Mahaut of Albon

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]

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]

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]

Guichard married Sybille de Hainaut in 1196. Sybille (daughter of Baldwin V of Flanders and Marguerite of Lorraine) was born in 1179; died in 1217. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: 1166

Notes:

Called "el Baboso," "the Slobberer," supposedly because he was subject to fits of rage during which he foamed at the mouth. Despite this, he is also notable for having founded the University of Salamanca and for convening what was arguably the first parliament in Western Europe that included representatives of the urban bourgeoisie. Our theory is that he was a marooned time-traveler from the future: if you found yourself stuck in twelfth-century Spain, you'd foam at the mouth once in a while too.

From Wikipedia:

In spite of the democratic precedent represented by the Cortes and the founding of the University of Salamanca, Alfonso is often chiefly remembered for the difficulties his successive marriages caused between him with Pope Celestine III. He was first married in 1191 to his first cousin, Theresa of Portugal, who bore him two daughters, and a son who died young. The marriage was declared null by the papal legate Cardinal Gregory for consanguinity.

After Alfonso VIII of Castile was defeated at the Battle of Alarcos, Alfonso IX invaded Castile with the aid of Muslim troops. He was summarily excommunicated by Pope Celestine III. In 1197, Alfonso IX married his first cousin once removed, Berengaria of Castile, to cement peace between León and Castile. For this second act of consanguinity, the king and the kingdom were placed under interdict by representatives of the Pope. In 1198, Pope Innocent III declared Alfonso and Berengaria's marriage invalid, but they stayed together until 1204. The annulment of this marriage by the pope drove the younger Alfonso to again attack his cousin in 1204, but treaties made in 1205, 1207, and 1209 each forced him to concede further territories and rights. The treaty in 1207 is the first existing public document in the Castilian dialect.

The Pope was, however, compelled to modify his measures by the threat that, if the people could not obtain the services of religion, they would not support the clergy, and that heresy would spread. The king was left under interdict personally, but to that he showed himself indifferent, and he had the support of his clergy. Berengaria left him after the birth of five children, and the king then returned to Theresa, to whose daughters he left his kingdom in his will.

Family/Spouse: Aldonza Martinez da Silva. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Alfonso married Berenguela I of Castile, Queen Of Castile & Toledo before 17 Dec 1197 in Valladolid, Castile, Spain. Berenguela (daughter of Alfonso VIII, King of Castile, Toledo, and Extramadura and Eleanor of England) was born about 1180; died on 8 Nov 1246 in Las Huelgas, near Burgos, Castile, Spain; was buried in Abbey of Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas, Burgos, Castile, Spain. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Urraca of Castile. Urraca (daughter of Alfonso VIII, King of Castile, Toledo, and Extramadura and Eleanor of England) was born between 1186 and 1187; died on 3 Nov 1220 in Coimbra, Portugal. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Infanta de Portugal.

Berengaria married Valdemar II Sejr, King of Denmark between 1213 and 1214. Valdemar (son of Valdemar I den Store, King of Denmark and Sofie of Polotsk) was born on 28 Jun 1170; died on 28 Mar 1241. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Beatrice married Raymond Berenger on 5 Dec 1220. Raymond (son of Alfonso II and Garsenda of Sabran) was born about 1195; died on 19 Aug 1245 in Aix-en-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône, France; was buried in Church of the Knights of St. John, Aix-en-Provence, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Béatrix di Fiesco. Béatrix (daughter of Tedisio di Fiesco) died on 15 Jul 1283. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: 11 Jul 1253, Montmelian, Savoie, Rhône-Alpes, France
• Alternate death: 13 Jul 1253

Notes:

Also called Amadeo, Amadeus. Count of Savoy. "Generally a supporter of Friedrich II in Italy, who made him Duke of Chablais in 1238, but after his death a supporter of the pope; with the financial help of Henry III of England won additional lands to provide for his brothers; curtailed the power of local lords by enhancing that of appointed officials." [The Ancestry of Dorothea Poyntz, citation details below.]

Amedee married Marguerite of Burgundy in 1222. Marguerite (daughter of Hugh III of Burgundy and Beatrice of Albon) was born in 1192; died in 1242. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]