Thomas III of Saluzzo ( it, Tommaso III di Saluzzo) (1356–1416) was

Marquess of Saluzzo The marquises (also marquesses or margraves) of Saluzzo were the medieval feudal rulers city of Saluzzo (today part of Piedmont, Italy) and its countryside from 1175 to 1549. Originally counts, the family received in ''feudum'' the city from the ...

from 1396 until his death. Thomas III of Saluzzo as Alexander the Great

He was born in

Saluzzo Saluzzo (; pms, Salusse ) is a town and former principality in the province of Cuneo, in the Piedmont region, Italy. The city of Saluzzo is built on a hill overlooking a vast, well-cultivated plain. Iron, lead, silver, marble, slate etc. are fo ...

in north-western

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

to Frederick II del Vasto and Beatrice of

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

. His maternal grandfather was Hugh of Geneva, Lord of Gex, Anthon and Varey. He tried to continue the philo-French politics of his father, mainly to face the menace of Duke Amadeus VIII of Savoy, who aimed to conquer the whole

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

. In fact, the treaty stating the nominal submission to France was signed by Thomas well before his father's death. The vassalage to French was also a consequence of the education received by Thomas, who lived in

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 ...

for much of his youth, and travelled there in 1375, 1389, 1401, 1403 and 1405. He was married to the French Marguerite of

Roussy Roussy-le-Village (; german: Rüttgen) is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. See also * Communes of the Moselle department The following is a list of the 725 Communes of France, communes of the Moselle (de ...

. In 1394 he was captured by Savoyard troops while he was leading a ravage in Monasterolo. Imprisoned first in

Savigliano Savigliano (Savijan in Piedmontese) is a ''comune'' of Piedmont, northern Italy, in the Province of Cuneo, about south of Turin by rail. It is home to ironworks, foundries, locomotive works (once owned by Fiat Ferroviaria, now by Alstom) and s ...

and then 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 ...

, he was freed only two years later after a ransom of 20,000 golden

florin The Florentine florin was a gold coin struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time. It had 54 grains (3.499 grams, 0.113 troy ounce) of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a purcha ...

s had been paid. In his late years Thomas assigned the succession to his young son

Ludovico Ludovico () is an Italian masculine given name. It is sometimes spelled Lodovico. The feminine equivalent is Ludovica. Persons with the name Ludovico Given name * Ludovico D'Aragona (1876–1961), Italian socialist politician * Ludovico Ariosto ...

, under the regency of his brother Valerano and the marchioness Marguerite.

Culture

A man of great culture, Thomas was the author of one of the most important chivalric texts of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, '' Le Chevalier Errant'', written probably during his imprisonment in Piedmont. The text, written in French, is an

allegory As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory th ...

of the ideals of knighthood. It inspired the famous frescoes in the

Castello della Manta 300px, Castello della Manta. frame, Detail of the fresco showing 4 of the female counterparts to the Nine Worthies Castello della Manta is a castle at Manta near Saluzzo, Province of Cuneo, region of Piedmont, in northern Italy. The original bui ...

Marriage and children

He married Marguerite of Pierrepont. She was a daughter of Hugo II,

Count of Roucy This article is a list of the counts of Roucy. In medieval France, Roucy was a county held by a succession of noble families. By the Late Middle Ages, it was one of seven titles that was made a peer within the provincial peerage of the greater Co ...

and Braine. They had five children: *Carlo Giovanni of Saluzzo (1404–1406). *Giovanna of Saluzzo (born 1405, date of death unknown). Married Guigues IV, Lord of Meollet and Offremont. *

Ludovico I of Saluzzo Ludovico I del Vasto (died 1475) was Marquess of Saluzzo from 1416 until his death. The son of Marquess Thomas III, he held the Marquisate of Saluzzo for much of the 15th century, under its period of greatest splendour. Always in good relationshi ...

, married to Isabella Palaiologina, daughter of

John Jacob, Marquess 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 collabora ...

. *Beatrice of Saluzzo. A nun. * Ricciardia of Saluzzo. Married

Niccolò III d'Este Niccolò is an Italian male given name, derived from the Greek Nikolaos meaning "Victor of people" or "People's champion". There are several male variations of the name: Nicolò, Niccolò, Nicolas, and Nicola. The female equivalent is Nicole. The fe ...

. He also had at least three children with his mistress, Olmeta de Soglio: *Valerano of Saluzzo (died 1443). *Lanzarotto of Saluzzo. *Giovanna, Abbess of Santa Maria di Staffarda. The existence of illegitimate daughter Elena of Saluzzo is disputed.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas 03 Of Saluzzo 1356 births 1416 deaths People from Saluzzo Tommaso 3 Italian poets Italian male poets Italian writers in French Aleramici