- Thomas I of Savoy
Thomas I or Tommaso I (c. 1176 –
March 1 ,1233 ) was Count of Savoy from 1189-1233. He was the son ofHumbert III of Savoy andBeatrice of Viennois . His birth was seen as miraculous; his monkish father had despaired of having a male heir after three wives. Count Humbert sought counsel from St.Anthelm , who blessed Humbert three times, and it was seen as a prophecy come true when Thomas was born shortly before Anthelm himself died onJune 26 ,1178 . He was named in honour of SaintThomas Becket .Thomas was still a minor when his father died on
4 March 1189 , and a council of regency was established, comprising of his mother Beatrice, his father's cousinBoniface I of Montferrat , and theBishop of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne . He had reached his majority by August 1191. Thomas possessed the martial abilities, energy, and brilliance that his father lacked, and Savoy enjoyed a golden age under his leadership. Despite his youth he began the push northwest into new territories. In the same year he grantedAosta Valley the "Carta delle Franchigie", recognising the right to administrative and political autonomy. This right was maintained up until the eve of theFrench Revolution . Later he conqueredVaud ,Bugey , andCarignano . He supported theHohenstaufen s, and was known as "Thomas theGhibelline " because of his career as ImperialVicar ofLombardy .Family and children
In 1195 he ambushed the party of Count
William I of Geneva , which was escorting the count's daughter,Marguerite of Geneva , to France for her intended wedding to KingPhilip II of France . Thomas carried off Marguerite and married her himself, producing some eight sons and six daughters.:# Amedeo, his immediate successor:# Umberto, d. between March and November 1223 :# Tommaso, lord and then count inPiedmont and founder of a line that became theSavoy-Achaea :# Aimone, d.August 30 1237 , Lord ofChablais :# Guglielmo (William of Savoy ),Bishop of Valence and Dean ofVienne :# Amadeo of Savoy,Bishop of Maurienne :# Pietro, who resided much in England, becameEarl of Richmond , and ultimately in 1263 became the disputed count of Savoy:# Filippo,archbishop of Lyon , who resigned, through marriage becameCount Palatine of Burgundy and ultimately in 1268 became the disputed count of Savoy:# Bonifacio who becamearchbishop of Canterbury :#Beatrice of Savoy , d. 1265 or 1266, married in December 1219 toRamon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence (1209-1245) and was mother of four Queens-consort:# Alasia of Savoy, abbess of the monastery of St Pierre in Lyon (d.1250):# Ágatha of Savoy, abbess of the monastery of St Pierre in Lyon (d.1245):# Margherita of Savoy, d. 1273, married in 1218 toHartmann I of Kyburg :# Avita of Savoy (1215-92) who marriedBaldwin de Redvers, 7th Earl of Devon and Robert Aguillon (d.1286).Further reading
* Francesco Cognasso, "Il Piemonte nell’Età Sveva" (Turin, 1968)
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