Thomas Ι (''Tommaso I''; c. 1178 – 1 March 1233) was

Count of Savoy 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 ...

from 1189 to 1233. He is sometimes numbered "Thomas I" to distinguish him from his son of the same name. His long reign marked a decisive period in the history of

Savoy Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south. Sa ...

Biography

Thomas was born in

Aiguebelle Aiguebelle (; frp, Égouabèla) is a former commune in the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Val-d'Arc.Humbert III of Savoy and

Beatrice of Viennois Beatrice of Vienne (1160–1230) was a Countess of Savoy by marriage to Humbert III, Count of Savoy. Biography Beatrice was born in 1160 in Vienne, France, the second child of Géraud I of Mâcon (son of William III of Mâcon) and Maurette de Sal ...

. He was still a minor when his father died in 1189, and his mother acted as regent until 1191 during his minority reign. Despite his youth he began the push northwest into new territories. In the same year he granted

Aosta Valley , Valdostan or Valdotainian it, Valdostano (man) it, Valdostana (woman)french: Valdôtain (man)french: Valdôtaine (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = Official languages , population_blank1 = Italian French ...

the "Charte des Franchises", recognising the right to administrative and political autonomy (this right was maintained until the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

). Later he conquered

Vaud Vaud ( ; french: (Canton de) Vaud, ; german: (Kanton) Waadt, or ), more formally the canton of Vaud, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of ten districts and its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat of arms ...

, Bugey, and

Carignano Carignano may refer to: Places * Carignano, Piedmont, a municipality in the Metropolitan City of Turin, Italy * Palazzo Carignano, a historical building in the centre of Turin, Italy * Teatro Carignano, a theatre in Turin, Italy People * Hou ...

. He supported the

Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynas ...

s, and was known as "Thomas the Ghibelline" because of his career as Imperial

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

Lombardy (man), (woman) lmo, lumbard, links=no (man), (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , ...

. Thomas worked throughout his reign to expand the control and influence of the County of Savoy. One of the key tools that he used was his large number of children, whom he worked to get into positions of influence in neighboring regions. In part, this was done by getting many of his sons into episcopal offices in surrounding territories, in a time when bishops had temporal as well as spiritual authority. In addition to William and Boniface, who made their careers in the clergy, their brother Thomas started out as a canon at

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR ...

and became

prévôt A ''prévôt'' () was a governmental position of varying importance in Ancien Régime France, typically referring to a civil officer, magistrate, head of cathedral or church, often anglicised as ''provost''. A unit of justice or court overseen by ...

of Valence by 1226. Pietro was also a canon at Lausanne and served as acting bishop there until he was replaced in 1231. In 1219 he worked to get his daughter Beatrice married to the fourteen-year-old Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence. This established a close relationship between the two adjoining counties which would help cement Savoy control over trade between Italy and France. Thomas fought many battles to expand his control. In 1215, his troops fought in an alliance with

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

against Monferrato, destroying the town of Casale. In 1222, he captured Cavour. He also worked through diplomatic and economic means to expand his control. The county of Savoy long enjoyed control over critical passes through the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

. In his quest to gain more control over

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

, Thomas made an agreement with its rival Asti to reroute its French trade around Turin through Savoyard lands in a treaty on 15 September 1224. In 1226, Emperor Frederick II came to northern Italy and named Thomas Imperial Vicar of Lombardy. In this role, he mediated in a Genoese rebellion and a dispute between the town of

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

and its bishop. Thomas also made a policy of granting franchises and charters to towns on key trade routes, which enabled the merchant class to develop more wealth and built support for his rule.

Family and children

In 1195, Thomas ambushed the party of Count William I of Geneva, which was escorting the count's daughter, Margaret of Geneva, to France for her intended wedding to King

Philip II of France Philip II (21 August 1165 – 14 July 1223), byname Philip Augustus (french: Philippe Auguste), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. His predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks, but from 1190 onward, Philip became the first French m ...

. Thomas carried off Margaret and married her himself. They had: :# Amadeus, married Margaret d'Albon and later married Cecile de Beaux :# Humbert, d. between March and November 1223 :#

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

, lord and then count in

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

and founder of a line that became the Savoy-Achaea, married Jeanne of Flanders, and later Beatrice de Fiesco :# Aymon, d. 30 August 1237, Lord of

Chablais Chablais () was a province of the Duchy of Savoy. Its capital was Thonon-les-Bains. Chablais was elevated to a duchy in 1311 by Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor. This region is currently divided into three territories, the '' Chablais savoyard'', th ...

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

Bishop of Valence The Roman Catholic Diocese of Valence (–Die–Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux) ( Latin: ''Dioecesis Valentinensis (–Diensis–Sancti Pauli Tricastinorum)''; French: ''Diocèse de Valence (–Die–Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux'') is a diocese of the ...

and Dean of Vienne :# Amadeus,

Bishop of Maurienne The French Roman Catholic diocese of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne (San Giovanni di Moriana in Italian) has since 1966 been effectively suppressed, formally united with the archdiocese of Chambéry. While it has not been suppressed, and is supposed to ...

:# Peter, who resided much in England, held the

Honour of Richmond The Honour of Richmond (or English feudal barony of Richmond) in north-west Yorkshire, England was granted to Count Alan Rufus (also known as Alain le Roux) by King William the Conqueror sometime during 1069 to 1071, although the date is uncertai ...

, and ultimately in 1263 became the disputed count of Savoy :#

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who populariz ...

archbishop of Lyon The Archdiocese of Lyon (Latin: ''Archidiœcesis Lugdunensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Lyon''), formerly the Archdiocese of Lyon–Vienne–Embrun, is a Latin Church metropolitan archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. The Archbishops o ...

, who resigned, through marriage became

Count Palatine of Burgundy This is a list of the counts of Burgundy, i.e., of the region known as Franche-Comté, not to be confused with the Duchy of Burgundy, from 982 to 1678. House of Ivrea (982–1190) House of Hohenstaufen (1190–1231) House of Andechs (12 ...

and ultimately in 1268 became the disputed count of Savoy :# Boniface, who became

archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Just ...

:# Beatrice, d. 1265 or 1266, married in December 1219 to Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence (1209–1245) :# Alice (1209–1277), abbess of the monastery of St Pierre in Lyon (1250–1277) :# Agatha, abbess of the monastery of St Pierre in Lyon (1277) following her sister's death (d. ?) :# Margaret, d. 1273, married in 1218 to Hartmann IV of Kyburg :# Avita (1215–92)

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Count of Savoy 1178 births 1233 deaths 12th-century Counts of Savoy 13th-century Counts of Savoy People from Savoie