Pharamond
Encyclopedia
Pharamond or Faramund is a legendary early king of the Franks
, first referred to in the anonymous 8th century Carolingian
text Liber Historiae Francorum
, also known as the Gesta regnum Francorum. In this work, which is customarily dated to 727, the anonymous author begins by writing of a mythical Trojan
origin for the Franks
. The emphasis of the Liber was upon "construct[ing] a specific past for a particular group of people."
, his brother Marcomer
, leader of the Ampsivarii
and Chatti
, proposed to the Franks that they should have one single king, contrary to their tradition. The Liber adds that Pharamond, named as Marchomir's son, was chosen as this first king (thus beginning the tradition of long-haired kings of the Franks), and then states that when he died, his son Chlodio was raised up as the next king. The work says no more of him.
Because there is no reference in any source prior to this work to this figure named Pharamond, who is placed prior to Chlodio (that is, before ca. 428), scholars consider him a legendary rather than historical figure. As a matter of fact in several sources, for example Gregory of Tours
, multiple kings are attested to rule simultaneously in later times. It is thus a dubious matter to assume that, even if Pharamond existed, he was ever recognized as sole king. The first king of the Franks who may have been close to this position was Clovis I
, but after his death his empire was divided again amongst his sons, who ruled again simultaneously.
The myth of Pharamond has led to new legends and romances in later times. In past times this has led to attempts to falsely write Pharamond into Prosper Tiro
. Martin Bouquet
at a much later date invented an entire history of Pharamond.
Sigebert of Gembloux names him as King of the Franks between Marcomer and Chlodio ("Post Marcomirum filius ejus Faramundus fuit, rex crinitus, a quo Franci crinitos reges habere coeperunt. Post quem Clodius filius ejus regnans Francis a Thoringia advectis Gallias invasit, et capta urbe Tornaco Cameracum usque progressus multos Romanorum in Galliis peremit" http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/sigebert.vitabrevior.html). He keeps the mythical origin for Marcomer.
Saint Gregory's writes about a group of Trojans that escaped to the Maeotian marshes
, then into pannonia, becoming the Sicambri
(a subdivision of the Franks), who inhabited the region along with the Alans
. The Alan presence in Pannonia is historical around 370, as part of their migrations to Gaul
, and later to Hispania
, where they ruled until the arrival of the Visigoths
. He says that later, the Franks migrated to Germania
led by Marcomer, and established themselves along the Rhine. After Marcomer's death, Pharemundus, or Faramundus succeeded him as chieftain.
In Gesta Francorum (c.1100), chapter 8 describes how the Franks changed their laws under Pharamond . (http://bsbdmgh.bsb.lrz-muenchen.de/dmgh_new/app/web?action=loadBook&bookId=00000749 page 229)
and later Arthurian
works.
Pharamond is mentioned in William Shakespeare
's Henry V
, Act I, Scene 2, as the originator of the Salic law
banning women from succession to the throne of France
.
He appears as the title character in the opera Faramondo
by George Frideric Handel
.
Pharamond is also a minor character of the Sandman and Lucifer
comics.
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
, first referred to in the anonymous 8th century Carolingian
Carolingian
The Carolingian dynasty was a Frankish noble family with origins in the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD. The name "Carolingian", Medieval Latin karolingi, an altered form of an unattested Old High German *karling, kerling The Carolingian dynasty (known variously as the...
text Liber Historiae Francorum
Liber Historiae Francorum
Liber historiae Francorum is a book that briefly starts as secondary source for early Franks in the time of Marcomer, and it gives a short breviarum of events until the time of the late Merovingians, where it becomes an important primary source of the contemporaneous history...
, also known as the Gesta regnum Francorum. In this work, which is customarily dated to 727, the anonymous author begins by writing of a mythical Trojan
Troy
Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...
origin for the Franks
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
. The emphasis of the Liber was upon "construct[ing] a specific past for a particular group of people."
Legend
The story is told of the election of the first Frankish king. It says that after the death of SunnoSunno
Sunno was a leader of the Franks in the late 4th century that invaded the Roman Empire in the year 388 when the usurper and leader of the whole of Roman Gaul, Magnus Maximus was surrounded in Aquileia by Theodosius I...
, his brother Marcomer
Marcomer
Marcomer was a Frankish leader in the late 4th century who invaded the Roman Empire in the year 388, when the usurper and leader of the whole of Roman Gaul, Magnus Maximus was surrounded in Aquileia by Theodosius I....
, leader of the Ampsivarii
Ampsivarii
The Ampsivarii, sometimes referenced by modern writers as Ampsivari , were a Germanic tribe mentioned by ancient authors....
and Chatti
Chatti
The Chatti were an ancient Germanic tribe whose homeland was near the upper Weser. They settled in central and northern Hesse and southern Lower Saxony, along the upper reaches of the Weser River and in the valleys and mountains of the Eder, Fulda and Weser River regions, a district approximately...
, proposed to the Franks that they should have one single king, contrary to their tradition. The Liber adds that Pharamond, named as Marchomir's son, was chosen as this first king (thus beginning the tradition of long-haired kings of the Franks), and then states that when he died, his son Chlodio was raised up as the next king. The work says no more of him.
Because there is no reference in any source prior to this work to this figure named Pharamond, who is placed prior to Chlodio (that is, before ca. 428), scholars consider him a legendary rather than historical figure. As a matter of fact in several sources, for example Gregory of Tours
Gregory of Tours
Saint Gregory of Tours was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of Gaul. He was born Georgius Florentius, later adding the name Gregorius in honour of his maternal great-grandfather...
, multiple kings are attested to rule simultaneously in later times. It is thus a dubious matter to assume that, even if Pharamond existed, he was ever recognized as sole king. The first king of the Franks who may have been close to this position was Clovis I
Clovis I
Clovis Leuthwig was the first King of the Franks to unite all the Frankish tribes under one ruler, changing the leadership from a group of royal chieftains, to rule by kings, ensuring that the kingship was held by his heirs. He was also the first Catholic King to rule over Gaul . He was the son...
, but after his death his empire was divided again amongst his sons, who ruled again simultaneously.
The myth of Pharamond has led to new legends and romances in later times. In past times this has led to attempts to falsely write Pharamond into Prosper Tiro
Prosper of Aquitaine
Saint Prosper of Aquitaine , a Christian writer and disciple of Saint Augustine of Hippo, was the first continuator of Jerome's Universal Chronicle.- Life :...
. Martin Bouquet
Martin Bouquet
Martin Bouquet was a French Benedictine and historian, of the Congregation of St.-Maur. His major work was Rerum Gallicarum et Francicarum Scriptores, a collection of the historians of Gaul and France, which covers the time from France's earliest history until the year 987.-Biography:Bouquet was...
at a much later date invented an entire history of Pharamond.
Historical sources
Gregory of Tours, in his Annales Francici notes in 420 "Pharamond reigns in France" ("Pharamundus regnat in Francia" - Annales Francici, page 151)Sigebert of Gembloux names him as King of the Franks between Marcomer and Chlodio ("Post Marcomirum filius ejus Faramundus fuit, rex crinitus, a quo Franci crinitos reges habere coeperunt. Post quem Clodius filius ejus regnans Francis a Thoringia advectis Gallias invasit, et capta urbe Tornaco Cameracum usque progressus multos Romanorum in Galliis peremit" http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/sigebert.vitabrevior.html). He keeps the mythical origin for Marcomer.
Saint Gregory's writes about a group of Trojans that escaped to the Maeotian marshes
Maeotian marshes
In the geography of Antiquity the Maeotian marshes lay where the Don River emptied into the Maeotian Lake near Tanais. The marshes served as a check to the westward migration of nomad peoples from the steppe of Central Asia.The area was named after the Maeotae who lived around the Maeotian Lake....
, then into pannonia, becoming the Sicambri
Sicambri
The Sicambri were a Germanic people living on the right bank of the Rhine river, near where it passes out of Germany and enters what is now called the Netherlands at the turn of the first millennium....
(a subdivision of the Franks), who inhabited the region along with the Alans
Alans
The Alans, or the Alani, occasionally termed Alauni or Halani, were a group of Sarmatian tribes, nomadic pastoralists of the 1st millennium AD who spoke an Eastern Iranian language which derived from Scytho-Sarmatian and which in turn evolved into modern Ossetian.-Name:The various forms of Alan —...
. The Alan presence in Pannonia is historical around 370, as part of their migrations to Gaul
Gaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
, and later to Hispania
Hispania
Another theory holds that the name derives from Ezpanna, the Basque word for "border" or "edge", thus meaning the farthest area or place. Isidore of Sevilla considered Hispania derived from Hispalis....
, where they ruled until the arrival of the Visigoths
Visigothic Kingdom
The Visigothic Kingdom was a kingdom which occupied southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th to 8th century AD. One of the Germanic successor states to the Western Roman Empire, it was originally created by the settlement of the Visigoths under King Wallia in the province of...
. He says that later, the Franks migrated to Germania
Germania
Germania was the Greek and Roman geographical term for the geographical regions inhabited by mainly by peoples considered to be Germani. It was most often used to refer especially to the east of the Rhine and north of the Danube...
led by Marcomer, and established themselves along the Rhine. After Marcomer's death, Pharemundus, or Faramundus succeeded him as chieftain.
In Gesta Francorum (c.1100), chapter 8 describes how the Franks changed their laws under Pharamond . (http://bsbdmgh.bsb.lrz-muenchen.de/dmgh_new/app/web?action=loadBook&bookId=00000749 page 229)
Pharamond in later culture
A Pharamond appears as the king of France in the Prose TristanProse Tristan
The Prose Tristan is an adaptation of the Tristan and Iseult story into a long prose romance, and the first to tie the subject entirely into the arc of the Arthurian legend...
and later Arthurian
King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
works.
Pharamond is mentioned in William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's Henry V
Henry V (play)
Henry V is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to be written in approximately 1599. Its full titles are The Cronicle History of Henry the Fifth and The Life of Henry the Fifth...
, Act I, Scene 2, as the originator of the Salic law
Salic law
Salic law was a body of traditional law codified for governing the Salian Franks in the early Middle Ages during the reign of King Clovis I in the 6th century...
banning women from succession to the throne of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
He appears as the title character in the opera Faramondo
Faramondo
Faramondo is an opera in three acts by George Frideric Handel to an Italian text adapted from Apostolo Zeno's Faramondo.-Performance history:...
by George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...
.
Pharamond is also a minor character of the Sandman and Lucifer
Lucifer (DC Comics)
Lucifer is a DC Comics character that starred in an eponymous comic book published under the Vertigo imprint, whose entire run was written by Mike Carey...
comics.