Conquerors of the Roman Empire by Simon MacDowall

Author:Simon MacDowall
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: HISTORY / Military / Ancient
ISBN: 9781473889606
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Published: 2018-11-18T16:00:00+00:00

It may be that Chlogio’s younger son was the semi-legendary Merovech who gave his name to the Frankish Merovingian dynasty which later came to rule Gaul. The case for this was made by French scholars in the early eighteenth century and was taken up by Sir Edward Gibbon. There are, however, no primary sources to back it up. Very little is known about Merovech. According to Gregory of Tours: ‘Some say that Merovech, the father of Childeric, was descended from Chlogio.’ The Chronicle of Fredegar relates a legend in which Merovech was conceived when Chlogio’s wife went swimming and was impregnated by a sea monster.

Chlogio died around 450 and Childeric was in his prime in the 460s. It is technically possible that Priscus’ unnamed Frankish princes could have been Chlogio’s sons and one of them could have been Merovech. We will never know for certain. It may well be that Merovech is an entirely mythical character and that perhaps Childeric was the young prince adopted by Aetius. What we do know is that one of the Frankish princes – the one adopted by Aetius – led a Frankish contingent which fought with the Romans against Attila. Other Franks, maybe Ripuarians or the followers of Chlogio’s elder son, or maybe both, sided with the Huns.

Another reason for Attila to consider an invasion of Gaul came from the Vandals in Africa who encouraged the Huns to move against the Visigoths of south-western France.

When Geiseric, king of the Vandals, learned that Attila’s mind was bent on the devastation of the world, he incited him by many gifts to make war on the Visigoths, for he was afraid that Theodoric, king of the Visigoths, would avenge the injury done to his daughter. She had been joined in wedlock with Huneric, Geiseric’s son, and at first was happy in this union. But afterwards he was cruel even to his own children, and because of the mere suspicion that she was attempting to poison him, he cut off her nose and mutilated her ears. He sent her back to her father in Gaul thus despoiled of her natural charms. So the wretched girl presented a pitiable aspect ever after, and the cruelty which would stir even strangers still more surely incited her father to vengeance. (Jordanes)

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