Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume I.djvu/397

 AMADEUS AMALASONTHA 373 Selz, 18 m. 8. by W. of Mcnt:: ; pop. in 1867, 5,358. The chief industries are tanning and the manufacture of tobacco. It was founded in the time of the Romans, and had for some time in the middle ages its own lords, ruins of whose castle are still extant. AMADEUS, a name very common in the ruling family of Savoy, and first borne by the eldest son of Count Humbert, in the beginning of the llth century. The most noteworthy rulers of this name are : I. Amadcns V., count of Savoy, the son of Thomas II., born in 1249, succeeded his uncle Philip in 1285, and died at Avignon in 1323. He obtained the surname of Great. He largely increased his dominions by marriage, purchase, and donations. Among his exploits is mentioned a repulse of the Turks from Rhodes, then in the possession of the knights of St. John, a triumph which was believed to have led to the adoption of the " cross of Savoy," and the device F. E. R. T., or F E R T, gener- ally explained by Fortitudo ejus Rhodum tenuit; but both the exploit and the explana- tion are now considered unauthentic. His daughter was married to Andronicus III., emperor of Constantinople. In order to induce Pope John XXII. to preach a crusade in favor of his son-in-law, he undertook a journey to Avignon, where he died. II. Amadous VIII., count of Savoy, and for some time pope or anti-pope, succeeded his father Amadeus VII. in 1391. He purchased the country of Gene- vois for 45,000 florins, and thus the house of Savoy became so powerful that the emperor Sigismund in 1416 erected Savoy into a duchy. John Palseologus, duke of Montferrat, agreed to hold the marquisate of Montferrat as a fief of the house of Savoy. By marriage and dona- tion Amadeus made yet further acquisitions. In 1434, however, he abandoned his duchy to his son and retired to the monastery of Ripaille, where he lived so luxuriously thatfaire Ripaille became a saying in the French language, signi- fying to make good cheer. He had never received holy orders, but was elected pope and crowned at Basel by the cardinal of Aries, under the title of Felix V. The papal dignity was contested by Eugenius IV., who was sup- ported by France, England, Italy, Spain, and Hungary. Eugenius 'died, and the cardinals at Rome elected Thomas de Sarzana (Nicholas V.). Amadeus resigned the papal crown in his favor in 1449, stipulating, however, that he should be perpetual apostolical legate in his late temporal dominions, that he should con- tinue to wear the pontifical dress except in a few particulars, that he need not go to Rome to attend any general council, and that the pope should rise to receive him, and permit him to kiss his cheek instead of his foot. AMADEUS I. (Amadeo Ferdinando Maria), king of Spain, duke of Aosta, second sou of King Victor Emanuel of Italy, born May 30, 1845. He early held the rank of lieutenant general in the Italian army and that of rear idmiral in the navy, and showed much interest in naval affairs. He married, May 30, 1867, the wealthy Italian princess Maria del Pozzo della Cisterna, whose mother was a countess de Me- rode. His nomination as king of Spain, proposed by Gen. Prim, was sanctioned by Victor Eman- uel, subject to the approval of the European powers, which was given in October, 1870, and to the ratification by a majority of the cortes, which took place on Nov. 16. He reached Madrid Jan. 2, 1871, Gen. Prim having been assassinated four days previously. He was him- self beset by assassins (July, 1872), by Carlist risings, and by other dangers and administrative difficulties. Becoming discouraged, he abdica- ted the -throne for himself and his heirs, Feb. 11, 1873, and returned to Italy, the cortes imme- diately proclaiming and organizing a republic. AMADIS OF GAUL, the mythical hero of one of the early romances of chivalry, written by Vasco de Lobeira, a gentleman of the Por- tuguese court, who died in 1403. The Portu- guese original is lost, and the earliest known version is the Spanish one of Montalvo, made be- tween 1492 and 1504. It has been translated into various languages, and extended to five times its original length, and was the most popular as it is the best of all the fictions of its class. Amadis, the pattern of a perfect knight, is supposed to have flourished soon after the beginning of the Christian era, and to have gone through a variety of adventures in Eng- land, France, Germany, Turkey, and more or less imaginary countries. He is the son of an imaginary king of Gaul (perhaps Wales), and crowns his adventures by marrying Oriana, daughter of Lisuarte, king of England. AMADOU, an E. county of California, bordering on the Sierra Nevada, bounded S. E. by the Amador river, a tributary of the Sacramento, and drained by the branches of the San Joa- quin; pop. in 1870, 9,582, of whom 1,627 were Chinese. Gold, copper, marble, and quartz abound. The productions in 1870 were 16,678 bushels of wheat, 51,815 of barley, 36,760 of corn, 73,010 Ibs. of wool, and 54,165 gallons of wine. There were 36 quartz mills for the pro- duction of gold, 9 saw mills, and 2 newspapers. Capital, Jackson. AMALARIC, the son of Alaric II., and last Visigothic king of Spain, born in 501, died in 531. He was not yet six years old at his father's death, and his bastard brother would have supplanted him had not his grandfather Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths, seized the throne and preserved it for his grandson until he reached manhood. He married Clotilda, daughter of Clovis, king of the Franks, in 527, and having treated her with great cruelty to induce her to embrace Arianism, her brother Childebert marched against him, and defeated him in battle. He was killed in the flight. AMALASONTHA, or Amalasnintha, daughter of Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths, born in 498, died in 535. Her husband Eutha- ric having died, her intellect and learning de- cided Theodoric to make her regent of Italy