Count Thomas III (c. 1246 – 16 May 1282), called ''Thomas of Savoy'' or ''de Savoie'', was the

lord of Piedmont The lordship of Piedmont, later the principality of Piedmont ( it, Piemonte), was originally an appanage of the Savoyard county and as such its lords were members of the Achaea branch of the House of Savoy. The title was inherited by the elder br ...

and a claimant to the

county of Savoy The County of Savoy (, ) was a State of the Holy Roman Empire which emerged, along with the free communes of Switzerland, from the collapse of the Burgundian Kingdom in the 11th century. It was the cradle of the future Savoyard state. History ...

from 1268. He was the eldest son of

Thomas II of Savoy 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, Count of Savoy, B ...

and Beatrice di Fieschi, niece of

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 ...

.Eugene L. Cox, ''The Eagles of Savoy'', 462. Upon the death of his father, Thomas became Count in his paternal estates in Piedmont. When his first cousin

Boniface, Count of Savoy Boniface (1245–1263) was Count of Savoy from 1253 to 1263, succeeding his father Amadeus IV. He never married and thus left no heir. Career Boniface was born in Chambéry. Since he became Count of Savoy at the age of nine, he required a ...

died in 1263, the 15-year-old Thomas regarded himself as the successor of the deceased, and claimed the county and the headship of the house. However, his late father's younger brother

Peter II, Count of Savoy Peter II (120315 May 1268), called the Little Charlemagne, held the Honour of Richmond, Yorkshire, England (but not the Earldom), from April 1240 until his death, holder of the Honour of l’Aigle, and was Count of Savoy (now part of France, Swit ...

, a sonless nobleman who had resided in England for much of his life, was recognized as count. After Peter's death in 1268, Thomas continued his claim although Philip of Savoy,

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 ...

, the youngest surviving brother of his father and also sonless, succeeded in the county and was recognized. Thomas III, as he was the eldest son and heir of Thomas II, felt an injustice in being surpassed by younger brothers of his father, and claimed unsuccessfully Savoy from his uncles. Thomas III married in 1274 to Guia of

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...

, the stepdaughter of his uncle

Philip I of Savoy Philip I (1207 – 16 August 1285) was Count of Savoy from 1268 to 1285. Before this, he was Bishop of Valence (1241–1267) and Archbishop of Lyon (1245–1267). Ecclesiastical career Philip was born in Aiguebelle, Savoy, as the eighth and last ...

and they had five children: #

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 ...

, first of the

line Line most often refers to: * Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity * Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to: Arts ...

of Savoy-Achaea, lasting from 1285 to 1418 #

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 ...

# Thomas # Amadeus # William Philip and Thomas were in dispute much of their reigns 1268–82. Thomas' marriage was a rather unsuccessful attempt to patch up things and get Philip to recognize hims as the successor in Savoy, which would have belonged to Thomas, him being the eldest son of Thomas II and thus the founder of the genealogically senior line of the House of Savoy. Philip's will charged his niece

Eleanor of Provence Eleanor of Provence (c. 1223 – 24/25 June 1291) was a French noblewoman who became Queen of England as the wife of King Henry III from 1236 until his death in 1272. She served as regent of England during the absence of her spouse in 1253. ...

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 vassa ...

with the inheritance of

Savoy Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south. Savo ...

. Thomas III was fatally wounded in a border dispute with

Humbert I of Viennois Humbert I of Viennois (c. 1240 – 12 April 1307) was baron of la Tour-du-Pin and then also became, by his marriage, dauphin of Viennois. He was the son of Albert III, baron of la Tour-du-Pin, and of Béatrice de Coligny (herself the daughter o ...

in 1282.''A Letter from Lewis of Savoy to Edward I'', A. J. Taylor and Lewis of Savoy, The English Historical Review, Vol. 68, No. 266 (Jan., 1953), 58-59.

References

Ancestry

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas 03 Of Piedmont 1282 deaths Counts of Piedmont House of Savoy Year of birth uncertain 13th-century people from Savoy