Bonne of Bourbon

Bonne of Bourbon
Countess consort of Savoy
Tenure	1355–1383
Spouse	Amadeus VI of Savoy
Issue	Amadeus VII of Savoy 2 died young
Father	Peter I, Duke of Bourbon
Mother	Isabella of Valois
Born	1341
Died	19 January 1402 (aged 60–61) Château de Mâcon
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Bonne of Bourbon (1341 – 19 January 1402) was a daughter of Peter I, Duke of Bourbon, and Isabella of Valois, and hence a sister of Joanna of Bourbon.

Biography

She became engaged to Amadeus VI, Count of Savoy as part of the Treaty of Paris (1355), which included a dowry of three thousand florins per year.^[1] She married Amadeus in September 1355 in Paris.^[2] Immediately after their wedding, her husband had to return to his army, still engaged in the Hundred Years' War.^[3]

She and Amadeus had three children:

• A daughter, born 1358, who died after a few weeks^[4]
• Amadeus VII of Savoy (March 1360^[4] – November 1, 1391). He married Bonne of Berry (1365–1435), daughter of Duke John of Berry and a niece of Bonne of Bourbon.
• Louis of Savoy, born late 1364, died before the end of the year^[5]

In 1366, when her husband left on a crusade to Bulgaria, he named her as regent of Savoy for the duration of his absence, to be advised by his council.^[6] In 1367, James, lord of Piedmont, a cousin of Amadeus, died. There was a dispute over his inheritance between his eldest son, Philip and his widow, Margaret of Beaujeu, representing the interests of her young sons, Amadeus and Louis. Bonne, acting as regent, was only able to keep them from open war. She was not able to settle the dispute, and Philip had to go to Amadeus in Venice to try to get resolution.^[7]

She greatly enjoyed the Alpine mountain lakes of Savoy, and tried to ensure the castles she stayed in had good views of them.^[3] In 1371, she oversaw the building of the chateau at Ripaille, seeking to build a manor that would more easily accommodate the larger court of the Count. The new chateau had large windows overlooking Lake Geneva.^[8] She was a great patron of music, and was known for her skill on the harp.^[9]

In July 1382, funds were running low for her husband's ongoing wars in Italy, so she sold some of her jewelry for more than 400 florins to help him re-equip.^[10]

Bonne died at the Château de Mâcon.

Ancestry

References

Notes

Sources

• Cox, Eugene L. (1967). The Green Count of Savoy. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. LCCN 67-11030. 
• Echols, Anne; Williams, Marty (1992). An Annotated Index of Medieval Women. Markus Weiner Publishing Inc.