Humbert II of Viennois
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Dauphin de Viennois
The Counts of Albon were minor French nobles in south-eastern France, in the Rhône Alps region.Under Guigues IV, Count of Albon, who was nicknamed le Dauphin or the Dolphin from the dolphin on his coat of arms, they took a new hereditary title, Dauphin of Viennois , named for the region around...
from 1333 to 16 July 1349. He was a son of the Dauphin John II and Beatrice of Hungary. Humbert was the last dauphin before the title went to the French crown, to be bestowed on the heir apparent
Heir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
.
To contemporaries, he was incompetent and extravagant, lacking the warlike ardour of his brother and predecessor Guigues VIII. He passed his youth at Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
enjoying the aesthetic pleasures of the Italian quattrocento
Quattrocento
The cultural and artistic events of 15th century Italy are collectively referred to as the Quattrocento...
. His subsequent court at Beauvoir-en-Royans
Beauvoir-en-Royans
Beauvoir-en-Royans is a commune in the Isère department in south-eastern France.-See also:*Communes of the Isère department*Parc naturel régional du Vercors...
was badly received at the time for its sumptuousness. Unlike his predecessors, Humbert did not lead the itinerant life, moving constantly from one delphinal castle to another, instead preferring to settle down in Beauvoir.
He depleted his treasury funding a vain Crusade to rescue the Holy Land
Holy Land
The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
, but after the death of his only son Andrew (5 September 1333 – Grenoble
Grenoble
Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère...
, October 1335), he quickly gave up the idea and by 1337 was planning to cede his inheritance. In 1339, financial difficulties accumulating, he made an inventory of his possessions, with the hope of selling them to Pope Benedict XII
Pope Benedict XII
Pope Benedict XII , born Jacques Fournier, the third of the Avignon Popes, was Pope from 1334 to 1342.-Early life:...
. In May 1345, Humbert had left Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
at the head of a papal fleet. The Crusade was led against the Turkish Emirate of Aydin, and was intended to assist the recently captured Frankish port of Smyrna, but was attacked by Genoa
Republic of Genoa
The Most Serene Republic of Genoa |Ligurian]]: Repúbrica de Zêna) was an independent state from 1005 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast, as well as Corsica from 1347 to 1768, and numerous other territories throughout the Mediterranean....
near Rhodes
Rhodes
Rhodes is an island in Greece, located in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007, and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within...
. He was asked to intervene by Venice
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
in the conflict ongoing between Bartolomeo Zaccaria
Bartolomeo Zaccaria
Bartolomeo Zaccaria was the first husband of Guglielma Pallavicini and thus Margrave of Bodonitsa in her right...
and Guglielma Pallavicini
Guglielma Pallavicini
Guglielma Pallavicini , the Lady of Thermopylae, was the last Pallavicino heir to rule in Bodonitsa. She was but an infant when she succeeded her father Albert in 1311...
over the marquisate of Bodonitsa. He returned before the Crusade had achieved anything notable.
The planned sale to the pope falling through, Humbert finally succeeded in completing a sale to Philip VI of France
Philip VI of France
Philip VI , known as the Fortunate and of Valois, was the King of France from 1328 to his death. He was also Count of Anjou, Maine, and Valois from 1325 to 1328...
in 1349 for 400,000 écu
ECU
ECU may refer to:Automotive terms* Electronic control unit, a generic term for any embedded system that controls one or more of the electrical systems or subsystems in a motor vehicle...
s and an annual pension. To save appearances, however, the sale was referred to as a "transport." In order to prevent the delphinal title from going into abeyance or being swallowed up in another sovereign title, Humbert instated the "Delphinal Statute" whereby the Dauphiné
Dauphiné
The Dauphiné or Dauphiné Viennois is a former province in southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of :Isère, :Drôme, and :Hautes-Alpes....
was exempted from many taxes and imposts. This statute was the subject of much subsequent parliamentary debate at the regional level, as local leaders sought to defend this regional autonomy and privilege from the state's assaults.
After ceding his lands, Humbert entered the Dominican Order
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
and aspired to become Bishop of Paris and eventually Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
. He adopted the saecular titles of Prince of Briançonnois, Duke of Champsor, and Margrave of Cézane. He received the ecclesiastic titles of Patriarch of Alexandria
Latin Patriarch of Alexandria
This is a list of The Latin Patriarchs of Alexandria established in 1215 during the pontificate of Pope Innocent III. This titular office was abolished in 1964. His patriachal seat in Rome was the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls....
and perpetual administrator of the Archdiocese of Rheims. It is with these latter titles that his death is recorded in a necrology of Vauvert
Vauvert
Vauvert is a commune in the Gard department in southern France. It was known as Posquières in the Middle Ages.The commune comprises the town of Vauvert and the villages of Gallician and Montcalm. Over a third of the population work in industry, which is largely the food...
: in Clermont-en-Auvergne, at forty three years of age in 1355. His wife had been Beatrice of Baux, daughter of Bertrand of Baux, and their only son was the aforementioned Andrew.