Peter II of Savoy

Peter II, Count of Savoy
Count of Savoy
Coat of Arms of the Counts of Savoy
Predecessor	Boniface
Successor	Philip I
Spouse(s)	Agnes of Faucigny
Issue Beatrice
Noble family	House of Savoy
Father	Thomas, Count of Savoy
Mother	Margaret of Geneva
Born	1203
Died	15 May 1268

Peter II (1203 – 15 May 1268), called the Little Charlemagne, held the Honour of Richmond, Yorkshire (but not the Earldom) from April 1240 until his death and was Count of Savoy from 1263 until his death. He built the Savoy Palace in London.

Peter was the seventh of nine sons of Thomas I of Savoy and Marguerite of Geneva, and the uncle of Eleanor of Provence, queen-consort of Henry III of England. He was born in Suze in the French County of Albon.

As a younger son of a noble house, Peter's father started his career in the church, getting him an appointment as a canon at Lausanne, where he worked his way up to acting bishop before a new permanent bishop came in 1231. At that point, Peter had already been growing restless with church life. Upon the death of his father, Peter demanded substantial portions of the County from his eldest brother Amadeus. The brothers all got together in 1234 at Chillon, where they negotiated a settlement which recognized Amadeus as the head of the house. From this, Peter received control of key castles which helped him to expand his control in the area of Geneva. His brother William negotiated a marriage for him with Agnes of Faucigny, which also helped provide territory of his own, so he caused less trouble for his elder brothers.

His desire to further extend his territory led him into conflict with his uncle, William II of Geneva. Around 1236, Peter was ambushed and captured by his cousin Rudolf. When the resulting conflict was concluded in 1237, Amadeus forced William to sign a treaty which required Geneva to pay 20,000 marks and the castle of Arlod. In 1240, when Peter's brother Philip was in a contested election for the Bishop of Lausanne against Jean de Cossonay, a Geneva supported candidate, Peter brought 6000 troops, though the battle did not get resolved decisively.