The Link Between Childeric I and Napoleon: More Than Just Bees?

 

 

 

 

When Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself Emperor of France in 1804 and was looking for a suitable personal emblem, he and his advisors looked back to the very earliest days of French history for inspiration. This inspiration came from an unusual and unlikely place: the tomb of a long deceased French King who had ruled over 1300 years earlier. The objects of Napoleon’s affection would turn out to be even stranger: bees.

The King at the heart of Napoleon’s strange affection was Childeric I, one of the first in a line of kings of the Merovingian Dynasty, who ruled over the Franks in the mid 5th century.  Among all the magnificent treasures of gold and silver uncovered in the tomb by construction workers in the Austrian Netherlands in 1653, from jewelry to weapons, even a crystal ball, a golden bull’s head and a horse harness, the hundreds of bees made of gold and garnet had received the least amount of attention up until Napoleon.

Bees have a long history in mythology from the Greeks to the Mayans to the Egyptians, where they were worshipped as symbols of resurrection, industriousness, and organizational efficiency, stemming from the hive mentality of the worker bees and their Queen. It is the idea of bees as symbols of resurrection in ancient Egypt that point to one of the most interesting connections between Childeric I and Napoleon: they were both forced into exile during their respective reigns, and were later able to return from it, even if only for a short duration.

Childeric I was forced into exile for seducing the wives of his countrymen, but was finally able to return after 8 years. Napoleon was exiled to the island of Elba after his failed invasion of Russia and capture, but escaped and was able to return to France to rule for 100 days before being captured again and permanently exiled to the island of St. Helena off the west coast of Africa in the Atlantic Ocean.

Both forced into exiled and then able to return,  these two leaders are also characterized by their excessive womanizing, even if in Napoleon’s case it was supposedly Josephine that committed the first infidelity.

Can you think of other interesting links between these two powerful French leaders connected across the ages?

Further reading:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Childeric_I

http://regencyredingote.wordpress.com/2010/10/22/the-bees-of-napoleon/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bee_(mythology)

Hadrian's Wall - A Sign of a Shrinking Rome

Hadrian's Wall, which is an 80 mile long wall in the North of England, was a sign that Hadrian (the Roman Emperor) wanted to pull back the Roman Empire and not expand it. The wall began construction in AD 122 and took six years to complete. Hadrian was experiencing trouble and attacks in other Roman provinces and Hadrian's Wall was a way of assessing resources, retreating to a safe place and strenghtening local governments and battalions.

What was Hadrian's Wall defending against? The barbarians on the other side, who at that time, were the Picts and the Celts. The soldiers stationed at the wall were "wordly", at least by Roman standards. They were fluent in Latin, wore underwear (a Roman custom), and generally followed Roman custom. The Roman soldiers were the boundary of the Roman Empire in Britain. However, the wall was not impenetrable. People, the Romans and the barbarians, crossed it daily. The wall provided some control over immigration, smuggling and customs. Hadrian's Wall might be similar to the border between the US and Mexico, and particularly the area where an actual wall has been constructed.

Hadrian's Wall still exists and is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Here are some helpful links:

Visit Hardrian's Wall

Hadrian's Wall Gallery

Welcome to the Series Brain Bites

Radion Media is publishing a line of books called Brain Bites written by Risa Peris and Todd Thommes. The series will debut in 2015. It will focus on histories, biographies and concepts. Each e-book will provide short sections tackling the subjects. The sections will be followed up with questions and check your knowledge exercises as well as suggested readings.

The first Brain Bite to launch will be a short history of World War II.

We are excited for the launch of the series and are planning upcoming roll outs.

This website will provide short historical snippets and links for further reading. It is meant to be a resource.

Welcome to our blog!