Anne (Lusignan) de Savoie (1418 - 1462)

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 11 Nov 1462 at age 44 in Genève, Savoie

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Biography

Anne of Cyprus (or Anne de Lusignan) (24 September 1418–11 November 1462) was the daughter of King Janus of Cyprus and Charlotte de Bourbon; and a member of the celebrated Lusignan crusader dynasty. As the wife of Louis, Duke of Savoy, she was the Duchess consort of Savoy.

Marriage

Anne married Louis, Duke of Savoy in Chambery on 12 February 1434.[1][2] The contract for their marriage had been signed two years previously on 1 January 1432.[3] She bore a total of 19 children, of whom 14 survived infancy.

Duchess of Savoy

Anne's husband, Louis of Savoy, who was more interested in poetry than his duchy, but very much in love with his wife, gradually left Anne to manage affairs of state. She, due to nostalgia for her own country, organized many receptions on behalf of the most powerful Cypriot lords. To impress the visitors, she decorated the castles, organized festivals, and offered gifts to the guests, the expense of which caused much protest from the peasants and nobles of the county of Vaud.

To relieve some of her debts, Anne organized a match for one of her daughters, which was an advantageous alliance for the house of Savoy. In 1451, at the age of ten years, her daughter, Charlotte, married the dauphin of France, the future King Louis XI. He later would claim default of the promised dowry, new strongholds, and seized several castles in Bresse and several chief towns of Vaud.

In 1452, Anne bought the Shroud of Turin from Jeanne de Charny in exchange for the castle of Varambon. Years later Pope Paul II authorised Yolande of France to deposit the relic of the Holy Shroud in the vault of the castle of Chambéry from which she raised a tower above the sacristy, as a religious symbol.

Issue

1. Amadeus (1435- 1472).

2. Maria (1436- 1437).

3. Louis of Savoy, Count of Geneva (1436- 1482), married Annabella of Scotland, married Queen Charlotte of Cyprus.

4. Philip (1438- 1497).

5. Marguerite (April 1439- 9 March 1483), married firstly in December 1458 Giovanni IV Paleologo (1413?1464), Marquis of Montferrat[2]; she married secondly, Pierre II de Luxembourg, Count of St. Pol, Brienne, de Ligny, Marle, and Soissons, by whom she had issue, including Marie de Luxembourg.

6. Giano, Count of Geneva (1440- 1491).

7. Pietro, Bishop of Geneva (1440- 1458).

8. Janus, Count of Faucigny, Governor of Nice (1440- 1491) .

9. Charlotte (11 November 1441- 1 December 1483), married King Louis XI of France

10. Aimone (1442-1443).

11. Giacomo (died 1445.

12. Agnese (1445-1508), married Francois d'Orleans, Count of Dunois and Longueville.

13. Giovanni Ludovico, Bishop of Geneva (1447- 1482).

14. Maria (20 March 1448- 1475), married as his second wife, Louis of Luxembourg, Count of St. Pol, Brienne, de Ligny, and Conversano, Constable of France, by whom she had issue.

15. Bona (1449- 1503), married Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan, by whom she had issue.

16. Jacques (1450- 1486).

17. Anne (1452- 1452).

18. Francesco, Archbishop of Auch and Bishop of Geneva (1454- 1490).

19. Giovanna d. young.

Sources

• Histoire généalogique de la royale maison de Savoie, Livres 1-2, par Samuel Guichenon, G. Barbier (Lyon) 1660, pages 521 et suivantes: http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5774406q/f559.image (consulté le 1er octobre 2017)

• http://www.geni.com/people/Anne-de-Lusignan-princesse-de-Chypre/6000000000196854600 (Pienaar-305, Jul 14 2014)

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_of_Cyprus (Pienaar-305, Jul 14 2014)