SAVOY, HOUSE OF, a dynasty which ruled over the territory of Savoy and Piedmont for nine centuries, and now reigns over the kingdom of Italy. The name of Savoy was known to the Romans during the decline of the empire. In the 5th century the territory was conquered by the Burgundians, and formed part of their kingdom; nearly a hundred years later it was occupied by the Franks. It was included in Charlemagne's empire and was divided by him into counties, which evolved there as elsewhere into hereditary fiefs; but after the .break-up of Charlemagne's empire, the Burgundian kingdom revived and Savoy was again absorbed in it. After the collapse of that monarchy its territories passed to the German kings, and Savoy was divided between the counts of Provence, of Albon, of Gex, of Bresse, of the Genevois, of Maurienne, the lords of Habsburg, of Zähringen, &c., and several prelates.
The founder of the house of Savoy is Umberto Biancamano
(Humbert the White-handed), a feudal lord of uncertain but
probably Teutonic descent, who in 1003 was count of
Salmourenc in the Viennois, in 1017 of Nyon on the
Lake of Geneva, and in 1024 Humbert
the White-handed.of the Val d'Aosta on the
eastern slope of the Western Alps. In 1034 he obtained
part of Maurienne as a reward for helping King Conrad the Salic
to make good his claims on Burgundy. He also obtained the
counties of Savoy, Belley, part of the Tarantaise, and the Chablais.
With these territories Umberto commanded three of the great
Alpine passes, viz. the Mont Cenis and the two St Bernards.
In the meanwhile his son Oddone married Adelaide, eldest
daughter and heiress of Odelrico Manfredi, marquess of Susa, a
descendant of Arduino of Ivrea, king of Italy, who ruled over the
counties of Turin, Auriate, Asti, Bredulo, Vercelli, &c., corresponding
roughly to modern Piedmont and part of Liguria (1045).
Umberto died some time after 1056 and was succeeded by his
Oddone.son, Amadeus I., at whose death the country passed
to Oddone, the husband of the countess Adelaide.
Oddone thus came to rule over territories on both sides of the
Alps, a fact which was to dominate the policy of Savoy until
1860; its situation between powerful neighbours accounting for
its vacillating attitude, whence arose the charges of duplicity
levelled against many of its rulers, while its dominion over the
Alpine passes brought many advantages. Oddone died in 1060,
and was succeeded by his widow Adelaide; but before her death
in 1091 his son, Peter I., became count, and subsequently the
latter's brother, Amadeus II. Under Humbert II. (1080)
occurred the first clash with the Piedrnontese communes, but he
and his successors, Amadeus III. (who died on his way home
Thomas I.from the crusades) and Thomas I. (1189), adopted a
policy of conciliation towards them. Thomas, who
reigned until 1222, was a Ghibelline in politics and greatly
increased the importance of Savoy, for he was created Imperial
Vicar and acquired important extensions of territory in the
Bugey, Vaud and Romont to the west of the Alps, and
Carignano, Pinerolo, Moncalieri and Vigone.to the east; he
also exercised sway over Geneva, Albenga, Savona and Saluzzo.
At his death these territories were divided among his sons,
Thomas II. obtaining Piedmont, Aimone the Chablais, Peter
and Philip other fiefs, and Amadeus IV., the eldest, Savoy and
a general over lordship over his brothers' estates. Peter visited
England several times, one of his nieces, Eleanor of Provence,
being the wife of the English king Henry III., and another,
Sancha, wife of Richard, earl of Cornwall. Henry conferred
great honours on Peter, creating him earl of Richmond, and gave
him a palace on the Thames, known as Savoy House. Count
Peter also acquired fresh territories in Vaud, and defeated
Rudolph of Habsburg at Chillon. Thomas's other sons received
fieis and bishoprics abroad, and one of them, Boniface, was made
archbishop of Canterbury. Thomas II., after capturing several
cities and castles in Piedmont, lost them again and was made
prisoner by the citizens of Turin, but was afterwards liberated.
He alone of the sons of Thomas I. left male heirs, and his son
Amadeus V. (1285–1323) reunited the scattered dominions of
his house. When Amadeus succeeded to the throne these were
divided into the county of Savoy (his own territory), the principality
of Piedmont ruled by his nephew Philip, prince of Achaea
(a title acquired through his wife, Isabella of Villehardouin,
heiress of Achaea and the Morea), and Vaud ruled by his brother
Louis. But although this division was formally recognized in
1295, Amadeus succeeded in enforcing his own supremacy over
the whole country and making of it a more unified state than
before, and by war, purchase or treaty he regained other fiefs
which his predecessors had lost. He fought in many campaigns
against the dauphins of Viennois, the counts of Genevois, the
people of Sion and Geneva, the marquesses of Saluzzo and Montferrat,
and the barons of Faucigny. He also acted as peacemaker
between France and England, accompanied the emperor Henry
VII. of Luxemburg on his expedition to Italy, reorganized the
finances of the realm and reinforced the Salic law of succession.
He was succeeded by his sons, Edward (1323–1329), known as
“the Liberal,” on account of his extravagance, and Aimone, the
Peaceful (1329–1343), who strove to repair the harm done to
the state's exchequer by his predecessor and proved
one of the best princes of his line. Amadeus VI. (1343–1383),
Amadeus
VI.son of the latter (known as the Conte Verde or
Green Count because of the costume he habitually wore at
tourneys), succeeded at the age of nine. He won a reputation
as a bold knight in the fields of chivalry and in the crusades,
and he inaugurated a new policy for his house by devoting more
attention to his Italian possessions than to those on the French
side of the Alps and in Switzerland. In 1366 he led an expedition
to the East against the Turks; and he arbitrated between Milan
and the house of Montferrat (1379), between the Scaligeri and the
Visconti, and between Venice and Genoa after the “War of
Chioggia” (1381). Amadeus was the first sovereign to introduce
a system of gratuitous legal assistance for the poor. He unfortunately
espoused the cause of Louis, duke of Anjou, and
while aiding that prince in his attempt to recover the kingdom
of Naples he died of the plague, leaving his realm to his son,
Amadeus VII., the Conte Rosso or “Red Count” (1383–1391);
the latter added Nice (1388) and other territories to his domains.
During the reign of Amadeus VIII. (1391–1440), Savoy
prospered in every way. The count extended his territories
both in Savoy itself and in Italy, and in 1416 was
created duke by the emperor Sigismund. He was Amadeus VIII.
distinguished for his wisdom and justice, and in 1430
he promulgated a general statute of laws for the whole duchy,
in spite of the opposition of the nobles and cities whose privileges
were thereby curtailed. In 1434 he retired to the hermitage of
Ripaille on the Lake of Geneva, but continued to conduct the
chief affairs of the state and to mediate between foreign Powers,
leaving matters of less importance to his son Louis. Five years
later the council of Basel by a strange decision elected Amadeus
pope, in spite of his not being a priest, and deposed Eugenius IV.
Amadeus accepted the dignity, assuming the style of Felix V.,
and abdicated the dukedom. For nine years he remained pope,
although he never went to Rome and one-half of Christendom
regarded him as an anti-pope. On the death of Eugenius (1447)
Thomas of Sarzana was elected as Nicholas V., and in 1449
Amadeus abdicated and returned to his hermitage at Ripaille,
where he died two years later (see F ELIX V.).
Under Louis Savoy began to decline, for he was indolent,
incapable, and entirely ruled by his wife, Anne of Lusignan,
daughter of the king of Cyprus, an ambitious and intriguing
woman; she induced him to fit out an expensive expedition to
Cyprus, which brought him no advantage save the barren title
of king of Cyprus, Jerusalem and Armenia. He neglected to
make good the claims which he might have enforced to the duchy
of Milan on the death of Filippo Maria, the last Visconti (1447).
His latter years were troubled by conspiracies and dissensions on
the part of the nobles and even of his own son, Philip, count of
Bresse. He went to France to seek aid of King Louis XI., but
died there in 1465. In spite of his incapacity he acquired the
city of Freiburg and the homage of the lords of Monaco. He
was succeeded by his son, Amadeus IX. (1455–1472), who on
account of ill-health left the duchy in the hands of his wife,
Yolande, sister of Louis XI. This led to feuds and intrigues
Amadeus
