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____ Amadeus (Amadeo) II
Birth: ABT 1046
Death: 26 Jan 1080
Notes
mc 1065/1070
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amadeus_II,_Count_of_Savoy
Amadeus II (c.?1050 – 26 January 1080) was the Count of Savoy from 1078 to 1080.
His life is obscure and few documents mention him. During his reign he was
overshadowed by his mother, but he had good relations with the Papacy and, for a
time, the Holy Roman Emperor.[1]
Before his countship[edit]
The second son of Otto, Count of Savoy, and Adelaide, Margravine of Turin, Amadeus
II was probably born around 1050, because he, alongside other noblemen of the
Kingdom of Burgundy, swore an oath on the tomb of Saint Peter in Rome to defend the
Church around 1070–73. In 1074 Pope Gregory VII was trying to persuade William I,
Count of Burgundy, to remember this vow and, with Amadeus and others, go to the
defence of the Roman Empire in the East against the Seljuk Turks.[2] As his mother is
known to have had good relations with the Papacy in these years, this record seems
to indicate that Amadeus was following his mother's policies at this early stage in his
career.[2]
Early in 1077 Amadeus, with his mother and brother Peter, then Count of Savoy,
hosted his sister Bertha, and his brother-in-law, Bertha's husband, the Emperor Henry
IV. Amadeus and Adelaide then escorted the imperial couple to Canossa so the
excommunicated emperor could reconcile with the pope. There they both took part in
the negotiations and stood as pledges for the emperor's good faith.[2]
On 16 July 1078 Amadeus and Peter witnessed a donation of their mother's to the
Abbey of Novalesa.[2] It was the last act of Amadeus and Peter together.
As count[edit]
On 9 August 1078 Peter died and Amadeus succeeded him as Count of Savoy, but in
the March of Turin, where Peter had co-ruled with their mother, Amadeus was never
margrave, although the reason for this is unclear.[2] One document, issued by his
widowed daughter Adelaide in 1090, refers to him as "count and margrave" (comes et
marchio), but it is probably anachronistic.[3] There is only one document from his
reign, in the cartulary of Saint-André-le-Bas in Vienne, which is dated when "Count
Amadeus [was] reigning."[4] This shows, by the absence of the regnal year of the
emperor, that despite his involvement in the reconciliation at Canossa, Amadeus II
was neutral in the wider Investiture Controversy and the wars against Henry IV that it
caused in Germany.[3]
Amadeus died in Turin on 26 January 1080, according to the necrology of the church
of Saint Andrew there.[5] This date must be at least approximately correct, since
Adelaide made a monastic donation for the benefit of the souls of her sons Margrave
Peter and Count Amadeus on 8 March.[6]
Marriage, children and succession[edit]
According to the much later Chronicles of Savoy, Amadeus married Joan, daughter of
"Girard, Count of Burgundy", who scholars have surmised to have been Count Gerold
of Geneva. The Chronicon Altacumbae says only that "the wife of Amadeus [was] from
Burgundy", which might refer to Amadeus I.[7] If his wife were Genevan, it would
explain how the house of Savoy came to possess so early a large portion of the
Genevois.[8] His wife, whatever her name and origins, bore Amadeus II several
children, although there is some uncertainty about how many. His confirmed children
were:
Adelaide, wife of Manasses II, sire de Coligny
Ausilia (also Auxilia or Usilia), second wife of Humbert II de Beaujeu, whom she bore
four sons by the last decade of the eleventh century: Guichard, Humbert, Guigues,
and Hugh
Humbert II, his successor as count of Savoy
The succession of Amadeus II is unclear. His son Humbert II, who was later Count of
Savoy, is well known, but in 1082 the Count of Savoy was Otto II. Although Amadeus
is known to have had a younger brother named Otto, he is more likely to have been
the Bishop of Asti of this name and time. This has led some scholars, beginning with
the Conte di Vesme, to make Otto II the eldest son of Amadeus II, who succeeded him
and was in turn succeeded by Humbert II.[8] In the immediate aftermath of Amadeus's
death, Adelaide took control of all the Savoyard lands on both sides of the Alps.
Parents
OF SAVOY Otto (Odo) (Eudes) I (ABT 1020 - 19 Jan 1058)
VON SUSA Adelaide (ABT 1015 - 19 Dec 1091)
Siblings
____ Amadeus (Amadeo) II (ABT 1046 - 26 Jan 1080)
OF MAURIENNE Adelaide (ABT 1047 - 1079)
OF MAURIENNE (OF LORRAINE) Bertha (21 Sep 1051 - 27 Dec 1087)
Marriage To DE GENEVA Johanna (Joan) (ABT 1046 - 1095)
m.
Notes
Parents
____ Gerold I (ABT 1012 - ABT 1070)
____ Gisela (ABT 1020 - )
Children by DE GENEVA Johanna (Joan) ABT 1046 - 1095
____ Humbert (Umberto) II "il Grosso" (1065 - 17 Oct 1103)
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