The numbers are purely
imaginary, and even the fact is doubtful. However, the battle of Chalons
drove the Huns out of Gaul, and was the last victory in Gaul, gained
still in the name of the Roman Empire, but in reality for the advantage
of the German nations which had already conquered it. Twenty-four years
afterward the very name of Roman Empire disappeared with Augustulus, the
last of the emperors of the West.
Thirty years after the battle of Chalons the Franks settled in Gaul were
not yet united as one nation; several tribes with this name, independent
one of another, were planted between the Rhine and the Somme; there were
some in the environs of Cologne, Calais, Cambrai, even beyond the Seine
and as far as Le Mans, on the confines of the Britons. This is one of
the reasons of the confusion that prevails in the ancient chronicles
about the chieftains or kings of these tribes, their names and dates,
and the extent and site of their possessions. Pharamond, Clodion,
Meroveus, and Childeric cannot be considered as kings of France and
placed at the beginning of her history.
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