Pharamond

Pharamond, also spelled Faramund, is a legendary early king of the Franks, first referred to in the anonymous 8th-century Liber Historiae Francorum, which depicts him as the first king of the Franks. Historical sources and scholarship Pharamond first appears in the Liber Historiae Francorum, commonly dated to 727. After relating the legendary Trojan origin of the Franks (which is copied in main from the Chronicle of Fredegar), the Liber reports that after the death of the Frankish leader Sunno, his brother Marcomer proposed to the Franks that they should have one single king, contrary to their tradition. The Liber adds that Pharamond, named as Marcomer's son, was chosen as "long-haired" (crinitus) king. When he died, his son Chlodio was raised up as the next king. Because there is no reference to Pharamond in any source prior to this work, scholars generally consider him a legendary rather than historical figure. In contrast to his depiction as a sole king, several sources, for example Gregory of Tours, attest multiple Frankish rulers in his time ((that is, before ca. 428). The first king to unite all Franks was actually Clovis I. According to Rosamond McKitterick, the emphasis of the Liber was upon "construct[ing] a specific past for a particular group of people."