Grimoult of Plessis
Grimoult of Plessis was an 11th-century Norman baron.
Baron Grimoult of Plessis | |
---|---|
Born | Unknown |
Died | 1047 |
Nationality | Norman |
Known for | Attempted coup |
Criminal charge(s) | Treason |
Criminal penalty | Execution |
Children | Guillaume I du Plessis |
Parent(s) |
|
Relatives | Nigel d'Aubigny, William d'Aubigny |
Notes | |
Biography
Grimoult, or Grimoald was the Baron of the villages of Saint-Jean-le-Blanc,[5] Périgny,[6] and Le Plessis-Grimoult, which was named after him. The land holdings of Plessis were made up of 10,600 hectares and extended across 12 parishes around the Castle of Plessis-Grimoult.[7]
Grimoult was part of a conspiracy to assassinate William the Bastard, who at that point was struggling to maintain control of the duchy of Normandy after the death of his Father. In 1047 they arranged for William, then only 19, to be killed at Valognes, but William was warned and the assassination attempt failed. Grimoult and his co-conspirators raised an army of around 25,000 men and fought against William and his backer King Henry I of France at the Battle of Val-ès-Dunes. Because Grimoult held less influence than the other conspirators he was the only one to be imprisoned in the tower of Rouen and then executed by the Duke. Grimoult's lands were confiscated, his castle was destroyed and his barony was given to the Duke's half brother Odo, the Bishop of Bayeux for the use of the church.[8]
Family
He was the many times great-grandfather of Cardinal Richelieu.
References
- https://www.geni.com/people/Grimoult-du-Plessis/6000000005592949112
- Carrington, W. A. (1901). "The Early Lords of the Belvoir". Journal of the British Archaeological Association. 7 (4): 299–326. doi:10.1080/00681288.1901.11894147.
- Cantru, Camille. "La participation du Bocage Normand à la conquête de l'Angleterre" (in French).
- "Aubigny, William d' [William de Albini; known as William d'Aubigny Pincerna](d. 1139)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/47244. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- de Caumont, Arcisse (1857). Statistique monumentale du Calvados [Calvodos's monuments in statistics] (in French). Caen: Hardel.
- Cantru, Camille (1979). Périgny, Notes d'Histoire [Notes on the history of Périgny] (in French). Condé-sur-Noireau: Charles Corlet.
- Zadora-Rio, Élisabeth (1973). L'enceinte fortifiée du Plessis-Grimoult [The walled fortress of Plessis-Grimoult]. Centre de recherches archéologiques médiévales.
- "Les collections du Musée de Normandie" (in French).