Boniface (1 December 1244–7 June 1263) 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 ...

from 1253 to 1263, succeeding his father Amadeus IV. He never married and thus left no heir.

Career

Boniface 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 ...

on 1 December 1244. Since he became Count of Savoy at the age of nine, he required a regency. Throughout the decade before his death, Savoy was governed through a joint regency resembling that devised for his grandfather

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 ...

in 1189, in which authority was shared between his mother,

Cecile of Baux Cecile of Baux (1230–1275), was a Countess Consort of Savoy; married in 1244 to Amadeus IV, Count of Savoy. She was the daughter of Barral of Baux and his wife, Sibylle d'Anduze. She was the Regent of Savoy during the minority of her son, Boni ...

, and one of his uncles,

Thomas II of Piedmont Thomas II (c. 1199 – 7 February 1259) was the Lord of Piedmont from 1233 to his death, Count of Flanders ''jure uxoris'' from 1237 to 1244, and regent of the County of Savoy from 1253 to his death, while his nephew Boniface was fighting abro ...

. Boniface's other uncles,

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

and

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Macedonian Old Koine language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominen ...

, disputed this, seeking to divide the county's many properties, but Thomas took it to arbitration per the family treaty of 1234 which had been negotiated by his brother

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

and won out. Peter and Philip were, however, granted compensation in return, receiving more properties within the county. When Thomas died in 1259, Cecile continued as regent in Savoy. Under her regency, Philip and Peter continued their previous work of expanding the control and influence over the County of Savoy. Boniface's campaigns in

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

and

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 ...

were not successful. In September 1262,

Rudolf of Geneva Rudolf or Rudolph (French language, French: ''Raoul'' or ''Rodolphe de Genève'') was the Count of Geneva from 1252 until his death in 1265. He was the eldest son of William II of Geneva, William II, and was described by a Renaissance historian as ...

offered homage to cousin Boniface after yet another round of the war between Peter and their kin in Geneva. On 7 July 1263 in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) 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 from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

, Boniface was mortally wounded in battle and died aged 18, to be succeeded by his uncle Peter.

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Boniface, Count of Savoy 1244 births 1263 deaths 13th-century counts of Savoy People from Chambéry Military personnel killed in action