Person Page - 287

Amadeus III (?) Count of Savoy¹

• Father: Humbert II (?) Count of Savoy² b. 1065, d. 14 Oct 1103
• Mother: Gisela (?) of Burgundy³

• Relationships: 21st great-grandfather of Dougald MacFarlane, 18th great-grandfather of Margaret MacDonell, 23rd great-grandfather of Donald James MacFarlane

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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• Name Variation: Amadeus III (?) Count of Savoy was also known as Amadeo III (?) Conte di Savoia.⁴
• Birth*: He was born in 1095 in Carignano, Piedmont, Italy.^2,1
• Marriage*: He married Maud d'Albon, daughter of Guigues III (?) Count of Albon and Mathilde de Hauteville-Sicile Countess of Toulouse, in 1123.^4,1
• Death*: Amadeus III (?) Count of Savoy died on 30 August 1148 in Nicosia, Cyprus.²
• Burial*: He was buried after 30 August 1148 in Church of St. Croix, Nicosia, Cyprus.¹
• Biography*: Amadeus III of Savoy (1095 – April 1148) was Count of Savoy and Maurienne from 1103 until his death. He was also known as the Crusader.
  
  He was born in Carignano, Piedmont, the son of Humbert II of Savoy and Gisela of Burgundy, the daughter of William I of Burgundy. He succeeded as count of Savoy upon the death of his father. Amadeus had a tendency to exaggerate his titles, and also claimed to be Duke of Lombardy, Duke of Burgundy, Duke of Chablais, and vicar of the Holy Roman Empire, the latter of which had been given to his father by Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor.
  
  He helped restore the Abbey of St. Maurice of Agaune, in which the former kings of Burgundy had been crowned, and of which he himself was abbot until 1147. He also founded the Abbey of St. Sulpicius in Bugey, Tamié Abbey in the Bauges, and Hautecombe Abbey on the Lac du Bourget.
  
  In 1128, Amadeus extended his realm, known as the "Old Chablais", by adding to it the region extending from the Arve to the Dranse d'Abondance, which came to be called the "New Chablais" with its capital at Saint-Maurice. Despite his marriage to Mahaut, he still fought against his brother-in-law Guy, who was killed at the Battle of Montmeillan. Following this, King Louis VI of France, married to Amadeus' sister Adélaide de Maurienne, attempted to confiscate Savoy. Amadeus was saved by the intercession of Peter the Hermit, and by his promise to participate in Louis' planned crusade.
  
  In 1147, he accompanied his nephew Louis VII of France and his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine on the Second Crusade. He financed his expedition with help from a loan from the Abbey of St. Maurice. In his retinue were many barons from Savoy, including the lords of Faucigny, Seyssel, La Chambre, Miolans, Montbel, Thoire, Montmayeur, Vienne, Viry, La Palude, Blonay, Chevron-Villette, Chignin, and Châtillon. Amadeus travelled south through Italy to Brindisi, where he crossed over to Durazzo, and marched east along the Via Egnatia to meet Louis at Constantinople in late 1147. After crossing into Anatolia, Amadeus, who was leading the vanguard, became separated from Louis near Laodicea, and Louis' forces were almost entirely destroyed.
  
  Marching on to Adalia, Louis, Amadeus, and other barons decided to continue to Antioch by ship. On the journey, Amadeus fell ill on Cyprus, and died at Nicosia in April 1148. He was buried in the Church of St. Croix in Nicosia. In Savoy, his son Humbert III succeeded him, under the regency of bishop Amadeus of Lausanne.
  
  Family and children
  
  He had no children with his first wife Adelaide, Countess consort of Savoy. In 1123 he married Mahaut (or Mafalda, or Matilda) of Albon, the sister of Guy IV of Dauphinois, with whom he had ten children:
  Elisa of Savoy (1120-?) married Humberto of Beaujeu
  Mafalda (Mahaut), (1125-1158), married Afonso I of Portugal
  Agnes of Savoy (1125-1172), married William I, Count of Geneva
  Humbert III (1136-1188)
  John of Savoy
  Peter of Savoy
  William of Savoy
  Margaret of Savoy (died 1157)
  Isabella of Savoy
  Juliana of Savoy (died 1194), abbess of St. André-le-Haut.¹