Philip I (1207 – 16 August 1285) 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 ...

from 1268 to 1285. Before this, he was

Bishop of Valence The Roman Catholic Diocese of Valence (–Die–Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux) (Latin: ''Dioecesis Valentinensis (–Diensis–Sancti Pauli Tricastinorum)''; French: ''Diocèse de Valence (–Die–Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux'') is a diocese of the L ...

(1241–1267) and

Archbishop of Lyon The Archdiocese of Lyon (Latin: ''Archidiœcesis Lugdunensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Lyon''), formerly the Archdiocese of Lyon–Vienne–Embrun, is a Latin Church metropolitan archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. The Archbishops o ...

(1245–1267).

Ecclesiastical career

Philip was born in Aiguebelle, Savoy, as the eighth and last son of Count

Thomas I of Savoy Thomas Ι (''Tommaso I''; c. 1178 – 1 March 1233) was Count of Savoy from 1189 to 1233. He is sometimes numbered "Thomas I" to distinguish him from his son of the same name. His long reign marked a decisive period in the history of Savoy. Bi ...

and

Margaret of Geneva Margaret of Geneva (1180?–1252), was a countess of Savoy by marriage to Thomas I of Savoy.Eugene L. Cox, The Eagles of Savoy : The House of Savoy in Thirteenth-Century Europe, Princeton University Press, 2015 (réimpr. 2015) (1re éd. 1974), 5 ...

. His family prepared him for a clerical career. In 1236, 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 ...

was able to use his influence with

Henry III of England Henry III (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272), also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death in 1272. The son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, Henry a ...

to get Philip positions in the churches of Hillingdon, Oxney, and Geddington. In 1240, he was elected Bishop of Lausanne with the support of his brother

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 ...

, but had to resign. Instead, he became

in 1241. His brother

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 A ...

had Philip installed as chancellor of Flanders and prévôt of St-Donatien-de-Bruges. In 1243, while Henry was fighting in Gascony, Philip escorted his sister

Beatrice of Savoy Beatrice of Savoy (c. 1198 – c. 1267) was Countess consort of Provence by her marriage to Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence. She served as regent of her birth country Savoy during the absence of her brother in 1264. Early life She was th ...

and niece

Sanchia of Provence Sanchia of Provence (c. 1225 – 9 November 1261) was Queen of the Romans from 1257 until her death in 1261 as the wife of King Richard. Sanchia was the third daughter of Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence, and Beatrice of Savoy. She ...

to visit

Eleanor Eleanor () is a feminine given name, originally from an Old French adaptation of the Old Provençal name ''Aliénor''. It is the name of a number of women of royalty and nobility in western Europe during the High Middle Ages. The name was introd ...

, Henry, and their new baby Beatrice. This so cheered the besieged king that he lavished further gifts on the bishop. In 1244,

Pope Innocent IV Pope Innocent IV ( la, Innocentius IV; – 7 December 1254), born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 June 1243 to his death in 1254. Fieschi was born in Genoa and studied at the universitie ...

fled from Rome, and Philip convinced his brother, Count

Amadeus IV of Savoy Amadeus IV (119711 June 1253) was Count of Savoy from 1233 to 1253. Amadeus was born in Montmélian, Savoy. The legitimate heir of Thomas I of Savoy and Margaret of Geneva, he had however to fight with his brothers for the inheritance of Savo ...

, to let the pope pass through Savoy. Philip escorted the Pope to Lyon, and then remained with him to ensure his safety. Pope Innocent ensured Philip's election as

in 1245. While there, Philip continued his family's policies of governing through trade. In 1248 he negotiated with

Aymar III of Valentinois Aymar is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname: *Luciana Aymar (born 1977), Argentine field hockey midfielder *Marcel Aymar, Franco-Ontarian musician, composer, writer and actor *Robert Aymar, Director Gener ...

to reduce the taxes that traders would pay on foods travelling through his lands, and over the next few years he granted charters to towns throughout the area.

Reign

When, against expectations, Philip became the next heir for the County of Savoy, he gave his church offices up and married Countess Adelaide of Burgundy, on 12 June 1267. He became Count of Savoy in 1268, and in 1272 he also acquired the County of

Bresse Bresse () is a former French province. It is located in the regions of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté of eastern France. The geographical term ''Bresse'' has two meanings: ''Bresse bourguignonne'' (or ''louhannaise''), whi ...

. While he was at first successful in extending the power of Savoy, in 1282 he was opposed by a coalition of King Rudolph I,

Charles of Anjou Charles I (early 1226/12277 January 1285), commonly called Charles of Anjou, was a member of the royal Capetian dynasty and the founder of the second House of Anjou. He was Count of Provence (1246–85) and Forcalquier (1246–48, 1256–85) ...

(who was also

count of Provence The land of Provence has a history quite separate from that of any of the larger nations of Europe. Its independent existence has its origins in the frontier nature of the dukedom in Merovingian Gaul. In this position, influenced and affected by ...

), the

dauphin of Viennois The counts of Albon (''comtes d'Albon'') were members of the medieval nobility in what is now south-eastern France. Guigues IV, Count of Albon (d. 1142) was nicknamed ''le Dauphin'' or ''the Dolphin''. His nickname morphed into a title among ...

, and the counts of

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

. His will appointed Queen Eleanor of Provence and her son King

Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vas ...

as adjudicators of his estate; they appointed his nephew,

Amadeus Amadeus may refer to: *Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791), prolific and influential composer of classical music *Amadeus (name), a given name and people with the name * ''Amadeus'' (play), 1979 stage play by Peter Shaffer * ''Amadeus'' (film), ...

, as his successor. Philip died childless in Roussillon in 1285.

Sources

* * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Philip 1, Count of Savoy 1207 births 1285 deaths 13th-century Counts of Savoy 13th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in France Archbishops of Lyon Bishops of Valence Roman Catholic deans Burials at Hautecombe Abbey