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Hautecombe Abbey (; ) is a former Cistercian monastery, later a Benedictine monastery, in Saint-Pierre-de-Curtille near Aix-les-Bains in Savoy, France. For centuries it was the burial place of the members of the House of Savoy. It is visited by 150,000 tourists annually. |
The origins of Hautecombe lie in a religious community which was founded about 1101 in a narrow valley (or combe) near Lake Bourget by hermits from Aulps Abbey, near Lake Geneva. In about 1125 it was transferred to a site on the north-western shore of the lake under Mont du Chat, which had been granted to it by Amadeus III, Count of Savoy, who is named as the founder; and shortly afterwards it accepted the Cistercian Rule from Clairvaux. The first abbot was Amadeus de Haute-Rive, afterwards Bishop of Lausanne. Two daughter-houses were founded from Hautecombe at an early date: Fossanova Abbey (afterwards called For Appio), in the diocese of Terracina in Italy, in 1135, and San Angelo de Petra, close to Constantinople, in 1214. |
It has sometimes been claimed, but has often been disputed, that Pope Celestine IV and Pope Nicholas III were monks at Hautecombe. |
Hautecombe was for centuries the burial-place of the Counts and Dukes of Savoy. Count Humbert III, known as "Blessed", and his wife Anne were interred there in the latter part of the 12th century; and about a century later Boniface of Savoy, Archbishop of Canterbury (1245–1270), son of Count Thomas I of Savoy, was buried in the sanctuary of the abbey church. Aymon, Count of Savoy financed the expansion of a burial chapel at Hautecombe which was constructed from 1331 to 1342. |
The abbot Anthony of Savoy, a son of Charles Emmanuel I, was also buried there in 1673. |
The abbey was restored (in a debased style) by one of the dukes about 1750, but it was secularized and sold in 1792, when the French entered Savoy, and was turned into a china-factory. King Charles Felix of Sardinia purchased the ruins in 1824, had the church re-constructed by the Piedmontese architect Ernest Melano in an exuberant Gothic-Romantic style, and restored it to the Cistercian Order. He and his queen, Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies, are buried in the Belley chapel, which forms a kind of vestibule to the church. Some 300 statues and many frescoes adorn the interior of the church, which is long, with a transept wide. Most of the tombs are little more than reproductions of the medieval monuments. |
The Cistercians resettled the abbey from Turin, but the Italian monks soon left, and were replaced by others from Sénanque Abbey, who remained until about 1884. The premises were taken over by the Benedictines of Marseilles Priory in 1922, but in 1992 the monks left for Ganagobie Abbey in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, and the buildings are now administered by the Chemin Neuf Community, an ecumenical and charismatic Roman Catholic group. |
The Treaty of Paris was signed in 1355 between Amadeus VI, Count of Savoy and the first dauphin, future Charles V of France. Overall, the treaty benefited Savoy financially and politically by expanding and consolidating its territory, and it benefited France by ending dispute with Savoy and gaining it as an ally in the war against England. |
The dauphin ceded to Savoy the "entire barony of Faucigny, the barony of Gex and its dependencies in the Valromey, the homage of the count of Geneva, suzerainty over all fiefs located in the Genevois, as well as the Valbonne... [and] everything belonging to the dauphin between the rivers Ain and Albarine on the approaches to Bresse and Bugey". |
Savoy surrendered holdings in the Viennois, and Amadeus renounced his engagement with an heiress of Burgundy to instead marry Bonne of Bourbon, bringing Savoy into closer alliance with the Bourbon king of France, John the Good. |
The swap of territories meant that local nobles would have to shift their allegiances from the dauphin to the Count of Savoy, and it was therefore initially resisted. For example, Amadeus III of Geneva objected to the treaty because he would have to pay homage to Amadeus VI, his former ward. But the treaty was quickly enforced by the dauphin, who was eager to secure Savoy's troops to fight against Edward the Black Prince. |
The titles of count, then of duke of Savoy are titles of nobility attached to the historical territory of Savoy. Since its creation, in the 11th century, the county was held by the House of Savoy. The County of Savoy was elevated to a duchy at the beginning of the 15th century, bringing together all the territories of the Savoyard state and having Amadeus VIII as its first duke. In the 18th century, the duke Victor Amadeus II annexed the Kingdom of Sardinia to the historical possessions of the Duchy, and from then on, the Savoyard dukes also held the title of Kings of Sardinia. |
The County of Savoy (, ) was a 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. |
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 neighboring Free County of Burgundy (today's "Franche Comté") it became part of the larger Kingdom of Burgundy under King Rudolph II in 933. |
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. |
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, he thereby acquired control of the extensive March of Turin. This was then united with Savoy upon his inheritance from his elder brother. |
The counts further enlarged their territory when, in 1218, they inherited the Vaud lands north of the 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 at 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. |
Amadeus VII gained access to the Mediterranean Sea by the acquisition of the County of Nice in 1388, 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). |
The Fortress of Miolans () is a former fortress prison located in a remote area of Savoy in France. The site, which has been occupied since the fourth century AD, strategically controlled the route across the junction of the Isere and Arc rivers. The fortress was converted into a prison by the Counts of Savoy in the mid-16th century. Its notoriety led it to be compared to the Bastille in Paris. |
The fortress of Miolans is in the hamlet of Miolans, part of the small town of St-Pierre Albigny. It is located between the major towns of Montmélian and Albertville. |
Located in the foothills of the Arclusaz mountains, the fortress lies on a 550m-long rocky ridge 200m above the Combe de Savoie valley. It overlooks the confluence of the Arc and Isère rivers where the bridge, known as the "Pont-Royal", is sited. Beyond the fortress is the Maurienne valley. |
In 1014, documents mention that the Miolans family - one of the oldest in Savoy - were in possession of the site. |
By 1083, the Miolans had built a small tower castle on the rocky promontory. In the second half of the 14th century, the lords of Miolans extended the fortifications by completing a second tower. This had been supplemented with a third tower in the early 16th century . |
Following the repatriation (they fled to the Dominican Republic in the New World) of the Lords of Miolans in 1523, ownership of the castle passed to the Counts of Savoy. Count Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy transformed the fortress into a prison, a role it would retain until 1792. In its time as a prison, more than 200 prisoners were housed at Miolins. |
The castle became known as the "Bastille tilt" (). Its dungeons were called Hell, Purgatory, Paradise, Treasury, and little and great hope. Among the notable persons imprisoned at Miolins were: |
All prisoners were released following the French revolution. The fortress prison was abandoned and allowed to fall into ruin as a symbol of the "Ancien Régime". |
In 1869, Eugene Alexander Guiter, Prefect of Savoy, privately bought the fortress from the French state and began its restoration. |
Castle Miolans was classified as a historical monument in May 1944. |
Today the castle remains a private property but is open to visitors. |
On 30 April 1772, the Marquis de Sade staged an escaped with two companions; his valet Latour, and François-Marie de l'Allée, Baron Songy. The Marquis had requested that he and his companions be allowed to dine in a room within the main dining area, adjacent to a room containing unbarred windows. The three of them subsequently made their escape through the unbarred windows while the guards were having their own dinners. |
The Marquis instructed Latour to leave a candle burning in his room, along with a note on the table to the guards. Much later, a guard and the prison commandant discovered the note in the empty room. It said the Marquis praised the decency with which he had been treated and expressed his hope that the guards would not be held accountable for his escape. However, by the time several hours had passed so it was too late to gather a search party. |
Bonne of Berry (1362/1365 – 30 December 1435) was the daughter of John, Duke of Berry, and Joanna of Armagnac. Through her father, she was a granddaughter of John II of France. |
Her first marriage was to Amadeus VII, Count of Savoy. Their marriage contract is dated 7 May 1372 and they married on 18 January 1377, but she wouldn't arrive in Savoy until 1381. They had the following children: |
After Amadeus' death in 1391, a regency dispute over their son Amadeus VIII ensued after her husband passed over Bonne in favor of his mother Bonne of Bourbon. This conflict would only be resolved by an agreement, signed on 8 May 1393. |
Her second marriage was to Bernard VII of Armagnac. Their marriage contract is dated on 2 December 1393. They had the following children: |
Blanche of Montferrat (; 1472 – 30 March 1519) was the duchess of Savoy as the wife of Charles I of Savoy. She acted as regent for her only son Charles from 1490 until his accidental death in 1496. |
Blanche was the eldest daughter of Marquess William VIII Palaiologos of Montferrat and Elisabetta, daughter of Duke Francesco I Sforza of Milan and Bianca Maria Visconti, after whom Blanche was named. Elisabetta died, at age 17, when Blanche was less than a year old. |
On 1 April 1485, Blanche married Duke Charles I of Savoy. The marriage produced two surviving children: |
Soon after the death of her husband in 1490, Blanche gave birth to her youngest child, who did not survive. She then acted as regent for her young son, who had succeeded his father in his regnal and titular titles. She remained the ruler of Savoy until her son, who was seven years old at the time, was accidentally killed in a fall at Moncalieri. Her surviving child, Yolande fell ill and died three years later, without having produced any children; therefore Blanche's line became extinct. |
In December 1518, Blanche fell seriously ill, possibly with tuberculosis. In her will dated 12 February 1519, she named her choice of burial place which was the chapel of the Church of the Blessed Virgin in Carignano. She named her heir as Charles III, Duke of Savoy, and in default, the latter's younger brother Philippe, Count of Genevois. She died less than two months later. |
Adelaide of Turin (also "Adelheid", "Adelais", or "Adeline"; – 19 December 1091) was the countess of part of the March of Ivrea and the marchioness of Turin in Northwestern Italy from 1034 to her death. She was the last of the Arduinici. She is sometimes compared to her second cousin, and close contemporary, Matilda of Tuscany. |
Born in Turin to Ulric Manfred II and Bertha around 1014/1020, Adelaide's early life is not well known. Adelaide had two younger sisters, Immilla and Bertha. She may also have had a brother, whose name is not known, who predeceased her father. Thus, on Ulric Manfred's death (in December 1033 or 1034), Adelaide inherited the bulk of her father's property. She received property in the counties of Turin (especially in the Susa Valley), Auriate, and Asti. Adelaide also inherited property, but probably not comital authority, in the counties of Albenga, Alba, Bredulo and Ventimiglia. It is likely that Adelaide's mother, Bertha, briefly acted as regent for Adelaide after Ulric Manfred's death. |
Since the margravial title primarily had a military purpose at the time, it was thus was not considered suitable for a woman. Emperor Conrad II therefore arranged a marriage between Adelaide and his stepson, Herman IV, in 1036 or 1037. Herman was then invested as margrave of Turin. Herman died of the plague while fighting for Conrad II at Naples in July 1038. |
Adelaide remarried in order to secure her vast possessions. Probably in 1041, and certainly before 19 January 1042, Adelaide married Henry, Marquess of Montferrat. Henry died c.1045 and left Adelaide a widow for the second time. Immediately, a third marriage was undertaken, this time to Otto of Savoy (1046). With Otto she had three sons, Peter I, Amadeus II, and Otto. The couple also had two daughters, Bertha, who married Henry IV of Germany, and Adelaide, who married Rudolf of Rheinfelden (who later opposed Henry as King of Germany). |
After the death of her husband Otto, c.1057/60, Adelaide ruled the march of Turin and the county of Savoy alongside her sons, Peter and Amadeus. |
It is sometimes said that Adelaide abandoned Turin as a capital and began to reside permanently at Susa. This is incorrect. Adelaide is documented far more frequently at the margravial palace in Turin than anywhere else. |
In 1070 Adelaide captured and burned the city of Asti, which had rebelled against her. |
Adelaide made many donations to monasteries in the march of Turin. In 1064 she founded the monastery of Santa Maria at Pinerolo. |
Adelaide received letters from many of the leading churchmen of the day, including Pope Alexander II, Peter Damian, and Pope Gregory VII. These letters indicate that Adelaide sometimes supported Gregorian reform, but that at other times she did not. Peter Damian (writing in 1064) and Gregory VII (writing in 1073), relied upon Adelaide to enforce clerical celibacy and protect the monasteries of Fruttuaria and San Michele della Chiusa. By contrast, Alexander II (writing c.1066/7) reproached Adelaide for her dealings with Guido da Velate the simoniac Archbishop of Milan. |
Adelaide died in December 1091. According to a later legend, she was buried in the parochial church of Canischio ("Canisculum"), a small village on the Cuorgnè in the Valle dell'Orco, where she had supposedly been living incognito for twenty-two years before her death. The medieval historian Charles William Previté-Orton called this story "absurd". In the cathedral of Susa, in a niche in the wall, there is a statue of walnut wood, beneath a bronze veneer, representing Adelaide, genuflecting in prayer. Above it can be read the inscription: "Questa è Adelaide, cui l'istessa Roma Cole, e primo d'Ausonia onor la noma". |
Because of a late Austrian source, Adelaide and Herman IV, Duke of Swabia are sometimes mistakenly said to have had children together. This was not the case. Herman was on campaign for much of his short marriage to Adelaide and he died without heirs. Nor did Adelaide have children with her second husband, Henry. |
Adelaide and Otto of Savoy had five children: |
Adelaide is a featured figure on Judy Chicago's installation piece "The Dinner Party", being represented as one of the 999 names on the "Heritage Floor." |
Yolande of Valois (23 September 1434 – 23 August 1478) was a Duchess consort of Savoy by marriage to Duke Amadeus IX of Savoy, and regent of Savoy during the minority of her son Philibert I of Savoy from 1472 until 1478. She was named after her grandmother, Yolande of Aragon. She is sometimes known as "Yolande of France". |
She was a daughter of King Charles VII of France, "The Victorious," and Marie of Anjou. She married Duke Amadeus IX of Savoy in 1452. |
Her spouse became duke of Savoy in 1465, making her duchess. Her husband's retiring disposition and epilepsy left her in control of the state, to struggle with the Savoyard barons. |
After the death of her spouse in March 1472, she became regent for her son Philibert until her own death. Like her brother Charles, she was an ally to Charles, Duke of Burgundy, against her own brother Louis XI of France. After the humiliation of Burgundy at the Battle of Grandson in 1476, the duke accused her of being in league with Louis and imprisoned her. After her release, she made peace with her brother and remained on good terms with him until her death. |
Yolanda was the first person to in Europe to own a tiger during the Middle Ages. She is known to have kept one in Turin in 1478. |
Victor Amadeus of Savoy (Vittorio Amedeo Filippo Giuseppe; 6 May 1699 – 22 March 1715) was the eldest son of Victor Amadeus II, Duke of Savoy and his French wife Anne Marie d'Orléans. He was the heir apparent of Savoy from his birth and as such was styled as the "Prince of Piedmont". He acted as Regent of Savoy from September 1713 till September 1714 in the absences of his father. He died of smallpox at the age of 15. |
The Prince of Piedmont was born in Turin on 6 May 1699. He was the fifth child and first son of his parents, Victor Amadeus II of Savoy and Anne Marie d'Orléans, and was baptised with the names Victor Amadeus John Philip. He remained close to his father all his life. Though his parents were not close he also had a close relationship with his mother, a niece of Louis XIV of France. |
From birth he was styled as the Prince of Piedmont, the typical style for the heir apparent to the Duke of Savoy. Victor Amadeus was born at a time when the House of Savoy was in need of a male heir to succeed as the duchy observed Salic law which forbade females to inherit the throne. His birth was greeted with great celebration and throughout his life, his health required constant attention. During the Battle of Turin, he, his mother, grandmother and younger brother, Charles Emmanuel, had to flee Turin for their safety and go to Genoa. His father took part in the battle which was played out to west of the city. The prince was moved from female care in 1708. |
Victor Amadeus died in Turin on 22 March 1715 having caught smallpox. He was buried at the Turin Cathedral and later moved to the Basilica of Superga outside Turin. His body is located in the "Sala degli Infanti" (Hall of the Infantes [children]). He was succeeded as Prince of Piedmont by his younger brother, Charles Emmanuel. |
Thomas II (c. 1199 – 7 February 1259) was the Lord of Piedmont from 1233 to his death, Count of Flanders "jure uxoris" from 1237 to 1244, and regent of the County of Savoy from 1253 to his death, while his nephew Boniface was fighting abroad. He was the son of Thomas I of Savoy and Margaret of Geneva. |
Thomas was born in Montmélian. He started his career in the church as a canon at Lausanne and became prévôt of Valence by 1226. In 1233, when Thomas I of Savoy died, Thomas, being a younger son, inherited only the lordship of Piedmont, which he later raised to the status of a county. |
In 1235, when Thomas left his ecclesiastical career, he sought to fully divide his lands from the County of Savoy. His elder brother, Amadeus IV, negotiated with him to grant Thomas additional lands within the county, but that all lands would stay part of the county. Further, Thomas was encouraged like his other brothers to expand his holdings outside of Savoy. |
In 1234, Thomas and his brother William escorted his niece, Margaret of Provence to her wedding with Louis IX of France. While Thomas hoped to stay with her at the French court, the king's mother, Blanche of Castile, wanted greater control over the new queen, and so dismissed all who came with her before the couple even reached Paris. |
At the urging of Louis IX of France, Thomas married Joanna, Countess of Flanders and Hainaut, widow of Ferdinand, Count of Flanders and daughter of the Latin Emperor Baldwin I, in 1237. |
His loyalties as Count of Flanders were divided between the kings of France and England. In 1239, Thomas traveled to England to pay homage to Henry III, King of England. While there, his niece, Eleanor of Provence, gave birth to Edward. After recognizing Henry as his suzerain, Thomas received an annual stipend of 500 marks. He returned to visit the family around Easter of 1240 and was given a gift which Henry III of England extracted from the lands of Simon de Montfort. |
The count and countess were very generous toward local churches, and Thomas often followed his wife's lead on such matters. Thomas also understood the needs of the emerging merchant class, and worked to provide better rights for them. This included granting new charters and restructuring the governance in key cities such as Damme and Bruges. |
In July 1243, Thomas and his brother Amadeus were ordered by Enzo of Sardinia to join in a siege of Vercelli, which had recently switched allegiances from the Empire to the Pope. Not only was the attack on the city unsuccessful, but the brothers were excommunicated for it. When the brothers wrote to the new Pope Innocent IV to appeal, he granted their request, and further indicated that Thomas would be protected from excommunication without papal authorization. |
Thomas and Joanna had no issue and she died in 1244. |
Although he was the next brother of Amadeus IV, he never became the Count of Savoy because he predeceased his nephew, Boniface, who himself died without sons to succeed him. Thomas did act as regent for Boniface during the early years of his reign. Although Thomas left sons, upon Boniface' death the remaining uncles, younger brothers of Thomas, ruled the County of Savoy. Thomas' eldest son and heir Thomas III thought it to be an injustice and unsuccessfully claimed Savoy. However, it so happened that Philip I, the last surviving brother of Thomas, made Thomas' younger son Amadeus his heir in Savoy, leaving the elder son, Thomas, and the genealogically senior line descending from him out of the Savoy succession. |
In 1252, Thomas married Beatrice Fieschi, niece of Pope Innocent IV. Thomas and Beatrice had six children: |
He also had at least three illegitimate children. |
Amadeus III (, 29 March 1311 – 18 January 1367) 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. |
In 1336 Amadeus donated the village of Vésenaz to the monastery of Bellerive. |
The first concern of the regents of Savoy after 1343 was securing the succession against the claims of Joan, daughter of Edward of Savoy, who died on 29 June 1344, but not before ceding her claims to Philip, Duke of Orléans. Amadeus and Louis sent an embassy to Pope Clement VI, seeking his support against Joan and Philip. In 1345 Philip signed a treaty relinquishing his claims in return for an annual stipend of 5,000 "livres tournois". The treaty was finalised at Paris and ratified at Chambéry on 25 February 1346. |
By 9 July 1351, Amadeus had fallen out with the rest of the council of Savoy and its anti-French policy. On that day, presiding over a meeting of the council at Saint-Genix, he ordered that his opposition to hearing some ambassadors from Edward III of England be recorded. Amadeus and the Savoyard chancellor, Georges de Solerio, were largely responsible for the subsequent treaty signed with France on 27 October at Avignon. |
In 1351 the peasantry of the Valais rebelled against the lordship of the Bishop of Sion, then Guichard Tavel, of Genevan family and Savoyard allegiance. On 7 January 1352 the rebels were excommunicated by Clement VI. In March an army, led by Amadeus of Savoy, Amadeus of Geneva, John II of Montferrat, and Peter IV of Gruyère was gathering at Saint-Maurice to crush the rebels. The inhabitants of the Valais were so intimidated, however, that they surrendered without a fight. |
Order of the Collar and the crusade. |
In January 1364 Amadeus III was named the second knight of the newly founded Order of the Collar. While the formation of the Order was connected with the launch of , Amadeus III did not accompany the crusaders. He sent his eldest son, Aymon III, in his place, and he himself died only months after the crusaders departed, which suggests that he was in poor health at the time. |
In 1334 Amadeus married Mathilde or Mahaut d'Auvergne, also called "de Boulogne", with whom he had numerous offspring, four of whom were counts of Geneva in succession: |
Her father died in 1652, killed in a duel with his brother-in-law François, Duke of Beaufort. For the next several years she and her family were under the guardianship of her paternal uncle Henri II the new Duke of Nemours, though Marie Jeanne Baptiste had inherited many of her father's income sources. At Henri's death in 1659 the duchy of Nemours reverted to the crown but Marie Jeanne Baptiste continued to receive the income. With two young daughters, her mother Élisabeth looked to her maternal family for support in getting them properly settled. Élisabeth's mother was a princess of Lorraine. |
Her family wanted a match with Charles Emmanuel II, Duke of Savoy, who was the son of Christine Marie of France (half-aunt of Élisabeth). Christine Marie summoned Marie Jeanne Baptiste, her mother, and sister to Turin in 1659 for inspection. Charles Emmanuel showed a keen interest in Marie Jeanne as a potential wife. However, his mother had been warned by Cardinal Mazarin of Marie Jeanne Baptiste's ambitious nature, causing her to reject the marriage. Christine Marie arranged a marriage between her son and Françoise Madeleine d'Orléans, who proved suitably docile for the controlling mother. This wedding took place in 1663. |
Her husband also had various mistresses and illegitimate children, who Marie Jeanne Baptiste was obliged to ignore. In 1672 Hortense Mancini, on the run from her husband, sought and received the protection of Charles Emmanuel II. Much to Marie Jeanne Baptiste's annoyance, she became a regular mistress and was given the Château de Chambéry. Marie Jeanne Baptiste was unable to remove her from there until Charles Emmanuel died. On 12 June 1675 Charles Emmanuel suddenly died in Turin at the age of forty after a series of convulsive fevers. On his death bed he pronounced his wife as Regent of Savoy over his son and heir. |
Declared Regent of her eleven-year-old son's dominions, she took her new charge with great interest and ambition. She carried on her husband's work on the properties of Savoy, supporting construction projects, artistic organizations, and educational institutions. She supported the work of Alessandro Stradella, protecting him when he fled to Turin from Venice. She continued to fund and support the work of Guarino Guarini, who completed the chapel for the Shroud of Turin and a Jesuit college under her rule. She also worked to expand the city of Turin down to the Po river. She attempted to start a university in Chambéry, but was not successful. |
She did much to maintain links with her powerful neighbour France, which was both ally and family. She was criticised for wanting to maintain power too much, and for being a puppet of Louis XIV. However, she also worked to maintain and develop relationships with the royal courts of Spain, England, and the Empire. The people of Mondovì resisted her authority for many years, and it was only under her son that they finally relented. |
Marie Jeanne Baptiste then looked to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany which offered Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici as a bride. Negotiations were kept secret from France. This match was popular as it would give a powerful ally in Italy and was even favoured by Victor Amadeus II. The secret correspondence between Savoy and Tuscany has since been lost and the match never materialised. |
Even though Marie Jeanne Baptiste's regency officially ended in 1680 she did not hand over power until 1684 when forced to do so by her son. Louis XIV was eager to maintain his already considerable influence in Savoy and thus offered his niece Anne Marie d'Orléans. Anne Marie was the daughter of Philippe of France, Duke of Orléans and his first wife Henrietta of England. Victor Amadeus agreed to the match and he married Anne Marie in person on 6 May 1684. |
Victor Amadeus took full control of the Duchy at the start of 1684. He decided to banish his mother from all direct influence at court. She retired to the Palazzo Madama in the city of Turin opposite the Ducal Palace of Turin where the court resided most of the year. This building had been the home of Christine Marie in her dowager years and under Marie Jeanne Baptiste was extended under the direction of Filippo Juvarra who was a favourite of her son. |
In 1686 she sold the Duchy of Aumale to Louis Auguste de Bourbon, an illegitimate son of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan. Aumale had been her personal property since 1659 at her father's death. Marie Jeanne Baptiste was also the last Countess of Geneva. The county was united with Savoy after her death. |
Thanks to the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 her son was given the Kingdom of Sicily in recognition for his services to Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor in the War of the Spanish Succession. Her son was crowned king of Sicily in Palermo Cathedral in December 1713. Victor Amadeus II asked his mother to maintain the government while he was gone, but she declined and her grandson Victor Amadeus, Prince of Piedmont was made regent instead. |
Months after, the Savoyard court the family found out the death of Maria Luisa who had died in February 1714 which was followed a year later by the Prince of Piedmont who died of smallpox. Three deaths in four years caused mother and son to become closer. With the death of the Prince of Piedmont her youngest grandson Charles Emmanuel, Duke of Aosta became heir apparent to his father's domains. |
Marie Jeanne Baptiste died at the Palazzo Madama in March 1724 a month before her 80th birthday. |
Amadeus V (4 September 1249 – 16 October 1323), 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. He was the son of Thomas II of Savoy and Beatrice Fieschi. |
Following marriage to Sybille of Bâgé in 1272, Amadeus began life in the service of King Edward I of England, as a household knight, serving in the First Welsh War of 1277. During the Second Welsh War of 1282 he was in command of Edward's forces at Chester that relieved the siege of Rhuddlan Castle. |
His childless paternal uncle, Count of Savoy, Philip I died in 1285. Meanwhile, earlier, in 1282, his elder brother Thomas III of Piedmont, had accidentally died in 1282. Philip's will charged his niece Eleanor of Provence and her son King Edward I of England with the inheritance of Savoy. Amadeus was awarded the County of Savoy, and in order to diminish family rivalry his younger brother Louis was awarded the new Barony of Vaud becoming Louis I of Vaud. |
Through his marriage to Sybilla, Countess of Bugey and Bresse, he was able to incorporate these Burgundian districts into his states. Later expansion saw his dominions further increased. |
On 1 October 1285, Amadeus was declared protector of Geneva after negotiations with the Bishop of Geneva. The hereditary title belonged to Amadeus II, Count of Geneva who was in conflict with the Bishop. |
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