Aventinus 91

Johannes Turmayr's 1520 History of Bavaria, Chapter 91, - translated and annotated by Ras Feqade, AD 2021.

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### 91. Of King Frank

After king Heccar, his son **Frank** came to the kingdom, he was there 41 years. Those who wrote the Bavarian chronicles before me, say the Franks are named from him. And when Cornelius Tacitus mentions in the book he wrote about the Germans 1424 years ago, the old Franconian countries use the Bavarian name; because they also set (whoever understands it right) to the Swabians (now Tyrgen) the most famous Roman orator Cicero sixteen hundred years ago, not much less. When old Bavaria (as the old letters show, also Hanns Reger von Kemmat auf dem Narka, who let out at the first Ptolomæum in Druk in Ulm, likewise reports Raimundus Marlianus) stretches from Trient to Wirzburg. On the Danube above Kelheim there is a forest and a large village with a small, commonly called Frankenhienham for short, in full: is the home of Franconia. And Hienham was a lovely town with the ancients. I also find in old letters and everywhere in our monasteries and foundations that Frank was a common name of the old Bavarians. That quite a few bring the Franks from Troy and many others write the same thing about their journey, comes from ignorance of the ancient Latin. It will not be necessary that I reject such errors here, meanwhile with reason and the truth, with writings in the print as gone, highly learned people, German, Italian, French, have discarded such errors: namely, doctor Chunrad Peuthinger in Augsburg on the cardinal of Salzburg; Heinrich Bebelius, the poet of Tybing, to Emperor Maximilian; Blondus and Volateranus in Rome with the Popes; Paul Aemilius at Paris to the king of France; like Marcus Antonius Sabellicus at Venice and many others.

[Frank ruled 41 years in Germany, per the *Manethonian Supplement* starting from 7 years after the fall of Troy, 1176 BC, until 1135 BC, and was succeeded there by Wolfheim Siclinger. However, Anderson assigns Frank only 40 years, 1155-1115 BC. The same Frank is also known on the French king list, and is said to have ruled there 55 or 60 years (more likely 57 years until 1119 BC) being succeeded by his son Sicamber, albeit in a smaller area including only Champagne and Ile de France. Wolfheim is surely to be identified with Uffe aka Olaf the Good, son of Wermund of Dania, of the Skioldung lineage, as mentioned by Saxo. Uffe slew in personal combat the son of an unnamed Saxon king (ie Frank) who thereby forfeited his kingdom of Saxony (ie Franconia) to Uffe, who also inherited Dania. Franconia, including much of Gallia, after 1135 BC thus seems to have been under control of this new Danish dynasty, while Frank himself after this loss seems to have been confined to a shrinking region in the north of Gallia.]

At first it was a small place in Bavaria, like Sweitz in Swabia, over time the name and the people have grown to such an extent that they brought the whole of Gallia and the Roman kingdom into Germany, and after them Germany and all of the country up to Hispania were known as Franconia. But such is indicated afterwards, namely in the fourth book, afresh with more words. The king of France and his country still retains the name of them.

And during this king Frank's times, as Manethon, Eusebius and Jerome have recorded in their chronicles, the oft-mentioned German war women's queen, by the name of Amar, fell in Asia (now great Turkey), had the great, costly place in the city Ephesus burnt, even moved to the land of Caria (a place in Asia, towards the south and over Rhodes), built a city there and named it after her, where she is buried.

[Jerome records for the year 1154 BC: "*The sons of Hector recaptured Ilium, after the progeny of Antenor had been expelled, Helenus bringing help to them.*" The "sons of Hector" here include the Franconians under Frank, son of Heccar, who retook the site of Troy from the Achaean Greeks, and the date of 1154 BC is not at all implausible.

Similarly, for 1146 BC Jerome notes: "*The Amazons burned the temple of Ephesus.*" The *Supplement* says *In the 42nd year* [after the fall of Troy, ie 1141 BC] *the Amazons burned the Temple of Diana in Ephesus.*" Either date is plausible.]

And that I return to the Franks, briefly to show where they came from and where the error arose, which some have said, they come from Troy, others from Scythia, the third from Pannonia, the fourth from the lake Maeotis. They come from the Bavarians, as I said. And so I find it with the Greeks, namely with Stephan of Constantinople, that the Bavarians also called Troy, the Nordgau, since it is Eisenärz, also Wirzburg city Paeonia, the Danube Maotas. And in the old letters that MGH Gabriel von Eib, bishop of Eichstadt let me see, I also find that the same March Scythia from the river Schyther around Ingelstadt is mentioned. This is how Amianus Marcellinus writes, also called Saler. Obersal, Saler, Solern, Saliberg, Salistadt, rivers villages places and castles in Bavaria around the Danube between Neustadt and Regensburg, also in Nordgau. That is why those who are not well read, do not know, have land, well known to them, named for them in the Bavarian region, as Troy the city in Asia, Maeotis the lake in Tartary, like Scythia the land of the same. Pannonia the land between the Drave and Save. Such a history in many other names would be more that are just a little bit alike: the unlearned take one for the other, it also reproduces the unfaithful in the biblical and holy scriptures, as St Jerome indicates more places.

### 92. Of the Jews proceeding directed after the captains of God, namely the bishop Heli.

[Eli was judge of Israel 1107-1067 BC, somewhat after Frank's era.]

### 93. Of the king of the Latins in Italy.

At that time the Latin king in was Italy **Ascanius Julius**, who is the only son of Aeneas with the first wife and thus coming with him from Troy. He reads his stepmother's the old town Lavinium, builds him a new one, calls it Alba, that is in our language Weissenburg.He was in honor and was 38 years, as Jerome and Eusebius have recorded in their chronicles, raised his step-brother **Sylvius Posthumus** with great merit, whom his stepmother Lavinia bore in the forest only after his father's death, which is why the child was named by forest, as Latin sylva means, Sylvius; and posthumus in Latin means who is only born after his father's death. From this later all Latin kings were called with their forename Sylvius. And since Ascanius was in a way that he had to die, he made an inheritance over the country and people his step-brother Sylvius, who is now coming to his years and was manly, how he was a married son, but was still a child, was called Julius Sylvius, from whom the first Roman emperor Caius Julius came.

[Ascanius ruled Latium 1176-1137 BC, followed by Sylvius Posthumus 1137-1108 BC]