Count of Savoy Otto I of Savoy

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• Reference Number: 37440

Notes:

Otto (or Othon in French, Oddone in Italian) (1010 or 1020 - c. 1057) was Count of Savoy from 1051 (or 1056) until his death. He was son of Humbert I, the first Count of Savoy, and his wife Ancilla, and ascended the throne after the death of his elder brother, Amadeus I of Savoy.

Otto substantially enlarged his lands through his marriage with Adelaide of Susa, countess of Turin and Lady of the Italian Mark, a title she had inherited from her father Olderico Manfredi. After this acquisition the House of Savoy concentrated their expansion efforts towards Italy instead of outside the Alps as they had done before. Savoy's lands occupied much of modern Savoy and Piedmont, although several other small states could be found between them.

Otto — Adelaide of Susa. Adelaide (daughter of Ulric Manfred II of Turin and Bertha) was born Between 1014 and 1020; died 19 Dec 1091. [Group Sheet]

1. Amadeus II of Savoy was born Abt 1050; died 26 Jan 1080.

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• Name: Umberto the White-Handed
• Reference Number: 37442

Notes:

Umberto I (c. 980-1047/1048) (in French, Humbert aux blanches-mains; in Italian, Umberto Biancamano) was the first Count of Savoy from 1032, when the County of Vienne, which had been sold to the Archdiocese of Vienne, was divided between the County of Albon and the Maurienne. Humbert came of noble stock, possibly from Saxony, Italy, Burgundy or Provence.

He is also called Umberto the White-Handed (French: Humbert aux Blanches-Mains; Italian: Umberto Biancamano) reportedly to signify his generosity. However, this posthumously applied title may derive from a textual mistranslation of an early Latin record which actually refers to the walls of his castle, not his hands, as white.

During the wars between Rudolph III of Burgundy and the Emperor Henry II, Umberto supported the latter with provisions and soldiers because he was related to the imperial family by marriage. Thus, in 1003, the emperor installed him as the Count of Aosta, a mountainous region then a part of Burgundy but today within Italy, and granted him the northern Viennois as a reward. Umberto in turn protected the right flank of Henry's army during his subsequent invasion of Italy in 1004.

Umberto's lands were essentially autonomous after the death of Henry. Their mountainous inaccessibility and their minor importance lent them to being overlooked and ignored in the power struggles which inevitably followed the death of the emperor. In 1032, Umberto received the Maurienne, his native country, from the Emperor Conrad II, whom he had helped in his Italian campaigns against Aribert, Archbishop of Milan.

He died at Hermillon, a town in the Maurienne region of present day Savoie, France.

Umberto — Ancilla of Lenzburg. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 37443