Amadeus II of Geneva

Alliance and war (1282–83)

In June 1282 at Versoix, Amadeus and Béatrice “la Grande Dauphine”, the dowager Countess of Albon and regent for her son John I, came to an agreement whereby all the places that Amadeus' father and grandfather, William II, had been forced to cede to Peter “the Little Charlemagne” in 1250 and 1260—the so-called gagerie—would be returned to Geneva. The gagerie was originally to be held by Peter and his heirs until the Count of Geneva paid a war indemnity of 20,000 marks, later reduced to 10,000. Béatrice was Peter's only daughter and heir, and the widow of Guigues VII of Albon. In return for these lands, Amadeus granted to Béatrice suzerainty over certain lordships and agreed to take any allods within the returned gagerie as fiefs of her and her heirs, the Counts of Albon, instead. The treaty also created a mutual defensive alliance and cooperation in an offensive against "those detaining and possessing the properties and men belonging to the above-mentioned gagerie", that is, men of the house of Savoy, Béatrice's relatives. The conference of Versoix was under the presidency of Amadeus' uncle, the Bishop of Geneva, who promised to help both parties so far as it did not threaten the rights of his diocese. The privilege of arbitrating disputes between Amadeus and Béatrice fell to Humbert I of La Tour-du-Pin, who was Béatrice's son-in-law as the husband of her daughter Anne.

War with Savoy immediately broke out following the alliance between Amadeus and the Dauphine. By 1 November 1282 the Savoyards had attacked Avalon in the Dauphiné and Bellecombe in the Genevois. Although Amadeus received an offer of one hundred knights if he needed assistance, he does not appear to have actually opened up a “second front”, perhaps understanding better than the emperor the difficulty such an effort would face.

Amadeus died 22 May 1308 apud lu Bacho, and was buried the next day (23 May) at Montagny.

Marriage and issue

Amadeus married Agnes, daughter of John, Count of Chalon, and his second wife, Laurette de Commercy, by a marriage contract drawn up 1 June 1285. They had three sons and two daughters who were still living at his death:

• William III, his successor
• Amadeus, who became Bishop of Toul
• Hugh, who continued his father's feuding with the house of Savoy well into the reign of Amadeus VI of Savoy
• Jeanne (died 23 February 1303), who married Guichard VI de Beaujeu (1300)
• Marie, who is mentioned in a document of 1306

Notes

References

Bibliography

• Cox, Eugene L. The Eagles of Savoy: The House of Savoy in Thirteenth-Century Europe. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1974.
• Duparc, Pierre. Le comté de Genève: IXe–XVe siècle. Mémoires et documents publiés par la Société d'histoire et d'archéologie de Genève, 39. Geneva: Julien, 1978.
• Poole, Reginald S. A Descriptive Catalogue of the Swiss Coins in the South Kensington Museum Bequeathed by the Reverend Chauncy Hare Townshend. Elbiron Classics, 2006.

References

1. Poole (2006), [https://books.google.com/books?id=8DiuW1tRUioC&lpg=PA235 235].
2. Cox (1974), 435–37.
3. The castle of [[La Buissière]] in the Dauphiné was captured by [[Louis I of Vaud]], who then invaded the [[Grésivaudan]], while his brother [[Amadeus V, Count of Savoy. Rudolf of Habsburg]] intervened against Savoy. Rudolf first attacked [[Murten
4. Duparc (1978), 247.
5. Duparc (1978), 244–246.