New-York tribune., 1898-10-09

The question Of the origin OF the first great
royal family Of the Franksb Nation is one Of the
puzzles Of history Mr.. Sargent gives on this
point new interpretations Of disputed passages
in the chronicles Of ancient Gaul and Germany,
but he overloOks a passage In English poet
Of Charlemagnes time which seems TO have a
bearing the subject. The Epic Of Beowulf Is
a poem with an English landscape, but with oil
its figures and incidents drawn from Scandl-
navia and the lands about the mouth Of the
Rhine. One passage in particular emphasizes the
accuracy OF its Continental etbnography. When
Beowulf returned from the expedition against
tho monsters Of the Swedish Mere, nc reported
his adventure, as he was bound TO do TO his
King, Hygelao. When In his old age he lost his
life III another dragon quest, and his people
mourned less because Of his merits than because
OF their fears. Beowuf had been the sole de-
fence Of the little kingdom which Hygelac had
set up somewhere near the mouth OF the Rhine
and now his subjects looked for wal as soon as
his fan was published abroad among Franks
and Frsians. There had been trouble with the
HuSas ever since Hygelac set foot on the FITS
ian land and had been defeated by the Hetware
and since that reverse tho lttle nation of Gothic
Stormfolk had never been able to gam the favor
OF the Merovingian- Mere wIoinGas. These sug-
eestIons of the Epic Of Beowulf. II they are
rightly interpreted, seem to have "a bearing on
the question which Mr.. Sargent discusses al
some length a. to the Origin OF the Franks In
order to comprehend the tradition OF legend
with which the English poet was dealing, We
must read for HyPelac. Chochilaicus for Het-
ware Chattuarii. and for Hugas, Chauci and
then We can form some idea Of ia. place near
tho mouth Of the Rhine where Beovulfs COM
patriots were and the reason Why they mourned
tbs lack Of Meroyjngian friendship. For this
whole passage ID the famous English poem looks
bach ia traditions that underio The meagre mar
ratve Of Gregory Of Tours. and il ls 10 Gregory
itbat Nj Sergents and, indeed all historians, are
obged 20 refer for The BEGINNINGS OF Frankisb
history
II is possible that n the days of TacItus, when
tht Germans had not beer 50 long disturbed by
tho Romans, they were ali CLASSIFIED IN tribes OF
natural kind. But II is certain that the later
Franks and Saxons were not natural but arti-
ficial societies. formed under the leadership of
som, successful warrior for purposes Of defence
or aggression. II only required succession OF
capable Leaders 70 make a society Of this sort
permanent and 70 enlarge il from predatory
band 10 a moro or less stationary kingdom 1t
was a league Of the strong and a government OF
the strongest, and wherever the fighting from
tier Of the region il inhabited was there tho
leader likely 10 grow W. The first Of the
Franks appear. according 10 Mr.. Sargent to
have dominated the country lying between the
Middle Rhine and the Hercynan Forest-the
same country, roughly speaking, which a Ger
man Of the present day calls Nassau Hesse,
Unter Franken. Ober Franken and Mttei
Franken, the last three of which correspond
partly with the Kingdom Of Thuringia ID the
frontier was that toward Gaul, the Franks
strengthened themselves on the Rhine and west
of the Rhine " the time of the poet Claudlan
they were 10 be heard Of as far south as Aries
and as far north as Belgium, and perhaps as
early a. that age they had established them
selves permanently in Hanaut. According 10
Gregory Of Tours, they had driven the Romans
out of Cambria by the middle Of the fifth cent
ury and had made the River Somme their west
ern frontier. This was accomplished under the
leadership Of a man from whom the Meroyingian
kings claimed descent. His name sounded TO the
Gallo car of Gregory like ChIogion and his resi-
dence was at Dispargum on the borders OF
ThuriDgia. But who this CblOgiOn or Chlodion
really was and where the town OF Dispargum
stood are still open TO dispute Some suppose
the fortress TO have been at The junction OF the
principal forks Of the SChedt others that II was
Dcutz in Rhenish Prussia, or Deburg, n Hesse-
Darnstadt Mr.. Sargent prefers Dieburg, though
there historical critics who say that the
search for Dispargum is The chase OF "a phan-
tom. The curious thing is that after the Franks
have been divided INTO Salian Franks those who
frs, gathered on the River Saalc, ana Ripuaran