ANNE
OF LUSIGNAN
The
Sister of Lusignan King John II (Cyprus)
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Coat of arms of the House of Savoy
Anne
of Savoy was (Lusignan) born in Nicosia on the 24th of September,
1415 (or 1418), and died in Savoy on the 14th of November, 1462. She was
the sister of John II, King of Cyprus,
and mother-in-law of Charlotte, Queen of
Cyprus from 1458 to 1460. The name of Anne of Savoy is remembered
in history for its association with the shroud of Christ, which she persuaded
her husband to buy in 1453 from Margaret
of Charny and which is today preserved in Turin. Anne was the elder
daughter of Janus I of Lusignan, King of
Cyprus, and his second wife Charlotte
of Bourbon. She became engaged to Amadeus
of Savoy on the 9th of August, 1431. Soon after the engagement, Amadeus
died and on the 12th of January, 1432, she became engaged to his younger
brother, Louis, Count of Geneva.
The coronation of Anne of Lusignan, Duchess of Savoy. Miniature from the Livre d'Heures of Louis, Duke of Savoy and Anne's husband. It is dated to between 1439 and 1449. (National Library of France, Paris).
The marriage took place much later, because in the meantime Anne's father, King Janus, had died, and the period of mourning for a king had to be strictly kept. The marriage was first celebrated by proxy in Nicosia on Sunday the 4th of October, 1433, by the Bishop of Turin Aimone of Romagnano. In 1434 the wedding ceremony proper was celebrated in Chambéry in the presence of Anne's uncle, Hugh of Lusignan, Cardinal and Archbishop of Nicosia, who finally died in Savoy in 1442 (see: Data Isabella, "The Savoy Ducal Library in the 15th Century: Origin and Consistency" in Acts of the International Congress on the Cypriot-French Codex J. II. 9, Paphos, 1992 (University of Heidelberg).
When she came to Savoy, Anne brought her retinue with her from Cyprus. To these people she lavishly distributed honours and gifts in a way which provoked the jealousy of the Savoyard nobles. The chroniclers of the period describe Anne as a very beautiful woman, and an intriguer who dominated her weakwilled husband; she wanted satisfaction in the enjoyment of life, but was very religious.
The Dukes of Savoy possessed a large library. Some of the library's manuscripts that belonged to Anne are still preserved. The most remarkable of them is the Franco-Cypriot musical codex which contains the office of Saint Hilarion, composed in Nicosia in 1413 at the order of Anne's father, King Janus, as well as popular music. This codex is today in the National Library of Turin.