Alessina de Monferrato

Alessina married Albrecht I on 1 Nov 1266. Albrecht (son of Otto I of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Matilde von Brandenburg) was born in 1236; died on 15 Aug 1279. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Heinrich I of Brunswick was born in Aug 1267; died on 7 Sep 1322.
2. Albrecht II of Brunswick was born about 1268; died on 22 Sep 1318; was buried in Brunswick Cathedral, Braunschweig, Lower Saxony, Germany.
3. Matilde was born in 1276; died before 31 Aug 1318.

Notes:

"The Giant." Marchese de Monferrato.

Boniface married Margereta of Savoy on 9 Dec 1235. Margereta (daughter of Amedee of Savoy and Marguerite of Burgundy) died in 1254. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Marchese de Monferrato. Pretender to the kingdom of Thessalonica. Died in the midst of endless delays to his plans to reconquer his father's holdings.

Guillermo married Berta de Clavesena before 9 Aug 1202. [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]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: 1243
• Alternate death: Bef 1244

Notes:

Also called Anna or Anne of Burgundy.

Notes:

Marchese de Monferrato. Crusader who led a long and complex life. Killed in an ambush by the Bulgarians, who sent his head to their tsar.

Boniface married Elena di Busca before 1179. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Marquis de Clavesana.

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]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: Aft 1256
• Alternate death: 8 Sep 1257

Notes:

Also called Beatrice of Geneva.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: 25 Aug 1192, Acre, Palestine

Notes:

Duke of Burgundy.

Hugh married Beatrice of Albon on 1 Sep 1183 in Saint-Gilles, Languedoc, France. Beatrice (daughter of Guigues X of Albon and Béatrix) was born in 1161; died on 15 Dec 1228 in Château de Vizille, Vizille, Isère, France; was buried in Hayes Abbey, near Grenoble, Isère, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Countess of Vennois, Albon, and Grenoble.

Notes:

Also Guilhem, Gugliemo, Guillermo. Marquess of Montferrat.

From Wikipedia:

Dynastically, he was extremely well-connected: a nephew of Pope Callixtus II, a half-brother of Amadeus III of Savoy, a brother-in-law of Louis VI of France (through his half-sister Adelasia of Moriana), and cousin of Alfonso VII of Castile. [...] William and Judith's powerful dynastic connections created difficulties in finding suitable wives for his sons, however: too many potential spouses were related within prohibited degrees. In 1167, he unsuccessfully tried to negotiate marriages for his eldest sons to daughters of Henry II of England - but the girls were very young at the time and were related through Judith's descent from William V of Aquitaine. He then applied for sisters of William I of Scotland, who were not related, but were already married.

[...]

William took part in the Second Crusade, alongside his half-brother Amadeus of Savoy (who died during the campaign), his nephew Louis VII of France, his brother-in-law Count Guido of Biandrate, and his wife's German and Austrian relatives.

As supporters of the imperial party (later known as the Ghibellines), he and his sons fought [alongside] the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa (Judith's nephew) in his lengthy struggle against the Lombard League. Following Barbarossa's capitulation with the Peace of Venice in 1177, William was left to deal with the rebellious towns in the area alone. Meanwhile, the Byzantine emperor Manuel I Komnenos sought support for his own politics in Italy.

William broke with Barbarossa and formed an alliance with Manuel. His eldest surviving son, Conrad, was taken prisoner by Barbarossa's Chancellor, Archbishop Christian of Mainz, but then captured the chancellor in battle at Camerino. In 1179 Manuel suggested a marriage between his daughter Maria, second in line to the throne, and one of William's sons. As Conrad and Boniface were already married, the youngest son, Renier, was married off to the princess, who was ten years his senior. Renier and Maria were later killed during the usurpation of Andronikos, and the family rebuilt ties with Barbarossa.

In 1183, with the accession of his grandson Baldwin V, a minor, as co-King of Jerusalem, William, then probably in his late sixties, left the government of Montferrat to Conrad and Boniface, and returned to the east. He was granted the castle of St. Elias (present-day Taybeh). He fought in the Battle of Hattin in 1187, where he was captured by Saladin's forces. In the meantime, his second son, Conrad, had arrived at Tyre from Constantinople. Conrad was given the command of the defences. During the siege of Tyre in November that year, he is said to have refused to surrender as much as a stone of its walls to liberate his father, even threatening to shoot him with a crossbow himself when Saladin had him presented as a hostage. Eventually, Saladin withdrew his army from Tyre. In 1188, William was released unharmed at Tortosa, and seems to have ended his days in Tyre, with his son. He probably died in the summer of 1191: Conrad last describes himself as "marchionis Montisferrati filius" in a charter of May that year.

William married Judith of Babenberg before 28 Mar 1133. Judith (daughter of St. Leopold von Babenberg and Agnes of Germany) was born in 1115; died after 18 Oct 1168. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Also called Jutta, Julitta, Ita, Judith von Österreich.

Notes:

Marchese del Bosco. Mentioned 1167.

Notes:

Marquis of Ceva.

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]

Notes:

Also called Beatrix d'Ivrea de Vienne; Beatrice of Viennois.

Notes:

Count of Geneva.

William married Beatrice de Faucigny after 1172. Beatrice (daughter of Aymon I de Faucigny) died between 1174 and 1179. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: Abt 1120
• Alternate death: 27 Sep 1162

Notes:

Duke of Burgundy.

Odo married Marie de Champagne in 1145. Marie (daughter of Thibaut IV of Blois, Champagne, and Troyes and Mathilde of Carinthia) was born in 1128; died about 1190. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Also called Marie of Blois.

Notes:

Count of Vennois and Albon.

Guigues married Béatrix. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Also called Renier. Margrave of Montferrat.

Rainier married Gisela of Burgundy in 1105. Gisela (daughter of William I "The Great" of Burgundy and Stephanie) was born about 1070; died after 1133. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Marchioness of Montferrat.

Notes:

Margrave of Austria.

From Wikipedia:

Saint Leopold III (German: Luitpold, 1073 – 15 November 1136), known as Leopold the Good, was the Margrave of Austria from 1095 to his death in 1136. He was a member of the House of Babenberg. He was canonized on 6 January 1485 [by Innocent VII] and became the patron saint of Austria, Lower Austria, Upper Austria, and Vienna. His feast day is 15 November. [...]

Leopold called himself "Princeps Terræ", a reflection of his sense of territorial independence. He was considered a candidate in the election of the Kaiser of the Holy Roman Empire in 1125, but declined this honour.

He is mainly remembered for the development of the country and, in particular, the founding of several monasteries. His most important foundation is Klosterneuburg (1108). According to legend, the Virgin Mary appeared to him and led him to a place where he found the veil of his wife Agnes, who had lost it years earlier. He established the Klosterneuburg Monastery there. He subsequently expanded the settlement to become his residence.

Leopold also founded the monasteries of Heiligenkreuz, Kleinmariazell and Seitenstetten which developed a territory still largely covered by forest. All of these induced the church to canonize him in 1485.

Leopold also fostered the development of cities, such as Klosterneuburg, Vienna and Krems. The last one was granted the right to mint but never attained great importance.

Leopold married Agnes of Germany in 1106. Agnes (daughter of Heinrich IV, Holy Roman Emperor and Bertha of Turin) was born in 1073; died on 24 Sep 1143; was buried in Klosterneuberg, Austria. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Also called Agnes of Waiblingen; Agnes von Franken.

Notes:

First Marquess of Saluzzo.

Manfredo married Eliana. Eliana was born about 1110. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Van de Pas shows her as Eliani "di Arborea," daughter of Gonnario II, jure uxoris Judge of Arborea, and Eliana de Lacon-Zori, daughter and heir of Comita I, Judge of Arborea, but he notes that this identification is "not rock solid." This couple is already identifiably ancestral to TNH (and millions of other English and American descendants of Richard Fitz Alan and Alice of Saluzzo) through their son Constantine I.

Arborea was one of the four giudicati, principalities held and ruled by judges, that formed on Sardinia as Byzantine power gradually withdrew from the island. These were effectively independent by the mid-11th century, although they fell into the hands of foreign dynasties over the next several generations.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: Abt 1130

Notes:

Also called Boniface of Saluzzo, Bonifacio de Saluces, Bonifacio di Revello, Boniface de Clavesana, etc. Margrave of Savona and Western Liguria.

Boniface married Agnes de Vermandois after 1111. Agnes (daughter of Hugues le Grand and Adèle de Vermandois) died after 1125. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Count of Savoy, Maurienne, and Turin. Died on crusade.

"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." [Wikipedia]

Amadeo married Mahaut of Albon in 1123. Mahaut (daughter of Guigues VIII of Albon and Matilda) died after 1145. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Also called Matilda.

Notes:

Also called Géraud of Mâcon. Count of Mâcon and Vienna.

Gerard married Guyonne de Salins about 1160. Guyonne (daughter of Gaucher de Salins) died after 1200. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Also called Guigonne.

Notes:

Count of Geneva.

Amadeus married Matilda of Cuiseaux. Matilda (daughter of Hugh) died on 2 Jul 1137. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Duke of Burgundy. Regent, 1101-02.

Hugh married Mathilde of Mayenne about 1115. Mathilde (daughter of Gauthier IV and Adelina de Presles) died after 1162 in Beaune, Burgundy, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Also called Matilda de Turenne.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: 1093, Blois, Loir-et-Cher, France

Notes:

Count of Blois, Champagne, and Troyes. Nicknamed "le Grand".

Thibaut married Mathilde of Carinthia in 1123. Mathilde (daughter of Engelbert II von Sponheim and Uta of Passau) died on 13 Dec 1160 in Fontevault, Maine-et-Loir, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: 13 Dec 1161, Fontevault, Maine-et-Loir, France

Notes:

Also called Machaldis, Matildis, Mathildis, Matirdis, etc. Also called Mathilde von Kärnten. Also called Mathilde of Sponheim.

Notes:

Count of Albon.

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

Notes:

Also called Marguerite de Bourgogne; Clemence.