Otto, Count of Savoy

Otto
Count of Savoy
Reign1051 or 1056 – c. 1057 or 1060
PredecessorAmadeus I
SuccessorPeter I
Bornc. 1023
Diedc. 1057/1060
Noble familyHouse of Savoy
SpouseAdelaide of Susa
Issue
more...
FatherHumbert I, Count of Savoy
MotherAncilla of Lenzburg

Otto (French: Odon, Oddon, Othon; Italian: Oddone; c. 1023 – 1057/1060)[1] was count of Savoy from around 1051 until his death. Through marriage to Adelaide, the heiress of Ulric Manfred II, he also administered the march of Susa from around 1046 until his death.

Family

He was a younger son of Humbert the White-Handed and his wife, Ancilla of Lenzburg.[2] The first evidence of him is dated 1030, when together with his father and brothers, he contributed to a donation to the Order of Cluny, which established the foundation of the Priory of Borghetto, an ancient patronage of the family.[3] Through Humbert's service to the German emperors, the family was granted the counties of Maurienne, Aosta and Sapaudia (Savoy), all at the expense of local bishops or archbishops. Otto inherited the family's realms after the death of his brother Amadeus c. 1051.[4]

In 1046, he married Adelaide, heiress of the march of Susa and county of Turin.[5] They had:

Rule

Through his marriage to Adelaide, Otto obtained extensive possessions in northern Italy. Thereafter, the House of Savoy concentrated its expansion efforts towards Italy instead of north of the Alps as it had done before. Savoy's lands occupied much of modern Savoy and Piedmont, although several other small states could be found between them. In the 1050s, Otto allowed coins to be minted at Aiguebelle. The archbishop of Vienne, Léger, who had sole right of minting in the region, complained to Pope Leo IX, so Otto forbade further coining at Aiguebelle.[8][9]

Notes

  1. ^ Otto is sometimes said to be Bishop Otto III of Asti (r. c. 1080 – c. 1088), but this identification is uncertain.[7]

References

  1. ^ Hellmann 1900, p. 17.
  2. ^ Previte-Orton 1912, p. 43.
  3. ^ Litta, Pompeo (1781-1851) (1839). Famiglie celebri italiane del conte Pompeo Litta. Volume primo [- decimo]. Volume 5 (in Italian). Vol. 5. Milan: presso l'autoré (Tipografia delle famiglie italiane). pp. 1r.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Hellmann 1900, p. 13.
  5. ^ Previte-Orton 1912, p. 221.
  6. ^ a b c d e Previte-Orton 1912, p. 66.
  7. ^ Vergano 1951, p. ?.
  8. ^ Hellmann 1900, p. 15.
  9. ^ Demotz 2000, p. 24.

Sources

  • Demotz, B. (2000). Le Comté de Savoie du XIe au XVe siècle: Pouvoir, Château et État au Moyen Âge (in French). Editions Slatkine.
  • Hellmann, Siegmund (1900). Die Grafen von Savoyen und das Reich bis zum Ende der staufischen Periode (in German). Wagner.
  • Previte-Orton, C. W. (1912). The Early History of the House of Savoy: 1000-1233. Cambridge at the University Press.
  • Vergano, Lodovico (1951). Storia di Asti (in Italian). Vol. I. Comune di Asti, Assessorato per la cultura.