Grimaldus d'Antibes, Prince of Monaco [Fictitious Person]

Disconnected this fictitious person as son of Passanus d'Antibes, [Fictitious person]

Possible ties of this Grimaldus to the Principality of Monaco may be that Grimaldus was a distant ancestral great grandfather or possible cousin of the Grimaldi who eventually captured Monaco. It was said that this Grimaldus was Prince of Monaco and the Grimaldi who later captured Monaco had an ancestral claim dating back to this Grimaldus.

The House of Grimaldi, the ruling family of the Principality of Monaco, has ruled since 1297 when, as the story is told, Francesco Grimaldi captured the fortress of what was then a young colony of Genoa. This was several centuries after this Grimaldus lived.

The early Grimaldi family of Monaco wished to associate themselves with this Grimaldus of the Genoa family because of his Carolingian royal ancestry and prominence as very wealthy Genovese merchants. Later Grimaldis expressed some uncertainty as to how the Grimaldis of Monaco were related to Grimaldus from the famous Genoa line who descended from the Carolinian nobility. They may have been cousins instead, or unrelated. Today's Grimaldi family of Monaco state a relationship to this Grimaldus of Genoa.

The House of Grimaldi wikipedia page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Grimaldi) offers an alternate history, but one which also inbcludes the involvement of this Grimaldus:

"The Grimaldi family descends from Grimaldo, a Genovese statesman at the time of the early Crusades. He was the son of Otto Canella, a Consul of Genoa in 1133, and in turn Grimaldo became a Consul in 1160, 1170 and again in 1184. His numerous grandsons and their children led maritime expeditions throughout the Mediterranean, the Black Sea, and soon the North Sea, and quickly became one of the most powerful families of Genoa."

This version of a 12th century Grimaldo is also supported by the House of Grimaldi genealogical website (http://www.grimaldi.org/).

Please read the following, supplied by Dean Whitney:

The following account is from: "FALAISE ROLL, RECORDING PROMINENT COMPANIONS OF WILLIAM DUKE OF NORMANDY AT THE CONQUEST OF ENGLAND by William Crispin, Princton University, 1896 and Leonce Macary , professor of the College of Falaise O.I." published by the American Genealogist, Volume XVI, Number 1, July 1939. Page 66 and 67.

Much of this information was taken from articles written by Stacey Grimaldi in the GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE of October 1832 which published a genealogy of the Grimaldi-Crispin-Toustain Fitz Rou de Bec (Whitney) lines:

"Crispina, a supposed daughter of Rollo, first duke of Normandy, married Grimaldus I, prince of Monaco, c. 920, and had issue Guido, Prince of Monaco, Giballinus, a celebrated warrior against the Saaracens, and Ansgothus Crispinus, who settled in Normandy and possessed the barony of Bec. The latter, (Ansgothus), married Heloise, daughter of Rodulph, count of Guynes and Boulogne, by Roselle, daughter of the count Saint-Paul, whose children were Herluin, abbot of Bec, Gilbert baron of Bec, lord of Tillieres, constable of Normandy and marshal of the army, who relinquished the surname Grimaldi to assume that of Crispin, Odo and Roger, both named in a charter by abbot Herlluin as his brothers, and Rollo or Rolf. This pedigree asserts that Gilbert Crispin was the father of William Crispin, baron of Bec, Gilbert Crispin, Lord of Tilleires, and Milo Crispin.

It furthur records that Rolf had two sons, Gosfrid Fitz Rou du Bec, the Conqueror's marshal, and Toustain Fitz Rou le Blanc, the standard bearer, sometimes called du Bec. ( Toustain, after being awaded thousands of acres of land and many thanes by William the Conquerer, after the victory over England in 1066 at the Battle of Hastings, married Agnes daughter of Alfred de Marlbourough and had two sons Rollo and Eustace. Euastace settled on Toustan's land at Whitney in Herferdshire and eventualy took the name for his own and became Eustace Whitney. Eustace is the first of the Whitney surname from which all other Whitney's came.)

Duke Rollo had only one daughter mentioned in history, Gerlotte, later called Adele, who married William, count of Poitou and duke of Aquitaine (932-63), and if he had another daughter by the name of Crispina, it is nowhere else recorded.

There was no barony of Bec in the Crispin family before c. 1250 which has been identified, and no prince of Monaco until the 13th Century. "The first ancestor of this family was Otto Canella, (died 1142), whose son Grimaldo was thrice consul of Genoa from 1162 to 1184. These great Genoese lords did not come to Monaco until 1270, whence they were driven by the Gibelins. This genealogy was composed in 1646 by Charles de Venasque-Ferriol, secretary of Honore II, prince of Monaco, and Jean Le Laboureur, the historian, Renee du Bec-Crispin, and her husband Jean Baptiste de Budes, comte de Guebriant, and Perigord, under the title, of HISTORICA ET GENELOGICA GRIMALDA GENTIS ARBOR.

Although it was published by Ferriol, the clever work of Le Laboureur can easily be detected. Countess Renee in 1645 escorted the queen of Poland from Paris to her estate, on which account she was granted the title of ambassadrice extraordinaire de France, an honour never accorded to any other lady: she was also lady of honour to Marie-Therese.

These powerfiul families with the desire to obtain a Carlovingian descent through Grimoald, duke of Brabant, son of Pepin d'Heristal, (slain 714), imagined a Grimaldus to whom according to an apocryphal manuscript exhumed at the library of Ambrois at Milan, the emperor Otho gave, about 960, the sovereignty of Monaco.

It was this recorded Grimaldus (700), count of Flanders and mayor of the palace, son of Pepin, by his wife Theodesinde had Theobald (750) married to Aliarde, whose son Hugo Grimaldus (800) had Passanus (850), who was the father of Grimalduls I, prince of Monaco, married to Crispina.

Charles III, prince of Monaco (1856-89), branding this pedigree as untrue, gave an order to his successive archivists, Cais de Pierlas, Saige and Labande, to write a correct one founded on authentic documents and not falsified as this one and the famous donation of the gulf de Sambracie, later called gulf de Grimaud (Saint-Tropez in 980) admittedly were.

Nevertheless, the Grimaldi found their Arms were identical with those of the Crispins of Normandy which had been on record before their advent to Monaco, both of whom bore fusily argent and gules. It is a very strange coincidence that such distinguished and influential families had the same armorial bearings, but with so simple a coat great importance cannot be attached to it unless fortified with other evidences of relationship. Miles Crispin appears on the Battle Abby Roll under the name of Valingford."

Crispin de Bec is often said to have been the son of fictitious Grimaldus, prince of Monaco and his fictitious wife Crispina.

"The Crispin/Grimaldi genealogy was composed in 1646 by Charles de Venasque-Ferriol, secretary of Honore II, Prince of Monaco. He was assisted by Jean Le Laboureur, the historian; Renee du Bec-Crispin, and her husband, Jean Baptiste de Budes, comte de Guebriant. Their composition bore the title of Historica Et Genelogica Grimalda Gentis Arbor.

"The powerful families who composed the Historica had a desire to obtain a Carolingian descent. Charles III, Prince of Monaco [1856-89], branding this pedigree as untrue - there was no Prince of Monaco until the 13th. Century - gave an order to his successive archivists, Cais de Pierlas, Saige, and Labande, to write a correct one, founded on authentic documents, and not falsified as this one. The only relationship between the Crispins of Normandy and the family of Grimaldi is that they both had the same armorial bearings, both of whom bore fusily argent and gules, but, with so simple a coat, no great importance can be attached to it."

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