Margaret of Savoy (April 1439 – 9 March 1483), also known as Marguerite de Savoie or Margherita di Savoia, was the eldest surviving daughter of

Louis I, Duke of Savoy Ludovico I or Louis I (Italian: Lodovico; 24 February 1413 – 29 January 1465) was Duke of Savoy from 1440 until his death in 1465. Life He was born at Geneva the son of Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy and Mary of Burgundy; he was the first to ho ...

. She was the wife of Margrave

John IV of Montferrat John IV Palaeologus (Italian: ''Giovanni IV Paleologo'') (June 24, 1413 – January 19, 1464) was the Margrave of Montferrat from 1445 until his death. The eldest of four brothers and two sisters, he was born near Casale in the castle of Pontes ...

, and later the wife of

Peter II of Luxembourg Peter II (''Pierre de Luxembourg''; – 25 October 1482) was Count of Saint-Pol, of Brienne, Marle, and Soissons. In 1478, Peter was made a knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece. He was the second eldest son of Louis de Luxembourg, Co ...

Count of Saint-Pol The county of Saint-Pol (or ''Sint-Pols'') was a county around the French city of Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise (''Sint-Pols-aan-de-Ternas'') on the border of Artois and Picardy, formerly the county of Ternois. For a long time the county belonged to Fl ...

, of

Brienne The County of Brienne was a medieval county in France centered on Brienne-le-Château. Counts of Brienne * Engelbert I * Engelbert II * Engelbert III * Engelbert IV * Walter I (? – c. 1090) * Erard I (c. 1090 – c. 1120?) * Walter II ...

, Marle, and

Soissons Soissons () is a commune in the northern French department of Aisne, in the region of Hauts-de-France. Located on the river Aisne, about northeast of Paris, it is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital ...

Life

Margaret was born in April 1439 in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

, Italy, the eldest surviving daughter and one of the nineteen children of

and Princess

Anne of Cyprus Anne of Cyprus (or Anne de Lusignan) (24 September 1418 – 11 November 1462) was a Duchess of Savoy by marriage to Louis, Duke of Savoy. She was the daughter of King Janus of Cyprus and Charlotte of Bourbon; and a member of the ...

. Her paternal grandparents were

Amadeus VIII of Savoy 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 ...

, who was also the

Antipope An antipope ( la, antipapa) is a person who makes a significant and substantial attempt to occupy the position of Bishop of Rome and leader of the Catholic Church in opposition to the legitimately elected pope. At times between the 3rd and mid- ...

Felix V, and Mary of Burgundy. Her maternal grandparents were King Janus of Cyprus and Armenia and

Charlotte de Bourbon Charlotte of Bourbon (1546/1547 – 5 May 1582) was a Princess consort of Orange as the third spouse of William the Silent, Prince of Orange, the main leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish. She was the fourth daughter of Louis III de Bou ...

Marriages and issue

In December 1458 at Casale, she married her first husband, John IV, Margrave of Montferrat, the son of

John Jacob of Montferrat John Jacob Palaeologus (Italian: ''Giovanni Giacomo Paleologo'') (March 23, 1395 – March 12, 1445) was the Margrave of Montferrat from 1418 to 1445. He was born in Trino, Piedmont, the son of Theodore II of Montferrat, with whom he collaborat ...

and Joan of Savoy. He was a

condottiere ''Condottieri'' (; singular ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italian captains in command of mercenary companies during the Middle Ages and of multinational armies during the early modern period. They notably served popes and other Europe ...

for the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

during the

Wars in Lombardy The Wars in Lombardy were a series of conflicts between the Republic of Venice and the Duchy of Milan and their respective allies, fought in four campaigns in a struggle for hegemony in Northern Italy that ravaged the economy of Lombardy and ...

which were a series of conflicts fought between

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

and

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, and their various allies. Margaret brought a dowry of 100,000

scudi The ''scudo'' (pl. ''scudi'') was the name for a number of coins used in various states in the Italian peninsula until the 19th century. The name, like that of the French écu and the Spanish and Portuguese escudo, was derived from the Latin ''scu ...

, and in return received

Trino Trino ( pms, Trin) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Vercelli in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about southwest of Vercelli, at the foot of the Montferrat hills. Trino borders the following mun ...

, Morano,

Borgo San Martino Borgo San Martino is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about east of Turin and about northwest of Alessandria. Borgo San Martino borders the following municipalities: Casale Monf ...

, and

Mombaruzzo Mombaruzzo is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about southeast of Asti. Mombaruzzo borders the following municipalities: Bruno, Carentino, Cassine, Castelnu ...

. The marriage was childless, although John fathered several illegitimate children. He died on 19 January 1464, leaving her a widow at the age of twenty-five. Two and a half years later, on 12 July 1466, Margaret married her second husband, Peter II of Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol and Soissons, the second eldest son of Louis of Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol and Brienne and

Jeanne de Bar, Countess of Marle and Soissons Jeanne de Bar, suo jure Countess of Marle and Soissons, Dame d'Oisy, Viscountess of Meaux, and Countess of Saint-Pol, of Brienne, de Ligny, and Conversano (1415 – 14 May 1462) was a noble French heiress and Sovereign Countess. She was the only c ...

. The marriage produced five children: * Louis of Luxembourg (died young) * Claude of Luxembourg (died young) * Antoine of Luxembourg (died young) *

Marie of Luxembourg Marie of Luxembourg (1304 – 26 March 1324) was Queen of France and Navarre as the second wife of King Charles IV and I. She was the daughter of Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor and Margaret of Brabant. Her two siblings were John of Luxembou ...

, married firstly, her uncle,

Jacques of Savoy, Count of Romont Jacques of Savoy (12 November 1450 – 30 January 1486) was Count of Romont and Lord of Vaud. Count of Romont and Lord of Vaud He was the 7th son of Louis, Duke of Savoy and Anne de Lusignan. The House of Savoy possessed the Lordship of Vau ...

, by whom she had a daughter, Francisca of Savoy. Marie married secondly, Francis de Bourbon, Count of Vendôme, by whom she had six children, including

Charles de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "f ...

and

Antoinette de Bourbon Antoinette of Bourbon (25 December 1494 – 22 January 1583), was a French noblewoman of the House of Bourbon. She was the wife of Claude of Lorraine, Duke of Guise. Life Antoinette de Bourbon was born on 25 December 1494 at the Chateau de Ha ...

, wife of

Claude, Duke of Guise Claude de Lorraine, Duke of Guise (20 October 1496 – 12 April 1550) was a French aristocrat and general. He became the first Duke of Guise in 1528. He was a highly effective general for the French crown. His children and grandchildren were to ...

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scot ...

, King

Henry IV of France Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarc ...

, and the

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gr ...

Dukes of Guise Count of Guise and Duke of Guise (pronounced �ɥiz were titles in the French nobility. Originally a seigneurie, in 1417 Guise was erected into a county for René, a younger son of Louis II of Anjou. While disputed by the House of Luxembourg ( ...

were Marie's direct descendants. * Francisca of Luxembourg, Dame d'Enghien (died 5 December 1523), married

Philip of Cleves, Lord of Ravenstein Philip of Cleves (1459 in Le Quesnoy – 28 January 1528 in Wijnendale Castle), Lord of Ravenstein, Wijnendale and Enghien, was a nobleman from the Low Countries and army commander, first for Maximilian of Austria, then for Flemish rebels and ...

(died 28 January 1528).

Death

Margaret died at Bruges on 9 March 1483, less than six months after her husband Pierre, and she was buried at the Abbey of Happlaincourt. Margaret was survived by her two daughters, Marie and Françoise, her three sons having died in early infancy.

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marguerite Of Savoy 1439 births 1483 deaths 15th-century Italian nobility 15th-century Italian women Princesses of Savoy Palaiologos dynasty Nobility from Turin Marchionesses of Montferrat