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 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 she 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 Bzel 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 as 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.
