Otto, Count of Savoy

Otto (French: Odon, Oddon, Othon; Italian: Oddone; c. 1023 – c. 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.

Otto
Count of Savoy
Reign	1051 or 1056 – c. 1057 or 1060
Predecessor	Amadeus I
Successor	Peter I
Born	c. 1023
Died	c. 1057/1060
Noble family	House of Savoy
Spouse(s)	Adelaide of Susa
Issue more...	Peter I, Count of Savoy Amadeus II, Count of Savoy Bertha, Holy Roman Empress Adelaide, Duchess of Swabia
Father	Humbert I, Count of Savoy
Mother	Ancilla of Lenzburg

Family

He was a younger son of Humbert the White-Handed and his wife, Ancilla of Lenzburg.^[2] 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.^[3]

In 1046, he married Adelaide, heiress of the march of Susa and county of Turin.^[4] They had:

• Peter (d. 1078)^[5]
• Amadeus (d. 1080)^[5]
• Otto^[5][a]
• Bertha (d. 1087), wife of Henry IV of Germany^[5]
• Adelaide (d. 1080), married Rudolf of Swabia^[5]

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.^[7][8]

Notes

1. Otto is sometimes said to be Bishop Otto III of Asti (r.c.1080-c.1088), but this identification is uncertain.^[6]

References

1. Hellmann 1900, p. 17.
2. Previte-Orton 1912, p. 43.
3. Hellmann 1900, p. 13.
4. Previte-Orton 1912, p. 221.
5. Previte-Orton 1912, p. 66.
6. Vergano 1951, p. ?.
7. Hellmann 1900, p. 15.
8. 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.

External links

• Oddo, Graf von Savoyen (1051–1059) (in German)
• Othon de Savoie (in French)
• G. Sergi, 'Oddone di Moriana-Savoia,' in “Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani” – Volume 79 (2013)

Otto, Count of Savoy House of Savoy Born: c. 1023 Died: c. 1057/1060
Regnal titles
Preceded by Amadeus I	Count of Savoy 1051 or 1056 – c. 1057	Succeeded by Peter I
Preceded by Henry	Margrave of Turin c.1046–c.1057/60 With: Adelaide