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Jacques de Savoie
Comte de Romont
(1450–86)

Biographical

Comte de Romont 1460–78
Baron de Vaud 1460–75 dep
Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece 1478 [HRE]
Knight (Burgundy) 1475

Governor of Burgundy 1475
Governor of the Netherlands 1473
Governor of Artois 1473
Lieutenant general of Piedmont 1466

Jacques was granted Romont and Vaud in 1460, but succeeded only after his brother became Duke of Savoy in 1465. In 1467 he led the Savoyan army into the conflict between Amedeo IX and Galeazzo Sforza. He took possession of his lands that year, and he began to reorganise the Vaudese territory. Under him, Vaud became an almost autonomous principality. He supported Duke Charles the Bold in the Burgundian Wars of 1474-76, and was at the head of a company of Lombard mercenaries in the service of Duke. He was wounded in 1475 at Arras and was awarded a knighthood by the Duke for his services. He had become one of the main adversaries of the Swiss who declared war on him later in 1475, and he soon lost Vaud. In 1476, Duke Charles invaded the region but was defeated at Grandson and Morat. Jacques, who commanded one of the four Burgundian corps, had to retire in the Franche-Comté with Duke Charles. After peace negotiations in 1476, Vaud was returned to Savoy, but Jacques was not given outright possession of his property. He continued to serve the Duchy of Burgundy, and between 1479 and 1481, he played an important role in Habsburg reconquest of the Flemish territories. He fell into disgrace after siding with Flanders against the Emperor Maximilian, and he retired to his castle in Ham.

Place of birth: Geneva
Place of death: Castle of Ham, Picardy
Place of burial: Saint-Pol

Son of Louis I, duc de Savoie and Princess Anne of Cyprus. He married Marie de Luxembourg in 1460.

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