Amadeus II (died 22 May 1308) was the Count of Geneva

Count of Geneva

The County of Geneva, largely corresponding to the later Genevois province, originated in the tenth century, in the Burgundian Kingdom of Arles which fell to the Holy Roman Empire in 1032.-History:...

, which included the Genevois

Genevois

Genevois is the name used in Geneva used for the dialect of Arpitan used in the canton of Geneva. The title « Cé qu'è lainô » of the anthem of Geneva is in Genevois....

, but not the city of Geneva

Geneva

Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...

, from 1280. He was the second son of Count Rudolf

Rudolf of Geneva

Rudolf or Rudolph was the Count of Geneva from 1252 until his death in 1265. He was the eldest son of William II, and was described by a Renaissance historian as “the more quarrelsome son of a quarrelsome father.” He was a constant warrior, and his most frequent foes were of the House of...

 and succeeded his heirless brother Aymon II

Aymon II of Geneva

Aymon II was the Count of Geneva from 1265. He was the son and heir of Count Rudolf, but died heirless himself and was succeeded by his brother Amadeus II...

.

Alliance and war (1282–83)

In June 1282 at Versoix

Versoix

Versoix is a municipality in the Canton of Geneva, Switzerland, which sits on the right bank of Lac Léman. It is the last town of the Canton of Geneva on the road northeast towards Lausanne, before the Canton of Vaud starts. It is a train stop on the SBB-CFF-FFS railway line running between...

, Amadeus and Béatrice “la Grande Dauphine”, the dowager Countess of Albon and regent for her son John I, came to an agreement whereby all the places that Amadeus' father and grandfather, William II

William II of Geneva

William II was the Count of Geneva, originally a usurper, from 1225 until his death. He fought a long series of wars with the House of Savoy and lost control of all of his county outside of the traditional Genevois and saw his influence over the city of Geneva proper and the Bishop of Geneva...

, had been forced to cede to Peter “the Little Charlemagne” in 1250 and 1260—the so-called gagerie—would be returned to Geneva. The gagerie was originally to be held by Peter and his heirs until the Count of Geneva paid a war indemnity of 20,000 marks

Mark (money)

Mark was a measure of weight mainly for gold and silver, commonly used throughout western Europe and often equivalent to 8 ounces. Considerable variations, however, occurred throughout the Middle Ages Mark (from a merging of three Teutonic/Germanic languages words, Latinized in 9th century...

, later reduced to 10,000. Béatrice was Peter's only daughter and heir, and the widow of Guigues VII of Albon. In return for these lands, Amadeus granted to Béatrice suzerainty over certain lordships and agreed to take any allods within the returned gagerie as fiefs of her and her heirs, the Counts of Albon, instead. The treaty also created a mutual defensive alliance and cooperation in an offensive against "those detaining and possessing the properties and men belonging to the above-mentioned gagerie", that is, men of the house of Savoy

House of Savoy

The House of Savoy was formed in the early 11th century in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, it grew from ruling a small county in that region to eventually rule the Kingdom of Italy from 1861 until the end of World War II, king of Croatia and King of Armenia...

, Béatrice's relatives. The conference of Versoix was under the presidency of Amadeus' uncl,e the Bishop of Geneva, who promised to help both parties so far as it did not threaten the rights of his diocese. The privilege of arbitrating disputes between Amadeus and Béatrice fell to Humbert I of La Tour-du-Pin

Humbert I of Viennois

Humbert I of Viennois was baron of la Tour-du-Pin and then also became, by his marriage, dauphin of Viennois. He was the son of Albert IV, baron of la Tour-du-Pin, and of Béatrice de Coligny .In 1273 he married Anne of Burgundy -...

, who was Béatrice's son-in-law as the husband of her daughter Anne.

War with Savoy immediately broke out following the alliance between Amadeus and the Dauphine. By 1 November 1282 the Savoyards had attacked Avalon

Avalon, France

Avalon is a village outside of Pontcharra, Isère département, eastern France. It is part of the commune Saint-Maximin. It is notable for being the birthplace of Saint Hugh of Lincoln , and for the Tour d'Avallon, a tower in the village....

 in the Dauphiné and Bellecombe

Bellecombe

Bellecombe is a commune in the Jura department in Franche-Comté in eastern France.-References:*...

 in the Genevois. The castle of La Buissière

La Buissière

La Buissière is a commune in the Isère department in south-eastern France....

 in the Dauphiné was captured by Louis I of Vaud

Louis I of Vaud

Louis I was the Baron of Vaud. At the time of his birth he was a younger son of a younger son of the House of Savoy, but through a series of deaths and his own effective military service, he succeeded in creating a semi-independent principality in the pays de Vaud by 1286...

, who then invaded the Grésivaudan

Grésivaudan

The Grésivaudan is a valley of the French Alps, situated mostly in the Isère. Etymologically, Graisivaudan comes from roots meaning "Grenoble" and "valley". It comprises the alluvial plain of the Isère River from Grenoble to the confluence of the Arc; or, more recently, the entire valley of the...

, while his brother Amadeus

Amadeus V, Count of Savoy

Amadeus V , surnamed the Great for his wisdom and success as a ruler, was the Count of Savoy from 1285 to 1323. He established Chambéry as his seat...

, marching from the Bresse

Bresse

Bresse is a former French province. It is located in the regions of Rhône-Alpes, Bourgogne, and Franche-Comté of eastern France. The geographical term Bresse has two meanings: Bresse bourguignonne , which is situated in the east of the department of Saône-et-Loire, and Bresse, which is located...

, assaulted Moirans

Moirans

Moirans is a commune in the Isère department in south-eastern France.-See also:*Communes of the Isère department...

. These attacks caused the bishop to withdraw from the alliance and make peace with Philip I, Count of Savoy, the brothers' uncle. In February 1283 the Genevois and men form the Faucigny

Faucigny

Faucigny is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.Historically, Faucigny was a region in Savoy which included the area of the modern département of Haute Savoie and the municipalities of Chamonix, Argentière, and Les Houches.-Geography:In the...

, enemies (inimicos) of Savoy, invaded the Savoyard castellany

Castellany

A castellany was a district administered by a castellan.Castellanies appeared during the Middle Ages and in most current states are now replaced by a more modern type of country subdivision....

 of Châtelard-en-Bauges and burned the village. In the Genevan citadel of Bourg-du-Four, agents of Count Philip fomented unrest in the city against both Amadeus II and the bishop. At this point in the spring of 1283 the emperor-elect Rudolf of Habsburg

Rudolph I of Germany

Rudolph I was King of the Romans from 1273 until his death. He played a vital role in raising the Habsburg dynasty to a leading position among the Imperial feudal dynasties...

 intervened against Savoy. Rudolf first attacked Morat

Morat

Morat can refer to:* a type of mead made from honey and mulberries* Rose Morat of New York City, the victim of a high profile muggingIt is also the name given to:* the town of Morat, also known as Murten, in Switzerland...

 and, failing in this, Payerne

Payerne

Payerne is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Vaud. It was the seat of the district of Payerne, and is now part of the district of Broye-Vully....

, where his assault was repulsed and the Louis of Vaud came to the city's defence. He then ordered the citizens of Fribourg

Fribourg

Fribourg is the capital of the Swiss canton of Fribourg and the district of Sarine. It is located on both sides of the river Saane/Sarine, on the Swiss plateau, and is an important economic, administrative and educational center on the cultural border between German and French Switzerland...

 to join the ‘imperial’ host and wrote to Amadeus II ordering him to invade Savoy an open up a “second front”. Although Amadeus received an offer of one hundred knight

Knight

A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....

s if he needed assistance, he does not appear to have actually opend up a “second front”, perhaps understanding better than the emperor the difficulty such an effort would face.

Marriage and issue

Amadeus married Agnes, daughter of John, Count of Chalon

John, Count of Chalon

John , called the Old , was a French nobleman, the Count of Auxonne and Chalon-sur-Saône in his own right and regent of the County of Burgundy in right of his son, Hugh III....

, and his second wife, Laurette de Commercy, by a marriage contract drawn up 1 June 1285. She bore him three sons, the eldest of which, William III, succeeded him. The second, Amadeus entered the church and became Bishop of Toul, while the youngest, Hugh, continued his father's feuding with the house of Savoy well into the reign of Amadeus VI of Savoy. Amadeus II also had two daughters: Jeanne (died 23 February 1303), who married Guichard VI de Beaujeu (1300), and Marie, who is mentioned in a document of 1306.

Amadeus died 22 May 1308 apud lu Bacho, and was buried the next day (23 May) at Montagny

Montagny

Montagny may refer to:In France:*Montagny, Loire*Montagny, Rhône*Montagny, Savoie*Montagny AOC, a wine appellation in the Côte Chalonnaise subregion of Burgundy.In Switzerland:*Montagny, Fribourg, consisting of**Montagny-les-Monts**Montagny-la-Ville...

.