Savoy
Savoy names 2 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below.
Savoy HOUSE OF, one of the most ancient royal families
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
HOUSE OF, one of the most ancient royal families, and also distinguished for having produced a remarkable number of eminent warriors and states- Its origin is not historically esmen. tablished, but most genealogists trace it ta to a German count, Humbert, who, in the 11th century, established himself on the W. slope of the Alps between Mont Blanc and Lake Leman. In 1111 his descendants were enrolled among the counts of the Holy Roman empire. Count Amadeus, in 1383, founded a law of primostrengthened the geniture which greatly st family, leading to the immediate acquisition of the territory of Nice. In 1416 the Counts of Savoy adopted the title of duke; and in 1418 they acquired the principality of Piedmont. Taking part in the great eat wars between France and the Holy Roman empire, now on the one side and then on the other, as policy dictated, the Princes of Savoy increased their possessions in all directions, but chiefly toward the S.; and at the peace of Utrecht in 1713 they obtained the island of Sicily, with the title of king. Sicily had to be exchanged, in 1718, for the isle of Sardinia, to which henceforth the royal dignity remained attached. Genoa and the surrounding territory were added to the Sardinian crown at the peace of 1815. The direct male line of the house of Savoy died out with King Charles Felix, in 1831, and the existing Salic law prohibiting the accession of females, the crown fell to Prince Charles Albert, of the House of Savoy-Carignan. The latter branch-taking its name from a small town in the province of Turin, was founded by Thomas Francis, born in 1596, a younger son of Duke Charles Emanuel I. of Savoy. King Charles Albert, the first of the house of Savoy- Carignan, abdicated the throne, March 23, 1849, in favor of his son, Victor Emmanuel II., the first King of Italy. See VICTOR EMMANUEL.
Savoy a former duchy of the kingdom of Sardinia
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a former duchy of the kingdom of Sardinia, now annexed to France, and forming the departments of Savoie and Haute-Savoie, having N. and N. E. Switzerland, S. E. and S. Piedmont, and W. the departments of Isère and Ain; area, 4,162 square miles. It is the most elevated country of Europe, consist ing principally of mountains, the highest of which is Mont Blanc. The valleys and low grounds are fertile and well cultivated. Rivers: Rhône, Arve, Drance, and Isere; lakes: Annecy and Bourget. Products: wheat, oats, barley, rye, and hemp. Minerals: iron, copper, silver, lead, coal, and salt. Manufactures, cotton and woolen fabrics, hosiery, watches, clocks, glass, earthenware, etc. Capital of Savoie, Chambéry; of Haute-Savoie, Annecy. Savoy was anciently a part of Sapaudia, whence the name Saboia, or Savoy, is derived. It was erected into a duchy under Amadeus VIII., in 1416, and was ceded to France in 1860. Pop. about 500,000.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
When Collier's wrote in 1921 the House of Savoy still reigned in Italy, in the person of Victor Emmanuel III; after the fall of Fascism and a referendum in June 1946 Italy became a republic, and Umberto II, king for barely a month, went into exile. Male heirs of the house were barred from Italian soil by the constitution until the ban was lifted in 2002. The territory ceded to France in 1860 remains the departments of Savoie and Haute-Savoie, but the "about 500,000" inhabitants have grown to well over a million, and the economy Collier's described — hemp, iron and lead mining, hosiery — has given way to hydroelectric power, Alpine tourism and cross-border commuting to Geneva. Mont Blanc, which the article notes as the region's high point, was pierced by a road tunnel to Italy in 1965, and Albertville hosted the Winter Olympics in 1992.
Written for this edition, 2026.