Count of Savoy Umberto II of Savoy

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• Name: Umberto Ii De Comte De Savoie Et Maurienne Maurienne
• Reference Number: 9206
• Death: 18 Sep 1103

Umberto — Gisela of Burgundy. Gisela (daughter of William I of Burgundy) was born 1075; died 1135. [Group Sheet]

1. Adelaide of Savoy De Maurienne was born Abt 1092; died 18 Nov 1154.
2. Amadeus III of Savoy was born 1095, Carignano, Torino, Piemonte, Italy; died Apr 1148; was buried , Nicosia, Cyprus.

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• Reference Number: 37439

Notes:

Amadeus II (c.1050 - 26 January 1080) was the Count of Savoy from 1078 to 1080. His life is obscure and few documents mention him. During his reign he was overshadowed by his mother, but he had good relations with the Papacy and, for a time, the Holy Roman Emperor.

Before his countship:

The second son of Otto, Count of Savoy, and Adelaide, Margravine of Turin, Amadeus II was probably born around 1050, because he, alongside other noblemen of the Kingdom of Burgundy, swore an oath on the tomb of Saint Peter in Rome to defend the Church around 1070-73. In 1074 Pope Gregory VII was trying to persuade William I, Count of Burgundy, to remember this vow and, with Amadeus and others, go to the defence of the Roman Empire in the East against the Seljuk Turks. As his mother is known to have had good relations with the Papacy in these years, this record seems to indicate that Amadeus was following his mother's policies at this early stage in his career.

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. There they both took part in the negotiations and stood as pledges for the emperor's good faith.

On 16 July 1078 Amadeus and Peter witnessed a donation of their mother's to the Abbey of Novalesa. It was the last act of Amadeus and Peter together.

As count:

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, although the reason for this is unclear. One document, issued by his widowed daughter Adelaide in 1090, refers to him as "count and margrave" (comes et marchio), but it is probably anachronistic. There is only one document from his reign, in the cartulary of Saint-André-le-Bas in Vienne, which is dated when "Count Amadeus [was] reigning." This shows, by the absence of the regnal year of the emperor, that despite his involvement in the reconciliation at Canossa, Amadeus II was neutral in the wider Investiture Controversy and the wars against Henry IV that it caused in Germany.

Amadeus died in Turin on 26 January 1080, according to the necrology of the church of Saint Andrew there. 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.

Marriage, children and succession:

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 II of Geneva. The Chronicon Altacumbae says only that "the wife of Amadeus [was] from Burgundy", which might refer to Amadeus I. If his wife were Genevan, it would explain how the house of Savoy came to possess so early a large portion of the Genevois. His wife, whatever her name and origins, bore Amadeus II several children, although there is some uncertainty about how many:

Adelaide, wife of Manasses, sire de Coligny
Ausilia (also Auxilia or Usilia), second wife of Humbert II de Beaujeu, whom she bore four sons by the last decade of the eleventh century: Guichard, Humbert, Guigues, and Hugh

The succession of Amadeus II is unclear. His son Humbert II, who was later Count of Savoy, is well known, but in 1082 the Count of Savoy was Otto II. Although Amadeus is known to have had a younger brother named Otto, he is more likely to have been the Bishop of Asti of this name and time. This has led some scholars, beginning with the Conte di Vesme, to make Otto II the eldest son of Amadeus II, who succeeded him and was in turn succeeded by Humbert II. In the immediate aftermath of Amadeus's death, Adelaide took control of all the Savoyard lands on both sides of the Alps.

Other Events:

• 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]

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• Reference Number: 37441

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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]

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• Reference Number: 37443

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• Reference Number: 37444

Ulric — Bertha. [Group Sheet]

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• Reference Number: 37445