Escama of the Huns

By tradition an unnamed daughter (or perhaps granddaughter) of Attila the Hun married his lieutenant Ardaric, king of the Gepids. The source for her name Escama (Escam, Ascama) is not known.

The relationships are plausible, but there is no evidence. There is also no evidence, and it is unlikely, that this woman and Ardaric were parents of Elemund, king of the Gepids.

Some genealogists prefer to call her a daughter of Attila's son Elak, king of the Huns, perhaps by a daughter of Hunimund, king of the Ostrogoths. This would give her a connection to the Ostrogoths, and by circular reasoning, seem to strengthen the claim that she was a grandmother of Austrigusa.

Charlemagne to Attila the Hun

Many genealogists have attempted to reconstruct a valid line of descent from Attila the Hun to Charlemagne but no one has succeeded in working out a generally accepted route.

Steven Runciman's book on the First Bulgarian Empire, for instance, includes a pedigree of Kubrat from Attila's youngest son, Ernakh, as the Bulgarian khans apparently believed to have been descended from Attila. While no sources are cited and intermediate generations are missing, there is another complication in the Bulgarian route: no documented link between the Bulgarian dynasty and Charlemagne.

Christian Settipani suggested a more plausible descent, although it cannot be reconstructed generation by generation. Settipani gives credit to the traditional claim that Attila's daughter was one of many wives of Ardaric, king of the Gepids. It is assumed that the 6th-century Gepid rulers descended from Ardaric and that some royal Gepids claimed descent from this marriage in particular, although details are unclear.

A key link is the documented alliance between a Gepid princess Austrigusa and Waccho, king of the Lombards. According to Settipani, Waccho and Austricusa were ancestors of either Charlemagne's mother or his father, but this claim involves a considerable degree of speculation.

• "Attila the Hun to Charlemagne." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Unknown date. Web. Unknown date. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attila_the_Hun_to_Charlemagne>. The page has been deleted. See " Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Charlemagne to Attila the Hun." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 11 Apr. 2009. Web. 8 Jan. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/Charle...>