AMADEUS V, COUNT OF SAVOY. - Second-born son of Thomas of Savoy, lord of Piedmont (himself the younger son of Thomas I, count of Savoy) and of Beatrice Fieschi, niece of Pope Innocent IV, he gathered up in 1285 the inheritance of his uncle Philip I, count of Savoy, who had died without heirs. His ascent to power met with some opposition from his nephew Philip, son of his elder brother Thomas, and from his younger brother Louis; but he compensated them by ceding to the first his father's Piedmontese possessions and to the second the Vaud as a fief. The division of the Savoyard states into three groups, established by A., was a cause of trouble for the dynasty. A., however, succeeded in increasing his domains by marrying Sibyl of Bagli, lady of Bresse, a territory that was economically very useful to the Savoys. Unlike his predecessors, who had felt strongly the influence of the English court, with which they had close ties of kinship, A. drew considerably closer to the French monarchy, which appeared as the hegemon in the territories of the old kingdom of Arles, between the Alps and the Rhone. For this reason the count of Savoy fought with Philip IV the Fair against the English in the wars of Flanders, afterwards seeking to interpose as a mediator between the two sides. He did not, however, succeed in obtaining any advantage from his French relations: the king of France, Philip IV the Fair, behaved very cautiously in the conflicts between Savoy and the Dauphiné, trying not to support either one side or the other.
A.'s second marriage, to Mary of Brabant, gave great importance to Savoyard policy when the count's brother-in-law, Henry of Luxembourg, became king of the Germans (1308). In the descent of Henry VII into Italy, A. played a very important part, and the emperor attested his gratitude by giving him the title of prince of the Empire and recognizing his possession, theoretical for the time being, of Asti. After the death of Henry VII, the count of Savoy again drew close to the French court, at which he stayed for a long time, while his lieutenants presided over the government of the states. In Piedmont he followed a policy of agreement with the Visconti, without however allowing himself to be carried into open rupture with King Robert of Anjou, against whom he nevertheless permitted his nephew Philip of Achaea to carry on his military activity. As for his religious policy, mention should be made of his stormy relations with the bishop of Geneva over the possession of the city, and of his journey to Avignon to negotiate with Pope John XXIII the plan of a crusade. There death overtook him, on 16 Oct. 1323. He was buried in the sepulchral vault of Hautecombe (v.).