Aymon, Count Of Savoy
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Aymon, Count of Savoy (1291–1343), also known as Aymon the Peaceful, was a nobleman who ruled the
County of Savoy The County of Savoy () was a feudal state of the Holy Roman Empire which emerged, along with the free communes of Switzerland, from the collapse of the Burgundian Kingdom in the 11th century. It was the cradle of the future Savoyard state. s ...
from 1329 until his death in 1343. He was a member of the
House of Savoy The House of Savoy (, ) is a royal house (formally a dynasty) of Franco-Italian origin that was established in 1003 in the historical region of Savoy, which was originally part of the Kingdom of Burgundy and now lies mostly within southeastern F ...
, a prominent European noble family.


Early life

Aymon was born in
Chambéry Chambéry (, , ; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Chambèri'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Savoie Departments of France, department in the southeastern ...
. His father was
Amadeus V, Count of Savoy Amadeus V (1249 – 16 October 1323), also known as Amadeus the Great, was the Count of Savoy from 1285 until his death in 1323. He was a significant medieval ruler who played a crucial role in the expansion and consolidation of the House of Savo ...
, and he was the younger brother of
Edward, Count of Savoy Edward (1284–1329), surnamed the Liberal, was Count of Savoy from 1323 to 1329. He was the son of Amadeus V and his first wife Sybille of Bâgé. Edward was born in Baugé. He was married to Blanche, daughter of Duke Robert II of Burgundy ...
.


Career

In 1321, Aymon oversaw the siege engines at the siege of Corbières. On the death of Amadeus V in 1323, Aymon was lord of
Bresse Bresse () is a former French province. It is located in the regions of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté of eastern France. The geographical term ''Bresse'' has two meanings: ''Bresse bourguignonne'' (or ''louhannaise''), whic ...
under Edward. As a younger son of a noble family, Aymon had planned on a life in the church. When Edward died in 1329, Aymon was in
Avignon Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the Communes of France, commune had a ...
at the court of
Pope John XXII Pope John XXII (, , ; 1244 – 4 December 1334), born Jacques Duèze (or d'Euse), was head of the Catholic Church from 7 August 1316 to his death, in December 1334. He was the second and longest-reigning Avignon Papacy, Avignon Pope, elected by ...
. In 1329, shortly after becoming count, Aymon established a committee to settle the territorial disputes with his cousin,
Amadeus III of Geneva Amadeus III (, 29 March 1311 – 18 January 1367) was the Count of Geneva from 1320 until his death. He ruled the Genevois, but not the city of Geneva proper, and it was during his time that the term "Genevois" came to be used as it is today. He ...
. These disputes had been an ongoing feud between the families for generations, but they were able to resolve them through years of negotiations without resorting back to war. This was how Aymon earned his nickname of 'The Peaceful'. He contested the title Count of Savoy with his niece,
Joan of Savoy Joan of Savoy (1310 – 29 June 1344), was Duchess consort of Brittany by marriage to John III, Duke of Brittany. Joan was the claimant to the County of Savoy upon the death of her father in 1329 until 1339. Life Joan was born in 1310, and w ...
since Savoy operated under Salic law and had never had a female ruler. Joan with the support of her husband,
John III, Duke of Brittany John III ''the Good'' (in Breton ''Yann III'', in French ''Jean III''; 8 March 128630 April 1341) was Duke of Brittany, from 1312 to his death and 5th Earl of Richmond from 1334 to his death. He was the son of Arthur II, Duke of Brittany, and ...
defended Joan's claim. John and Joan had no issue. Eventually, a settlement was reached whereby Aymon obtained the Countship in return for providing a monetary payment to Joan. He spent much of his first few years as count at war with the Dauphin,
Guigues VIII of Viennois Guigues VIII de la Tour-du-Pin (1309 – 28 July 1333) was the Dauphin of Vienne (then within the Holy Roman Empire) from 1318 to his death. He was the eldest son of the John II, Dauphin of Vienne, Dauphin John II and Beatrice of Hungary (12 ...
, continuing a feud which went back for generations in their families. After Guigues was killed besieging La Perrière in 1333,
Philip VI of France Philip VI (; 1293 – 22 August 1350), called the Fortunate (), the Catholic (''le Catholique'') and of Valois (''de Valois''), was the first king of France from the House of Valois, reigning from 1328 until his death in 1350. Philip's reign w ...
was able to broker a truce between Aymon and the new Dauphin,
Humbert II of Viennois Humbert II de la Tour-du-Pin (1312 – 4 May 1355) was the Dauphin of the Viennois from 1333 to 16 July 1349. Humbert was the last dauphin before the title went to the French crown, to be bestowed on the heir apparent. Character Humbert was a ...
, brother of Guigues. In August 1334, in the buildup to the
Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy ...
,
Edward III of England Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...
sent an embassy to Aymon to convince him to join the impending conflict on the side of the English. Aymon declined to commit, as he held lands both in England and in Normandy, so was technically a subject of both kings. In April 1337, Philip sent similar messages on the other side. Aymon replied that he could not go abroad to fight as he still had territorial disputes with the
Dauphiné The Dauphiné ( , , ; or ; or ), formerly known in English as Dauphiny, is a former province in southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was ...
. Philip quickly settled a more lasting peace, as Humbert was trying to sell the Dauphiné. Aymon then led his forces as part of the French war effort from 1339 to 1342. He often fought alongside Amadeus III of Geneva. In 1330, Aymon established a chancellor's office to manage official documents. He financed the expansion of a burial chapel at the
Hautecombe Abbey Hautecombe Abbey (, ; ) is a former Cistercian monastery, later a Benedictine monastery, in Saint-Pierre-de-Curtille in Savoie, France. For centuries it was the burial place of the members of the House of Savoy. It is visited by 150,000 tourist ...
which was constructed from 1331 to 1342. In 1340, he set up judges to specifically handle appeals at a level between the castellans and himself, to ease his workload in such cases.


Marriage and Children

Prior to his marriage, Aymon also fathered several illegitimate children, who were raised in his household, even after his marriage. These included: *
Humbert Humbert, Umbert or Humberto (Latinized ''Humbertus'') is a Germanic given name, from ''hun'' "warrior" and ''beraht'' "bright". It also came into use as a surname. Given name ;Royalty and Middle Ages * Emebert (died 710) * Humbert of Maroilles ...
, who worked for his father, and later his brother the count. *
Ogier Ogier the Dane (; ) is a legendary paladin of Charlemagne who appears in many Old French ''chanson de geste">chansons de geste''. In particular, he features as the protagonist in ''La Chevalerie Ogier'' (), which belongs to the ''Geste de Doon de ...
, who worked for his father * Amadeus (d. May 1346) * Benoît * Jean la Mitre (d. Aug 1348), lord of Cuine and castellan of Tarentaise and Entremont * Jean, canon at
Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...
* Marie * Donata, a nun * Huguette, a nun In 1330, Aymon married Yolande Palaeologina of Montferrato granddaughter of
Byzantine Emperor The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, which Fall of Constantinople, fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised s ...
Andronikos II Palaiologos Andronikos II Palaiologos (; 25 March 1259 – 13 February 1332), Latinization of names, Latinized as Andronicus II Palaeologus, reigned as Byzantine emperor from 1282 to 1328. His reign marked the beginning of the recently restored em ...
and had 5 children, only 2 lived to adulthood: # Amadeus VI (Amadeo VI) (1334–1383) the Green Count #
Bianca Bianca is a feminine given name. It means "white" and is an Italian cognate of Blanche. It is known in the Anglosphere as a character in William Shakespeare's ''The Taming of the Shrew''. It came to greater notice in the 1970s, due to public fi ...
(1336–1388), married in 1350 to
Galeazzo II Visconti Galeazzo II Visconti ( – 4 August 1378) was a member of the Visconti of Milan, Visconti dynasty and a ruler of Milan, Italy. His most notable military campaigns were against Pope Gregory XI, around 1367. These battles fought between the pap ...
, Lord of
Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
. # John (1338–1348), died of
Black Death The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...
# Catherine (1341), died young # Louis (b. 24 December 1342), died young Yolande died on 24 December 1342, in childbirth. Aymon became ill in the following months and died on 22 June 1343. He was buried alongside his wife in a chapel of
Hautecombe Abbey Hautecombe Abbey (, ; ) is a former Cistercian monastery, later a Benedictine monastery, in Saint-Pierre-de-Curtille in Savoie, France. For centuries it was the burial place of the members of the House of Savoy. It is visited by 150,000 tourist ...
.


Notes


References

* * {{Authority control 1291 births 1343 deaths 14th-century counts of Savoy People from Chambéry Burials at Hautecombe Abbey