Adalgisel Grimo (died after 634) was a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

and member of the Austrasian nobility. He is chiefly significant because of his will, dated 30 December 634. This is the oldest known early medieval deed for the territory between the

Meuse The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...

and the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

and contains important information about the settlement, constitutional, economic and social history of this region. Adalgisel Grimo had a double name, such as appears occasionally in early medieval sources. ''Grimo'' is the diminutive of a longer polysyllabic name. He was educated at the

Cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

Verdun Verdun (, , , ; official name before 1970 ''Verdun-sur-Meuse'') is a large city in the Meuse department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital ...

, served as a deacon under Bishop

Paulus of Verdun Saint Paulus of Verdun (576-648) was a bishop of Verdun in the Lorraine region of France from 630Matthew Bunson and Margaret Bunson. ''Our Sunday Visitor's Encyclopedia of Saints.'' Second Edition. Our Sunday Visitor, 2014. p. 651. until his death ...

, and founded

Tholey Abbey Tholey Abbey (german: Abtei Tholey) in Tholey, in the district of Sankt Wendel in Saarland, is a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Saint Maurice. It is part of the Beuronese Congregation within the Benedictine Confederation. History As early a ...

. He controlled a large territory between the Meuse and Rhine, which he bequeathed to St. Maximin's Abbey, Trier and the Monastery of

Longuyon Longuyon () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in the Grand Est region of north-eastern France. The inhabitants are called ''Longuyonnais''. Geography Longuyon is located at the confluence of the Chiers and Crusnes rivers and ...

, among others. His will provides information regarding his family relationships. His sister was a deacon named Ermengundis. He mentions that his aunt, whose name is not given, is buried in the church of Saint-George in

Amay Amay (; wa, Ama) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. On 1 January 2006 Amay had a total population of approximately 14,231. The total area is 27.61 km2 which gives a population density of approximatel ...

. In 1977 the gravestone of

Saint Chrodoara Saint Chrodoara was a Merovingian noblewoman and traditionally the foundress of the Abbey of Amay, now in Wallonia, Belgium. Chrodoara is thought to have been born around the year 560 in Swabia. She was probably married to Bodegisel-Bobo, the so ...

was found in this church. Chrodoara was married to a duke named

Bodegisel Bodegisel (also spelled Bodygisil, died 585 or 588) was a Frankish duke (''dux''). He was the son of Mummolin, duke of Soissons, and served the kings Chilperic I and Childebert II. Bodegisel was ''dux'' of Provence. He was celebrated in song by th ...

, a member of a north Aquitanian aristocratic family. This helped confirm previous assumptions about the membership of Adalgisel in this family whose members are identifiable by names ending in "-gisil". A 10th-century transcription of the Latin testament of Adalgisel Grimo resides in the State Archives in Koblenz (

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

).LHAKo Bestand 1 A, Nr. 1 Grimo Testament. The definitive edition of the text was presented in 1932 by

Wilhelm Levison Wilhelm Levison (27 May 1876, in Düsseldorf – 17 January 1947, in Durham) was a German medievalist. He was well known as a contributor to ''Monumenta Germaniae Historica'', especially for the vitae from the Merovingian era. He also edited Wi ...

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