St. Umberto

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]

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]

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]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: 25 Jun 1291, Amesbury Priory, Wiltshire, England

Notes:

"She was buried on 11 September 1291 in the Abbey of St Mary and St Melor, Amesbury on 9 December. The exact site of her grave at the abbey is unknown making her the only English queen without a marked grave. Her heart was taken to London where it was buried at the Franciscan priory." [Wikipedia]

Eleanor married Henry III, King of England on 14 Jan 1236 in Canterbury Cathedral, Canterbury, Kent, England. Henry (son of John, King of England and Isabel of Angoulême, Queen Consort of England) was born on 1 Oct 1207 in Winchester Castle, Hampshire, England; died on 16 Nov 1272 in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England; was buried in Westminster Abbey, Westminster, Middlesex, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: 9 Nov 1262, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England

Notes:

Also called Sancha de Provence.

Sancie married Richard of Cornwall, King of the Romans on 23 Nov 1243 in Westminster Abbey, Westminster, Middlesex, England. Richard (son of John, King of England and Isabel of Angoulême, Queen Consort of England) was born on 5 Jan 1209 in Winchester Castle, Hampshire, England; died on 2 Apr 1272 in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England; was buried in Hailes Abbey, Gloucestershire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Margaret married St. Louis IX, King of France on 27 May 1234 in Sens, Yonne, France. Louis (son of Louis VIII, King of France and Blanche of Castile, Queen Consort of France) was born on 25 Apr 1214 in Castle of Poissy, Yvelines, Île-de-France, France; died on 25 Aug 1270 in near Tunis, Africa; was buried in Abbey of Saint-Denis, Saint-Denis, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Beatrice married Charles I Etienne, King of Naples and Sicily on 31 Jan 1246. Charles (son of Louis VIII, King of France and Blanche of Castile, Queen Consort of France) was born in Mar 1226; died on 7 Jan 1285. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Margaret married Baldwin de Revières in 1257. Baldwin (son of Baldwin de Revières and Amice de Clare) was born on 1 Jan 1236; died before 13 Sep 1262 in France; was buried in Breamore Priory, Hampshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Margaret married Robert Aguillon in 1269. Robert (son of William Aguillon and Joan) was born in of Addington, Surrey, England; died on 15 Feb 1286. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Margereta married Boniface II on 9 Dec 1235. Boniface (son of Guillermo VIII-VI and Berta de Clavesena) was born about 1202; died between 12 Jun 1253 and 10 Dec 1256. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Beatrice married Manfredo III di Saluzzo in Mar 1233. Manfredo (son of Bonifacio di Saluzzo and Maria di Torres) was born about 1204; died before 12 Oct 1244. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Beatrice married Manfredo, King of Sicily about 1248. Manfredo (son of Friedrich II, Holy Roman Emperor and Bianca Lancia) was born in 1232; died on 26 Feb 1266. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]