Abbo was thePatrician of Provence in opposition toMaurontus in the 730s. He was alsorector ofMaurienne andSusa. Abbo came from the family ofWaldelenus in theBesançon. They controlled theAlpine passes ofSusa,Embrun, andGap.
Abbo assistedCharles Martel andChildebrand in campaigning against Maurontus in 736 and 739 in the lowerRhône Valley. After Maurontus was forced to hide in the Alps, Abbo was appointedpatricius and showered with lands confiscated from the defeated. Though Abbo had not aligned with theArnulfings until relatively late, his lack of heirs assured his quick rise to power. When he died, by his will,[1][2][3] all of his possessions went to his monastic foundation (726, dedicated toSaint Peter),Novalesa Abbey in thePiedmont.
Abbo's will is of immense historical interest for what it indicates about life in Provence in the early eighth century. It mentions, for example, that Abbo held lands by conquest, but very few fortresses, that he had Frankish and Gallo-Roman underlings in a variety of nonfeudal to semifeudal relationships, and that the legal system which the Franks used in that region was almost entirely Roman in character.
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