The date, as far as I know, is never given.  He is set at 19 years old in the summer of 1466, so I would assume his birthdate is sometime in late summer.  This would be another case of rounding up, then, perhaps, for his age is given as 36 by the end of the novel.  The year of his birth I would assume is 1446.  His family is apart of the better class of bourgeoisie, which owned the estate of Tirechappe.  I would assume (that makes, what, three "I would assume"s now?) because of this, and because Frollo studied in Paris, his birthplace is indeed Paris.

He died mere minutes after Esmeralda did, on whatever day that is that I could probably determined if I set out a day-by-day timeline of the entire novel, but I just don't have the patience for right now.  After handing Esmeralda over to the authorities (or rather the Sachette) he hurried back to Notre Dame and climbed up to the Northern Tower, where he watched her hang from the roof.  At that point, Quasimodo showed up and caught him unaware, throwing him over the side of the building.  He was saved by his robe, which caught onto a gutter (one of the gargoyles).  However, he was unable to drag himself to safety, and all of the movement he made caused the gargoyle to break.  He fell, bouncing off one of the steeple roofs below (and breaking a few bones in the process) and fell once more to his death on the Paris pavement.

Claude was born to a rich family, as I said, better known as "petty nobility."  At an early age, his parents decided he would be a member of the clergy, and put him in the convent School of Torchi in the University (which is the southern half of Paris).  There, at the University, he spent the greatest portion of his life, studying.  He was extremely dedicated to learning, and his only goal was to gain all knowledge.  He never played with the other kids, or participated in the revolts of the students (town vs gown).  Instead, he was always the first at lectures and last to leave.  At 16, he mastered theology and moved on to decretals (basically canon law).  From there, medicine and the liberal arts.  He earned a degree in all the sciences.  However, in 1466, when he was 19 years old, a plague epidemic hit Paris.  Among those that suffered the greatest fatalities was the Rue Tirechappe, where Claude's parents lived.  Upon returning there, he discovered only his baby brother left.  He then took the child to a wet nurse at Moulin (another fief he possessed) where it was raised.  From then on, he devoted himself even more fervently to his studies.  At 20, he was ordained a priest of Notre Dame, and found Quasimdo in the foundling's crib soon afterward.  He adopted the child in name of his brother (who was still just a babe at this time) and raised it in Notre Dame.  He named Quasi "Quasimodo" either for the day he was found or for what he seemed to be.  At the age of 30, he was named Archdeacon of Notre Dame, when the Bishop of Paris passed away, and the hierarchy moved upward.  He appointed Quasi as bellringer, and became very interested in alchemy.  Late in the year of 1481, he heard someone singing in the parvis below Notre Dame and went to shut the noise out.  However, upon reaching the window, he beheld Esmeralda.  A man quite unaccustomed to being smitten, needless to say, when he was indeed smitten, issues arose.

(this is my bad literal translation from the French)      "Among the thousand faces that this gleam tinted scarlet, there was one which seemed even more absorbed than the others in the contemplation of the dancer.  It was a figure of a man, austere, calm, and somber.  This man, of whose costume was hidden by the crowd which surrounded him, did not appear more than thirty-five years old, however, he was bald; scarcely had he at his temples some rare tufts of hair, already gray; his broad, high forehead began to be creased by wrinkles; but in his deep-set eyes sparkled an extraordinary youth, an ardent life, a profound passion.  He fixed them incessantly on the gypsy, and while the silly young girl of 16 years danced and fluttered to the pleasure of all, his reverie, to him, seemed to become more and more somber.  From time to time a smile and a sigh met on his lips, but the smile was more doleful than the sigh."                                                                                       --Victor Hugo, Notre Dame de Paris He's robed in ecclesiastical garb, says Hugo, so I would assume he probably looks like a priest.

Frollo has to be the most interesting and most in-depth character in the entire book.  I honestly think this book was more focused on his internal conflicts than anyone else's.  For, of all people, Frollo comes the closest to being a normal man.  He's the only one with major struggles.  He grew up with this profound passion for learning, and it's obvious that he was a very lively child.  Yet he threw all of his energy into seeking knowledge.  Had it been any other man, he might have found a malicious and diabolical joy in life (much like his brother).  However, directed in only one direction, he stopped at nothing to have it all.  When he became the sole protector of his brother, Jehan Frollo, he found his attentions divided.  Yet Frollo's someone to obsess about something, and even though he obsessed over his little brother, he seemed more interested in obsessing over his brother through even more work.      He's a very hard worker and was able to overcome any other obstacles that might divert him.  Except Esmeralda.  And when he discovered he couldn't overcome his lust for her, he threw his entire being into destroying her and loving her.  I'm not sure if Frollo honestly loved Esmeralda.  He was definitely as obsessed with her as he obsessed over science.  Once she was in his head, he simply couldn't get her out.  That was his goal the entire time; to be rid of her one way or another.      Is he a bad man?  I would say no.  Frollo was a man who had spent his entire life beating back all problems that might bother him.  And he finally found a problem he couldn't beat back or ignore.  It's hard to fathom how difficult it was for him (Hugo tried to give us a good idea, though I don't know how many people truly recognize it).  He was definitely a selfish man.  Then again, how could one not be selfish, when he's raised with little contact to the outside world?  Perhaps this is why Quasi and Frollo had a connection.  Quasi forcebly shunned, Frollo voluntarily so.  They were two lost souls who only had each other, before Esmeralda.

Claude Frollo was one of the hardest names to find anything out about (excepting a few minor characters and his brother, Jehan).  However, the most famous account I can find of a Frollo dates back to the days of Gaul (the old name for France), a country which a Roman tribune named Frollo governed.  According to Arthurian legend, King Arthur battled Frollo and chased him all the way to Paris, where Arthur then cornered and slew him.  The Vulgate Lancelot states that Frollo was also an ally of King Claudas (possibly where Claude came from?).  NEW NOTE:  I did some quick checking and found tons on Frollo now.  There is one particular site that's so thorough, I wish it was around back when I started researching.  By Dr. Jean-Claude Even, the online research project is actually designed around Medieval studies of French literature, but because of that, Frollo's name is addressed a bit.  He strictly prohibits reproduction, and he has too much information on his site for me summarize and credit, so here's a link to the main page.  I won't suggest skipping all the way to the Frollo section, but if you did, the best way to get there is to go to the Table des Metiers, then the Encyclopedie (Troisieme Partie), under Nom de Personnage issues de la légènde, etc..... by the way, the entire page is in French.  If you no speak the French, you can either use an online translator or e-mail me and I'll give it a shot.      However, the origin of Claude can have many other connotations.  There's a phrase that little boys would shout at Frollo as he walked down the street with Quasimodo:  "Claudius cum claudo."  Which is Latin for "Claude with the crippled."  And this, the Latin word for lame, is the origin of the name Claude.  Perhaps this is a reference to Claude's crippled soul, which struggles self-defeatingly to save itself?  Perhaps Hugo intended it.

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You have to feel sorry for Frollo.  Perhaps for his self-induced misery, but right now, I'm speaking about his atrocious interpretation in nearly every version of Notre Dame de Paris produced.  Of course, no offense intended.  I know the internet community is quite fond of at least one of these interpretations.  All the versions are good in their own right.  Just not very accurate in the portrayal of the original character.       With that said, you really have to feel sorry for Frollo.  Cinema has treated him as a devout saint and a pure villian.  And not much else.  In a book with many different shades of gray, producers have been hard pressed to find an antagonist.  Especially since the only character approaching an antagonist is apart of a force that can have nothing but protagonists among its number.  In other words, a member of a religious congregation.  And herein is the greatest problem.  Most of the versions produced thus far have taken creative ways to get around the obstacle, but very few have remained true to the novel.       From nearly the publication of the novel, those wishing to remake the story quickly settled on Frollo's role, bypassing the problem that he is an archdeacon of the Catholic Church (the largest branch of the largest religion in the world).  The best way to do that is not to make him the bad guy.  Yes, indeed.  The misguided Frollo becomes a strong and sagacious archdeacon.  What about Esmeralda, you ask?  How can he love Esmeralda and be so pure?  Well, simple way to solve that.  He's not in love with Esmeralda.  How can that be, you continue to ask?  What story is there without a Frollo loving Esmeralda?  Well, that's also simple.  Let's make sure a Frollo loves her.  You might recall that much younger sibling of Claude Frollo's,  Jehan Frollo.  The boy, from page one, is made to be an unruly, immoral, cruel kid.  What better figure to play the bad guy?  Of course, he has to be aged about twenty or thirty years, and made a prominent political figure, but more on that in Jehan's section.       Then what about Frollo?  Well, in the earlier movies, there wasn't much to him.  In 1923 The Hunchback of Notre Dame, he was played by Nigel de Brulier and was called Dom Claudio (it makes you think he's either going to start offering favors on this, the day of his daughter's wedding, or strip off his shirt half-way through the movie and strut his thang on the catwalk;  thankfully, he does neither).  As far as I know, all he did was go "Look at me, look at me, I'm pure, I'm devout, and there's a hanger still stuck in my robe!"  Well, he did all of this while being really quiet, since the film's silent.  He might have lectured Esmeralda on her wrongful paganistic ways and introduced her to the mother.  I really have to see this version...       And in 1939, The Hunchback of Notre Dame with Charles Laughton, he's not much better.  Now the archbishop himself of Paris (wearing quite vivid white against his brother's black), he raised Quasi from a young age and taught him all sorts of important stuff.  And made him ring bells and stuff.  But, anyhow, played by Walter Hampden, this Frollo isn't against the printing press (seeing as the printing press is practically the hero of this movie) and he doesn't do much else.  At one point, his younger brother Jean Frollo admitted to the archbishop that he murdered Phoebus.  Archbishop Frollo was a very forgiving man.  I think, here, he didn't turn Jean in, but told him he was a really bad man and should repent or something.  I need to watch this scene again.        In 1956, with yet another The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Claude becomes the bad guy again!  Alain Cuny takes up the role of the faith-tested archdeacon.  I must correct myself, this Frollo is not tonsured.  Actually...I don't think any of them were tonsured.  Anyhow, no, but this Frollo bears a striking resemblence to Christopher Reeve.  The similarities end there, for this Frollo spends most of the movie with a furrowed brow and a voice so hesitant, it would make William Shatner proud.  Even when he's scowling, he looks like he's contemplating a very tricky cryptogram.  Frollo, therefore, does come off as scholarly, but relatively untortured.  Actually, I don't even remember how he dies in this film.  Sad, since I've watched it three times...       The 1977 TV movie featured Kenneth Haigh as Claude Frollo.  Since this looks like it followed very closely to the book, I would say that Claude remains both religious and obsessive over Esme.  Besides, it's European.  And the Europeans didn't seem to care as much as us Americans did about Frollo being bad.  Other than that, can't say much about him.       And in 1982, with another TV movie, we get to see Derek Jacobi as Claude Frollo!  Whoo-hoo!  Quick Derek Jacobi plug.  This man has played three Claudius'.  Claudius I in I, Claudius , King Claudius, in Hamlet, and Claude Frollo in Hunchback of Notre Dame.  He also did the voice of Nicodemus in The Secret of NIMH, which has nothing to do with this article, but I just love that movie...        Well, of course, I've seen this.  And...of course...even Derek Jacobi could not save a badly scripted Frollo.  *le sigh*.  As I assumed from the script, Frollo is about as threatening an antagonist as a used tube of toothpaste.  No actor has really successfully pulled off the tortured lust without looking totally ineffective, aside from one.  And that'd be the animated version I'll talk about in a minute.  So, following those lines, Jacobi's Frollo looks very, very confused for the most part.  Stunned, confused, and very uncertain how to approach matters.  Which is why it surprises me when he actually makes decisions.  His profession of love to Esme is very nice, actually, well-complemented by Leslie-Anne Down's only decent scene.  But other than that...I feel like he's a lost puppy.  Oh, where is that Frollo who was about agony?  Not about pity?  No connection to Quasi, no real reason to love Esme...everything just falls short for me.  Sorry, Derek Jacobi.  If only we could have I, Claudius once more...      The 1996 Disney version.  Now, here's something I know.  Voiced by Tony Jay, he has the soothing, slimy, fear-inspiring British accent that's famous of that actor.  No longer a priest (Disney?  Upset religious groups?  Only if you're Southern Baptist), Frollo is instead the Minister of Justice of Paris.  He looks particularly regal, very lecherous, and that is the perfect leer, when he smiles.  However, he's not the original Frollo.  I could go on for days how Frollo is one of the most drastic steps Disney ever took to make a bad guy (up to and including his bad guy song "Hellfire"....Disney!  Introducing youngsters to lust and sexual harrassment since 1996!!)  but that doesn't make up for the fact he's waaay off from the original Frollo.  No good deeds done for Quasi, nor is any love wasted on the hunchback.  Though Frollo is teaching him.  Instead, he spends the first quarter of the movie acting smug and snide, the second quarter acting smug and snide to Esme, the third quarter going beserk in a really crazy attempt to find her, and the fourth quarter being Disney-villian berserk (which often involves getting stabbed and/or falling from high places).  The only time in the movie you get a real idea that this man might possibly feel a real regret for what Esmeralda is doing to his soul is during the song "Hellfire."  Otherwise, it seems like the whole "I'm going to kill her because she's bewitched me" get-up is just to catch her in a place where he can coerce her to sleep with him.  No, you don't pity Frollo a lot.  Just kinda wish he'd lay off the Cocoa-Puffs.       1996 also brought us Hunchback, with Richard Harris as Claude Frollo.  He's a priest in this one, too, and he lusts after Esme.  Except for now he flagellates himself and sports the shiney look in hair-do's.  Yes, our little Frollo is an egg that'll beat itself.  Getting away from the corny jokes, this is an entirely different Frollo, and not just appearance-wise.  For some reason, the producers didn't think making him obsessed with Esme was enough.  So they had to throw in something that everyone supports, and made him hate the printing press.  Residual traces of the 1939 version still echo through all the movies, including this one.  So when Frollo is not beating himself, feeling sorry for himself, or obsessing over Esme, he's denouncing the printing press as a Machine of Satan (from now on to be referred to as MoS, which is easier to type than printing press).  This all adds up to a rather pathetic Frollo.  He doesn't have the evilocity (if Shakespeare can invent his own words, so can I!) that the Disney Frollo has, and he doesn't have the character depth of the original Frollo.  So he has basically nothing.  True, the movie guys try to make him profound.  He does feel a sort of self-loathing and hatred of the gypsy when he lusts after her.  But the only way he shows it is by flogging himself.  A pasty bald guy slapping a whip to his back does not evoke sympathy, I'm afraid.  One saving grace!  Frollo does love Quasi....in a demented fashion.  He runs to Quasi after realizing what type of beast he is.  There's something none of the other Frollo's really did; realize it's their own fault.  Then again, it just makes everything more incongruous when he continues to try to kill her.  Ah, well.  He just wasn't developed enough.       The musical Notre-Dame de Paris has a pretty dang good Frollo, in my opinion.  This is going off the version of the musical featuring Daniel Lavoie.  He's a bit too old, but he looks about right for the Frollo I imagined (we'll ignore the fact the original Frollo was bald, and therefore closest to the one Frollo I really didn't like).  I hate his costume most of all.  Why, oh, why does Frollo have arm flaps?  And when he's not wearing his arm flap robe which makes it look like he's about to enter a wrestling ring, he's wearing a robe or a grayish wool sweater that resembles a very gothic Mr. Rogers (Hello, kids.  Today we're going to learn about perdition and original sin!  Can you say perdition?  I knew you could!).  Personality-wise, he's a pretty good Frollo.  You can't tell it with the God-awful songs he's forced to sing.  Obviously, the producers did not like Frollo.  Yet if you can tolerate the music long enough to listen to to the lyrics, you can hear the depth of love he feels for Esme (or lust...it varies, oddly enough) and, harder to tell, how much he loathes himself because of this love.  The only song I like of his is "Tu Vas me Detruire" or "Your Love will Kill Me."  The song does a pretty job of showing how much he hates Esme for what she's doing to him, though the tone of the whole song seems to be more focused on the fact he lusts after her.  Only the refrain damns her for it, and it's said in such a calm tone, you almost don't even catch it.  As for his relation to Quasi, again it's down-played.  He seems to only see Quasi as a thing he can use.  Quasi sings a song that sums up their relationship, but from Frollo, only his last song hints at any regard for Quasi.  And that seems more jealous and condescending.  But I digress...      Yet another very long article dedicated to the many faces of one character.  Summed up?  Well, Americans and people world-wide like a bad guy.  A real bad guy.  Every version falls short of giving Frollo a real pitying side that I most definitely felt for the Frollo in the novel.  Who knows?  Maybe the public wouldn't be able to handle a bad guy you can actually empathize with.  It seems to me that movies who use a grayish bad guy do better than others, but that's just my opinion.  However....notice how Quasi is the subject of Halloween costumes.....and Frollo isn't?

Back to Esmeralda                            Return to Characters Page                           On to Phoebus Starting from the top of the page -- the beginning of the slide show features Quasimodo leading a guy in a white robe *Art by L.O. Merson, 1889 edition (background and first picture) *Niguel de Brulier as Dom Claudio, (c)  1923 Universal Pictures *Walter Hampden as Dom Claude Frollo, (c) 1939 RKO Pictures Inc  (picture taken by me) *Illustration of Claude Frollo (c) 1996 Disney Corporation *Richard Harris as Dom Frollo, (c) 1997 TriStar Television, et al *Daniel Lavoie as Frollo, (c) 1998 by Luc Plammodon?  I snapped the picture. All of the pictures (except for the one I took) are used without permission.  The one I took myself is probably illegal somehow, too... This page (c) Misty Woodard, 2000-2001, please don't use text without permission, recognition and/or tellling me so.