Pictured left: From Abbreviatio chronicorum Angliae, the Four Saxon kings: above, Edmund the Martyr and Edward the Elder; below, Alfred and Athelstan (ca. 1250).
The early Saxon Kings, most likely familiar with Homer's Iliad, would trace their lineage to Dardanus, whose parentage was the mythological Greek gods, due to his position as the forefather of the Trojan royal family and the ancient city of Troy. After the Christianization of Britain, their descendants would revise the mythological ancestry of Dardanus from Greek gods to Adam and Eve. When exactly this genealogical revision occurred is unclear but it most likely happened prior to the establishment of the medieval church when an Old Testament genealogy would be important to the Divine Right of kings.
Pictured left: The Sistine Chapel from the Creation Story to Noah in 175 individual paintings covering 12,000 square feet.
Therefore, dear nephews, we have moved from Dardanus being the son of the star, Electra, and the King of the Greek gods, Zeus (see Gods 01, 02) to the descendant of Noah from Noah's Ark through his son, Shem, to Eber (see Adam 01). After Eber, we trace the lineage through Abraham to Judah, King of Goshen, whose daughter, Zarah, would be the mother of Dardanus (see Adam 03).
Pictured left: Continued from the Sistine Chapel.
Despite the revision of his parents, Dardanus is still the ancestor of the Kings of Troy including Alba, an ancient name for Rome, through Aeneas (see Adam 04). Through his descendants, both King Munon and Queen Troan of Troy, Dardanus is the ancestor to what appears to be the Norse gods and later the Kings of Saxons (see Saxons 01).
Pictured left: The Norse god Thor, the god of lightning, is depicted in this 1872 painting by Mårten Eskil Winge in a battle against the giants (Image courtesy of Wilson's Almanac).
The next person we are looking for after Dardanus is Skjold, King of the Danes, who was the son of Woden, King of Saxons. Skjold will take you both to our next story -- the Vikings!
Until next time...
xx
