Waldalenus, or Wandalenus (late 6th – early 7th century), ''
dux
''Dux'' (; plural: ''ducēs'') is Latin for "leader" (from the noun ''dux, ducis'', "leader, general") and later for duke and its variant forms (doge, duce, etc.). During the Roman Republic and for the first centuries of the Roman Empire, '' ...
'' in the region between the
Alps
The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Swi ...
Kingdom of Burgundy
Kingdom of Burgundy was a name given to various states located in Western Europe during the Middle Ages. The historical Burgundy correlates with the border area of France, Italy and Switzerland and includes the major modern cities of Geneva and ...
, was a
Frankish
Frankish may refer to:
* Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture
** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages
* Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany
* East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...
Metz
Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand ...
from 581, during the minority of
Childebert II
Childebert II (c.570–596) was the Merovingian king of Austrasia (which included Provence at the time) from 575 until his death in March 596, as the only son of Sigebert I and Brunhilda of Austrasia; and the king of Burgundy from 592 to his ...
.
One of his seats of government (''
palatium
The Palatine Hill (; la, Collis Palatium or Mons Palatinus; it, Palatino ), which relative to the seven hills of Rome is the centremost, is one of the most ancient parts of the city and has been called "the first nucleus of the Roman Empire." ...
Arlay
Arlay is a commune in the Jura department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. On 1 January 2016, the former commune of Saint-Germain-lès-Arlay was merged into Arlay.
History
Arlay's early importance lay in the fact ...
on the "
Salt Road
A salt road (also known as a salt route, salt way, saltway, or salt trading route) refers to any of the prehistoric and historical trade routes by which essential salt was transported to regions that lacked it.
From the Bronze Age (in the 2nd m ...
Luxeuil Abbey
Luxeuil Abbey (), the ''Abbaye Saint-Pierre et Saint-Paul'', was one of the oldest and best-known monasteries in Burgundy, located in what is now the département of Haute-Saône in Franche-Comté, France.
History Columbanus
It was founded circa 5 ...
(founded around 585–90), where he dedicated one son to monastic life, 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
Waldebert (also known as Gaubert, Valbert and Walbert), (died 668), was a Frankish count of Guines, Ponthieu and Saint-Pol who became abbot of Luxeuil in the Order of St. Columban, and eventually a canonized saint in the Roman Catholic Churc ...
, kinsmen of Waldalenus, succeeded Columbanus as second and third abbots of Luxeuil. The extended family of Waldelenus controlled the
Alpine passes This article lists the principal mountain passes and tunnels in the Alps, and gives a history of transport across the Alps.
Main passes
The following are the main paved road passes across the Alps. Main indicates on the main chain of the Alps, fr ...
approached from
Briançon
Briançon (, ) is the sole subprefecture of the Hautes-Alpes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. It is the highest city in France at an altitude of , based on the national definition as a community cont ...
, those of Susa (the
Col de Montgenèvre
The Col de Montgenèvre (; elevation 1860 m.) is a high mountain pass in the Cottian Alps, in France 2 kilometres away from Italy.
Description
The pass takes its name from the village Montgenèvre (Hautes-Alpes), which lies in the vicinity ...
Abbo, Patrician of Provence Abbo was the Count of Provence, Patrician of Provence in opposition to Maurontus in the 730s. He was also ''Rector (ecclesiastical), rector'' of Maurienne and March of Turin, Susa. Abbo came from the family of Waldelenus in the Besançon. They contr ...
and rector of Maurienne and Susa, the opponent of
Maurontus
Maurontus was the Duke or Patrician of Provence in the early 8th century (720s and 730s). He aspired to independence in the face of Charles Martel, Duke of the Franks, and the Provençal patrician Abbo.
Maurontus appeared in the ''Chronicle of ...
, came from the family of Waldelenus.
His opponents in Burgundy represented the influence of
Willibad Willibad, also spelled Willebad or Willihad (died 642), was the Patrician of Burgundian Provence) 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 nobil ...
(died 642), the patrician of Burgundian
Provence
Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...
). 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
Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...
,
Vienne
Vienne (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Viéne'') is a landlocked department in the French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It takes its name from the river Vienne. It had a population of 438,435 in 2019.Valence. Willibad continued to be confronted by the supporters of Columbanus, Waldalenus' son, Chramnelenus of Besançon, Chramnelenus' brother-in-law
Amalgar
Amalgar, also ''Amalgarius'' (born around 590; died 643), was a Burgundian duke from the area around Dijon. He was also the proprietor of multiple monasteries, and was a progenitor of the Etichonid clan, from which the Habsburgs originate.
Lif ...
of
Dijon
Dijon (, , ) (dated)
* it, Digione
* la, Diviō or
* lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920.
The earlies ...
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 (also known as Jonas of Susa) (Sigusia, now Susa, Italy, 600 – after 659 AD) was a Columbanian monk and a major Latin monastic author of hagiography. His ''Life of Saint Columbanus'' is "one of the most influential works of ...
—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
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
. The second son was Chramnelenus, and there were two daughters that the
Merovingian
The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...
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.''Theudericus III. rex Adalrici ducis, qui se contra regem Austrasiis sociaverat, proprietatem, scilicit Fiscalselinum cum adiacentius suis, monasterio Fontis Besuae et Waldaleno abbati concedit.'': "
Theuderic III
Theuderic III (or Theuderich, Theoderic, or Theodoric; french: Thierry) (c. 651–691) was the king of Neustria (including Burgundy) on two occasions (673 and 675–691) and king of Austrasia from 679 to his death in 691. Thus, he was the king ...
conceded to duke Adalric, who was allied with him against the king of Austrasia, properties, i.e. the monastery of Bèze, and the abbey of Waldalenus." (''MGH-DI'', 46, p. 43). The monastery of ''Fons Besua'' had been founded on a royal grant of land from
Dagobert I
Dagobert I ( la, Dagobertus; 605/603 – 19 January 639 AD) was the king of Austrasia (623–634), king of all the Franks (629–634), and king of Neustria and Burgundy (629–639). He has been described as the last king of the Merovingian dyna ...
(628) by Amalgar. According to the abbey's twelfth-century chronicler, Johannes of Bèze, see text Amalgar established Waldalenus, ne of his three sons as abbot here: see
Chambertin-Clos de Bèze
Chambertin-Clos de Bèze is an ''Appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (AOC) and Grand Cru vineyard for red wine in the Côte de Nuits subregion of Burgundy, with Pinot noir as the main grape variety. Chambertin-Clos de Bèze is located within the co ...