Bonne of Bourbon

After numerous engagements to find the right bride, Amadeus VI of Savoy finally married Bonne of Bourbon (1341 - 19 January 1402). They were married in 1355, when he was 21 and she was 14. Her parents were Peter I, Duke of Bourbon and Isabella of Valois. Two of their other daughters became queens of France and Castile. The betrothal of Bonne to Amadeus was intended to bring some French influence to the Italian peninsula.

Bonne came to the marriage with a dowry of 3000 florins annually. The wedding took place while there was active hostility during the Hundred Years War. Amadeus was supporting France, and came to Paris for the wedding but had to return immediately to the fighting.

Eleven years later, they had had a few children (some of whom died young). In 1366 Amadeus was to go to Bulgaria on a "mini Crusade." He trusted Bonne enough to leave her in charge of the County. While he was away, a cousin died, James the Lord of Piedmont. His widow disputed the succession of their eldest son on behalf of her younger sons. (The eldest was from an earlier marriage.) Bonne managed to keep both sides from warring, but could not negotiate a settlement about succession. The eldest son, Philip, had to travel to find Amadeus to obtain a ruling.

In 1382, Bonne actually sold some of her jewelry to raise money to support her husband's military endeavors. She also spent money on building. In 1371 she built a chateau in a duchy of Savoy on the border of France, overlooking Lake Geneva.

When Amadeus died in 1383, his will left Bonne in charge rather than his son, Amadeus VII. The younger Amadeus had been born in 1360, so he was older than his father was when the succession passed to him. The younger Amadeus was betrothed to the daughter of the Duke of Burgundy, and there was a concern that French influence on the future of Savoy was becoming too great.

Bonne and the council maintained the regency while Amadeus VII got married and had a child, Amadeus VIII. Amadeus VII died in 1391. A few years later, Amadeus VII's doctor accused Bonne of ordering her son's death. The Duke of Burgundy accused members of the Savoy council of being involved. This caused the regency to be taken from her, leaving her grandson, Amadeus VIII (1383 - 1451), in charge.

Amadeus VIII had an unusual promotion from his initial royal title. It's a plot twist you won't see coming, but I'll explain it all next time.

Amadeus' Engagements

Like all rulers, Amadeus VI, Count of Savoy (1334 - 1383), was going to need an heir. He was only nine years old when his father died and passed the title to Amadeus, but arrangements for noble families start young, in many cases long before the potential heir is an adult.

In fact, when Amadeus was only four, an arrangement was made that he should marry the three-year-old daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, Margaret of Bohemia. Margaret was a year or two younger than Amadeus.

Two years later, the contract with Margaret was broken. She went on to marry Louis I of Hungary in 1342 when she was seven years old. She died in 1349, still a teenager. They had no children.

In 1340, he was instead engaged to Joanna of Bourbon, the niece of Philip VI of France. Joanna was four years younger than Amadeus, and at the time of the arrangement was only two years old. The deal was designed to bring Savoy under French influence. She had already been betrothed to Humbert, Dauphin of Viennois; that was nullified in favor of Amadeus. The engagement to Amadeus was called off in 1344, and she ultimately married her first cousin—which required a papal dispensation because of consanguinity—who became Charles V of France (history's first tennis player known by name and the enforcer of synchronized time).

In 1347, another match was proposed. This time he became engaged to three-year-old Joan, daughter of Philip of Burgundy, which would have made him heir to Burgundy. Joan (1344 - 1360) was even brought to Savoy to be raised there and learn the customs of the people. In 1355, however, she was released from the engagement. She went into a convent at Poissy where she died at the age of 16.

Amadeus had another idea for a bride and decided to ally himself with what seemed a greater power: England. He sent a message to King Edward III, requesting the hand of his daughter Isabella. In an unusual move (for him), Isabella was two years older than Amadeus. Nothing came of this; she married Enguerrand VII, Lord of Coucy.

Finally, in September 1355, he married Bonne of Bourbon, daughter of the Duke of Bourbon, Peter I. She was only 14 to his 21. The marriage was successful and enduring. Tomorrow I'll tell you about "the one that didn't get away."

The Amadeus Crusade

When he was 32-years-old, Count of Savoy Amadeus VI started a mini-Crusade. He sent 1700 men on 15 ships to aid Byzantine Emperor John V Paleologos against the Ottomans. (They were cousins: John's mother was Anne of Savoy; her father and Amadeus' father were brothers.)

His small force met up with others: Francesco I of Lesbos and the King Louis I ("the Great") of Hungary. Together they drove the Turks from Gallipoli (but a few years later it was back in Turkish hands).

Then John V was captured by Bulgaria, and Amadeus responded by capturing some Bulgarian ports on the Black Sea. The emperor of Bulgaria, Tsar Ivan Alexander, had actually supported John V years earlier during his regency in exchange for some important fortresses. Amadeus' threat to Ivan Alexander, to release John or be attacked, resulted in John's release. The cousins spent Christmas together at a port on the Black Sea.

Back home, Amadeus established a method of relief for impoverished citizens, a welfare system that was one of the first of its kind. He also had a mechanical clock set up in public in 1377, with an officer to keep it running.

In 1381 he mediated between Genoa and Venice to set terms that ended their very long conflict. The two maritime republics compromised over control of the island of Tenedos by giving control of it to Amadeus. He relocated all the inhabitants (who were compensated financially) and destroyed all the structures (paid for by Genoa).

A year after he negotiated the Treaty of Turin, he joined (antipope) Pope Clement VII and Louis of Anjou in an attempt to free Queen Joan I of Naples from the rival pope, Urban VI. On this adventure Amadeus became ill and died. He was succeeded by his son, Amadeus VII.

Who was Amadeus VII's mother? Tomorrow I want to go through the many engagements Amadeus went through before he finally agreed to marry someone.

Amadeus VI of Savoy

When Aymon, Count of Savoy, died in 1343, his successor, his son Amadeus, was only nine years old. Two cousins were assigned as co-regents. Those cousins, Amadeus III of Geneva and Louis II of Vaud, agreed that neither would make a decision without the other's agreement. Their decisions also could be reviewed by the council of nobles.

The arrangement was very sensible and politic. There was another cousin, however, who tried to throw a wrench into the works. Joan of Savoy had tried to claim the County of Savoy for herself after the death of her father, Edward. Edward was succeeded by Aymon, but Joan thought she should have succeeded her father even though Savoy was governed by Salic law. She was acknowledged at the time as having a point, but was convinced to renounce her claim and cause no trouble in exchange for an annual pension.

Now, with a nine-year-old in power, she renewed her claim. Two years after Amadeus became count, she received a similar deal, renouncing the claim in exchange for a yearly allowance of 5000 livres.

Amadeus was educated in and enjoyed the arts of war, reading both the classical era work on war, De Re Militari, and the more recent De Regimine Principum, concerning the morality of ruling temporally. He was also devout, taking a vow of fasting that was so strict that he endangered his health and had to ask Pope Clement VI to release him from the vow.

In 1348, the Black Death was sweeping over Europe, and Savoy was not spared. As was often the case in times of disaster, Jews were blamed. Savoyan nobles tried to protect them, putting some in locked towers for protection. Savoyan courts tracked down those responsible for killing Jews, executing some and fining others.

Amadeus was nicknamed the "Green Count." On his 19th birthday in 1353, a series of tournaments were held. He appeared with a green silk tabard over his armor and green plumes on his helmet. He was accompanied into the lists by 11 green-clad knights, each led by a lady dressed in green who led the knight's horse by a green cord. Green became a popular color for him and his court after that. (Green was difficult to produce before the 1700s and the discovery of new chemicals. To get green, you had to dye fabric first yellow, and then blue. To have a lot of green showed extravagance.)

Tomorrow we'll look at his adult life.

The Problem of Tenedos

Tenedos (now a Turkish possession called Bozcaada) is an island in the northeast of the Aegean Sea. It was mentioned in the Iliad and the Odyssey. Virgil's Æneid claims Tenedos is where the Greeks hid their ships to convince the Trojans that they had departed after they dropped off the Trojan Horse. Its location is important as an outpost to see any traffic from the Mediterranean through the Dardanelles to the Sea of Marmara, which gives access to Constantinople and then the Black Sea.

It was possessed by many different entities over the centuries, but we are interested in how Venice held it before the Battle of Chioggia, part of the conflict between Venice and Genoa. The Treaty of Turin in 1381 that ended the war handed Tenedos over to Count Amadeus VI of Savoy, who negotiated the treaty. He then destroyed any fortifications on it so that it could not be used for military purposes. He also evacuated all the Venetians and others, who were to be compensated financially. Genoa was supposed to pay for the effort to destroy the structures.

It was only a decade after the Treaty that concerns arose about the spread of the Ottomans. The island was completely deserted and without any functional buildings, so there were discussions about re-occupying and re-fortifying it.

Genoa and Venice were still the two greatest maritime republics with lots of ships going in and out of Marmara and the Black Sea. Genoa invoked the Treaty of Turin and put its foot down against any occupation by Venice. Venice likewise said they would not agree to any suggestion of shared management. Venice also spoke against granting rights to the papacy, the Knights of St. John, or the Byzantine Empire. (A case of "If I can't play the game my way, I'll prevent anyone else from playing.")

The disputes stretched out until it was too late and the Ottoman Turks had spread to the whole area. Genoa was able to maintain the biggest share of Black Sea trade up to and even after the Fall of Constantinople in 1453.

I mentioned yesterday that Amadeus of Savoy was chosen to mediate between Genoa and Venice because of his ability to deal with conflicts, and that some of those were within his own family. Next time I'll explain that.

The Treaty of Turin

After the final phase of the decades-long war between Genoa and Venice, the man brought in to mediate a permanent truce between the two maritime republics was Amadeus VI, Count of Savoy. Amadeus (1334 - 1383) was respected for his ability to rule fairly and find ways to resolve disputes (many of which were in his own family over the right of succession). 

The Treaty of Turin, or Peace of Turin, had four steps to it that will indicate how complex the political hostilities had been. Turin was in the County of Savoy at the time, and easily reachable by representatives of both Genoa and Venice.

For one, Genoa's dominance in the Black Sea had been threatened by Venice setting up a base on the island of Tenedos, a location that allowed them to threaten Genoese ships from entering the Black Sea. Tenedos had to be turned over to Amadeus. Amadeus removed the Venetian inhabitants and destroyed the fortifications so that it could never be used as a military base.

Genoa was at war with Peter II of Cyprus and Byzantine Emperor John V Paleologos, both of whom were allies of Venice. The Treaty required Venice to sever ties with these two so that they would not be involved in supporting hostility against Genoa. John V's son Andronikos was allied with Genoa, seeking Genoa's help to take over the throne. Venice was required to maintain an embargo against John V until he settled his issues with Andronikos, eliminating the need for Genoa's military support of the son.

Venice also had to forego using their own trading post on the Black Sea. They were forced to share Genoa's ports in the Crimea, and abide by any taxes or duties imposed (fairly!) by Genoa.

Hungary had been an ally of Genoa in the final battle. Venice was required to pay 7000 ducats annually to Hungary. In exchange, Hungary would avoid certain rivers that flowed into the Adriatic, allowing Venice to trade along that part of the Adriatic coast and its rivers. Venice was required to acknowledge that Hungary now owned Dalmatia.

Padua had been on Genoa's side, and the Treaty also saw Venice and Padua make peace with each other.

The decision in the first point about the island of Tenedos had repercussions that were detrimental to Europe's future. I'll explain tomorrow.

Genoa versus Venice, Part 5

The final phase of the decades-long conflict between Genoa and Venice came in 1378 to 1381 when Genoa decided to directly attack Venice instead of fighting naval battles over merchant outposts. Each of the two maritime republics wanted to create and maintain a monopoly in trade in the Black Sea, a plentiful source of fur, grain, slaves (!), and timber.

Genoa had a lot of ports in the Black Sea, and decided it had to rid the area of its greatest rival, Venice. Venice had already lost control of Dalmatia on the east coast of the Adriatic: King Louis I of Hungary had conquered it, and in 1379 had Hungarian forces to the north of Venice itself. Hungary had allied itself with Genoa, as had Padua, who created a block to the west of Venice.

Venice still had the sea accessible to its ships, and still had a strong presence in the Levant. For allies, it had Bernabo Visconti in Milan, whose mercenaries invaded Genoa but were defeated in 1379. Venice also had an ally in Byzantine Emperor John V Paleologos, restored to his throne in 1379 with the help of Venice after Genoa had helped dethrone him a few years earlier.

The two republics' ships harassed each other all over the Aegean and Levant, but ultimately Genoa decided to sail into the lagoon of Venice itself. Genoa (with help from Padua and Hungary) attacked the fishing port of Chioggia (see illustration) on 16 August 1379, overcoming a Venetian garrison of 3000 men. Within days Venice was surrounded by forces allied with Genoa.

The Venetian senate wanted to negotiate peace, but Genoa boasted that it would "bit and bridle the Horses of Saint Mark" (the famous four bronze horses at St. Mark's Basilica). Venice knew this meant a fight to the finish.

A Venetian fleet that had been plundering Genoese ships in the Aegean reached the area on 1 January 1380, blockading the Genoese ships from departing. Genoa suddenly was the one who was trapped. Months of skirmishes to re-take Chioggia went on while Genoa hoped for reinforcements. Venice, more familiar with the shallow waters, conducted night-time attacks on the Genoese ships. Venice also sunk unneeded ships with stones (that could be removed later to re-float the ships) to create barriers that the heavier Genoese galleys could not get past.

The final battle, the Battle of Chioggia, took place on 24 June 1380. Venice used cannons on board their ships for the first time. The blockaded Genoese were starving from lack of supplies, and ultimately surrendered. Venice regained control of Adriatic shipping, and a year later the Peace of Turin was signed.

The Treaty of Turin was mediated by Amadeus VI of Savoy and signed in 1381. It deserves a closer look, but that's for tomorrow.