Pharamond

Pharamond (or Faramond ) is a mythical ancestor of the Mérovingiens.

Reality

Critical on the historicity of the character

After the appearance of the Modern history (end 19th century), its existence was recognized like legendary. The reason is the following one: the author of the Liber Historiae Francorum summarizes the first six books of Gregoire de Tours by adding 21 information. Pharamond is one of this information. The author of the Liber Historiae Francorum does not know the history of the 5th century since it uses like single source Gregoire de Tours. It is thus strongly improbable that it discovers 300 years after, a character of the genealogy of Mérovingiens whereas Gregoire de Tours itself did not succeed before him.

Here what says the Belgian historian Godefroid Kurth about it in his Poetic Histoire of Mérovingiens in 1893: “But then would it have to be supposed that it is the popular tradition which provided Faramond? Does that to as appear incredible me, because how to suppose as Gregoire de Tours which also drew with the popular tradition, would have pushed back this name if it had found it there, him which tried hard so much to make go up as high as possible the line of the ancestors of Clovis? Remain a last assumption: Faramond is a name that the author of Liber Historiae found in some other series of frank accounts, and that he believed to be able to regard as a king, for reasons which we are unaware of, but who are undoubtedly as futile as the precedents. Faramond, if I am not mistaken, has a of the same royalty quality than Marcomir and Sunnon, and, probably, was not invented more than them. By fixing in his fallacious genealogy this wandering and obscure name, the humble chronicler of VIIIe century was well far from suspecting the extraordinary fortune of which it would be indebted for him in the continuation, since Its Majesty Faramond I since then opened the history of the dynasties which reigned on the beautiful country of France, and which, recently still, an academic speaker, speaking with the King about the Belgians, it quoted among one of national glories! Alas! The throne of Faramond from now on is reversed like so many others, and, after having reigned during twelve century in the writings of the historians, the first king of the francs is convinced owe his secular title only with the error of a monk neustrien of Saint-Denys, who wrote at the bottom of his convent, in the year of grace 727, a chronicle filled with fables and legends! ”

Faramond histories

There exists however several Faramond historical:

  • the priest Faramond of Paris : It would have been born towards 550 close to Paris. It was a Parisian priest, brother of the Ragnemond bishop of Paris (bishop of 576 with 591). The Ragnemond bishop had designated his Faramond brother to succeed to him. But in 591, with died of the bishop, Faramond is made charm the episcopal see by a Syrian commercial rich person named Eusèbe. Faramond undoubtedly dies towards 600 - 610.

  • the bishop Faramond of Maastricht : It would have been born towards 625. In 675, after the death of Childéric II, the bishop Lambert of Maastricht is driven out of its seat by the partisans of the Maire of the palate Ebroïn. Those replaces it by Faramond. Towards 681/682, it is Faramond which is banished in its turn and Lambert takes again possession of its church. Faramond undoubtedly dies towards 690 - 700.

  • the bishop Faramond of Cologne : It would have been born towards 650. He is bishop of Cologne of worms 716 with worms 723, date probable of his death.

The legend

It is in 727 that for the first time the character of Pharamond appears. In the Liber Historiae Francorum it is known as that he is the son of Marcomir and the father of Clodion Hairy the. He, was thus regarded a long time thereafter as the first king Mérovingien. The historians of the Middle Ages made it reign at the beginning of the 5th century. This character takes a certain relief historiographic at the 16th century, in a context where two features import: the sanctification of Clovis and the redécouverte of the Salic law. Clovis, first Christian king and first crowned, profit king of the miracle of the Holy-Bulb, first holder of the lilies and the streamer, first healer of scrofula, concentrates on him all the crowned aspects of the royalty. Pharamond becomes about it a kind of doubled bloom laic: first king (pagan) of the frank people, his teacher and, as author of the salic law, its first legislator. Royal legitimacy is established thus doubly by the conjunction of the religion and the right. The very relative popularity of Pharamond under the Ancien Mode is due to the bond established between the Franc old man and the Salic law.

Sources, novels and notes

Sources

  • In 455, Prosper of Aquitaine ( Prosper Tyro ) written a Chronic of Gaulle . A mistranslation of an old edition of its chronicle made believe that he spoke about a character named Pharamond. It is known today that Prosper spoken forever about Pharamond.

  • In 592 in its Histoire of the Francs Gregoire de Tours speaks to us for the first time about historical Faramond. Here the passage in question: " At this point in time died Ragnemond, bishop of Paris and while his/her brother the Faramond priest aspired to évêché, certain Eusèbe, merchant Syrian of race who had made many present, was named in its place… " (Book 10, chapter 26). The event occurs in 591.

  • In 727, the Liber Historiae Francorum : The author, a monk of Saint-Denis written under the influence of the mayor of the palate Charles Martel. He especially works to lose the reputation of all Mérovingiens. It is him the first to give the following genealogy: Marcomir father of Pharamond, father of Clodion Hairy the. Here the passage in question: " Regem vero sibi instar ceterarum Franci eligentes nationum, Faramundus Marchomiri filium solio sublimating regio. Cui filius successit Clodio crinitus". (Book I - chapter 4). More than three hundred years after the facts, it is the first source which indicates that Pharamond is king Franc.

Novels

See too

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