Margaret of Savoy, Countess of Saint-Pol

Margaret of Savoy (April 1439 – 9 March 1483), also known as Marguerite de Savoie or Margherita di Savoia, was the eldest surviving daughter of Louis I, Duke of Savoy. She was the wife of Margrave John IV of Montferrat, and later the wife of Peter II of Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol, of Brienne, Marle, and Soissons. Margaret's numerous descendants included Mary, Queen of Scots and King Henry IV of France.

The Savoy family coat of arms.
Margaret of Savoy
Margravine of Montferrat
Countess of Saint-Pol and Soissons
TenureDecember 1458 – 19 January 1464
19 December 1475 – 25 October 1482
BornApril 1439
Turin, Italy
Died9 March 1483(1483-03-09) (aged 43)
Bruges
SpouseJohn IV, Margrave of Montferrat
Peter II of Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol and Soissons
IssueMarie of Luxembourg, Countess of Vendôme
Francisca of Luxembourg, Lady of Ravenstein
HouseHouse of Savoy
FatherLouis I, Duke of Savoy
MotherAnne of Cyprus

Family and lineage

Margaret was born in April 1439 in Turin, Italy, the eldest surviving daughter and one of the nineteen children of Louis I, Duke of Savoy and Princess Anne of Cyprus. Her paternal grandparents were Amadeus VIII of Savoy, who was also the Antipope Felix V, and Mary of Burgundy. Her maternal grandparents were King Janus of Cyprus and Armenia and Charlotte de Bourbon. Her many siblings included: Amadeus IX of Savoy, who married Yolande of Valois; Philip II, Duke of Savoy, who married firstly to Marguerite de Bourbon, and secondly to Claude de Brosse; Louis of Savoy, Count of Geneva, who married Queen Charlotte of Cyprus; Charlotte of Savoy, Queen consort of King Louis XI of France; Bona of Savoy, second wife of Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan; and Marie of Savoy, who married, as his second wife, Margaret's father-in-law, Louis of Luxembourg, Count of Saint- Pol, Constable of France.

Marriages and issue

In December 1458 at Casale, she married her first husband, John IV, Margrave of Montferrat, the son of John Jacob of Montferrat and Joan of Savoy. He was a condottiere for the Republic of Venice during the Wars in Lombardy which were a series of conflicts fought between Venice and Milan, and their various allies.

Margaret brought a dowry of 100,000 scudi, and in return received Trino, Morano, Borgo San Martino, and Mombaruzzo. The marriage was childless, although he fathered several illegitimate children. He died on 19 January 1464, leaving her a widow at the age of twenty-five.

Two and a half years later, on 12 July 1466, Margaret married her second husband, Peter II of Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol and Soissons, the second eldest son of Louis of Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol and Brienne and Jeanne de Bar, Countess of Marle and Soissons. The marriage produced five children:

  • Louis of Luxembourg (died young)
  • Claude of Luxembourg (died young)
  • Antoine of Luxembourg (died young)
  • Marie of Luxembourg, married firstly, her uncle, Jacques of Savoy, Count of Romont, by whom she had a daughter, Francisca of Savoy. Marie married secondly, Francis de Bourbon, Count of Vendôme, by whom she had six children, including Charles de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme and Antoinette de Bourbon, wife of Claude, Duke of Guise. Mary, Queen of Scots, King Henry IV of France, and the Lorraine Dukes of Guise were Marie's direct descendants.
  • Francisca of Luxembourg, Dame d'Enghien (died 5 December 1523), married Philip of Cleves, Lord of Ravenstein (died 28 January 1528).

Death

Margaret died at Bruges on 9 March 1483, less than six months after her husband Pierre, and she was buried at the Abbey of Happlaincourt. Margaret was survived by her two daughters, Marie and Françoise, her three sons having died in early infancy.

Ancestry

References
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