1.1b.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.2.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1a.2.1.1.1.1.1 Humbert I Blay , Comte de Savoy 
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BET. 1042 - 1051 |
HOUSE OF SAVOY
The earlies known scion of the family is Humbert I, with the White Hands, in the
middle of the eleventh century. The territorial strength of the County lay in
the nebulous domain of Burgundy and stretched from the river Rhone to the lake
of Geneva. Gradually the influence of the counts began to reach over the Alps
into the Lombard plain; the history of Savoy, in brief, is a shift of emphasis
from the French to the Italian side of the valuable Alpine routes which its
rulers controlled, namely the Mont Cenis and the two St. Bernard passes. The
reigning Kings of Itlay in this century descended in direct male line from these
early counts, a remarkable example of dynastic continuity. Humbert's son, Count
Otto, married the heiress of an important area on the Italian foothills of the
Alps (hence later called 'Piedmont' ).
Some generations later, Count Thomas I is a significant figure in the rise of
the dynasty. He supported the Ghibelline (Hohenstaufen) emperors and was created
Imperial Vicar, a position which he used to extend his lands on both sides of
the Alps. Towards France he gained Bugey and Vaud, and to the east Carignan and
other lordships. His influence reached down to the great ports of Savona and
Genoa. One of his daughters wed the Count of Provence, and their four daughters
all married Kings, including Henry III of England, who invited his wife's
kinsmen to England. Boniface became Archbishop of Canterbury and Peter, Earl of
Richmond, built a great palace on the strand of the Thames which has furnished
the name of Savoy to that area of London. It is probable that Thomas I was
already using the simply arms of Savoy - a silver cross on red; it is certainly
found on the seal on his son Peter. At least by later tradition, the earlier
counts had used a black eagle on a gold field: as they developed in power, the
idea also grew up that they were descended from the German rulers of Saxony.
Thomas I conferred Piedmont on his son Thomas II, whose grandson Philip married
a Villehardouin heiress and thus acquired the title of Prince of Achaia.
It looked as though the state might suffer from fragmentation, but in the event
Amadeus V firmily established his suzerainty both over the County of Piedmont
and over his younger brother Louis, Count of Vaud. Of his sons, the elder was
extravagant and the younger financially cautious. His grandson, Amadeus VI, the
Green Count, was an amateur of crusading, chivalry and tournaments, at which he
and the spectators wore green liveries. His crusading activities were altruistic
in an age when the idealism of the movement had become tarnished. In about 1362
he founded the Order of the Annunciation, on of the most distinguished European
orders of chivalry. The badge has always been worn from a collar and not from a
ribbon. In 1388 Amadeus VII acquired Nice, on the Mediterranean. Amadeus VIII
enjoyed a remarkable career. He reigned from 1391 to 1434 with signal success,
extending his domains in Italy and receiving in 1416 the title of Duke from the
Emperor. On the extinction of the Counts of Piedmont in 1418 he added their
lands to his own. But in 1434, after promulgating a famous code of laws of his
people, he retired to a hermitage by the side of the Lake of Geneva. In 1439,
though still a layman, he was elected pope (as Felix V) by the remnants of the
Council of Basel: he was never recognized by the whole Church and abdicated as
pope in 1449 to receive a cardinal's hat.
Duke Louis married Anne of Luscignan, daughter of John I of Cyprus, acquiring
thereby a claim to the thrones of Cyprus and Jerusalem; his son Louis married
her younger sister. A serious of reigns and minorities checked the progress of
the Duchy. Philibert II was commemorated by his widow in the wonderful church of
Brou, near Bourg-en-Bresse. His brother Charles III reigned longer but without
much good fortune. Adherence to the Emperor Charles V led to frequent invasions
by French forces. Geneva and Vaud were lost to Switzerland. At his death his
duchy was in French occupation and his only son had entered the imperial
service. The future of the Duchy seemed dim. Happily, Emanuel Philibert was a
soldier of talent and a statesman of resource. He won the great victory of St.
Quentin (1557) for the Empire of France, a battle which effectually marked the
end of a century of French intervention in Italy. The consequent Treaty of
Cateau Cambresis gave him possession of most of his father's duchy; it was no
doubt hoped that Savoy might become a useful buffer state between France and the
Hapsburgs. His rule was autocratic but crowned with success. Gradually he
recovered the fortresses which had been assigned to the Great Powers. He gained
Tende from the French by exchange for a small fief nearer France; he built up a
useful army; he altogether refashioned the destiny of Savoy, but did so perhaps
as a state looking towards the Lombard plain. Charles (Carlos) Emanual I
countinued the process and acquired in 1601 the important enclave of Saluzzo,
for which he ceded Bresse and Bugey to France. Two of his sons founded branches
which were to carry on the dynasty, Victor Amadeus as Duke of Savoy and Thomas
as Prince of Carignan. A line of cousins had become Dukes of Nemours, but their
activities were principally in France. Victor Amadeus was married to a daughter
of Henry IV of France, who acted as regent for her infant son, Charles Emanuel
II despite the efforts of both, Savoy continued to suffer in the Franco-Spanish
conflicts of the seventeenth century. Matters changed under Victor Amadeus II,
partly because the Carignan branch had produced on of the ablest generals of the
age, the celebrated Prince Eugene of Savoy (d. 1736). The Duke changed sides
adroitly and in 1706 Prince Eugene, who had entered the imperial service,
defeated the French severely outside Turin. At the Treaty of Utrecht (1713),
Savoy was well-treated; she gained Montferrat on her eastern boundary and was
also alloted the island of Sicily from which her ruler took the title of King.
In 1720, however, the Powers arranged an exchange of islands and Victor Amadeus
II became King of Sardinia.
His pedigree shows a mild perponderance of French blood, allowing the Houses of
Lorraine and Savoy-Nemours to come under that heading; only Savoy and Medici can
be reckoned Italian. The arms of Sardinia were a cross between four Moor's heads
and they were incorporated with those of Savoy by Victor Amadeus II. The
elaborate arms of Savoy, as used by Charles Emanuel II, show four main
quarterings. The first has itself four quarters for Jerusalem, Lusignan, Armenia
and Cyprus (this last hidden), which represent the Cypriot marriage of Duke
Louis; the second has a triple coat for Saxony, and reflects the spurious belief
that the Savoyards sprang from Saxon stock; in the third, Chablais and Aosta,
and in the fourth, Geneva and Montferrat are impaled. Over all is the plain
cross of Savoy. Victor Amadeus II, as well as interposing Sardinia between the
main shield and Savoy, added at the base of the shield the eagle allegedly borne
by the earliest counts. This eagle can be seen again on the blazon of Victor
Emanuel I. The Dukes of Savoy-Nemours differenced the cross of Savoy with an
indented bordure.
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