Antipope Felix V

Who was Antipope Felix V?

Amadeus VIII was an Italian nobleman, the son of Amadeus VII, Count of Savoy and Bonne of Berry. He was surnamed the Peaceful. Born at Chambéry, he was the Count of Savoy from 1391 to 1416 and was elevated by Emperor Sigismund to the Duke of Savoy in 1416. Amadeus was elected, as antipope Felix V, by the Council of Basel-Ferrara-Florence and reigned from November 1439 to April 1449.

After the death of his father in 1391, his mother acted as a regent, because of his youth.

In 1418 his distant cousin Louis of Savoy-Achaea, his brother-in-law, the last male of the elder branch of House of Savoy, died, leaving Amadeus as his heir-general, thus finally uniting the male-lines of the House of Savoy.

He increased his dominions, encouraged several attempts to negotiate an end to the Hundred Years' War, and, after the death of his wife, retired from his position as Duke to become a hermit. Elected by the Council of Basel as an alternative Pope in opposition to Pope Eugene IV, Amadeus served as Felix V, regarded as an antipope, before stepping down to accept a Cardinal's hat.