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Francus is a mythological figure of Merovingian scholars which referred to a legendary eponymous king of the Franks, a descendant of the Trojans, founder of the Merovingian dynasty and forefather of Charlemagne. In the Renaissance, Francus was generally considered to be another name for the Trojan Astyanax (son of Hector) saved from the destruction of Troy. He is not considered to be historical, but in fact an attempt by medieval and Renaissance chroniclers to model the founding of France upon the same illustrious tradition as that used by Virgil in his '' Aeneid'' (which had Rome founded by the Trojan Aeneas).
The 7th century '' Chronicle of Fredegar'' contains the oldest mention of a medieval legend thus linking the Franks to the Trojans. The Carolingian '' Liber historiae Francorum'' elaborates new details, and the tradition continued to be elaborated throughout the Middle Ages, when it was taken seriously as genealogy and became a "veritable form of ethnic consciousness".
The 8th-century '' Historia Brittonum'', borrowing from the 6th-century
Francus is a mythological figure of Merovingian scholars which referred to a legendary eponymous king of the Franks, a descendant of the Trojans, founder of the Merovingian dynasty and forefather of Charlemagne. In the Renaissance, Francus was generally considered to be another name for the Trojan Astyanax (son of Hector) saved from the destruction of Troy. He is not considered to be historical, but in fact an attempt by medieval and Renaissance chroniclers to model the founding of France upon the same illustrious tradition as that used by Virgil in his '' Aeneid'' (which had Rome founded by the Trojan Aeneas).
The 7th century '' Chronicle of Fredegar'' contains the oldest mention of a medieval legend thus linking the Franks to the Trojans. The Carolingian '' Liber historiae Francorum'' elaborates new details, and the tradition continued to be elaborated throughout the Middle Ages, when it was taken seriously as genealogy and became a "veritable form of ethnic consciousness".
The 8th-century '' Historia Brittonum'', borrowing from the 6th-century Frankish Table of Nations
The Frankish Table of Nations (german: fränkische Völkertafel) is a brief early medieval genealogical text in Latin giving the supposed relationship between thirteen nations descended from three brothers. The nations are the Ostrogoths, Visigot ...
, makes mention of Francus as one of the four sons of Hisicion (Francus, Romanus, Alamanus, and Brutus), grandsons of Alanus, the first man to live in Europe.
The '' Grandes Chroniques de France'' (13th - 15th centuries), a vast compilation of historic material, make reference of the Trojan origins of the French dynasty.
Johannes Trithemius
Johannes Trithemius (; 1 February 1462 – 13 December 1516), born Johann Heidenberg, was a German Benedictine abbot and a polymath who was active in the German Renaissance as a lexicographer, chronicler, cryptographer, and occultist. He is consi ...
' ''De origine gentis Francorum compendium'' (1514) describes the Franks as originally Trojans (called "Sicambers" or "Sicambrians") after the fall of Troy who came into Gaul after being forced out of the area around the mouth of the Danube by the Goths in 439 B.C. (section 1, p, 33). He also details the reigns of each of these kings—including Francus (section 43, p. 76) from whom the Franks are named—and their battles with the Gauls, Goths, Saxons, etc.
Annio da Viterbo also describes the arrival of Trojans into Gaul.
Based on the medieval legend, Jean Lemaire de Belges's ''Illustrations de Gaule et Singularités de Troie'' (1510–12) has Astyanax survive the fall of Troy and arrive in Western Europe. He changes his name to Francus and becomes king of Celtic Gaul (while, at the same time, Bavo, cousin of Priam
In Greek mythology, Priam (; grc-gre, Πρίαμος, ) was the legendary and last king of Troy during the Trojan War. He was the son of Laomedon. His many children included notable characters such as Hector, Paris, and Cassandra.
Etymology
Mo ...
, comes to the city of Trier) and founds the dynasty leading to Pepin and Charlemagne. He is said to have founded and named the city of Paris in honor of his uncle Paris.
Gilles Corrozet
Gilles Corrozet (1510 - 1568, Paris) was a French writer and printer-bookseller.
Life and works
Corrozet’s printer’s mark was a rose enclosed in a heart, punning on his name (''Coeur rosier''), and accompanied by the Biblical motto ''In corde ...
's ''La Fleur des antiquitez... de Paris'' (1532) describes Francis I Francis I or Francis the First may refer to:
* Francesco I Gonzaga (1366–1407)
* Francis I, Duke of Brittany (1414–1450), reigned 1442–1450
* Francis I of France (1494–1547), King of France, reigned 1515–1547
* Francis I, Duke of Saxe-Lau ...
as the 64th descendant of Hector of Troy.
Lemaire de Belges' work inspired Pierre de Ronsard's epic poem '' La Franciade'' (1572). In this poem, Jupiter saves Astyanax (renamed Francus). The young hero arrives in Crete and falls in love with the princess Hyanthe with whom he is destined to found the royal dynasty of France.
See also
In the tradition of '' translatio imperii'', many medieval authors established Greek or Roman genealogies for European dynasties: * Brutus of Troy - the legendary founder of Britain *Benoît de Saint-Maure
Benoît () is a French male given name. It is less frequently spelled Benoist. The name comes from the Latin word , which means "the one who says the good", equivalent in meaning to Bénédicte or the English name Benedict. A female derivative ...
, in his ''Chronique des ducs de Normandie'', linked the Plantagenet family to Aeneas.David Coward, ''A History of French Literature'' (Blackwell, 2002), p.13.
References
Further reading
* R.E. Asher. ''National Myths in Renaissance France: Francus, Samothes and the Druids'' (Edinburgh Univ Press, 1993) {{ISBN, 978-0-7486-0407-4 Mythological city founders Merovingian dynasty Legendary rulers