Anne de Lusignan

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Anne de Lusignan

Anne de Lusignan (born September 24, 1418 , † November 11, 1462 in Geneva ) came from the western French noble family Lusignan , known through their participation in the Crusades, and was Duchess of Savoy by marriage .

Life

Anne de Lusignan was a daughter of Janus , King of Cyprus and Titular King of Jerusalem and Armenia , and his second wife Charlotte de Bourbon . King Janus maintained good relations with Duke Amadeus VIII of Savoy (later the antipope Felix V ) and wanted to deepen them by marrying his daughter Anne with Amadeus' eldest son Amadeus, Prince of Piedmont and titular prince of Achaia . On August 9, 1431, Anne and Amadeus signed a marriage contract; however, Anne's bridegroom died on August 17, 1431. Thereupon, on January 1, 1432, a contract was made about the marriage of Anne to Ludwig , a younger son of Duke Amadeus VIII. The young bride, who was described by Olivier de la Marche as one of the most beautiful princesses of the time, received a dowry of 100,000 Venetian gold ducats and a Wittum of 10,000 Écus from her father-in-law . The couple's wedding took place in Chambéry on February 12, 1434, with great splendor .

As early as November 1434, Amadeus VIII handed over the affairs of state to his son Ludwig in Savoy and, after being elected antipope in 1439, resigned entirely as duke. Ludwig was more interested in poetry than in politics, was very devoted to his beautiful, but capricious and extravagant wife, and gradually gave her a large share in the exercise of power. On October 5, 1442, he gave her some castles, burgraves and the jurisdiction of Thonon and Allinges .

Anne very much preferred her Cypriot compatriots who had come to Savoy with her, and gave them high offices and financial benefits from state income. This caused great discontent in Savoy. There were constant power struggles between favorites of the proud and ambitious Duchess and Savoyard nobles. In 1446 the Chancellor Guillaume de Bolomier , Lord of Villars, who had incurred the hatred of some of the country's greats, was convicted on charges of embezzlement and thrown into Lake Geneva with a heavy stone tied around his neck , so that he drowned . In the same year Jacques de Montbel and some like-minded comrades conspired against Anne's close advisor Jean de Compey , Herr von Thorens, on whom an unsuccessful assassination attempt was carried out on August 29, 1446.

Anne and her husband had numerous offspring (see below). Her eldest son, Amadeus (IX) , became heir to the throne. The Dauphin Ludwig (XI.) Married on March 9, 1451 against the will of his father Charles VII. Anne's daughter Charlotte . In order to avoid a war with France, Louis of Savoy had to come to an agreement with King Charles VII on October 27, 1452 in the Treaty of Forez . Furthermore, under pressure from his wife, the Savoyard Duke married his second son, Count Ludwig of Geneva, to the Cypriot Queen Charlotte on October 7, 1459 . However, the couple's claim to the throne was contested by Charlotte's illegitimate half-brother, James II . Subsequently, at Anne's request, Savoyard troops provided military aid to the Cypriot royal couple, who were nevertheless expelled by James II.

Another son of Anne, Philipp Ohneland , Count of Bresse, turned against his parents and his older brother Amadeus. He was at the head of a Savoyard party, which was a thorn in the side of the extraordinary favor of the Cypriots and some of the favorites of the domineering duchess. In October 1462 Philip retained the upper hand for the time being and moved into Geneva, where his parents had withdrawn, who had to give in to his demands and receive him kindly. Perhaps the grief over her son's disobedience contributed to Anne's death soon afterwards, on September 11, 1462, before her husband at the age of 44. As was customary at the time, she was buried in Franciscan robes in the chapel of the Minorite Church in Geneva, which she had founded. She founded the Dominican Church in Chambéry and monasteries in Nice and Turin .

progeny

Anne de Lusignan and Duke Ludwig of Savoy had 19 children, six of whom died in infancy:

  1. ⚭ 1458 Johann IV. (1413–1464), Margrave of Montferrat ,
  2. ⚭ 1466 Peter II of Luxembourg (1440–1482), Count of Saint-Pol .

literature

  • M. Prevost: Anne de Lusignan . In: Dictionnaire de Biographie française (DBF), Vol. 2 (1936), Col. 1335-1337.

Remarks

  1. ^ Date of the wedding according to Charles Cawley, Medieval Lands, Anne de Lusignan , while M. Prevost (DBF vol. 2, col. 1335) gives February 1433.
  2. ↑ According to the Burgundian calendar, she died on March 9, 1483. Since the new year began with Easter in Burgundy, the year of death is 1484 according to today's calculations. According to Raphael de Smedt (ed.): Les chevaliers de l'ordre de la Toison d 'or au XVe siècle. Notices bio-bibliographiques. (Kieler Werkstücke, D 3) 2nd, improved edition, Verlag Peter Lang, Frankfurt 2000, ISBN 3-631-36017-7 , p. 200.
personal data
SURNAME Anne de Lusignan
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Duchess of Savoy
DATE OF BIRTH September 24, 1418
DATE OF DEATH November 11, 1462
Place of death Geneva