a monastic donation for the benefit of the souls of her sons Margrave Peter and Count Amadeus on 8 March.

In the immediate aftermath of Amadeus's death, Adelaide took control of all the Savoyard lands on both sides of the Alps. Eventually Amadeus son,Umberto II, became Count of Savoy.

Amadeus married Joan of Geneva. Joan was born ca 1040, Switerland; died 1095, County of Savoy. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humbert_II,_Count_of_Savoy

Nicknamed the Fat, he was he son of Amadeus II of Savoy.
The County and later Duchy of Savoy was a territory is shared between the modern countries of France, Italy, and Switzerland. The House of Savoy became the longest surviving royal house in Europe. It ruled the County of Savoy from 1003 to 1416 and then the Duchy of Savoy from 1416 to 1860.

He was married to Gisela of Burgundy, daughter of William I, Count of Burgundy, and had 7 children:

Amadeus III of Savoy

William, Bishop of Liège

Adelaide, (d. 1154), married to Louis VI of France

Agnes, (d. 1127), married to Archimbald VI, lord of Bourbon

Umberto

Reginald

Guy, abbey of Namur

Umberto married Gisela of Burgundy, Marchioness of Montferrat. Gisela (daughter of William I Count of Burgundy, the Great and Stephanie) was born 1075, County of Burgundy; died May 1135, Montferrat, Italy. [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/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]