The Trojan Franks and their Critics

Abstract

The heroes of the Trojan war who figured so prominently in the pedigrees of ancient nations continued to perform the function of mythical sires for the new nations of medieval Europe. The Franks especially, from the time of the Merovingian kings, filled the darkest recesses of their forgotten past with elaborate fictions of ancient Trojan splendor. In a seventh-century chronicle, Priam appears as the first king of the Franks. After the fall of Troy, according to the Merovingian chronicler, some Trojans escaped the disaster and elected a man named Francio king. Francio's people, after a long and warlike exodus, eventually materialized over the Rhine as the Franks who invaded Gaul.