Matilda

Notes:

Referred to in contemporary sources as "Queen" Matilda, leading to speculation as to which living queen she could have been. Variously proposed as a daughter of Edgar the Atheling (d. 1126) or of Roger I of Sicily (d. 1101), in the latter case by his third wife Adelaide of Savona. The case for Roger and Adelaide is plausible, although they are known to have had another daughter named Matilda who married Conrad II of Italy.

Family/Spouse: Guigues VIII of Albon. Guigues (son of Guigues VII of Albon and Petronell) was born between 1050 and 1060; died in 1133. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Also called Matilda.

Mahaut married Amadeo III in 1123. Amadeo (son of Umberto II of Savoy and Gisela of Burgundy) was born about 1095; died on 30 Aug 1148 in Cyprus; was buried in Church of St. Croix, Nicosia, Cyprus. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Count of Albon.

Family/Spouse: Margaret of Mâcon. Margaret (daughter of Stephen I of Burgundy and Beatrix) was born about 1100; died in 1163. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Guillaume III of Forcalquier. Guillaume (son of Armengol IV and Adelaide) was born about 1083; died in 1129. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: William I of Geneva. William (son of Amadeus I and Matilda of Cuiseaux) was born in 1130; died on 25 Jul 1195. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Also called Alix Elise; Auxilie Alise.

Alix married Humbert III de Beaujeu about 1140. Humbert (son of Guichard III de Beaujeu and Lucienne de Rochefort-Montlhéry) was born in 1137; died in 1194. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: 3 Dec 1157, Coimbra, Portugal

Notes:

Also called Mahaut; Maud; Matilda; Mafalda de Saboia.

Mafalda married Affonso I Henriques, King of Portugal in 1146. Affonso (son of Henry of Burgundy and Teresa of León And Castile) was born on 15 Jul 1110; died on 6 Dec 1185 in Coimbra, Portugal; was buried in Monastery of Santa Cruz, Coimbra, Portugal. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Also called Humbert. Count of Savoy, Maurienne, and Turin.

From Tom Major's "Saint of the Day" site:

March 4 -- Feast of Blessed Umberto III of Savoy

Humbert Humbert is the creepy stepfather narrating Nabokov's Lolita. He has a thing for young girls--nymphets, he calls them.

Humbert III had an opposite problem. He had a monastic vocation. Christopher Cope's The Lost Kingdom of Burgundy says that he "was disconsolate at being a prince and preferred the seclusion of the monastery." Unfortunately for him, he was the only son of Amadeus, Duke of Savoy. When Amadeus died, the thirteen-year-old Umberto was plunked on the throne, like it or not, shut up and put your crown back on, Your Grace.

The primary responsibility of any landed nobleman in the feudal age was to have a son, of course. This would mean that inheritance was clear and no wars for succession would be fought. There's nothing wrong with young Faidiva of Toulouse, Your Grace. Now do your duty and get into bed. Sadly, poor Faidiva died young. Eighteen-year-old Umberto, having done his best, entered a Carthusian monastery.

Not so fast, your Grace. Blood will run through the streets of Cambrai if you don't come back and get married again. Here's lovely Gertrude of Flanders. I know you two will hit it off. Oh my, it's getting late. Off to bed with the two of you.

They didn't 'hit it off.' In fact, Umberto divorced her and locked her up. Bishop Robert kindly let her out and sent her back to her brother, the Count of Flanders, but still there was no heir.

Your Grace, we know you haven't had much joy in marriage. No, we're not suggesting anything. We just think it is worth trying again. Third times a charm, they say. And take a look at Clementia of Zahringen! She's the divorced wife of Henry the Lion of Saxony. Now, now. You're divorced yourself, you know. And besides, she's got a track record. A son and two daughters by Henry. Not another word about it, Your Grace. Now get busy.

Clementia made a valiant effort, bearing two daughters before her death. Despondent over the loss of another wife, Henry thought about withdrawing to a monastery in grief but wiser heads prevailed.

The way of all flesh, Your Grace. Speaking of which, you yourself are not getting any younger, you know. You turned forty this year, sir, and we still don't have an heir. Have you met Beatrice of Viennois? Yes, she's thirty-eight, but there's plenty of child-bearing time left. Well, not plenty, but enough. If Your Grace gets the lead out.

Tommaso of Savoy was born in 1178. Saint Anthelm himself had blessed Umberto three times to help bring young Thomas (named for Thomas á Becket) into the world. Tommaso was about ten when Umberto, having founded the Monastery of Sant'Antonio di Ranverso, died.

When I read about Humbert's divorce and imprisonment of his ex-wife, I wondered how this guy got beatified. But on reflection, he plainly had a divine vocation, and he sacrificed that for the sake of temporal responsibilities. It might seem to be the opposite of Jesus' advice to the rich young ruler in Luke 18:18-27, but perhaps it is not. Maybe the act of sacrifice, whether one is giving up the riches of the palace or the austerity of the monastery, is what stores up treasure in the Kingdom of Heaven.

*****

Note that Umberto and his fourth wife Beatrice were second cousins once removed, as William "The Great" of Burgundy (d. 1087) was his great-grandfather and her great-great grandfather. Presumably a papal dispensation was obtained.

Umberto married Beatrice de Mâcon about 1175. Beatrice (daughter of Gerard I of Burgundy and Guyonne de Salins) died before 8 Apr 1230 in Champagne-et-Fontaine, Aquitaine, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Beatrice married Guillaime I de Poitiers in 1178. Guillaime (son of Aymar de Poitiers) died in 1187. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Marquise married Guillaume VII d'Auvergne about 1150. Guillaume (son of Robert III d'Auvergne) was born about 1120; died about 1169. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Count of Vennois and Albon.

Family/Spouse: Béatrix. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Count of Forcalquier.

Family/Spouse: Josserande de Flotte. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Humbert married Agnes de Thiern about 1160. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: Abt 1151

Notes:

"Su última aparición en la documentación medieval fue en 1211 cuando donó a la Catedral de Zamora la villa de Castrotorafe que había recibido como parte de las arras entregadas por rey Fernando en 1165." [Spanish-language Wikipedia]

Urraca married Fernando II, King of Leon, Galicia, and Extremadura in 1165. Fernando (son of Alfonso VII, King of Leon and Castile and Berenguela of Barcelona) was born in 1137; died on 22 Jan 1188 in Benavente, Italy; was buried in Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Sancho married Dulce of Barcelona in 1174. Dulce (daughter of Ramon IV Berengar and Petronila of Aragón, Queen of Aragón) was born about 1159; died on 1 Sep 1198 in Coimbra, Portugal. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: 1178, Aiguebelle, Savoy
• Alternate birth: 20 May 1178
• Alternate death: 1 Mar 1233, Moncalieri, Piedmont, Italy

Notes:

Count of Savoy. He was named after Thomas Becket.

Tomaso married Margaret of Geneva in May 1195. Margaret (daughter of William I of Geneva and Beatrice de Faucigny) died on 13 Apr 1236. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Philippa. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Comte de Clermont.

From Leo Van de Pas:

Robert Dauphin was born about 1150, the son of Guillaume VII 'le jeune', comte d'Auvergne, and Marquise d'Albon. He was not the count of Auvergne as his father had been dispossessed of Auvergne by his uncle, who ruled Auvergne as Guillaume VIII, known as 'le vieux', and passed Auvergne to his son. Robert called himself Dauphin in memory of his mother, whose brother Guigues V d'Albon was the first to take the title of Dauphin de Viennois.

Robert became count of Clermont on the death of his father about 1169. As his apanage he received the lordships of Issoire, Chamalières, Montrognon, Plauzat, Champeix, Crocq, Aurières, Neschers, Chanonat, Chauriat and Rochefort, as well as the castellany of Vodable, encompassing the estates of Solignat, Ronzières, Antoing, Mazerat, Longchamp, Le Broc, Mareughol, Bergonne, Collanges, etc. This domain, with its capital of Vodable, was designated as the dauphiné d'Auvergne, and Robert was its first dauphin. He abandoned the arms of the counts of Auvergne and replaced them with those of Albon de Viennois. His seal showed a dolphin with the inscription _Sigillum Delphini._

Robert was renowned for his patronage of the arts, and was himself a troubadour, called in Occitan 'el bons Dalfins d'Alvernhe'. Many troubadours were employed by him or sang at his court, including Peirol, Perdigon, Peire de Maensac, Gaucelm Faidit, and Uc de Saint Circ. His cousin Robert d'Auvergne, bishop of Clermont, and Richard 'the Lionheart', exchanged erotic verses with him.

Family/Spouse: Unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Countess of Vennois, Albon, and Grenoble.

Beatrice married Hugh III of Burgundy on 1 Sep 1183 in Saint-Gilles, Languedoc, France. Hugh (son of Odo II of Burgundy and Marie de Champagne) was born about 1148; died on 25 Aug 1192 in Tyre; was buried in Abbey of Cîteaux, Dijon, Côte-d'Or, Burgundy, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Count of Forcalquier.

Family/Spouse: Adelaida de Bézières. Adelaida was born between 1130 and 1135. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]