Honoré I de Savoie

Honorat I de Savoie, seigneur de Sommerive (1538–1572) was a governor and soldier during the French Wars of Religion. He entered high office as lieutenant-general of Provence, appointed in 1562, serving under his father. He would take the opportunity civil war presented to usurp the authority of his father, and drive him into exile, temporarily claiming the title of governor for himself, before relinquishing it during peace. He fought for the crown loyally after this, aiding in the campaign against the viscounts of Languedoc in both the second and third civil war. His father died in 1566 and he inherited his titles despite his earlier rebellion. The crown would award him his father's office of governor of Provence shortly thereafter. He died on 8 October 1572. Early life and family Honorat is known as 'Sommerive' to distinguish him from his uncle Honorat II of Savoy. Sommerive was the second son of Claude de Savoie count of Tende and governor of Provence since the death of René de Savoie in 1525, and Marie de Chabannes. His mother would die in childbirth, and his older brother would die young, leaving him the eldest child. He was a Catholic, and opposed the Protestantism of his step-mother and younger brother René, and the Protestant sympathies of his father Tende. Sent to court by his parents, he would make a positive impression in the political centre. Sommerive would marry Clarisse Strozzi, daughter of Pietro Strozzi in May 1558. The marriage would be childless. Reign of Charles IX