Amadeus VII (24 February 1360 – 1 November 1391), known as the Red Count, was

Count of Savoy The titles of count, then of duke of Savoy are titles of nobility attached to the historical territory of Savoy. Since its creation, in the 11th century, the county was held by the House of Savoy. The County of Savoy was elevated to a duchy at the ...

from 1383 to 1391.

Biography

Amadeus was born in

Chambéry Chambéry (, , ; Arpitan: ''Chambèri'') is the prefecture of the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of eastern France. The population of the commune of Chambéry was 58,917 as of 2019, while the population of the Chambér ...

on 24 February 1360, the son of Count

Amadeus VI of Savoy Amadeus VI (4 January 1334 – 1 March 1383), nicknamed the Green Count ( it, Il Conte Verde) was Count of Savoy from 1343 to 1383. He was the eldest son of Aymon, Count of Savoy, and Yolande Palaeologina of Montferrat. Though he started unde ...

and

Bonne of Bourbon Bonne of Bourbon (1341 – 19 January 1402) was a Countess of Savoy by marriage to Amadeus VI of Savoy. She served as regent of Savoy during the absence of her spouse from 1366 to 1367, with her son in 1383, and finally during the minority of he ...

. Although he succeeded his father in 1383, he had to share power with his mother. In 1384, in order to suppress a revolt against his relative Edward of Savoy,

Bishop of Sion The Diocese of Sion ( la, Dioecesis Sedunensis, french: Diocèse de Sion, german: Bistum Sitten) is a Catholic ecclesiastical territory in the canton of Valais, Switzerland. It is the oldest bishopric in the country and one of the oldest north of ...

, Amadeus led an army that attacked and pillaged

Sion Sion may refer to * an alternative transliteration of Zion People * Sion (name) or Siôn, a Welsh and other given name and surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Shion or Sion, a Japanese given name Pl ...

. In 1388, he acquired territories in eastern

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

and the port city of

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

, thus giving the County of Savoy access to the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

. Amadeus died from

tetanus Tetanus, also known as lockjaw, is a bacterial infection caused by ''Clostridium tetani'', and is characterized by muscle spasms. In the most common type, the spasms begin in the jaw and then progress to the rest of the body. Each spasm usually ...

European Cases of the Reincarnation Type
By Ian Stevenson, M.D., p. 19. on 1 November 1391, as a result of a hunting accident. Upon his death, controversy arose because of his will. Amadeus left the important role of guardian of his son and heir,

Amadeus VIII Amadeus VIII (4 September 1383 – 7 January 1451), nicknamed the Peaceful, was Count of Savoy from 1391 to 1416 and Duke of Savoy from 1416 to 1440. He was the son of Amadeus VII, Count of Savoy and Bonne of Berry. He was a claimant to the papac ...

, to his own mother, a sister of the powerful Duke de Bourbon, instead of following the tradition of appointing the child's mother, who was a daughter of the equally powerful Duke de Berry. Due to the dispute between his mother and his wife, rumors that Amadeus had been poisoned emerged soon after his death. It took three months of negotiations to restore peace in the family. Amadeus was known for his hospitality, for he would entertain people of all stations and never turned a person from his table without a meal.

Marriage and children

Amadeus married

Bonne of Berry Bonne of Berry (1367 – 30 December 1435) was a French countess. She was Countess of Savoy by marriage to Amadeus VII, Count of Savoy. When she was widowed, she unsuccesfully claimed the regency during her son's minority against her mother-in-l ...

, daughter of John, Duke of Berry, who was the younger brother of King

Charles V of France Charles V (21 January 1338 – 16 September 1380), called the Wise (french: le Sage; la, Sapiens), was King of France from 1364 to his death in 1380. His reign marked an early high point for France during the Hundred Years' War, with his armi ...

. They had three children: *

, later known as

Antipope Felix V Amadeus VIII (4 September 1383 – 7 January 1451), nicknamed the Peaceful, was Count of Savoy from 1391 to 1416 and Duke of Savoy from 1416 to 1440. He was the son of Amadeus VII, Count of Savoy and Bonne of Berry. He was a claimant to the papa ...

, married Mary of Burgundy (1380–1422), daughter of Philip the Bold. *Bonne (d. 1432), married

Louis of Piedmont Louis (1364 – 11 December 1418) was the Lord of Piedmont and titular Prince of Achaea from 1402. He was a son of James of Piedmont and Marguerite de Beaujeu (1346–1402). In 1405, he founded the University of Turin. On 24 January 1403, he marri ...

, the final of the Savoy-Achaea Branch. *Joan (d. 1460), married Giangiacomo Paleologo,

marquis of Montferrat The Marquises and Dukes of Montferrat were the rulers of a territory in Piedmont south of the Po and east of Turin called Montferrat. The March of Montferrat was created by Berengar II of Italy in 950 during a redistribution of power in the no ...

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Amadeus 7, Count of Savoy 1360 births 1391 deaths People from Chambéry 14th-century Counts of Savoy Deaths from tetanus Burials at Hautecombe Abbey