Grimoald I (616–657), called the Elder (in French, ''Grimaud l'Ainé''), was the

mayor of the palace Under the Merovingian dynasty, the mayor of the palace or majordomo, ( or ) was the manager of the household of the Frankish king. He was the head of the Merovingian administrative ladder and orchestrated the operation of the entire court. He ...

Austrasia Austrasia was the northeastern kingdom within the core of the Francia, Frankish Empire during the Early Middle Ages, centring on the Meuse, Middle Rhine and the Moselle rivers. It included the original Frankish-ruled territories within what had ...

from 643 to his death. He was the son of

Pepin of Landen Pepin I (also Peppin, Pipin, or Pippin) of Landen (c. 580 – 27 February 640), also called the Elder or the Old, was the Mayor of the palace of Austrasia under the Merovingian King Dagobert I from 623 to 629. He was also the Mayor for Sige ...

and

Itta Itta of Metz, Benedictines, O.S.B. (also ''Ida'', ''Itte'' or ''Iduberga''; 592–8 May 652) was the wife of Pepin of Landen, Mayor of the Palace of the Kingdom of Austrasia. After his death, she founded the Nivelles Abbey, Abbey of Nivelles, whe ...

Biography

With the death of Pepin in 640, Grimoald became the head of his household, the most powerful in Austrasia. At this time, Radulf, Duke of Thuringia, rebelled against

Sigebert III Sigebert III ( 630–656) was the Merovingian dynasty, Merovingian king of Austrasia from 633 to his death around 656. He was described as the first Merovingian ''roi fainéant'', or "do-nothing king", with the mayor of the palace in fact ruling ...

, king of Austrasia. Grimoald participated in the ensuing expedition against the insurrection, but it was a failure. Nevertheless, Grimoald succeeded in saving the life of the king and became his close friend. Then, by removing his rival,

Otto Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants '' Audo'', '' Odo'', '' Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fr ...

, he took over the position which his father once held. Grimoald convinced the childless Sigebert III to adopt his son, named Childebert at his

baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

. Sigebert eventually had an heir, Dagobert II, but upon Sigebert's death in 656, Grimoald had the young Dagobert exiled to

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and put his son on the throne.''Spiritual Kinship As Social Practice: Godparenthood and Adoption in the Early Middle Ages'' by Bernhard Jussen Grimoald was eventually captured and executed by the king of

Neustria Neustria was the western part of the Kingdom of the Franks during the Early Middle Ages, in contrast to the eastern Frankish kingdom, Austrasia. It initially included land between the Loire and the Silva Carbonaria, in the north of present-day ...

—either Clovis II or his son and successor, Chlothar III.

References

{{Authority control 616 births 657 deaths Frankish warriors Mayors of the Palace Pippinids