Amadeus II of Geneva

Amadeus II (died 22 May 1308) was the Count of Geneva, which included the Genevois, but not the city of Geneva, from 1280 to 1308. He was the second son of Count Rudolf and succeeded his heirless brother Aymon II. Alliance and war (1282–83) In June 1282 at Versoix, Amadeus and Béatrice “la Grande Dauphine”, the dowager Countess of Albon and regent for her son John I, came to an agreement whereby all the places that Amadeus' father and grandfather, William II, had been forced to cede to Peter “the Little Charlemagne” in 1250 and 1260—the so-called gagerie—would be returned to Geneva. The gagerie was originally to be held by Peter and his heirs until the Count of Geneva paid a war indemnity of 20,000 marks, later reduced to 10,000. Béatrice was Peter's only daughter and heir, and the widow of Guigues VII of Albon. In return for these lands, Amadeus granted to Béatrice suzerainty over certain lordships and agreed to take any allods within the returned gagerie as fiefs of her and her heirs, the Counts of Albon, instead. The treaty also created a mutual defensive alliance and cooperation in an offensive against "those detaining and possessing the properties and men belonging to the above-mentioned gagerie", that is, men of the house of Savoy, Béatrice's relatives. The conference of Versoix was under the presidency of Amadeus' uncl,e the Bishop of Geneva, who promised to help both parties so far as it did not threaten the rights of his diocese. The privilege of arbitrating disputes between Amadeus and Béatrice fell to Humbert I of La Tour-du-Pin, who was Béatrice's son-in-law as the husband of her daughter Anne. War with Savoy immediately broke out following the alliance between Amadeus and the Dauphine. By 1 November 1282 the Savoyards had attacked Avalon in the Dauphiné and Bellecombe in the Genevois. The castle of La Buissière in the Dauphiné was captured by Louis I of Vaud, who then invaded the Grésivaudan, while his brother Amadeus, marching from the Bresse, assaulted Moirans. These attacks caused the bishop to withdraw from the alliance and make peace with Philip I, Count of Savoy, the brothers' uncle. In February 1283 the Genevois and men form the Faucigny, enemies (inimicos) of Savoy, invaded the Savoyard castellany of Châtelard-en-Bauges and burned the village. In the Genevan citadel of Bourg-du-Four, agents of Count Philip fomented unrest in the city against both Amadeus II and the bishop.