Amadeus III of Savoy (1095 – April 1148) was
Count of Savoy
The titles of the count of Savoy, and then duke of Savoy, are titles of nobility attached to the historical territory of Savoy. Since its creation, in the 11th century, the House of Savoy held the county. Several of these rulers ruled as kings at ...
and
Maurienne
Maurienne (; ; ) is one of the provinces of Savoy, corresponding to the arrondissement of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne in France. It is also the original name of the capital of the province, now Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne.
Location
The Maurienne val ...
from 1103 until his death. He was also known as a crusader.
Biography
He was born in
Carignano,
Piedmont
Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...
, the son of
Humbert II of Savoy and
Gisela of Burgundy
Gisela of Burgundy (c. 955 – 21 July 1007), a member of the royal Elder House of Welf, was List of Bavarian consorts, Duchess of Bavaria from about 972 to 976 and again from 985 to 995, by her marriage with Duke Henry II, Duke of Bavaria, Hen ...
, the daughter of
William I of Burgundy. He succeeded as count of Savoy upon the death of his father. Amadeus had a tendency to exaggerate his titles, and also claimed to be Duke of Lombardy,
Duke of Burgundy
Duke of Burgundy () was a title used by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, from its establishment in 843 to its annexation by the Crown lands of France, French crown in 1477, and later by members of the House of Habsburg, including Holy Roman E ...
, Duke of
Chablais, and
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 p ...
of the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
, the latter of which had been given to his father by
Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry IV (; 11 November 1050 – 7 August 1106) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 to 1105, King of Germany from 1054 to 1105, King of Italy and List of kings of Burgundy, Burgundy from 1056 to 1105, and Duke of Bavaria from 1052 to 1054. He was t ...
.
He helped restore the
Abbey of St. Maurice of Agaune, in which the former kings of Burgundy had been crowned, and of which he himself was abbot until 1147. He also founded the Abbey of St. Sulpicius in
Bugey The Bugey (, ; Arpitan: ''Bugê'') is a historical region in the department of Ain, eastern France, located between Lyon
Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saôn ...
,
Tamié Abbey in the
Bauges
The Bauges Mountains (, ) are a mountain range in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Eastern France, stretching from the city of Annecy, Haute-Savoie to the city of Chambéry, Savoie, which is part of the French Prealps.
Major peaks
The Bauges have fourt ...
, and
Hautecombe Abbey on the
Lac du Bourget
Lac du Bourget (; English Lake Bourget), also locally known as Lac Gris (; ) or Lac d'Aix (), is a lake at the southernmost end of the Jura Mountains in the department of Savoie, France. It is the deepest lake located entirely within France, and ...
.
In 1128, Amadeus extended his realm, known as the "Old Chablais", by adding to it the region extending from the
Arve to the
Dranse d'Abondance, which came to be called the "New Chablais" with its capital at
Saint-Maurice. Despite his marriage to Mahaut, he still fought against his brother-in-law Guy, who was killed at the
Battle of Montmélian. Following this, King
Louis VI of France
Louis VI (1 December 1081 – 1 August 1137), called the Fat () or the Fighter (), was List of French monarchs, King of the Franks from 1108 to 1137. Like his father Philip I of France, Philip I, Louis made a lasting contribution to centralizing ...
, married to Amadeus' sister
Adélaide de Maurienne, attempted to confiscate Savoy. Amadeus was saved by the intercession of
Peter the Hermit
Peter the Hermit ( 1050 – 8 July 1115 or 1131), also known as Little Peter, Peter of Amiens (French language, fr. ''Pierre d'Amiens'') or Peter of Achères (French language, fr. ''Pierre d'Achères''), was a Roman Catholic priest of Amiens and ...
, and by his promise to participate in Louis' planned
crusade
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...
.
Crusade
In 1147, he accompanied his nephew
Louis VII of France
Louis VII (1120 – 18 September 1180), called the Younger or the Young () to differentiate him from his father Louis VI, was King of France from 1137 to 1180. His first marriage was to Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine, one of the wealthiest and ...
and his wife
Eleanor of Aquitaine
Eleanor of Aquitaine ( or ; ; , or ; – 1 April 1204) was Duchess of Aquitaine from 1137 to 1204, Queen of France from 1137 to 1152 as the wife of King Louis VII, and Queen of England from 1154 to 1189 as the wife of King Henry II. As ...
on the
Second Crusade
The Second Crusade (1147–1149) was the second major crusade launched from Europe. The Second Crusade was started in response to the fall of the County of Edessa in 1144 to the forces of Zengi. The county had been founded during the First Crus ...
. He financed his expedition with help from a loan from the Abbey of St. Maurice. In his retinue were many barons from Savoy, including the lords of
Faucigny,
Seyssel,
La Chambre,
Miolans,
Montbel,
Thoire,
Montmayeur,
Vienne,
Viry,
La Palude,
Blonay,
Chevron-Villette,
Chignin, and
Châtillon. Amadeus travelled south through
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
to
Brindisi
Brindisi ( ; ) is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Historically, the city has played an essential role in trade and culture due to its strategic position ...
, where he crossed over to
Durazzo, and marched east along the
Via Egnatia to meet Louis at
Constantinople
Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
in late 1147. After crossing into
Anatolia
Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...
, Amadeus, who was leading the vanguard, became separated from Louis near
Laodicea, and Louis' forces were almost entirely destroyed.
Marching on to
Adalia, Louis, Amadeus, and other barons decided to continue to
Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...
by ship. On the journey, Amadeus fell ill on
Cyprus
Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
, and died at
Nicosia
Nicosia, also known as Lefkosia and Lefkoşa, is the capital and largest city of Cyprus. It is the southeasternmost of all EU member states' capital cities.
Nicosia has been continuously inhabited for over 5,500 years and has been the capi ...
in April 1148. He was buried in the Church of St. Croix in Nicosia. In Savoy, his son Humbert III succeeded him, under the regency of bishop Amadeus of Lausanne.
Family and children
With his first wife Adelaide, he had:
* Adelaide married Humbert III of Beaujeu
In 1123 he married
Matilda of Albon, daughter of
Guigues III of Albon, they had:
*
Matilda (1125–1158), married king
Afonso I of Portugal
Dom Afonso IOr also ''Affonso'' (Archaic Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonso'' (Portuguese-Galician languages, Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonsus'' (Latin version), sometimes rendered in English as ''Alphonzo'' or ''Alphonse'', depending on th ...
* Agnes (1125–1172), married
William I, Count of Geneva
*
Humbert III (1135–1188)
* John
* Peter
* William
* Margaret (died 1157), founded and joined the nunnery Bons in
Bugey The Bugey (, ; Arpitan: ''Bugê'') is a historical region in the department of Ain, eastern France, located between Lyon
Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saôn ...
* Isabella
* Juliana (died 1194), abbess of St. André-le-Haut
Notes
References
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amadeus 03, Count of Savoy
1095 births
1148 deaths
12th-century counts of Savoy
People from Carignano
Christians of the Second Crusade
11th-century French nobility
12th-century French nobility