Waldalenus
Encyclopedia
Waldalenus or Wandalenus (late 6th – early 7th century), dux
in the region between the Alps
and the Jura
, in the Frankish Kingdom of Burgundy
, was a Frankish
magnate who served as mayor of the Austrasian palace
at Metz
from 581, during the minority of Childebert II
.
One of his seats of government (palatium
) as Patricius of Burgundy was at Arlay
on the "Salt Road
", noted in 597; there his son Donatus of Luxeuil
would found the Abbey of Saint-Vincent, destroyed by Otto II of Burgundy
.
He was a patron of Columbanus
at Luxeuil Abbey
(founded around 585–90), where he dedicated one son to the Church, and thus provided early support for Hiberno-Frankish monasticism in Western Europe: "This family's connections stretched into Provence and would prove highly influential in seventh-century Frankish politics," Marilyn Dunn notes. Both Eustasius and Waldebert, kinsmen of Waldalenus, succeeded Columbanus as second and third abbots of Luxeuil. The extended family of Waldelenus controlled the Alpine passes approached from Briançon
, those of Susa (the Col de Montgenèvre)
, Embrun
, and Gap
. Abbo, Patrician of Provence
and rector of Maurienne and Susa, the opponent of Maurontus
, came from the family of Waldelenus.
His opponents in Burgundy represented the influence of Willibad
(died 642), the Patrician of Burgundy (or Burgundian Provence
) Willibad may not have been a Frank
but perhaps a Burgundian
, one of the last representatives of the native nobility. The centre of Willibad's power was Lyon
, Vienne
, and Valence
. Willibad continued to be confronted by the supporters of Columbanus, Waldalenus' son, Chramnelenus of Besançon, Chramnelenus' brother-in-law Amalgar of Dijon and Wandalbert of Chambly.
Waldalenus was married to Flavia, noble in birth and bearing, according to the chronicler of Columbanus and his foundations, Jonas of Bobbio
, but the couple were barren, until they beseeched Columbanus to intercede for a miraculous pregnancy. Columbanus required that the first-born be dedicated to the church, and consequently Donatus, christened by Columbanus himself as the "gift", was raised and educated at Luxeuil and was made Bishop of Besançon
. The second son was Chramnelenus, and there were two daughters that the Merovingian chronicler did not think to name.
Flavia outlived her husband and founded a convent of nuns at the dynasty's headquarters, Besançon, where her son Donatus was bishop.
A later Waldalenus of this house, abbot of Bèze
, came to be venerated as a saint; is noticed in a diplomatic document of September 677.
Dux
Dux is Latin for leader and later for Duke and its variant forms ....
in the region between the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
and the Jura
Jura mountains
The Jura Mountains are a small mountain range located north of the Alps, separating the Rhine and Rhone rivers and forming part of the watershed of each...
, in the Frankish Kingdom of Burgundy
Kingdom of Burgundy
Burgundy is a historic region in Western Europe that has existed as a political entity in a number of forms with very different boundaries. Two of these entities - the first around the 6th century, the second around the 11th century - have been called the Kingdom of Burgundy; a third was very...
, was a Frankish
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
magnate who served as mayor of the Austrasian palace
Mayor of the Palace
Mayor of the Palace was an early medieval title and office, also called majordomo, from the Latin title maior domus , used most notably in the Frankish kingdoms in the 7th and 8th centuries....
at Metz
Metz
Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...
from 581, during the minority of Childebert II
Childebert II
.Childebert II was the Merovingian king of Austrasia, which included Provence at the time, from 575 until his death in 595, the eldest and succeeding son of Sigebert I, and the king of Burgundy from 592 to his death, as the adopted and succeeding son of his uncle Guntram.-Childhood:When his father...
.
One of his seats of government (palatium
Palace
A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word itself is derived from the Latin name Palātium, for Palatine Hill, one of the seven hills in Rome. In many parts of Europe, the...
) as Patricius of Burgundy was at Arlay
Arlay
Arlay is a commune in the Jura department in Franche-Comté in eastern France.-History:Arlay's early importance lay in the fact that it was a station where the "Salt Road" forded the river Seille. It was refounded by the Romans as an oppidum and functioned as a Gallo-Roman city until it was...
on the "Salt Road
Salt Road
A salt road ) is any of the prehistoric and historical trade routes by which essential salt has been transported to regions that lacked it ....
", noted in 597; there his son Donatus of Luxeuil
Luxeuil Abbey
Luxeuil Abbey was one of the oldest and best-known monasteries in Burgundy, located in the "département" of Haute-Saône in Franche-Comté, France.-Columbanus:...
would found the Abbey of Saint-Vincent, destroyed by Otto II of Burgundy
Otto-William, Duke of Burgundy
Otto-William was a son of Adalbert, King of Italy, and Gerberga of Mâcon.His mother gave him what would be the Free County of Burgundy around Dôle in 982. Otto also inherited the duchy of Burgundy on the other side of the Saône in 1002 from his stepfather Eudes Henry the Great...
.
He was a patron of Columbanus
Columbanus
Columbanus was an Irish missionary notable for founding a number of monasteries on the European continent from around 590 in the Frankish and Lombard kingdoms, most notably Luxeuil and Bobbio , and stands as an exemplar of Irish missionary activity in early medieval Europe.He spread among the...
at Luxeuil Abbey
Luxeuil Abbey
Luxeuil Abbey was one of the oldest and best-known monasteries in Burgundy, located in the "département" of Haute-Saône in Franche-Comté, France.-Columbanus:...
(founded around 585–90), where he dedicated one son to the Church, and thus provided early support for Hiberno-Frankish monasticism in Western Europe: "This family's connections stretched into Provence and would prove highly influential in seventh-century Frankish politics," Marilyn Dunn notes. Both Eustasius and Waldebert, kinsmen of Waldalenus, succeeded Columbanus as second and third abbots of Luxeuil. The extended family of Waldelenus controlled the Alpine passes approached from Briançon
Briançon
Briançon a commune in the Hautes-Alpes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department....
, those of Susa (the Col de Montgenèvre)
Col de Montgenèvre
The Col de Montgenèvre is a high mountain pass in the Cottian Alps, between France and Italy.The pass takes its name from the village Montgenèvre , which lies in the vicinity...
, Embrun
Embrun, Hautes-Alpes
Embrun is a commune in the Hautes-Alpes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.-Description:...
, and Gap
Gap, Hautes-Alpes
Gap is a commune in southeastern France, the capital of the Hautes-Alpes department.-Geography:An Alpine crossroads at the intersection of D994 and Route nationale 85 the Route Napoléon, Gap lies above sea level along the right bank of the Luye River...
. Abbo, Patrician of Provence
Abbo of Provence
Abbo was the Patrician of Provence in opposition to Maurontus in the 730s. He was also rector of Maurienne and Susa. Abbo came from the family of Waldelenus in the Besançon. They controlled the Alpine passes of Susa, Embrun, and Gap....
and rector of Maurienne and Susa, the opponent of Maurontus
Maurontus
Maurontus or Maurontius was the Duke or Patrician of Provence in the early eighth century . He aspired to independence in the face of Charles Martel, Duke of the Franks, and the Provençal patrician Abbo....
, came from the family of Waldelenus.
His opponents in Burgundy represented the influence of Willibad
Willibad
Willibad, Willebad, or Willihad was the Patrician of Burgundy in the first half of the seventh century. Willibad may have been a Frank or perhaps a Burgundian, one of the last representatives of the native nobility which had been subdued by the Franks in 534.The centre of Willibad's power was...
(died 642), the Patrician of Burgundy (or Burgundian Provence
Provence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
) Willibad may not have been a Frank
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
but perhaps a Burgundian
Burgundians
The Burgundians were an East Germanic tribe which may have emigrated from mainland Scandinavia to the island of Bornholm, whose old form in Old Norse still was Burgundarholmr , and from there to mainland Europe...
, one of the last representatives of the native nobility. The centre of Willibad's power was Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
, Vienne
Vienne
Vienne is the northernmost département of the Poitou-Charentes region of France, named after the river Vienne.- Viennese history :Vienne is one of the original 83 departments, established on March 4, 1790 during the French Revolution. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Poitou,...
, and Valence
Valence, Drôme
Valence is a commune in southeastern France, the capital of the Drôme department, situated on the left bank of the Rhône, south of Lyon on the railway to Marseilles.Its inhabitants are called Valentinois...
. Willibad continued to be confronted by the supporters of Columbanus, Waldalenus' son, Chramnelenus of Besançon, Chramnelenus' brother-in-law Amalgar of Dijon and Wandalbert of Chambly.
Waldalenus was married to Flavia, noble in birth and bearing, according to the chronicler of Columbanus and his foundations, Jonas of Bobbio
Jonas of Bobbio
Jonas of Bobbio or Jonas Bobiensis was a Columbanian monk and writer of hagiography, among which his Life of Saint Columbanus is outstanding....
, but the couple were barren, until they beseeched Columbanus to intercede for a miraculous pregnancy. Columbanus required that the first-born be dedicated to the church, and consequently Donatus, christened by Columbanus himself as the "gift", was raised and educated at Luxeuil and was made Bishop of Besançon
Besançon
Besançon , is the capital and principal city of the Franche-Comté region in eastern France. It had a population of about 237,000 inhabitants in the metropolitan area in 2008...
. The second son was Chramnelenus, and there were two daughters that the Merovingian chronicler did not think to name.
Flavia outlived her husband and founded a convent of nuns at the dynasty's headquarters, Besançon, where her son Donatus was bishop.
A later Waldalenus of this house, abbot of Bèze
Bèze
Bèze is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France.-Population:-External links:*...
, came to be venerated as a saint; is noticed in a diplomatic document of September 677.
External links
- Merovingian Nobility: Among "Other Dux Francorum", 7.a Waldalenus, abbot of Bèze