Prince Louis Thomas of Savoy (; Italian: ''Luigi Tommaso di Savoia''; 15 December 1657 – 14 August 1702) was a

Count of Soissons This is a list of those who bore the title Count of Soissons () and ruled Soissons and its ''civitas'' or diocese as a county in the Middle Ages. The title continued in use into modern times, but without ties to the actual Soissonnais. Carolingia ...

and Prince of Savoy. He was killed as

Feldzeugmeister General of the Artillery () was a historical military rank in some German and Austro-Hungarian armies, specifically in artillery. It was commonly used in the 16th and 17th centuries, and survived until the beginning of the 20th century in some Euro ...

of the Imperial Army at the Siege of Landau at the start of the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...

Biography

Louis Thomas was the eldest son of

Eugene Maurice, Count of Soissons Prince Eugene Maurice of Savoy-Carignano (, ; 2 March 1635 – 6 June 1673) was a Franco-Italian nobleman, general, and member of the House of Savoy-Carignano. He held the title of Count of Soissons and was the father of Imperial field marshal Pri ...

and

Olympia Mancini Olympia Mancini, Countess of Soissons (French: ''Olympe Mancini''; 11 July 1638 – 9 October 1708) was the second-eldest of the five celebrated Mancini sisters, who along with two of their female Martinozzi cousins, were known at the court of Kin ...

, as well as the oldest brother of

Prince Eugene of Savoy Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy-Carignano (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736), better known as Prince Eugene, was a distinguished Generalfeldmarschall, field marshal in the Army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty durin ...

. He married Uranie de La Cropte de Beauvais, whom Saint-Simon had once described as "radiant as the glorious morn". His daughter Princess Maria Anna Victoria of Savoy eventually inherited Eugene's estate. His maternal cousins included the

Duke of Vendôme Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they a ...

as well as the

Duke of Bouillon The Duchy of Bouillon () was a duchy comprising Bouillon, Belgium, Bouillon and adjacent towns and villages in present-day Belgium. The state originated in the 10th century as property of the Lords of Bouillon, owners of Bouillon Castle. Crusad ...

and

Louis Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne Louis Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne (2 August 1679 – 3 August 1753) was a French nobleman and member of the House of La Tour d'Auvergne. Given the title ''comte d'Évreux'' at birth, he later became a lieutenant of the King's armies. He is some ...

. His paternal cousins included

Victor Amadeus I, Prince of Carignano Victor Amadeus of Savoy, 3rd Prince of Carignano (1 March 1690 – 4 April 1741) was an Italian nobleman who was Prince of Carignano from 1709 to 1741. He was the son of Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy, Prince of Carignano and his wife, Maria Angel ...

Louis William, Margrave of Baden-Baden Louis William, Margrave of Baden-Baden (; 8 April 1655 – 4 January 1707) was the ruling Margrave of Baden-Baden in Germany, chief commander of the Imperial army and Reichsgeneralfeldmarschall of the Holy Roman Empire. He was also known as ''T ...

, son of his aunt

Louise of Savoy Louise of Savoy (11 September 1476 – 22 September 1531) was a French noble and regent, Duchess ''suo jure'' of Auvergne (province), Auvergne and House of Bourbon, Bourbon, Duchess of Nemours and the mother of King Francis I of France, Francis I ...

, and

Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria Maximilian II (11 July 1662 – 26 February 1726), also known as Max Emanuel or Maximilian Emanuel, was a Wittelsbach ruler of Electorate of Bavaria, Bavaria and a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire. He was also the last governor of the Spani ...

, son of another Savoy Princess and thus just a third cousin of his. After the premature death of his father in 1673 and the flight of his mother to Brussels due to her involvement in the notorious

Poison affair The Affair of the Poisons (, ) was a major murder scandal in France during the reign of King Louis XIV. Between 1677 and 1682, a number of prominent members of the aristocracy were implicated and sentenced on charges of poisoning and witchcr ...

, Louis Thomas and his siblings remained in Paris and were entrusted to the care of their grim grandmother Marie de Bourbon and their aunt Princess Louise of Savoy, Margravine of Baden Baden. Since the family had fallen out of favour with the king because of Olympia Mancini's behaviour, Louis-Thomas inherited the titles of his fathers, but not his offices and thus his income. His sisters and his daughters remained unmarried, his brothers Louis-Jules (1660–1683) and Emanuel-Philibert (1662-1676), and his son Thomas Emmanuel, pursued their military careers outside France, as did his other two brothers that had initially been directed to ecclesiastical careers, Philip (1659–1693), who died fighting for the Venetians against the

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Turkey * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic lang ...

, and Prince Eugene of Savoy, who became one of the most famous generals in the service of the

House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful Dynasty, dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout ...

. Louis Thomas obtained a commission as an officer in the French Army, but

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

had amorous designs on his wife. Urania, however, spurned the king's romantic advances. Angered, Louis dismissed Louis Thomas from the army, and, when Louis Thomas sought a position abroad, terminated his pension and dues. In 1699, all but bankrupt, Louis Thomas sought the aid of Prince Eugene, in Vienna. With Eugene's help, he obtained a commission in the Austrian Imperial Army. On 18 August Louis was killed by a French bomb at the Siege of Landau at the onset of the

Issue

# Princess Maria Anna Victoria of Savoy (1683–1763), ''Mademoiselle de Soissons''; married

Prince Joseph of Saxe-Hildburghausen A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The fe ...

, Duke in Saxony, son of

Ernest, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen Ernest, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen (12 June 1655 in Gotha – 17 October 1715 in Hildburghausen) was a duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen. He was the ninth but sixth surviving son of Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha and Elisabeth Sophie of Saxe-Altenburg. ...

; had no issue. # Prince Louis Thomas of Savoy (15 December 1685 – 28 September 1695) died aged 10. # Princess Thérèse Anne Louise of Savoy (15 September 1686– 22 January 1736); never married and had no issue. # Prince Emmanuel Thomas of Savoy (1687–1729); succeeded as

. He married

Princess Maria Theresia of Liechtenstein Princess Maria Theresia of Liechtenstein (Maria Theresia Anna Felicitas; 11 May 1694 – 20 February 1772) was the heiress to the Silesian Duchy of Troppau (now Opava in Czech Republic). Countess of Soissons by marriage, she was the last pe ...

and had issue. # Prince Maurice of Savoy (10 January 1690 – 18 September 1710) never married or had issue. # Prince Eugene of Savoy (23 September 1692 – 23 November 1712) died young without issue.

Ancestry

References

*''This article contains material translated from the equivalent article in the German Wikipedia.''

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Soissons, Louis Thomas, Count of 1657 births 1702 deaths Place of birth unknown Louis Thomas Dukes of Carignan Counts of Soissons Austrian military personnel of the War of the Spanish Succession Candidates for the Polish elective throne Italian military personnel killed in action Burials at the Basilica of Superga