by D. J. Holmes
***
Treysen and Daniel are back in the control room.
“Daniel. Who are the Franks?” Treysen asks.
“Following the fall of Troy, 12,000 Trojans, led by Chiefs Priam and Antenor, escaped and finally founded a new Troy on the banks of the Rhine by the name of “Sicambria”. (On the right bank where the Rhine comes out of Germany and enters what is now called the Netherlands.) “They took their name from King Francio, just like Rome was named after Romulus.”
“They really descended from the people of Troy?”
“Yes. Later, after taking on the name of Franks, they became a confederation of tribes. Some of these tribes joined the Roman troops in Gaul. When Rome fell, the Frankish tribes were united under the Merovingians (a Frankish dynasty) and conquered all but a small part of Gaul, in the 6th Century. Thereafter, Gaul became known as France, named after the Franks.”
“Wow. With a Frankish history like that, no wonder Charles Martel is such a great soldier. He grew up knowing how to fight.”
“Yes. He was surrounded with this knowledge even before he was born. He also grew up knowing the importance of freedom and the cost one had to pay to obtain it and to continue to keep it.”