Prof. Francois Demotz, Official Knight of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, who has been particularly active in the Delegation for Savoy for over a decade, member of A.S.M.O.D. (Association of the Friends of the House of Savoy), is a well-known university lecturer, expert and scholar in medieval history and has written several publications and articles. In response to numerous requests, he has taken on the exciting and difficult challenge of reconstructing the origins of the Savoy dynasty, going as far back as the 11th century.
La Maison de Savoie au Moyen Âge. Naissance d’une dynastie (The House of Savoy in the Middle Ages. The birth of a dynasty) has just been published in French.
It offers a summary of the most recent studies undertaken by various researchers not only in Savoy, but also in France and Switzerland.
The first known and documented generation of the House of Savoy settled around the year 1000 between Vienna, Belley and Chambéry and already occupied an important place at the court of the King of Burgundy: its members included a count, several bishops and probably even the Queen.
The first part of the book is dedicated to the historical reconstruction of the geographical, social and cultural context, the cradle of the House, extending from the valleys of Savoy, across the Alps, towards Piedmont, made up of patient and tenacious characters, efficient warlords and skilful diplomats. The Counts of Savoy were solid feudal lords, masters of ever larger areas, driven by the ambitious goal of forging a dynasty to become the pillar of this political construction.
After illustrating the consolidation of bonds of submission and loyalty to the Count as the foundation of Savoy rule, the second and third parts of the essay analyse the shaping of the myth and of the most legendary and regal image of the Dynasty. At some point, the Savoy began to choose their emblems, define their titles, have their official history written, develop a refined court, organise sumptuous ceremonies, and establish orders of chivalry, the ancestors of today’s Dynastic Orders…
To find out more, we invite you to buy the book at the following link
