In Rex Deus: The True Mystery of Rennes-Le-Chateau and the Dynasty of Jesus, published in 2000, Marylin Hopkins, Graham Simmans and Tim Wallace-Murphy developed a similar scenario based on 1994 testimony by the pseudonymous "Michael Monkton",[47] that a Jesus and Mary Magdalene bloodline was part of a shadow dynasty descended from twenty-four high priests of the Temple in Jerusalem known as Rex Deus the "Kings of God". The Merovingian dynasty is the royal bloodline that preceded Charlemagne and the Carolingian usurpers to the throne of the Holy Roman Empire, a bloodline that While some simply entertain it as a novel intellectual proposition, others hold it as an established belief thought to be authoritative and not to be disputed. The Cimmerians in 714 BC were in the region of Azerbaijan, and in the 7 and 8th century BC were in southern Russia and Ukraine. Gaius Julius Caesar. He sees it as part of a long tradition of anti-Catholic sentiment with deep roots in the American Protestant imagination but going back to the very start of the Reformation of 1517.[75]. He regrouped and captured Cambrai (Cameracum) and occupied territory as far as the Somme River. He expanded his rule over all three Frankish kingdoms: Austrasia, Neustria, and Burgundy. She received a prominent burial as a saint and miracle worker at her monastery in Poitiers. With Clovis, we have the beginnings of a substantial documented history. In 872, he was made a Saint. It was not the crude barbaric culture often imagined. Today Troy is an archaeological site in northwest Turkey. .," while suggesting she is more mythographer than historian.[3]. Most descendants of the Merovingians came from a zig-zag pattern, like me, from my mothers side. She exercised enormous power during her reign, especially after she was widowed, when she acted as regent to her son, Clothar, for nearly a decade. This, The basilica and former monastic church ofSaint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains in Metz, France. JW: I thank you so much for speaking with us. [16], The same year saw a book following the similar theme that Jesus and Mary Magdalene produced a family written by psychic medium and best-selling author Sylvia Browne, The Two Marys: The Hidden History of the Mother and Wife of Jesus. [42], The Woman with the Alabaster Jar: Mary Magdalen and the Holy Grail, a 1993 book by Margaret Starbird, built on Cathar beliefs and Provencal traditions of Saint Sarah, the black servant of Mary Magdalene, to develop the hypothesis that Sarah was the daughter of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. They became slave traders, merchants, and shippers. Herodotus described the Cimmerians of the north Black Sea coast as a distinctly autonomous tribe expelled by the Scythians. Images lent to the Ancient History Encyclopedia, by Dr. Bonnie Effros, have been done so as a courtesy for the purposes of this interview and are copyrighted. The scenario was dismissed as 'certainly strange' by a contemporary reviewer. What contemporary sources relating to the origin as well as the history of the Merovingians survive are very limited. James Blake Wiener is the Communications Director of the Ancient History Encyclopedia, providing a continuous listing of must-read articles, exciting museum exhibitions, and interviews with experts in the field. They were described by Homer and Herodotus. Dagobert II had a major capital at Stenay which included a huge forest. He died in 768 and is buried at St. Denis. [12][13] The account was dismissed as fanciful by scholar Michael J. [25] The Church of England compared The Lost Gospel to a Monty Python sketch, the director of communications for the Archbishop's Council citing the book as an example of religious illiteracy and that ever since the publication of The Da Vinci Code in 2003, "an industry had been constructed in which 'conspiracy theorists, satellite channel documentaries and opportunistic publishers had identified a lucrative income stream'. The Merovingian Church had a distinguished tradition in ecclesiastical legislation in the 6th and 7th centuries; it witnessed a flowering of monastic tradition. Rather than being seen as a source of magical or pre-Christian power, as some Carolingian authors suggested, long hair, which had a role in Judeo-Christian tradition as well (think Samson!) Troy was a legendary city established about 3000 BC and was the center of the Trojan Wars, which occurred about 1200 BC. In the case of the Early Middle Ages (c. 476-1000 CE), it is clear that Christian conversion did not bring about a marked change in the way in which the dead were laid to rest. It warrants comparision with the high culture of the Byzantines. A King who had his hair cut would be forced to step down. This legend dates from the 1930s, when it was claimed that a document was discovered written in the Hebrew language and describing the marriage and later life of Jesus. As loyal Catholics, the Merovingians were powerful allies of the Pope in promoting Catholic Christianity. He has written for 8 years in a variety of fields including history, health and politics. During a battle against the Alamans, he vowed to become a Christian if he was victorious. [52], A presentation of analogous concepts within a Mormon context was published in 2006: Dynasty of the Holy Grail: Mormonism's Sacred Bloodline by art historian Vern Grosvenor Swanson. Researchers Unlock the Mystery of the Mummified Lung of a Merovingian Queen The authors of Holy Blood, Holy Grail , who posited that the Merovingians were descended from Jesuswhose hidden bloodline migrated from Israel to France via Mary Magdalenewere big proponents of this theory. Miles Mathis Nephilim Merovingian Bloodline The conversion of Clovis into Christianity had a significant historical impact from a cultural perspective. was fully integrated into the Frankish leaders powers as Christian kings. WebFritz Springmeier Merovingian Bloodline & The Black Nobility Date: 06/28/00 07:45:45 PM Name: Chalcedon Part I - The Merovingian Bloodline This page has been prepared to provide some type of table of contents to the various items which will be included in this chapter "The Thirteenth Satanic Bloodline". In the 6th century Italy was controlled by the Ostragoths, France by the Franks, and Burgundians, and Spain by the Visigoths. In my writings this bloodline has been Israeli Biblical scholar, Rivka Nir called their work "serious-minded, thought-provoking and interesting", but described the thesis as objectionable, [24] and the book has been dismissed by mainstream Biblical scholarship, for example by Anglican theologian, Richard Bauckham. The conversion of Clovis to Catholicism made him more acceptable to the Gallo Romans. He was a brilliant general and is considered the father of western heavy cavalry. Deposited to, Pair of fibulae from the finery set of Queen Aregund (c. 515573 CE), wife of Clotaire I (511561 CE). Such stories were often associated with ruling houses, seeking to aggrandize the rulers and cement their position of power. During the Early Middle Ages, the Merovingian kingdoms were arguably the most powerful and most important polities to emerge after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, blending Gallo-Roman institutions with Germanic Frankish customs. He was called the hero of the age and it was said he delivered Christiandom. WebThe Merovinginans traced their Sicambrian origins from Marcomir I-died 412 BC and ultimately to the Kings of Troy. Namely, I would suggest, as has the archaeologist Frans Theuws (who in turn borrowed the phrase from the medieval historian Lynda Coon), that it is helpful to think about burials as sacred fictions. In other words, graves provide snapshots of the way in which the living wished to remember the dead. The Merovingian Bloodline: One of the 13 Satanic Bloodlines Barbarian Kings The Roman Empire was replaced with a number of states ruled by barbarian kings. An increasing number of fringe Christian eschatologists believe the Antichrist may also present himself as descended from the Jesus bloodline to capitalize on growing adherence to the hypothesis in the general public.[71]. McClymond. It was an institution heavily involved in politics. BE: There are many reasons why one might want to study the Merovingians. Childeric I carved himself a kingdom and the Merovingian dynasty was born. However, the harsh practices of the Merovingians were often quite detrimental to the Church. It was foremost in monastic houses and ecclesiastical communities that contemporary clerics began to effect change. Chris Lovegrove, who reviewed The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail when first published in 1982, dismissed the significance of a Jesus bloodline, even if it were proven to exist despite all evidence to the contrary: If there really is a Jesus dynasty so what? Usurpation by the Carolingians First Carolingian King Joyce identified the writer with Jesus of Nazareth, who, he claimed, had survived his own crucifixion to marry and settle at Masada, and suggested a conspiracy to hide the contents of the Dead Sea Scrolls in order to suppress this counter-narrative to Christian orthodoxy. It seems that the Merovingians, while happy to claim descent from fantastical mythological beasts, did not believe they weredivine in a Christian sense. St. Gregory, Bishop of Tours was installed in 573 and was made They accumulated immense wealth. Accept Read More, Examining Mary Magdalene In The Gospel of Mary, Apollonius of Tyana Similarities to Jesus Christ, Prester John: The Legendary Christian King. Pippin's ambassadors to Pope Zachary asked: "who should be King, the man who actually holds power or he though he is King has no power at all?". The claims frequently depict Interesting history topics are just a click away. Clothair II Clothair II reigned 584-629 and reunited the Kingdom of the Franks. JW: In your latest work, Uncovering the Germanic Past: Merovingian Archaeology in France, 1830-1914, you move into the era of the French Industrial Revolution. Dagobert II married a Visigoth princess, and further expanded the empire to Languedoc. And the Franks were not Christians by religion, leaving the divine protection the Catholics claimed poor protection against a Merovingian attack. Merovingian Bloodline (Tribe of Dan) - But That's Just Me The Merovinginans traced their Sicambrian origins from Marcomir I-died 412 BC and ultimately to the Kings of Troy. JW: Before concluding our interview, I wanted to make a point of asking you what is the legacy of the Merovingians and why should we continue to study them? As you noted above, the problematic nature of historical works dated from the Carolingian period is even more pronounced, since historians like the author of the Chronicle of Fredegar were eager to demonstrate how the Merovingian kings characterized as the do-nothing kings had lost their right to rule. Every distinguished member of this assembly is of Merovingian lineage. The Merovingian dynasty is the royal bloodline that preceded Charlemagne and the Carolingian usurpers to the throne of the Holy Roman Empire, a bloodline that claims divine descent. This conclave is destined to become the occult hierarchy of Europe. Priory that demonstrated its long history and his own descent from the lineage they had protected that traced to the Merovingian kings, and earlier, the biblical Tribe of Benjamin. Even after leaving her husband, the former queen maintained a powerful network that allowed her to negotiate with the Byzantine Emperor for a relic of the Holy Cross for her cloister. After Clovis died, his kingdom was divided into 4 parts-one for each of his 4 sons. we do not think the Incarnation truly symbolises what it is intended to symbolise unless Jesus were married and sired children. BE: Many thanks for this opportunity! There was now a powerful religion, and a powerful Church being administered by a Merovingian bloodline. Clovis had married a Burgundian woman, Clotilda. They suggest instead that while the Frankish kings may have indeed worn their hair long, an image preserved most famously in the signet ring preserved in Childeric Is mound grave (c. 481/2 CE) in Tournai, Belgium, its interpretation had steadily changed over time. Ancient Greece ended with the end of the reign of Alexander the Great in 323 BC. Thus, what truly fascinated me was the way in which French historians opted to turn their backs on inconvenient remains discovered by amateurs that challenged their narrative of Frances Gallo-Roman ancestry. Please contact us for rights to republication. Retrieved on 2008-04-23. In doing so he created enemies-both secular and ecclesiastic. [4][6], The late 19th-century saw the first of several expansions on this theme of marriage between Jesus and Mary Magdalene, providing the couple with a named child. It fell to him to redistribute the conquered wealth among his first followers as he saw fit, ensuring loyalty amongst his warriors. This, Cover of Merovingian sarcophagus at the Muse de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France. Charlemagne was the son of Pippin and Bertrada. Arriving in southern France, he established a dynasty there and his children went on to become the Merovingian kings, perhaps unaware of their own divine ancestry. Relating its contents to Joyce, Grosset offered to pay him to smuggle it out of the country, but then became spooked when his flight was delayed and snuck away; he was never identified and the scroll was not seen again. WebThis is a video clip of the forensic drawing of what Mary Magdalenes face would have looked like based on the skull and bones discovered in France from Bloodline, a 2008 documentary film by Bruce Burgess, a filmmaker with an interest in paranormal claims, focused on the Jesus bloodline hypothesis and other elements of the book The Holy (Ian Woods states that Odoacer deposing Agustulus is speculation). 1600-1100 BC is described as Mycenaean Greece known for the Wars against Troy as narrated by Homer. The Merovingian Franks. [4] In her reconstruction, a pregnant Mary Magdalene fled first to Egypt and then France after the crucifixion. The Roman Republic was established around 509 BC. About 900 BC the Scythians began a western migration. These tales claim that each generation of Merovingians is descended from a different ancestor who lived many years ago. Differing and contradictory Jesus bloodline scenarios, as well as more limited claims that Jesus married and had children, have been proposed in numerous modern books. After the Roman Empire collapsed, it was the Merovingians who stepped into the power vacuum, playing an important role in reshaping the political map of Europe and providing stability to the region. It should be pointed out that the last ice age ended about 9,000 to 10,000 years ago, or about the 8 th millennium BC. who died 11 BC. The document is dated 10 March 673 CE. The Merovingians(c. 457-751 CE) played a crucial role in Western Europes transition from ancient to medieval, and I am very excited to learn more through archaeology about their culture and politics. I would like to begin by asking you a question that has long interested me: Why did Merovingian kings wear their hair long as a ritual custom? Soon thereafter an agreement of cooperation was signed between Clovis and the Roman Church. Aside from his work at AHE, James is an avid Arabist, devotee of romance languages (French, Portuguese, and Spanish), reggaetoero, and fan of ice hockey. Bertrada descended from the Merovingian Kings. Historian Ken Mondschein ridiculed the notion that the bloodline of Jesus and Mary Magdalene could have been preserved: Infant mortality in pre-modern times was ridiculously high, and you'd only need one childhood accident or disease in 2,000 years to wipe out the bloodline keep the children of Christ marrying each other, on the other hand, and eventually they'd be so inbred that the sons of God would have flippers for feet.[78]. [27], Early Mormon theology posited not only that Jesus married, but that he did so multiple times. Clovis became the sword of the Church. About 11 BC they were forced to move to the left side of the Rhine by Nero Claudius Drusus. The Merovingians: The The first point, then, to keep in mind is that graves are not mirrors of the lives of those buried within them but rather of the social relationships held by that individual to family, supporters, and other interested parties. Finally, to come back to your question, I would argue that mortuary archaeology does not offer evidence particularly well suited to understanding the nature of entities as large and as amorphous as early medieval kingdoms. The Merovingian royalty and European royal bloodlines may be part of this hive or bloodline, with the bee symbol being used as a sign of their control over the genetic stream. Others were not. These claimed Jesus' bloodlines are distinct from the biblical genealogy of Jesus and from the documented Brothers of Jesus and other kin of Jesus, known as the Desposyni. They were often called as the long-haired kings owing to their tradition of keeping unshorn hair. When Childeric III was deposed, the Merovingians were the longest ruling dynasty in western Europe. In 1913, Reynolds Tobacco Company came up with a great innovationthe packaged cigarette called Camel cigarettes. Annales Mettenses Priores perhaps down played the achievements of the Merovingians, yet to accept such readings is to oversimplify Merovingian history. Clothild (d. 545 CE), the Burgundian wife of Clovis I (c. 466-511 CE), was credited by Gregory of Tours as having helped convince her pagan husband to convert to Catholic Christianity. Their language was Iranian. Top Image: Source: warmtail / Adobe Stock. A century later, the Lombards controlled northern Italy, and the Franks were unchallenged in France, and the Anglos and Saxons were in Britannia. [39][40][41] The actual lineage claimed for the portion of the Plantard and Holy Blood bloodline that passes through the medieval era received highly-negative reviews in the genealogical literature, being viewed as consisting of numerous inaccurate linkages that were unsupported, or even directly contradicted, by the authentic historical record. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. [52] Though one judge questioned whether the supposedly-factual Holy Blood truly represented fact, or instead bordered on fiction due to its highly conjectural nature,[53] courts ruled in favor of Random House and Brown. Clovis allied with Godegisel against the Burgundian King Gundobad, but the latter survived. As a result of her monastic vows and lifestyle recorded in a saints Life she was considered a saint both by the Merovingians and Carolingians (751-987 CE). It is thus clear that Merovingian queens faced daunting challenges and great dangers as a consequence of their powerful positions. Let us look at the mixed reputations of Merovingian queens known from the historical accounts of authors such as Gregory of Tours. JW: Dr. Effros, you have also conducted extensive research into the social significance of Merovingian burial rites. We cannot tell from most early medieval graves whether the deceased was Christian or not, since there was no immediate shift in burial customs. Herodotus, the Greek historian wrote about them in his Histories of the 5th Century. The Merovingian Bloodline The Law Office of Mark Knapp PLLC [46] Gardner followed this book with several additional works in the bloodline genre. Available at: https://www.gotquestions.org/Merovingian-dynasty.html, Mary Magdalen and the Kings of France. The history of Chlodio comes from Gregory of Tours and. They were described as long haired warriors who were ferocious. AHE 2013. Dr. Bonnie Effros is a Professor of History and the Rothman Chair and Director of the Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere at the University of Florida, where she has taught since 2009. German scholars and politicians, for instance, used alleged finds of Franks to justify the invasion of Alsace-Lorraine in 1870 CE, stating that the region had been settled by Germanic peoples since time immemorial. The work so captured the public imagination that the Catholic Church felt compelled to warn its congregates against accepting its pseudo-historical background as fact, which did not stop it from becoming the highest-selling novel in American history, with tens of millions of copies sold worldwide. The Merovingian bloodline conspiracy is a long-standing and often hotly debated topic within certain circles. [76] Steve Olson, author of Mapping Human History: Genes, Race, and Our Common Origins, published an article in Nature demonstrating that, as a matter of statistical probability: If anyone living today is descended from Jesus, so are most of us on the planet.[77]. As you can imagine, the same argument resurfaced to the east of the Rhine during the First and Second World Wars. Under Merovee and his successors, the kingdom of the Franks flourished. The Merovingians: an historical, mythical and He won and was baptized by the Bishop of Rheims in 496. [22] The story was reported in an anthology compiled by Pseudo-Zacharias Rhetor, along with covering letters describing the discovery of the original Greek manuscript and its translation into Syriac. For the biblical genealogy of Jesus, see, Jesus bloodline claims in South and East Asia, For a discussion between Barbara Thiering and. As a result, many academics ignored evidence of Merovingian finds in favor of Celtic and Gallo-Roman material of the preceding epoch. Women dressed like men. Gregory of Tours wrote that the Franks had created long haired kings in Thuringia (Belgium). (In the seventh century, according to Browns book, the Vatican attempted to eradicate the dynasty by murdering Dagobert II, but his son Sigisbert II survived, as did [58] In 2012, however, Ben Hammott, using his real name of Bill Wilkinson, gave a podcast interview in which he apologised and confessed that everything to do with the tomb and related artifacts was a hoax, revealing that the 'tomb' had been part of a now-destroyed full-sized film set, located in a warehouse in England. Whatever lip-service is paid to this subject is usually accompanied by enough misinformation to keep the masses of Christians ignorant of the truth. From the 5th to the 8th centuries, the Merovingian dynasty of kings ruled Europe and, from the Middle Ages until the present day, most of Europes monarchs have been of Merovingian lineage. The etymology of Wales is said to descend from the Cimmerians. After making his vow, the battle turned in favor of the Merovingian king. "Realism, Narrative History, and the Production of the Bestseller: The Da Vinci Code and the Virtual Public Sphere", "Closing Arguments Heard in 'Da Vinci Code' Case", "The Merovingian Dynasty: Satanic Bloodline of the AntiChrist & False Prophet", "How Da Vinci Code tapped pseudo-fact hunger", Historical background of the New Testament, New Testament places associated with Jesus, Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jesus_bloodline&oldid=1151626880, Articles lacking reliable references from July 2022, Articles lacking reliable references from February 2022, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 25 April 2023, at 06:12. All rights reserved. Clovis reigned from 481-511 and was the major Merovingian King as was Charlemagne the major Carolingian King. Forgive me for any impertinence in asking this question as well, but which Merovingian topics would you most like research in the future?