Humbert I | |
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Count of Savoy | |
The cenotaph of Humbert I of Savoy in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne Cathedral
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Successor | Amadeus I |
Spouse(s) | Ancilla of Lenzburg |
Issue | |
Noble family | House of Savoy |
Father | Amadeus, Count of Belley |
Born | c. 980 |
Died | 1047 or 1048 Hermillon |
Buried | Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne Cathedral |
Humbert I (Italian: Umberto I; c. 980 – 1042 or 1047 x 1048), better known as Humbert the White-Handed (French: Humbert aux blanches-mains) or Humbert Whitehand (Italian: Umberto Biancamano) was the founder of the House of Savoy. Of obscure origins, his service to the German emperors Henry II and Conrad II was rewarded with the counties of Maurienne and Aosta and lands in Valais, all at the expense of local bishops and archbishops; a territory which came to be known as the county of Savoy.
Humbert was the son of Amadeus, who may or may not have preceded him as count of Maurienne. His brother was Bishop Otto of Belley. Humbert is the progenitor of the dynasty known as the House of Savoy. The origins of this dynasty are unknown, but Humbert's ancestors are variously said to have come from Saxony,Burgundy or Provence. Given Humbert's close connections with Rudolf III of Burgundy, it is likely that his family were Burgundian, and were descended either from the dukes of Vienne, or from a Burgundian aristocratic family (such as the Guigonids, ancestors of the counts of Albon).