Boniface (1245–1263) 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 1253 to 1263, succeeding his father Amadeus IV. He never married and thus left no heir.

Career

Boniface 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 ...

. Since he became Count of Savoy at the age of nine, he required a regency. Throughout the decade before his death, Savoy was governed through a joint regency resembling that devised for his grandfather

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

in 1189, in which authority was shared between his mother,

Cecile of Baux Cecile of Baux (1230–1275), was a Countess Consort of Savoy; married in 1244 to Amadeus IV, Count of Savoy. She was the daughter of Barral of Baux and his wife, Sibylle d'Anduze. She was the Regent of Savoy during the minority of her son, Bon ...

, and one of his uncles,

Thomas II of Piedmont Thomas II (c. 1199 – 7 February 1259) was the Lord of Piedmont from 1233 to his death, Count of Flanders ''jure uxoris'' from 1237 to 1244, and regent of the County of Savoy from 1253 to his death, while his nephew Boniface was fighting abroa ...

. Boniface's other uncles,

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

and

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...

, disputed this, seeking to divide the county's many properties, but Thomas took it to arbitration per the family treaty of 1234 which had been negotiated by his brother

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

and won out. Peter and Philip were, however, granted compensation in return, receiving more properties within the county. When Thomas died in 1259, Cecile continued as regent in Savoy. Under her regency, Philip and Peter continued their previous work of expanding the control and influence over the County of Savoy. Boniface's campaigns in

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

and

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

were not successful. In September 1262,

Rudolf of Geneva Rudolf or Rudolph (French: ''Raoul'' or ''Rodolphe de Genève'') was the Count of Geneva from 1252 until his death in 1265. He was the eldest son of William II, and was described by a Renaissance historian as “the more quarrelsome son of a quarr ...

offered homage to cousin Boniface after yet another round of the war between Peter and their kin in Geneva. In 1263, Boniface was mortally wounded in battle and died, to be succeeded by his uncle Peter.

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Boniface, Count of Savoy 1245 births 1263 deaths 13th-century Counts of Savoy People from Chambéry Military personnel killed in action