Thomas, Count of Flanders
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This article relies largely or entirely upon a single source. (August 2010) |
| Thomas II | |
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| Reign | 1233–1259 |
| Spouse | Joanna, Countess of Flanders and Hainaut, 1237–1244 Beatrice Fieschi, 1252–1259 |
| Issue | |
| Thomas, Amadeus, Louis, Eleanor, Margaret, and Alice | |
| House | House of Savoy |
| Father | Thomas I of Savoy |
| Mother | Margaret of Geneva |
| Born | c. 1199 |
| Died | 7 February 1259 |
Thomas II (c. 1199, Montmélian – February 7, 1259) was the Lord of Piedmont from 1233 to his death, Count of Flanders jure uxoris from 1237 to 1244, and regent of the County of Savoy from 1253 to his death, while his nephew Boniface was fighting abroad. He was the son of Thomas I of Savoy and Margaret of Geneva.[1]
In 1233, when Thomas I of Savoy died, Thomas, being a second son, inherited only the lordship of Piedmont, which he later raised to the status of a county. Historians and genealogists have retrospectively dubbed him "Thomas II of Savoy" in order to distinguish him from the other Thomases of the House of Savoy. He married Joanna, Countess of Flanders and Hainaut, daughter of the Latin Emperor Baldwin I, in 1237. They had no issue and Joanna died in 1244. In 1252, Thomas married Beatrice Fieschi, niece of Pope Innocent IV. They had six children.[1]
Although he was the next brother of Amadeus IV, he never became the Count of Savoy because he predeceased his nephew, who himself died without sons to succeed him. Although Thomas left sons, upon Boniface' death the remaining uncles, younger brothers of Thomas, ruled the County of Savoy.[1] Thomas' eldest son and heir Thomas III thought it to be an injustice and unsuccessfully claimed Savoy. However, it so happened that Philip I, the last surviving brother of Thomas, made Thomas' younger son Amadeus his heir in Savoy, leaving the elder son, Thomas, and the genealogically senior line descending from him out of the Savoy succession.
Issue [edit]
Thomas and Beatrice had six children:
- Thomas, his successor and pretender to the County of Savoy
- Amadeus, who later inherited Savoy
- Louis (1250 – after 10 January 1302), Baron of Vaud
- Eleanor (died 6 December 1296), married (1270) Louis I of Beaujeu
- Margaret (died May 1292)
- Alice (died 1 August 1277)
He also had at least three illegitimate children.
| Preceded by Thomas I |
Count of Piedmont 1233–1259 |
Succeeded by Thomas III |
| Preceded by Joanna |
Count of Flanders 1237–1244 |
Succeeded by Margaret II |
References [edit]
- ^ a b c Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (1843). "AMADEUS IV". The Biographical dictionary of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (Google Books). Vol. II. London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans. pp. 384–385. OCLC 449283879. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
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