From Count to...Pope?

Amadeus VIII (1383 - 1451) took on the title Count of Savoy at an early age after the death of his father, Amadeus VII. His grandmother, Bonne of Bourbon, was regent from 1391 until 1397, when she was implicated (certainly unjustly) in the death of her son and sent away to retire at Château de Mâcon.

Around this time, Savoy was expanding its borders and influence, so much so that it took on a grander identity than County, and became the Duchy of Savoy, with Amadeus VIII becoming the first Duke of Savoy thanks to an appointment by Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg.

Another positive event in the history of Savoy (politically speaking) was the death in 1418 of his cousin, Louis of Piedmont. Louis was a branch of the family that frequently disputed the leadership. Louis had left Amadeus as his heir in his will, which thus united the male lines of Savoy.

Amadeus was married to Mary of Burgundy, daughter of the Duke of Burgundy, Philip the Bold. When his wife died in 1428, he founded the Order of St. Maurice with six other knights and lived with them in a monastic lifestyle in the chateau of Ripaille, which had been built overlooking Lake Geneva by his grandmother. He left his teenage son Louis as regent of the duchy.

This was a time of papal conflict when opposing groups of Catholic bishops and cardinals were supporting different candidates for pope. Amadeus was in favor of limiting papal supremacy and having the church governed more by ecumenical councils. This endeared him to certain cardinals. Recently there had been three rival popes: Clement VIII, Benedict XIV, and another Benedict XIV.

A Council of Basel was to determine who should be the rightful pope, and Amadeus requested that Savoyan bishops be allowed to attend. Another pope, Eugene IV, had been declared by his loyalists. The Council of Basel suspended him, and in June 1349 declared him a heretic. Cardinal Louis Aleman warned the council that they needed a pope who was rich and powerful to defend the Church from its enemies.

In October 1349 they chose 33 members from five nations to choose a pope. There is no reason to believe that Amadeus wanted to be pope, but over the course of several ballots he received a majority of votes. In November the council issued a decree that Amadeus VIII was elected pope. A delegation was sent to Ripaille to inform him. He was persuaded to take the position, and he renounced all connection to the Savoyan government, naming his son as Duke of Savoy.

He took the regnal name Felix V. Tomorrow we'll see how this unexpected pope managed.

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."