Catherine of Savoy ( Brabant, between 1297 and 1304 Rheinfelden, 30 September 1336) was a princess 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 ...

, and since 1315 the wife of Leopold I,

Duke of Austria From 976 until 1246, the Margraviate of Austria and its successor, the Duchy of Austria, was ruled by the House of Babenberg. At that time, those states were part of the Holy Roman Empire. From 1246 until 1918, the duchy and its successor, the A ...

and

Styria Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...

(1290–1326) from the

House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful Dynasty, dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout ...

Biography

Catherine was a daughter of Count Amadeus V of Savoy and his second wife, Maria of Brabant. As a result of the rapprochement between the Habsburgs and the

House of Luxembourg The House of Luxembourg (; ; ) or Luxembourg dynasty was a royal family of the Holy Roman Empire in the Late Middle Ages, whose members between 1308 and 1437 ruled as kings of Germany and Holy Roman emperors as well as kings of Bohemia, List of r ...

, discussions began in 1310 regarding Catherine's marriage to Duke Leopold I of Austria, third son of

Albert I of Germany Albert I of Habsburg () (July 12551 May 1308) was a List of rulers of Austria, Duke of Austria and Duchy of Styria, Styria from 1282 and List of German monarchs, King of Germany from 1298 until his assassination. He was the eldest son of King Ru ...

, her mother being a niece of

Henry VII of Luxembourg Henry VII (German: ''Heinrich''; Vulgar Latin: ''Arrigo''; 1273 – 24 August 1313),Kleinhenz, pg. 494 also known as Henry of Luxembourg, was Count of Luxembourg, King of Germany ('' Rex Romanorum'') from 1308 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1312 ...

. The couple finally married in Basel on 26 May 1315. They had: *

Catherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...

(1320-1349), married to Enguerrand VI de Coucy * Agnes (1322-1392), married to Duke Bolko II of Schweidnitz-Jauer Catherine was also politically active and intervened in the Habsburgs' struggle to regain the throne 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 ...

, after the death of her father-in-law in 1308, and corresponded with

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 ...

. Widowed since 1326, she died ten years later. Her body was buried in the Königsfelden Monastery. Since 1809, Catherine's remains have rested in Saint Paul's Abbey, Lavanttal.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Savoy, Catherine of 1326 deaths 14th-century Austrian women Countesses in the Holy Roman Empire Austrian consorts People from the Savoyard state 14th-century House of Habsburg 14th-century women rulers