60 HISTORY AND ETHNOLOGY. 



The ancient Britons fought mainly on foot, but also on a species of 

 chariot which the Romans called esseda. They combined in small clans, 

 governed by chiefs, similarly to the modern Highland clan. They lived 

 chiefly on flesh, and agriculture formed the occupation of none but the 

 inhabitants of the coast. They dressed in skins, and their towns were 

 nothing but large inclosures in the forest. Their language was a Celtic 

 dialect. {PI. '^(^.fig. 8, a Briton.) 



9. The Franks. 



As early as the third century the Franks (frank, free people) arose out of 

 the old Cheruscian confederacy. Under the emperor Maximinus, they 

 occupied the territory lying west of the Rhine, as far as the Bohemian 

 mountains, in the parts of Germany later known as Thuringia, Hesse, and 

 Franconia. 



From 237 to 244 A.D., during the reign of Gordian, and later, at the 

 time of Probus, they began to be formidable to the Romans. Probus, in 

 the year 278 A.D., completely routed their forces, and sent vast numbers 

 of the prisoners to Pontus ; but they escaped by sea, and returned to 

 their native land. The rest he colonized among the Treviri and ITsevii. 

 The emperor Constantinus wrested from them their possessions in Batavia 

 (I^etherlands), 293-306 A.D., when they commenced a crusade upon 

 Gallia, and were not conquered until the time of Justinian, 357 A.D. This 

 emperor efi'ectually humbled them. 



The Franks at that period lived under several chiefs and kings, of whom 

 Merowig and Chilperic gave great celebrity and influence to the Salique 

 house. Chlodwig (Clovis), the son of Chilperic, established the dominion 

 of the Franks over all Gallia, and became the founder of the great empire 

 of France, to which part of the German Franks continued subject. PI. 

 20, jig. 9, Franks in camp ; jd. 21, fig. 1, Queen Clotilda, the beautiful 

 consort of Clovis, in her royal dress. She was a princess of Burgundy, 

 and had adopted the Christian religion, to which she also won her husband. 

 Fig. 2, a maid of honor ; fig. 4*^, Frank warriors in the time of Clovis, and 

 fig. 5, king of the Franks in his regal attire ; ;pl. '2i'i^ figs. 1 and 2, statues 

 of Clovis aiid Clotilda ; fig. 5, Fredegonda, mistress of Chilperic, the father 

 of Clovis. ('She was born 543 A.D., at Montdidiers, of mean parentage. 

 Fig. 3 represents her tomb in Mosaic work ; fig. 4, bas-relief on the tomb 

 of the Frank king, Childebert. 



10. The Huns. 



The Huns inhabited the territories around the Caspian Sea. In the 



fourth century the}^ commenced their conquests, and gained a name in 



history. In person the Huns were short. They had broad shoulders, 



prominent cheek-bones, flat noses, and deeply-sunk eyes. By cutting 



232 



