Grimoult du Plessis
Norman baron (died 1047)
Grimoult du Plessis or of Le Plessis was an 11th-century Norman baron.
Biography
Grimoult or Grimoald was the lord of the villages of Saint-Jean-le-Blanc, Périgny, and Le Plessis-Grimoult, which took the additional name "Grimoult" from him. The lands of Le Plessis comprised 10,600 hectares and extended across 12 parishes around the castle of Le Plessis-Grimoult.
Grimoult was part of a conspiracy to assassinate William the Conqueror, who at that point was struggling to maintain control of the duchy of Normandy after the death of his father. In 1047 the conspirators 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.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Grimoult du Plessis” as norman baron (died 1047). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as norman baron (died 1047). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 13, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q24929731. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1047.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Grimoult du Plessis”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Grimoult du Plessis primary sources, Grimoult du Plessis archive and Grimoult research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Grimoult du Plessis”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Grimoult du Plessis” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.