ABSTRACT
The French monarchy had a much better and older claim to imperial descent that had the upstart Tudor monarchy. It had a mythical Trojan ancestor, Francus, corresponding to the British Brut, but it claimed, as a real historical ancestor, Charlemagne, 404 thus directly partaking in the idea of that translation of the Empire to Charlemagne which kept a hold on men's imaginations as the living link with the universal pax and justitia of Rome. The French kings shared the claim of descent from Charlemagne with the Holy Roman Emperors; the French monarch was the rival of the Emperor for imperial leadership of Europe.
