Yolande of Valois

Yolande of Valois
Dedication by the theologian Guillaume Fichet of his book Rhetorica to Yolande of France, Duchess of Savoy (1471)
Duchess consort of Savoy
Tenure	29 January 1465 – 30 March 1472
Born	23 September 1434 Tours
Died	23 August 1478(1478-08-23) (aged 43) Chambéry
Spouse	Amadeus IX, Duke of Savoy
Issue	Anne, Princess of Squillace Louise Philibert I, Duke of Savoy Charles I, Duke of Savoy
House	Valois
Father	Charles VII of France
Mother	Marie of Anjou

Yolande of Valois (23 September 1434 – 23 August 1478), also called Yolande of France, was Duchess of Savoy by marriage to Duke Amadeus IX of Savoy, and regent of Savoy during the minority of her son Philibert I of Savoy from 1472 until 1478.

Life

Yolande was a daughter of King Charles VII of France, "The Victorious," and Marie of Anjou. She was named after her grandmother, Yolande of Aragon. At the age of two, Yolande was betrothed to Louis, Duke of Savoy, the agreement being signed at Tours.

Yolande married Duke Amadeus IX of Savoy in 1452. After her wedding, she brought three chests of books with her. Yolande's husband became duke of Savoy in 1465, making her duchess. Her husband's retiring disposition and epilepsy left her in control of the state, to struggle with the Savoyard barons.

Regency

After the death of her spouse in March 1472, Yolande became regent for her son Philibert until her own death. Like her brother Charles, she was an ally to Charles, Duke of Burgundy, against her own brother Louis XI of France. After the humiliation of Burgundy at the Battle of Grandson in 1476, the duke accused her of being in league with Louis and imprisoned her. After her release, she made peace with her brother and remained on good terms with him until her death. She is said to have been one of the very few women whose intelligence he respected.

Yolanda was the first person in Europe to own a tiger, keeping one in a castle in Turin in 1478.

Issue

Yolande and Amadeus had:

1. Louis of Savoy (1453)
2. Anne of Savoy (1455–1480), married Frederick of Naples (1452–1504), prince of Altamura
3. Charles of Savoy (1456–1471), Prince of Piedmont
4. Maria of Savoy (1460–1511) married Philip of Hachberg-Sausenberg (1454–1503)
5. Louise of Savoy (1462–1503), married in 1479 to Hugh de Chalon
6. Philibert I of Savoy (1465–1482)
7. Bernard of Savoy (1467)
8. Charles I of Savoy (1468–1490)
9. James Louis of Savoy (1470–1485), Count of the Genevois, France
10. John Claude Galeazzo of Savoy (1472)

Ancestry

Ancestors of Yolande of Valois
8. Charles V of France 4. Charles VI of France 9. Joanna of Bourbon 2. Charles VII of France 10. Stephen III, Duke of Bavaria 5. Isabeau of Bavaria 11.Taddaea Visconti 1. Princess Yolande of France 12. Louis I, Duke of Anjou 6. Louis II of Naples 13. Marie of Blois 3. Marie of Anjou 14. John I of Aragon 7. Yolande of Aragon 15. Violante de Bar

Sources

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