Jolande of France
Jolande of France (also Jolante, Jolanta, Violanta, Jolanda, French Yolande de France or de Valois ) (born September 23, 1434 in Tours , † August 28, 1478 in Chambéry ) was the daughter of King Charles VII of France from the House of Valois and Maria of Anjou . She was the wife of Duke Amadeus IX. of Savoy and already directed the fortunes of the Duchy of Savoy as the guardian of her son Philibert I during her husband's lifetime and after his death .
Life
Jolande was the sixth child out of the marriage between Charles VII and Maria von Anjou, named after their maternal grandmother, Jolanthe von Aragón . After the death of her eldest sister Radegunde and the marriage of the second oldest sister Katharina with the future Duke Charles "the Bold" of Burgundy , the most powerful vassal of France, the marriage of Jolande with Amadeus IX., The future Duke of Savoy, was political and political in 1452 From a dynastic point of view, it was cleverly threaded, as family ties with two important up-and-coming empires on the French eastern border were established, which gave hope for later inheritances or alliances. In fact, later French kings derived claims by France to Savoy and Burgundy from the two marriages.
Amadeus IX. followed his father in 1465 as Duke of Savoy. However, he suffered from a weak constitution and severe epilepsy, so that he abdicated in 1469 and appointed his wife regent of Savoy. This sparked a civil war in Savoy between the French and Burgundian parties. Both the French King Louis XI. as well as the Burgundian Duke Karl tried to win Savoy as an ally. Jolande's energetic style of government also placed them in opposition to the Savoy barons. Nevertheless, she was able to assert herself as regent after her husband's death in 1472 until her death in 1478. Stood by Peter , her husband's brother and Prince Bishop of Geneva , a consultant at her side.
However, Jolande could not prevent Savoy from being drawn into his conflict with the Confederation by Charles the Bold of Burgundy. Although the Dukes of Savoy had been allied with the Confederates for a long time, in the 1470s it seemed advisable for many Savoy barons to join forces with the mighty, expanding Burgundy in order to end the expansion of the powerful federal city of Bern into the Savoy Vaud . In addition, long-standing territorial questions should be resolved in an alliance with Burgundy, e. B. the annexation of the city of Geneva and the final submission of the Valais . Savoy also threatened to get caught between the fronts, as Charles also negotiated with the Duchy of Milan, which posed a threat to the possessions of Savoy in Piedmont. The court of Jolandes was dominated by the intrigues and the party battles between the Burgundian and French supporters. Three brothers of the late Duke Ludwig fought for influence and represented the interests of France and Burgundy in different constellations: Peter , Prince-Bishop of Geneva, Jacob , Count of Romont , Lord of Vaud, and Philip of Savoy, "Without Land".
Finally, in 1475, Jolande entered into an alliance with Charles the Bold, not least because Bernese troops in Vaud had plundered and occupied the Savoy fiefs of Burgundian nobles. King Louis XI. von France tried in vain to overthrow Jolande and replace him with Philip as regent. The alliance with Burgundy prompted Bern, with its allies Freiburg and Wallis, to plunder and occupy not only the Burgundian possessions but also the Savoy Vaud and the Lower Valais. Jacob of Savoy fought actively on the side of Charles in the so-called Burgundian Wars , who was nevertheless clearly defeated by the Confederates twice at Grandson and Murten in 1476. A Savoy advance into Valais also failed, and after the lost battle on the Planta , Walter Supersaxo , Bishop of Sion, occupied Lower Valais. In the peace of Freiburg i. Ü. In 1476 Jolande had to cede parts of Vaud to Bern and give up her rights over the Valais and Friborg. This marked the beginning of the decline of Savoyard power in what is now western Switzerland, which Bern finally conquered in 1536. Charles felt that the peace treaty between Jolande and the Swiss Confederation was treason, and he had Jolande kidnapped by Olivier de la Marche near Geneva in 1476 and imprisoned in the castle of Rouvres . She escaped after a few months, but died a short time later in 1478. The new guardian of her son Philibert was now the Geneva Bishop Peter of Savoy.
progeny
- Ludwig († 1453), died in the first year of life
- Anne (1455–1480), married in 1478 to Frederick II , King of Naples and Aragon
- Karl (1456–1471), Prince of Piedmont
- Philibert (1465–1482), 1471 Prince of Piedmont, 1472 Duke of Savoy and Count of Aosta, died under the age of 17.
- Maria († 1511), 1476–1503 married to Philipp , the Margrave of Baden-Sausenberg , then to Jacques d'Assay, Lord of Plessis
- Louise (1462–1503), married in 1479 to Hugo von Chalon, Lord of Orbe
- Bernard († 1467), died in the first year of life
- Charles (1468–1490), 1482 Duke of Savoy, Count of Aosta and Prince of Piedmont
- Jakob Ludwig (1470–1485), Margrave of Gex
- Jean-Claude Galléas († 1472), died in the first year of life
Remarks
- ↑ Patrick Van Kerrebrouck, Les Valois (2000), p. 139, footnote 33; According to Père Anselme, she died in Mont-Caprel in Piedmont, but according to Kerrebrouck this is a mistake
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Jolande of France |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Jolante; Jolanda; Yolante |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Regent of Savoy |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 23, 1434 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Tours |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 28, 1478 |
| Place of death | Chambery |