 An early theory, popularized in 1887 by French ampelographer Pierre Tochon, is that Mondeuse noire could be the Ancient Roman grape "Allobrogica" described by Pliny the Elder and Columella as well as the 2nd century Greek writer Celsus.Ampelographers disagree about the identity of this grape, which grew widely in the land of the Allobroges after whom it is named for, with other theories speculating that the grape was instead the ancestor of Pinot noir or Syrah.The first mention of Mondeuse noire, under the synonym "Maldoux", dates to a February 3, 1731 decree from the parliament of Besançon in the Doubs department of the Franche-Comté.