Virginia Argus. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1796-1816, 1811-10-31
HISTORICAL LETTERS.
TO The Editor qfthe ynginia .Argus.
LETTER XVIII.
Formation Of the Kingdoms and States Or
Modern EurQhe. aj7enthc FaA efthc
Roman Entire.
FRANCE.

!, FRANCE.
rHf aisYy Srrmanee:s taken f,gs il. O..
rigin, mRreleHE period of nshly 14Oo
E is%is s it Sas aass sssss
and the T,apetiH The coYf Aencement Of
the monarchy, however, is idRolved in much
obscurity +; and when or hQE the French es-
tablished themselves in GAuli Whaher il
was under Clovis or a long time before
himf Whether this prince and his prede-
cessors were real kings or merely cnterpriz-
ing chieftainse Whether they rendered them
selves masters of Gaul by sudden irrup-.
ton and solely by the force of arms, or by
neutrality-suspicious. and arefuedpoiicy Whe-
ther the throne was hereditary or electives
Whether the Gauls were reduced to seryi
tude or otherwise1 Whether the Franks Ii
we'd upon a plan of democratic equality. or
recognized an aristocratical pre-eminence ?
All these are questions of difficult solution,
and can onlybe answered by ingenious theories
and vague conjectures.
The Merovingian race gave twenty-five
kings to France, and endured S3I YEARS.
Pharamond was the first of this house; and
Childeric III, was the last: Meropius gave
his name to the dynasty; and Clovis was the
nero 1T. The crown was at that time di-
partition that led to the destruction of the
race, and renders it SO difficult to trace the
history OF its reign. There were three re-
markable divisions the first was that ofthe
children ct Clovis, who were four in numbers
after a great many conflicts and crimes
Clotaire l. remained sole master, and rcu-
nited the disjointed monarchy At his death
new partition took place among his four
children, new troubles broke out, and new a.
trocities were committed: Clotaire III, his
| grand son, acquired the sovereignty, and a.
gain united the French territory But under
his two grand children third division was
effected, into Austrasia, or Eastern France
| and Neustria, or Western France The
line of AusIrasan hipgs first became extinct
and Perrin .Heristals mayor of the palace, an
officsf Which had usufPed all authority, not
onAwould not hermit tne kinssfof Neustriu
to fcceo&o the vacant skror&, but compel
ledN he NsdstriaA sovereiM to receive him
as Kayor nd om that hepcnt the Nero
vingan dyhsety Mas lostF T1nse two chief
magistrates ~ state, fhe royalty and the
mayoraity, were hexditary; and it happen
| ed that the race ofSSayors wereA succession
OF great men, whilS that ofthe kings furnish
ed in general none but men of iheapacity:
so that Unnecessarily resulted that the mayors
were every thing and that the Kings were
nothing. Pepin soon discarded the phantom
| OF royalty which had only preserved the ap-
pearance of power by his permission, and
amounted the throne himself The first divi-
| sion of the French monarchy is remarkable
because it furnishes the first example of the
Saiique La7v, by which females arc dcpri.
we'd of the right Of Inheritance TO the crown:
the second, by Brunehaut and Fredcgonda,
two queens, celebrated by the crimes of which
they were either the authors or the objects:
the third and last, because il prepared and
consummated the usu1pation of the throne nv
the mayors Of the palace.
The Carlovingian race endured for org
years and gave eleven kings to France: OF
these Pepin-le-Bref was the first Louis ".
the last 4; Charlemague gave it name, and
was the hero Of it. Charlenacne widely
extended the French frontiers, aud founded
the second empire of the west, comprehen5
ding France, Germany, and almost all Italy,
hererown was divided again under this dy-
nHey; antkthe division was succeeded b. the
$ Hne ruinouA consequences TO the race. The
~ OF CharldAagne had three children, who
! lygned y ltaa III France, sndin Germany.
EAch a hcrs had several Offspring,
wlash NNuc as many subdivisions Of ter
ritof)~A ~ Il Kdiyisions, the warsto which
they gave TX and the crimes caused BY
these conflicts, occupy a space oftwe or three
generations. At last Charles ie-eros the
great grandson Of Charlcmagnc, Jcuu;tca,
by inheritance or uSurpati0n, upon his own
! head all tic estates Of bis grandfather but
he had neither his strength nor bis ceon,s--.
/ Charles was deposed, his throne ctsimbled IN
! pieces, and separate states were formed
from the fragments. Thas the fate of The
/ Carlovngans was similar tOthat If The Afe.
r6viDgians; differing, however, III tlis. tist
VIC es.,,n..,ol OF the Nleroyngrn dynasty
ms o. " we. by revolution 10 the state,
VIZ, 80 t eI,. uerGssion o. the Caroyingian
so,S.,"J eI.,:.. " alarehy ard kind of
becan,, ro,ten~ -, nc french' monarchy
e.,,e,.ac ",,;oSa e,dh tum Ituous con-
nearanccs ofrooai,,, 'a IN, merely the ape