Mythology

Mythology and Genealogy

3. The Sicambrians - Forefathers of the Franks, Merovingians, Carolingians and Capets

The beliefs of the heathen tribes of Northern Europe were based on sagas which narrated and extolled the exploits of great heroic figures of their past. These oral traditions were passed on from one generation to the next but were never committed to writing.

Over the centuries, the greatest of these heroes came to be regarded as belonging to a race of supreme beings and were ultimately deified into the gods of northern mythology such as Woden, Thor and Freia with whom we are still familiar. Woden or Odin was the greatest of these god-heroes. His exploits inspired the legends of northern mythology and the early kings of the Vikings and Anglo-Saxons sought to claim descent from him in the hope that the aura of divinity would rub off on to their kingship. This "divinity" of kingship was subsequently translated into the "divine right" of kings claimed by absolute monarchies nearer our times.

Such written records that we do have such as Beowulf and The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle were written by Christian authors well after the heathen religions had all but disappeared.

Apart from Gildas and Nennius, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle was the earliest record of Anglo-Saxon history and contains the genealogy of the descendants of Cerdic, the first authentic historical figure appearing in the tables below. Cerdic invaded Britain in 495 and founded the West Saxon Kingdom in southern England.

In his contribution to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Bishop Asser, historian to King Alfred the Great, went a step further and attempted to trace King Alfred's ancestry to Adam ( 2. Anglo-Saxon Genealogy). In so doing he fused the genealogy of the bible with that of northern mythology, identifying Noah's son Seth with the Sceaf of northern myth.

Other European monarchies claimed descent from legendary figures, notably the Franks. According to J. Anderson in Royal Genealogies, "The Cimmerians lived on the Black Sea or the Euxine. Antenor was of Trojan blood. The Sicambrian Kings from whom the French Royal Family traces its descent were originally Scythians who were expelled to the Kingdom of Sicambria on the borders of Germany. First called Newmagae (New Kindred), they later became known as Sicambri and lastly Franks."

1. Scandinavian Mythology

The Skioldung Dynasty

Descent from Skiold, son of Odin

Line I

1 Odin (Woden)

.2 Skiold King of Denmark

..3 Fridlief I King of Denmark

...4 Frode I King of Denmark

.....5 Fridlief II King of Denmark

.......6 Havar King of Denmark

......…7 Frode II King of Denmark

...........8 Vermund - 140 King of Denmark

.............9 Olaf - 190 King of Denmark

..............10 Dan - 270 King of Denmark

................11 Frode III - 310 King of Denmark

..................12 Halfdan I - 324 King of Denmark

....................13 Fridlief III - 348 King of Denmark

......................14 Frode IV - 407 King of Denmark

........................15 Ingild - 456 King of Denmark

..........................16 Half dan II - 457 King of Denmark

............................17 Frode V - 460 King of Denmark

.............................18 Helge - 494 King of Denmark

...............................19 Frode VI - 510 King of Denmark

.................................20 Rolf - 522 King of Denmark

...................................21 Frode VII - 548 King of Denmark

.....................................22 Halfdan III - 580 King of Denmark

.......................................23 Rorik [Rörik] - 588 King of Denmark

.........................................24 Vidfadme [Viðfaðme] - 647 King of Denmark

...........................................25 Harold - 735 King of Denmark

............................................26 Sigurd - 750 King of Denmark

..............................................27 Ragner Lodbrok - 794 King of Denmark

See The Scandinavian Connection for descent from Ragner Lodbrok

Line II

.2 Baeldeg

..3 Brond

...4 Frithogar

.....5 Freawine

.......6 Wig

.........7 Gewis

...........8 Esla

............ 9 Elesa

..............10 Cerdic 465 - 534 King of Wessex

................11 Cynric King of Wessex

..................12 Ceawlin - 593 King of Wessex

....................13 Cuthwine

......................14 Cuthwulf [Cutha]

........................15 Ceolwald

..........................16 Cenred

............................17 Ingild - 718 d: 718

.............................18 Eoppa

...............................19 Eofa (Eaba)

.................................20 Ealhmund Under-King of Kent 786

...................................21 Egbert King of England +Eadburgh (Redburh)

.....................................22 Ethelwulf King of England +Osburh

.......................................23 Alfred (The Great) King of England

See The Anglo-Saxon Connection for descent from Alfred the Great

2. Anglo-Saxon Genealogy

Descent from Adam and Eve (according to Asser, Historian to King Alfred the Great)

1 Adam +Eve

.2 Seth

..3 Enos

...4 Canaan [Cainion]

.....5 Malaleel [Malahel]

......6 Jared

.......7 Enoch [Enoh]

.........8 Methuselah [Methusalem]

...........9 Lamech

.............10 Noah

..............11 Seth [Sceaf]

................12 Bedwig

..................13 Hwala

....................14 Hathra

......................15 Itermon

........................16 Heremod

..........................17 Sceldwen [Sceldwa]

............................18 Beaw

.............................19 Taetwa

...............................20 Geata [Great]

.................................21 Godwulf

...................................22 Finn

.....................................23 Frithuwulf

.......................................24 Frealaf [Freawine]

.........................................25 Frithuwald

...........................................26 Woden

............................................27 Baeldeg [Balday]

..............................................28 Brond

................................................29 Frithogar [Frithugar]

..................................................30 Freawine

....................................................31 Wig

......................................................32 Gewis

........................................................33 Esla

..........................................................34 Elesa

...........................................................35 Cerdic 465 - 534 King of Wessex

See Line II:10 for descent from Cerdic

3. The Sicambrians

Descendants of Antenor

1 Antenor I King of the Cimmerians

.2 Marcomir I King of the Sicambri (BC442 - 412)

..3 Antenor II King of the Sicambri (BC412 - 384)

...4 Priamus King of the Sicambri (BC384 - 358)

.....5 Helenus King of the Sicambri (BC358 - 339)

.......6 Diocles King of the Sicambri (BC339 - 300)

.........7 Bassanus King of the Sicambri (BC300 - 250)

...........8 Clodomir I King of the Sicambri (BC250 - 232)

.............9 Niconor King of the Sicambri (BC232 - 198)

..............10 Marcomir II King of the Sicambri (BC198 - 170)

................11 Clodius I King of the Sicambri (BC170 - 159)

...............…12 Antenor III King of the Sicambri (BC159 - 143)

....................13 Clodomir II King of the Sicambri (BC143 - 123)

......................14 Merodachus King of the Sicambri (BC123 - 95)

........................15 Cassander King of the Sicambri (BC95 - 74)

..........................16 Antharius King of the Sicambri (BC74 - 39)

............................17 Francus* King of the Franks (BC39 - BC11)

.............................18 Clodius (or Clogio) II King of the Franks (BC11 - AD20)

...............................19 Marcomir III King of the Franks (AD20 - 50)

.................................20 Clodomir III King of the Franks (AD51 - 63)

...................................21 Antenor IV King of the Franks (AD63 - 69)

.....................................22 Ratherius King of the Franks (AD69 - 90)

.......................................23 Richemer King of the Franks (90 - 114)

.........................................24 Odomar King of the Franks (114 - 128)

...........................................25 Marcomir IV King of the Franks (128 - 149) +Athildis m: 129

............................................26 Clodomir IV King of the Franks (149 - 166) +Hafilda

..............................................27 Farabert King of the Franks (166 - 186)

................................................28 Sunno (or Hunno) King of the Franks (186 - 213)

..................................................29 Hilderic King of the Franks (213 - 253)

....................................................30 Bartherus King of the Franks (253 - 272)

......................................................31 Clodius (or Clogio) III King of the Franks (272 - 298)

........................................................32 Walter King of the Franks (298 - 306)

..........................................................33 Dagobert King of the Franks (306 - 317)

...........................................................34 Genebald I Duke of the East Franks (Almans & Thuringi)

.............................................................35 Dagobert Duke of the East Franks (358 - 379)

...............................................................36 Clodius I Duke of the East Franks (379 - 389)

.................................................................37 Marcomir I Duke of the East Franks (389 - 404)

...................................................................38 Pharamund King of the Franks (c.420 - 428) +Argotta "Mother of all the Kings of France"

..................................................................... 39 Clodio King of the Franks (428 - 444)

.......................................................................40 Sigimerus

.........................................................................41 Ferreolus Duke of Moselle, Margrave of the Scheld+Diuteria

..........................................................................42 Ausbert - 570 +Blitildis

............................................................................43 Arnoaldus Margrave of the Scheld, Bishop of Metz

..............................................................................44 St Arnulph - 639 Bishop of Metz

................................................................................45 Ansegisal +Begga

..................................................................................46 Pepin II of Heristal (687-714) +Plectrudis

....................................................................................47 Charles Martel Mayor of Austrasia & Neustria (714-741)

......................................................................................48 Pepin III King of the Franks (747-768) +Bertrada

........................................................................................49 Charlemagne Holy Roman Emperor

See The Charlemagne Links for the Carolingian descendants

* Founder of France from whom the three great Frankish dynasties claim descent i.e. the Merovingians, the Carolingians and the Capets.