The consent of time disciphering the errors of the Grecians in their Olympiads, the vncertaine computation of the Romanes in their penteterydes and building of Rome, of the Persians in their accompt of Cyrus, and of the vanities of the Gentiles in fables of antiquities, disagreeing with the Hebrewes, and with the sacred histories in consent of time. VVherein is also set downe the beginning, continuance, succession, and ouerthrowes of kings, kingdomes, states, and gouernments. By Lodovvik Lloid Esquire.

CHAP. II.

From Francus the sixteenth king of Fraunce then called Sicambri, vntill the time of Farabertus the 12. in number after Francus: of the warres, inuasions, and victories, of the enlargement of their kingdome from one king to another, vntill Farabertus gouerne∣ment: during which time, they were called Franci, after the name of Francus.

IN the yeere before the birth of Christ * 1.1 245. Francus the eldest sonne of An∣tharius, after that his father was slaine by the Gaules by the aide of the Romans, suc∣ceeded in the kingdome of Sicambria, & became such an enemie to the Gaules, that hee destroyed their townes and ci∣ties, wasted their territories, and spoy∣led the people, not only the Gaules, but also the Gothes and o∣ther nations: insomuch that the Romanes hearing of this Fran∣cus courage and stoutnesse, sent Lollius with a Romane armie, * 1.2 who in the first battel that he gaue in Germany, slue of thē 18. thousand. Francus sent his sonne Clogio to aide his neighbors, by whom the Romanes were put to flight, with a great slaugh∣ter * 1.3 of Lollius souldiers. In the mean time Francus when he had driuen out the Gothes from Germany, after he had plagued the Gaules, and had most miserably wasted and spoyled the coun∣trey, vnto the riuer Mosa, & as histories affirme, slue 200000. Gaules. which newes frighted much the Romanes. In the 24. * 1.4 yeere of his raigne, after he had concluded peace with diuers nations in Germany, he made a decree that Sicambria shoulde be called Francia, after the name of Francus, which to this day * 1.5 continueth a strong and a stoute nation, and the onely king∣dome of the world for all commodities.

During which time, ciuill warres waxed hoate betweene Iulius Caesar & Pompeius the great, which being soon extingui∣shed both by the murthering of Pompey in Egypt, and by the like murther of Caesar at Rome in the Senate: after which

began another new ciuil warre betweene Augustus Caesar and Marcus Antoninus, which endured 12. yeeres: at what time Ianus Temple was shut the third time, and peace was then * 1.6 graunted to all nations by Augustus. But the antiquitie of the name of Fraunce, beginning from Francus time in the 190. O∣lympiade, and in the beginning of the 29. Iubilee, at what time Augustus Caesar subdued all Spayne, and brought them vnder the Romane Empire. Nowe the names before named Neumagi, Marcomani, Cimbri, Celtae, Sicambri, and Sa∣mothei, are now changed, to be called Franci: after this Fran∣cus succeeded his sonne Clogio the seconde king of Fraunce, which raigned 30. yeeres, a wise man, and a great Astrologer, * 1.7 a Southsayer, and for skill and knowledge in many thinges he was named Magus.

In the fourth yeere of Clogios raigne, Tiberius was sent by Augustus to Germanie with a very high hoste of Romanes, who destroyed all places where they came into. Clogio with an ar∣mie gaue vnto Tiberius a battell, in the which Tiberius wanne no great conquest but rather losse, and at that time departed * 1.8 from field without victorie: yet the name of Fraunce was skant knowen a farre off, for the newnesse and late change of the name: and therefore the nations rounde about called Clogio a Germane, and not a Frenchman. Notwithstanding, Clogio beyng growen to so great a name, that he was feared as his father was before him of the verie Romanes: he made his sonne named Phrisus a king, and named the region where * 1.9 he gouerned Phrysia, which at this day is called Frizeland: this was made subiect to Fraunce at that very time, paying yeerely tribute vnto Fraunce 260. oxen: this was done by consent of all Fraunce, for this Phrysus was the second sonne of Clogio.

Nowe Fraunce beganne to bee knowen by the name of * 1.10 Fraunce: for Clogio hauing some ayde of the Saxons ouerthrew the Romanes armie, and slue Marcus Lollius their generall in the fielde, and after vanquished still the Gaules, vntill hee be∣came so mightie, that hee left behinde him his second sonne

king of Phrysia, and his eldest sonne and heyre king of France named Herimerus, who raigned after his father twelue yeres: whose successe was neyther like to his father Clogio, nor to * 1.11 his brother Phrysus: who flourished in his newe kingdome, and gaue diuers expulses to the Romane force: insomuch that Friselande beganne to be spoken of through the prow∣esse and martiall feates of Phrisus their first king. For Heri∣merus the elder brother fighting against his enemies, very vn∣fortunately * 1.12 was slayne when he had raigned twelue yeres: he died in the 32. yeere after Christes birth: at what time gouer∣ned in India, Pontius Pilatus President to the Romane Empire. About this time, Herodes builded a citie in the honour of Ti∣berius * 1.13 Caesar the Emperor of Rome, and named it Caesarea, which was before called Turris Stratonis.

In the time of this Herimerus in the citie of Fidena, a Thea∣ter fell downe at the play of an enterlude, which the Romane Attilius builded for sword players, where fiftie thousand were sore bruised, maimed, and slaine. The fourth king of Fraunce * 1.14 was Marcomirus, which raigned eighteene yeeres, and had the like dealings within Gallia, as his predecessors had. In the seuenth yeere of Marcomirus raigne was Caius Caesar Caligula made Emperour in Rome. Reade Tritemius of this Marcomi∣rus, and of his sonne Clodomirus, who helde sharpe warre with the Romanes in Maguntia, and manie sore battels * 1.15 within Gallia. This time Guidericus king Bellinus sonne raig∣ned king in Brytaine: after whome succeeded by force of armes in Britayne Armiracus, whome Claudius Caesar van∣quished and triumphed ouer: but let vs returne to the kings of Fraunce.

After Clodomirus succeeded his sonne Antenor the 2. of that name, & raigned 6. yeres, who in the last yere of his raigne ha∣uing occasiō to passe ouer the riuer of Mosa, the bridge there∣of being broken with the weight of the kinges companie, hee * 1.16 & more of his Princes, were at this instant drowned, & three∣score noble men more of Fraunce, beside other Gentlemen and Captaines, after whom followed Rhaterus the eldest

sonne of Antenor, who raigned in Fraunce 21. yeeres, hee al∣so did handle the Gaules in like sorte, for before his predeces∣sors had won that countrey, which lay beyond the riuer Mosa, * 1.17 & had brought the Gaules most miserably vnder foote, yet stil they held long wars, and many sharpe battels with the French men vntill Faramondus time, who was the first king named of Gallia: which was 400. yeeres and odde.

After Francus time, this Rhaterus after he had bestowed 21. yeeres in warres against the Gaules, they renued the league * 1.18 which his predecessors had made with the Germanes, Saxons, and an other nation called the Dorings: he builded a towne, and named it Rhaterodamum and died. This kings life and do∣ings is set forth by Arebaldus in verse, and after augmented by Hunibaldus. In the second yeere of this Rhaterus raigne, Nero then Emperour of Rome played his bloody tragedies against the Christians, persecuted and tormented them, and slue them with diuers kindes of death: this time Alani a people of * 1.19 Scythia inuaded Media, and made hauocke vnto the confines of Armenia, at what time all the Philosophers and Mathe∣maticians * 1.20 were banished from Rome and Italie: in this kinges later time was Quintilianus brought to Rome by the Emperor Galba from Spaine.

After Rhaterus succeeded his sonne Richimerus, which raigned 24. yeeres, and had great warres both against the * 1.21 Gaules, and against the Romanes, and beyng ayded by the Ger∣manes gaue a sharpe battell both to the Romanes, and to the Gaules, not farre from the citie of Basana. Tritemius affirmeth * 1.22 that in that very yeere the Gothes had inuaded the coastes and confines of Germanie, and were by this Richimerus king of Fraunce, and Fernefrides kinges of the Dorings, Turings, and by Vidikindo king of the Saxons ouercome. But in trueth the crie of Chronicles is against it, and sayeth that these kinges of the Saxons, and the king of Turings were long after Richi∣merus time: but it is most certayne that at that time the Ger∣manes, the Saxons, the Turinges and Frenchmen tooke pos∣session in that Countrey which is nowe called Marchia

Bradenburgensis, where Sunno the sonne of Richimer did first and before any man inhabite there, and was the first prince * 1.23 that gouerned the Countrie and ruled the people, and as Tri∣temius sayeth, hee was set there by his father and the other kings before named, to withstand and resist the forreigne ar∣mies, and other people comming from the East into Ger∣manie. * 1.24 This Richimer was a very notable stoute captaine, a boulde man and a seuere king, who during the whole reigne of twentie foure yeeres which hee gouerned in Fraunce, the Gaules and the Romanes were by him sore plagued and sore afflicted, sometime with slaughter and victorie ouer them, and sometime with repulse.

This time Traiane the Emperour had warres in the East part, and subdued the Sauromaties, the Arabians, the Agarens, * 1.25 the Bospherans, and was ready to make his voyage to the redde sea, and so to conquer India. The fourth persecution fell in the time of Richimer, after whom succeeded his sonne Odema∣rus the ninth king of Fraunce: hee reigned fourteene yeeres, * 1.26 and began to gouerne Fraunce in the yeere after Christ a hun∣dred fourtie foure. This king Odemarus was much giuen to seeke peace, and by all meanes studied to maintaine the same: * 1.27 for after hee had concluded peace with the Romanes and with the Gaules, which peace during his life he kept inuiolated: for he thought himselfe contented and fully satisfied to defende that coast of Gallia, which his predecessours had with long and sharpe warres gotten:

Neither Tritemius, Lazius, nor Functius do write any thing of this king worth the memorie, but his care and diligence of peace keeping: for since Francus time the first king of the name of Fraunce, vntill Odemarus the ninth king, not one of them sought peace but warres: and therefore they succeeded * 1.28 one after another, with othes vowing to come & to possesse all Gallia by the sword. And hauing now subdued diuers parts in Gallia being a large kingdome, euen frō the riuer of Rhene, vnto the mountaines called Pirenaei, and naming them kings * 1.29 of Fraunce, for that they coulde not yet conquer all Gallia,

though (as I sayde before) one king after another shotte at it for nine hundred yeeres space, vntill all the realme of Gal∣lia became the kingdome of Fraunce.

But while this Odemarus reigned in Fraunce, the Romanes * 1.30 whose force more & more grew in the Countries of Germa∣nie: vntil the Gaules, Saxons, Gothes, Vandales, Hungarians, and diuers others waxed very strong in the West Countries, that the Romanes were constrained to neglect the East parte, and to looke about home: for it is in all histories knowen, that the kingdome of Fraunce beganne to florish when the Empire of Rome beganne to decay.

But to my French historie againe, first setting downe the names here vnder of those kings that reigned in Fraunce from Francus vntill Farabertus time, as foloweth.

• 1 Francus the first king after the name of Si∣cambri was finished, and after whose name Sicambri were called Franci, he reigned 28. yeeres.
• 2 Clogio the sonne of Francus reigned after * 1.31 his father 30. yeeres.
• 3 Herimerus the sonne of Clogio reigned 22. yeeres.
• 4 Marcomirue reigned 18. yeeres.
• 5 Clodomirus the sonne of Marcomirus reig∣ned 12. yeeres.
• 6 Antenor reigned af∣ter his father Clodo∣mirus 6. yeeres.
• 7 Ratherus succeeded his father Antenor, and reigned 21. yeeres.
• 8 Richimerus his sonne reigned 24. yeeres.
• 9 Odemarus reigned after his father Richi∣merus 14. yeeres.
• 10 Marcomirus the se∣cond of that name, and sōne to Odemarus reig∣ned 21. yeeres.
• 11 After Marcomirus succeeded Clodamirus, and reigned 17. yeeres.
• 12 After Clodomirus succeeded Farabertus his sonne, and reigned 20. yeeres.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Francus the first king by whome the kingdome of Fraunce was so •…•…amed.
• * 1.2

  Tritem. in Franco.
• * 1.3

  Lollius with his Romane ar∣mie put to flight by Clo∣gio.
• * 1.4

  200000. Gaules slaine by Fran∣cus.
• * 1.5

  Sicambria now is called Fraunce.
• * 1.6

  Ianus temple shut in all Au∣gust. time.
• * 1.7

  Clogio 2. king. For his know∣ledge and skill in Astrologie surnamed Magus.
• * 1.8

  A battell be∣tweene Clogio and Tiberius the Emperor.
• * 1.9

  Phrisius the sonne of Clog•…•… made king in Friseland.
• * 1.10

  Tribute of 260. oxen paid out of Friseland in∣to the crowne of Fraunce. Ta∣cis. 4. 5.
• * 1.11

  Herimers 5. king after Francus.
• * 1.12

  Herimerus slaine.
• * 1.13

  Caesarea before called Turris Stratonis. Tacitus lib. 4.
• * 1.14

  Marcomirus 4. king.
• * 1.15

  Clodomirus 5. king. after Francus.
• * 1.16

  This king with 60. of his no∣ble men was drowned in the riuer Mo∣sa.
• * 1.17

  Gallia sore plagued.
• * 1.18

  Raterus 7. king.
• * 1.19

  Alani.
• * 1.20

  Ioseph. lib. 7. cap. 27.
• * 1.21

  Richimerus 8. king.
• * 1.22

  Ioseph wrote his historie de bello Iudaico in Richimerus time.
• * 1.23

  Sunno.
• * 1.24

  The Gaules & the Romanes sore plagued by Richimer.
• * 1.25

  Odemarus 9. king of Fraūce,
• * 1.26

  The 4. perse∣cution in Ri∣chimers time.
• * 1.27

  Odemarus con∣cluded peace with the Ro∣manes.
• * 1.28

  Vowes and othes made the Frenchmen for Gallia.
• * 1.29

  Reade Paul. Aemil. lib. 1.
• * 1.30

  The West kingdoms be∣gan to florish.
• * 1.31

  The names of those kings that reigned in Fraunce frō Francus to Fa∣rabertus.