Margaret of Savoy (21 June 1382 or 1390 – 23 November 1464) was Marchioness of

Montferrat Montferrat ( , ; ; , ; ) is a historical region of Piedmont, in northern Italy. It comprises roughly (and its extent has varied over time) the modern provinces of Province of Alessandria, Alessandria and Province of Asti, Asti. Montferrat ...

, and a Dominican

Sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares parents or a parent with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to ref ...

Family

Margaret was the eldest of the four children—all daughters—born to Amadeo of Savoy,

Lord of Piedmont Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

(and titular

Prince of Achaea The Prince of Achaea was the ruler of the Principality of Achaea, one of the crusader states Frankokratia, founded in Greece in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade (1202–1204). The principality witnessed various overlords during its more than tw ...

), and his wife Catherine of Geneva. Her paternal grandparents were Giacomo of Savoy, titular Prince of Achaea, and his second wife Sibylle of Baux. Her maternal grandparents were Amadeus III, Count of Geneva, and Mahaut d'Auvergne. Their claim to the throne of Achaea came from her great-grandfather Philip of Savoy, eldest son of

Thomas III of Piedmont Count Thomas III (c. 1246 – 16 May 1282), called ''Thomas of Savoy'' or ''de Savoie'', was the lord of Piedmont and a claimant to the county of Savoy from 1268. He was the eldest son of Thomas II of Savoy and Beatrice di Fieschi, niece of Po ...

and Guia of Burgundy. Philip married Isabella of Villehardouin, Princess of Achaea, and co-reigned with her from 1301 to 1307. They were both deposed by Philip I of Taranto but continued to claim the title. However, Giacomo was a son of Philip by his second wife Catherine de la Tour du Pin and his claim to be the heir of Isabella of Villehardouin was disputed.

Marriage

On 17 January 1403, Margaret married

Theodore II, Marquess of Montferrat Theodore II Palaeologus (Teodoro II Paleologo) (died 16 April 1418) was the Margrave of Montferrat from 1381. Life He was the thirdborn son of John II of Montferrat and Isabel of Majorca. Theodore was named governor of the margraviate after t ...

, a member of the

Palaiologos The House of Palaiologos ( Palaiologoi; , ; female version Palaiologina; ), also found in English-language literature as Palaeologus or Palaeologue, was a Byzantine Greeks, Byzantine Greek Nobility, noble family that rose to power and produced th ...

dynasty and male-line descendant of

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 ...

. Theodore was the widower of Jeanne of Bar,Clugnet, Léon. "Blessed Margaret of Savoy ." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 4 Jan. 2013
/ref> daughter of Robert I, Duke of Bar, and Marie Valois. Her piety increased after she heard the preaching of

Vincent Ferrer Vincent Ferrer, Dominican Order, OP ( ; ; ; ; ; ; 23 January 1350 – 5 April 1419) was a Kingdom of Valencia, Valencian Dominican Order, Dominican friar who gained acclaim as a preacher, missionary and logician. After supporting Antipope Benedic ...

, who spent several months in

. This marriage lasted for fifteen years but was childless. Theodore died in 1418.Lucetta Scaraffia, Gabriella Zarri -Women and Faith: Catholic Religious Life in Italy from Late ... - 1999 - Page 223 "As an example of a middle way, there are the troubles of Margaret of Savoy (1382-1464)... the young princess was given in marriage to Theodore II Paleologus as a means to end the contention between the two royal families. Theodore was fifteen years older than she, a rough, military man, and already the father of two children who were nearly of the same age as the young bride."

Monastic life

When she was left a widow, she decided to abandon the world. Leaving the direction of the affairs of the marquisate to Jean-Jacques, the son of her husband by his first marriage, she retired to Alba where she joined the

Third Order of St. Dominic The Third Order of Saint Dominic (; abbreviated TOP), also referred to as the Lay Fraternities of Saint Dominic or Lay Dominicans since 1972, is a Roman Catholic, Catholic third order which is part of the Dominican Order. As members of the Order ...

. A little later,

Filippo Maria Visconti Filippo Maria Visconti (3 September 1392 – 13 August 1447) was the duke of Duchy of Milan, Milan from 1412 to 1447. Reports stated that he was "paranoid", but "shrewd as a ruler." He went to war in the 1420s with Romagna, Republic of Florenc ...

Duke of Milan Milan was ruled by dukes from the 13th century to 1814, after which it was incorporated into the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia by the Congress of Vienna. List of dukes of Milan House of Visconti In 1395, Gian Galeazzo Visconti was titled Duke ...

, asked her hand in marriage and begged

Pope Martin V Pope Martin V (; ; January/February 1369 – 20 February 1431), born Oddone Colonna, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 November 1417 to his death in February 1431. His election effectively ended the We ...

to relieve her of her vow. But Margaret opposed a formal refusal to this request and with several young women of rank, she founded a monastery and placed it under the rule of the order of St. Dominic. Redoubling her mortifications she remained a model of piety and died at

Alba ''Alba'' ( , ) is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is also, in English-language historiography, used to refer to the polity of Picts and Scots united in the ninth century as the Kingdom of Alba, until it developed into the Kingd ...

, 23 November 1464.

Veneration

On 13 December 1464, her remains were placed in a simple tomb; in 1481 they were transferred to a different and much more beautiful sepulchre built in her monastery at the expense of William VIII of Montferrat. They are presently held in the church of Santa Maria Maddalena, Alba. Four noble ''beati'' of the Savoy family are depicted on the vault of a bay in the south aisle of the church of San Michele in

Pavia Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was a major polit ...

. Margaret is shown dressed as a nun holding three arrows.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Margaret Of Savoy (Blessed) 1390 births 1464 deaths People from Fossano People from Alba, Piedmont House of Savoy Marchionesses of Montferrat 15th-century venerated Christians Roman Catholic royal saints Italian Roman Catholic abbesses 15th-century Italian Roman Catholic religious sisters and nuns 15th-century people from the Savoyard State Beatifications by Pope Clement IX