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 LIBRARY 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 SANTA BARBARA 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 MRS. 
 ERIC SCHMIDT
 
 VIEW 
 
 OF 
 
 THE STATE OF EUROPE 
 
 DURINO 
 
 THE MIDDLE AGES. 
 
 Bv HENRY HALLAM, LL.D., r.R.A.S., 
 
 FOKEiaX ASSOCUTE OF TUE IKSTITUTB OF FRANCE. 
 
 IN THREE VOLUJIES. 
 VOLUME I. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 SHELDON AND COMPANY. 
 
 H O S TON: 
 WILLIAM! V E A Z I E . 
 
 1862.
 
 BiTERSiDE, Cambridge: 
 
 STEREOTYPED AND PRINTED BY 
 H. 0. HOUGHTON AND COMPANT.
 
 Ill 
 
 HIS 
 
 PREFACE 
 TO THE FIRST EDITION. 
 
 It is the object of the present work to exhibit, in a series 
 of his^torical dissertations, a comprehensive survey of the 
 chief circumstances that can interest a philosophical inquirer 
 during the period usually denominated the Mitldle Ages. 
 Such an undertaking must necessarily fall under the class of 
 historical abridgments : yet there will perhaps be found 
 enough to distinguish it from such as have already appeared. 
 Many considei-able portions of time, especially before the 
 twelfth century, may justly be deemed so barren of events 
 ■worthy of remembrance, that a single sentence or paragraph 
 is often sufficient to give the character of entire generations, 
 and of long dynasties of obscure kings. 
 
 Non ragioniam di lor, ma guarda e passa. 
 
 And even in the more pleasing and instructive parts of this 
 middle period it has been my object to avoid the dry compo- 
 sition of annals, and aiming, with what spirit and freedom I 
 could, at a just outline rather than a miniature, to suppress all 
 events that did not appear essentially concatenated with 
 others, or illustrative of important conclusions. But as the 
 mo<les of government and constitutional laws which prevailed 
 in various countries of Europe, and especially in England, 
 seemed to have been less fully dwelt upon in former works 
 of this description than military or civil transactions, while 
 they were deserving of f;ir more attention, I have taken pains 
 to give a true rejjresentation of them, and in every instance 
 to jKjint out tlie sourres from wliicli the reader may derive 
 mon; complete and original inlorniation. 
 
 Nothing can be farther from my wishes than that the fol- 
 lowing j)ages should be ju<lge(l aecording to the critical laws 
 of iiislorieal composition. Tried in such a balance they 
 would Ix; I'lninentlv defective. The limited extent of this 
 work, compared with the subjects it embraces, as well as its
 
 iv PKEFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. 
 
 partaking more of the character of pohtical dissertation than 
 of narrative, must necessarily preclude that circumstantial 
 delineation of events and of characters upon which the beauty 
 as well as usefulness of a regular history so mainly depends. 
 Nor can I venture to assert that it will be found altogether 
 perspicuous to those who are destitute of any previous ac- 
 quaintance with the period to which it relates ; though I have 
 only presupposed, strictly speaking, a knowledge of the com- 
 mon facts of Enghsh history, and have endeavored to avoid, 
 in treating of other countries, those allusive references which 
 imply more information m the reader than the author designs 
 to communicate. But the arrangement which I have adopted 
 has sometimes rendered it necessaiy to anticipate both names 
 and facts which are to find a more definite place in a subse- 
 quent part of the work. 
 
 This arrangement is probably different from that of any 
 former historical retrospect. Every chapter of the following 
 volumes completes its particular subject, and may be con- 
 sidered in some degree as independent* of the rest. The 
 order consequently in which they are read will not be very 
 material, though of course I should rather prefer that in which 
 they are at present disposed. A solicitude to avoid continual 
 transitions, and to give free scope to the natural association 
 of connected facts, has dictated this arrangement, to which I 
 confess myself partial. And I have found its inconveniences 
 so trifling in composition, that I cannot believe they will oc- 
 casion much trouble to the reader. 
 
 The first chapter comprises the history of France from the 
 invasion of Clovis to the expedition, exclusively, of Charles 
 VIII. against Naples. It is not possible to fix accurate 
 limits to the Middle Ages ; but though the ten centuries from 
 the fifth to the fifteenth seem, in a general point of view, to 
 constitute that period, a less arbitrary division was necessary 
 to render the commencement and conclusion of an historical 
 narrative satisfactory. The continuous chain of transactions 
 on the stage of human society is ill divided by mere lines of 
 chronological demarcation. But as the subversion of the 
 western empire is manifestly the natural termination of 
 ancient history, so the establishment of the Franks in Gaul 
 appears the most convenient epoch for the commencement of 
 a new period. Less difficulty occurred in finding the other 
 limit. The invasion of Naples by Charles VIII. was the
 
 PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITIOX. v 
 
 event that first engaged the princijial states of Europe in re- 
 lations of aUiance or hostility which may be dcduci'd to the 
 present day, and is the point at which every man who traces 
 backwards its political history will be obliged to pause. It 
 furnishes a determinate epoch in the annals of Italy and 
 France, and nearly coincides with events which naturally 
 terminate tlie history of the Middle Ages in other countries. 
 
 The feudal system is treated in the second cha])ter, which 
 I have subjoined to the history of France, with which it has 
 a near connection. Inquiries into the antiquities of that juris- 
 prudence occupied more attention in the last age than the 
 present, and their dryness may prove repul-^ive to many 
 readers. But there is no royal road to the knowledge of 
 law ; nor can any man render an obscure and intricate disquisi- 
 tion either perspicuous or entertaining. That the feudal sys- 
 tem is an important branch of historical knowledge will not 
 be disputed, when we consider not only its intluence upon our 
 own constitution, but that one of the parties which at present 
 divide a neighboring kingdom professes to appeal to the origi- 
 nal principles of its monarchy, as they subsisted before the 
 subversion of that polity. 
 
 The four succeeding chapters contain a sketch, more or 
 less rapid and general, of the histories of Italy, of Spain, of 
 Germany, and of the Greek and Saracenic empires. In the 
 seventh I have endeavored to develop the progress of ecclesi- 
 astical power, a subject eminently distingui>hiiig the Middle 
 Ages, and of which a concise and impartial delineation has 
 long been desirable. 
 
 Tlie English constitution furnishes materials for the eighth 
 chapter. I cannot hope to have done suthcient justice to this 
 theme, which has cost me considerable labor ; Init it is worthy 
 of remark, that since the treatise of Nathaniel Bacon, itself 
 open to much exception, there has l)een no historical develop- 
 ment of our constitution, founded upon extensive researches, 
 or calculated to give a just notion of its character. For those 
 parts of Henry's history which profess to trace the progress 
 of government are still more jejune than tlie rest of his 
 volumes ; and the work of Professor Millar, of Glasgow, 
 however plea-^ing from its liberal spirit, dis[)lays a fault too 
 common among the philosophers of his eountrv, that of tli<'o- 
 riziiig U]ion an impi-rfeet induction, and very ort<n upon a total 
 misapj)rehension of particular facts.
 
 vi PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. 
 
 The ninth and last chapter relates to the general state of 
 society in Europe during the Middle Ages, and comprehends 
 the history of commerce, of manners, and of literature. 
 None, however, of these are treated in detail, and the whole 
 chapter is chiefly designed as supplemental to the rest, in 
 order to vary the relations under which events may be 
 viewed, and to give a more adequate sense of the spirit and 
 character of the JMiddle Ages. 
 
 In the execution of a plan far more comprehensive than 
 what with a due consideration either of my abilities or oppor- 
 tunities I ought to have undertaken, it would be strangely 
 presumptuous to hope that I can have rendered myself in- 
 vulnerable to criticism. Even if flagrant erroi's should not 
 be frequently detected, yet I am aware that a desire of con- 
 ciseness has prevented the sense of some passages from ap- 
 pearing sufficiently distinct ; and though I cannot hold myself 
 generally responsible for omissions, in a work which could 
 only be brought within a reasonable compass by the severe 
 retrenchment of superfluous matter, it is highly probable that 
 defective information, forgetfulness, or too great a regard for 
 brevity, have caused me to pass over many things which 
 would have materially illustrated the various subjects of these 
 inquiries. 
 
 I dare not, therefore, appeal with confidence to the tri- 
 bunal of those superior judges who, having bestowed a more 
 undivided attention on the particular objects that have 
 interested them, may justly deem such general sketches im- 
 perfect and superficial ; but my labors will not have proved 
 fruitless if they shall conduce to stimulate the reflection, to 
 guide the researches, to correct the prejudices, or to animate 
 the hberal and virtuous sentiments of inquisitive youth : 
 
 Ml satis ampla 
 Merces, et mihi grande decus, sim ignotus in tevum 
 Turn licet, externo peuitusque inglorius orbi. 
 
 Aj)ril, 1818.
 
 PREFACE 
 
 TO A VOLUME PUBLISHED IN 184S. 
 
 ENTITLED 
 
 SUPPLEMENTAL NOTES 
 
 TO THE 
 
 A^LEW OF THE STATE OF EUROPE DURING 
 THE MIDDLE AGES. 
 
 TnintY years have elapsed since the publication of the 
 Work to which the ibllowing notes relate, and almost forty 
 since the first chapter and part of the second were written. The 
 occupations of tliat time rendered it impossilde for me to bestow 
 such undivided attention as so laborious and difficult an un- 
 dertaking demanded ; and at the outset I had very little inten- 
 tion of prosecuting my researches, even to that degree of 
 exactness which a gi-owing interest in the ascertainment of 
 precise truth, and a sense of its dilliculty, led me afterwards 
 in some parts to seek, though nowhere equal to what with a 
 fuller command of time I should have desired to attain. A 
 mea.-ure of jjublic approbation accorded to me lar beyond my 
 hopes has not blinded my discernment to the deficiencies of 
 my own |)crformance ; and as successive editions have been 
 called for, I have continually felt that there was more to cor- 
 rect or to elucidate than tlie insertion of a few foot-notes 
 would supply, while I was always reluctant to make such al- 
 teration- as would leave to tin- piirclias) rs of former eilitions 
 a rijrht to conijilaiu. From an autlior whose science is con- 
 tinually j)rogres8ive, such as chemistry or geology, this is un- 
 avoidal)ly r'X[)ecfed ; but I thought the case not quite the same 
 with a mt,'dia;val historian. 
 
 In the mean time, however, the long period of the Middle
 
 viii PREFACE TO SUPPLEMENTAL NOTES. 
 
 Ages had been investigated by many of my distinguished con- 
 temporaries with signal success, and I have been anxious to 
 bring my own volumes nearer to the boundaries of the historic 
 domain, as it has been enlarged Avithin our own age. My ob- 
 ject has been, accordingly, to reconsider those portions of the 
 work which relate to subjects discussed by eminent writers 
 since its pubhcation, to illustrate and enlarge some passages 
 which had been imperfectly or obscurely treated, and to ac- 
 knowledge with freedom my own errors. It appeared most 
 convenient to adopt a form of publication by which the pos- 
 sessors of any edition may have the advantage of these Sup- 
 plemental Notes, which will not much affect the value of 
 their copy. 
 
 The first two Chapters, on the History of France and on 
 the Feudal System, have been found to require a good deal 
 of improvement. As a history, indeed, of the briefest kind, 
 the first pages are insufficient for those who have little pre- 
 vious knowledge ; and this I have, of course, not been able 
 well to cure. The second Chapter embraces subjects which 
 have peculiarly drawn the attention of Continental writers for 
 the last thirty years. The whole history of France, civil, 
 constitutional, and social, has been more philosophically exam- 
 ined, and yet with a more copious erudition, by which philoso- 
 phy must always be guided, than in any foi-mer age. Two 
 writers of high name have given the world a regular history 
 of that country — one for modern as well as mediaeval times, 
 the other for these alone. The great laistorian of the Italian 
 republics, my guide and companion in that portion of the 
 History of the Middle Ages, pubhshed in 1821 the first vol- 
 umes of his Histoi-y of the French ; it is well known that this 
 labor of twenty years was very nearly terminated when he 
 was removed from the world. The two histories of Sismondi 
 will, in all likelihood, never be superseded ; if in the latter 
 we sometimes miss, and yet we do not always miss, the glow- 
 ing and vivid pencil, guided by the ardor of youth and the 
 distinct remembrance of scenery, we find no inferiority in 
 justness of thought, in copiousness of narration, and espe- 
 cially in love of virtue and indignation at wrong. It seems, 
 indeed, as if the progress of years had heightened the stern 
 sentiments of republicanism Avith which he set out, and to 
 which tlie wliole course of his later work must have afforded 
 no gratification, except that of scorn and severity. Measur-
 
 PREFACE TO SLTPLEMENTAL NOTES. ix 
 
 ing not only their actions but characters by a rigid standard, 
 lie sometimes demands from the men of past times more than 
 human frailty and ignorance could have given ; and his histo- 
 ry would leave but a painful impression from the gloominess 
 of the picture, were not this constantly relieved by the {)eenl- 
 iar softness and easy grace of his style. It cannot be said 
 that Sismondi is very diUgent in probing obscurities, or in 
 weighing evidence ; his general views, with which most of his 
 chapters begin, are luminous and valuable to the ordinary 
 reader, but sometimes sketched too loosely for the critical in- 
 vestigator of history. 
 
 Less full than Sismondi in the general details, but seizing 
 particular events or epochs Avitli greater minuteness and ac- 
 curacy — not emulating his full and flowing periods, but in a 
 style concise, rapid, and emphatic, sparkling with new and 
 brilliant analogies — picturesque in descrii)tion, spirited in 
 sentiment, a poet in all but his tidelity to truth — M. Michelet 
 has placed his own History of France by the side of that of 
 Sismondi. His quotations are more numerous, for Sismondi 
 commonly gives only references, and when interwoven with 
 the text, as they often are, though not quite according to the 
 strict laws of composition, not only bear with them the proof 
 which an historical assertion may fail to command, but exhibit 
 a more vivid picture. 
 
 In praising 31. ]SIichelet we are not to forget his defects. 
 His pencil, always spirited, does not always fill the canvas. 
 The consecutive history of France will not be so well leai'ned 
 from his pages as from those of Sismondi ; and we should 
 protest against his peculiar bitterness towards England, Avere 
 it not ridiculous in itself by its frequency and exaggeration. 
 
 I turn with more respect to a great name in historical lit- 
 erature, and which is only less great in that sense than it 
 miglit have licen, because it belongs also to the groundwork 
 of all future iiistory — the whole series of events wiiich have 
 Ijeen developed on the scene of Europe for twenty years now 
 pa-t. No •■iivy of faction, no caprice of fortune, can tear 
 from .M. (iui/ot the tropliy which time has beslow(;d, that lie 
 for nearly eight years, past and irrevocable, held in his fiim 
 gra.sp u power so fleeting before, and fell only with the mon- 
 urchy which he had sustained, m the convulsive throes ot hi-, 
 country.
 
 X PREFACE TO SUPPLEMENTAL NOTES. 
 
 "Cras vel atra 
 Nube polum Pater occupato, 
 Vel sole puro : noii tamen irritum, 
 Quodcimque retro est, efHciet." 
 
 It has remained for my distinguished friend to manifest that 
 hio-h attribute of a CTCat man's mind — a constant and unsub- 
 dued spirit in adversity, and to turn once more to those tran- 
 quil pursuits of earUer days which bestow a more unmingled 
 enjoyment and a more unenvied glory than the favor of kings 
 or the applause of senates. 
 
 The Essais sur I'Histoire de France, by M. Guizot, ap- 
 peared in 1820 ; the Collection de Memoires relatives a 
 I'Histoire de France (a translation generally from the Latin, 
 under his superintendence and with notes by him), if I mis- 
 take not, in 1825 ; the Lectures on the civilization of Europe, 
 and on that of France, are of different dates, some of the 
 latter in 1829, These form, by the confession of all, a 
 sort of epoch in medifeval history by their philosophical 
 acuteness, the judicious choice of their subjects, and the gen- 
 eral solidity and truth of the views which they present. 
 
 I am almost unwilling to mention several other eminent 
 names, lest it should seem invidious to omit any. It wiU suf- 
 ficiently appear by these Notes to whom I have been most in- 
 debted. Yet the writings of Thierry, Fauriel, Raynouard, 
 and not less valuable, though in time, almost the latest, 
 Lehuerou, ought not to be passed in silence. I shall not 
 attempt to characterize these eminent men ; but the gratitude 
 of every inquirer into the mediaeval history of France is es- 
 pecially due to the Ministry of Public Instruction under the 
 late government for the numerous volumes of Documens In- 
 6dits, illustrating that history, which have appeared under its 
 superintendence, and at the public expense, within the last 
 twelve years. It is difficult not to feel, at the present junc- 
 ture, the greatest apprehension that this valuable publication 
 will at least be suspended. 
 
 Several Chapters which follow the second in my volumes 
 have furnished no great store of additions ; but that which re- 
 lates to the EngUsh Constitution has appeared to require 
 more illustration. Many subjects of no trifling importance 
 in the history of our ancient institutions had drawn the atten- 
 tion of men very conversant with its best sources ; and it was 
 naturally my desire to impart in some measure the substance
 
 PREFACE TO SUPPLEMENTAL NOTES. xi 
 
 of their researches to my readers. In not many instances 
 have I seen ground for materially altering my own views ; 
 and I have not of course her-itated to ditll-r from tliuse whom 
 I often quote with much respect. The publications of the Re- 
 cord Connnission — the celebrated Report of the Lords' Com- 
 mittee on the Dignity of a Peer — the work of my learned 
 and gifted friend Sir Francis Palgrave, On the Rise and 
 Progress of the English Commonwealth, replete with omnifa- 
 rious reading and learless spirit, though not always command- 
 ing the assent of more sceptical tempers — the approved and 
 valuable contributions to constitutional learning by Allen, 
 Kemble, Spence, Starkie, Nicolas, Wright, and many others 
 — are full of important facts and enlightened theories. Yet I 
 fear that I shall be found to have overlooked much, especially 
 in that periodical literature which is too apt to escape our ob- 
 servation or our memory ; and can only hope that these Notes, 
 imperfect as they must be, will serve to extend the knowledge 
 of my readers and guide them to the sources of historic 
 truth. They claim only to be supplemental, and can be of 
 no service to those who do not already possess the History of 
 the Middle Ages. 
 
 The paging of the editions of 1826 and 1841, one in three 
 volumes, the other in two, has been marked for each Note, 
 which will prevent I hope, all inconvenience in reference. 
 
 June, 1848. 
 
 ADVERTISEMENT TO THE PRESENT EDITION. 
 
 The Supplemental Notes have been incorporated with the 
 original work, partly at the foot of the pages, partly at the 
 close of each chapter.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 OF 
 
 THE FIRST VOLUME. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE HISTORY OP FEANCE FROM ITS CONQUEST BY CLOVIS TO THE 
 INVASION OF NAPLES BY CHARLES VIII. 
 
 Part I. 
 
 Fall of the Roman Empire — Invasion of Clevis — First Race of French 
 Kings — Accession of Pepin — State of Italy — Charlemagne — His Reign 
 and Character — Louis the Debonair — His Successors — Calamitous 
 State of the Empire in the Ninth and Tenth Centuries — Accession of 
 Hugh Capet — His first Successors — Louis VII. — Philip Augustus — 
 Conquest of Normandy — War in Languedoc — Louis IX. — His Charac- 
 ter — Digression upon the Crusades — Philip III. — Philip FV". — Ag- 
 grandizement of French Monarchy under his Reign — Reigns of his Chil- 
 dren — Question of Salic Law — Claim of Edward III Page 15 
 
 Part II. 
 
 War of Edward IH. in France — Causes of his Success — Civil Disturb- 
 ances of France — Peace of Bretigni — Its Interpretation considered — 
 Charles V. — Renewal of the War — Charles VI. — His Minority and 
 Insanity — Civil Dissensions of the Parties of Orleans and Burgundy — 
 Assassination of both these Princes — Intrigues of their Parties with 
 England under Henry IV. — Henry V. invades France — Treaty of 
 Troyes — State of France in the first Years of Charles VII. — Progress 
 and subsequent Decline of the English Arms — their Expulsion from 
 France — Change in the Political Constitution — Louis XI. — His Char- 
 acter — Leagues formed against him — Charles Duke of Burgundy — His 
 Prosperity and Fall — Louis obtains Possession of Burgundy — His Death 
 — Charles VIII. — Acquisition of Britany 61 
 
 Notes to Chapter 1 109
 
 CONTEXTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME. xiii 
 
 CHAPTER n. 
 
 OF THE FEUDAL SYSTEM, ESPECIALLY IX FRANCE. 
 
 Part I. 
 
 State of ancient Germany — Effects of the Conquest of Gaul bj' the Franks 
 
 — Tenures of Land — Distinction of Laws — Constitution of the ancient 
 Frank Monarchy — Gradual Establishment of Feudal Tenures — Prin- 
 ciples of a Feudal Relation — Ceremonies of Homage and Investiture — 
 Military Ser^•ice — Feudal Incidents of Relief, Aid, "Wardship, &c. — 
 Ditlereut Species of Fiefs — Feudal Law-books Page 148 
 
 Part II. 
 
 Analysis of the Feudal System — Its local Extent — View of the different 
 Orders of Society during the Feudal Ages — Nobility — Their Ranks 
 and Privileges — Clergy — Freemen — Serfs or Villeins — Comparative 
 State of France and Germany — Privileges enjoyed by the French Vas- 
 sals — Right of coining Money — and of Private War — Immunity from 
 Taxation — Historical View of the Royal Revenue in France — Methods 
 adopted to augment it b^v Depreciation of the Coin, &c. — Legislative 
 Power — Its State under the Merovingian Kings, and Charlemagne — His 
 Councils — Suspension of any general Legislative Authority during the 
 Prevalence of Feudal Principles — Tiie King's Council — Means adopted 
 to supply the Want of a National Assembly — Gradual Progress of the 
 King's Legislative Power — Philip VI. assembles the States-General — 
 Their Powers limited to Taxation — States under the Sons of Philip IV. 
 
 — States of 1355 and 135G — They nearly effect an entire Revolution — 
 The Crown recovers its Vigor — States of 1380, under Charles VI. — 
 Subsequent Assemblies under Charles VI. and Charles VII. — The Crown 
 becomes more and more absolute — Louis XI. — States of Tours in 1484 
 
 — Historical View of .lurisdiction in France — Its earliest Stage under 
 the tirst Race of Kings, and Charlemagne — Territorial Jurisdiction — 
 Feudal Courts of Justice — Trial by Combat — Code of St. Louis — The 
 Territorial .furisdictions give way — Progress of the Judicial Power of 
 the Criiwn — i'urliameut of Paris — Peers of France — Increased Author- 
 ity of the Parliament — Registration of Edicts — Causes of the Decline 
 of the Feudal System — Acquisitions of Domain by the Crown — Char- 
 ters of Incorporation granted to Towns — Their previous Condition — 
 First Charters in the Twditli Century — Privileges contained in them — 
 Military .Ser\'ice of Feudal Tenants commuted for Monej' — Hircl Troops 
 
 — Change in the Military System of Europe — General View of the .Vd- 
 vantages and Disadvantages attending the Feudal System 186 
 
 NoTKS To ClIAITKIt II 206
 
 xiv CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME. 
 
 CHAPTER in. 
 
 THE HISTORY OF ITALY, FROM THE EXTINCTION OF THE CARLOVINGIAN 
 EMPERORS TO THE INVASION OF NAPLES BY CHARLES VIII. 
 
 Part I. 
 
 State of Italy after the Death of Charles the Fat — Coronation of Otho the 
 Great — State of Rome — Conrad II. — Union of the Kingdom of Italy 
 with the Empire — Establishment of the Normans in Naples and Sicily 
 
 — Roger Guiscard — Rise of the Lombard Cities — They gradually be- 
 come more independent of the Empire — Their internal Wars — Frederic 
 Barbarossa — Destruction of Milan — Lombard League — Battle of Leg- 
 nano — Peace of Constance — Temporal Principality of the Popes — 
 Guelf and Ghibelin Factions — Otho IV. — Frederic II. — Arrangement 
 of the Italian Republics — Second Lombard "War — Extinction of the 
 House of Suabia — Causes of the Success of Lombard Republics — Their 
 Prosperity — and Forms of Government — Contentions between the No- 
 bility and People — Civil "Wars — Story of Giovanni di Vicenza. Page 343 
 
 Part II. 
 
 State of Italy after the Extinction of the House of Suabia — Conquest of 
 Naples by Charles of Anjou — The Lombard Republics become severally 
 subject to Prmces or Usurpers — The Visconti of Milan — Their Aggran- 
 dizement — Decline of the Imperial Authority over Italy — Internal State 
 of Rome — Rienzi — Florence — her Forms of Government historically 
 traced to the end of the Fourteenth Century — Conquest of Pisa — Pisa 
 
 — Its Commerce, Naval Wars with Genoa, and Decay — Genoa — her 
 Contentions with Venice — War of Chioggia — Government of Genoa — 
 Venice — her Origin and Prosperity — Venetian Government — its Vices 
 
 — Territorial Conquests of Venice — Military System of Italy — Com- 
 panies of Adventure — 1, foreign ; Guarnieri, Hawkwood — and 2, native ; 
 Braccio, Sforza — Improvements in Military Service — Arms, offensive 
 and defensive — Invention of Gunpowder — Naples — First Line of Anjou 
 
 — Joanna I. — Ladislaus — Joanna II. — Francis Sforza becomes Duke 
 of Milan — Alfonso King of Naples — State of Italy during the Fifteenth 
 Century — Florence — Rise of the Medici, and Ruin of their Adversaries 
 — Pretensions of Charles VIII. to Naples 390
 
 VIEW 
 
 OF 
 
 THE STATE OF EUROPE 
 
 DURING THE MIDDLE AGES. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE HISTORY OF FRANCE, FROM ITS CONQUEST BY CLOVIS 
 TO THE INVASION OF NAPLES BY CHARLES VIII. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 Fall of the Roman Empire — Invasion of Clovis — First Race of French Kings — 
 AcceMon of Pepin — State of Italy — Charlemagne — His Roign and Character 
 — Louis the Debunair — His Successors — Calamitous State of the Empire iu the 
 ninth an<l tenth Centuries — Accession of Hugh Capet — His first Successors — 
 Louis VII. — Philip Augustus — Conquest of Normandy — War in Languedoc — 
 Louis IX. — His Cliiractcr — Digression upon the Crusades — Philip IIlT — Philip 
 IV. — Airgranilia-mt-nt of Krcuch Monarchy under his Keiga — Reigns of his 
 Chil'lren — t^uustiou of Salic Law — Claim of Udward HI. 
 
 Bkkoijk th<; (•((iidu.-iion of tli<' fifth eeiitiirv tlic iiULrlitv fabric 
 of em|iir<" whiL-li valor and policy had fuundcd upon llic .-^cven 
 hill.-; of Rome was finally overthrown in all the west <j.,k„ ,,,;„„ „, 
 
 , J . , Subversion of 
 
 ot Linoj)!,' ity the Ijarbarous nations from the north, the itoman 
 who.se ULirtial energy and whose numl)ers wen' ir- '"'"'"'-'■ 
 resistible. A race of men, formerly unknown or despised, had 
 not only dismembered tluit proud sovereignty, but 
 
 .... New settle- 
 
 permanently settled lhem.selves in its fairest ])rov- nients of the 
 inee-, and impo-ed their yoke upon the ancient it'irharous 
 
 rn, , r 1 1 I- A 1- • nations. 
 
 po.s.-ie.-i.sors. Ihe Vandals were masters ot Africa; 
 the Su<'\ i held part of Spain ; the; Visigotlis po.^.-;essed the 
 remainder, with a large portion of Gaul ; the Burgundians 
 ocrupied tlie provinces watered by the Rhone and Saone ; 
 tin; O.-trogolh.s almost all Itiily. The north-west of (iaul, 
 between ti»e Seine and the Loire, .some writers have lilled
 
 16 
 
 INVASION OF CI-OVIS. 
 
 Chap. I. Paet I. 
 
 with an Armorican rei^ublic ; ^ while the remainder was still 
 nominally subject to the Roman empire, and governed by a 
 certain Syagrius, rather with an inde^^endent than a deputed 
 authority. 
 
 At this time Clovis, king of the Salian Franks, a tribe of 
 Invasion of Germans long connected with Rome, and originally 
 cioTis. settled upon the right bank of the Rhine,^ but who 
 
 A.D. 486. had latterly penetrated as far as Tournay and 
 Cambray,^ invaded Gaul, and defeated Syagrius at Soissons. 
 The result of this victory was the subjugation of those prov- 
 inces which had previously been considered as Roman. But 
 as their allegiance had not been very sti-ict, so their loss was 
 not very severely felt ; since the emperors of Constantinople 
 were not too proud to confer upon Clovis the titles of consul 
 and patrician, which he was too prudent to refuse.* 
 
 Some years after this, Clovis defeated the Alemanni, or 
 
 1 It is impossible not to speak scepti- 
 cally as to this republic, or rather confed- 
 eration of independent cities under the 
 rule of their respective bishops, which 
 Dubos has with great ingenuity raised 
 upon a passage of Zosimus, but in defi- 
 ance of the silence of Gregory, whose see 
 of Tours bordered upon their supposed 
 territory. Yet his hypothesis is not to 
 be absolutely rejected, because it is by 
 no means deficient in internal proba- 
 bility, and the early part of Gregory's 
 history is brief and negligent. Dubos, 
 Hist. Critique de I'Etablissement des 
 Francais dans les Gaules, t. i. p. 253. 
 Gibbon, c. 38, after following Dubos in 
 his text, whispers as usual, his suspicions 
 in a note. [Note I.] 
 
 2 [Note II.] 
 
 3 The system of Pfere Daniel who de- 
 nies any permanent settlement of the 
 Franks on the left bank of the Rhine 
 before Clovis, seems incapable of being 
 supported. It is difficult to resist the 
 presumption that arises from the dis- 
 covery of the tomb and skeleton of 
 Childeric, father of Clovis, at Tournay, 
 in 1653. See Montfaucon, Monumens 
 de la Monarchic Francaise, tome i. p. 
 10. 
 
 * The theory of Dubos, who considers 
 Clovis as a sort of lieutenant of the em- 
 perors, and as governing the Roman part 
 of his subjects by no other title, has 
 justly seemed extravagant to later crit- 
 ical inquirers into the history of France. 
 But it may nevertheless be true that the 
 connection between him and the empire, 
 and the emblems of Roman magistracy 
 
 which he bore, reconciled the conquered 
 to their new masters. This is judiciously 
 stated by the Duke de Nivernois, Mem. 
 de I'Acad. des Inscrip., tome xx. p. 174. 
 [Note III.] In the sixth century, how- 
 ever, the Greeks appear to have been 
 nearly ignorant of Clovis's countrymen. 
 Nothing can be made out of a passage 
 in Procopius where he seems to men- 
 tion the Armoricans under the name 
 'Appupvxoi ; and Agathias gives a 
 strangely romantic account of the 
 Franks, whom he extols for their con- 
 formity to Roman Laws, TToTiiTELa ug TU, 
 TToXka xpi^vrai 'Yufialnri, km vofioi^ 
 role avTolg, koI tu uXka bfioiug d/i^t 
 re TU avixjioXaLa koI ydfiovg Koi ttjv 
 Tov d-Eiov -dEpdiTScav vofiiCpvat .... 
 kfiol ye doKOvac a(j)ddpa elvai. Koajuoi 
 
 TE KOi UdTEWTaTOl, OvSeV TE EXEW TO 
 
 diulXaTTOv, 7] fiovov TO (iapiidpiKOV 
 Ti/c aToXf/c, Kat TO tt/c (puvijc I6iatfiv. 
 
 He goes on to commend their mutual 
 union, and observes particularly that, in 
 partitions of the kingdom, which had 
 frequently been made, they had never 
 taken up arms against each other, nor 
 polluted the land with civil bloodshed. 
 One would almost believe him ironical. 
 The history of Agathias comes down to 
 A.D. 559. At this time many of the 
 .savage murders and other crimes which 
 fill the pages of Gregory of Tours, a 
 writer .somewhat more likely to know 
 the truth than a Byzantine rhetorician, 
 had taken place.
 
 Fra>ce. 
 
 HIS CONVEKSIOX. 
 
 17 
 
 Swabian.*, in a great battle at Zulpieh, near Cologne. In 
 eonseqiiciice ot" a vow, as it is said, made during this eiiLML'e- 
 ment,^ and at the instigation of his wile Clotilda, a prineess 
 of Bin-'Tundv, he became a convert to Cin'istianitv. 
 
 " A.D 496 
 
 It would be a fruitless inquiry whether he was 
 sincere in tiiis change ; but it is certain, at least, that no 
 jwlicy could have been more successful. The Arian sect, 
 whicli had been early introduced among the barbarous 
 nations, was predominant, though apparently without in- 
 tolerance,^ in tlie Burgundian and Visigoth courts; but tlie 
 clergy of Gaul were strenuously attached to the Catholic 
 side, and, even before his conversion, had favored tlie arms 
 of Clo\ is. Tiiey now became his most zealous supporters, 
 and were rewarded by him with artful gratitude, and by his 
 descendants with lavish muniticence. Upon the 
 pretence of religion, he attacked Alaric, king of the 
 Visigoths, and, by one great \ ictory near Poitiers overthrow- 
 ing their empire in Gaul, reduced tliem to the maritime 
 province of Septimania, a narrow strip of coast between the 
 
 1 Grfpory of Tours makes a Tery rhe- 
 torical story of this famous tow, which, 
 though we raDuot disprove, it may be 
 permitted to suspn-ct. — L. ii. c. 30. 
 
 2 Hist, de Langucdoo, par Vich ct Vais- 
 K'ttf, tome i. p. ^S; Gibbon, c. 37. A 
 £|>eciiius fibjection niiglit be drawn from 
 the history of the Gothic monarchies in 
 Italy, as well a.s Gaul and Spain, to the 
 preat principles of religious toleration. 
 Theac Arian sovereigns treated their 
 Catholic subject,'*, it may be 8;iid, with 
 tenderiies,s. le:iving them in pos.svssion of 
 every civil priviU-;n>. and were rewarded 
 for it by thfir clcfi-ction or sedition. But 
 in answer to this it may be observed : — 
 1. That the system of pi'rsccution adopt- 
 ed by the Vanilals in .Africa succeeded no 
 better, the Catholics of that province 
 liaving ris«-n against them upon the 
 lamling of Itl'li.^;lrius: 2. That we do not 
 know what insults and discouragements 
 the Catholics of Gaul anil lUily may 
 have en.|un-d. esjMTially from the Arian 
 bishop", in that age of bigotry; although 
 the adniiniKtnilions of Alaric and Theo 
 dori<- wen- lil>enil and tolerant: 8. That 
 the distlction of Arian and Catholic wiw 
 Intimati-ly conniTti'd with that of Goth 
 and Koman, of coniniernr and conijuered; 
 •o that it Is rliniriilt to separate tin- ef- 
 fwtji of national from those of sectnriati 
 anlnioslty. 
 
 The t<ilernnco of the Vlsiguth sove- 
 relgno must not be pralned without 
 VOL. I. 2 
 
 making an exception for Euric, predeces- 
 sor of .\laric. He was a prince of some 
 eminent qualities, but so zealous in his 
 religion as to bear hardly on his Catholic 
 subjects. Sidonius ApolUnaris loudly 
 complains that no bislioprics were per- 
 mitted to be filled, that the churches 
 went to ruin, and that Arianism made a 
 great progress. (Fauriel. Hist, de la 
 Oaule Meridionalc, vol. i. p. 578. Vnder 
 Alaric himself, however, as well as under 
 the earlier kings of the A'isigothic dy- 
 nasty, a more liberal spirit prevailed. 
 S;ilvian, about the middle of the fifth 
 century, extols the Visigothic govern- 
 ment, in comparison witli that of the 
 empire, whose vices and despotism had 
 met with a de-scrved termination. Ku- 
 cherius speaks of the Burgundians in the 
 san)e manner. (Id. ibid, and vol. ii. p. 
 28.) Yet it must have been in it.<elf 
 mortifying to live in subjection to bar- 
 barians and heretics; not to niention the 
 lins/iiialil!/, ivi it was called, which the 
 natives were obliged to exercise towards 
 the invaders, by ceding two thirds of 
 their lan<ls. What, then, must the West- 
 ern empire have been, when such a con- 
 dition was comparatively enviable ! Hut 
 it is more than probable that (lie {iaulinh 
 bishoi)S subject to the Vi.-iiriillK hailed 
 the invasicmof the Franks with sanguine 
 hope, and were undoubtedly great gain- 
 ers by the exchange.
 
 18 DESCENDANTS OF CLOVIS. Chap. I. Part I. 
 
 Rhone and the Pyrenees. The last exploits of Clovis were 
 the redaction of certain independent chiefs of his own tribe 
 and fiunily, who were settled in the neighborhood of the 
 Ehine.^ All these he put to death by force or treachery ; for 
 he was cast in the true mould of conquerors, and may justly 
 be ranked among the first of his class, both for the splendor 
 and the guiltiness of his ambition.^ 
 
 Clovis left four sons ; one illegitimate, or at least born be- 
 fore his conversion ; and three by his queen Clotilda. These 
 His de- four made, it is said, an equal partition of his 
 
 scendants. dominions, which comprehended not only France, 
 A.B. 611. but the western and centx-al parts of Germany, 
 besides Bavaria, and perhaps Swabia, which were governed 
 by their own dependent, but hereditary, chiefs. Thierry, the 
 eldest, had what was called Austrasia, the eastern or Ger- 
 man division, and fixed his capital at Metz ; Clodomir, at 
 Orleans ; Childebert, at Paris ; and Clotaire, at Soissons.^ 
 
 1 Modern historians, in enumerating of Clovis's empire into portions, of which 
 
 these reguli, call one of them king of Paris, Orleans, Metz, and Soissons should 
 
 Mans. But it is difficult to understand be the respective capitals. I apprehend, 
 
 how a chieftain, independent of Clovis, in fact, that Gregory's expression is not 
 
 could have been settled in that part of very precise. The kingdom of Soissons 
 
 France. In fact, Gregory of Tours, our seems to have been the least of the four, 
 
 only authority, does not say that this and that of Austrasia the greatest. But 
 
 prince, Regnomeris, was king of Mans, the partitions made by these princes 
 
 but that he was put to death in that were exceedingly complex; insulated 
 
 city: apud Cenomannis civitatem jussu fragments of territory, and even undi- 
 
 Chlodovechi interfectus est. vided shares of cities, being allotted to 
 
 The late French writers, as far as I the worse-provided brothers, by way of 
 have observed, continue to place a king- compensation, out of the larger king- 
 dom at Mans. It is certain, neverthe- doms. It would be very difficult to 
 less, that Gregory of Tours, and they ascertain the hmits of these minor mon- 
 have no other evidence, does not assert archies. But the French empire was al- 
 this ; and his expressions rather lead to ways considered as one, whatever might 
 the contrary; since, if Regnomeris were be the number of its inheritors; and 
 king of Mans, why should we not have from accidental circumstances it was so 
 been informed of it? It is, indeed, im- frequently reunited as fully to keep up 
 possible to determine such a point nega- this notion. 
 
 tively from our scanty materials ; but if M. Fauriel endeavors to show the 
 
 a Frank kingdom had been formed at equality of this partition (Hist, de la 
 
 Mans before the battle of Soissons, this Gaule Meridiouale, vol. ii. p. 92.) But 
 
 must considerably alter the received no- he is obliged to suppose that Germany 
 
 tions of the history of Gaul in the fifth beyond the Rhine, part of which owned 
 
 century ; and it seems difficult to under- the dominion of Clovis, was counted as 
 
 stand liow it could have sprung up after- nothing, not being inhabited by Franks, 
 
 wards during the reign of Clovis. It was something, nevertheless, in the 
 
 " The reader will be gratified by an ad- scale of power ; since from this fertile 
 
 mirable memoir, by the Duke de Niver- source the Austrasian kings continually 
 
 nois, on the policy of Clovis, in the recruited their armies. Aquitaine, that 
 
 twentieth volume of the Academy of In- is, the provinces south of the Loire, was 
 
 scriptions. divided into three, or rather perhaps two 
 
 3 Quatuor filii rognum accipiunt, et portions. For though Thierry and Childe- 
 
 inter se a>qui lance dividunt. — Greg, bert had considerable territories, it seems 
 
 Tur. 1. iii. c. 1. It would rather perplex not certain that Clodomir took any share, 
 
 a geographer to make an equal division and improbable that Clofeiire had one.
 
 France. 
 
 DESCENDANTS OF CLOVIS. 
 
 10 
 
 During their reifms the monarchy was apfgrandized by the oon- 
 qiie-t of Biirgiuitly. Clotairo, tho youngest brother. ^ ^ ^ 
 uUiniately reunited all the kingdoms ; but upon his 
 death they were again divided among his four sons, and 
 brought together a second time by another Clo- ^^ ^^g 
 taire, tlie grandson to the first. It is a weary and 
 unprotitaltie task to loUow these changes in detail, through 
 scenes of tumuU and bloodshed, in which the eye meets 
 with no sunshine, nor can rest upon any interesting spot. It, 
 would be difficult, as Gibbon has justly observed, to find any- 
 where more vice or less virtue. The names of two queens 
 are distinguished even in that age for the magnitude of their 
 crimes : Fredegonde, the wife of Chili)eric, of wliose atroci- 
 ties none have doubted ; and Bruneliaut, queen of Austrasia, 
 who has met with advocates in modern times, less, perhaps, 
 from anv fair presumptions of her innocence than from com- 
 passion for the cruel death which she underwent.^ 
 
 Thierry, therefore, king of Austrasi.-i, 
 may l>e reckoned the best provideil of tlio 
 brethren. It will be ohviou? from the 
 map that the four rapitals, Metz. Sois- 
 8ons, I'arif", and Orleans, are situated at 
 no great dij^tttnce from each other, rela- 
 tively to the whole of France. They 
 were', therefore, in the centre of force; 
 and the brothers might have lent assis- 
 tance to each other in case of a national 
 revolt. 
 
 The r&nfe of this complexity in the 
 partition of France anionj; the sons of 
 (.'lovLs lia.s be<-n conjectun-ii by Dubos, 
 with whom Si-mondi (vol. i. p. 242) 
 agn-vs, to have been their desire of own- 
 hi;; ari 8ubje<'ts an equal number of 
 Frank.". Tliis is supjHirted by a passage 
 in Ainithia."". quoted by the former, Hist, 
 de rKtablissement, vol. ii. p. 413. Others 
 have Cmci.-d that Afjuitjiine was reck- 
 oned Uxi delirious a nmrsel to be enjoyed 
 by only one bnither. In the second great 
 partition, that of ;>!T (for that of 5t51 did 
 not lii>t long), when .^igebert, Oontnin, 
 and Cliilperii- t'xik the kingdoms of Aus- 
 traiila, Murgundy, anil what wa« after- 
 warli rallinj Neustria, the southern 
 provinces wen; again equally divided. 
 Til ■' '• 'I to the king of I'aris, 
 
 or ■ \ix and Avignon were 
 
 In .'u' < "' ■■• '' ■' .iindy. 
 
 ' Every hlKtory will give a sufficient 
 epitome nl the Menvingian dyiuu<ty. 
 The facts of thi-^e tlniei an- of little other 
 Importance than as they Impress on the 
 mind a fhopiugli notion of the extreme 
 wickedno^s of ulmoitt every j>«r»ou con- 
 
 cerned in them, and consequently of 
 the state to which society was reduced 
 But there is no advantage in crowding 
 the memory with barbarian wars and 
 assassinations. [XoTE IV.] 
 
 For the question about Urunehaut's 
 character, who has had partisans al- 
 most as enthu.siastic as those of Mary of 
 Scotland, the reader may consult Pas- 
 quier. Kecherches de la France, 1. viii., 
 or Velly, Uist. de France, tome i., on one 
 side, and a dissertation by Gaillanl. in 
 the .Memoirs of the Academy of Inscrip- 
 tions, tome XXX., on the other. The la.st 
 is unfavorable to Bruneliaut, and per- 
 fectly satisfactory to my jiid|jrment. 
 
 Bruneliaut was no unimportant per- 
 sonage in this history. She had become 
 hateful to the Austrasian aristocracy by 
 her Gothic blood, and still more by her 
 Human |)rinoi|iles of government. There 
 wius evidently a combination to throw off 
 the yoke fif rivilizt'd tyranny. It was a 
 gr<-at conHict, which ended in the virtual 
 dethronement of the house of Clovis. 
 Much, therefore, may have been exiig- 
 genited by Frt-'legarius, a Burgumlian by 
 birth, in relating the crimes of Hrune- 
 
 haut. But, niiliappily. the ant4 lent 
 
 presumption, in tlie histf)ry of that age, 
 is always on the worse side. She was un- 
 questionably endowed with a maseiilini- 
 energy of mind, and very sujierior to 
 Buch a mere imp of audacious wickedness 
 a.s Kredi'gonde. Bruneliaut left a great 
 and almost fabulous iihmh'; public causo- 
 wavs, t/(wer», castles, in ililTeriiit partj« 
 of France, are popularly ascribed to her.
 
 20 MAYORS OF THE PALACE. Chap. I. Part I. 
 
 But after Dagobert, son of Clotaire II., the kings of 
 A D 628-638 France dwindled into personal insignificance, and 
 
 are generally treated by later historians as insen- 
 degeneracy. sati, or idiots.^ The whole power of the kingdom 
 Mayors of devolved upon the mayors of the palace, originally 
 the palace, officers of the household, through whom petitions 
 or representations were laid before the king.^ The weakness 
 of sovereigns rendered this office important, and still greater 
 weakness suffered it to become elective ; men of energetic 
 talents and ambition united it with military command ; and 
 the history of France for half a century presents no names 
 more conspicuous than those of Ebroin and Grimoald, may- 
 ors of Neustria and Austrasia, the western and eastern divi- 
 sions of the French monarchy.^ These, however, met with 
 violent ends ; but a more successful usurper of the royal 
 authority was Pepin Heristal, first mayor, and afterwards 
 duke, of Austrasia ; who united with almost an avowed 
 sovereignty over that division a paramount command over the 
 French or Neustrian provinces, where nominal kings of the 
 Merovingian family were still permitted to exist.* This au- 
 thority he transmitted to a more renowned hero, his son, 
 Charles Martel, who, after some less important exploits, was 
 called upon to encounter a new and terrible enemy. The 
 Saracens, after subjugating Spain, had penetrated into the 
 ^„ very heart of France. Cliarles Martel gained a 
 
 complete victory over them between Tours and 
 Poitiers,^ in which 300,000 Mohammedans are hyperbolically 
 
 It has even been suspected by some that that denominated Neustria, to which Eur- 
 
 Bhe suggested the appellation of Brune- gundy was generally appendant, though 
 
 child in the Nibelungeii Lied. That there distinctly governed by a mayor of its 
 
 is no resemblance in the story, or in the own election. But Aquitaine, the exact 
 
 character, courage excepted, of the two bounds of which I do not know, was, 
 
 heroines, cannot be thought an objec- from the time of Dagobert I., separated 
 
 tion. from the rest of the monarchy, under a 
 
 1 An ingenious attempt is made by the dncal dynasty, sprung from Aribert, 
 
 Abbe Vertot, Mem. de I'Academie, tome brother of that monarch. [Note VI.] 
 
 vi., to rescue these monarchs from this [* Note VII.] 
 
 long-established imputation. But the 6 Tours is above seventy miles distant 
 
 leading fact is irresistible, that all the from Poitiers; but I do not find that any 
 
 royal authority was lost during their French antiquary has been able to ascer- 
 
 reigns. However, the best apology seems tain the place of this great battle with 
 
 to be, that, after the victories of Pepin more precision; which is remarkable, 
 
 Heristal, the Merovingian kings were, in since, after so immense a slaughter, we 
 
 effect, conquered, and their inefficiency should expect the testimony of " grandia 
 
 was a matter of necessary submission to effossis ossa sepulcris." It is now, how- 
 
 a master. ever, believed that the slaughter at the 
 
 " [Note V.] battle near Poitiers was by no means 
 
 3 The original kingdoms of Soissons, immense, and even that the Saracens 
 
 Paris, and Orleans were cousoUdated into retired without a decisive action. (Sis-
 
 Fra.\ce. accession OF PEPIX. 21 
 
 asserted to have fallen. The reward of this victory \va< the 
 province of Septiuiania, which the Saracens had conquered 
 from the Visigollis.' 
 
 Such powerful subjects were not likely to remain long con- 
 tented without the crown ; hut the circumstances un- „, 
 
 I I • 1 • !• 1 .' I ,' /-^i • Cliange ia 
 
 iler which it was transierrcd trom the race ot Liovis tiie royal 
 are connected with one of the most important revo- '^;'""'>'-. 
 luiions in the history ot Europe. The mayor Pe- of ivpin. 
 pin. inlieriting his father Charles ]\[artel's talents ^'^' '^~ 
 and ambition, made, in tlie name and with the consent of the 
 nation, a solemn reference to tlie Pope Zacharias, as to the 
 dejjo-ition of Childeric III., under whose nominal aiithoritv 
 he himself was reigning. The decision was favorable ; tliat 
 he who possessed the power should also bear the title of king. 
 The unfortunate Merovingian was dismissed into a convent, 
 and the Franks, with one consent, raised Pepin to tlie throne, 
 the founder of a more illustrious dynasty.^ In order to judge 
 of the importance of this revolution to the see of Rome, as 
 well as to France, we must turn our eyes upon the atfliirs 
 of Italy. 
 
 The dominion of the Ostrogoths was annihilated by the 
 arms of Belisarius and Narses in the sixth century, -fho Lom- 
 and that nation appears no more in history. But '''''■^''■ 
 not long afterwards the Lombards, a people for some time 
 settled in Paimonia, not only subdued that northern part of 
 Italy which has retained their name, but, extending themselves 
 soutiiward, formed tli(i powerful duchies of Spoleto and Bene- 
 vento. The residence of their kings was in Pavia ; but the 
 hereditixry vassals, who held those two duchies, might be 
 
 mou'li. ii.l32; Miclielot, il.l3.) Therccan Wa-i not ttiis the fatal error by which 
 be no Joubt but that the battle was Ilodcrio hail lost his kingdom? Was it 
 fou^'ht much nearer to Poitiers than to possiblu tliat the Saraoeiis couM have 
 TourH. rctjiineil any permanent possession of 
 The victory of Cltarlen Martel has im- France except by means of a victory .' 
 mirtali/>itd hi-) name, an<l may justly Iw Ami ili>l not the contest upon the bnn. I 
 ri'kiiuej amoM^ tho<e lew battles of chamiiaif^n of I'oitou alTunl tliem a coji- 
 wlii.-li a contrary event woul-l have es- si'lerable prospect of success, which a 
 t-.iiriilly rarieil the <lrima of the world more cautious policy would liave with- 
 in .ill it« KUbsequeiit icuncs ; with Mara- held? 
 
 tlion. Arlxfln, the Metaurus. Chalons, I This conquest wius completed by 
 
 and r<i;ip«ic. Yet do wu not judk'c a lit- I'epin in ".W. The inhabitints prei-ervcil 
 
 t!-' t'»i Miii'-h tiv til"' event, and follow, as tln-ir liberties by treaty; and VaisM'tle 
 
 n-uii 111 111.- .V ike i»r f irtunc! ? Itxs not deduces from this sniemu assurance the 
 
 ' ' i-xiM-rienco I'oudr-mnecl privile;;nsof fjanguedoc. — Uist. de Liing. 
 
 !•• f.ite of empin-s upon a tome i. p. 412. 
 
 I rl»li a general battli' with '■'INorE Vlll.] 
 laTa<ii.T«, whuso grvaltT peril U in delay ?
 
 22 CHARLEaiAGNE. Chap. I. Paet I. 
 
 deemed almost independent sovereigns.-' The rest of Italy 
 was governed by exarchs, deputed by the Greek emperors, 
 and fixed at Ravenna. In Rome itself neither the people 
 nor the bishops, who had already conceived in part their 
 schemes of ambition, were much inclined to endure the supe- 
 riority of Constantinople ; yet their disaffection was counter- 
 balanced by the inveterate hatred as well as jealousy, with 
 which they regarded the Lombards. But an impohtic and 
 intemperate persecution, carried on by two or three Greek 
 emperors against a favorite superstition, the worship of im- 
 ages, excited commotions throughout Italy, of wliich the Lom- 
 They bards took advantage, and easily wrested the ex- 
 
 reduce the archate of Ravenna from the eastern empire. It 
 
 exarchate /• /. i i • f> i i • 
 
 of Ravenna, was tar irom the design ot the popes to see then* 
 A.D. (0-; nearest enemies so much aggrandized; and any 
 effectual assistance from the emperor Constantine Coprony- 
 mus would have kept Rome still faithful. But having no 
 hope from his arms, and provoked by his obstinate intolerance, 
 the pontiffs had recourse to France ; ^ and the service they 
 had rendered to Pepin led to reciprocal obligations of the 
 which greatest magnitude. At the request of Stephen 
 
 Pepin Ji. the new king of France descended from the 
 
 and bestows Alps, drove the Lombards from their recent con- 
 on the pope, questg^ and conferred them upon the pope. This 
 memorable donation nearly comprised the modern provinces 
 of Romagna and the March of Ancona.^ 
 
 The state of Italy, which had undergone no change for 
 
 nearly two centuries, was now rapidly verging to a great 
 
 revolution. Under the shadow of a mighty name 
 
 " the Greek empire had concealed the extent of its 
 
 decline. That charm was now broken : and the 
 
 Lombard kingdom, which had hitherto appeared the only 
 
 competitor in the lists, proved to have lost his own energy 
 
 in awaiting the occasion for its display. France was far 
 
 more than a match for the power of Italy, even if she had 
 
 not been guided by the towering ambition and restless ac- 
 
 1 The history, character, and policy of tures to Charles Martel as well as to 
 
 the Lombards are well treated by Gib- Pepin himself; the habitual sagiicity of 
 
 bon, c. 45. See, too, the fourth and fifth the court of Rome perceiviug the growth 
 
 books of Giannone, and some papers by of anew western monarchy, which would 
 
 Qaillard in the Memoirs of the Academy be, in faith and arms, their surest ally. 
 
 of Inscriptions, tomes xxjdi., xxxv., xlv. Muratori, Ann. d'ltal. a.d. 741. 
 
 SThere had been some previous over- SQiannone, 1. v. c. 2.
 
 France. CONQUESTS OF CHAKLEMAGNE. 23 
 
 tivity of the son of Pepin. It was almost the first exploit 
 of Charlcmairne, after the death of his brother ^ j, -^2. 
 CiU'loinaii hail reunited the Frankish empire under ue conquers 
 liis dominion,^ to subjugate the kingdom of Lorn- LouibarUy; 
 bardy. Neither Pavia nor Verona, its most con- *"■ ""■*• 
 siderable cities, interposed any material delay to his arms : 
 and the chief resistance he encountered was from the dukes 
 of Friuli and Benevento, the latter of whom could never be 
 brought into thorough subjection to the conqueror. Italy, 
 however, be the cause what it might, seems to have tempted 
 Charlemagne far less than the dark forests of Germany. For 
 neither the southern |)i'()vinees, nor Sicily, could have with- 
 stood his power if it had been steadily directed against them. 
 Even Spain hardlv di'ew so much of his attention ^„ . 
 
 1 1 1 /•■'i • • 1 11 1 partofSpain; 
 
 as tlie splendor ot the prize might naturally have 
 excited. He gained, however, a very important accession to 
 his empire, by conquering from the Saracens the territory 
 contained between the Pyrenees and the Ebro. This was 
 formed into the Spanish March, governed by the count of 
 Barcelona, part of which at least must I)e considered as ap- 
 pertaining to France till the twelfth century.'^ 
 
 But the most tedious and difficult achievement of Chai'le- 
 magne was the reduction of the Saxons. The 
 wars with this nation, who occupied nearly the *° a^cony. 
 modern circles of Westphalia and Lower Saxony, lasted for 
 thirty years. Whenever the conqueror withdrew his armies, 
 or even liis person, the Saxons broke into fresh rebellion, 
 which his unparalleled rajiidity of movement seldom failed 
 to crush without delay. From such perseverance on either 
 side, destruction of the weaker could alone result. A large 
 colony of Saxons were finally transplanted into Flanders and 
 Brabant, countries hitherto ill-peopled, in which their descend- 
 
 1 Carloman, younger brother of Charles, kings of France, till some time after their 
 
 took the Auxtrisinn or fiiTiiian provinces own title had been nicreej in that of 
 
 of the empire. The custom of partition kiii(p< of AniRon. In llsd le^nil inslru- 
 
 was ("» fully f.ttJiblisheiJ, that those wI.hc ments executed in CaUiloiiia ccjiscd to lie 
 
 and ambitimiH princen, Cliarles Martel, dated by the year of tlie kiui; of Knince; 
 
 Pepin, and ('harlema);iie hiuifudf, did not and as there certainly remained no other 
 
 Tentun- to thwart the public opinion by murk of dependence, the separation of 
 
 lutrrxlucing primogeniture. Carloman the principality nuiy bo referred to that 
 
 would not long have fUxxl against his year. But the rights of the Krench 
 
 bnither: who, after his death, u.'<urped crown over it were linally ceded by 
 
 the inheribince of hii* two infant chil- Ixiuis iX. In I'i/iH. De Marca, .Mare* 
 
 dnrn. Hispanica, p. fill. Art de TerlUcr leu 
 
 - Tlie counto of narrclona always ac- Dates, t. ii. \i. 21(1. 
 knowledj^ed the feudal superiority of the
 
 24 EXTENT OF HIS DOMINIONS. Chap. I. Part I. 
 
 ants preserved the same unconquerable spirit of resistance to 
 oppression. Many fled to the kingdoms of Scandinavia, and, 
 mingUng with the Northmen, who were just preparing to run 
 their memorable career, revenged upon the children and sub- 
 jects of Charlemagne the devastation of Saxony. The rem- 
 nant embraced Christianity, their aversion to which had been 
 the chief cause of their rebellions, and acknowledged the 
 sovereignty of Charlemagne — a submission which even 
 "Witikind, the second Arminius of Germany, after such 
 iri'esistible conviction of her destiny, did not disdain to 
 make. But they retained, in the main, their own laws ; 
 they were governed by a duke of their own nation, if not 
 of their own election ; and for many ages they were dis- 
 tinguished by their original character among the nations of 
 Germany.^ 
 
 The successes of Charlemagne on the eastern frontier of 
 his empire against the Sclavonians of Bohemia and Huns or 
 Avars of Pannonia, though obtained with less cost, wei'e 
 hardly less eminent. In all his wars the newly conquered 
 nations, or those whom fear had made dependent allies, 
 were employed to subjugate their neighboi^s, and the inces- 
 sant waste of fatigue and the sword was supplied by a fresh 
 population that swelled the expanding circle of dominion. 
 Extent of Ms I do not kuow that the limits of the new western 
 dominions, empire are very exactly defined by contemporary 
 writers, nor would it be easy to appreciate the degree of 
 subjection in which the Sclavonian tribes were held. As an 
 organized mass of provinces, regularly governed by imperial 
 officers, it seems to have been nearly bounded, in Germany, 
 by the Elbe, the Saale, the Bohemian mountains, and a line 
 drawn from thence crossing the Danube above Vienna, and 
 prolonged to the Gulf of Istria. Part of Dalmatia was com- 
 prised in the duchy of Friuli. In Italy the empire extended 
 not much beyond the modern frontier of Naples, if we 
 exclude, as was the fact, the duchy of Benevento from any- 
 thing more than a titular subjection. The Spanish boundary, 
 as has been said akeady, was the Ebro.''' 
 
 1 [Note IX.] the Oaer and frontiers of Poland. The 
 
 2 I follow in this the map of Koch, in authors of L'Art de verifier les Dates 
 hLs Tableau des llevolutions dePEurope, extend it to the Raab. It would require 
 tome i. That of Vaugondy, Paris, 1752, a long examination to give a precise 
 includes the dependent Sclavonic tribes, statement. 
 
 and carries the limit of the empire to
 
 Fr.v>ce. COKOXATIOX OF CU.UILEJLV.GXE. 25 
 
 A seal was put to the glory of Chiu'leniagne when Leo III., 
 in the name of the Roman people, placed upon uisooronn- 
 his liead the imperial erown. Wis father, Pt-pin, p^.^^r''' *^"'" 
 had borne the title of Patrician, and he had him- a.d. 800. 
 self exercised, with that title, a regular sovereignty over 
 Rome.^ 3Ioney was coined in his name, and an oath of fidel- 
 ity wivs taken by the clergy and people. But the ai)peUation 
 of Emperor seemed to place his authority over all his subjects 
 on a new footing. It was full of high and indefinite preten- 
 sion, tending to overshadow the free election of the Franks 
 by a fictitious descent from Augustus. A fresh oath (ft' fidel- 
 ity to him as em[)eror was demanded from his sul»jects. His 
 own discretion, howevei", prevented him from ati'ecthig tliose 
 more despotic prerogatives which the imperial name might 
 still be supposed to convey .'- 
 
 Li analyzing the cliaraeters of heroes it is hardly possible 
 to separate altogether the share of fortune from 
 their own. The epoch made by Charlemagne in """^ ""^"^ "'^' 
 the history of the world, the illustrious families which ]irided 
 themselves in him as their progenitor, the very legends of 
 romance, which are full of his fabulous exploits, have cast a 
 lustre around his head, and testify the greatness that has em- 
 bodied itself in his name. None, indeed, of Cliarlemagne's 
 wars can be compared with the Saracenic victory of Charles 
 ]\Iartel ; but that was a contest for freedom, his for conquest ; 
 and fame is more partial to successful aggression than to pat- 
 riotic resistance. As a scholar, his acquisitions were probably 
 little superior to those of his unrespected son ; and in several 
 points of view the glory of Charlemagne might be extenuated 
 
 I The Patricians of the lower empire abrogiited. Muriitori, Annali d'ltalin, 
 
 were Krjveriinr.H si-ut from Coiistuntinoplo ad. ami. 772; St. .Mare, t. i. \). &'j>>, 372. 
 
 to tlje proviiire.i. Kuiiie had loii^ been A mosaic, still e.xtaut iii tlie Liiteniu 
 
 accustomed to their iiiiiiic and power, palace, represents our Saviour frivhii; tlio 
 
 The BuhjiTtion of the Komiiiin, both Iteys to St. Peter with one hand, and 
 
 clertor and lai'v, to Ch.irlemni^ne, aj« well with the other a standard to a crowued 
 
 In-fore lui after he bore the imperial prince, bearing; the inscription Con.stjiu- 
 
 name. neemn to be cxtablisheil. See Di.s- tine V. Ilut Constantine V. did not 
 
 fiertatiou III»torii{Ue. par le Ulanc, sub- beyin to reinn till 780 ; and if this piece 
 
 joined to hiK Truiti de .Monnoyes do of workmanship wan made umler l-oo 
 
 Kmnce, p. IS; and St. Marc, Abre(;6 III., as the authors of L'.Vrt cle vtiritier 
 
 ClirOMoloidnue de rilistoirc dc I'ltalie, les Dates imagine, it conld not be earlier 
 
 t. I. The llr^t of these writers does not than 795. T. i. p. 2<i2; .Munitorl ad 
 
 allow that I'epiii exeni«'d any authority ami. 7U8. However this may be, there 
 
 at Komc. A ({""J d>-.il of ob.scurity rests can be no i|m'stion that a considenible 
 
 over It* int<-riial Kovernment for near shari- of jurisdiction aii'l authority wiu 
 
 fifty years; but then- Is some reason to practically exercise.l by the po|M'S dnring 
 
 U.diere tlint the iiomimil RoveieiKiity of this period. Vid. Mural, ad aun. 7bU. 
 the (irvek emperon was not entirely 'J ISoTti X.]
 
 26 CHARACTER OF CHARLEMAGNE. Chap. I. Part I. 
 
 by an analytical dissection.^ But rejecting a mode of judging 
 equally uncandid and fallacious, we shall find that he pos- 
 sessed in everything that grandeur of conception which dis- 
 tinguishes extraordinary minds. Like Alexander, he seemed 
 born for universal innovation : in a hfe restlessly active, we see 
 him reforming the coinage and establishing the legal divisions 
 of money ; gathering about him the learned of every country ; 
 founding schools and collecting libraries ; interfering, but with 
 the tone of a king, in religious controversies ; aiming, though 
 prematurely, at the formation of a naval force ; attempting, 
 for the> saie of commerce, the magnificent enterprise of 
 uniting the Rhine and Danube ; ^ and meditating to mould 
 the discordant codes of Roman and barbarian laws into an 
 uniform system. 
 
 The great qualities of Charlemagne were, indeed, alloyed 
 by the vices of a barbarian and a conqueror. Nine wives, 
 whom he divorced with very little ceremony, attest the 
 license of his private life, which his temperance and frugaUty 
 can hardly be said to redeem. Unsparing of blood, though 
 not constitutionally cruel, and wholly indifferent to the means 
 which his ambition prescribed, he beheaded in one day four 
 thousand Saxons — an act of atrocious butchery, after which 
 his persecuting edicts, pi-onouncing the pain of death against 
 those who refused baptism, or even who ate flesh during 
 Lent, seem scarcely worthy of notice. This union of bar- 
 barous ferocity with elevated views of national improvement 
 might suggest the parallel of Peter the Great. But the 
 degrading habits and brute violence of the Muscovite place 
 him at an immense distance from the restorer of the empire. 
 
 A strong sympathy for intellectual excellence was the 
 leading characteristic of Charlemagne, and this undoubtedly 
 biassed him in the chief political error of his conduct — that 
 of encouraging the power and pretensions of the hierarchy. 
 But, perhaps, his greatest eulogy is written in the disgraces 
 of succeeding times and the miseries of Europe. He stands 
 alone, like a beacon upon a waste, or a rock in the broad 
 
 1 Eginhard attests his ready eloquence, - See an essay upon this project in the 
 
 his perfect mastery of Latin, his knowl- Memoirs of the Academy of Inscriptions, 
 
 edge of Greek so far as to read it, liis t. xviii. The rivers which were designed 
 
 acquisitions in logic, grammar, rhetoric, to form the links of this junction were 
 
 and astronomy. But the anonymous the Altmuhl, the Regnitz, and the Main ; 
 
 authors of the life of Louis the Debonair but their want of depth, and the spongi- 
 
 attributes most of these accomplisliments ness of the soil, appear to present insu- 
 
 to that unfortunate prince. perable impediments to its completion.
 
 Fr^vnce. 
 
 LOUIS TUE DEBONAIR. 
 
 27 
 
 ocean. His sceptre was the bow of Ulysses, which could not 
 be drawn by any weaker hand. In the dark ages of Eiuoitcan 
 history tlie reign of Chiu'leniagne alfords a sohtary resting- 
 place between two long periods of tui'bnlence and igno- 
 miny, deriving the advantiiges of conti'tvst both from that of 
 the preceding dynasty and of a posterity for whom he had 
 tornu'd an empire wliich they were unworthy and unecjual to 
 maintain.^ 
 
 Pepin, the eldest son of Charlemagne, died before him, 
 leaving a natural son, named Bernard." Even j^^j^ ^^^^ 
 if he had been legitimate, the right of representa- Debonair, 
 tion was not at all established during these ages ; ^'^' 
 indeed, the genei-al prejudice seems to have inclined against 
 it. Bernard, therefore, kept only the kingdom of Italy, which 
 had been transferred to his father ; while Louis, the younger 
 son of Cliarlemagne, inherited the empire.^ But, in a short 
 tune, Bernard, having attempted a rebellion against 
 his uncle, wiis sentenced to lose his eyes, which 
 occasioned his death — a cruelty more agi'eeable to the pre- 
 vailing tone of manners than to the character of Louis, who 
 bitterly reproached himself for the severity he had been per- 
 suaded to use. 
 
 Under this prince, called by the Italians the Pious, and 
 by the French the Debonair, or Good-natured,* the mighty 
 
 1 The Life of Charlema^e, by Gaillard, 
 without U-ing made perhaps so interest- 
 ing as it ought to liiiTi- been, presents an 
 adequate view t)Ofli of his actions and 
 cliarat'ter. Schmidt, Ilist. des Alleniands, 
 tome ii., appi-an* to me a superior writer. 
 
 An exception to the general suffrage 
 of historians in favor of Charlemagne is 
 made by Si«mondi. He seems to consider 
 him as having produced no permanent 
 ciri.-ct: the empire, within half a century, 
 liaving been dismembered, and relapsing 
 Into the merest weakness : — " Tellement 
 hi grandeur ac(|ui«c jiar les armes est 
 trompeus*-, quaud elle ne se donne pour 
 appui aucuiie institution bienfaisant^;; et 
 tellement |e regne d'un gnind roi denieurc 
 sterile, qunnd il ne fouile pas la lllx-rtu 
 de svs concitoyens." (Vol. iii. p. 97.) 
 But cert»liily some of Charlemagne's in- 
 ftitutinnn Were likely to prove bcneflcial 
 If they couM huTi! been maintained. Huch 
 as the .Hciibiid and the MisMI Itoniinici. 
 And when .Sismondi hint'* that Charlo- 
 ningne ought to have given a rhartt nm- 
 siirmionnrlU, It is difflcult not to smile at 
 iuch a proof of IiIh hicliiiiition to Judge 
 post tline* by a ituudurd borrowed from 
 
 the theories of his own. M. Guizot asks 
 whether the nation was left in the same 
 state in which the emperor found it. 
 Nothing fell with him, he remarks, but 
 the central government, which could f>nly 
 have been preserved by a series of uien 
 like himself. (E.ssais sur Tllist. de 
 France, pp. 276-294; Hist, de la Civilisa- 
 tion en France, Le^jon ii. p. 39.) Some, 
 indeed, of his institutions cannot be said 
 to have long survived him ; but this 
 again must be chiefly attributeil to the 
 weakness of his successors. No one man 
 of more than common ability aros<> in 
 the Carlovingian dyn.'isty after hinnelf, 
 a dct very di.'<advantiigeous to the per- 
 manence of his policy, and perhaps nitlier 
 surprising: though it is a theory of Si.*- 
 nionrli that royal Ciniilies naturally dwin- 
 dle into imbecility, especially in u scml- 
 barbarous condition of so<iety. 
 
 - A contemporary autlmr, Thegan, np. 
 Muratori, A.I>. SKI, a.>iserts that llirimril 
 was born of a concubine. I do Jiot know 
 why modern liistoriuus represent It otlier- 
 wis<?. 
 
 3 I Note XT] 
 
 * I'hesu names, as a French writer ob-
 
 28 HIS MISFORTUNES AND ERRORS. Chap. I. Pakt I. 
 
 Structure of his father's power began rapidly to decay. I do 
 not know that Louis deserves so much contempt as he has 
 undergone ; but historians have m general more indulgence 
 for splendid crimes than for the weaknesses of virtue. There 
 was no defect in Louis's understanding or courage ; he was 
 accomplished in martial exercises, and in all the learning 
 which an education, excellent for that age, could supply. No 
 one was ever more anxious to reform the abuses of adminis- 
 tration ; and whoever compares his capitularies with those of 
 Charlemagne will perceive that, as a legislator, he was even 
 superior to his father. The fault lay entirely in his heart ; 
 and this fault was nothing but a temper too soft and a con- 
 science too strict.-' It is not wonderful that the empire should 
 have been speedily dissolved ; a succession of such men as 
 Charles Martel, Pepin, and Charlemagne, could alone have 
 preserved its integrity ; but the misfortunes of Louis and his 
 people were immediately owing to the following errors of his 
 conduct. 
 
 Soon after his accession Louis thought fit to associate his 
 „. . „ eldest son, Lothaire, to the empire, and to confer 
 
 His misfor- . ' ^ . i » • • 
 
 tunes aua the provmccs ot Lavaria and Aquitame, as sub- 
 errors, ordinate kingdoms, upon the two younger, Louis 
 and Pepin. The step was, in appearance, conform- 
 able to his father's policy, who had acted towards liimself in 
 a similar manner. But such measures are not subject to 
 general rules, and exact a careful regard to characters and 
 circumstances. The principle, however, which regulated this 
 division was learned from Charlemagne, and could alone, if 
 strictly pursued, have given unity and permanence to the em- 
 pire. The elder brother was to preserve his superiority over 
 the others, so that they should neither make peace nor war, 
 nor even give answer to ambassadors, without his consent. 
 Upon the death of either no further partition was to be made ; 
 but whichever of liis children might become the popular 
 choice was to inherit the whole kingdom, under the same su- 
 
 serves, meant the same thing. PiHihad, l Schmidt, Hist, des AUemands, torn, 
 
 even ia good Latiu, the sense of mitis, ii., has done more justice tlian otlier 
 
 meek, forbeariug, or what the I'rench historians to Louis's cliaraeter. Vais- 
 
 call dcboiinaire. Synonymes de Kou- sette attests the goodness of liis govera- 
 
 band, torn. i. p. 257. Our EngUsh word ment iu Aquitaine, which he held as a 
 
 debonair is hardly used iu the same subordinate liingdom during his father's 
 
 sense, if iadeeil it can be called an Eiig- life. It extended from the Loire to the 
 
 lish word; but I have not altered Lou- Ebro, so that the trust was uot con- 
 
 is's appellation, by which he is so well teuiptible. — Hist, de Languedoc, torn. i. 
 
 known. p. 476.
 
 Fkance. PAKTITK^N OF THE EMriRE. 29 
 
 periority of tlie head of the family.^ This compact was, from 
 tlie bc'irinninir. disliked by the younger brothers; and an event, 
 upon which Louis does not seem to have calculated, soon dis- 
 gusted his colleague Lothaire. Judith of Bavariix, the emper- 
 or's second wife, an ambitious woman, bore him a son, by 
 name diaries, whom both parents were naturally anxious to 
 l)lace on an equal footing with his brothers. But tliis could 
 only be done at the expense of Lothaire, who was ill disposed 
 to see his empire still further dismembered for this child of a 
 second bed. Louis passed his life in a struirgle with three 
 undutiful sons, who abused his paternal kindness by constant 
 rebellions. 
 
 Tiiese were rendered more formidable by the concuiTence 
 of a ditierent class of enemies, w horn it had been another er- 
 ror of the emperor to provoke. Charlemagne had assumed a 
 thorough control and supremacv over the clergy ; and his son 
 was perhaps still more vigilant in chastising their irregulari- 
 ties, and reforming their rules of discipline. But to this, 
 which they had been compelled to bear at the hands of the 
 first, it was not equally easy for the second to obtain their 
 submission. Louis therefore drew on himself the inveterate 
 enmity of men who united with the turbulence of martial no- 
 bles a skill in managing those engines of offence which were 
 peculiar to their order, and to which the imjilicit devotion of 
 his character laid him very open. Yet, after many vicissi- 
 tudes of fortune, and many days of ignominy, his a. j, g4o. 
 wishes were eventually accomplished. Charles, partition of 
 his youngest son, surnamed the Bald, obtained, t''« empire 
 upon his death, most part of France, while Ger- ^■^■^^'^ 
 many fell to the share of Louis, :ind the rest of b^"sons 
 the imperial dominions, with the title, to the eldest, i'"tii«ire. 
 Lothaire. This partition was the result of a san- charurthe 
 guinary. though short, contest ; and it gave a fatal ^''''^• 
 blow to the empire of the Franks. For the tn-aty of Ver- 
 dun, in 843, abrogated the sovereignty that had been attached 
 to the eldest brother and to the imperial name in former par- 
 titions : each held his respective kingdom as an iiidepen<lent 
 right.'^ This is the epoch of a final separation between the 
 
 1 nnliirii Ciipltiilnrin, torn. \. p. 575. tho Rilliooquoiit rnn'Iiirt of tliP brofliPM 
 
 2Balii!!li Cnpitulnri/i, torn. il. p. 42 ; nml tlidr family jiihtilli-s tin' 1-oiii.triirtlou 
 
 Vclly, tonic li., p. '',. Tlie expr>-."iions of Vclly, wlilcli 1 Imve followed. 
 
 of tiiin treaty arc pi-rliapii c luivucal ; but
 
 30 
 
 ITS DISMEMBER5IENT. 
 
 Chap. I. Pakt I. 
 
 French and German members of the empire. Its millenary 
 was celebrated by some of the latter nation in 1843.^ 
 
 The subsequent partitions made among the children of 
 these brothers are of too rapid succession to be 
 here related. In about forty years the empire was 
 nearly reunited under Charles the Fat, son of 
 Louis of Germany ; but his short and inglorious 
 reign ended in his deposition. From this time the 
 possession of Italy was contested among her na- 
 tive princes ; Germany fell at first to an illegitimate 
 descendant of Charlemagne, and in a short time 
 was entirely lost by his family ; two kingdoms, af- 
 terwai'ds united, were formed by usurpers out of 
 what was then called Burgundy, and comprised the provmces 
 between the Rhone and the Alps, with Franche Comt^, and 
 great part of Switzerland.^ In France the Carlovingian 
 kings continued for another century ; but their line was inter- 
 rupted two or three times by the election or usur- 
 pation of a powerful family, the counts of Paris 
 and Orleans, who ended, like the old mayors of 
 the palace, in dispersing the phantoms of royalty 
 they had professed to serve.^ Hugh Capet, the 
 
 Decline of 
 the Carlo- 
 ■vingian 
 family. 
 Charles the 
 Fat, em- 
 peror, 881. 
 Kiug of 
 Frauce, 885. 
 Deposed, 
 887. 
 
 Dismember- 
 ment of the 
 empire. 
 
 Kings of 
 France. 
 Eudes, 887. 
 Charles the 
 Simple, 898, 
 Kobert? 
 922. 
 
 iThe partition, which the treaty of 
 Verdun confirmed, had been made by 
 commissioners specially appointed in the 
 preceding year. " Le nombre total des 
 commissaires fut porte i trois cents ; ils 
 se distribuerent toute la surface de Tem- 
 pire, qu'ils s'en^agerent 4 parcourir avant 
 le mois d' aout de I'annee suivante : cet 
 immense travail etoit en effet alors neces- 
 saire pour se procurer les connoissances 
 qu"on obtientaujourd'hui en un instant, 
 par linspection d'une carte geograph- 
 ique: malheureusement on ferivoit i 
 cette epoque aussi peu qu'on lisoit. Le 
 rapport des commissaires ne fut point 
 mis par ^crit, ou point depose dans les 
 archives. S"il nous avoit ete conserve, 
 ce seroit le plus curieux de tous les mon- 
 umens sur I'etat de I'Europe au moyen 
 age." (Sismondi, Hist, des Fran^;. iii. 76.) 
 For this he quotes Nithard, a contem- 
 porary historian. 
 
 In the division made on this occasion 
 the kingdom of France, which fell to 
 Charles the Bald, had for its eastern 
 boundary, the Meuse, the Saone, and the 
 Rhone ; which, nevertheless, can only be 
 understood of the Upper Meuse, since 
 Brabant was certainly not comprised in 
 it. liOthaire, the elder brother, besides 
 
 Italy, had a kingdom called Lorraine, 
 from his name (Lotharingia), extending 
 from the mouth of the Khine to Provence, 
 bounded by that river ou one frontier, by 
 France on the other. Louis took all be- 
 yond the Rhine, and was usually styled 
 The Germanic. 
 
 2 These kingdoms were denominated 
 Provence and Transjurane Burgundy. 
 The latter was very small, comprising 
 only part of Switzerland; but its second 
 sovereign, Rodolph II.. acquired by 
 treaty almost the whole of the former ; 
 and the two united were called the king- 
 dom of Aries. This lasted from 933 to 
 1032, when Rodolph III. bequeathed his 
 dominions to the emperor Conrad II. — 
 Art de verifier les Dates, tom. ii. p. 
 427-432. 
 
 3 The family of Capet is generally ad- 
 mitted to possess the most ancient pedi- 
 gree of any sovereign line in Europe. Its 
 succession through males is unequivo- 
 cally deduced from Robert the Brave, 
 made governor of Anjou in 864, and 
 father of Eudes king of France, and of 
 Robert, who was chosen by a party in 
 922, though, as Charles the Simple was 
 still acknowledged in some provinces, it
 
 France. 
 
 STATE OF THE PEOPLE. 
 
 31 
 
 representative of this house upon the death of Ralph. 923. 
 Louis v., plat't'd himself upon tlie throne; thus ija"'"^^' 
 
 pon 
 thii-d ami nio<t pcrnianrnt race of i-otiiaire, 
 Before this liappened, the de- Louis v. 
 
 founding the 
 French sovereigns. 
 
 scendants of Charlemagne had sunk into insignifi- ^^j|;„tgoj. 
 cance. and rttaincd little more of France than the Paris, 
 city of Laon. The rest of the kingdom had been seized by 
 the |X)wei-ful nobles, who, with the nominal fidelity of the 
 feudal system, maintained its practical independence and re- 
 bellious spirit.^ 
 
 These were times of great misery to the people, and the 
 worst, perhaps, that Europe has ever known. Even under 
 Charlemagne, we have abundant proofs of the ca- st.ite of tiie 
 lamities which the people suffered. The light p*°p'^- 
 which shone around him was that of a consuming fire. The 
 free proprietors who had once considered themselves as only 
 called upon to resist foreign invasion, were harassed by end- 
 less expeditions, and dragged away to the Baltic Sea, or the 
 banks of the Drave. Many of them, as we learn from his 
 Capitularies, became ecclesiastics to avoid militiuy conscrip- 
 tion.'^ But far worse must have been their state under the 
 lax government of succeeding times, when the dukes and 
 counts, no longer checked bv the vigorous administration of 
 Charlemagne, were at liberty to i)lay the tyrants in their sev- 
 eral territories, of which they now became almost the sover- 
 eign-j. The poorer landhoMers accordingly were forced to 
 bow their necks to the yoke ; and, either by compidsion or 
 through hope of being better protected, submitted their inde- 
 pendent patrimonies to the feudal tenure. 
 
 U uncertain whether he ought to be 
 council in the roynl lifit It in, niore- 
 OTpr. highly prrjhahle thnt RolnTt the 
 Brave wa« ili-noemlpil, e<iually through 
 males, from St. Arnoul, who ilicil in 040, 
 an<l cotiwiueiitly nearly ollicl to the 
 Ciirlovlnpan fkiiiily, who Jt-rire their 
 ["•■litrri* from the mime head. — Sec 
 I'nuveii (ie la Oenealixfie de Hughes Ca- 
 [x-t. in I'Art do verifier les Dates, torn. i. 
 p. W, 
 
 "(.Vote XII.] 
 
 At the cUxui of the ninth century there 
 were twenty-nine lien-<Jit/iry fiefs of tlie 
 rr»>wn. At the iwcenKioii of Hugh Cftjtet, 
 in '<)"'. tlir-y liad iiirreawtl to fiay-live. 
 (ifiii/>.t. CiTili* en France, L<c<;on '24.) 
 Tliierry iiinintnins tlmt those iM-twei-n 
 the Lrjire and the Pyrenees were strictly 
 
 independent and bound by no feudal tie. 
 (Lettre.i sur I'Hist. dc France, Lett, IX.) 
 - Capitularia, A. D. 805. Whoever pos- 
 sessed three niansi of alodial property 
 was called upon for personal scrvici', or 
 at least to furnish a substitute. Nindlus, 
 author of a poetical Life of Loui.s I., 
 seems to implicate Cliarlemaftne himself 
 in some of tlie oppri'ssidus of bis rcijrn. 
 It Wiis the first care of the furiiicT di n.'- 
 dress those who had been injun-d in U\n 
 fiither's time. — Uecueil des Uistoriens, 
 tome vi. N.Ii. I quote by this title the 
 great collection of French historians, 
 chart<'rs and other diH-umenls illnstni- 
 
 tive of the middli' ages, mori- ( inii'iily 
 
 known by the name of it" flr'^t idi'"r, 
 the Jk-nedictine Houijui't. Hut us mvihiI 
 learned men of tliat order were ^u«•l•»•
 
 32 THE SAEACENS. Chap. I. Part I. 
 
 But evils still more terrible than these political abuses 
 were the lot of those nations who had been subject to Charle- 
 magne. They, indeed, may appear to us little better than 
 ferocious barbarians ; but they were exposed to the assaults 
 of tribes, in comjiarison of whom they must be deemed humane 
 and polished. Each frontier of the empire had to dread the 
 attack of an enemy. The coasts of Italy were 
 
 The Saracens. ,. n, ^ i i_ i.i o i^ a j? • 
 
 continually alarmed by the oaracens or Africa, 
 who possessed themselves of Sicily and Sardinia, and became 
 masters of the Mediterranean Sea.-' Though the Greek 
 dominions in the south of Italy were chiefly exposed 
 to them, they twice insulted and ravaged the terri- 
 tory of Rome ; nor was there any security even in the neigh- 
 borhood of the maritime Alps, where, early in the tenth 
 century, they settled a piratical colony.^ 
 
 Much more formidable were the foes by whom Germany 
 The was assailed. The Sclavonians, a widely extended 
 
 Hungarians, people, wliose language is still spoken upon half 
 the surface of Europe, had occupied the countries of Bohemia, 
 Poland, and Pannonia,^ on the eastern confines of the empire, 
 and from the time of Charlemagne acknowledged its superi- 
 ority. But at the end of the ninth century, a Tartarian 
 tribe, the Hungarians, overspreading that country which 
 since has borne their name, and moving forward like a vast 
 wave, brought a dreadful reverse upon Germany. Their 
 numbers were great, their ferocity untamed. They fought 
 with light cavalry and light armor, trusting to their showers 
 of arrows, against which the swords and lances of the Euro- 
 pean armies could not avail. The memory of Attila was 
 renewed in the devastations of these savages, who, if they 
 were not his compati'iots, resembled them both in their coun- 
 
 sively concerned in this work, not one IMonaco, were extirpated by a count of 
 
 half of which has yet been published, it Provence in 972. But they had estab- 
 
 eeemed better to follow its own title-page, lished themselves more inland than Fras- 
 
 1 These African Sarai^ens belonged to sineto. Creeping up the line of the Alps, 
 
 the Aglabites, a dynasty that reigned at they took possession of St. Maurice, in 
 
 Tunis for the whole of the ninth century, the Valais, from which the feeble kings of 
 
 after throwing off the yoke of the Abbas- TransjuraneBurgundy could not dislodge 
 
 site Khalifs. They were overthrown them. 
 
 themselves in the next age by the Fati- 3 I am sensible of the awkward effect 
 
 mites. Sicily was first invaded in 827 : of introducing this name from a more 
 
 but the city of Syracuse was only re- ancient geography, but it saves a circum- 
 
 duced in 878. locution still more awkward. Austria 
 
 - Muratori, Annali d'ltalia, ad. ann. would convey an imperfect idea, and the 
 
 908, et alibi. These Sar.acens of Frassi- Austrian dominions could not be named 
 
 neto, supposed to be between Nice and without a tremendous anachronism.
 
 Fr-V.nce. Tire nUNGAKIANS. 33 
 
 tenance> and customs. All Italy, all Germany, and the south 
 of Franco felt this scourge;^ till Henry the (o,q. 
 Fowler, and Otho the Great, tU'ove them back by 
 successive victories within their o\vn limits, where, in a short 
 time, tliey learned peaceful arts, adopted the religion and 
 followed the policy of Christendom. 
 
 If any enemies could be more destructive than these Ilun- 
 garimis, they were the pirates of the north, known jij^ 
 commonly by the name of Normans. The love of Normans. 
 a predatory life seems to have attracted adventurers of 
 different nations to the Scandinavian seas, from whence they 
 infested, nut only l)y maritime piracy, but continual invasions, 
 the northern coasts both of France and Germany. The 
 causes of their sudden appeai-ance ai'e inexphcable, or at 
 least could only be sought in the ancient traditions of Scandi- 
 navia. For, undoubtedly, the coasts of France and England 
 were as little protected from depredations under the Mero- 
 vingian kings, and those of the Heptarchy, as in subsequent 
 times. Yet only one instance of an attack from this side is 
 recorded, and that before the middle of the sixth century,^ till 
 the age of Charlemagne. In 787 the Danes, as we call those 
 northern ]tlunderers, began to infest England, w-hich lay most 
 immediat<ly open to their mcursions. Soon afterwards they 
 rav:xge<l the coasts of France. Ciiarlemagne repulsed them 
 by means of his fleets ; yet they pillaged a few places during 
 his reign. It is said that, ])erceiving one day. from a port in 
 the ]Me<literranean, some Norman vessels, which had pene- 
 trated into that sea, he shed tears, in anticipation of the 
 miseries whicli awaited his empire.* In Louis's reign their 
 depredations upon the coast were more incessant,* but they 
 
 1 In 924 they overran Languedoc. 2 Oreg. Turon. 1. iii. c. 3. 
 Rayniond-Poiin, count of Toulouse, cut 3 in the ninth century the Norman 
 their army to pieces; but they hiiU pre- pirates not only ravaged the Balearic 
 viously committed such ravage!", that the isles, and nearer" coasts of tlie Mediterra- 
 hi-h'ips of that province. Hritiiig soon neiin. hut even Greece. — Dc Marea. Mar- 
 afterwards to I'ojM! .lohn X.. a.s.'^ert tliat ca Ilispanira, p. 32". 
 scarcely any eniini-ut eccUsdastles, out « Nigellus, tlie poetical biographer of 
 ,r , .r...r numlxT. were left alive.— Louis, gives the following description of 
 ! ingued'K-. tome li. p. fX). They the Normans : — 
 
 J I into liuienne, as late as 951. AW/ (|UO<|ue Francisco dicuntur no- 
 
 — fii/'Joardi t.'hronicon. in Kecuoil deg mine vitiniii. 
 
 HliU.ricns, t^)mc vlil. In Italy they In- Veloces, agiles. armigerique nirnl* ; 
 
 (pired iU'h terror tliat a miu<s waj com- Ipse >)uidem populug late peruotus ha- 
 
 \^j^A exprwisly depn-cating this calam- betur, 
 
 ity : Ab L'ng;ir<irnm no« defendos jaculis 1 Miitredapes fjunrit, incolitatiineinnro. 
 
 Ill 'J.T thi-y niv»gi-d the country as Cir I'ulcher adest Cwlc, vultuijuu statu. ju« 
 
 u UvneveiiUi and Capua. — .Murutori, decorus. — 1. iv. 
 Ann. d'ltaUa. 
 
 VOL. I. ;j
 
 34 THE NORMANS. Chap. I. Part I. 
 
 did not penetrate into the inland country till that of Charles 
 the Bald. The wars between that prince and his family, 
 which exhausted France of her noblest blood, the insubordi- 
 nation of the provincial governors, even the instigation of 
 some of Charles's enemies, laid all open to their inroads. 
 They adopted an uniform plan of warfare both in France and 
 England ; sailing up navigable rivers in their vessels of 
 small burden, and fortifying the islands which they occasion- 
 ally found, they made these intrenchments at once an asylum 
 for their women and children, a repository for their plunder, 
 and a place of retreat from superior force. After pillaging a 
 town they reth-ed to these sti'ongholds or to their ships ; and 
 it was not till 872 that they ventured to keep possession of 
 Angei's, which, however, they were compelled to evacuate. 
 Sixteen years afterwards they laid siege to Paris, and com- 
 mitted the most ruinous devastations on the neighboring 
 country. As these Normans were unchecked by religious 
 awe, the rich monasteries, which had stood harmless amidst 
 the havoc of Christian war, were overwhelmed in the storm. 
 Perhaps they may have endured some irrecoverable losses of 
 ancient learning ; but their complaints are of monuments 
 disfigui'ed, bones of saints and kings dispersed, treasures 
 carried away. St. Denis redeemed its abbot from captivity 
 with six hundred and eighty-five pounds of gold. All the 
 chief abbeys were stripped about the same time, either by the 
 enemy, or for contributions to the public necessity. So 
 impoverished was the kmgdom, that in 860 Charles the Bald 
 had great difficulty in collecting three thousand pounds of 
 silver to subsidize a body of Normans against their country- 
 men. The kings of France, too feeble to prevent or repel 
 these invaders, had recourse to the palliative of buying peace 
 at their hands, or rather precarious armistices, to which 
 reviving thirst of plunder soon put an end. At length 
 Charles the Simple, in 918, ceded a great province, which 
 they had already partly occupied, partly rendered desolate, 
 and which has derived from them the name of Normandy. 
 Ignominious as this appears, it proved no impolitic step. 
 Rollo, the Norman chief, with all his subjects, became 
 Christians and Frenchmen ; and the kingdom was at once 
 
 He goes on to tell us that they wor- of name, or of attributes, that deceived 
 shipped Neptune — Was it a similarity him?
 
 Fkaxoe. ACCESSIOX OF Tirr.H CAPET. .i.j 
 
 relifvoil from a torrihle enemy, and strengtheneil hv a raoe 
 of liardy coloni-Jts.^ 
 
 TIk' accession of llu;2;li Capet liad not the iinincdiate etfeet 
 of restorinjr the ro\-al authority over France. His . 
 
 ^ . •' , - Acepssion of 
 
 own very extensive net wa-s now, nideed, united to iiunii capot. 
 tlie cro«ni ; hut a few <rroat vassals occupied the ■^■''^'''" 
 remainder of the kiiiirddin. Six of these ohtaiued, at a sub- 
 sequent time, the exclusive appellation of peers of France. — 
 the count of Flanders, whose tief stretched from o. . c 
 
 I o I 1 1 1 • > / 1 state of 
 
 tlie bclieldt to the bomme ; the count ot Cham- France at 
 pagne ; the duke of Normandy, to whom Britany ^^"^ "^*- 
 <lid homage ; the duke of Burgundy, on whom the count of 
 Xivernois seems to have depended ; the duke of Aquitaiiic, 
 wliose territory, though less than the ancient kingdom of tliat 
 name, comprehended Poitou. Limousin, and most of Guienne, 
 with the feu<lal superiority over the Angoumois. and some 
 other central districts ; and lastly the count of Toulouse, who 
 possessed Languedoc, with the small countries of Quercy and 
 Rjuergue, and tlie superiority over Auvergne."^ Besides 
 these six, the duke of Gascony, not long afterwards united 
 with Aquitaine, the counts of Anjou, Pontliieu, and Yerman- 
 dois. the viscoimt of Bourges, the lords of Bour1)on and 
 Coucy. with (ineor two otlier vassals, h<'ld innnediutely of the 
 ia-t Carlo\ ingian kings.* This was the aristocracy, of which 
 Hugh Capet usurped the direction ; for the suffrage of no 
 general a--emlily gave a sanction to his title. On tlie death 
 of Louis V. he took advant^ige of the al)sence of Ciiarles. duke 
 of Lorraine, who, as the deceased king's uncle, was nearest 
 heir, and procured his own consecration at llheims. At first 
 he was by no moans acknowledged in the kingdom ; hut his 
 contest witii Charles proving successful, tlie chief vassals 
 ultimately gave at least a tacit consent to the usurpation, and 
 permitted the royal name to descend undisputed upon his 
 posterity.* But tiiis was almost the sole attribute of sover- 
 
 > An exroodinKly gooft fketoh of thew then (jot possession of it; Jmt early in 
 
 Nomian iiirur^i'>ni. an.! of tin- pulitical the twclfUi century tlie o.innt'< iii'Aii- 
 
 eituution of France itiirini; tlint period, verKnc apiin diii lioniavre to (luienne. It 
 
 iniiy »)e found in two MenioirH by M. in very ilinicult to follow the liintory of 
 
 Ilonnmy. M''in. de l'Acn<l. d».« Inscript. these flef't. 
 
 ti'iiie< XV. and xvil. Theoe I hnvechlctiy 8 'n,,, iniinrrliaei/ of vassnln in tinien so 
 
 f".;'nied in the text. (NoTR XIII.] ancient is open to ninrdi contrnversy. I 
 
 - Auvi-rirneciianifr-d its fi'udiil superior liave followed the iiiitliority of tlin.ie in- 
 
 twice. It had 1i<-<mi siilijeet to the duke ilustriou.s llenediclines, tlie editors of 
 
 of A'luitalne till ahout tlie niidille of the I/Art de verifier les I).it4'S. 
 
 tenth i-entury. The countit of Toulouse * The south of Franco not only toolc
 
 36 STATE OF FRANCE AT THAT TDIE. Chap. I. Part I. 
 
 eignty which the first kings of the third dynasty enjoyed. 
 For a long period before and after the accession of that family 
 France has, properly speaking, no national history. The 
 character or fortune of those who were called its kings were 
 httle more important to the majority of the nation than those 
 of foreign princes. Undoubtedly, the degree of influence 
 Robert. whicli they exercised with respect to the vassals 
 
 A.D. 996. of the crown varied accoi'ding to their power and 
 their proximity. Over Guienne and Toulouse the first four 
 Capets had very little authority ; nor do they seem to have 
 Henry I. ever received assistance from them either in civil 
 Philip^i^' ^^ national wars.^ With provinces nearer to their 
 A.D. 1060. own domains, such as Normandy and Flanders, 
 they were frequently engaged in alliance or hostility ; but 
 each seemed rather to proceed from the policy of independent 
 states than from the relation of a sovereign towards his 
 subjects.^ 
 
 It should be remembered that, when the fiefs of Paris and 
 Orleans are said to have been reunited by Hugh Capet to 
 the crown, little more is understood than the feudal superi- 
 ority over the vassals of these provinces. As the kingdom 
 of Charlemagne's posterity was split into a number of great 
 fiefs, so each of these contained many barons, possessing 
 
 no part in Hugh's elevation, but long of Gulielmus Pictaviensis be considered 
 
 refused to pay him any obedience, or as matter of fact, and not rather as a 
 
 rather to acknowledge his title, for obe- rhetorical flourish. He tells us that a 
 
 dience was wholly out of the question, vast army was collected by Henry I. 
 
 The style of charters ran, instead of the against tlie duke of Normandy : JJur- 
 
 king's name, Deo regnatite, rege ezpec- gundium, Arverniam, atque Vasconiam 
 
 taiite. or abseyite rege terreiio. He forced properare videres horribiles ferro ; immo 
 
 Guienne to submit about 990. But in vires tanti regni quantum in climata 
 
 Limousin they continued to acknowledge quatuor niuudi patent cunctas. — Recueil 
 
 the sons of Charles of Lorraine till 1009. des Historiens, t. si. p. 83. But we have 
 
 — Vaissette, Hist, de Lang. t. ii. p. 120, the roll of the army which Louis VI. led 
 
 1.50. Before this Toulouse had refused against the emperor Henry V., a. D. 1120, 
 
 to recognize Eudes and Raoul, two kings in a national war: and it was entirely 
 
 of France who were not of the Carlovin- composed of troops from Champagne, the 
 
 gian famUy, and even hesitated about Isle of France, the Orleannois, and otlier 
 
 Louis IV. and Lothaire, who had an provinces north of the Loire. — Velly, 
 
 hereditary right. — Ii/ejn. t. iii. p. 62. Yet this was a sort of con- 
 
 These proofs of Hugh Capet's usurpa- vocation of the ban ; Rex ut eum tota 
 tion seem not to be materially invaUdated Francia sequatur, invitat. Even so late 
 by a dissertation in the 50th volume of as the reign of Philip Augustus, in a 
 the Academy of Inscriptions, p. 553. It list of the knights bannerets of France, 
 is not of course to be denied that the though those of Britany, Flanders. Cham- 
 northern parts of France acquiesced in pagne, and Burgundy, besides the royal 
 his assumption of the royal title, if they domains, are enumerated, no mention is 
 did not give an express consent to it. made of the provinces beyond the Loire. 
 
 1 I have not found ,any authority for — Du Chesne, Script. Rerum Gallicarum, 
 
 supposing that the provinces south of the t. v. p. 262. 
 
 Loire contributed their assistance to the - [Note XIV.] 
 king in war, unless the following passage
 
 Fk-vxce. LOUIS VI. 37 
 
 exclusive immunities within their own territories, Avaginj; 
 war at their pleasure, administerhiii Justiee to tlieir inililary 
 tenants and other subjects, and tree i'rum all control beyond 
 the conditions of the feudal compact.^ At the Louis vi. 
 accession of Louis VI. in 1108, the cities of Paris, a"- "OS. 
 Orleans, and liourjres, with the immediately adjacent districts, 
 turmed the mo.-t considerable portion of the royal domain. A 
 number of petty bm'ous, with their fortified castles, inter- 
 cepted the communication between these, and waged war 
 against the king almost under the walls of his capital. It cost 
 Louis a great deal of trouble to reduce the lords of ]Montlhery, 
 and other places within a few miles of Paris. LTnder this 
 prince, however, who had more activity than his predecessors, 
 the royal authority considerably revived. From his reign 
 we may date the systematic rivalry of the French and 
 English monarchies. IIo>tilities had several times occurred 
 between Philip L and the two Williams ; but the wars that 
 beg-an under Louis VI. lasted, with no long interruption, for 
 tin-ee ctMituries and a half, and form, inth'ed. the most leading 
 feature of French history during the middle ages.- Of all 
 the royal vassals, the dukes of Normandy were the proudest 
 and most powerful. Tiiough they had submitted to do 
 homage, they could not forget that they came in originally by 
 force, and that in real strengtii they were fully equal to their 
 sovereign. N(jr had the conquest of England any tendency to 
 diminish their pretensions.* 
 
 L(iiii~ VII. a^eended the throne with better prospects than 
 
 t In .1 fub^oqiient cliaptor I shall illus- be undcrstooU of course that these Ji- 
 
 trate at iiiuc-h i^rc'iitiT k'n;jth the circum- Tisions are not rij;orousIy exact; ami 
 
 Ftince;! of the French monarchy with also that, in every instance, owners ot 
 
 ri-'iKct to its feii^Lil vassals. It would be fiefs with civil and criminal jurisdiction 
 
 iiicMnvenient to anticipate the subject at had the full possession of their own terri- 
 
 pr.viit, which is rather of a legal than torie.s, suliject more or less to their im- 
 
 ii.irritive character. mediate lord, whether it were the kin;.' or 
 
 t^b-nionili has (riten » relaflvo scale of another. The real domain of Louis VI. 
 
 the t?ri-.it fle&. accordini? Ut the numlK>r was almost confined to the live towns — 
 
 of modern departments whii-h they con- Paris, Orleans, E.stampes, .Melun, and 
 
 t.-iin>-d. At the accession of lyouis VI. the ('ompi<'Hne (id. p. 8lj); and to estates. 
 
 crown pos-ess,.il abiMit five departments; probably larp", in their neighborhood, 
 
 the count of Klaii lers held four: the - Vc-Uy, t. iii. ]>. 111. 
 
 cunt of Vermaiiil'iis, two ; the count of ^ The Norman historians maintain that 
 
 r. ii-/no. one: thecount of Champagne, their dukes did not owe any service to 
 
 si\; the duke of liurKundy, three; of the kini; of France, hut only simple liom- 
 
 N'.nnandy, five; of Uritany. five; the a(,'e, or, as it was called, jier paracinm. 
 
 c<.ii!it of Anjoii. thn-e. Thirty-three de- — lU«;ueil de» llistorii-ns, t. .\i. iutI'. p- 
 
 , . ..f the I/,ire he considers Ml. They certiiinly acted upi>n this 
 
 '■•d with the crown ; and priTiclpli- ; and the manner in which tliey 
 
 l«.i,t> -.1.- at that time dei>endent first came into the country is i.-i very 
 
 on tla- cDJpire. (Vol, r. p. 7.) It Is to cuusUteut with dependence.
 
 38 PHILIP AUGUSTUS. Chap. I. Part I. 
 
 Louis VII. liis father. He had married Eleanor, heiress of 
 A.D. 1137. ([^Q great duchy of Guieniie. But this union, 
 which promised an immense accession of strength to the 
 crown, was rendered unhappy by the levities of that princess. 
 Repudiated by Louis, who felt rather as a husband than a 
 king, Eleanor immediately married Henry II. of England, 
 who, already inheriting Normandy from his mother and 
 Anjou from his father, became possessed of more than one 
 half of France, and an overmatch for Louis, even if the great 
 vassals of the crown had been always ready to maintain its 
 supremacy. One might venture, perhaps, to conjecture that 
 the sceptre of France would eventually have passed from the 
 Capets to the Plantagenets, if the vexatious quarrel with 
 Becket at one time, and the successive rebellions fomented by 
 Louis at a later period, had not embarrassed the great talents 
 and ambitious spirit of Henry. 
 
 But the scene quite changed when Philip Augustus, son of 
 Philip Louis VII., came upon the stage. No prince com- 
 
 Augustus, parable to him in systematic ambition and military 
 enterprise had reigned in France since Chaide- 
 magne. From his reign the French monarchy dates the recov- 
 ery of its lustre. He wrested from the count of Flanders the 
 Vermandois (that part of Picardy which borders on the Isle 
 of France and Champagne ^), and subsequently, the county of 
 Artois. But the most important conquests of Philip were 
 obtained against the kings of England. Even Richard L, with 
 all his prowess, lost ground in struggling against an adver- 
 Conquest of ^^^'J ^'^^ ^^^^ active, and more politic, than himself. 
 Normaufiy, But whcu Jolui uot Only took possession of his 
 brother's dominions, but confirmed his usurpation 
 by the murder, as was very probably surmised, of the heir, 
 Philip, artfully taking advantage of the general indignation, 
 summoned him as his vassal to the court of his peers. John 
 demanded a safe-conduct. Willingl}'^, said Philip ; let him 
 come unmolested. And return ? inquired the English envoy. 
 If the judgment of his peers permit him, replied the king. 
 By all the saints of France, he exclaimed, when further 
 pressed, he shall not return unless acquitted. The bishop 
 
 1 Tlie original counts of Vermandois the earl of Flanders, after her death in 
 
 were descended from Bernard, king of 1183. The principal towns of the Ver- 
 
 Italy, grandson of Charlemagne : but maudois are St. Queutin and I'oroune. — 
 
 their fief passed by the donation of Isa- Art de verifier les Dates, t. ii. p. 700. 
 bel, the last countess, to her husband,
 
 Fraxce. LOUIS VIII. i)".! 
 
 of Ely still remonstrated that the duke of Normandy could 
 not come without the kinjr of Enjrland ; nor would the harons 
 of that euuniry permit tlieir sovereign to run the ri.-k of tlcaih 
 or imprisonment. What of that, my lord bishop ? cried 
 Philip. It is well known that my vassal the duke of Xor- 
 manily aeiiuired England by tbrce. But if a subject obtains 
 any accession of dignity, shall his ptu'amount lord therefore 
 lose his rights ? * 
 
 It may be doubted whether, in thus citing John Itefore his 
 court, the king of France did not stretch his lludal sovereign- 
 ty beyond its acknowledged limits. Arthur was certainly no 
 immediate vassal of the crown for Britaiiy : and, though he 
 had done homage to Philip for Anjou and Maine, yet a sub- 
 sequent treaty had abrogated his investiture, and confirmed 
 his uncle in the i>ossession of those provinces."'^ But the 
 vigor of Philip, and the meanness of his adversary, cast a 
 shade over all that might be novel or irregular in these pro- 
 ceedings. John, not apjjcaring at his summons, was declared 
 guilty of felony, and his fiefs confiscated. The ex(>cution of 
 this sentence was not intrusted to a dilatory arm. Philip 
 l^oured his troops into Normandy, and took town after town, 
 while the king of England, infatuated by his ow^n wickedness 
 and cowardice, made hardly an attempt at defence. In two 
 years Normandy, Elaine, and Anjou were irrecoverably lost. 
 Poitou and Guienne resisted longer ; but the con- Louis vin. 
 quest of the first was completed by Louis VIII., ^-^^ ^^^ 
 successor of IMiilij), and the subjection of the second seemed 
 drawing near, when the ai-ms of Louis were diverted to dif- 
 ferent but xarcidy less advantageous objects. 
 
 The country of Languedoc, subject to the counts of Tou- 
 louse, had been unconnected, beyond any other part Affairs of 
 of Fiance, with the kings of the house of Capet. ^^e»^'<^<^- 
 Louis \'II., iiaving married his sister to the reigning count, 
 and travelled hinis(df through the country, began to exercise 
 some degree of authority, chiefly in confirming the rights of 
 eccle.-ia-tieal bodies, who were vain, perhaps, of this addition- 
 al sanction to the privileges which they already jiosso-ed." 
 
 1 M.it. i'.in-. I' 'i'^*, cillt. Iflflt. trace of any act of Rovcrci^rutv cxiTt'lsoJ 
 
 2 Till- iUi-tf'ility of riiilip'n pro<-<H>illnKii by the kiiiif.i of Franco in 'ljin;{iic<loc 
 
 i» »•■' ■■" I ''.V Mtilily, ObwrvutiouB from it.Vi. when Kolliairx I'onflrnipil a 
 
 • ur ' I" Kriinoi'. 1. iii. r. tl. rlmrk-r of liiH i.n-deccs.'ior Haoiil in favor 
 
 ■' ^ : '" Hip licueUictino hU- of the; liinlmii of I'liv, till llir rt'lKll of 
 
 toriaiu, Viob and Vaiuott«, tbero U) no LouU VII. (illDt. di- LunKUudoc, tome 111.
 
 40 AFFAIRS OF LAXGUEDOC. Chap. I. Part I. 
 
 But the remoteness of their situation, with a difference in 
 language and legal usages, still kept the people of this prov- 
 ince apart from those of the north of France. 
 
 About the middle of the twelfth century, certain religious 
 opinions, which it is not easy, nor, for our present purpose, 
 material to define, but, upon eveiy supposition, exceedingly 
 adverse to those of the church,^ began to spread over Langue- 
 doc. Those who imbibed them have borne the name of 
 Albigeois, though they were in no degree peculiar to the 
 district of Albi. In despite of much preaching and some 
 persecution, these errors made a continual pi'ogress ; till In- 
 nocent III., in 1198, despatched commissaries, the seed of the 
 inquisition, with ample powers both to investigate and to 
 chastise. Raymond VI., count of Toulouse, whether in- 
 chned towards the innovators, as was then the theme of 
 reproach, or, as is more probable, disgusted with the insolent 
 interference of the pope and his missionaries, provoked them 
 to pronounce a sentence of excommunication against him. 
 
 ,„.„ Though this was taken off, he was still suspected ; 
 A.D. 1208. , ° , . . ' ,. ,, , . ^. . 
 
 and upon the assassmation ot one ot the inquisitoi's, 
 
 in which Raymond had no concern. Innocent published a cru- 
 sade both against the count and his subjects, calling upon the 
 king of France, and the nobility of that kingdom, to take up 
 the cross, with all the indulgences usually held out as allure- 
 ments to religious warfai'e. Though Philip would not inter- 
 fere, a .prodigious number of knights undertook this enterprise, 
 led partly by ecclesiastics, and partly by some of the first 
 barons in France. It was prosecuted with every atrocious 
 barbarity which superstition, the mother of crimes, could in- 
 spire. Languedoc, a country, for that age, flourishing and 
 civilized, was laid waste by these desolators ; lier cities 
 burned ; her inhabitants swept away by fire and the sword. 
 And this was to punish a fanaticism ten thousand times more 
 innocent than their own, and errors which, according to the 
 
 p. 88.) They have published, however, scribing witness to the charters of the 
 
 an instrument of Louis VI. in favor of first Capetian kings in the Recueil des 
 
 the same church, confirming those of Historiens, where many are published, 
 
 former princes. (Appendix, p. 473.) though that of the duke of Guienne 
 
 Neither the counts of Toulouse, nor any sometimes occurs. 
 
 lord of the province, were present in a i For the real tenets of the Langue- 
 very numerous national as.sembly, at the docian sectaries I refer to the last chap- 
 coronation of Philip I. (Id. p. 200.) I ter of the present work, where the subject 
 do not recollect to have ever met with the will be taken up again. 
 name of the count of Toulouse as a sub-
 
 Fr.\.\ce. the ALBIGEOIS. -11 
 
 worst inii)Utation«i, left the laws of humanity aiul the peace 
 of social life unimpaired.^ 
 
 The i-rusaders were commanded by Simon de Montfort, a 
 man, like Cromwell, whose intrepidity, hypocrisy, f.r„s„jp 
 and ambition, marked him for the hero of a holy i>g»i>i<t the 
 wiu". The enerLry of such a mind, at the head of * '°'^""' 
 an army of enthusiastic warriors, may well account for suc- 
 cesses which then appeared miraculous. But Montfort was 
 cut otl' before he could realize his ultimate object, an inde- 
 pendent principality ; and Kaymond was able to bei[uealhe the 
 inheritiuice of his ancestors to his son. Rome, however, was 
 not yet appeased ; upon some new pretence she ^^^ 
 raised up a still more formidable enemy against the 
 younger Raymond. Louis VIII. suffered himself to be di- 
 verted from the conquest of Guienne, to take the cross 
 against the su[>])osed patron of heresy. After a short and 
 successful war, Louis, dying prematurely, left the crown of 
 France to a son only twelve years old. But the count of 
 Toulouse was still pursued, till, hopeless of safety in so un- 
 equal a struggle, he concluded a treaty upon very j.„„ 
 hard terms. By this he ceded the greatel* part of ' ' "" ' 
 Languedoc ; and, giving his daughter in marriage to Al])lion- 
 so, l)rother of Louis IX., confirmed to tlu-m, and to the king 
 in failure of their descendants, the reversion of the rest, 
 in exclusion of any other children Avliom he might have. 
 Tims fell the ancient house of Toulouse, through one of those 
 strange conil)iuations of fortune, which thwart the natural 
 course of human prosperity, and disappoint the plans of wise 
 policy and beneficent government.'^ 
 
 I ThP Alhisfen«mn war cfimmcnopil with Vclly, Hist, do France, t. iii., ha.s abridged 
 
 the Ht'iriniiik' f>( He/.i.-rs. and a ma.sgncre tliis work. 
 
 when-ill l.').'""! i"''""""- c". «<''''''rili"g to .M. Fiiuriel edited for the Collection 
 
 some narmtii>u/(, t',ii.(K*i. were put to the des DoeumenB Inedits. in 1S37, a metrical 
 
 Bword. Not n livinx houI oxoaped, as hi.story of the Alliigensiiiii crusade, by n 
 
 witneliM;" aMiiire us. It vias here tiiiit a cnntcni]ior!iry ciilHnd liimself Williiim of 
 
 Ci]it«rtian monk, who led on the crusa- Tudela, which 8eeni8 to ln' an innijrinary 
 
 dent, answered the iM'(niry. how the name. It contJiins y.">7H verses. Tha 
 
 Catholics were to \>c iliHtint.'uit.hed from author beifins as a vehi'nieiit enemy of 
 
 heretics: Kill llirvt all ! (iuil will know the heretics and favorer of the crusade ; 
 
 Am own. ll<-*id<w Vaissetti*. wc Sii<nioDdl, but becomes, before his |iiM'ni is half com- 
 
 Litt«mture du .Midi. t. i. p. 21)1. pleted. enually adverse to Mnntfort. Kol- 
 
 ' The Uiit account of tliis rrusade 'juet, and the other chiefs of the |«tsi-cu- 
 
 ntpilnut the Aiblifi-ois \» to be founil in tion. tliou){h never adopting heretical 
 
 the third volnmo of Vnissett^'s History opinions. 
 
 of I>ani;ue<lor : the liene<lictino spirit of Si-inmndl siiyn — bitterly, biit not un- 
 
 nilldn<->« unci veracity tolerably count<T- truly — of Simon do Montfort: — "' II«- 
 
 baiancini; the pnjudices of orth>xloxy. bile gucrrier, ausluru dans «M ujcuun,
 
 42 LOUIS IX. Chap. I. Part. I. 
 
 The rapid progress of royal power under Philip Augustus 
 Louis IX. and his son had scarcely given the great vassals 
 A.D. 1226. ^jj^g ^Q reflect upon the change which it produced 
 in their situation. The crown, with which some might singly 
 have measured their forces, was now an equipoise to their 
 united weight. And such an union was hard to be accom- 
 plished among men not always very sagacious in policy, and 
 divided by separate interests and animosities. They were 
 not, however, insensible to the crisis of their feudal liberties ; 
 and the minority of Louis IX., guided only by his mother, 
 the regent, Blanche of Castile, seemed to offer a" favorable 
 opportunity for recovering their former situation. Some of 
 the most considerable barons, the counts of Britany, Cham- 
 pagne, and la JNIarche, had, during the time of Louis VIII., 
 shown an unwillingness to push the count of Toulouse too far, 
 if they did not even keep up a secret understanding with 
 him. They now broke out into open rebellion ; but the ad- 
 dress of Blanche detached some from the league, and her 
 firmness subdued the rest. For the first fifteen years of 
 Louis's reign, the struggle Avas frequently renewed ; till re- 
 peated humiliations convinced the refractory that the throne 
 was no longer to be shaken. A prince so feeble as Henry 
 III. was unable to afford them that aid from England, which, 
 if his grandfather or son had then reigned, might probably 
 have lengthened these civil wars. 
 
 But Louis IX. had methods of preserving his ascendency 
 His charac- '^^ry different from military prowess. That excel- 
 ter. Its ex- lent princc was perhaps the most eminent pattern 
 ce ences, ^£ unswerving probity and Christian strictness of 
 conscience that ever held the sceptre in any country. There 
 is a peculiar beauty in the reign of St. Louis, because it shows 
 the inestimable benefit which a virtuous king may confer on 
 his people, without possessing any distinguished genius. For 
 nearly half a century that he governed France there is not 
 the smallest want of moderation or disinterestedness in his 
 actions ; and yet he raised tlie influence of the monarchy to 
 a much higher point than the most ambitious of his predeces- 
 
 fanatique dans sa religion, inflexible, exasperated tliat irritable body and ag- 
 
 cruel, et perfide, il reuuissait toutes los Rravated tlieir revenge. (Miclielet, jii. 
 
 qualites qui pouvaient plaire i un 306.) But the atrocities of tliat war have 
 
 moine." (Vol. vi. p. 297.) The Albi- liardly been equalled, and Sismondi was 
 
 gensian sectaries had insulted the clergy not the man to conceal them, 
 and hissed St. Bernard; which, of course,
 
 Fr.\xce. his ciiakacter. 43 
 
 sois. To the surprise of his own and later times, he restored 
 •zreat i):irt of liis conquests to Ilenrv III., whom ,.,.,, 
 
 he might naturally hope to liave expelled irom 
 Fnuiee. It would indeed have been a tedious work to oon- 
 ([Uer Guienne, which was full of strong places ; and tlie sub- 
 jugation of such a province might have alarmed the other 
 va>sals of his crown. lUit it is the privilege only of virtuous 
 minds to perceive that wisdom resides in moderate counsels : 
 no sagacity ever taught a selHsh and aniljitious sovereign fo 
 tbrego the sweetness of immediate power. An ordinary 
 kuig, in the circumstances of the French monarchy, would 
 have fomented, or, at least, have rejoiced in, the dissensions 
 which broke out among the principal vassals ; Louis con- 
 stantly employed himself to reconcile them. In this, too, his 
 benevolence had all the effects of far-sighted policy. It had 
 been the ))ractice of his three last predecessors to interpose 
 their metliatiun in behalf of the less powerful classes, the 
 clergy, the inferior nobility, and the uihabitants of chartered 
 towns. Thus the supremacy of the crown became a familiar 
 idea; but the jjerfect integrity of St. Louis wore away all 
 distrust, and accustomed even the most jealous feudataries to 
 look upon him as their judge and legislator. And as the 
 royal authority was hitherto siiown only in its most amiable 
 prerogatives, the dis[)ensation of fa\or, and the redress of 
 wrong, few were watchful enough to remark the transition of 
 til*' French constitution from a feudal league to an absolute 
 monarchy. 
 
 It was perhaps fortunate for the display of St. Louis's vir- 
 tue- that the throne had already been strengthened by the 
 less innocent exertions of Philip Augustus and Louis VIII. 
 A <-entury earhcr his mild and scrupulous character, unsus- 
 tained by great actual power, might not have inspired sulli- 
 cient awe. But the crown was now grown so formi(lal)Ii', 
 ami Louis was so eminent foi- his firmness and bravery, 
 qualities without which every other virtue would have been 
 iii«lffciii;il. tliat no one thought it safe to run wanloniy iiilo 
 reljellion, wliih; his disinterested aihninistration gave no one a 
 pretext for it. Hence the latter part of his reign was alto- 
 gether tran(|uil, and employed in watching over the pultlic 
 pi-ace an<l the security of travellers ; adminisleriMg jii-liee 
 pt-r^onally, or by the be>I counsellors; ami coiiipiling that 
 code of feudal customs called the Establishniiiil> nl' Si. Louis,
 
 44 CHARACTER OF LOUIS IX. Chap. I. Part I. 
 
 which is the first monument of learislation after the accession 
 of the house of Capet. Not satisfied with the justice of his 
 own conduct, Louis aimed at that act of virtue whicli is rarely 
 practised by pi-ivate men, and liad perliaps no example among 
 kings — restitution. Commissaries were appointed to inquire 
 what possessions had been unjustly annexed to the royal do- 
 main during the last two reims. These were restored to the 
 proprietors, or, where length of time had made it difficult to 
 ascertain the claimant, their value was distributed among 
 the poor.^ 
 
 It has been hinted already that all this excellence of heart 
 ^ , , ^ m Louis IX. was not attended with that strength 
 of understanding, which is necessary, we must al- 
 low, to complete the usefulness of a sovereign. During his 
 minority Blanche of Castile, his mother, had filled the office 
 of Regent with great courage and firmness. But after he 
 grew up to manhood, her influence seems to have passed the 
 limit which gratitude and piety would have assigned to it ; 
 and, as her temper was not very meek or popular, exposed 
 the king to some degree of contempt. He submitted even to 
 be restrained from the society of his wife Margaret, daugh- 
 ter of Raymond count of Provence, a princess of great vir- 
 tue and conjugal atfection. Joinville relates a curious story, 
 characteristic of Blanche's arbitrary conduct, and sufficiently 
 derogatory to Louis.^ 
 
 But the principal weakness of tliis king, which almost ef- 
 faced all the good effi^cts of his virtues, was superstition. It 
 would be idle to sneer at those habits of abstemiousness and 
 mortification which were part of the religion of his age, and, 
 at the worst, were only injurious to his own comfort. But he 
 had other prejudices, which, though they may be forgiven, 
 must never be defended. No man was ever more impressed 
 than St. Louis with a belief in the duty of exterminating 
 all enemies to his own faith. With these he thought no lay- 
 man ought to risk himself in the perilous ways of reason- 
 ing, but to make answer with his sword as stoutly as a strong 
 arm and a fiery zeal could carry that argument.^ Though, 
 
 1 Velly, torn. V. p. 150. This historian not to rely. — Collection cles M6moires 
 
 has very properly dwelt for almost a vol- relatifs k THistoire de France, torn. ii. pp. 
 
 ume on St. Louis's internal administra- 140-156. 
 
 tion; it is one of the most valuable parts 3 Collection Jes Memolres, tom. ii. 
 
 of his work. Joinville is a real witness, p. 241. 
 
 on whom, when we listen, it is Impossible 3 Aussi vous dis-je, me dist le roy, que
 
 Fr.\nce. the ckusades. 45 
 
 fortunately for his fame, the persecution against the Albigeois, 
 which hail been the disgrace of his lather's short reign, was 
 at an end before he reached manhood, he sutfered an hypo- 
 critical monk to establish a tribunal at Paris for the suppres- 
 sion of heresy, where many innocent persons surtV-n-d di'alh. 
 
 But no events in Louis's life were more menioral)le than 
 his two crusades, which lead us to look back on the nature 
 and circumstances of that most singular phenomenon in Eu- 
 ropean history. Though the crusades involved all the west- 
 ern nations of E^urope, without belonging particularly to any 
 one, yet, as Fi'ance was more distinguished than the i-est iu 
 most of those enterprises, I shall introduce the subject as a 
 sort of disgression from the main course of French history. • 
 
 Even before the violation of Palestine by the Saracen arms 
 it had been a prevailing custom among the Chris- The 
 tians of Europe to visit those scenes rendered in- ^'"^^'i'^^* 
 teresting by religion, partly through delight iu the effects of 
 local association, j)artly in obedience to the prejudices or com- 
 mands of superstition. Tliese pilgrimages became more fre- 
 quent in later times, in spite, perhaps in consequence, of the 
 danger and hardships which attended them. For a while the 
 Moliammi-dan possessors of Jerusalem permitted, or even en- 
 couraged, a devotion which they found lucrative ; but this was 
 interrujited whenever the ferocious insolence with which they 
 regarded all intiilels got the better of their rapacity. During 
 the eleventh century, when, from increasing superstition and 
 some particular fancies, the pilgrims were more numerous 
 than ever, a change took place in the government of Pales- 
 tine, which was overrun l)y the Turkish hordes from the 
 North. The.-e barbarians treated the visitors of Jeru.-alem 
 with still greater contumely, mingling with their INIohamme- 
 diui \)\<nArv, a consciousness of strength and couratr<', aixl a 
 Bcorn of the Ciiristians, whom they knew only by the debased 
 natives of Greece and Syria, or by these humble and defence- 
 less palmers. When such insults became known tiiroughout 
 
 mil. fl n'lft gmnt clero, et theologlen dcprcp of hi);otry, iliil not, ri'fiuirt' to K' 
 
 p.-irfnii. iM- <loit laiputi-r nux Juife : miiiH stmincil fiirthcrstill !>>• Moshi'iiii, vol. iil. 
 
 dolt riiouiiiD- lay, ijuant II oit DiesJin* de p. 273 (edit. 18(i3). 1 nmy otmurTf, by 
 
 Ia f"v eiirV-fi'-iiiK'. dffendre la choHi-. uon tho wiiy, that this writer, who wen iiotli- 
 
 pa- .t d<-x piirolefi, miiU ik bonne inpc in Louits IX. exeept his Intoleriinee, 
 
 e-, int. el en frapper le» ni6di- ou^'ht not to Imve rh:irpeil him with Id- 
 
 »aii» • • 1.1' -[•■•iiuH a traveni le corpn tiint cuirii.' an edirt in favor of the inc|iii''itlon 
 
 quelle y jKiurni entrer. — Joinville, in In irj'.t. when he had not iin.«nuied the 
 
 <'olliM;tlon du« Mcmoireti, torn. i. p. 23. government. 
 TUix poaMge, which nhowii a tolerable
 
 46 THE CRUSADES. Chap. I. Pakt I. 
 
 Europe, they excited a keen sensation of resentment among 
 nations equally courageous and devout, which, though wanting 
 as yet any definite means of satisfying itself, was ripe for 
 Avhatever favqrable conjuncture might arise. 
 — Twenty years before the first crusade Gregory VII. had 
 projected the scheme of embodying Europe in arms against 
 Asia — a scheme worthy of his daring mind, and which, 
 perhaps, was never forgotten by Urban II., who in every- 
 thing loved to imitate his great predecessor.^ This design of 
 Gregory was founded upon the supplication of the Greek em- 
 peror Michael, which was renewed by Alexius Comnenus to 
 Urban with increased importunity. The Turks had now taken 
 Nice, and threatened, from the opposite shore, the very walls 
 of Constantinople. Every one knows whose hand held the 
 toi'ch to that inflammable mass of enthusiasm that pervaded 
 
 -Europe ; the hermit of Picardy, who, roused by witnessed 
 wrongs and imagined visions, journeyed from land to land, 
 the apostle of an holy war. The preaching of Pe- 
 ter was powerfully seconded by Urban. In the 
 councils of Piacenza and of Clermont the deliverance of Jeru- 
 salem was eloquently recommended and exultingly undertaken. 
 " It is the will of God ! " was the tumultuous cry that broke 
 from the heart and lips of the assembly at Clermont ; and 
 these words afford at once the most obvious and most certain 
 explanation of the leading principle of the crusades. Later 
 
 'writers, incapable of sympathizing with the blind fervor of 
 zeal, or anxious to find a pretext for its effect somewhat more 
 congenial to the spirit of our times, have sought political rea- 
 sons for that which resulted only from predominant affections. 
 No suggestion of these will, I believe, be found in contempo- 
 rary historians. To rescue the Greek empire from its immi- 
 
 -nent peril, and thus to secure Christendom from enemies who 
 professed towards it eternal hostility, might have been a legiti- 
 mate and magnanimous ground of interference ; but it oper- 
 ated scarcely, or not at all, upon those who took the cross. It 
 argues, indeed, strange ignorance of the eleventh century to 
 ascribe such refinements of later times even to the princes of 
 that age. The Turks were no doubt repelled from the neigh- 
 
 1 Gregory addressed, in 1074, a sort of walls of Constantinople. No mention of 
 
 encyclic letter to all who would defend Palestine is made in this letter. Labb6, 
 
 the Christian faith, enforcing upon them Concilia, t. x. p. 44. St. Marc. Abreg6 
 
 the duty of taking up arms against the Chron. de mist, de I'ltalie, t. iii. p. 614. 
 Saracens, who had almost come up to the
 
 FK.4XCE. THE CRUSADES. 47 
 
 borhood of Constantino[)le by the crujiatlers ; hut this was a 
 cullatL-ral ctTt'Ct of their enterprise. Nor had they any dispo- 
 sition to serve the interest of tlie Greeks, whom they soon 
 came to hate, and not entirely without i)rovocation, with al- 
 most as mueh animosity as the Moslems themselves. 
 
 Every means was used to excite an ei>idemical frenzy : the 
 remission of penance, the dispensation from those practices 
 of self-denial which superstition imposed or suspended at 
 pleasure, the ahsolution of all sins, and the assurance of 
 eternal felicity. None doultted that such as perished in the 
 war received immediately the reward of martyrdom.^ False 
 miracles ami fanatical prophecies, which were never so fre- 
 quent, wrought up the enthusiasm to a still higher pitt-h. 
 And these devotional feelings, which are usually thwarted 
 and balanced by other passions, fell in with every motive that 
 could influence the men of that time; with curiosity, restless- 
 ness, the love of license, thirst for war, emulation, ambition. 
 Of the princes who assumed the cross, some probably from 
 the beginning speculated upon forming independent establish- 
 ments in the East. In later periods the temporal benefits of 
 undertaking a crusade undoubtedly blended themselves with 
 less selfish considerations. ]\Ien resorted to Palestine, as in 
 modern times they have done to the colonies, in order to 
 redeem their fame, or repair their fortune. Thus Gui de 
 Lusignan, after flying from France, for murder, was ulti- 
 matelv raised to the throne of Jerusalem. To the more vul- 
 gar class were held out inducements which, though ab>orl)ed 
 in the overruling tjmaticism of the first crusade, might be 
 exceedinglv eilicacious when it began rather to flag. During 
 the time that a crusader bore the cross he was free from suit 
 for his del)ts. and the interest of them was entirely abolished ; 
 he was exempted, in some instances at least, from taxes, and 
 placed under the protection of the church, so that he could 
 not be impleaded in any civil court, except on criminal 
 charges, or disputes relating to land.'^ 
 
 None of the sovereigns of Europe look a part in lln' first 
 
 1 Nam qui pro ChrlnU nomine dcrer- Bcrt<'d a bull of EuRenius III. in IIW, 
 
 tanti.*. Ill nrli,. flilcliuni Pt Chrintliina coiitiiiiiinK some of thi'sc lirivili-p'"- 
 
 Diililil •licuntur. wruinljonMi«n hhIiiiii OHhth iiro Rniiitcd )iy I'liilip A^l^'ll.•.^ul^ 
 
 liifiiiiil.i-. v<ruiii ct p<.<Tniiiinuiii <t il.-lic in 1214. Oploiiimm-i-." 'li-« Koi d« 
 
 t'iruin f.miiliiMidjiiii ••roliiiiUHiilKplitionwii Kninrc, toiii. 1. Sw ii\mj Du Cuiikc, voc. 
 
 promiTi-ri. Mill. Tvr. 1. x. o. 2H. Cruriu I'rivilfgiu. 
 
 } Otlio of Krisvngeu, c. 3u, boa in-
 
 48 FIRST CRUSADE. Chap. I. Part I. 
 
 crusade ; but many of their chief vassals, great part of the 
 inferior nobiUty, and a countless multitude of the common 
 people. The priests left their parishes, and the monks their 
 cells ; and though the peasantry were then in general bound 
 to the soil, we find no check given to their emigration for this 
 cause. Numbers of women and children swelled the crowd ; 
 it appeared a sort of sacrilege to repel any one from a work 
 which was considered as the manifest design of Providence. 
 But if it were lawful to interpret the will of Providence by 
 events, few undertakings have been more branded by its dis- 
 approbation than the crusades. So many crimes and so much 
 misery have seldom been accumulated in so short a space as 
 in the three years of the first expedition. We should be 
 warranted by contemporary writers in stating the loss of the 
 Cln-istians alone during this period at nearly a million ; but 
 at the least computation it must have exceeded half that num- 
 ber.-*^ To engage in the crusade, and to perish in it, were 
 almost synonymous. Few of those myriads who were mus- 
 tered in the plains of Nice returned to gladden their friends 
 in Europe with the story of their triumph at Jerusalem. 
 Besieging alternately and besieged in Antioch, they drained 
 to the lees the cup of misery : three hundred thousand sat 
 down before that place ; next year there remained but a sixth 
 part to pursue the enterprise. But their losses were least in 
 the field of battle ; the intrinsic superiority of European 
 prowess was constantly displayed ; the angel of Asia, to apply 
 the bold language of our poet, high and unmatchable, where 
 her rival was not, became a fear ; and the Christian lances 
 bore all before them in their shock from Nice to 
 Antioch, Edessa, and Jerusalem. It was here, 
 where their triumph was consummated, that it was stained 
 with the most atrocious massacre ; not limited to the hour of 
 resistance, but renewed deliberately even after that famous 
 penitential procession to the holy sepulchre, which might have 
 calmed their ferocious dispositions, if, through the misguided 
 enthusiasm of the enterprise, it had not been rather calculated 
 to excite them."-^ 
 
 1 William of Tyre says that at the been made in Hungary of the rabble 
 
 review before Nice there were found under Gaultier Sans-Avoir. 
 
 600,000 of both sexes, exclusive of 100,0(JO 2 The work of Mailly_, entitled L'Esprit 
 
 cavalry armed in mail. L. ii. c. 23. But des Croisades, is deserving of considerable 
 
 Fulk of Chartres reckons the same num- praise for its diligence and impartiality, 
 
 ber, besides women, children, and priests. It carries the history, however, no farther 
 
 An immense slaughter had previously than the first expedition. Gibbon's two
 
 fr.a_nce. the second crusade. 49 
 
 Tlie conquests obtaineil at such a price by the first crusade 
 were chietlv comprised in the maritune inu'ts of, 
 
 8 1-'' ^1 . !• T-' 1 1 11 Latin con- 
 
 yna. Excejit tlie state ot Jbdessa beyond the quests in 
 
 Euphrates,^ which, in it^ best days, extended over '*-^'"*' 
 great p:u-t ot" Mesopotamia, the Latin possessions never 
 reached more than a tew leagues from the sea. Witliin the 
 baiTier of Mount Libanus tiieir arms might be feared, but 
 their power was never established ; and the prophet was still 
 uivoked in tiie mosques of Aleppo and Damascus. The prin- 
 cipality of Antioch to the north, the kingdom of Jerusalem 
 with its feudal dependencies of Tripoli and Tiberias to the 
 south, were assigned, the one to Boemond, a brother of Rob- 
 ert Guiscard, count of Ajiuha, the other to Godfrey of Bou- 
 logne,- whose extraordinary merit had justly raised him to a 
 degree of influence with the chief crusaders that has been 
 sometimes confounded with a legitimate authority.** In the 
 course of a few years Tyre, Ascalon, and the other cities upon 
 the sea-coast, were subjected by the successors of Godfrey on 
 the throne of Jerusalem. But as their enemies had been 
 stunned, not killed, by the western storm, the Latins were 
 constantly molested by the Mohammedans of Egypt and 
 Syria. They were exposed as the outposts of Christendom, 
 with no respite and few resources. A second cnisade, in 
 which the emperor Coni-ad IIL and Louis VII. of c, 
 
 1, 1 , • 1 , , Second 
 
 ' ranee were engaged, each with seventy thousand crusade. 
 
 cavalry, made scarce any diversion ; and that '^■"' ^^'^^' 
 
 vast army wasted away in the passage of Natolia.* 
 
 chapters on the crusades, thouirh not liini!>elf, Rex Ilierusalem. r,atinorum 
 
 without iniiccuraoies. are a brilliuut ))or- primui). AN'ill. Tvr. 1. ii. c. 12. 
 
 ti'jn of hU gr.iit work. The oriifiiial a The heroes of tlie cru.sade are just 
 
 writers are chiefly collected in two folio like those of romance. Godfrey is not 
 
 volume*, entitled (jei>tu Dei i>er Fnincos, only the wisest but thestronjrcst man in 
 
 Hanover. lt;il. the"army. Perhaps Tasso ha.s lost some 
 
 1 E•le^^Ul wa* a little Christian princi- part of tliis phyaiccd superiority for tlie 
 
 pality. surrounded by, and tributary to. sake of coutra.stiii){ him with tlie ima>ti- 
 
 the Turks. The inlialpitunt/< invited nary Uinaldo. lie cleaves a Tnrk in 
 
 Il.iMwiii, on hU pro(?ress iu the Hrst cru- twain, from the shoulder to tlie haunch. 
 
 .-.i I-, and he made no (freat scruple of A noble Arab, after the taking' uf Jeru- 
 
 fiiliplantinn the rf.itpiing prince, who salem, recjuewts him to try his sword upon 
 
 iiil.i-l is repr<-H<!nt4^il as a tyrant and a camel, when (iodfrey,' with ease, luto 
 
 ii-iir|--r. K'prit des (.'roLsades, t. iv. p. off the head The Arab, susp.-ctiiit; tiirre 
 
 •i^- f*"' 'juignen, Uijit. des Uuofl, torn. li. niiffhtU! something pwuliar in the blade, 
 
 p. I'lj-l'IJ. desires him to do the same with his 
 
 •-•i.^llrry never to(;k the title of Kin(( sword; and the hero oblii^es him by 
 
 of .bruvil.-m, not cluswintt, he said, to demolishing a second camel. Will. Tyr. 
 
 wear a rrown of ifoM in tliat city where 1. i.x. c. 2U. 
 
 hi" Saviour had Ihi-u crowned with < Vertot puts the destruction In the 
 
 thorns, ilaldwin, <io<Jfrcy'» brother, who second crusade at twohundn^l thousand 
 
 surceel.-d him within two years, entitlos men (Hist, de Malthe, p. iZJ)\ and from 
 
 VOL. I. 4
 
 50 THE SECOND CRUSADE. Chap. I. Part I. 
 
 The decline of the Christian establishments in the East is 
 asci'ibed by William of Tyre to the extreme viciousness of 
 Decline of their manners, to the adoption of European arms 
 the Latin by the Oi'ientals, and to the union of the Moham- 
 ties^i^n^the mcdan principalities under a single chief.^ With- 
 East. Q^(^ denying the operation of these causes, and 
 
 especially the last, it is easy to perceive one more radical than 
 all the three, the inadequacy of their means of self-defence. 
 The kingdom of Jeinisalem was guarded only, exclusive of 
 European volunteers, by the feudal service of eight hundred 
 and sixty-six knights, attended each by four archers on 
 horseback, by a militia of five thousand and seventy-five 
 burghers, and by a conscription, in great exigencies, of the 
 remaining population.'^ Wilham of Tyre mentions an ainny 
 of one thousand three hundred horse and fifteen thousand 
 foot, as the greatest which had ever been collected, and pre- 
 dicts the utmost success from it, if wisely conducted.^ This 
 was a little before the irruption of Saladin. In the last fatal 
 battle Lusignan seems to have had somewhat a larger force.'* 
 Nothing can more strikingly evince the ascendency of Europe 
 than the resistance of these Fi"ankish acquisitions in Syria 
 during nearly two hundred years. Several of their victories 
 over the Moslems were obtained against such disparity of 
 numbers, that they may be compared with whatever is most 
 illusti'ious in history or romance.^ These perhaps were less 
 due to the descendants of the first crusaders, settled in the 
 
 William of Tyre's language, there seems in flowing robes. Montfaucon, Monu- 
 
 no reason to consider this an exaggera- mens de la Monarchic Francjaise, t. i. 
 
 tion. L. XTi. c. 19. pi. 60. 
 
 1 L. xxi. c. 7. John of Vitry also 2 Gibbon, c. 29, note 125. Jerusalem 
 
 mentions the change of weapons by the itself was very thinly inhabited. For all 
 
 Saracens, in imitation of the Latins, using the heathens, says William of Tyre, had 
 
 the lances and coat of mail instead of perished in the massacre when the city 
 
 bows and arrows, c. 92. But, according was taken; or. if any escaped, they were 
 
 to a more ancient writer, part of Soli- not allowed to return ; no heathen being 
 
 mans (the Kilidge Arslan of De Guignes) thought fit to dwell in the holy city. 
 
 army in the first crusade was in armor, Baldwin invited some Arabian Christians 
 
 loricis et galeis et clypeis aureis valde to settle in it. 
 
 armati. Albertus Aquensis, 1. ii. c. 27. 3 L. xxii. c. 27. 
 
 I may add to this a testimony of another * A primo introitu Latinorum in ter- 
 
 kind, not less decisive. In the Abbey ram sanctam, says John de Vitry, nostri 
 
 of St. Denis there were ten pictures, in tot militos in uno proelio congregare 
 
 stained glass, representing sieges and nequiverunt. Erant enim mille ducenti 
 
 battles in the first crusade. These were miUtes loricati; peditum autem cum 
 
 made by order of Suger, the minister of arniis, arcubus et b.alistis circiter viginti 
 
 Louis VI., and consequently in the eai'ly millia, infaustpe expoditioni intcrfuisse 
 
 part of the twelfth century. In many of dicuntur. Gestadeiper Fraucos, p. 1118. 
 
 them the Turks are painted in coats of 5 A brief summary of these victories is 
 
 mail, sometimes even in a plated cuirass, given by John of Vitry, c. 93. 
 In others they are quite unarmed, and
 
 A.D. 1187. 
 
 France. THIRD CRUSADE. .".1 
 
 Holy Land.^ tlian to those volunteers from Eiiro[)e whom 
 martial ardor and religious zeal im[)elled to the service. It 
 was tlie iH'nanee commonly imj)osed \\\)on men of rank fir 
 the most heinous crimes, to serve a number of years under 
 the banner of the cross. Thus a perpetual supply of warriors 
 was poured in from Europe ; and in this sense the crusades 
 may be said to have lasted without inteiTuission durinir the 
 whole period of the Latin .<ettlfments. C)f these defenders 
 the most reno\vned were the military orders of the Knights 
 of the Temple an<l of the Hospital of St. John ;- in-tituted. 
 the one in 1124^, the other in Ills, tbr the sole pur|)()se of 
 protecting the Holy Land. The Teutonic order, estabhslied 
 in 11 OO. when the kingdom of Jerusalem was falling, soon 
 diverted its schemes of lioly warfore to a very different quar- 
 ter of the world. Large estates, as well in Palestine as 
 throughout Europe, enriched the two former institutions ; but 
 tlie pride, rapaciousness, and misconduct of both, especially 
 of the Templars, seem to have balanced the advantages 
 derived from their valor.' At length the famous 
 Saladin, usurping the throne of a feeble dynasty 
 which liad reigned in Egypt, broke in upon the Christians of 
 Jeru.^alem ; the king and the kingdom fell into his hands ; 
 nothing remained but a few strong towns upon the sea-coast. 
 These misfortunes roused once more the princes of Europe, 
 aixl the tliird crusade was undertaken by three xhini 
 of her sovereigns, the greatest in personal estinia- '^''usjide. 
 lion as well as dignity — by the emperor Frederic '^•"- 1^^^- 
 BarI)arossa, PhiUp Augustus of France, and our own Rich- 
 ard Coeur de Lion. But this, like the preceding enterprise, 
 fiiled of i)ermanent effect ; and those feats of romantic 
 j)ro\ve-s which made tlie name of Richard so famous both in 
 Plurope and Asia* i)roved only the total inellicacy of all ex- 
 
 I Many of th<-«e were of a monffrel ex- ' See a curious inB'nnce of tlio niisoon- 
 
 tnu-tion, ilf«ciniU-.l troiii a Kniiik iMin-nt durt and iiixuloncv of tliu Tciiipliirs. in 
 
 oti <.iie «i.l<s and Syrian on the otlnT. William of Tyre, 1. xx. o. Si. Tlio T.'in- 
 
 TIk-"- «.rf railed I'oulairiH, I'ullaiii ; and i>lar» posseKdcil nine thousand nianorx, 
 
 u.r.- |. . k.-l ii|.<,ii n-a mean. (U-Kenonitti and the Kni({htH of .><t. .Inlin nineteen 
 
 r' III' ,_-.■; <>loM'. r. I'ullani ; and thouHiind, in Kurope. The latter «ero 
 
 "'-•■>'''"- -or .loinville. In Collection almoHt ax mudi reproached as the Teni- 
 
 deii MeniuireH relatifn 1 rUintoire de plant for their prido and avarice. L. 
 
 Fran.e. t. 11. p. I'Ji*. xviii. c. 6. 
 
 ' The St, Jt.lui of Jeruaalein was i When a Turk"ii lionie utartetl at a 
 
 nelthi-r the Kvanifeli^t nor yet the Hap- hush, he wonld eliidi- him, .loinvill.- wiy«, 
 
 t' • ' • •! certain Cyprlot, nurrmmed the with, CtiideN-tn i|u'y k>'M le mi Itlc-hard? 
 
 ' .who hail Ijeen patriarch of \\iimen kept their children .(iiiil with 
 
 X. ,._i. the threat of hrlnniiiK' lll'-hard !•• them.
 
 02 CKUSADES OF ST. LOUIS. Chap. I. Part I. 
 
 ertions in an attempt so impracticable ; Palestine was never 
 A.D. 1204. the scene of another ci'usacle. One great arma- 
 A.D. 1218. ment was diverted to the siege of Constantinople ; 
 and another wasted in frnitless attempts upon Egypt. The 
 emperor Frederic II. afterwards procured the restoration of 
 Jerusalem by the Saracens ; but the Christian princes of 
 Syria were unable to defend it, and their possessions were 
 gradually reduced to the maritime towns. Acre, the last of 
 these, was finally taken by storm in 1291 ; and its ruin 
 closes the history of the Latin dominion in Syria, which 
 Europe had already ceased to protect. 
 
 The two last crusades were undertaken by St. Louis. In 
 Crusades of the first he was attended by 2,800 knights and 
 St. Louis. 50,000 ordinary ti'oops.^ He landed at Damietta 
 A.D. 1248. jj^ Egypt, for that country was now deemed the key 
 of the Holy Land, and easily made himself master of the 
 city. But advancing up the country, he found natural im- 
 pediments as well as enemies in his way ; the Turks assailed 
 him with Greek fire, an instrument of wai'fare almost as 
 surprising and terrible as gunpowder ; he lost his brother the 
 count of Ai'tois, with many knights, at Massoura, near Cairo ; 
 and began too late a retreat towards Damietta. Such calami- 
 ties now fell upon this devoted army as have scarce ever 
 been surpassed ; hunger and want of every kind, aggravated 
 by an unsparing pestilence. At length the king was made 
 prisoner, and very few of the army escaped the Turkish 
 cimeter in battle or m captivity. Four hundred thousand 
 livres were paid as a ransom for Louis. He returned to 
 France, and passed near twenty years in the exercise of those 
 virtues which are his best title to canonization. But the fatal 
 illusions of superstition were still always at his heart ; nor 
 did it fail to be painfully observed by his subjects that he still 
 J,.. kept the cross upon his garment. His last expedi- 
 tion was originally designed for Jerusalem. But 
 he had received some intimation that the king of Tunis was 
 desirous of embracing Cliristianity. That these intentions 
 might be carried into effect, he sailed out of his way to the 
 coast of Africa, and laid siege to that city. A fever here put 
 
 1 The Arabian writers give liini 9500 bon's authority, I put the main body at 
 
 knights and 130,000 common soldiers. 50,0<,K); but, if Joiuville has sUited this, 
 
 But I greatly prefer tlie authority of I have niis.sed the passage. Their va.ssals 
 
 Joiuville, wlio has twice mentioned the amounted to 1800. 
 number of knights in the text. On Gib-
 
 Fr-vsce. PHILIP III. *)3 
 
 an end to his life, sacrificed to tliat rulinjx passion wliicli novor 
 Would have forsaken Iiini. But lie Icul survived tlic spirit ot' 
 the erusades ; the disastrous expedition to K<ry|)t had lund 
 his suhject.s. thouuli not himself, of their folly ; ^ his son, after 
 makiiiiT ti-i-ni- with Tunis, returned to Franee ; the Cln-is(inns 
 were sutlV-red to lose what they still retained in the Holy 
 Land ; and though many princes in subsequent ajres talked 
 loudly of renewing the war. the promise, if it were ever 
 sincere, was never accomplished. 
 
 Louis IX. had increased the royal domain by the annexa- 
 tion of several counties and other less important phiup iii. 
 fiefs : but soon after the accession of Philip III. *^-^- ^-''^■ 
 (surnamed the Bold) it received a far more considerable aug- 
 menti\tion. Alfonso, the late king's brother, had been in- 
 vested with the county of Poitou, ceded by Heniy III., 
 together with part of Auvergne and of Saintonge ; and held 
 al<o. as h.as been said before, the remains of the great lief of 
 Toulou.se, in right of his wife Jane, heiress of Raymond VII. 
 UjMjn his death, and that of his countess, which 
 happened about the same time, the king entered 
 into possession of all these territories. This acquisition 
 brought the .sovereigns of France into contact with new 
 neighbors, the kings of Aragon and the powers of Italy. 
 The first great and lastiu'r fbreiLrn war which thev ,.,.„ 
 
 • \.D. 112(0. 
 
 carrieil on was that of Plnlip III. and Philip IV. 
 against the former kingdom, exeiteil by the insurrection ot' 
 Sicily. Tliough efi'ecting no change in the boundaries ni 
 their dominions, this war may be deemed a sort of epoch in 
 the hi-fory of France and S|)ain. as well as in that of Italy, 
 to which it mcjre peculiarly belongs. 
 
 ' The iffudal of Joinville to accompany puis ouy-jo dire a plusieurs, quo ceux 
 
 the kiiijr in this «ocond oruwulp in very qui luy conHcillercnt I'cntcrprinse lie l.» 
 
 Dii'iiifiralilc. nu'l (fire.! »n an iiiMitr||t into croix fin-iit uii trc/, (rraiit mal.i't |ieilit- 
 
 tljf l.ii'l i-fTi^ct!' r if both ex|M"litions. Le n'ut ninrt^'llciiiciit. Cur tiiiills (iu'iM"ii«t 
 
 II'. ■!•• France et le iliiy <le XaTarre me an royaumeile Kmnce. tout son nnainue 
 
 IT lent fort 'le uie rriil.'«?r, et entre- vivoit en puix, et n'trimit justice. Kt iu- 
 
 j.reti.lre le cliemin ilu peli-riniMfe de la continent qu'il en fust ors. tout com- 
 
 croix. Mais je Icur iT-ixinJi. (jue tenilis uiema i decliner ot i euipirer. — T. ii. 
 
 qui- j'avoii. i.»t<- onltre-niiT au Bervice de p. lr»8. 
 
 I*ii-u, (jne li- c.-nK i-t hIHiits du Koy de In the Fabliaux of liC Oniml il'Au.^sy 
 
 |/r,,,,.. .%..!■•»( tni|i iffi've et foulle ni>-H we have a neat piHMU hy Kutulxeuf. a 
 
 it iju'lU eu ent'iient npovrix; writer r>f St. I^mis'.s ajfi'. in a diiiliit:ue 
 
 t e'" J">>i<»i il ne M-roit que eulx lii't»i.i.|i a crusader and a non-cruwi'ler, 
 
 et iii'iv ni. n»uit en W)rtl«»oii». Kt ve<)le wherein, tliouKli tie irivi'H tlie hint word 
 
 cl.r.uienl. ni je mu me<'t<iie au IH-Ieriiiai;e to the former. It iH plain that lu- clesijjneil 
 
 de In crtiix. que ce wrolt la totjile de- the (ipposiUj wale t<i pre|M>Mdenit«. — T. 
 
 ■tructiou de nieitiilz |>orn«i Huhjeti*. De- li. p. !•«}.
 
 54 PHILIP IV. Chai>. I. Part I. 
 
 There still remained five great and ancient fiefs of the 
 French crown ; Champagne, Guienne, Flanders, Burgundy, 
 Philip the and Britany. But Philip lY., usually called 
 Fair. ^[^q Fair, married the heiress of the fii'st, a little 
 
 A.D. 1285. before his father's death ; and although he gov- 
 erned that county in her name without pretending to reunite 
 it to the royal domain, it was, at least in a pohtical sense, no 
 longer a part of the feudal body. "With some of his other 
 vassals Philip used more violent methods. A pai'allel might 
 be draA\Ti between this prince and PhiHp Augustus. But 
 while in ambition, violence of temper and unprincipled rapac- 
 ity, as well as in the success of their attempts to 
 meat of the cstabhsli an absolute authority, they may be con- 
 mourrchy sidered as nearly equal, we may remark this differ- 
 under his ence, that Pliihp the Fair, who was destitute of 
 reign. military talents, gained those ends by dissimulation 
 
 which his predecessor had reached by force. 
 
 The duchy of Guienne, though somewhat abridged of its 
 original extent, was still by far the most considerable of the 
 French fiefs, even independently of its connection with Eng- 
 land.-^ Philip, by dint of perfidy, and by the egregious inca- 
 pacity of Edmund, brother of Edward I., contrived to obtain, 
 and to keep for sevei'al years, the possession of this great 
 province. A quarrel among some French and 
 English sailors having provoked retaliation, till a 
 sort of piratical war commenced between the two countries, 
 Edward, as duke of Guienne, was summoned into the king's 
 court to answer for the trespass of his subjects. Upon this 
 he despatched his brother to settle terms of reconciliation, 
 Avith fuller powers than should have been intrusted to so cred- 
 ulous a negotiator. Philip so outwitted this prince, through a 
 fictitious treaty, as to procure from him the surrender of all 
 the fortresses in Guienne. He then threw off" the mask, and, 
 after again summoning Edward to appear, pronounced the 
 
 1 Philip was highly offended that in- P. rege Francife, B. rege Anglite tenente 
 
 struments made in Guienne should be ducatum Aquitanise. Several precedents 
 
 dated by the year of Edward's reign, and were shown by the English where the 
 
 not of his own. This almost sole badge counts of Toulouse had used the form, 
 
 of sovereignty had been preserved by the Regnaute A. Comite Toloste. Rymer, t. 
 
 kings of France during all the feudal ii. p. 1083. As this is the first time 
 
 ages. A struggle took place about it, that I quote Rymer, it may be proper to 
 
 which is recorded in a curious letter from observe that my references are to the 
 
 John de (jreilli to Edward. The French London edition, the paging of which is 
 
 court at last consented to let dates be preserved on the margin of that printed 
 
 thus expressed: Actum fuit, regnante at the Hague.
 
 Fraxce. AGGKAXDIZEMKNT OF IKANCE. 5J 
 
 contiscation of his fief.^ This busuiess is the greatest blemish 
 iu the jtohtioal chanu-terut" Edwanh But his eagerness al)Oiit 
 the ac(iuisiiion ut" SeulhuKl reiideretl him less sensible tu the 
 danger ot" a possession in many respects more valuable ; and 
 the s[iint of I'esistanee among the English nobility, which his 
 lubitrary measures had pro\ oked, broke out very ^ ^ ^^^^ 
 opportunely for Philip, to thwart every effort for 
 the recovery of Gnienne by arms. But after rei)eated sus- 
 pensions of hostilities a treaty was tinally concluded, by which 
 rhilip restored the province, on the agreement of a marriage 
 between liis daughter Isabel and the heir of England. 
 
 To this restitution he was ehiefly iutluced by the ill success 
 that attended his anus iu Elanders, another of the great tiefs 
 which this ambitious monarch had endeavored to confiscate. 
 We have not, perhaps, as clear evidence of the original injus- 
 tice of his proceechugs towards the count of Flanders as iu 
 the case of Guienne ; but he certainly twice detained his per- 
 son, once after drawing him on some pretext to liis court, and 
 again, in violation of the faith i)ledged by his generals. The 
 Flemings made, however, so vigorous a resistance, 
 tiiat Philip was unable to reduce that small coun- 
 try ; and in one famous battle at Conrlray they discomfited a 
 jKjwerful army with that utter loss and ignominy to whicli the 
 undisciplined impetuosity of the French nobles was preemi- 
 nently exposed.'^ 
 
 Two other acquisitions of Philip the Fair deserve notice ; 
 that (jf the counties of Augouleme and La Marehe, upon a 
 sentence of forfeiture (and, as it seems, a very harsh one) 
 p!is>ed again>t tln' reigning count ; and that of the city of 
 Lyon-, and its adjacent territory, which had not even feu- 
 dally been subject to the crown of France for more than three 
 hundn-d yi-ars. Lvons was tiie dowry of iMatilda. diiugliter 
 of Louis IV., on her marriage with Conrad, king ot' IJur- 
 gimdy, and was l)e<iueat]ied with tiie rest of that kingdom by 
 Koiliijph, in 1<).'32, to the empire. Frederic Barbarossa con- 
 f<rrcd u|)on the archbishop of Lyons all regalian rights over 
 the city, with tlie title of Imperial Vicar. France seems to 
 
 'In tlio viiw I \in\p taki-n of UiIm 2Tho Flfiiilncs took iit Coiirlxiiy 4i""i 
 
 trnti«a<tloii 1 luivr Ix-i'ii Kui<tcc| by wvithI [mlr of irilt dpiir,'', wliiili wvvv only worn 
 
 inntriinii-nU in llynnT. which Ichti' no hykniKhlH. 'I'Iict Vi'lly. hii|i|ill> fuonifli, 
 
 (louht on my miii'l- Vrlly of conrw ri-]i- conipan-rt to Il.innitmrM tliroe bimliolH of 
 
 n-M-iitfi the mutter more Divoruhly for ({olil riiij;^ »' ' "'om 
 Philip.
 
 56 THE SALIC LAW. Chap. I. Part L 
 
 have had no concern with it, till St. Louis was called in as a 
 mediator in disputes between the chapter and the city, during 
 a vacancy of the see, and took the exercise of jurisdiction 
 upon himself for the time. Philip III., having been chosen 
 arbitrator in similar circumstances, insisted, before he would 
 restore the jurisdiction, upon an oath of fealty from the new 
 archbishop. This oath, which could be demanded, it seems, 
 by no right but that of force, continued to be taken, till, in 
 1310, an archbishop resisting what he had thought an usurpa- 
 tion, the city was besieged by Philip IV., and, the inhabitants 
 not being unwilhng to submit, was finally united to the 
 French crown.^ 
 
 Philip the Fair left three sons, who successively reigned in 
 Louis X. France ; Louis, surnamed Hutin, Philip the Long, 
 A.D. 1314. and Charles the Fair ; with a daughter, Isabel, mar- 
 ried to Edward II. of England.^ Louis, the eldest, sumdved 
 his father little more than a year, leaving one daughter, and 
 his queen pregnant. The circumstances that en- 
 Saiifiaw."^ sued require to be accurately stated. Louis had 
 Philip V. possessed, in right of his mother, the kingdom of 
 Navarre, with the counties of Champagne and 
 Brie. Upon his death, Philip, his next brother, assumed the 
 regency both of France and Navarre ; and not long afterwards 
 entered into a treaty with Eudes, duke of Burgundy, uncle of 
 the princess Jane, Louis's daughter, by which her eventual 
 rights to the succession were to be regulated. It was agreed 
 that, in case the queen should be delivered of a daughter, 
 these two princesses, or the survivor of them, should take the 
 grandmother's inheritance, Navarre and Champagne, on re- 
 leasing all claim to the throne of France. But this was not 
 to take place till their age of consent, when, if they should 
 refuse to make such i*enunciation, their claim was to remain, 
 and rigid to he done to them therein ; but, in return, the release 
 made by Philip of Navai're and Champagne was to be null. 
 In the mean time, he was to hold the government of France, 
 Navarre, and Champagne, receiving homage of vassals in all 
 these countries as governor ; saving the right of a male heir 
 to the late king, in the event of whose birth the treaty was 
 not to take effect.* 
 
 1 Velly, t. vii. p. 404. For a more pre- - [Note XV.] 
 
 cise account of the political Jepentlence ^ Hist, de Charles !e Mauvais, par S6- 
 
 of Lyons and its district, see L'Art de cousse, vol. ii. p. 2. 
 verifier les Dates, t. ii. p. 469.
 
 Fr.\.nce. riiiLiP V. 57 
 
 This convention was uijule on the 17th of July, 131G; and 
 on the 1 Jtli of November the queen l)rought into thi- worhl a 
 son, John I. (as some called him), who died in four days.^ 
 The conditional treaty was now become absolute ; in spirit, at 
 least, if any cavil might be raised about the exi)ression ; and 
 Piiili[) was. by his own agreement, ])recluded from taking any 
 otiier title than that of regent or governor, until tin- princess 
 Jane should attain the age to concur in or disclaim the pro- 
 visional contract of her uncle. Instead of this, however, he 
 procured himself to be consecrated at Rheims ; though, on 
 account of the avowed opposition of the duke of Burgundy, 
 and even of his own brother Cluu'les, it was thought prudent 
 to shut the gates during the ceremony, and to dispose guards 
 throuirhout the town. Ui>on his return to Paris, , , ,0,7 
 an assembly composed 01 prelates, barons, and bur- 
 gesses of that city, was convened, who acknowledged him as 
 their lawful sovereign, and, if we may believe an historian, 
 expressly declared that a woman was incapable of succeeding 
 to the crown of France."'^ The duke of Burgundy, however, 
 made a show of supporting Ins niece's interests, till, tempted 
 by the ]>rospect of a marriage with the daughter of Philip, he 
 shamefully betrayed her cause, and gave up in her name, for 
 an inconsiderable pension, not only her disputed claim to the 
 wliole nic^iiarchy, but her unquestionable right to 2savarre and 
 Champagne.* I have been rather minute in stating these 
 di'tails, because the transaction is misrepresented by every 
 historian, not excepting those who have written since the pub- 
 lication of the documents which illustrate it.* 
 
 In this contest, every way memorable, but especially on 
 aeeoimt of that which s])rung out of it. the exclusion of females 
 from tlie throne of France was tirst pultlicly di>cussed. The 
 
 > Ancient writPiT. Sii^niondi UAU U8 hlstorinn of this inipnrt.int poriod. Pie 
 
 (ix. HH}. do not cull tlii" infant nny- descrilx'S tlie assciiilily nliicli confirmed 
 
 tlilnjr tjiit tlic cliiM wlio vriu) tolR'kinK; IMiilip'n possesfiion of the crown; — 
 
 thi- iniixim of liit<T tinu-M, •• Ia- roi nc quaniplurci proccreH ct rcjrni noliilcs ac 
 
 uicurt paji." WII.H unknown. I sucficct, majrnatcs uni cum plcrisi|nt" prii^latis ct 
 
 npT<Tthi-l<-M, that the ctrict hcroditary bur(!c!n»il)us I'ariHicnsi!' civifatis. 
 iiucci-dBion WHH U'ttcr peco(fniz«Mi Iwfore ^ Hist, dc Charli-n lo .Manvaiw, t. ii. p. 6. 
 
 thiH tinii! than Sinniondi hi-re ndniitit; .lane, and lier husliand the count of Kv- 
 
 C'lnipan; what he nayii afterwarhi of a n-ux. recovered Navarre, after thi' death 
 
 jieriod very little later, vol. xi. li. of I'liarli-s the Kair. 
 
 -Tunc etiiini dw'lnnttuni fuit, qurMi in <Vellv. who jtlveH B<?veral proofs of 
 
 r«-(fiio Francla- niulier non 'ucceilit. Con- diHln^fenuouhnens in thii part of hli-tory, 
 
 tin. Oul. Nnn^fi". In Sp|cile)flo d"- niutilaU'.i the treaty of lln- 17ih of .luly, 
 
 Achery, tore. Hi. Thin monk, witliout ];jlli. In order tocoiicenl I'liillp the Long'* 
 
 tnl<Mitji. and protmtily without private breach of Ciith townrdjf hlii uicci'. 
 luformatiuD, U ttiu itolu coutcmpuniry
 
 58 PHILIP V. Chap. I. Part I. 
 
 French writers almost unanimously concur in asserting that 
 such an exclusion was built upon a fundamental maxim of 
 their government. No written law, nor even, as far as I 
 know, the direct testimony of any ancient writer, has been 
 brought forward to confii'm this position. For as to the text 
 of the Salic law, which was frequently quoted, and has indeed 
 given a name to tliis exclusion of females, it can only by a 
 doubtful and refined analogy be considered as bearing any 
 relation to the succession of the crown. It is certain never- 
 theless that, from the time of Clovis, no woman had ever 
 reigned in France ; and although not an instance of a sole 
 heiress had occurred before, yet some of the Merovingian 
 kings left daughters, who might, if not rendered incapable by 
 their sex, have shared with their brothers in partitions then 
 commonly made.^ But, on the other hand, these times were 
 gone quite out of memory, and France had much in the 
 analogy of her existing usages to reconcile her to a female 
 reign. Tlie crown resembled a great fief; and the great fiefs 
 might universally descend to women. Even at the consecra- 
 tion of Philip himself, Maud, countess of Artois, held the 
 crown over his head among the other peers.- And it was 
 scarcely beyond the recollection of persons living that Blanche 
 had been legitimate regent of France during the minority of 
 St. Louis. 
 
 For these reasons, and much more from the provisional 
 treaty concluded between Philip and the duke of Burgundy, 
 it may be tairly inferred that the Salic law, as it was called, 
 was not so fixed a principle at that time as has been con- 
 tended. But however this may be, it received at the accession 
 
 1 The treaty of Andely, in 587, will be This unwise dishonesty, which is not 
 
 found to afford a very strong presump- without parallel in more private causes, 
 
 tion that females were at that time ex- not only ruined his pretensions to the 
 
 eluded from reigning in France. Gi'eg. county of Artois, but produced a sentence 
 
 Turon. 1. ix. of forfeiture, and even of capital punish- 
 
 - The continuator of Nangis says indeed ment, against himself. See a pretty good 
 
 of this, de quo aliqui indiguati fuerunt. account of Robert's process in Velly, t. 
 
 But these were probably the partisans viii. p. 262. 
 
 of her nejihew llobert, who had been Sismondi (x. 44) does not seem to be 
 
 excluded by a judicial sentence of Philip convinced that Robert of Artois was 
 
 IV., on the ground that the right of rep- guilty of forgery ; but perhaps he is led 
 
 resentation did not take place in Artois ; away by his animosity against kings, 
 
 a decision considex'ed by many as unjust, especially those of the house of Valois. 
 
 Robert subsequently renewed his appeal M. Michelet informs us (v. 30) that the 
 
 to the court of Philip of Valois ; but, deeds produced by the demoiselle Divion, 
 
 unhappily for himself, yielded to the on which Itobert founded his claims, are 
 
 temptation of forging documents in sup- in the Tresor des Chartes, and palpable 
 
 port of a claim which seems to have been forgeries, 
 at least plausible without such aid.
 
 FinxcE. PHILIP OF VALOIS. 59 
 
 of Philip the Long a sanction which subseqiu'iit events more 
 thoiuiii:lily eunlinued. PhiUp himself leaving only three 
 danghter.>, his brother Cluu-les mounted the throne; chaiiosiv. 
 and uiHin his death the rule was so unquestionably ^.d. 1322. 
 estabhshed, that his only daughter was excluded by pi.jijp ^f 
 the count of Valois, grandson of Philip the Bold. Vaiois. 
 This prince first took the regency, the queen- ■''■^- 1328. 
 dowager being pregnant, and. ui)on her giving birth to a 
 daughter, was crowned king. No competitor or opponent 
 appeared in Fiimee ; but one more I'ormidable than any 
 whom France could have produced was awaiting the occasion 
 to j)rosecute his imagined right with all the resources ot" valor 
 and genius, and to carry desolation over that great kingdom 
 with as little scruple as if he was preferring a suit before a 
 civil tribunal. 
 
 Fwnn the moment of Charles IV.'s death, Edward III. of 
 England buoyed himself u[) with a notion of his claim of 
 title to the crown of France, in right of his mother '^"i^ara iii. 
 Isabel, sister to the three last kings. "We can have no hesita- 
 tion in condemning the injustice of this pretension. AVhether 
 the Salic law were or were not valid, no advantage could be 
 gained by Edward. Even if he could forget the express or 
 tacit decision of all France, there stood in his way Jane, the 
 daugiiter of Louis X., three of Philip the Long, and one of 
 Charles tiie Fair. Aware of this, Edward set up a distinction, 
 that, although females were excluded from succession, the 
 same rule did not apply to their male issue ; and thus, though 
 his mother Isabel could not herself become queen of France, 
 she might transmit a title to him. But this was contrary to 
 the commonest rules of inheritance ; and if it could have been 
 regarded at all, Jane had a son, afterwards the famous king 
 of Navarre, who stood one degree nearer to the crown thiui 
 Edward. 
 
 It is a-sserted in some French authorities that Edward pre- 
 ferrcil a claim to the regency immediately after tin- decease 
 of Charles the Fair, ami that the States-General, or at Ifast 
 the peers of France, atijudged that dignity to Philip de Valois. 
 Whi-ther this be true or not, it is clear that he entertained 
 |)n)ject.s of recovering his right as early, though his youtii and 
 the embarnissed circumstances of his govermueiit tlin-w 
 in>up<Mal)l<' ()b>taeles in the way of their execution.^ Ili- did 
 i Letter of Edward III. adareciMil to certain nobluii and townii lu tUc Boutli of
 
 60 
 
 CLAIM OF EDWAED III. Chap. I. Part I. 
 
 liege homage, therefore, to Philip for Guienne, and for sev- 
 eral years, while the aflfaii's of Scotland engrossed his atten- 
 tion, gave no sign of meditating a more magnificent enterprise. 
 As he advanced m manhood, and felt the consciousness of his 
 strength, his early designs grew mature, and produced a series 
 of the most important and mteresting revolutions m the 
 fortunes of France. These will form the subject of the 
 ensuing pages. 
 
 France, dated March 28, 1328, four days 
 before the birth of Charles IV. 's posthu- 
 mous daughter, intimates this resolution. 
 Rymer, vol. iv. p. 344 et seq. But an 
 instrument, dated at Northampton on 
 the 16th of May, is decisive : This is a 
 procuration to the bishops of Worcester 
 and Litchfield, to demand and take pos- 
 session of the kingdom of France, " in 
 our name, which kingdom has devolved 
 and appertains to us as to the right heir." 
 P. 3.54. To this mission archbishop 
 Stratford refers, in his vindication of 
 himself from Edward's accusation of 
 treason in 1340 ; and informs us that the 
 two bishops actually proceeded to France, 
 though without mentioning any further 
 particulars. Novit enim qui nihil ignorat, 
 quod cum qusestio de regno Francise post 
 mortem regis CaroU, fratris serenissimse 
 matris vestrae, in parhamento tunc apud 
 Northampton celebrato, tractata discus- 
 saque fuisset ; quodque idem reguum 
 Francise ad vos hreretlitario jure extite- 
 rat legitime devolutum ; et super hoc 
 fuit ordinatum, quod duo episcopi, Wig- 
 orniensis tunc, nunc autem Wintoniensis, 
 ao Coventriensis et Lichfeldensis in Fran- 
 ciam dirigerent gressus suos, nomiueque 
 vestro regnum Francise vindicarent et 
 praedicti PhilippideValesio coronationem 
 pro viribus im))edirent ; qui juxta ordi- 
 nationem prseiUctam legationem iis in- 
 junctam tunc assumentes, gressus suos 
 versus Franciam direxerunt ; quae qui- 
 dem legatio maximam guerrae prassentis 
 materiaui miuistravit. Wilkins, Concilia, 
 t. i p. 664. 
 
 There is no evidence in Rymer's Foe- 
 dera to corroborate Edward's supposed 
 claim to the regency of France upon the 
 
 death of Charles IV. ; and it is certainly 
 suspicious that no appointment of am- 
 bassadors or procurators for this purpose 
 should appear in so complete a collection 
 of documents. The French historians 
 generally assert this, upon the authority 
 of the continuator of WiUiam of Nangis, 
 a nearly contemporary, but not always 
 well-informed writer. It is curious to 
 compare the four chief English historians. 
 Rapin affirms both the claim to the re- 
 gency on Charles TS^.'s death, and that 
 to the kingdom after the birth of his 
 daughter. Carte, the most exact his- 
 torian we have, mentions the latter, and 
 is silent as to the former. Hume passes 
 over both, and intimates that Edward 
 did not take any steps in support of his 
 pretensions in 1328. Henry gives the 
 supposed trial of Edward's claim to the 
 regency before the States-General at great 
 length, and makes no allusion to the 
 other, so indisputably authenticated in 
 Rymer. It is, I think, most probable 
 that the two bishops never made the 
 formal demand of the throne as they were 
 directed by their instructions. Stratford's 
 expressions seem to imply that they did 
 not. 
 
 Sismondi does not mention the claim 
 of Edward to the regency after the death 
 of Charles IV., though he supposes his 
 pretensions to have been taken into con- 
 sideration by the lords and doctors of 
 law, whom he asserts, following the con- 
 tinuator of AVilUam of Nangis, to have 
 consulted together, before Philip of Valois 
 took the title of regent. (Vol. x. p. 10.) 
 Michelet, more studious of effect than 
 minute in details, makes no allusiou to 
 the subject.
 
 FR.VSCE. HIS WAR IX FKAXCE. 61 
 
 PART II. 
 
 War of EJwTinl ITT. in France — Ciiuses of liis Success — Civil Disturhnnces of 
 Fnince — IVaco of Br»?ti|/riii — its interprotatiou cousidereJ— Charles V. — Ke- 
 newiil of the War — Charleis VI. — his .Minority and In.«jinity — Civil Dissensions 
 of the I'arties of Orleans and Rnrjrnuilv — A.s.sassination of both these Princes 
 
 — Intri;;ues of their I'artie.s with Kuvtland under Henry IV. — Henry V. invades 
 France — Treaty of Troves — !»tJitf of France in the first Ye.ai-s of Charles VII. 
 
 — I'n>i;rt'ss and subse'iuent decline of the Kniflish Arms — their Kspulsion 
 from France — Chanfp? in the Political Constitution — Louis XI. — his Character 
 
 — litacues formed apiiust him — Charles Duke of Burgundy — his Prosperity 
 and Fall — Louis oht-iins possession of Burgundy — his Death — Charles VIII. — 
 
 — Acijuisition of Britany. 
 
 No w;ir had broken out in Europe, since the foil of the 
 Roman Kinijire, so mcnioraljle as that of Edward ,.. 
 
 T I r II- • T-1 11 \\ ar of 
 
 JH. and Ins successors against i ranee, whether we Edward iii. 
 consider its duration, its oltject, or the magnitude '" *"'"'''^' 
 and variety of its events. It was a struggle of one hundred 
 and twenty years, interrupted but once by a regular pacilica- 
 tiftn. wheiv the most ancient and exten,-;ive dominion in the 
 civilized world was the jirize, twice lo.<t and twice recovered, 
 in tlie C(jn(lict, while individual courage was wrought up to 
 that high pitch wliieh it can seldom dL-^play since the regulari- 
 ty of muclcrn tactics has chastised its enthusiasm and levelled 
 its di.-linciiuiis. Tix-re can Ix' no occasion to dwell upon the 
 events of this war, which are familiar to almost every I'eader : 
 it is rather my aim to develop and arrange those cireum- 
 stances which, when rightly understood, give the clue to its 
 variou.s changes of fortune. 
 
 France wa.s, even in the fourteenth century, a kingdom of 
 such extent and compactness of fignn\ such p()|)U- causes of 
 hition and resources, and tilled with .so .-pirited ji '""""fcess. 
 nobility, that the very idea of subjugating it liv a foreign 
 force must have seemed the most extravagant dream of am- 
 bition.* Yet, in the course of aljout tweniy years of war, 
 
 ' The f)Ope (Beni-'Uct Xll.) wrote a were very suli.servient to France. Cleiii- 
 
 vtmnit lett.-r to tvlwanl (.Mandj. 1340), ent VI.. as well as his predree.ssur, Heii- 
 
 dlMUadin); him fnini tiikini; the title anii edict XII., threatened H^luard uilli 
 
 nri f Franie, an<l (Miintiiii; out the spiritual arms. U> r, t. v. |>. H.^ nnil 
 
 lni|i<>*>-ll'ility of hU ever hUi'ceeillnK- I 4*1-'). It n'<|niiTd 'Kilwiml's spirit and 
 
 linve no ilniiht hut tluit this wiut the lom- sti-adiness to dexpix' there menaces. But 
 
 mou o|iluloii. But the ArJi^uou poped the liuic wUeu they were terrlblu to
 
 62 EDWARD III. AND THE BLACK PRINCE. Chap. I. Part II. 
 
 this mighty nation was reduced to the lowest state of exhaus- 
 tion, and dismembered of considerable provinces by an igno- 
 minious peace. What was the combination of political causes 
 which brought about so strange a I'evolution, and, though not 
 reahzing Edward's hopes to their extent, redeemed them from 
 the imputation of rashness in the judgment of his own and 
 succeeding ages ? 
 
 The first advantage which Edward III. possessed m this 
 „ contest was derived fx'om the splendor of his per- 
 
 Character of i -n • 
 
 Edward in. soual character and irom the still more emment 
 and his son. yj^tues of his SOU. Besides prudence and mihtary 
 skill, these great princes were endowed with qualities peculiar- 
 ly fitted for the times in which they lived. Chivah-y was then 
 in its zenith ; and in all the virtues which adorned the knight- 
 ly character, in courtesy, munificence, gallantry, in all deli- 
 cate and magnanimous feelings, none were so conspicuous as 
 Edward III. and the Black Prince. As later princes have 
 boasted of being the best gentlemen, they might claim to be 
 the prowest knights in Europe — a character not quite dis- 
 similar, yet of more high pretension. Their court was, as 
 it were, the sun of that system which embraced the valor and 
 nobility of the Christian world ; and the respect which was 
 felt for their excellences, while it drew many to their side, 
 mitigated in all the rancor and ferociousness of hostility. 
 This war was like a great tournament, where the combatants 
 fought indeed a outrance, but with all the courtesy and fiiir 
 play of such an entertainment, and almost as much for the 
 honor of their ladies. In the school of the Edwards were 
 formed men not inferior in any nobleness of disposition to 
 their masters — Manni and the Captal de Buch, Knollys and 
 Calverley, Chandos and Lancaster. On the French side, 
 especially after Du Guesclin came on the stage, these had 
 rivals almost equally deserving of renown. If we could for- 
 get, what never should be forgotten, the wretchedness and 
 devastation that fell upon a great kingdom, too dear a price 
 for the display of any hei'oism, we might count these English 
 wars in France among the brightest periods in history. 
 
 Philip of Valois, and John his son, showed but poorly in 
 Ch.ariicter of comparison with their illustrious enemies. Yet 
 and'j'ohn! they both had considerable virtues ; they were 
 
 piTjices was rather passed by ; and the out his reign, with admirable fimmess 
 Holy See never ventured to provoke tlie and temper, 
 king, who treated the chm-ch, through-
 
 France. 
 
 RESOURCKS OF EDWARD III. 
 
 G;} 
 
 brave.^ jii>t, liberal, and tbe latter, in particular, of un- 
 shaken tidelitv to his word. But neither was beloved l)v 
 his subjeets ; tlie misirovernment and e\tt)rtion of their pred- 
 ecessors duriuLT halt' a century had alienated the public 
 mind, and rendered their own taxes and debasement of the 
 coin intoleral)le. Philip was made by misfortune, John by 
 nature, suspieious and austere ; and althouji^h their most 
 \-ioIent acts seem never to have wanted absolute justice, yet 
 they were so ill-conducted, and of so arbitrary a complexion, 
 that they greatly impaired the reputation, as well as interests, 
 of these monarclis. In the execution of Clisson under Philip, 
 in that of the Connetable d'Eu un(h>r John, and still more in 
 that of Harcourt, even in the imprisonment of tlie kinjr of 
 Navarre, though every one of these might have been guilty 
 of treasons, tiiere were circumstances enough to exasperate 
 the disatiected, and to strengthen the party of so politic a 
 competitor as Edward. 
 
 Next to the personal qualities of the king of England, 
 his resources in this war must be taken into the Resources 
 account. It was after long hesitation that he of tjif kinf? 
 assumed the title and arms of France, from which, ° "''' ''" 
 unless n]K)n the best terms, he coidd not recede without loss 
 of h(jnor.'^ In the mean time he strengthened himself l)y 
 
 • The bravery of Philip is not ques- 
 tioned. Hut a Fn'iirli lii.-tiiri;in. in orJer, 
 I liiippo^. to enliunre this (jualitv, lia.s 
 jin"*uMU'<l to violate truth in an extraor- 
 dinary manner. The rhallenfre sent by 
 E-lwanl. offering to decide liis claim to 
 the kingdom t)y single combat, is well 
 known. Certainly it conveys no imputa- 
 tion on the king of Krnnre to have de- 
 clined this unfair proposjil. Hut Velly 
 luis r>'pn-seiit<-d him as accepting it, on 
 conditiiin that f^-lwapl would stake the 
 cnjwn of Kn^land agiiinst that of France ; 
 an interjxilation which may Ihj truly 
 called auilacii>us, since not a word of thin 
 Is in i'hilip's lett<'r, preserved in Ilymcr, 
 which the hUtorian had U-fore hix eyes, 
 and actuallv quotes u|i<in the ocouiion. 
 Ht't. d.- Kra'nc... t. viii. p. ;iK2. 
 
 ' The first instrument in which Rl- 
 «.ird di^.illows the tith? of I'hilip is hi."! 
 "■•.rn.iilion witli the emjieror l/.uis of 
 ll.n.iria, wh<-n-in hi- calls him nunc pro 
 reg." Kninconim m- g<-renteni. The djit« 
 of fhl« i« August '2<>. 1337, yet on the 
 "■ -ame month another instru- 
 
 ■ Idm the title of king; and 
 
 III. -..,,1. ... urs in sul»M.<|uent inslanci-s. 
 At length we liave nu luslrument of pro- 
 
 curation to the duke of Bmbant. Oc- 
 tober V, 13137, empowering him to take 
 possession of the crown of France in the 
 name of Edward ; attendentes inclitiim 
 regnum Fninciw ad nos fore jure succcs- 
 sionis legitime devolutum. Another of 
 the same date appoints the .said duke his 
 vicar-general and lieutenant of France. 
 The king a,«sumed in this commission 
 the title Kex Francia; et Augliio ; in 
 other instruments he calls himself Ke.x 
 Angliif et Fninciie. It was necessary to 
 obviate the jealousy of the Kiiirlish. who 
 di<l not. in that age, admit the |)reci'ilciico 
 of Franco. Accordingly, Kdwanl had 
 two grt'at seals on which the two king- 
 doms were named in a dilfen'nt order. 
 Hut, in the royal arms, tho.se of Franco 
 were always in the lirst quarter, as they 
 continued to be until the accession of 
 the hfiuse of Hrunswick. 
 
 I'robably FMward 111. would not havo 
 enl<Tcd into the war merely <in account 
 of his cl;iiui to the crown. He had liis- 
 piites with I'hilip about (iuienne; and 
 that prince had, rather unjuslillably, 
 als-ttiMl |{ob<-rt llrm-e in ,'^collaiid. I am 
 n<it inclineil to lay any material stn-sii 
 ujiun the iuntigntiun of Kubert of Artol<.
 
 64 THE ENGLISH ARMIES. Ch.vp. I. Part II. 
 
 alliances with the emperor, with the cities of Flanders, and 
 with most of the princes in the Netherlands and on the 
 Rhme. Yet I do not know that he profited much by these 
 conventions, since he met with no success till the scene of 
 the war was changed from the Flemish frontier to Normandj 
 and Poitou. The troops of Hamault alone were constantly 
 distinguished in his service.-' 
 
 But his intrinsic strength was at home. England had 
 been growing in riches since the ^vise government of his 
 gi'andtather, Edward I., and through the market opened for 
 her wool with the manufacturing towns of Flanders. She 
 was tranquil within ; and her northern enemy, the vScotch, 
 had been defeated and quelled. The parliament, after some 
 sUght precautions against a very probable effect of Edward's 
 conquest of France, the reduction of their own island into a 
 province, entered, as warmly as improvidently, into his quar- 
 rel. The people made it their own, and grew so intoxicated 
 with the victories of tliis war, that for some centuries the in- 
 justice and folly of the enterprise do not seem to have struck 
 the gravest of our countrymen. 
 
 There is, indeed, ample room for national exultation at the 
 
 names of Crecy, Poitiers, and Azincourt. So gi'eat 
 
 of^the""''* '^vas the disparity of numbers upon those famous 
 
 English days, that we cannot, with the French historians, 
 
 attribute the discomfiture of their hosts merely to 
 mistaken tactics and too impetuous valor. They yielded 
 rather to that intrepid steadiness m danger which had already 
 become the characteristic of our English soldiers, and which, 
 during five centuries, has insured their superiority, whenever 
 ignorance or infatuation has not led them into the field. But 
 
 1 Michelet dwells on the advantage "Tine tactique nouvelle," M. Miohelet 
 
 which Edward gained by the commerce afterwards very well observes (p. 81), 
 
 of England with Flanders : " Le secret " sortait de Tetat nouveau de la societe ; 
 
 des batailles de Crecy, de Poitiers, est ce n'etait pas un oeuvre de genie, ni de 
 
 aux comptoirs des marchands de Londres, reflexion. Edouard III. n'etait ni ua 
 
 de Bordeaux, et de Bourges " (vol. v. p. Gustave Adolphe ni un Frederic II. II 
 
 6). France had no internal trade ; the avait employe les fantassins faute de 
 
 roads were dangerous on account of rob- cav-aliers. ... La hataille de Crecy 
 
 bers, and heavy tolls were to be paid ; reveilla un secret dont personne ne se 
 
 fiscal officers had replaced the feudal doutait, Timpuissance militaire de ee 
 
 lords. The value of money wa.s per- monde feodal, qui s'etait cru le seul 
 
 petually varying far more than in Eng- monde militaire." Courtray might have 
 
 land. (Id. p. 12.) Certainly the com- given some suspicion of this : but Cour- 
 
 parative pros))erity of the latter country tray was much less of a " bataille rangee " 
 
 supplied Edward with the .«inews of than Crecy. 
 war. France could not afford to main- 
 tain a well-appointed infantry.
 
 Fraxce. coxrrriox of France. Oo 
 
 these victorie.*, ami the quahtics that secured them, must 
 chit-fly he ascrihed to the freedom of our constitution, and to 
 the su|ierior condition of tlie ])coi)h\ Not the noliihty of 
 Euirland, not the feudal tenants won the battles of Crecy and 
 Poitiers ; for these were fully matched in the ranks of France ; 
 but the yeomen wlio dn-w the bow with strontr and stcadv 
 arms, accustomed to use it in their native flelds, and rendered 
 fearless by personal competence and civil freedom. It is well 
 known tliat eaeh of the tin-ee great victories was due to our 
 arcliers. who were chiefly of the middle class, and attached, 
 according to the system of tliat age, to the kniglits and squires 
 who Ibught in heavy armor with the lance. Even at the 
 batth' of Poitiers, of whicii our country seems to have the 
 lea<t right to boast, since the greater part of tlie Bhick 
 Prince's small army was composed of Gascons, the merit of 
 the Englisli bowmen is stronglv attested bv Froissart.^ 
 
 Yet the glorious termination to which Edward was enabled, 
 at least for a time, to bring th(i contest, was ratlier con<iition 
 the work of fortune than of valor and prudence, of France 
 Until tlie battle of Poitiers lie had made nobanieof 
 l»rogress towards the couipiest of France. That ''o't'Ts- 
 country was too vast, and his army too small, for such a rev- 
 ohition. The victory of Crecy gave him nothing but Cahiis ; 
 a |)ost of considerable inqxirtance in war and peace, but 
 rather ada|)ted to annoy than to subjugate the kingdom. But 
 at Poitiers he obtained the greatest of prizes, by taking 
 prisoner tin; king of France, Not only the love of freedom 
 teiiq)ted that prince to ransom himself by the utmost sacrifices, 
 but his cajitivity left France defenceless, and seemed to anni- 
 hilate the monarchy itself. The government was alreadv 
 odious ; a spirit wjis awakened in the people which might 
 
 ' An vmy dire, 1m nrrhiv d'Aturlc- " Par un clTort <lo lanoo ct <IY'('U, 
 
 t<Tre liiNoicnt ;V li-urs ircni (fmiit uttiii- ronf|Ui'-nint tdiis sex cniicniis, 
 
 tji({p. f'lir il." tiroypiit taut (•.•<|M'NH<.Mii<'iit, Y i urbiik'ntit'is ui fu uiiri ; " 
 
 fjiU" ]<•* Kniiir'ii'' '"■ i^avoyi-nt clfqiiel 
 
 cohU; ciifi-nilp'. "lu'ilc iif fiidM-nt ron- qiiotoil by Ilourher in liU tnin»lntlon of 
 
 nuyvU lie tniyt ; i-t M'avan^oycnt Utiin- ' II ConSDlaNpilcl Maro," p. 51S. Kvcii Hio 
 
 jour* (•<••< Angliii". vt |M-til i petit enquc- lontr-liow initrlit iiiriir tliis rcnciirc : or 
 
 r<i>ctif t<>rm. I'art I. r. 1(52. any xvi-apnn in wliicli tho (MiniliatjiiitH 
 
 It ii4 liy an imM >iTiT»lKlit tliiit Si/<inon<li foinilit nniiiii-i. Hut if wu lonk at tlie 
 
 li.i- 'aiil (X. Ztri), ••[,<••( Anirlnld /■taicnt plati'-annor of the fiflccntli rcntiwy. it 
 
 II. ■ 'iitiini/-« i w wrrir MiiiK ifWM- lie /Vir- may wi'iu that a kni>.'lit lia.l not iiiiirli 
 
 '/■' ' '• ■ Till" (•ro"«-t)ow waj* liMtkcil ii|Min to tioa-t of tin' ilanpT to wliirli In- i-x- 
 
 a- 1 .». i...,ii unworthy of n liniTc Minn : po-cl hinmolf, oHpwially wlicii cnoouiittT- 
 
 u pnjii h. <• whlrli nftfrwnniK prt-valli-il ing infantry, 
 with r\-i'\H-ri to (Iri'-annx. A roiiiunrcr 
 prnlw* tin- (•mp<rror Connwl, 
 
 Vol.. I.
 
 66 CONDITION OF FRANCE. Chap. I. Part II. 
 
 seem hardly to belong to the fourteenth century; and the 
 convulsions of our own time are sometimes strongly paralleled 
 by those which succeeded the battle of Poitiers. Already the 
 States- General had established a fundamental principle, that 
 no resolution could be passed as the opinion of the whole 
 unless each of the three orders concurred in its adoption.^ 
 The right of levying and of regulating the collection of taxes 
 was recognized. But that assembly, which met at Paris 
 immediately after the battle, went far greater lengths in the 
 reform and control of government. From the time of Philip 
 the Fair the abuses natural to arbitrary power had harassed 
 the people. There now seemed an opportunity of redress ; 
 and however seditious, or even treasonable, may have been 
 the motives of those who guided this assembly of the States, 
 especially the famous Marcel, it is clear that many of their 
 reformations tended to liberty and the public good.^ But the 
 tumultuous scenes which passed in the capital, sometimes 
 heightened into civil war, ueces.sarily distracted men from 
 the common defence against Edward. These tumults were 
 excited, and the distraction increased, by Cliarles king of 
 Navarre, surnamed the Bad, to whom the French writers 
 have, not perhaps unjustly, attributed a character of unmixed 
 and inveterate malignity. He was grandson of Louis Hutin, 
 by his daughter Jane, and, if Edward's pretence of claiming 
 through females, could be admitted, was a nearer heir to the 
 crown ; the consciousness of which seems to have suggested 
 itself to his depraved mind as an excuse for his treacheries, 
 though he could entertain very little prospect of asserting the 
 claim against either contending party. John had bestowed 
 his daughter in marriage on the king of Navarre ; but he 
 very soon gave a proof of his character by procuring the 
 assassination of the king's favorite, Chaides de la Cerda. An 
 irreconcileable enmity was the natural result of this crime. 
 Charles became aware that he had offended beyond the possi- 
 bility of forgiveness, and that no letters of pardon, nor pre- 
 tended reconciliation, could secure him from the king's resent- 
 ment. Thus, impelled by guilt into deeper guilt, he entered 
 into, alliances with Edward, and fomented the seditious spirit 
 of Paris. Eloquent and insinuating, he was the favorite of the 
 
 1 Ordonnances des Rois de France, t. ii. but it arose indispensably out of my ar- 
 
 2 I must refer the reader onward to the rangement, and prevented greater incon- 
 next chapter for more information on this veniences. 
 
 subject. This separation is inconvenient,
 
 Fr.\xce. 
 
 AFTER THE BATTLE OF POITIERS. 
 
 ('.7 
 
 people, who-:e {rrievaiices he affected to pity, and with whose 
 leaders he intrigued. As his paternal inheritance, lie pos- 
 sessed the county of Evreux in Nonnnndy. The proxiniitv 
 of this to Paris ci'eated a formidable diversion in favor of 
 Kflward III., and connected the English garrisons of the 
 ^s'orth with those of Poitou and Guienne. 
 
 There is no atlliction which did not fall upon France during 
 this miserable period. A foreign enemy was in tlu' hcait of 
 the kingdom, the king a prisoner, the capital in sedition, a 
 treacherous jirince of the blood in arms against the sovereiLrn 
 authority. Famine, the sure and terrible companion of war, 
 for several years desolated the country. In 1348 a pestilence, 
 the most extensive and unsparing of which we have any 
 memorial, visited France as well as the rest of Europe, and 
 consummated the work of hunger and the swoi-d.^ Tlie com- 
 panies of adventure, mercenary troops in the service of John 
 or P^dward. finding no immediate occupation after the truce 
 of 1.!.j7, scattered themselves over the country in search of 
 pillage. No force existed sufficiently powerful to check these 
 I'oblyers in their career. Undismayed by superstition, thev 
 couii)elled the pope to redeem himself in Avignon by the 
 payment of forty thousand crowns.^ France was the jjassive 
 victim of their license, even after the pacification concluded 
 with England, till some were diverted into Italy, ami otheis 
 led Iiy Du Guesclin to the war of Castile. Impatient of this 
 
 1 A full aooomit of the rnvrifres made 
 hy this niMiinnililo plnf^ic nitiy lie found 
 in Muftfo Vill.'iiii. tlic MK-onii of tliat 
 family wlio wrote tlio liistory of Florence. 
 Ilii lirother aricl precli-<i-<,-inr. .lolin A'il- 
 luni. wiu liiiHM'lf II viitini to it. Ttie 
 iliwa.ae iH'pin in the Levant aliout 1.34t) ; 
 from whenee Italian tnident brought it 
 to Sirily. I'i<a. and fiinoa. In 1*48 it 
 pnx.iw-d the Alpn and cpn-ad over Kninee 
 and Spain: in the next jear it readied 
 Ilritain. and in 1.3.VI lai.l wnxte (lennany 
 and other nortliern »tate» ; l/ixtini; gen- 
 erally a)>out fivf months in earh roiintrv. 
 At Floreiiri- more than thri'i' out of five 
 die<I. MuniUiri, .script. Kernm It^ilira- 
 rum. t. xiv. p. 12. Tin- (■torli-« of Ikw- 
 mei-iii'K Dfrnnii'nini-. ax \k well known, are 
 /nip|K,m.d to Im- n-lat<-<l hy a M<eiety of 
 Klon-ntlne ladle* nnd (rentlemen rerlreU 
 to thi' rouiitry dnrinK tliiN pe»tllenee. 
 
 .\nollier pe«tlliMief, (inly lenn deBtriir- 
 tivi- flian flie fonrn-r. wanted h'lth Kninre 
 and Kij^-laiid in 1.3<!1. SLmoiidi liltt.rlv 
 n-iii.irk- 'x. 342) that t..tMi-.ii f.mr anil 
 
 five millions who died of the fonuer 
 plaRUe in France merely diminished the 
 number of the oppres.sed, produeinR no 
 perceptible effect. Hut tlii.< i.>i cxajrirer- 
 ated. The jila^rue caused a truce of 
 sevenl months. The war was in fact 
 carried on with less vi)?or for .'^oine years. 
 It is, howevi-r, by no means uiilikily 
 that the number of deathif has been over- 
 rated. Nothing can he more lon.se than 
 the statistical eviilence of mediieval 
 writers. Thus 30.(KW are said to have 
 died at Narbouue. (Michelet. v. SM.) 
 Hut had Xarbonne so many tn lose .' .\t 
 li'ast, wriuld not tin- di'jiopul.-ition have 
 been out of all proportion t<i iitbi-r cities .' 
 ■- Froissart, p. 1S7. This troop nf ban- 
 ditti was conuiianded by .\rnaud de Cer- 
 Tole, snrnanu'd rAri'hiprctre, from a ben- 
 efice which, although a layman, hi' poH- 
 s<"SHed, a<'cordin); to the irrc;rularity of 
 those a({es. See a memoir on llie life of 
 .\riiaud de Cervole, in the tvvcnfy-tlftll 
 volume of the Academy of lii>cripti<ins.
 
 68 PEACE OF BRETIGNI. Chap. I. Part II. 
 
 wretcliediiess, and stung by the insolence and luxury of theii' 
 lords, the peasantry of several districts broke out 
 into a dreadful insurrection. This was called the 
 Jacquerie, from the cant phrase Jacques Bonhomme, applied 
 to men of that class ; and was marked by all the circumstances 
 of horror incident to the rising of an exasperated and unen- 
 lightened populace.^ 
 
 Subdued by these misfortunes, though Edward had made 
 Peace of but slight progrcss towards the conquest of the 
 Bretigm. country, the regent of France, afterwards Charles 
 v., submitted to the peace of Bretigni. By this treaty, not to 
 mention less important articles, all Guienne, Gascony, Poitou, 
 A D 1360 Saintonge, the Limousin, and the Angoumois, as 
 well as Calais, and the county of Pontliieu, were 
 ceded in full sovereignty to Edward ; a price abundantly com- 
 pensating his renunciation of the title of France, which was the 
 sole concession stipulated in return. Every care seems to 
 have been taken to make the cession of these provinces com- 
 plete. The first six articles of the treaty expressly sui'render 
 them to the king of England. By the seventh, John and his 
 son engaged to convey within a year from the ensuing 
 
 1 The second continuator of Nangis, a must add that the celebrated story of the 
 
 monk of no great abilities, but entitled six citizens of Calais, which has of late 
 
 to notice as our most contemporary his- been called in question, receives strong 
 
 torian, charges the nobility with spend- confirmation from John Villani, who died 
 
 ing the money raised upon the people by very soon afterwards. L. xii.c. 96. Frois- 
 
 oppressive taxes, in playing at dice, "et sart of cour.se wrought up the circum- 
 
 alios indeeentes jocos." D'Achery, Spici- stances after this manner. In all the 
 
 legium, t. iii. p. 114 (folio edition). All coloring of his history he is as great a 
 
 the miseries tliat followed the battle of master as Livy, and as little observant 
 
 Poitiers he .ascribes to bad government of particular truth. M. de Brequigny, 
 
 and neglect of the commonweal : but almost the latest of those excellent an- 
 
 especially to the pride and luxury of the ticjuaries whose memoirs so much illus- 
 
 nobles. I am aware that this writer is trate the French Academy of Inscrip- 
 
 biassed in fiivor of the king of Navarre ; tions, has discussed the history of Calais, 
 
 but he was an eye-witness of the people's and particularly this remarkable portion 
 
 misery, and perhaps a less exceptionable of it. Mem., de I'Academie des Inscrip- 
 
 authority tlian Froissart, whose love of tions, t. i. 
 
 p.igeantry and habits of feasting in the Petrarch has drawn a lamentable pic- 
 castles of the great seem to have produced ture of the state of France in 1360, when 
 some insensiliitity towards the sufferings he paid a visit to Paris. I could not 
 of the lower classes. It is a painful cir- believe, he says, that this Wixs the same 
 cumstance, which Froissart and the con- kingdom which I had once seen so rich 
 tinuator of Xangis attest, that the citizens and flourishing. Nothing presented itself 
 of Calais, more interesting than the com- to my eyes but a fearful solitude, an ex- 
 mon heroes of history, were unrewarded, treme poverty, lands uncultivated, houses 
 and begged their bread in mi.sery tlirough- in ruins. Even the neighborliood of 
 out France. Villaret contradicts this, on Paris manifested everywhere marks of 
 the authority of an ordinance which he destruction and conflagration. The streets 
 has .seen in their favor. But that was are deserted ; the roads overgrown with 
 not a time when ordinances were very weeds : the whole is a vast solitude, 
 sure of execution. ViU. t. ix. p. 470. I Mem. de Petrarqvie, t. iii. p. 541.
 
 France. PEACE OF BRETIGXI. G9 
 
 !Midia<?lm:v-5 all their riu^hts over tliein, and especiallv tho;JO 
 of .sovcreiufiity ami li'iidal appeal. Tlie sauu' wunls arc le- 
 l)eateil still more einpliatically in the eleventh and Miinc 
 other artieles. Tiie twelfth titipulates the exehan;j:c of nni- 
 tual renunciations; hy John, of all riglit over the ceded 
 coinitries ; by Edward, of liis claim to the throne of France. 
 At Calais the treaty of Breti;^ni was renewed by John, wlio, 
 as a prisoner, had I»cen no i)arty to the former compact, with 
 the omis-ion only of the twclith article, respectinir the ex- 
 change of renunciations. But that it was not intemled to 
 waive them by this omission is aliundantly manifest by instru- 
 ment- of liotii the kings, in which reference is made to their fu- 
 ture interchangi's at Bruges, on the feast of St. Andrew, lolil. 
 And, until that time siiould arrive, Edward promises to lay 
 aside the title and arms of France (an engagement which he 
 strictly ke[)t^), and John to act in no respect as king or 
 suzerain over the ceded provinces. Finally, on ^'ovember 
 15, 1301. two commissioners are appointed by Edward to re- 
 ceive the renunciations of the king of France at Bruges on 
 the ensuing feast of St. Andrew,- and to do whatever might 
 be mutually retpiired by virtue of the treaty. These, how- 
 ever, seem to have been withheld, and the twelfth article of 
 the treaty of Bretigni was never expressly completed. Bv 
 nuitual instruments, executed at Calais, October 21. it had 
 been declared tiiat the sovereignty of the ceded provinces, as 
 well a- Edward's right to the crown of France, should remain 
 as before, although >uspended as to its exercise, until the ex- 
 change of renunciations, notwithstanding any words of present 
 conveyance or relea-^e in the treaties of Bretigni and Calais. 
 And another pair (»f letters-patent, dated ()ctol)er 2(;, contains 
 tin- flirni of renunciations, which, it is nuitually declared, 
 should have et!e<'t by virtue of the present letters, in case one 
 party -hould be ready to exchange such renunciations at the 
 time and placi- a|ipointed, and the other sh(»uld make default 
 therein. These instruments executed at Calais are so prolix, 
 and -o stu<liou-ly enveloped, as it seems, in the obscm-ity of 
 technical huiguage, that it is dilHctdt to extract their precise 
 itilenlion. It appears, nenertheless, that whichever party was 
 j)repan;d to pertorm what was n-fpiired of him at liiiiges on 
 
 > Rlwiiril kItjxi .Jolin flii- titio of KImk \i. ji, 'J17. TIk' tn-iity wiin h\„'ii<;\ Octo- 
 of KraiK-f ill .-III lnj<friiiiiiMit tii'iiriiii; ilnU- Imt '21. Id. p. Ulit. 
 at Caliib, Oclolwr '£i. Vm. K.\iiaT, t. 2 Kyni. t. vl. |). SW
 
 70 PEACE OF BRETIGXI. Chap. I. Part II. 
 
 November 30, 1361, the other then and there making deiauh, 
 would acquire not only what our lawyers might call an 
 equitable title, but an actual vested right, by virtue of the 
 provision in the letters-patent of October 26, 1360. The ap- 
 pointment above mentioned of Edward's commissioners on 
 November 15, 1361, seems to throw upon the French the 
 burden of proving that John sent his envoys with equally 
 full powers to the place of meeting, and that the non-inter- 
 change of renunciations was owing to the English govern- 
 ment. But though an historian, sixty years later (Juvenal des 
 Ursins), asserts that the French commissioners attended at 
 Bruges, and that those of Edward made default, this is 
 certainly rendered improbable by the actual appointment of 
 commissioners made by the king of England on the loth of 
 November, by the silence of Charles V. after the recom- 
 mencement of hostilities, who would have rejoiced in so good 
 a ground of excuse, and by the language of some English 
 instruments, complaining that the French renunciations were 
 withheld.-^ It is suggested by the French authors that Ed- 
 ward was unwilling to execute a formal renunciation of his 
 claim to the crown. But we can hardly suppose that, in 
 order to evade this condition, which he had voluntarily im- 
 
 1 It appears that, among other alleged of sovereignty, the king should send his 
 
 infractions of the treaty, the king of of the title of France. Martenne, Thes. 
 
 France had received appeals from Ar- Anec. t. i. p. 1487. 
 
 magnac, Albret, and other nobles of Four princes of the blood, or, as they 
 Aquitaine, not long after the peace. For, are termed, Seigneurs des Fleurdelys, 
 in February, 1.362, a French envoy, the were detained as hostages for the due ex- 
 count de Tancarville, being in England, ecvition of the treaty of Bretigni, which, 
 the privy council presented to Edward from whatever pretence, was delayed for 
 their bill of remonstrances against this a considerable time. Anxious to obtain 
 conduct of France ; et semble an conseil their liberty, they signed a treaty at 
 le roy d'Angleterre que considere la London in November, 1362, by which, 
 fourme de la ditte paix, que tant estoit among other provisions, it was stipulated 
 honourable et proffitable au royaume de that the king of France should send 
 France et 4 toute chretiente, que la re- fresh letters, under his seal, conveying 
 ception desdittes appellacions n'a mie and releasing the territories ceded by the 
 este bien faite. ne passee si ordenement, peace, without the clause contained in 
 ne i si lion affection et amour, comme il the former letters, retaining the ressort : 
 droit avoir este fait de raison parmi I'ef- et que en ycelles lettres soit expresse- 
 fet et rintention de la paix et ailliances nient compris transport de la souver- 
 afferniees et entr'eux semble estre moult ainete et du ressort, &c. Et le roi 
 prejudiciables et contraires -i I'onneur et d'Angleterre et ses enfans ferront seni- 
 a Testat du roy et de son tils le prince et blablenient autiels renonciations, sur ce 
 de toute la maison d'Angleterre, et pour- q"il doit faire de sa partie. Rymer, t. vi. 
 ra estre evidente matiere de rebellion des p. 396. This treaty of London was never 
 subgiez, et .-uissi donner tres-grant oc- ratified by the French government ; but 
 casion d'enfrainrtrc la paix, si bon re- 1 use it as a proof that Edward imputed 
 mcde sur ce n'y soit mis plus hastive- the want of mutual renunciations to 
 nient. Upon the whole they conclude France, and was himself ready to per- 
 that if the king of France would reijair form his part of the treaty. 
 this trespass, and send his renunciation
 
 Fr.\xce. 
 
 PE.VCE OF BRETIGXI. 
 
 71 
 
 posed upon liiinself by the treaties of Bretigni and Calais, lie 
 woiiM have left his title to the pnninees eeded by those eoii- 
 venliinis inipertect. lie eeriaiiily lU'enied it indeteasible, and 
 acted, without any complaint from the French court, as the 
 pert'eet master of those countries. lie created his son prince 
 of A(iuitaine. with tlie fullest powei's over that new la-ineipal- 
 itv, holdinir it in lief of the crown of Enijjhuid by tlie vearlv 
 rent of an ounce of gold.^ And the court of that great 
 prince was kept for several years at Bordeaux. 
 
 I iiave gone something more than usual into detail as to 
 these circumstances, because a very specious account is given 
 by some French historians and antitpiaries whicli tends to 
 throw the bUuue of the rupture in I'MS U[)on Edward III.'- 
 Untbunded as was his pretension to the crown of France, and 
 actuated jis we must consider him by the most ruinous am- 
 bition, his character was unblemished bv ill faith. There is 
 no apparent cause to imj>ute tlie ravages made in France by 
 soldiers formerly in the English service to his instigation, nor 
 any ]troof of a connection with the king of Navarre subse- 
 quently to the peace of Bretigni. But a good lesson may be 
 drawn by concpierors from the change of fortune that befell 
 Eilward III. A long warfare, and unexampled success, had 
 procured for him some of the richest provinces of France. 
 Within a short time he was entirely stri{)ped of them, less 
 through any particular misconduct than in consequence of the 
 intrinsic flillicuhy of |treserving such acipiisitions. The French 
 were ah«'ady knit together as one people; and even those 
 
 I Ilyni. t. vi. p. .'JS.")-3S9. One clause 
 Is n-iiiarkalik- : I'^lwiinl rfscrvex to hiiii- 
 M'lf tin- ri;;lit of rreiitinB the pniviiicc of 
 A<|iiit:iiiirf into a kiiiK'loiii. So hi;;li wi-re 
 till- ii'itinn.-" of till'* i;n-;it inoiianli in an 
 H'i<- when thi? privilc^re of rriMtinif new 
 kiri^f'lxnit Ha> ili'eniel to iH'loni; only to 
 the pope anil the enijHTor. Ktiani i>\ per 
 noK liiijii^uiixli pniviiieiieail n-;piliM huno- 
 ri" tiniliini et fa-lij.'iiini iin|M>steriini cuh- 
 linientnr: <|uani en-etionem Cieieiicliiin 
 p«T iioK i-x tune ii|i<M-ialiter rcMTvainUfi. 
 
 - il>fi<li-» Villaret anil other liiKtoriiinx, 
 
 *' ' " who fi-<'l!< anv euriocjty on thin 
 
 ■ V louHult thriv nienioirH in 
 
 ■I '■ 'I'- \' -l.-niy of In- 
 
 - ilier. anil 
 !• 1 aii(ii|na- 
 
 ri<K iiiiii<-, hill lliu lliiril with niueli lexri 
 rontl'leiiee anil |Huixlon than the other 
 two. in eharv'in« the oini»Klon n|>on t-'A- 
 wanl. The olx^Trnllonx in tlif text will 
 
 i»erve, I hope, to repel their nrffunionts, 
 whieh, 1 may he perniitteil to observe, 
 no Knirlisli writer has hitherto umler- 
 t^ikeii to answer. This is not saiil in 
 onler to assume any praise to myself; in 
 faet. I liave been fruiileil. in a jrivat ile- 
 (tn-e, by one of the ailver.-ie counsel, .M. 
 Ilonamy, whose statement of farts is very 
 fair, anil makes nie suspect a little that 
 he saw tlie weakness of liis own cause. 
 
 The authority of Christine de Tisan, 
 a contemporary panej^yrist of the French 
 kinji, is not, perhaps, very material in 
 such a question ; but she six-nis wholly 
 ignorant of this supposeil omission on 
 KilwariJ's siile, anil puts the justice of 
 Charles V.'s war on a very ililferent 
 basis ; namely, that treaties not con<lu- 
 cive to the public interest ou;{hl not to 
 lie ki-pt. — ColliMlion lies Menioin's, t. v. 
 1>. 1;j7. a principle more often aet<'it 
 ujion than avowed I
 
 72 RUPTURE OF THE PEACE. Chap. I. Part II. 
 
 whose feudal duties sometimes lead them into the field against 
 their sovereign could not endure the feeling of dismember- 
 ment from the monarchy, "When the peace of Bretigni was 
 to be cai-ried into effect, the nobility of the South remon- 
 strated against the loss of the king's sovereignty, and showed, 
 it is said, in their charters granted by Charlemagne, a promise 
 never to transfer the right of protecting them to another. 
 The citizens of Rochelle implored the king not to desert 
 them, and protested their readuiess to pay half their estates 
 in taxes, rattier than fall under the power of England. John 
 with heaviness of heart persuaded these faithful people to 
 comply with that destiny which lie had not been able to sur- 
 mount. At length they sullenly submitted : we will obey, they 
 said, the English with our lips, but our hearts shall never 
 forget their allegiance.^ Such unwilling subjects might per- 
 haps have been won by a prudent government ; but the tem- 
 per of the prince of Wales, which was rather stern and 
 arbitrary, did not conciliate their hearts to his cause.^ After 
 the expedition into Castile, a most injudicious and fatal enter- 
 prise, he attempted to impose a heavy tax upon Guienne. 
 This was extended to the lands of the nobility, who claimed 
 an immunity from all impositions. Many of the chief lords 
 in Guienne and Gascony carried their complaints 
 Rupture of to the tliroiie of Ciiarles V., who had succeeded his 
 the peace of father in 1364, appealing to him as the prince's 
 sovereign and judge. After a year's delay the 
 king ventured to summon the Black Prince to 
 answer these charges before the peers of France, and the war 
 immediately recommenced between the two countries.^ 
 
 Though it is impossible to reconcile the conduct of Charles 
 upon this occasion to the stern principles of rectitude which 
 ought always to be obeyed, yet the exceeding injustice of Ed- 
 ward in the former war, and the miseries which he inflicted 
 upon an unoffending people in the prosecution of his claim, 
 will go far towards extenuating this breach of the treaty of 
 
 1 Froissart, part i. chap. 214. s On November 20, 1.368. some time be- 
 
 2 See an anecdote of liis difference with fore the summons of the prince of Wales, 
 the seigneur d'Albret, one of the princi- a treaty was concluded between Charles 
 pal barons in Gascony, to which Frois- and Henry king of Castile, wherein the 
 sart, who was then at Bordeaux, ascribes latter expressly stipulates that whatever 
 the alienation of the southern nobility, parts of Guienne or England he might 
 chap. 244. — Edward III., soon after the conquer he would give up to the king of 
 peace of Bretigni, revoked all his grants France. — Kymer, t. vi. p. 698. 
 
 in Guienne. — Kymer, t. vi. p. 391.
 
 France. LOSS OF THE ENGLISH CONQUESTS. 73 
 
 BreiijTiii. It is observed, indeeil, with some truth by Ka|tiii, 
 tli:it we jiiilirt' of Charles's priiileneo by the event ; aiul that, 
 it' he liail been uiitbrtunate in the war. he would have broutrht 
 on himself the reproaches of all mankind, and even of those 
 writers who are now most ready to extol him. But his 
 measures had been so sagaciously taken, that, except through 
 that perverseness of fortune, against which, especially in war, 
 there is no security, he could hardly fail of success. The 
 elder P^dward was declining through age, and the younger 
 through disease; the ceded provinces were eager to return 
 to their native king, and their garrisons, as we may infer by 
 their easy reduction, feeble and ill-supplied. France, on the 
 other hand, had recovered breath after her losses ; the sons of 
 those who had fallen or fled at Poitiers were in the field ; a 
 king, not personally warlike, but eminently wise and popular, 
 occupied the throne of the rash and intemperate John. She 
 was restored by the policy of Ciiarles V. and the valor of Du 
 Guesclin. This hero, a Breton gentleman without fortune or 
 exterior "rraees. was the jrreatest ornament of France dnrins 
 that age. Though inferior, as it seems, to Lord Chandos in 
 military skill, as well as in the polished virtues of chivalry, 
 his unwearied activity, his talent of inspiring confidence, his 
 good t(>rtun<', the generosity and frankness of his character, 
 have preserved a fresh recollection of his name, wliich has 
 hardly been the cjise with our countryman. 
 
 In a few campaigns the English wen.' dei»rived of almost 
 all their coniinots, and even, in a great degree, of „, 
 their original possessions in Guicime. They were lose ali ° 
 still formidable enemies, not oidy from their cour- t'i^""/o'»- 
 age and alacrity in the war, but on account of the 
 keys of France which they held in their hands ; Bordeaux, 
 Bayonne, and Calais, by inheritance ^r conquest ; Brest 
 and Clierl)ourg, in mortgage from their allies, the duke of 
 Biitany and king ot Navarre. But the successor of Ivlwanl 
 III. was Richard II.; a reign of feebleness and sedition gave 
 no (»pjtortunitv for prosecuting schemes of anil)ilion. The 
 w;ir, protracted with liiw distinguished events tor several 
 years, was at length rtuspentled by repeated armistices, not, 
 indeed, very strictly ob.ierved, and which the animosity of the 
 Kngli-h would not permit to settle in any regular lii'.ily. 
 Nothing less than the terms obtainecl al Hri'ligni, eiiipliali- 
 CJilly calle<l the Great Peace, would .satisfy a frank :iud lour-
 
 74 CHARLES V. AND VI. Chap. I. Part. II. 
 
 ageous people, who deemed themselves cheated by the man- 
 ner of its infraction. The war was therefore always popular 
 in England, and the credit which an ambitious pi-ince, Thomas 
 duke of Gloucester, obtained in that country, was chiefly 
 owing to the determined opposition which he showed to all 
 French connections. But the politics of Richard II. were of 
 a different cast ; and Henry IV. was equally anxious to avoid 
 hostilities with France ; so that, before the unhappy condition 
 of that kingdom tempted his son to revive the claims of Ed- 
 ward in still more favorable circumstances, there had been 
 thirty years of respite, and even some intervals of friendly 
 intercourse between the two nations. Both, indeed, were 
 weakened by internal discord ; but France more fatally than 
 England. But for the calamities of Charles VI.'s reign, she 
 would probably have expelled her enemies from the kingdom. 
 The strength of that fertile and populous country was re- 
 cruited with sui'prising rapidity. Sir Hugh Calverley, a 
 famous captain in the wars of Edward III., while serving in 
 Flanders, laughed at the herald, who assured him that the 
 king of France's army, then entering the country, amounted 
 to 26,000 lances ; asserting that he had often seen their larg- 
 est musters, but never so much as a fourth part of the num- 
 ber.-^ The relapse of this great kingdom under Charles VI. 
 was more painful and perilous than her first crisis ; but she 
 recovered from each through her intrinsic and inextinguish- 
 able resources. 
 
 Charles V., surnamed the Wise, after a reign, which, if we 
 Accession of Overlook a little obliquity in the rupture of the 
 GUari s VI., peace of Bretigni, may be deemed one of the most 
 honorable in French history, dying prematurely, 
 left the crown to his son, a boy of thirteen, under the care of 
 thi'ee ambitious uncles, the dukes of Anjou, Berry, and Bur- 
 gundy. Charles had retrieved the glory, restored the tran- 
 quillity, revived the spirit of his country ; the severe trials 
 which exercised his regency after the battle of Poitiers had 
 disciplined his mind ; he became a sagacious statesman, an 
 encourager of literature, a beneficent lawgiver. He erred, 
 doubtless, though upon plausible grounds, in accumulating a 
 vast treasure, which the duke of Anjou seized before he was 
 cold in the grave. But all the fruits of his wisdom were lost 
 in the succeeding reign. In a government essentially popu- 
 
 iFroissart, p. ii. c. 142.
 
 France. SEDITIONS AT PAKIS. 7o 
 
 kr the vouth or imUocility of the sovereign create> no mate- 
 rial derangement. In a monarehy, where all the s[)rings of 
 the svjteni dejienil npon one eentral force, these aeeiilents, 
 whieh are snre in the course of a few generations to recur, 
 can scarcely tail to di-locate the whole machine. During 
 tiie forty years that Charles VL bore the name of king, 
 rather than reigned in France, that country was reduced 
 to a state far more deplorable than during the captivity of 
 John. 
 
 A great change had occurred in the political condition of 
 Fnuice during the fourteenth century. As the feudal militia 
 became nnservicealile, the expenses of war were increased 
 through the necessity of taking troops into constant pay ; and 
 while more luxurious reKnements of living heiglitened the 
 temj)tations to profnseness, tlie means of enjoying them were 
 lessened by improvident alienations of the domain. Hence, 
 taxes, hitherto almost unknown, were levied incessantly, and 
 with all tliose circumstances of oppression which are natural 
 to the tiscal proceedings of an arbitrary government. These, 
 as has been said betbre, gave rise to the unpopularity of the 
 two first Valois, and were nearly leading to a complete revo- 
 lution in the convulsions that succeeded the battle of Poitiers. 
 The contidence rejiosed in Charles V.'s wisdom and economy 
 kept everything at rest during his reign, though the taxes 
 were still very heavy. But the seizure of his vast accumula- 
 tions by tlie duke of Anjon, and the ill faitli with which tlie 
 new gov«'rnment imposed .-ubsidies, after promising their abo- 
 lition, provoked the people of Paris, and some- Seaitiona 
 times of other phices. to repeated seditions. The ati'aiia. 
 Slates-Gen<-ral not only compelled the government to revoke 
 these impositions and restore the nation, at least according to 
 the language of edicts, to all their liberties, but, with less wis- 
 dom, refused to make any grant of money. Indeed a re- 
 markalile spirit of democralical freedom was then rising in 
 those classes on whom the crown and nobility had .so long 
 trampled. An example was lidd (jut by the Flemings, who, 
 always tenacious of tiii-ir privileges, liecause conscious of tlieir 
 aljility to maiiUain them, were engaged in a finious confiici w iih 
 Louis count of Flanders.^ Tin; e(nnt of France took pari 
 
 1 Till- Kli-nilKh n-lM-Ulon, wliidi ori;rf- upon tin- ponpl.' of (Jlimit wltlnnit tlii-lr 
 rmtiMl ill an ntu-nipt. itUKKfuU-il by bml c<)ll^M•Ilt, In rfliitcil in a vt>r> jni.Tfutiiig 
 a<ivLM.Ti( to tbu couut, to iiuponu a tax luiiiiiitT by FroUwirt, p. II. c. 87, &o., who
 
 76 SEDITIOXS AT PARIS. Chap. I. Part II. 
 
 in this war ; and after obtaining a decisive victoiy over the 
 citizens of Ghent, Charles VI. returned to chastise those of 
 Paris.^ Unable to resist the royal armj^, the city was treated 
 as the spoil of conquest ; its immunities abridged ; its most 
 active leaders put to death ; a fine of uncommon severity im- 
 i:>osed ; and the taxes renewed l)y arbitrary prerogative. But 
 the people preserved their indignation for a favorable mo- 
 ment ; and were unfortunately led by it, when rendered sub- 
 servient to the ambition of others, into a series of crimes, and 
 a long alienation from the interests of their country. 
 
 It is difficult to name a limit beyond which taxes will not 
 be borne without impatience, when they appear to be called 
 for by necessity, and faithfully applied ; nor is it impracticable 
 for a skilful minister to deceive the people in both these 
 respects. But the sting of taxation is wastefulness. What 
 high-spii'ited man could see without indignation the earnings 
 of his labor, yielded ungrudgingly to the public defence, 
 become the spoil of parasites and sjieculators ? It is this 
 that mortifies the liberal hand of public spirit ; and those 
 statesmen who deem the security of government to depend 
 not on laws and armies, but on the moral sympathies and 
 prejudices of the people, will vigilantly guard against even 
 the suspicion of prodigality. In the present stage of society 
 it is impossible to conceive that degree of 'misapplication 
 which existed in the French treasury under Charles VI., 
 because the real exigencies of the state could never again be 
 so inconsiderable. Scarcely any military force was kept up ; 
 
 equals Herodotus in simplicity, liveliness, Parisians, Froissart says, would have 
 
 and power over the heart. I would ad- spread over France ; toute gentillesse et 
 
 vise the historical student to acquaint noblesse eut ete morte et perdue en 
 
 himself with these transactions and with France ; nor would the Jacquerie have 
 
 the corresponding tumults at Paris. ever been si grande etsi horrible, c. 120. 
 
 They are among the eternal lessons of To the example of the Gantois he as- 
 history ; for the unjust encroachments cribes the tumults which broke out about 
 of courts, the intemperate passions of the same time in England as well iis in 
 the multitude, the ambition of dema- France, c. 84. The Flemish insurrection 
 gogues, the cruelty of victorious factions, would probably have had more importint 
 will never cease to have their parallels consequencesif it had been cordially sup- 
 and their analogies ; while the military ported by the English government. But 
 achievements of distant times afford in the danger of encouraging that demo- 
 general no instruction, and can hardly cratical spirit which so strongly leavened 
 occupy too little of our time in historical the commons of England might justly 
 studies. The prefaces to the fifth and be deemed by Richard II. 's council much 
 sixth volumes of the Ordonnances des more than a counterbalance to the ad- 
 Rois de France contain more accurate vantage of distressing France. When 
 inl'ormation as to the Parisian disturb- too late, some attempts were made, and 
 ances than can be found in Froissart. the Flemish towns acknowledged llich- 
 
 1 If Charles VI. had been defeated by ard as king of France in 1384. llymer, 
 
 the Flemings, the insurrection of the t. vii. p. 448.
 
 FR-VXCE. 
 
 SEPiTiox>; AT r.vnrs. 
 
 and the proiluee of the grievou? impositions th»Mi levied was 
 chietiv lavished upon the royal hoii-ehold,^ or plmulered hy 
 the otlieers of jrovernment. This naturally resulted from tlie 
 peeuliar and afHietiujr eireumstanees of this reign. The 
 duke of Anjou pretendeil to be entitled by the late king's 
 appointment, if not by the eonstitution of Franee, to exereise 
 the government as regent during the minority;'^ but this 
 period, whieh would naturally be very short, a law of Charles 
 V. having tixed the age of majority at thirteen, was still more 
 abritlged by consent ; and after the young monarch's corona- 
 tion, lie was considered as reigning with full personal au- 
 thority. Anjou. Berry, and Burgimdy, together with the 
 king's maternal uncle, the duke of Bourbon, divided the 
 actual exercise of govermnent. 
 
 The first of these soon undertook an expedition into Italy, 
 to possess himself of the crown of Naples, in which he per- 
 ished. Berrv was a profuse and voluptuous man, of no great 
 talents ; though his rank, and the middle position which he 
 held between struggling parties, made him rather consi)icnons 
 throngliout the revolutions of that age. The most respecta- 
 ble of the king's uncles, the duke of Bourbon, being further 
 removed from the royal stem, and of an unassuming charac- 
 
 1 Tlif pxponscg of the royal liou.««'liolil, 
 which uiiiler Charles V. were m.lWK) 
 livrex. aiiiounteJ in 1412 to 4o<i,iXK)- 
 Villuret. t. iii. p. 243. ^ et the kinj; was 
 fu) ill siippliol that hi." plate ha'l been 
 pawiie.1. When Mont.i(ra. minister of 
 the finances, wan arrested, in 14'l9, all 
 thill plate wa.d found concealed in his 
 house. 
 
 - It ha.« always lieen an unsettled 
 point whethiT ttie presumptive heir is 
 entitltnl to the rv(^nry of FniiK-e; and. 
 If he be so to the rep-ncy, wln'ther this 
 Includi-s the custody of the minors |M'r- 
 lion. The particular case of the duke of 
 Anjou is suliject to a considenihle appar- 
 ent difflcu I ty. T wo instruments of Ch.irles 
 v., hinirini{ the same date ofOctoher. 1374, 
 as pnl.lished t>y Dnpuy (Tniite de Ma- 
 jorite di-s Itois, p. I'il), are plainly irn-c- 
 oncilahle with each other; the former 
 (rivini; ilie exclusive n-ifency to fh<- rluke 
 of Anjou. n-"<-rvin({ the cust'sly of the 
 minor's {MTson to other KUurdians; the 
 latti-r confi-rriiiK ""' oiilj this custody, 
 hut the government of the kingdom, on 
 the <|Ui-en. and on the dukes of llnr- 
 KUOily and Itoiirhon, without menlion- 
 inK tJie duke of .Vnjou's name. Ihuiiel 
 calls (hi'"<' l<-«tjinients of Charles V., 
 wberuu they are In tU« fortu uf letterit* 
 
 patent; and supposes that the kin;; had 
 suppressed both, as neither pjirtv .seems 
 to have availed itself of their authority 
 in the discussions that took place after 
 the king's death. (Hist, de France, t.iii. 
 p. Wl. edit. 1720). Villaret. as is too 
 much his custom, slides over the iliffl- 
 culty without notice. But .M. de Hre- 
 quiirni (Mem. de r.\cad. de.s Inscript. 1. 1, 
 p. 533l oV>.servcs that the second of these 
 instruments, as ))ul>lished by M. Se- 
 cousse, in the Ordonnances des Kois, t. 
 vi. p. 4<lti. differs most es.seutially from 
 that in Dupu^', and contains no mention 
 whatever of the iiovernment. It is, 
 therefore, easily reconcilable with the 
 first, that confers the re^'en<y on the 
 duke of Anjou. As Uupuy took it from 
 the same source as Si-cousse, namely, 
 the Tre.sor <les Chartes, a stnuiif sus- 
 jiicion of wilful interpolation falls upon 
 iiim, or upon (lie editor of his posthu- 
 mous work, printed in li'^'iij. Thi- date 
 will n-ailily sutriiesf a motive for such an 
 inferpol;itioii to thos<' who ri'colle<-t the 
 ciri'Unistaiices of Knince at that time and 
 for siune jears before-: Anne uf .\nr.lrla 
 luivinK nniintjiined herself hi poi.ws»lon 
 
 of a ti'stai tjiry ret:ency against tllB 
 
 liroKUUiptive heir.
 
 78 DEEANGEMENT OF CHARLES VI. Chap. I. Part TI. 
 
 ter, took a less active part than his three coadjutors. Bur- 
 gundy, an ambitious and able prince, maintained the ascen- 
 dency, until Charles, weary of a restramt which had been 
 ,oc- protracted by his uncle till he was in his twenty- 
 
 first year, took the reigns mto his own hands. 1 he 
 dukes of Burgundy and Berry retired from court, and the 
 administration was committed to a different set of men, at 
 the head of whom appeared the constable de Clisson, a sol- 
 dier of great fame in the English wars. The people rejoiced 
 in the fall of the princes by \\'hose exactions they had been 
 plundered ; but the new ministers soon rendered themselves 
 odious by similar conduct. The fortune of Clisson, after a 
 few years' favor, amounted to 1,700,000 livres, equal in 
 weight of silver, to say nothing of the depreciation of money, 
 to ten times that sum at present.-^ 
 
 Charles VI. had reigned five years from his assumption 
 
 of power, when he was seized with a derangement 
 mentof of intellect, which continued, through a series of 
 T'lT'^ilgJ^ recoveries and relapses, to his deatli. He passed 
 
 thirty years in a pitiable state of suffering, neglected 
 by his family, particularly by the most infamous of women, 
 Isabel of Bavaria, his queen, to a degree which is hardly 
 credible.^ The ministers were immediately disgraced ; the 
 princes reassumed their stations. For several years the 
 duke of Burgundy conducted the government. But this Avas 
 Partii's of ^'^ Opposition to a formidable rival, Louis, Duke 
 Burgundy of Orleans, the king's brother. It was impossible 
 
 that a prince so near to the throne, favored by the 
 queen, perhaps with criminal fondness, and by the people on 
 account of his external graces, should not acquire a share of 
 power. He succeeded at length in obtaining the whole man- 
 agement of affairs ; wherein the outrageous dissoluteness of 
 his conduct, and still more the excessive taxes imposed, ren- 
 dered him altogether odious. The Parisians compared his 
 administration with that of the duke of Burgundy ; and from 
 that time ranged themselves on the side of the latter and his 
 
 iFroissart, p. iv. c. 46. of Orleans, and represents her as merely 
 
 2 Slsmondi inclines to speak more fa- an indolent woman fond of good cheer, 
 
 vorably of this queen than most have Yet he owns that the king was so neg- 
 
 done: "Dans les temps posterieurs on lected as to suffer from an excessive want 
 
 s'est plu i faire un monstre de Isabeau of cleanliness, sometimes even from hun- 
 
 de Baviere." He discredits the suspicion ger (xii. 218, 225). Was this no imputa- 
 
 of a criminal intercourse with the duke tion on his wife ? See too Michelet, vl. 42.
 
 Fr-vxce. 
 
 MURDER OF THE DUKE Ol" ORLEANS. 
 
 familv. tlirousliout the long disti-actions to which the ambition 
 ot"the-e princes gave birth. 
 
 The death of the dnke of Burgundy, in 1404, after sev- 
 eral riuetuations of success between him and the duke of 
 Orleans, bv no means left his party without a head. Eiinally 
 brave anil ambitious, but tar more audacious and unprinci- 
 pled, his son John, surnamed Sanspeur, sustained the same 
 contest. A reconciliation had l)een. however. I>rought about 
 with the duke of Orleans ; they had sworn reciprocal ti'iend- 
 ship. and participated, as was the custom, in order to render 
 these obligations more solemn, in the same communion. In 
 the niid-t of this outward harmony, the duke of 
 Orleans was assassinated in the streets of Paris. fiVeauL°of 
 After a slight attempt at concealment, Burgundy 0rieai^,_ 
 avowed and boasted of the crime, to which he had 
 been instigated, it is said, by somewhat more than political 
 jealousy.^ From this fatal moment the dissensions of the 
 roval family began to assume the complexion of civil war. 
 The queen, the sons of the duke of Orleans, with the dukes 
 of Berry and Bourl>ou, united against the assassin. But he 
 possessed, in adilitiou to his own apjianage of Burgundy, the 
 countv of Flanders as his maternal inheritance ; and the 
 jteople of Paris, who hated the duke of Orleans, readily for- 
 gave, or rather exulted in his murder.* 
 
 'Orleans Is oalJ to have boasted of 
 the iluchcss of Bunfiimly's favors. Vill. 
 t. xii. p. 474. .\iin'lt;arii, who wrote 
 about ei;;hty years nft<'r tlio time, says, 
 vim etiaiii iiiferre atteiitare |iriesun:iisit. 
 Xotires lies .Manuserits ilu Koi. t. i. p. 411. 
 
 ■- .Mirhi'let n-presents this younjf prince 
 as n-^rett<-il aiii) Vwloveil ; but liis lan- 
 gun'„'i' is full of those stniiitre contrasts 
 aii'l inconsistencies whicli, for the sjike 
 of efTt^•t. this most brilliant writer some- 
 times employs. " Ilavait. clans ses em- 
 jxirtemens Je jcunesse. terriblement vexe 
 iepeuple: il fut mau<lit i|u ix-nple. pleuru 
 (lu peuple. Vivaiit, il coi'itii bien Je 
 liinneii: mais combieii plus, mort ! Si 
 vous cucuiii-/. ilemanili- ik la France si re 
 ji'Une homme <'-tiiit bien iliirne de tante 
 il'amour, elle ei'it repondu. .le Taimais. 
 f'l. ii'r-st pas seulement pourle bien (|u'on 
 .'ilin>' ; <|ni uinn'. aime tout, les ilefauts 
 iiu--i. i'i.|ni-ci plut comnie il i-tait, m£l6 
 lie bien ft lie nml. (Hist, de France, vi. 
 >j.) What in the mi4ininK of this love for 
 one who. he has just told us, was cursecj 
 by the |>e<)ple .' And If Paris was the 
 p I.ri—.ntntlve of Kranrc, how did tlie 
 \x-'H,\v »how their affection for the duku 
 
 of Orleans, when they were openly and 
 vehemently the partisans of his mur- 
 derer.' On the first return of the duko 
 of Burgundy to Paris after the .issa.ssi- 
 nation, the citizens shouted Noel, the 
 usual cry on the entrance of the king, 
 to the great displea,sure of the queen and 
 other princes. " Et pour vrai. comme 
 dit est dessus. il estoit tres fort aynit du 
 comniun peuple de Paris, et avoicnt 
 grind esperance qu'iceluy due eust treS 
 gnind affection au royaume, et X la chose 
 publicque, et avoient souvenance de.s 
 grans tallies qui avoient este mises sua 
 depuis la mort du due I'hiiippede IJour- 
 gogne pere d'iceluy, jusques ^ I'lieure 
 pre.sente, lesquelles ils entendoient (juo 
 fcust par le moyen dudit iluc dOrleans. 
 Et pource estoit grandcmeiit encouru en 
 rindigiiation d'iceluy peuple, et li'ur 
 senibloit qu(r Dieu de i>u gr.lco les avoit 
 triis-gnindemeiit ])our reconuiiandez, 
 quand il avoit sonfTert qu'ils fusst-nt 
 hors rle sa subjection et governi'ment, et 
 qu'ils en estfiicnt di'livrcz." >|i.n«tri-let, 
 34. Compare this with what .M. .Michelet 
 has written.
 
 80 CIVIL WAR. Chap. I. Part II. 
 
 It is easy to estimate the weakness of the government, from 
 the terms upon which the duke of Burgundy was permitted 
 to obtain pardon at Chartres, a year after the perpetration of 
 the crime. As soon as he entered the royal presence, every 
 one rose, except the king, queen, and dauphin. The duke, 
 approaching the throne, fell on his knees ; when a lord, who 
 acted as a sort of counsel for him, addressed the king : " Sire, 
 the duke of Burgundy, your cousin and servant, is come 
 before you, being informed that he has incurred your dis- 
 pleasure, on account of what he caused to be done to the duke 
 of Orleans your brother, for your good and that of your king- 
 dom, as he is ready to prove when it shall please you to hear 
 it, and therefore requests you, with all humility, to dismiss 
 your resentment towards him, and to receive him into your 
 favor." 1 
 
 This insolent apology was all the atonement that could be 
 
 extorted tor the assassination of the iirst jii'ince of 
 
 ^;"' ■ the blood. It is not wonderful that the duke of 
 
 Civil war -J-, , 1 • 1 1 f m • 
 
 between Burguntly soou obtauicd the management oi alrairs, 
 
 the parties. ^^^ drovc his adversaries from the capital. The 
 princes, headed by the father-in-law of the young duke of 
 Orleans, the count of Armagnac, from whom their party was 
 now denominated, raised their standard against him ; and the 
 north of France was rent to pieces by a protracted civil war, 
 in which neither party scrupled any extremity of pillage or 
 massacre. Several times peace was made ; but each faction, 
 conscious of their own insincerity, suspected that of their 
 adversaries. The king, of whose name both availed them- 
 selves, was only in some doubtful intervals of reason capable 
 of rendering legitimate the acts of either. The dauphin, 
 aware of the tyranny which the two parties alternately exer- 
 cised, was forced, even at the expense of perpetuating a civil 
 wai', to balance one against the other, and permit neither to 
 be wholly subdued. He gave peace to the Armagnacs at 
 ^ ,,„ Auxerre, in despite of the duke of Burerundy ; and, 
 
 A.D. 1412. , . ' ' . .11 . -, . 
 
 having atterwards united with them against this 
 
 prince, and cai-ried a successful war into Flanders, he disap- 
 
 ,,,, pointed their reveno;e by concludino; with him a 
 A.D. 1414. ^ i * » ./ o 
 
 treaty at Arras. 
 
 This dauphin and his next brother died within sixteen 
 
 months of each other, by Avhich the rank devolved upon 
 
 1 Monstrelet, part i. f. 112.
 
 France. ^^rURDER OF DUKE OF BURGUNDY. 81 
 
 Cliarle-:, youngest son of the king. The count of Arraagnac. 
 now i-oiisiabk' of France, retained posiJession of the goveru- 
 nieiit. liut his severity, and tlic weiglit of taxes, 
 revivt'd the Burgundian party in Paris, which a ^" ' 
 rigid proscription had endeavored to destroy. He brought on 
 his head the iuiphicable hatred of the queen, whom he had 
 not uidy sliut out from pubHc atlairs, but disgraced by the 
 detection of her gaUantries. Notwithstanding her 
 ancient emnity to the (hike of rmrgiuidy, she made 
 overtures to liim, and, being deli\ cred by his troops from con- 
 finement, declai'ed herself openly on his side. A few obscure 
 persons stole the city keys, and ailmitted the Burgundians 
 into Paris. The tumult which arose showed in a moment 
 the disposition of the inhabitants ; but this was more horribly 
 displayed a few days afterwards, when the populace, rushing 
 
 to the pri-ons, massacred the constable d'Arma<z:nac 
 
 , , . ' T> , , 1 ,. 7 June 12, 1418. 
 
 and III- partisans. Between three and lour tiiou- 
 
 sand persons were murdered on this day, which has no paral- 
 l<d but what our own age has witnessed, in the massacre 
 jH-rpetrated by the same ferocious populace of Paris, under 
 circumstances nearly similai*. Not long afterwards an agree- 
 ment took place between the duke of Burgundy, who had now 
 the king's person as well as the cai)ital in his 
 hamls, and the dauphin, whose party was enfeebled 
 by the loss of almost all its leaders. This reconciliation, 
 whieli mutual interest should have rendered per- 
 manent, hail lasted a very short time, when the Assassination 
 duke of Burgundy was assassinated at an interview Bur«uua.v"° 
 with Charles, in Ids presence, and by the hands of 
 his friends, though not, perhaps, with his previous knowledge.^ 
 
 I There arc three suppositiona conceiv- could not accept without offending God ; 
 
 afile toexplitiii thij* iuiportiint pa.xsiiKo in and conjecture that this inisht mean the 
 
 lii-torv, tli(.' a.'i.-.ji.'i.-inatiiin <if John .Saus- a.ss:issiiiation <if the ilaupliiii. Itut the 
 
 jMiir. 1. It wa-s pri-t»'niled hy the dau- expressions of Henry ili> not relate to any 
 
 pliins frieinhi at the liuie, and lian been private proposals of the duke, hut to de- 
 
 maiiiMiined nion- lately (St. Foix, Kssais niands niaile hy him and the ((Ueen, an 
 
 BUT Tari". t. iii. p. '2tK>. eilit. \l>i'), that ho proxies for Charles VI. in conference for 
 
 hud pn-uieditjited the munlerfif Charles, peace, wliii-h he sjiys he could not accept 
 
 ail I that hi* <i»u was an ai-t of s<'lf-de- without olTendinj; (lo<l and cofitravi'iiiii({ 
 
 f-ii<i-. Thi'-is. I think.quit)' inipnihahle : his own letters-patent. (Ityniir, t, ix. p. 
 
 I' ■ ' .....'.i„ i,;„i ,1 ({reat anny near the ''Jit.) It is not, however, very rle.ir what 
 
 the duke was only attende<l this means. 2. The next hypothe«is is, 
 
 t'. Miln-d men. Vlllaret, indee(|, that it was the deliberate act of t'harli"*. 
 
 and .M. K'lix, in order to throw suspieion Hut his youth, his fi-j-bleness of spirit, 
 
 u|Kin the duke of liun^unily's motives, ami espi-cijilly the constj-riiatlon ieiti) 
 
 a'>-.Tt that Henry V. accuwd him of which, by all testimoidi-s he was fliniwu 
 
 hiivjnu' made pnipowLt to him which Uo by the event, are rather adverxe to this 
 vol.. 1.
 
 82 INTRIGUES WITH ENGLAND. Chap. I. Part II. 
 
 From whomsoever the crime proceeded, it was a deed of in- 
 fatuation, and phmged France afresh into a sea of perils, from 
 which the union of these factions had just afforded a hope of 
 extricating her. 
 
 It has been mentioned ah-eady that the English war had 
 almost ceased during the reigns of Richard II. and 
 French**^ ° Henry IV. The former of these was attached by 
 princes with inclination, and latterly by marriage, to the court 
 of France ; and, though the French government 
 showed at first some disposition to revenge his dethronement, 
 yet the new king's success, as well as domestic quarrels, 
 deterred it from any serious renewal of the war. A long 
 commercial connection had subsisted between England and 
 Flanders, which the dukes of Burgundy, when they became 
 sovereigns of the latter country upon the death of count 
 Louis in 1381, were studious to preserve by separate truces.-^ 
 They acted upon the same pacific policy when their interest 
 predominated in the councils of France. Henry had even 
 a negotiation pending for the marriage of his eldest son with 
 a princess of Burgundy,^ when an unexpected proposal from 
 the opposite side set more tempting views before his eyes. 
 The Armagnacs, pressed hard by the duke of Burgundy, 
 offered, in consideration of only 4000 troops, the pay of which 
 they would themselves defray, to assist him in the recov- 
 iiio ery of Guienne and Poitou. Four princes of the 
 
 May, 1412. ,ii i^ t, , /-\ ^ iii 
 
 blood — Berry, Bourbon, Urleans, and Alen^on — 
 disgraced their names by signing this treaty.^ Henry broke 
 off his alliance with Burgundy, and sent a force into France, 
 which found on its arrival that the princes had made a sep- 
 arate treaty, without the least concern for their English allies. 
 After his death, Henry V. engaged for some time in a series 
 of negotiations with the French court, where the Orleans 
 party now prevailed, and with the duke of Burgundy. He 
 even secretly treated at the same time for a marriage with 
 Catherine of France (which seems to have been his favorite, 
 
 explanation. 3. It remains only to con- quences, than that which had provoked 
 
 elude that Tanegui de Chastel, and other it. Charles, however, hy his subsequent 
 
 favorites of the dauphin, long attached conduct, recognized their deed, and nat- 
 
 to the Orleans faction, who justly re- urally exposed himself to the resentment 
 
 garded the duke a« an infamous assassin, of the young duke of Burgundy. 
 
 and might question his sincerity or their l Rymer, t. viii. p. 511 ; Villaret, t. 
 
 own safety if lie should regain the ascen- xii. p. 174. 
 
 dant, took advantage of this opportunity " Idem, t. viii. p. 721. 
 
 to commit anact of retaliation, less crim- 3 Idem, t. viii. p. 726, 737, 738. 
 
 inal, but not less ruinous in its conse-
 
 FRA.NCE. INVASION BY HENRY V. 83 
 
 a-5 it \va< ultimately his successful project). an<l with ;i 
 
 flaujrliter of the duke — a (lui)lifitv not c-reditable to his 
 
 nicniorv.^ But Henry's ambition, which aimed at tin- hiirhest 
 
 (luarry, was uol lung lettered l>y negutiatiou ; and, indeed, his 
 
 projKisals of marrying Catherine were coupled with >inh 
 
 exorbitant demands, as France, notwithstanding all 
 
 her weakness, could not admit, though she would j^aj'*'"^? 
 
 have ceded Guienne, and given a vast dowry with "'^"''j.^V 
 
 the princess.- He invaded Normandy, took Har- 
 
 Heur. and won the areat battle of Azincourt on his march to 
 
 Calais.3 
 
 The flower of French chivalry was mowed down in this 
 fatal day, but especially the c-hiefs of the Orleans party, and 
 till' princes of the royal blood, met willi death or captivity. 
 Burgundy had still suffered nothing ; but a clandestine nego- 
 tiation had secured the duke's neutrality, though he seems 
 not to have entered into a regular alliance till a year after 
 the battle of Azincourt, when, by a secret treaty at Calais, he 
 acknowledged the right of Henry to the crown of France, 
 and his own obligation to do him homage, though its per- 
 formance was to be suspended till Henry should become 
 master of a considerable part of the kingdom.* In a second 
 invasion the English achieved the conquest of Normandy ; 
 and this, in all suljseipient negotiations for peace during the 
 life of Henry, he would never consent to relinquish. After 
 .several conferences, which his demands rendered abortive, the 
 French court at length consented to add Normandy to the 
 cessions ma<le in the peace at Bretigni;'' and the treaty, 
 though laboring under some ditlienlties, seems to have been 
 nearlv completed, when the duke of Burgundy, for j„iy n, 
 reiisons unexplained, suddeidy came to a reconcil- i^^'-*- 
 
 » Rvmer, t. Ix. p. 13fi. 9000 wore kniphts or penflpmen. Almost 
 
 * Tiic t<?nii!i ri'<iuin-<l bv IIcnrv'B am- nn iiiiiny won- iiiaiU' prisdiu-rs, The Kiiir- 
 1^ . lom In Ul/j »tTC tlic rrown of linh, iircnnlin;.' to MonstroU't. lo-t W*) 
 1 ••; or. Bt luHKt. n-WTvinK Hunrv'H men: Imt tlnir own historiiiii!" rnlni-e 
 . - to tlmt, Nonn«nilv. Touniliie, thiw ton t.tv small niimlitT. nisiuiionrt 
 ^I M . (liiiiiMii-. witli til.-' hoinnKP of tlmt the- duki- of Itcrry, wlio ii.lvi.-ii-.l the 
 r.r -iiiv iiml Klnn.liTH. Tim Kn-m-li of- Kn'nrh to iivoid iin action. Iiiul liwn in 
 fin-.! (iiil.nni- nii.l Siilntongc. an<l a tlio Ijnttli- of I'oititTH lift.v-nint> .ware 
 ilowrv of *<p.f|O0 (foM rrownd for Cath- bt-fon-. Vill. t. xiii. \>. 3.V,. 
 
 «Tiri.'. Till- KnifliHli doinandi'd 2,000,000. * Comiian- Ilym. t. ix. p. 34. 13«. WH. 
 Iin. I t. Ix. |>. '2\H. 894. Till! last reftTunce is to tin- treaty 
 
 * Till- Ki>irli«li nniiv at Azincourt vnn of ("alaid. 
 
 pn.L.il.h of not moro than l.',.(flO men ; t. Itvm. t. ix. p. 02S, 7ra. Nothliiif run 
 
 til- Krin<li WIT- •' "■■ i-M«f .VI/kN), uml. be mon,' inwlent tlian tlii< tone of lien- 
 
 b> -.i„e rom|,i ii.l, mon- nu- ry'" Ingtructlonn to bia commini'loneni. 
 
 uu-rouji. Tliey :• • kllliHl.of wlioui p.C28.
 
 84 TREATY OF TEOYES. Chap. I. Part II. 
 
 iation with the dauphin. This event, which must have been 
 intended adversely to Henry, would probably have broken o^ 
 Sept. 10, ^11 parley on the subject of peace, if it had not 
 1419. been speedily followed by one still more surprising, 
 
 the assassination of the duke of Burgundy at Montereau. 
 
 An act of treachery so apparently unprovoked inflamed 
 the minds of that powerful party which had looked up to the 
 duke as their leader and patron. The city of Paris, especiall}', 
 abjured at once its respect for the supposed author of the 
 murder, thousjh the legitimate heir of the crown. A solemn 
 oath was taken by all ranks to revenge the crime ; the nobility, 
 the clergy, the parliament, vying with the populace in their 
 invectives against Charles, whom they now styled only pre- 
 tended (soi-disant) dauphin. Philip, son of the assassinated 
 duke, who, with all the popularity and much of the ability of 
 his father, did not inherit all his depravity, was instigated by 
 a pardonable excess of filial resentment to ally himself Avith 
 the king of England. These passions of the people and the 
 duke of Burgundy, concurring with the imbecility of Charles 
 Treatv of ^^' ^"^^ ^he rancor of Isabel towards her son, led 
 Troyes,^ to the treaty of Troyes. This compact, signed by 
 ^^' ' the queen and duke, as proxies of the king, who 
 had fallen into a state of unconscious idiocy, stipulated that 
 Henry V., upon his marriage with Catherine, should become 
 immediately regent of France, and, after the death of Charles, 
 succeed to the kingdom, in exclusion not only of the dauphin, 
 but of all the royal family.^ It is unnecessary to remark that 
 these flagitious provisions were absolutely invalid. But they 
 had at the time the strong sanction of force ; and Henry might 
 plausibly flatter himself with a hope of establishing his own 
 usurpation as firmly in France as his father's had been in 
 England. What not even the comprehensive policy of Ed- 
 ward III., the energy of the Black Prince, the valor of their 
 KnoUyses and Chandoses, nor his own victories could attain, 
 now seemed, by a strange vicissitude of fortune, to court his 
 
 1 As if through shame on account of treaty, which he was too proud to admit, 
 
 what was to follow, the first articles con- The treaty of Troyes was confirmed by 
 
 tain petty stipulations about the dower the States-General, or rather by a partial 
 
 of Catherine. The sixth gives the king- convention which assumed the name, in 
 
 dora of France after Charles's decease to December 1420. Rym. t. x. p. 30. The 
 
 Henry and his heirs. The seventh con- parliament of England did the same, 
 
 cedes the immediate regency. Henry Id. p. 110. It is printed at full length 
 
 kept Normandy by right of conquest, by Villaret, t. xv. p. 84. 
 not in virtue of any stipulation in the
 
 Fr-vnce. causes of THE SUCCESS OF THE ENGLISH. 85 
 
 ambition. During two year?; that Ilcm-v lived after (he treatv 
 of Troves, he goverueil the north of France with unhinited 
 anthority in the name of Charles VI. The latter snrvived 
 his son-in-law but a few weeks ; and the infant Henry VI. 
 wa-i innnediatelv proclaimed king of France and England, 
 under the regency of his uncle the duke of Bedford. 
 
 Xotwilhstanding the disadvantage of a minority, the Eng- 
 lish cause was less weakeneil by the death of Henry tlian 
 migiit have been expected. The duke of lledt'ord partook of 
 the same character, and resembled his brother in gtatcof 
 faidts as well as virtues; in his hauLditiness and ^ ™"<-e at tiie 
 
 ... 1 ' 1 1 1 accession ot 
 
 arbitrary temper as m his energy and address. At cuartes vii. 
 the accession of Charles VII. the usurper was ac- *"• ^'^^• 
 knowledged by all the noi'thern provinces of France, except 
 a few fortresses, by most of Guienne, and tlic 
 dominions of Burgundy. The duke of Britany ' ' ' 
 soon afterwards acceded to the treaty of Troyes, but changed 
 his partv again several times within a few years. The 
 central provinces, with Languedoc, Foitou, and Dauphine, 
 were faithful to the king. For some years the war continued 
 without any decisive result ; but the balance was clearly swayed 
 in favor of England. For this it is not difficult to assign sev- 
 eral causes. The animosity of the Parisians and causes of the 
 the duke of Burgundy against the Armagnac party success of the 
 >till continued, mingled in the former with dread "^^ 
 of tlie king's return, whom they judged themselves to have 
 inexpiably offended. The war had brought forward some 
 acconiplished cfunmanders in the English army ; surpassing, 
 not indeed in valor and enterprise, but in military skill, any 
 whom France could oppose to them. Of these the most dis- 
 tinguished, besides the duke of Bedford himself, were "War- 
 wick. Salisbury, and Talbot. Tlieir troops, too, were still 
 verv superior to tin- French. But this, we, nnist in candor 
 allow, proceedeil in a gn-at degree from the mode in which 
 they were rai>-ed. Tin- war was so jtopuhu- in England that 
 it was easy to pick th<,' best and stoutest recruits,^ and tlitir 
 high pay allured men of respectable condition to the service. 
 AVe fimi in liymer a contract of tlu; earl of Salisbury to 
 .xiipjily a l)ody of trcxtps, receiving a shilling a day (or ev<'ry 
 nian-at-arms, and sixpence for each archer.'^ Tliis is, per- 
 
 > Moiuitrelet, pari I. f. *13. for (100 mon-nt-anim, Incluilitu; "It Imn- 
 
 » K>m. t. x.p. 3S«. TliLi coDtmct wiu nerctnttiia tlilrty-fourbiulu-lor!!; nud for
 
 86 CAUSES OF SUCCESS OF THE ENGLISH. Chap. I. Pakt H. 
 
 haps, equal to fifteen times the sum at our present value of 
 money. They were bound, indeed, to furnish then- own 
 equipments and horses. But France was totally exhausted 
 by her civil and foreign war, and incompetent to defray the 
 expenses even of the small force which defended the wreck 
 of the monarchy. Charles VII. lived in the utmost poverty 
 at Bourges.-^ The nobility had scarcely recovered from the 
 fatal slaughter of Azincourt ; and the infantry, composed of 
 peasants or burgesses, which had made their ai'my so numer- 
 ous upon that day, whether from inability to compel their 
 services, or experience of their inefRcacy, were never called 
 into the field. It became almost entirely a war of partisans. 
 Every town in Picardy, Champagne, Maine, or wherever the 
 contest might be carried on, was a fortress ; and in the attack 
 or defence of these garrisons the valor of both nations was 
 called mto constant exercise. This mode of warfare was 
 undoubtedly the best in the actual state of France, as it 
 gradually improved her troops, and flushed them with petty 
 successes. But what principally led to its adoption, was the 
 license and insubordination of the royalists, who, receiving no 
 pay, owned no control, and thought that, provided they acted 
 against the English and Burgundians, they were free to choose 
 their own points of attack. Nothing can more evidently show 
 the weakness of France than the high terms by which Charles 
 VII. was content to purchase the assistance of some Scottish 
 auxiliaries. The earl of Buchan was made constable ; the 
 earl of Douglas had the duchy of Touraine, with a new title, 
 lieutenant-general of the kingdom. At a subsequent time 
 Charles offered the province of Saintonge to James I. for an 
 aid of 6000 men. These Scots fought bravely for France, 
 though unsuccessfully, at Crevant and Verneuil ; but it must 
 be owned they set a sufficient value upon their service. Un- 
 der all these disadvantages it would be unjust to charge the 
 French nation with any inferioidty of courage, even in the 
 most unfortunate periods of this war. Though frequently 
 panic-struck in the field of battle, they stood sieges of their 
 walled towns with matchless spirit and endurance. Perhaps 
 some analogy may be found between the character of the 
 
 1700 archers ; bien et sufBsamment mon- at-arms, ls.\ and for each archer, 6rf. 
 
 tez, armez, et arraiez comme a leurs Artillery-men were paid higher than 
 
 estats appartient. The pay was, for the men-at-arms. 
 
 earl, 6s. 8'/. a day ; for a banneret, 4s. ; l Villaret, t. xiv. p. 302. 
 
 for a bachelor, 2s. ; for every other ra&a-
 
 France. SIEGE OF ORLEAXS. 87 
 
 Frt'iK'h commonalty durini: tlie English invasion and the 
 Siuiniards of the late peninsular wiu\ But to the exertions 
 of those brave nobles who restore^l the monju'chy of Chai'les 
 VII. Spain has aftorded no adequate parallel. 
 
 It was, however, in the temper of Charles VII. that his ene- 
 mies found their chief advantage. This prince is character of 
 one of the few whose character has been improved ouariea vu. 
 bv prosperity. During the calamitous morning of his reign 
 he shrunk from fronting the storm, and strove to forget him- 
 self in pleasure. Though brave, he was never seen in war ; 
 though intelligent, he was governed by flatterers. Those who 
 had committed the assassination at ]NIontereau imder his eyes 
 were his tirst favorites ; as if he had determined to avoid the 
 only measure through which he could hope for better success, 
 a reconciliation with the duke of Burgundy. The count de 
 Richemont, brother of the duke of Britany, who became af- 
 terwards one of the chief pillars of his throne, consented to 
 renounce the English alliance, and accejjt the rank of consta- 
 ble, on condition that these favorites should quit 
 the court. Two others, who successively gained *"' 
 a similar influence over Charles, Richemont publicly caused 
 to be a^sassiiiateil, assuring the king that it was for his own 
 and tin* pultlic good. Such was the debivsement of morals and 
 government whicli twenty years of civil war had produced ! 
 Another favorite. La Tremouille. took the dangerous office, 
 and, as might be expected, employed his influence against 
 Richemont, who for some years lived on his own domains, 
 rather as an arin<'d neutral than a friend, though he never 
 lost his attachment to the royal cause. 
 
 It cannot tlierefore surprise us that with all these advan- 
 tages the regent duke of Bedford had almcjst complected the 
 ra|»ture of the fortresses uortli of the Loire when sk-gc of 
 h.- inv.-st.'d Orl.-ans in 142S. If this city had '"■''■"""• 
 falh-n, tlie ct-ntral provinces, which were less furnished with 
 defeU'ibh- |)lai"<'S, W(juld have lain open to the enemy ; and it 
 is siiid tiiat Cliarles VII. in despair was about to ntin- into 
 Dauphine. At this time his affairs were restore«l by one 
 of the most inarv»dlous revolutions in history. A .loim of 
 country girl overthii-w the power of England. We ' "' 
 cannot pretend to explain the sin-prising story of tlie i\Iaid ot 
 Orlejins ; for, however easy it may be to suppose that a ln-ated 
 and enthusiitstic inwigination produced her own virions, it is a
 
 88 JOAN OF ARC. Chap. I. Part II. 
 
 much greater problem to account for the credit they obtained, 
 and for the success that attended her. Nor will this be solved 
 by the hypothesis of a concerted stratagem ; which, if we do 
 not judge altogether from events, must appear liable to so 
 many chances of failure, that it could not have suggested it- 
 self to any rational person. However, it is certain that the 
 appearance of Joan of Arc turned the tide of war, which 
 from that moment flowed Avithout interruption in Charles's, 
 favoi'. A su[)erstitious awe enfeebled the sinews of the Eng- 
 lish. They hung back in their own country, or deserted from 
 the army, through fear of the incantations by which alone 
 they conceived so extraordinary a person to succeed.^ As 
 men always make sure of Providence for an ally, whatever 
 untoward fortune appeared to result from preternatural causes 
 was at once ascribed to infernal enemies ; and such bigotry 
 may be pleaded as an excuse, though a very miserable one, 
 for the detestable murder of this heroine.^ 
 
 The spirit which Joan of Arc had roused did not subside. 
 
 The king France recovered confidence in her own strength, 
 
 retrieves which had bccu cliillcd by a long course of adverse 
 
 IS a airs , f^^.^m-jg^ -pj^g king, too, shook off his indolence,^ 
 
 1 Rym. t. X. p. 458-472. This, how- giving up the Ijingtlom as lost at the 
 ever, is conjecture; for the cause of their time wlien Orleans was besieged in 1428. 
 desertion is not mentioned in these proc- Mezeray, Daniel, Villaret, and, I believe, 
 lamations, though llymer has printed every other modern historian, have men- 
 it in their title. But the duke of Bed- tioned this circumstance; and some of 
 ford speaks of the turn of success as them, among whom is Hume, with the 
 astonishing, and due only to the supersti- addition that Agues threatened to leave 
 tious fear which the English had con- the court of Charles for that of Henry, 
 ceived of a female magician. Kymer, t. affirming that she was born to be the 
 X. p. 408. mistress of a great king. The latter 
 
 2 M. de I'Averdy, to whom we owe part of this tale is evidently a fabrication, 
 the copious account of the proceedings Henry VI. being at the time a child of 
 against Joan of Arc, as well as those seven years old. But I have, to say the 
 which Charles VII. instituted in order to least, great doubts of the main story, 
 rescind the former, contained in the third It is not mentioned by contemporary 
 volume of Notices des Manuscrits du writers. On the contrary, what they say 
 Roi, has justly made this remark, which of Agnes leads me to think the dates in- 
 is founded on the eagerness shown by the compatible. Agnes died (in childbed, as 
 University of Paris in the prosecution, some say) in 1450; twenty-two years after 
 and on its being conducted before an the siege of Orleans. Monstrelet says 
 inquisitor; a circumstance exceedingly that she had been about five years in the 
 remarkable in the ecclesiastical history service of the queen ; and the king tak- 
 of France. But another material ob- iug pleasure in lier liveliness and wit, 
 servation arises out of this. The Maid common fame had spread abroad that 
 was pursued with peculiar bitterness by she lived in concubinage with him. She 
 her countrymen of the English, or rather certainly had a child, and was willing 
 Burgundian, faction; a proof that in that it should be thought the king's ; but 
 1430 their animosity against Charles VII. he always denied it, et le pouvuit bien 
 was still ardent. [Note XVI.] avoir emprunte ailleurs. Pt. iii. f. 25. 
 
 sit is a current piece of history that Olivier de la Marche another contempo- 
 Agnes Sorel, mistress of Charles VII., rary, who lived in the covirt of Burgundy, 
 had the merit of dissuading him from says, about the year 1444, le ro^' avoit
 
 Fr-Vn-ce. 
 
 AGNES SOllEL. 
 
 89 
 
 and permitted Richeraont to exclude bis unworthy favor- 
 ites troni the court. Tliis led to a very important conse- 
 quence. The duke of Burgundy, whose allianee with Eng- 
 land had been only the fruit of indignation at his father's 
 nnn-der. fell naturally, as that passion wore out, into senti- 
 ments more congenial to his birth and interests. A prince of 
 the house of Capet could not willingly see the inheritance of 
 his ancestors transferred to a stranger. And he had met 
 with provocation both from the regent and the duke of Glou- 
 cester, who, in contempt of all policy and justice, had endeav- 
 ored, by an invalid marriage with Jacqueline, countess of 
 Hainault and Holland, to obtain provinces which Biu'gundy 
 
 Yet the union of his sister with Bed- 
 
 designed tor himselt 
 
 nouTellement esleve une pauvro demoi- 
 selle, gentifeiunie, iiomui<ie Agnes Sorel, 
 et mis en tel triumphe et tel pouvoir, 
 que son estjtt estoit a comparer au\ 
 prandes princesses de royaume, et certes 
 c'estoit une des plus belles feuimes ijue 
 je vey oncques, et fit en sa qualite lieau- 
 coup au rovauuie de France. EUe iivan- 
 ^oit devers le roy jeunes gens d'armes et 
 pentiU compaignons, et dont le roy de- 
 piiis fut bien servy. I>a Marche; Mem. 
 Hist. t. Tiii. p. 14.5. Du Clercq, whose 
 memoirs were first published in the same 
 collection, says that Agues mourut par 
 poison moult jeune. Ih. t. viii. p. 410. 
 .\nl the contiiniatorof Monstrelet. prob- 
 ably John Chartier. speak.s of the youth 
 and bfanty of Agnes. wliiHi exceeded 
 that of any other woman in France, and 
 of the favor shown her by the tiing, 
 which so much excited the dlsplenKureof 
 the ilauphin, on his mother's account, 
 and he wa.s sns|H>cted of having caused 
 her to tjo poisfjiicil. fol. 68. Tlie same 
 writer afflnns of Charles VII. that ho 
 w.is. Iiefure the peace of .\rri.s. ile moult 
 tx'ilf vie et devote; but afterwards en- 
 laidit sa vie de t<.-nir malies femmes en 
 Bon hostel. &c. fol. 86. 
 
 It Ls for the reader to judge how far 
 til' -•' passages n>nder it improbable that 
 .\_-.'s .Sore! was the mistress of Charles 
 Vil. at the siege of Orliains ill 14^. and, 
 cons<-queiitly. whethiT she is entitled to 
 th'- Ionise which she h:is n-'i'ivwl, of l>e- 
 i J iMstriiiiieiital ill the ili'liveraiice of 
 I 1 1 ill- The tnidition. however, is as an- 
 cient as Francis I., who made in her honor 
 a quatrain which is vtvl\ known. This 
 probably may have lirnnght the story 
 mure Into vogue, and li-"! .Mea'niy, who 
 
 : imt viTy critical, to Insert it In his 
 • rv, from which it lias passinl to his 
 
 : ters. Its origin wan apparently the 
 
 popular character of .\gne«. She wan 
 
 the Xell Gwyn of France: and justly be- 
 loved, not only for her charity and cour- 
 tesy, but for bringing forward men of 
 merit, and turning her influence, a vir- 
 tue very rare in her class, towards the 
 public interest. From thence it wius 
 natural to bestow upon her, in after- 
 times, a merit not ill suited to her char- 
 acter, but which an accurate ob.servation 
 of dates seems to render impossible. But 
 whatever honor I am compelled to de- 
 tract from Agnes Sorel, I am willing to 
 transfer undiminished to a more nnblem- 
 islxnl female, the injured queen of Charles 
 \ II.. .Mary of .\njou, who has hitherto 
 only shared with the usurper of her 
 rights the credit of awakening Charles 
 from his lethargy. Though I do not 
 know on what foundation even this rest-s, 
 it is not unlikely to be true, and, in def- 
 erence to the sex, let it pjLss undisputed. 
 Sismondi (vol. xiii. p. 204), where ho 
 first mentions Agnes Sorel, says that 
 many of the circumstjinces tolil of her 
 iuHuence over Charles VII. arc fabulous. 
 '■ Cependant il fiiut bieu qu'Agiifcs ait 
 mtrite, en quelque nianiilre, la rcconnois- 
 sjinco qui s'est attachee i son nom." 
 This is a loose and inconclusive way of 
 reasoning in history; many popular tra- 
 ditioas have no ba.sis at all. Ami in 
 p. .%") he slights the story told in Hran- 
 tAine to the honor of .\gnes. lus well ho 
 might, since it is ridiculously untrue that 
 she threatened Charles to go to the court 
 of Henry VI., knowing herself to bo 
 born to be the mistress of a great king. 
 Sismondi afterwards (p. 41*7 and ('>l>4) 
 quotes, as I have done, Chartier and 
 Jaci|Ues du Clercq; but without adverting 
 tfl the incongruity of their ilales with 
 the current story. M. .Miclielct diH'S not 
 seem t<i attach much cri'dit to it, tlK'iigh 
 ho ailoptri the earlier datu fur the king's 
 attuchmuDt to Agnus.
 
 90 BIPOLICY OF THE ENGLISH. Chap. I. Paet H. 
 
 ford, the obligations by which he was bound, and, most of all, 
 the favor shown by Charles VII. to the assassins of his father, 
 and is rec- kept him for many years on the English side, al- 
 ouciied to though rendei'ino; it less and less assistance. But 
 
 the duke of 
 
 Burgundy, at length he concluded a treaty at Arras, the temis 
 A.D. 1435. Qf -^viiicii lie dictated rather as a conqueror than a 
 subject negotiating with his sovereign. Charles, however, re- 
 fused nothing for such an end ; and, in a very short time, the 
 Burgundians were ranged with the French against their old 
 allies of England. 
 
 It was now time for the latter to abandon those magnificent 
 Impolicy of projects of Conquering France wliich temporary 
 the EngUsh. circumstances alone had seemed to render feasible. 
 But as it is a natural effect of good fortune in the game of 
 war to render a people insensible to its gradual change, the 
 English could not persuade themselves that their affairs were 
 irretrievably declining. Hence they rejected the offer of 
 Normandy and Guienne, subject to the feudal superiority of 
 France, which was made to them at the congress of Arras ; ^ 
 and some years afterwards, when Paris, with the adjacent 
 provinces, had been lost, the English ambassadors, tlaough 
 empowered by their private instructions to relax, stood upon 
 demands quite disproportionate to the actual position of af- 
 fairs.^ As foreign enemies, they were odious even in that 
 part of France which had acknowledged Henry ; ^ and 
 when the duke of Burgundy deserted their side, Paris and 
 The los eveiy other city were impatient to throAv off the 
 all tiieir yoke. A feeble monarchy, and a selfish council, 
 A°D.*^r'ti9!" completed their ruin : the necessary subsidies were 
 raised with difficulty, and, when raised, misapplied. 
 It is a proof of the exhaustion of France, that Charles was 
 unable, for several years, to reduce Normandy or Guienne, 
 which were so ill-provided for defence.^ At last he came 
 
 IVillaret says, Les plenipotentiairesde Charles V., preserving only a homage 
 
 Charles offrirent la cession de la Nor- per paragimn, as it was called, which 
 
 m.andie et de la Guienne en toute pro- implied no actual supremacy. Monstrelet 
 
 priete sous la clause, de Vhommage d la says only, que per certaines conditions 
 
 couromie, t. xv. p. 174. But he does not luy seroient accordees les seigneuries de 
 
 quote his authority, and I do not like to Guienne et Normandie. 
 
 rely on an historian not eminent for ac- " See the instructions given to the Eng- 
 
 curacy in fact or precision in language, lish negotiators in 1439, at length, in 
 
 If his expression is correct, the French Rymer, t. x p. 724. 
 
 must have given up the feudal appeal or ^VjHaret, t. xiv. p. 448. 
 
 ressort which had been the great point 4 Amelgard, from whose unpublished 
 
 in dispute between Edward III. and memoirs of Charles VII. and Louis XI.
 
 France. LOSS OF TIIKIK CONQUESTS. 91 
 
 with collected strength to the contest, and, breaking an arniis- 
 tioe upon sliirht pretences, within two years overwhehncd the 
 Enghsh irarrisons m each of these provhices. All the inher- 
 itance of Henry 11. and Eleanor, all the conquests of Edward 
 III. and Henry V. except Calais and a small adjacent district, 
 were irrecoverably torn li-om the crown of England. A barren 
 title, that idle trophy of disappointed ambition, was preserved 
 with strange obstinacy to our own age. 
 
 In these second English wars we find little left of thiit gen- 
 erous feeling which had, in general, distinguished conditioa 
 the contemporaries of Edward III. The very °f,*:'^;,"[«^ 
 virtues which a state of hostility promotes ai'e not sccoua 
 proof against its long continuance, and sink at last "''' '* 
 into brutal fierceness. Revenge and fear excited the two 
 factions of Orleans and Burgundy to all atrocious actions. 
 The troops serving under partisans on detached ex])edi- 
 tions, according to the system ot" the war, lived at free quar- 
 ters on the people. The histories of the time are full of 
 their outrages, from which, as is the common case, the unjtro- 
 tected peasantry most sutlered.^ Even those laws of war, 
 which the courteous sympathies of chivalry had enjoined, 
 were disregarded by a merciless fury. Garrisons surrendering 
 after a brave defence were put to death. Instances of this are 
 very frecpient. Ilein-y V. excepts Alain Blanchard, a citizen 
 who had distinguished himself during the siege, from the 
 capitulation of liouen, and orders him to execution. At the 
 taking of a town of Champagne, John of Luxemburg, the 
 Burgundian general, stipulates that every fourth and sixth 
 man should be at his discretion ; wliich he exercises by 
 
 aome Talualdc cxtracta are made in the si non do crier miserablement a Dieu 
 Noticc'H lU-!* Miiiiujicrit*, t. i. p. 4<i3, attrib- Icur createur vi'iiKWince : ct quo pis 
 uto( the (Ifliy in reoovi-riiig Xormundy estfjit, (iiiiind iln obterioient nuouii wiuf- 
 (olcly t/j the kind'H clothfulncss and con- conduit d'aucuiis capitaines, p<'U on I'stoit 
 .•iuality. Ill fact the po<iploof that prov- cntrotoiiu, mosiiioniont tout dun parti. 
 Inro r<>-<> ui^in the Kiijjiij'li and almost part ii. fol. IIW. Tliose pillajiors wore 
 eniaii<i|iateil themiH.drc« with little aid called Eoorchours, hooauso thoy ntrippod 
 fnini I harlot!. the jtcople of thoir Hhirts. An.l this nnino 
 ' MonKtn-lef. pnc«im. A lonR metrical Bupersodod that of ArniatrnaoH, hy which 
 complaint of till- |>e<iple of Knmre, curioun otio Hide hail hithortu boon linown. Kveu 
 an n f|»-rimeii of vor^ifloation. w well an Xaintraillos and I*ii Hin-, two of the 
 a ti"'tiiiioiiy to tlio mi'fortuiion of the bnivost cliaiiipioim of Kraiico, were din- 
 time, mnv tx- found in thin hJMtorian, praced Ijv those liabitH of outrajre. Ihiil. 
 part I. f.'.l. ;CJ1. Notwithstirolinif the fol. 144, l.'.o. ITf) Oliv. do la Marolie. in 
 tn-aty of .\rni/<, the Kn-nrh and IturKun- CuUei-l. ilos Memoiros, t. viil. p. "i"* I t. v. 
 diann made rontinual ineurKioiiH upon p. •f2ii. 
 
 earh other'* fr«intiern, ••HjM'clally about I'our la plupiirt, »ayn Villnret, «< fair* 
 
 Ijion and in tin- VennaiidoiH. So that (fuerrier. on volour i|e (crandit choniliu, 
 
 the i>voplo liad no help, lays Mumttrelet, Hlgnitlolt la memo ohoM).
 
 92 CONDITION OF FRANCE. Chap. I. Part II. 
 
 causing them all to be hanged.^ Four hundred English from 
 Poutoise, stormed by Charles VII. in 1441, are paraded in 
 chains and naked through the streets of Paris, and thrown 
 afterwards into the Seine. This infamous action cannot but 
 be ascribed to the king."-^ 
 
 At the expulsion of the English, France emerged from the 
 
 chaos with an altered character and new features 
 
 evente'uf the ^f government. The royal authority and supreme 
 
 reign of iurisdictiou of the parliament were universally 
 
 Charles VII. *' • i at ^ .1, .1 . i 
 
 i-ecognized. let there was a tendency towards 
 msubordination left among the great nobility, arising in part 
 from the remains of old feudal privileges, but still more from 
 that lax administration which, in the convulsive struggles of 
 the war, had been suffered to prevail. In the south were 
 some considerable vassals, the houses of Foix, Albret, and 
 Armagnac, who, on account of their distance from the seat of 
 empire, had always maintained a very independent conduct. 
 The dukes of Britany and Burgundy were of a more formi- 
 dable character, and mioht rather be ranked among: foreign 
 powers than privileged subjects. The princes, too, of the 
 royal blood, who, during the late reign, had learned to partake 
 or contend for the management, were ill-inclined tow'ards 
 Charles VII., himself jealous, from old recollections, of their 
 ascendancy. They saw that the constitution w^as verging 
 rapidly towards an absolute monarchy, from the direction of 
 which they would studiously be excluded. This apprehension 
 gave rise to several attempts at rebellion during the reign of 
 Charles VII., and to the war, commonly entitled, for the 
 Public Weal (du bien public), under Louis XL Among the 
 pretences alleged by the revolters in each of these, the injuries 
 of the people were not forgotten ; ^ but from the people they 
 
 1 Monstrelet, part ii. f. 79. This John luy en feit occire aucuns, le quel y 
 
 of Luxemburg, count de Ligny. was a prenoit grand plaisir. part ii. fol. 95. 
 
 distinguished captain on the Burgundian "- Villaret, t. xv. p. 327. 
 
 side, and for a long time would not ac- 3 Tlie confederacy formed at Nevers 
 
 quiesce in the treaty of Arras. He dis- in 1441, Ijy the dukes of Orleans and 
 
 graced himself by giving up to the duke Bourbon, with many other princes, made 
 
 of Bedford his prisoner Joan of Arc for a variety of demands, all relating to the 
 
 10,000 francs. The famous count of St. grievances which different classes of the 
 
 Pol was his nephew, and inherited his state, or indi^-iduals among tliemselves, 
 
 great possessions in the county of Ver- suffered, under the administration of 
 
 mandois. Slonstrelet relates a singular Charles. These may be found at length 
 
 proof of the good education wliicli his in Monstrelet, pt. ii. f. 193 ; and are a 
 
 uncle gave him. Some prisoners having curious document of the change which 
 
 been made in an engagement, si fut le was then working in the French consti- 
 
 jeuue comte de St. Pol mis en voye de tution. In liis answer the king claims 
 
 guerre ; car le comte de Liguy son oucle the right, in urgent cases, of levying ta.\es
 
 Fr-oxe. events under citarles vn. 93 
 
 received small support. AVeary of civil dissension, and 
 anxious tor a strong government to secure them from depre- 
 dation, the French had no inducement to intrust even tlieir 
 real grievances to a few malcontent princes, whose regard 
 I'or the common good they had much reason to distrust. 
 Every circumstance favored Charles YII. and his son in the 
 attaiumcni ot" arbitrary power. The country was pillaged hy 
 military ruttians. Some of these had been led by tlie dauphin 
 to a war in Germany, but the remainder still infested the 
 high roads and villages. Charles established his companies 
 of ordonnance, the basis of the French regulm- army, in order 
 to protect the country from such depredators. They con- 
 sisted of about nine thousand soldiers, all cavalry, or" whom 
 titleen hundred were heavy armed ; a force not very consid- 
 erable, but the tii'st, except mere body-guards, which had been 
 raised in any part of Europe as a national standing army.^ 
 These troops were paid out of the produce of a permanent 
 tax. called the taille ; an innovation still more important than 
 the former. But the ])resent benefit cheating the peojjle, now 
 prone to submissive habits, little or no opposition was made, 
 except in Guienne, the inhaljitauts of which had speedy reason 
 to regret the mild government of Flngland, and vainly endeav- 
 ored to return to it< protection.- 
 
 It wa- not long before the new despotism exhibited itself 
 
 without waiting for the coMient of the to the same servitude as the rest of 
 
 Stjitcs-fieiK-nil. Fninro, where the leeches of the state 
 
 > < »li\ icr Jfl a Mnrche speaks very murh bol<lly maintain ap a fumianiontal maxim, 
 
 In lavnr of thi- i-onipanii-s of oriliinnaiiif, that tlie king has a rifrlit to tax all his 
 
 aii having represseJ tlie plunilerers. ami subjects how and when he plca'ses : wliich 
 
 n-jitored internal police. Collect, des is to advance that in France no man has 
 
 Slt-moircs, t. viii. p. 148. Amelgard pro- anything that he can call his own. and 
 
 nounces a vehement philippic against that the king can take all at his plea.sure ; 
 
 them ; hut it is pnitiahle th;it his ohser- the proper condition of slaves, whoso 
 
 ration of tlie b1ius<-s they had fallen into peculiuni enjoyed hy their master's per- 
 
 was confinwl to the reign of Louis XI. mi.ssion belongs to him, like their persons, 
 
 Notices des Mannticrits. ubi snpri. and may be taki'n away whenever ho 
 
 » The insurrection of (iuienne in 1452, chooses. Thus situated, the people of 
 
 which for a few months restored that tJuii'iine, especially those of liordi'aux, 
 
 province to the Knglish crown, is ac- alarmed themselves, and, exciteil hy some 
 
 counteil fr)r in the cnriouB memoirs of of the nobility, secretly sought about for 
 
 AnielgTiril. alKive mentioned. It pro- means to regain their ancient freedom ; 
 
 c«-<-.iei| solely from the arbitrary tiixcs anil having still many connections with 
 
 linf>oM-d by Charles VII. in order to persons of nink in Kngland, they nego- 
 
 defniv tlie exix-iiM-s of his rc-gular army, tiated with them, &c. Notii-es des .Maiiu- 
 
 Th. • ■ • llopleaiix complaiiicl of scriti, p. 4.'!.'t. The same cause is assigned 
 
 ex.1 uidy contniry to their an- to this revriliition by Du Clercn. also n 
 
 rliii' , . ^' ■", but to the positive eon- contemporary writer, living in lb"' do- 
 
 dilionn ot their capitulation. Hut the minions of 'llurgundy. Colleclion des 
 
 king was iU-a{ to such remonstnmces. Memoires, t. ix. p. 4<KI. Villaret has not 
 
 The priiviiice of (iuienne, he wiys. then kn<iwn, or not chosen to know, anything 
 
 pt-rceited that it waii meant to subject it of the matter.
 
 94 LOUIS XI. Chap. I. Part II. 
 
 in its harshest character. Louis XI., son of Charles 
 yil., who, during his father's reign, liad been con- 
 nected with the discontented princes, came to the throne 
 gi'eatly endowed with those virtues and vices which coiispire 
 T,„, to the success of a king. Laborious vigilance in 
 
 A.D. 1461. . . ^ 
 
 His char- busiiiess. Contempt of pomp, atfability to inferiors, 
 a'=ter. were his excellences ; qualities especially praise- 
 
 worthy in an age characterized by idleness, love of pageantry, 
 and insolence. To these virtues he added a perfect knowledge 
 of all persons eminent for talents or influence in the countries 
 with which he was connected, and a well-judged bounty, that 
 thought no expense wasted to draw them into his service or 
 interest. In the fifteenth century this poUtical art had hardly 
 been known, except perhaps in Italy ; the princes of Europe 
 had contended with each other by arms, sometimes by treach- 
 ery, but never with such complicated subtlety of intrigue. 
 Of that insidious cunning, which has since been brought to 
 perfection, Louis XI. may be deemed not absolutely the 
 inventor, but the most eminent improver ; and its success has 
 led, perhaps, to too high an estimate of his abilities. Like 
 most bad men, he sometimes fell into his own snare, and was 
 betrayed by his confidential ministers, because his confidence 
 was generally reposed in the wicked. And his dissimulation 
 was so notorious, his tyranny so oppressive, that he was nat- 
 urally surrounded by enemies, and had occasion for all his 
 craft to elude those rebellions and confederacies which might 
 perhaps not have been raised against a more upright sover- 
 eign.^ At one time the monarchy was on the point of sinking 
 before a combination which would have ended in dismember- 
 ing France. This was the league denominated of the Public 
 League Weal, in which all the princes and great vassals of 
 
 denominated the French crown were concerned : the dukes of 
 WeaL " "^ Britany, Burgundy, Alenfon, Bourbon, the count 
 A.D. 1161. of Dunois, so renowned for his valor in the English 
 wars, the families of Foix and Armagnac ; and at the head 
 
 1 Sismondi (vol. xiv. p. 312) and Mich- against his enemies, and especially against 
 
 elet (vol. ix. p. 347) agree in thinking his rebellious subjects. Louis composed 
 
 Louis XI. no worse than other kings of for his son's use, or caused to be com- 
 
 his age ; in fact the former seems rarely posed a political treatise entitled ' Le 
 
 to make a distinction between one king Rosier des Guerres,' which has never 
 
 and another. Louis was just and even been published. It is written in a spirit 
 
 attentive towards the lower people, and of public morality very unlike his prac- 
 
 gpared the blood of his .soldiers. But he tice. (Sismondi, vol. xiv. p. 616.) Thus 
 
 had imbibed a notion that treachery and two royal Anti-Machiavels have satirized 
 
 cruelty could not be carried too far themselves.
 
 Fkaxce. LILVGUE of THE PUBLIC WEAL. — AITAXACKS. 03 
 
 of all. Charles duke of Berry, the king's brother ;uul pri-- 
 suiii|itive heir. So uiianiinoiis a eombiiiation was not furiiicj 
 without a strong provocation from the king, or at least with- 
 out weighty grounds for distrusting his intentions ; but the 
 more remote cause of this confederacy, as of those which had 
 been rai-ed against Charles VII., was the critical iK)sitiun of 
 the feudal aristocracy from the increasing power of the crown. 
 This war of the Public Weal was, in fact, a struggle to pre- 
 serve their independence ; and from the weak charactiu- of 
 the duke of Berry, whom they would, if successful, have 
 placed upon the throne, it is possible that France might have 
 lieen in a manner jiartitioned among them in the event of 
 their success, or, at least, that liin-gundy and liritany would 
 have thrown oti" the sovereignty that galled them.^ 
 
 The strength of the confederates in this war much exceeded 
 that of the king ; but it was not judiciously employed ; and 
 afti-r an indecisive battle at Montllicry they tailed in the great 
 object of reducing Paris, which W(ndd have obliged Louis to 
 flv from his dominions. It was his policy to promise every- 
 thing, in trust that fortune would atibrd some opening to 
 repair his losses and give scope to his superior prudence. 
 Accordingly, by the treaty of Conflans, he not only surren- 
 dered afresh the towns upon the Somme, which he had lately 
 redeemed from the duke of IJiu'gundy, but invested his brother 
 with the duchy of Normandy as his appanage. 
 
 The- term appanage denotes the provision made for the 
 younger childn-n of a king of France. Tiiis always 
 consisted of lands and feudal superiorities held of PP^nages. 
 the crown by the tenure of peerage. It is evident that this 
 usage, a-s it produced a new class of powerful feudalaries, was 
 hostile to the interests and policy of the sovereign, and re- 
 tarded the subjugation of the ancient aristocracy. But an 
 u-fyige coeval with the monarchy was not to be abrogated, and 
 the s<'arcity of money rendered it inii)o>sible to [)rovi(Ie i()r tiie 
 younger branches of the royal family by any other means. It 
 wa« rer-trained. however, as f;»r as circumstances would permit. 
 Philip IV. declared that the county of Poitiers, bestowed by 
 
 > f L<tiionill hiM a jiint otwurrntion on ^W proolnm^! ; c'c/it quo 1<> Mon pulillo 
 
 «hr Ix^;.-'!'- 'tf thi- I'liMir Willi. " I/<! doit L-tn' !(• luit ilu f;f«iiviTiii'mi'iit ; lual'l 
 
 'f-n I'ulillr, rjui fut ■loniii': leu prliircHciui H'liMwiciali'iit piiiirriiljtclilr 
 
 • lit nil li»iiiniiiKi> nil pro- (tiilcnt fiicon- lii<'ii p''U <'ii '•'J'' •I" "^"'e 
 
 (ff * 1'- iiinii.rvd ; r'ftnlt U pmrcixiioii nuitru Ml luiturt'.'' (xiv. I'il.) 
 
 duu j.riiicljM.- i|ul n'jTiilt polut ciicoro
 
 96 APPANAGES. Chap. I. Part II. 
 
 him on his son, should revert to the crown on the extinction 
 of male heirs. But this, thougli an important precedent, was 
 not, as has often been asserted, a general law. Charles V. 
 limited the appanages of his own sons to twelve tliousand 
 livres of annual value in land. By means of their appanages, 
 and tlii'ougli the operation of the Salic law, which made their 
 inheritance of the crown a less remote contingency, the princes 
 of the blood royal in France were at all times (for the remark 
 is applicable long after Louis XI.) a distinct and formidable 
 class of men, whose intiuence was always disadvantageous to 
 the reigning monarch, and, in general, to the people. 
 
 No appanage had ever been granted to France so enormous 
 as the duchy of Normandy. One third of the whole national 
 revenue, it is declai'ed, was derived from that rich province. 
 Louis could not, therefore, sit down under such terms as, with 
 his usual insincerity, he had accepted at Contlans. In a very 
 short time he attacked Normandy, and easily compelled his 
 brother to take refuge in Britany ; nor were his enemies' ever 
 able to procure the restitution of Charles's appanage. Dur- 
 ing the rest of his reign Louis had powerful coalitions to with- 
 stand ; but his prudence and compliance with circumstances, 
 joined to some mixture of good fortune, brought him safely 
 through his perils. The duke of Britany, a prince of moder- 
 ate talents, was unable to make any formidable impression, 
 though generally leagued with the enemies of the king. The 
 less powerful vassals were successfully crushed by Louis with 
 decisive vigor ; the duchy of Alen^on was confiscated ; the 
 count of Armagnac was assassinated ; the duke of Nemours, and 
 the constable of St. Pol, a politician as treacherous as Louis, 
 who had long betrayed both him and the duke of Burgundy, 
 suffered upon the scaffold. The king's brother Charles, after 
 disquieting him for many years, died suddenly in Guienne, 
 which had finally been granted as his appanage, with strong 
 1472 suspicions of having been poisoned by the king's 
 contrivance.-^ Edward IV. of England was too 
 dissipated and too indolent to be fond of war ; and, though he 
 once entered France with an army more considera- 
 ble than could have been expected after such civil 
 bloodshed as England had witnessed, he was induced, by the 
 
 ' Sismondi. however, and Michelet do was poisoned by his brother ; he had been 
 not believe that the duke of Guienne ill for several months.
 
 fk.\.\ce. house of burguxdy. 07 
 
 stipulation of a large pension, to give up the enterprise.^ So 
 terrible was still in France the a|)])rehcnsiun of an En>z^lish 
 Win; that Louis prided himself uj)oii no j)art of his j)oliev so 
 much luj the warding this blow. Edward showed a desire to 
 visit Paris ; but the king gave him no invitation, lest, he said, 
 his brother should hud some handsome women there, who 
 might tempt him to return in a different manner, lla-tings, 
 Howard, and others of Edward's ministers, were secured by 
 bril>es in the interest of Louis, which the first of these did 
 not scruple to receive at the same time from the duke of 
 Burgundy."^ 
 
 This was the most powerful enemy whom the craft of 
 Louis had to counteract. In the last days of the feudal svs- 
 tem, when the house of Capet had almost achieved the subju- 
 gation of those proud vassals among whom it had iiouseof 
 been originally numbered, a new antagonist S])run'>- ^"rgunay. 
 up to dispute the held against the crown. John ."Vaciiul- 
 king of France granted the duchy of Burgundy, by "tjous. 
 way of appanage, to his third son. Philip. By his marriage 
 with 3Iargaret, heiress of Louis count of Flanders, Philip ac- 
 quired that i)rovince, Artois, the county of Burgundy (or Fran- 
 che-c-omte), and the Nivernois. Philip the Good, his grandson, 
 who carried the i)rositerity of this fixmily to its height, pos- 
 sessed himself, by various titles, of the several other provinces 
 which comjMjsed tiie Netherlands. These were fiefs of the 
 empire, but latterly not niucli dependent upon it, and alienated 
 i>y their owners without its consent. At the peace of Arras 
 the districts of Macon and Auxerre were absolutely ceded to 
 Philip, and great part of Picardy conditionally made over to 
 him, reileemable on the payment of tour innidred thousand 
 crowns." These extensive, though not compact domiuious, 
 
 'The army of E.I»:irl oondistcj of will not have it said tliat the Great 
 l.'yx) men at arniH ami U.'M arrhere ; Cliamhorliiiii of EnKland in a jionsioiuT 
 tli<- wliol,. very wvll a|i|Kiliit4.-<i. ('oiiiinen, of tlii' kiiit; of Fnmcc, nor li.ivc my 
 f xi. ],. -2^. There Kwmn to have Imhmi name ap|je:ir in the books of the Cham- 
 it i-x|Mrct-ieion of what the KiiKll-'h brcM (Jes Comptes." IhiJ 
 I •!'■. niiJ (?r<-at feani entorUim-U Ijy J The duke of Hur)<iiiidy was person- 
 
 ■ errudgul uo cipcuiie to gut ally exeiised from all hMiiiaRe ami -ervUe 
 ' to CharleH VJI.: but. if either died, it 
 -. 1. Tl. c. 2. Ilaiitlnipi had wax to !>« paid by the lii'ir, or to the 
 
 ■ iMinlfiK •" rcfuM- to i;ive liix heir. Aerordiiiciv, on ClmrlenN death 
 ' ■'.- ^ ""-' t""""'"" he took fnim I'hilip did homage to Louis. This ex- 
 l>.»n XI. "Thli. pn-«-nt, he Kaid to the emption ran hardh, thrnlnre, li.ive been 
 kinif a ■^''-nt. rouH-ji fnim your nui»ter'H inni-rted to (jnitify'the pride of I'bllip, a.i 
 jf««I plejuun-, and not at my n'<iueHt; hinlorianM Huppoiie. Ih it not pmbable 
 and If >ou nii-nn I nhoiild n-relve It, you that, durini; bin renentment aK'abixt 
 may put It hen- lnt«i my xlifve, hut you Cliarlen, he inkht have nnule Mcme vow 
 >l>nll havu uo dlncliarKe from me ; for 1 never to do him homage ; which thii 
 
 Vol.. I. 7
 
 98 CHARLES OF BURGUNDY. Ch.vp. I. Part II. 
 
 were abundant in population and wealth, fertile in corn, 
 wine, and salt, and full of commercial activity. Thirty 
 years of peace which followed the treaty of Arras, with a 
 mild and free government, raised the subjects of Burgundy to 
 a degree of prosj)erity quite unparalleled in these times of 
 disorder, and this was displayed in general sumptuousness of 
 dress and feasting. The court of Philip and of his son 
 Charles was distinguished for its pomp and riches, for pag- 
 eants and tournaments ; the trappings of chivalry, perhaps 
 without its spirit ; for the military character of Burgundy had 
 been impaired by long tranquillity. ■^ 
 
 During the lives of Philip and Charles VII. each under- 
 „. stood the other's rank, and their amity was little in- 
 
 of Charles tcrruptcd. But their successors, the most opposite 
 Burgundy. ^^ human kind in character, had one common 
 quality, ambition, to render their antipathy more 
 powerful. Louis was eminently timid and suspicious in policy ; 
 Charles intrepid beyond all men, and blindly presumptuous : 
 Louis stooped to any humiliation to reach his aim ; Charles 
 was too haughty to seek the fairest means of strengthen- 
 ing his party. An alliance of his daughter with the duke 
 of Guienne, brother of Louis, was what the malecontent 
 French princes most desired and the king most dreaded ; but 
 Charles, either averse to any French connection, or willing 
 to keep his daughter's suitors in dependence, would never 
 directly accede to that or any other proposition for her mar- 
 riage. On Philip's death in 1467, he inherited a great treasure, 
 which he soon wasted in the prosecution of his schemes. These 
 were so numerous and vast, that he had not time to live, says 
 Comines, to complete them, nor would one half of Europe 
 have contented him. It was his intention to assume the title 
 
 reservatioa in the treaty was intended to treaty Philip is entitled duke by the 
 
 preserve? grace of God; whi';h was reckoned a 
 
 It is remarkable that Villaret says the mark of independence, and not usually 
 
 duke of Burgundy was positively ex- permitted to a vassal, 
 cused by tlie 25th article of the peace of l P. de Comines, 1. i. o. 2 and 3; 1. v. 
 
 Arras from doing homage to Charles, or c. 9. Du Clercq, in Collection des Me- 
 
 his successors kings of France, t. xvi. p. moires, t. ix. p. 389. In the investiture 
 
 "104. For this assertion too he seems to granted by John to the first Philip cf 
 
 quote the Tresor des Chartes, where, Burgundy, a reservation is made that 
 
 probably, the original treaty is preserved, the royal taxes shall be levied throughout 
 
 Nevertheless, it appears otherwise, as that appanage. But during the long 
 
 published by Monstrelet at full length, hostility between the kingdom and duchy 
 
 who could liave no motive to falsify it ; this could not have been enforced : and 
 
 and Philip's conduct in doing homage to by the treaty of Arras Charles surren- 
 
 Louis is hardly compatible with Villaret's dered all right to tax the duke's domin- 
 
 assertion. Daniel copies Monstrelet ions. Monstrelet, f. 114. 
 without any observation. In the same
 
 Fr-vxce. INSUBORDIXATION OF O'.l 
 
 of King; and the emperor Frederic III. was at one time :ut- 
 ually on his road to confer this dijrnity, wlien some suspicion 
 caused him to retire, and the project wa-; never renewed.* It 
 is evident that, if Cliark-s's capacity had borne any projior- 
 tion to his pride and courage, or if a prince less pohtic than 
 Louis XI. ha<l been his contemporary in France, tlie prov- 
 ince of Burgundy must have been lost to the monarcliy. For 
 several years these great rivals were engaged, sometimes in 
 open hostihty, sometimes in endeavors to overreach each 
 other; but Cliarle-. thougli not much more scrnpnlons was 
 far less an adi'i)t in these mysteries of politics than the king. 
 
 Notwithstanding the power of Burgundy, there were some 
 disiidvantaires in its situation. It presented (I ^ ^ ,. 
 
 1 x- 11 /~ii 1 . 1 • • 1 1 InsuborJi- 
 
 speak ot all Charles s dominions under the com- nation of 
 raon name. Burgundy) a very exposed frontier on JlJ^^*''^^'"'*** 
 the side of Germany and Switzerland, as well as 
 Fi*ance ; and Louis exerted a considerable influence over the 
 adjacent princes of tlie empire a- well as the United Cantons. 
 Tlie people of Liege, a very populous city, had for a long 
 time l)een contiiniaUy relielling against tlieir bishops, who 
 were the allies of Burgundy ; Louis was of course not back- 
 ward to foment their insurrections, which sometimes gave the 
 dukes a g(X)d <leal of trouble. Tlie Flemings, and especially 
 the people of (ihent, had been during a century noted for 
 their republican spirit ami contumacious defiance of their sov- 
 ereign. Liberty never wore a more unamiable countenance 
 than among these Imrgliers. who abused the strength she 
 gave them by cruelty and insolence. Ghent, when Froissart 
 wrote, alK>ut the year 1400, was one of the strongest cities in 
 Europe, and woiiM have required, he says, an army of two 
 huniired thousiiid men to besiege it on every side, so as to 
 shut up all access by the Lys and Scheldt. It contained 
 eighty tliousiuid men of age to bear arms ; ^ a calculation 
 
 » narnler. t. xtIII. p. 02. It Uohsem- taincd to tho French crown, with Fmn- 
 
 hW " •' t a wonl of tliln ; che-<-onit^-iin<l otiicr <-oiintrii-s wliirh liiut 
 
 f"" to hudU? Kel'-A- tx'Inni^L-d to the kiin;.loiii of Hiii-Kiiiiilv. 
 
 rio -...ii Hut Henri' hr- tiilkcil lit I)iji>n. ill UT.'i. to the 
 
 f»' wliiMi M l,oiii«"« fdtiitcn of tlie former, iilmut the kin),'<loiii 
 
 ct> > i-.<l ineiin. I- hliii. of KnrKMinlv. '• .|ue reiix ^le Fnilicc out 
 
 InlrrriipCr.! (lie omior with llii^- worili : loii);t<MnH iiKiir|>/' et (I'irehil fiiit clurln-: 
 
 Jr Trux 4Ur rhnriinMiirhei|ii«>.ii|j'eilw<« que toiiH leu HiijetK doivent liieii nvoir i 
 
 Toulu, >• fiUM TtA. Vlllaret, t. xrU. n-im-t.et illt riull nvnit en w>l il<-t "lio'en 
 
 P ♦<■ i|u'il n'n|i|i:irt4Miiiit ile wivojr i mil -Hl'i 
 
 ■ ■■ . . 1.- I , -,..;, r' •• n of hlxtory, lul," Mlrhelet (Ix. ItPJ) !;< the flr-t who 
 
 ■II 
 
 r <lnrhy hiiH piihlinhe.! iIiIh. 
 
 '■' i ■ I ...Aiiyn u|)|MT- 3 Kroliuuirt, jinrt 11 r. 117
 
 100 THE FLEMISH CITIES. Chap. I. Part II. 
 
 which, ahhough, as I presume, much exaggerated, is evidence 
 of great actual populousness. Such a city was absohitely im- 
 pregnable at a time when artillei-y was very imperfect both in 
 its construction and management. Hence, though the citizens 
 of Ghent were generally beaten in the field with great slaugh- 
 ter, they obtained tolerable terms from their masters, who 
 knew the danger of forcing them to a desperate defence. 
 
 No taxes wei-e raised in Flanders, or indeed throughout 
 the dominions of Burgundy, without consent of the three es- 
 tates. In the time of Philip not a great deal of money was 
 levied upon the people ; but Charles obtained every year a 
 pretty large subsidy, which he expended in the hire of Ital- 
 ian and English mercenaries.^ An almost uninterrupted suc- 
 cess had attended his entei'prises for a length of time, and 
 
 J rendex'ed his disposition still more overweening. 
 
 His first failure was before Neuss, a little town 
 near Cologne, the possession of which would have made him 
 nearly master of the whole course of the Rhine, for he had 
 already obtained the landgraviate of Alsace. Though com- 
 pelled to raise the siege, he succeeded in occupying, next year, 
 the duchy of Lorraine. But his overthrow was reserved for 
 an enemy whom he despised, and whom none could have 
 
 ^,. thought equal to the contest. The Swiss had given 
 him some slight provocation, for which they were 
 ready to atone ; but Charles was unused to foi'bear ; and 
 perhaps Switzerland came within his projects of conquest. 
 At Granson, in the Pays de Vaud, he was entirely routed, 
 with more disgrace than slaughter.^ But having reas- 
 
 1 Comines, 1. iv. c. 13. It was very re- doute faisoient les sujets, et pour plu- 
 
 luctantly that the Flemings granted any sieurs raisons, de se mettre en cette su- 
 
 money. Philip once begged for a tax jetion oii ils voyoient le royaume de 
 
 on salt, promising never to ask anything France, i cause de ses gens d'armes. A la 
 
 more : but the people of Ghent, and, in verite, leur grand doute n'estoit pas sans 
 
 imitation of them, the whole county, re- cause ; car ([uand il se troura cinq cens 
 
 fused it. Du Clercq, p. 389. Upon his hommes d'armes, la volonte Iviy Tint d"en 
 
 pretence of taking the cross, they granted avoir plus, et de plus hardiment entre- 
 
 hini a subsidy, though less than he had prendre contre tous ses voisins. Comines, 
 
 requested, on condition that it should 1. iii. c. 4, 9. 
 
 not be levied if the crusade did not take Du Clercq, a contemporai-y writer of 
 place, which put an end to the attempt, very good authority, mentioning the 
 Tlie states knew well that the duke would .story of a certain widow who had re- 
 employ any money they gave him in keep- married the day after her husband's 
 ing up a body of gens-d"arnies, like his death, says that she was in some degi'ce 
 neighbor, the king of France ; and though excusable, because it was the practice of 
 the want of such a force exposed their the duke and his officers to force rich wld- 
 country to pillage, they were too good ows into marrying their soldiers or other 
 patriots to place the means of en.slaving servants, t. ix. p. 418. 
 it in thehandsof theirsovereign. Grand -K famous diamond, belonging to
 
 Fra>-ce. claim 01- Lons XI. 101 
 
 sembled his troops, ami met tlie confeilerate army Defoatsof 
 of S\vis^ ami Germans at Morat, near Fril)urg, he ur-'liifu'" 
 was again defeated with vast loss. On this dav ""•' -^i>j>"t. 
 the power of Burgundy was dissipated : deserted hv his 
 allies, betrayed by his mercenaries, he set his lite His.uiitii. 
 upon anutiier east at Naney, desperately giving a. d. 1477. 
 battle to the duke of Lorraine with a small dispiriteil nnnv, 
 and perished in the engagement. 
 
 Now was the moment when Louis, who had held back 
 while his enemy was Ijreaking his force against the ciaim of 
 rocks of Switzerland, came to gather a harvest h'Vi'Vy' 
 which his labor had not reaped. Charles left an cosmou of 
 only daughter, undoubted heiress of Flanders and *"»=""'JJ' 
 Artois, as well as of his dominions out of France, but whose 
 right of succession to the duchy of Burgundy was more ques- 
 tionable. Originally the great lief< of tiie crown descended to 
 females, and tiiis was the case with respect to the two tirst 
 mentioned. But John Jiad granted Burgundy to his son 
 Philip by way of appanage ; and it was contended that the 
 appanages reverted to the crown in default of raal(> heirs. 
 In tin- form of riiiiip's investiture, the duchy was granted to 
 him and his lawful heirs, without designation of sex. Tiie 
 con-truclioii. then-fort'. mu>t I»e left to tlie established course 
 of law. This, however, was by no means acknowledged by 
 Mary, Charles's daughter, who maintained both that no gen- 
 er.il law restricted appanages to male heirs, and that Bin- 
 gundy had always been considered as a feminine fief, John 
 himself iiaving possessed it, not by reversion as king (for 
 descemlanls of tiie Hrst dukes were then Hving), but liy inlui- 
 itanre di-rived through females.^ Such was this (pie-iion of 
 snccis-ion between J^oiiis XL and ,Mary of Burgundy, upon 
 
 '••n in the femiile sucopssion ; thus ArtoL* hiiil piisH- 
 •<at(initi- eil, by II diiujilitiT of I>ouis Ic Mali', into 
 -■ - '.f owinT!', the hou.^M'of Kiirj^uiiJv. .As to tlll■allllV>'- 
 . iiit of iu valuv, mentioiicil orilinancfs, tin- lir."t aiiplim 
 , ill tlio Freucli only to tlie oouiitv of I'oitlerK : the .«ec- 
 cnjwii. tfnriiKT. t. xTiii. |>. 3i;i. Olid diK-s not contjiiii a Hvlluhle tliiit re- 
 ' l( (• !i-!riii<M-| with trai niurh confl- latex to xurco.iHion. (OpIonnain'eH lies 
 iirli lilxtorinnit. either UoiK. t. vi. p. /Vt.) Tlie dcHtriiie of e.x- 
 • of I'liilip IV. ami rliicliiifT female lieirH wuH iiion- niiiHonaut 
 ■■it<-l a ireiienil law to the preteiicUil Salir Ijiw. and the re- 
 ■ <•{ appaiiit^'i'ii to fe- cent j.rlmiple.i ii» to inalii'iiahllily of do- 
 '•"'<"» fnii'Liiiieiit- main than to the Hiiald^jv iif feudal riile« 
 ■• ■■ I'll t'l.,,.. Ili-t. and prci-edentK. M. liaiilard. In hl« Oh- 
 «•« ' lianiier. Ill»t. ^ervali<.IlM but rilinloire de Vidly. Viila- 
 '^ * The latt4T po- ret. et lianiier. Iiim n jiuliciuuii uott* on 
 •if -lit liutaueeit of Ihlit Nulijeet, t. ill. p. »H.
 
 102 CONDUCT OF LOUIS. Chap. I. Pakt II. 
 
 the merits of whose pretensions I will )iot pretend altogether 
 to decide, but shall only observe that, if Charles had con- 
 ceived his daughter to be excluded from this part of his in- 
 heritance, he would jjrobably, at Conflans or Peronne, where 
 he treated upon the vantage-ground, have attempted at least 
 to obtain a renunciation of Louis's claim. 
 
 There was one obvious mode of preventing all further con- 
 Conduct of test and of aggrandizing the French monarchy far 
 Louis. more than by the reunion of Burgundy. This was 
 
 the marriage of Mary with the Daupliin, whicli was ardently 
 wished in France. Wliatever obstacles might occur to this 
 connection, it was natural to expect on the opposite side — 
 from Mary's repugnance to an infiint husband, or from the 
 jealousy which her subjects were Hkely to entertain of being 
 incorporated with a country worse governed than their own. 
 The arts of Louis would have been well employed in smooth- 
 ing these impediments.^ But he chose to seize upon as many 
 towns as, in those critical circumstances, lay exposed to him, 
 and stripped the young duchess of Artois and Franche-comte. 
 Expectations of the maiTiage he sometimes held out, but, as 
 it seems, without sincerity. Ladeed he contrived irreconcila- 
 bly to alienate Mary by a shameful perfidy, betraying the 
 ministers whom she had intrusted upon a secret mission to tlie 
 people of Ghent, who put them to the torture, and afterwards 
 to death, in the presence and amidst the tears and supplications 
 of their mistress. Thus the French alliance becoming odious 
 ,,., in France, this princess married Maximilian of 
 Austria, son of the emperor Frederic — a connec- 
 tion which Louis strove to prevent, though it was impossible 
 then to foresee that it was ordained to retard the growth of 
 France and to bias the fate of Europe during three hun- 
 dred years. This war histed till after the death of Mary, who 
 left one son, Pliilip, and one daughter, Margaret. By a treaty 
 of peace concluded at Arras, in 1482, it was agreed that this 
 daughter should become the dauphin's wife, with Franche- 
 
 1 Robertson, as well as some other mod- put a new house of Burgundy at the 
 
 erus, have maintained, on the authority head of those princes whose confedera- 
 
 of Comines, that Louis XI. ought in cies had so often endangered the crown, 
 
 policy to liave married the young prin- Oomines is one of the most judicious oe 
 
 cess to the count of Angoulcme, father historians ; but his sincerity m.ay b- 
 
 of Francis I., a connection which she rather doubtful in the opinion above 
 
 would not have disUked. But certainly mentioned ; for he wrote in the reign of 
 
 nothing could have been more adverse to Charles Vlll., when the count of An- 
 
 the interests of the French monarcliy gouleme was engaged in the same faction 
 
 than such a marriage, which would have as himself.
 
 Fii.\N-cE. nrs siCKxr.s^ and death. 103 
 
 comte antl Artoi^, which Louis held ah-eady, for Iht dowry, 
 to l)t' restored in e;vse the marriaire shoidd not take eftVot. 
 Tlie hoinaire of Flanders was reserved to the crown. 
 
 Meanwhile Louis was lin-jferinjz; in disease and torments of 
 mind, tlie retribution of fraud and tyranny. Two ^. , 
 years het'ore his death he was struck with an apo- hh.i aoaHi of 
 l»lexy, fmm which he never wholly recovered. As !'"">'' -'^i- 
 he felt his disorder increasinjr, he shut himself up in a palace 
 near Tours, to hide from the world the knowlednfe of his de- 
 cline.^ His solitude was like that of Tiberius at Capreas full 
 of terror and suspicion, and deep consciousness of universal 
 hatred. All ranks, he well knew, had their several injuries 
 to remember: the clergy, whose lil)erties he had sacrificed to 
 the see of Rome, by revoking the Pragmatic Sanction of 
 Charles VII. ; the princes, whose blood he had poured upon 
 the scatfoid ; the jiarliainenf, whose course of justice he had 
 turned aside ; the commons, who groaned under his extortion, 
 and were plundered by his soldiery.'^ The palace, fenced 
 witli ])ortcullises and sjukes of iron, was guarded by archers 
 and cross-bow men. who shot at any that approached bv night. 
 Few entered this den ; but to them he showed himself in 
 magnificent apparel, contrary to his former custom, hoping 
 thus to disguise the change of his meagre bodv. lie dis- 
 trusted liis liiends anil kindred, his daughter and his son, the 
 last of whom he had not suffered even to read or write, lest 
 he should too sootj become his rival. No man ever so much 
 feare«l death, to avert wliich he stooped to every meanness 
 and sought every remedy. His jiliysician had sworn that if 
 he wr-re ilismissed the king wouM not survive a week ; and 
 Louis. eiifer'I)led l>y sickness and terror, l)ore the rudest usage 
 from thi> man, and endeavore<l to secure his services l)y vast 
 rewanls. Always credulous in nlics, though seldom re- 
 stniined by superstition from any crime,^ he eagerly bought 
 
 > For UiuWn Illnw* ami i|<iith tee than l.W>n.fK¥>fnino« n v<'nr in taxi-s; hnt 
 
 romlnr*. I. tI. c. 7-12, anil (iarnior, t. IxiiiU XL.nt tin- tiiiior)r liin di'iith. nisiMl 
 
 x\t. p ll'J. ftr I'lMFij.. hi* iBjit rwl- 4,7<Mi.(»0(). fxriimivc of souie iniliUrv ini- 
 
 •Irnrf. *N<iit ail Kniflioli mill- from Tnum, poxitinnH; ft Hiircnii'iit o'eHtnit cniiipiiti- 
 
 '•. nii.l run Hon ilo voir ft sniviiir lii piiiivn-lc ilii 
 
 liiiihllfilf. [M-iiplf . In tlii.H ctiiiplfr lif ilfcliirfji liin 
 
 il arffi'w; opinion tliiit no kiiiif fiin justly ifvy 
 
 liiiTf Immmi iiioiify on 111" HUtiJfft^ wKlmiit tlicir "on- 
 
 ' of aKi-n or lu-iit, iiml rf|i<-lH nil coniiiion nr,;iunf iitJ 
 
 kl (iif r>-t"iuli»ii. to tlif rontrnry. 
 
 < )*~. a n^iarfciihle rhaptrrin Philipilf ' An <■ xrfptinn to tlil» wan whfti lii> 
 
 '' 1 l» <• IC, wlifFfln lif IflU nit dwon- liv tlif rromi of St. I^>. iiftfr wlilrli 
 
 '•• VII. bad ii«riT raliMvl uiore lif fi-nrtvl to violiiff lila fwitli. Tlif i-on-
 
 104 CHAELES Till. Chap. I. Part II 
 
 up treasures of this sort, and even procured a Calabrian her- 
 mit, of noted sanctity, to journey as far as Tours in order to 
 restore his heahh. Phihp de Comines, who attended him 
 dui'ing his infirmity, draws a parallel between the torments he 
 then endured and those he had formerly inflicted on others. 
 Indeed the whole of his life was vexation of spirit. " I have 
 known him," says Comines, "and been his servant in the 
 flower of his age, and in the time of his greatest prosperity ; 
 but never did I see him without uneasiness and care. Of all 
 amusements he loved only the chase, and hawking in its 
 season. And in this he had almost as much uneasiness as 
 pleasure : for he rode hard and got up early, and sometimes 
 went a great way, and regarded no weather ; so that he used 
 to return very weary, and almost ever in wrath with some 
 one. I think that from his childhood he never had any 
 respite of labor and trouble to his death. And I am certain 
 that, if all the happy days of his life, in which he had more 
 enjoyment than uneasiness, were numbered, they would be 
 found very few ; and at least that they would be twenty of 
 sorrow for every one of pleasure." ^ 
 
 Charles VIII. was about thirteen years old when he suc- 
 Charies VIII. ceeded his father Louis. Though the law of 
 A.D. 1483. France fixed the majority of her kings at that 
 age, yet it seems not to have been strictly regarded on 
 this occasion, and at least Charles was a minor by nature, 
 if not by law. A contest arose, therefore, for the regency, 
 which Louis had intrusted to his daughter Anne, wife of the 
 lord de Beaujeu, one of the Bourbon family. The duke of 
 Orleans, afterwards Louis XII., claimed it as presumptive 
 heir of the ci'own, and Avas seconded by most of the princes. 
 Anne, however, maintained her ground, and ruled France for 
 several years in her brother's name with singular spirit and 
 address, in spite of the rebellions which the Orleans party 
 raised up against her. These were supported by the duke 
 of Britany, the last of the great vassals of the crown, whose 
 daughter, as he had no male issue, was the object of as many 
 suitors as Mary of Burgundy. 
 
 stable of St. Pol, whom Louis invited he had a similar respect for a le<aden 
 with many ass urances to court.bethought imiige of the Virgin, which he wore in his 
 himself of requiring this oatli before lie hat; as alluded to by Pope: 
 trusted his promises, which the kiug re- "A perjured prince a leaden saint re- 
 fused; and St. Pol prudently stayed away. vere."' 
 Gam. t. xviii. p. 72. Some rejjort that i Comines, 1. vi. c 13.
 
 FR-V.NCE. AFFAIRS OF BRITAXY. 105 
 
 The duchy of Britjuiy was jieculiarly cii'cumstance 1. The 
 iiiliaUitants, whether sprung troiii the ancient re- Air^iirs of 
 publicans ut' Arniorit-a. or, as some have tliought, ^^''t^'ny- 
 t'rom ail emigration of Britons during the Saxon invasion, had 
 not oriLrinallv belonged to the bodv of the Frencli monarchv. 
 They were governed by their own princes and hiws, though 
 triliutary, periiaps, ;us the weaker to the stronger, to tlie Me- 
 rovingian kings.^ In tiie ninth century the dukes of Britany 
 did hduiage to Charles the Bald, the right of which was 
 transferred afterwards to the dukes of Normandy. Tliis 
 foniiality, at that time no token of real subjection, led to con- 
 secpiences beyond tlie views of either party. For when the 
 feudal chains that had hung so loosely upon the shoulders of 
 the givat vassals began to be straigiitened by the dexterity 
 of the court, Britany found itself drawn among the rest to the 
 same centre. The old privileges of independence were 
 treated as usurpation ; the dukes were menaced with confisca- 
 tion of their fief, their right of coining money disputed, their 
 jurisdiction impaired by a])peals to the parliament of Paris. 
 However, they stoijd boldly upon their right, and always 
 refused to jtay lieffe-hotnage, which implied an obligation of 
 service to the lord, in contradistinction to simple homage, 
 which' was a mere symbol of fciKlal dependence.'^ 
 
 Alxtut tile time that Edward III. made pretension to the 
 crown of France, a controversy somewhat reseml)ling it arose 
 in the duchy of Britany, between the families of Blois and 
 Montti)rt. This led to a long and obstinate war, connected 
 all along, as a sort of underplot, with the great drama of 
 France and EuLdaiid. At last Montfbi-t, Edward's ally, by 
 the defeat and death (jf his antagonist, obtained the duchy, of 
 which Charles V. .soon after gave him the investiture. This 
 prince and his family were generally inclined to English con- 
 
 > GitTfory or Touni »«y« that ttie scriptum est. Kpist. c. 8. See. too, 
 
 P~' "• ■ ■'•J<-'-t to Krnnn. from the Cupitiilaria Cnr. Cilvi. A.n. 877, tit. 23. 
 
 ■' ""'l •'•"' thi'ir chicfn At tlii.s time a ccitjiiii Noiiioikk! ha.l 
 
 '" '-. not kiii(f», I. It. c. 4. axHuiiieJ tliu cniwii of Itritjiiiv. ami smiio 
 
 ClinriL'UiiiK'"- "utxliu-l i\w wliol.- of Bri- othi-rH In Huccex-ion Lore the nann- of 
 
 Uny. Vfl It «-<-UM rU-nr from NIitl'IIuh, kltiR. Tlii-v nwni, lit.w.ver, to have Ihhmi 
 
 antli-.r of n m.-triml Life of l^.ulu tin- f.'Uilallv ^'u^j.•<•t to Kniiicc. ('liarl.-« tlio 
 
 Ik-UiiiJiir. Uiat ttn-r were a({iilii almost SinipU>'<'iMti-il to the Nonnans whatever 
 
 '' ' ' ' '' "i" e»eii a inarch ri);hr he posM-KiU'<| over llritany ; an. I tlie 
 
 '■ '''•f. wlilrh M'pa- ilnkeM of that ronntry (the name of kln»c 
 
 r In the enmiinK wim now ilroppe.l) alwavH ili'l liomaiti' to 
 
 '' l-iM. Illiicmnr lelJM Normamlv. See l>aru. jli-t. ile lln-tii»,'ne. 
 
 " . ' I'ok'anlH, et CiUIh 'i ViUaret, t. xll. p. H'.i j t. xv. p. I'JU. 
 * Itrulwitu, MiiKvi Urituulbtu circum-
 
 106 MARRIAGE OF CHARLES VIII. Chap. I. Part II. 
 
 nections ; but the Bretons would seldom permit them to be 
 effectual. Two cardinal feelings guided the conduct of this 
 brave and foithful people ; the one, an attachment to the 
 French nation and monarchy in opposition to foreign enemies ; 
 the other, a zeal for their own privileges, and the family of 
 Montfort, in opposition to the encroachments of the crown. 
 In Francis II., the present duke, the male line of that family 
 was about to be extinguished. His daughter Anne was 
 naturally the object of many suitors, among whom were par- 
 ticularly distinguished the duke of Orleans, who seems to 
 have been prefei-red by herself; the lord of Albret, a member 
 of the Gascon family of Foix, favored by the Breton nobility, 
 as most likely to presei've the peace and liberties of their 
 country, but whose age rendered him not very acceptable to 
 a youthful princess ; and Maximilian, king of the Romans. 
 Britany was rent by factions and overrun by the armies of the 
 regent of France, who did not lose this opportunity of inter- 
 fering with its domestic ti'oubles, and of persecuting her private 
 enemy, the duke of Orleans. Anne of Britany, upon her 
 father's death, finding no other means of escaping 
 the addresses of Albret, was married by proxy to 
 Maximilian. This, however, aggravated the evils of the 
 country, since France was resolved at all events to break off so 
 dangerous a connection. And as Maximilian himself was 
 unable, or took not sufficient pains, to relieve his betrothed 
 Marria e of ^^'^^^ from her embarrassments, she was ultimately 
 Charles VIII. compelled to accept the hand of Charles VIII.-^ 
 of Britony.''*' H^ had loug been engaged by the treaty of Ai-j-as 
 to marry the daughter of Maximilian, and that 
 princess was educated at the French court. But this engage- 
 ment had not prevented several years of hostilities, and con- 
 tinual intrigues with the towns of Flanders against Maxi- 
 milian. The double injury which the latter sustained in the 
 mai-riage of Charles with the heiress of Britany seemed 
 likely to excite a protracted contest ; but the king of France, 
 who had other objects in view, and perhaps was conscious 
 that he had not acted a fair j^iirt, soon came to an accommo- 
 dation, by which he restored Artois and Franclie-comte. 
 
 1 This is one of the coolest violations without papal dispensation. This was 
 
 of ecclesiastical law in comparatively obtained; but it bears date eight days 
 
 modern times. Both contracts, especially after the ceremony between Charles and 
 
 that of Anne, were obligatory, so far at Anne. (Sismondi, XV. 106.) 
 least that they could not be dissolved
 
 Fkaxce. 
 
 THE FRENCH MONARCHY. 
 
 lu; 
 
 Both these provinces had revolted to 3Iaxiinilian ; so that 
 Charles must have continued the war at some disailvantage.^ 
 France was now consolidated into a great kingdom : the 
 feuilal system was at an end. The vigor of Phily) ^^ ^^^^ 
 Augustus, tlie paternal wisdom of St. Louis, the 
 policy of Plnlip the Fair, had laid the ibuiulations of a power- 
 ful monarchy, which neither the arms of England, nor sedi- 
 tions of Paris, nor rehelUons of the pi-inces, were ahle to 
 shake. Besides the original fiefs of the French crown, it had 
 acquired two countries beyond the Rhone, which j>roperly 
 depended only upon the empire, Dauphine, under Philip of 
 Valois, by tlic betjuest of Ilundun-t, the last of its ^ ^ ^^gj 
 princes ; and Provence, under Louis XL, by that 
 of Charles of Anjou." Thus having conquered herself, if 
 I may use the phrase, and no longer apprehensive of 
 any foreign enemy. France was prepared, under a monarch 
 flushed with sanguine ambition, to carry her arms'into other 
 
 t Slomor.di. xv. 135. 
 
 ' I he country uow called Dauphin6 
 fonui*d i«irt of till- kiiiK'loin of Aries or 
 Provoiire. U-.iui-.itlie'l by Ro.lolph III. to 
 tti I'oiini'l II. But the dominion 
 
 o; ■• over these new acquisitions 
 
 I- \'>rv th:in niMniiial, a. few of 
 
 11 ility cnnverte.l their resi)ec- 
 
 tiv irili'pendent |iriMci|i»litie.s. 
 
 - the loni or Jiiu|>hiti of 
 
 \. .iiiily l>ec.iuie ultini.-itt^Iy 
 
 tna.-tir.- uf tlje whole province. Hum- 
 b«rrt. the Inut of the!^«, made John, ."on 
 ofl'hilip of Va!oi«. his heir, on condition 
 that llauphim- sliould )»■ lonst'iutly pre- 
 
 jeri'- 1 .- > ...ir.ti- 1 .-JsiDn, not in- 
 
 fs 11 of France. 
 
 Ti. I liy the eui- 
 
 perur tlmreK IV.. wIi-.ih? f iipn-niacy over 
 UiP provine*' whu thus rf<-iii.'niw(l hy the 
 ki: ' (nine to 
 
 1- iidil.tiv. 
 
 a :• .1 ,. .1 ■.. li.i.ip.M.ii.- to the 
 
 rr H.'iT. t>efon' which time it 
 
 » I l.s till- daupliin for the 
 
 ti Miven-iifnty. 
 
 1 liii'-. wim clunked 
 
 from a 1. u.Lki : to a ooTer- 
 
 piKwtr. in thr w. I diiwolutlon 
 
 ' '' lUt the early 
 
 ir> . Hy the 
 
 . ..I the(ln4Hiiio 
 
 of »orerpt((ii couutii, with Kaymoud lie- 
 
 renger, count of Barcelona, in 1112, it 
 pa-s.sed into that Jistingui.slie'l family. 
 In 1107 it wa-s occupied or usurped by 
 Alfonso II., kinj^ of Aragon, .a relation, 
 but not heir, of the hou.se of Bereuger. 
 Alfonso beijueathcd Provence to his 
 second son, of the .sjime name, from whom 
 it descended to I{aymond Berenjjer IV. 
 This count dying without male issue in 
 124.5, his youngest daughter Beatrice 
 took po8ses.sion hy virtue of her father's 
 testament. Hut this succession being dis- 
 puted by other claimants, and esiiecially 
 by Louis IX., who had married her eldest 
 sister, she compromised differences by 
 marrying Charles of .-Vnjou, the king's 
 brother. The family of .Vnjou reigned iu 
 Provence, as well as in Naples, .till the 
 death of .Joan in 1.3.^2, who, having no 
 children, adopted Louis duke of .Vnjou, 
 brother of Charles V., as her successor. 
 This second .\ngevine line ended in 14S1 
 by the death of Charles IU.; though 
 Uegnier, duke of Lorraine, who was de- 
 scended througli a female, had a claim 
 which it does not seem ea.sy to repel by 
 argument.. It was very easy, however, 
 for liOuis XI., to whom Charles III. had 
 beijueatlied his rights, to n-pel it by 
 force, and accordingly he took possession 
 of Provence, which was )ii-rnianently 
 unit4-d to the Crown by letters patent of 
 Charles VIU. in 1480.* 
 
 Art d« T«rifl«r 1m Dttw, t. U. p. 44C. — Gurtiler, t. xix. p. 57, 474.
 
 108 AUTHORITIES FOR FRENCH HISTORY. Chap. I. Paet II. 
 
 countries, and to contest the prize of glory and power upon 
 the ample theatre of Europe.-^ 
 
 1 The principal autliority, exclusive of 
 original writers, ou which I have relied 
 for this chapter, is the History of France 
 by Velly, Villaret. and Garnier ; a work 
 which, notwithstanding several defects, 
 has absolutely superseded those of Meze- 
 ray and Daniel. The part of the Abbe 
 A'elly comes down to the middle of the 
 eighth volume (12mo. edition), and of the 
 reign of Philip de Valois. His contiuu- 
 ator, Villaret, was interrupted bj' death 
 in the seventeenth volume, and in the 
 reign of Louis XI. In my references to 
 this history, which for common facts I 
 have not thought it necessary to make, I 
 have merely named the author of the 
 particular volume which I quote. This 
 has made the above explanation con- 
 venient, as the reader might imagine 
 that I referred to three distinct works. 
 Of these three historians, Garnier, the 
 last, is the most judicious, and, I believe, 
 the most accurate. His prolixitj', though 
 a material defect, and one which has oc- 
 casioned the work itself to become an 
 immeasurable undertaking, which could 
 never be completed on the same scale, is 
 chiefly occasioned by too gi-eat a regard 
 to details, and is more tolerable than a 
 similar fiult in Villaret, proceeding from 
 a love of idle declamation and sentiment. 
 Villaret, however, is not without merits. 
 He embraces, perhaps more fully than 
 his predecessor Velly, those collateral 
 branches of history which an enlightened 
 reader requires almost in preference to 
 civil transactions, the laws, manners, lit- 
 
 erature, and in general the whole domes- 
 tic records of a nation. These subjects 
 are not always well treated; but the 
 book itself, to which there is a remark- 
 ably full index, forms, upon the whole, a 
 great repository of useful knowledge. 
 A'illaret had the advantage of official 
 access to the French arcliives, by which 
 he has no doubt enriched his liistory ; 
 but his references are indistinct, and his 
 composition breathes an air of rapidity 
 and want of exactness. Velly's charac- 
 teristics are not very dissimilar. The 
 style of both is exceedingly bad, as has 
 been severely noticed, along with their 
 other defects, by Gaillard, in Observa- 
 tions sur I'Histoire de Vellv, Villaret, et 
 Garnier. (4 vols. 12mo. Paris, 1806.) 
 
 [This history is now but slightly es- 
 teemed in France, especially tlie volumes 
 written by the Abbe Velly. The writers 
 were too much imbued with the spirit of 
 the old monarchy (though no adulators 
 of kings, and rather liberal according to 
 the standard of their own age) for those 
 who have taken the sovereignty of the 
 people for their creed Nor are they 
 critical and exact enough for the present 
 state of historical knowledge. Sismondi 
 and Michelet, especially the former, are 
 doubtless superior; but the reader will 
 not find in the latter as regular a narra- 
 tion of facts as in Velly and A'^illaret. 
 Sismondi has as many prejudices ou 
 one side as they have on the opposite. 
 [1848] ].
 
 Notes to Cuai-. I. ANCIENT GAUL. 109 
 
 NOTES TO CHAPTER I. 
 
 NoTi. I. Pane 16. 
 
 The evidence of Zosiimis, which is the basis of this thoorv 
 of l)ubi>s. cannot l)e called very slight. Early in the fifth 
 centnrv. according to him. about the time when Constantine 
 usurped the throne of Britain and Gaul, or. as the sense 
 shows, ;i little later, in coiise(|U('nce of the incursions of the 
 barl)arians from beyond the Khine, the natives of Britain, 
 taking up arms for themselves, rescued their cities from these 
 barbarians ; and the whole Armorican territory, and other 
 provinces ot Graul, 6 'Apijxtpixog uzac, kui irepai Ta?.aTU)V i-apxi-ai, 
 in imitation of the Britons. lil)erated themselves in the same 
 manner, expelling the Roman rulers, and establishing an 
 internal government : inSa'/JMvaai fu.v tovc 'P^ixaiovg upvoiTaf, 
 oiKtiov 6i kqt' l^ovaiav TTo'/urevfia Kadiaruaai. Lib. vi. 0. 0. Guizot 
 gives so much authority to this as to say of the Armoricans, 
 " Il> se maintiin-<-iit toujoin-s librt's, entre les barltarcs et les 
 li<jmains." IiUnxluclion a la Collection des Meinoires, vol. i. 
 p. 3.'3G. Si>mondi pays little regard to it. The proofs 
 alh'ged by Daru for the existence of a king of Britany 
 nanii-d Conan, early in the fifth century, would throw nuich 
 doulil on the Armorican republic ; but they seem to mo 
 ratlier weak. Britany. it may be observe<l liy tlie way, was 
 never subjf<'t to tin- Merovingian kings, except sometimes in 
 name. l)ul>o- does not think it prolialile tii;il there was any 
 central authority in wiiat he Cidls the Armorican confederacy, 
 but conceives the cities to have acted as independent states 
 din-ing tin; greater part of the fifth century. (Hist, de 
 rKtabli>s<'inent, «Stc., vol. i. p. 3.'J8.) He give<, however, an 
 enormous ext«'nt to AnnoricjL, .suj)posing it to have comprised 
 A'piitaine. But, thougli the contrary ha- Ix-en proved, it is 
 to be olj-<-'rved iliul Zo-iuius mentions oilier prctvinces ot 
 Gaul, Irtfxu VaJUiTuv inapxiat, im Well as Armorica. I'rocopius,
 
 110 THE FRANKS. Notes to 
 
 by the word 'Ap;36pvxot, seems to indicate all the inhabitants 
 at least of Northern Gaul ; but the passage is so ambiguous, 
 and his acquaintance with that history so questionable, that 
 little can be inferred from it with any confidence. On the 
 whole, the history of Northern Gaul in the fifth century 
 is extremely obscure, and the trustworthy evidence very 
 
 scantv. 
 
 Sismondi (Hist, des Franfais, vol. i. p. 134) has a good 
 passage, which it will be desirable to keep in mind when we 
 launch into mediaeval antiquities : — " Ce peu des mots a 
 donne matiere a d'araples commentaires, et au developpement 
 de beaucoup de conjectures ingenieuses. L'abbe Dubos, en 
 exphquant le silence des historiens, a fonde sur des sousenten- 
 dus une histoire assez complete de la republique Armorique. 
 Nous serous souvent appeles a nous tenir en garde contre 
 le zele des ecrivains qui ne satisfait point I'aridite de nos 
 chroniques, et qui y suppleent par des divinations. Plus 
 d'une tbis le lecteur pourra etre surpi'is en voyant a combien 
 peu se reduit ce que nous savons reellement sur un evene- 
 ment assez celebre pour avoir motive de gros Hvres." 
 
 Note II. Page 16. 
 
 The Franks are not among the German tribes mentioned 
 by Tacitus, nor do they appear in history before the year 240. 
 Guizot accedes to the opinion that they were a confederation 
 of the tribes situated between 'the Rhine, the Weser, and the 
 Main ; as the Alemanni were a similar league to the south 
 of the last river.-^ Their origin may be derived from the 
 necessity of defending their independence against Rome ; but 
 they had become the aggressors in the period when we read 
 of them in Roman history ; and, like other barbarians in that 
 age, were often the purchased allies of the declining empire. 
 Their history is briefiy sketched by Guizot (Essais sur 
 riiistoire de France, p. 53), and more copiously by other 
 antiquarians, among whom M. Lehuerou, the latest and not 
 the least original or ingenious, conceives them to have been a 
 race of exiles or outlaws i'rom other German tribes, taking 
 the name Franc from frech, fierce or bold/ and settling at 
 
 1 Alemanni is generally supposed to moires de I'Academie de Bruxelles, vol. 
 
 mean "all men.'" Meyer, however, takes iii. p. 439. 
 
 it for another form of Arimanni, from " This etymology had been given by 
 
 Heermanner, soldiers. — Nouveaux Me- Thierry, or was of older origin.
 
 Ch.\p. I. THE FR.\NKS. 1 1 1 
 
 first, bv necessity, near tlie mouth of the Elbe, whence they 
 moved onwards to seek better habitations at the expense 
 of less intrepid, though more civihzed nations. " Et ainsi 
 nacjuit hi premiere nation de I'Europe moderne." ^ Institutions 
 MeroNnngiennes, voL i. p. i*l. 
 
 An earher writer considers the Franks as a branch of the 
 sreat stock of the Suevi. mentioned by Tacitus, wlio, lie tells 
 us, •* majorem Germaniaj partem obtinent, propriis adluic 
 nationibus nominibusciue discreti, quancpiam in comnumi 
 Suevi dicuntur. Insiirne gentls oblicpiare crinem, nodoque 
 substrin'Tfre." De ]NIoriI»us German, c. 38. Ammianus 
 meutious the Salian Franks by name : " Francos eos quos 
 consuetudo Salios appellavit." See a memoir in the Trans- 
 actions of the Academy of Brussels, 1824, by M. Devez, 
 " sur retablissement des Francs dans la Belgique." 
 
 In the great battle of Clullons, the Franks fought on the 
 Roman side agjiinst Attila ; and we find them mentioned 
 several times in the history of Northern Gaul from that time. 
 Lehuerou (In>titutions Merovingiennes, c. 11) endeavors to 
 prove, as Dubos had done, that they were settled in Gaul, 
 iiir beyond Tournay and Cambi-:iy, under Mcroveus and 
 Childeric, though as subjects of the empire; and Ludcn 
 conjectures that the whole country between the Moselle and 
 the Somme had fallen into their hands even as early as the 
 reign of Honorius. (Geschichte des Deutschen Volkes, vol. ii. 
 p. ;j81.) This is one of the obscure and debated points in 
 early French history. But the seat of the monarchy appears 
 clearly to have been estabUshed at Cambray before the middle 
 of the fifth century. 
 
 Note III. Page 16. 
 
 This theory, which is partly countenanced by Gibbon, has 
 lately been revived, in ahnost its fullest extent, by a learned 
 ami spiriti'fl investigator of early history. Sir Fi'ancis I'al- 
 grave, in hi- lii.-e an<l Progress of the English Couinionwealth. 
 i. 300 ; and it seems much in favor with M. Kaynonanl, in 
 his Ili^tuire du Dmit Munici|tal en Franc*-. M. Lehuerou, 
 in a hite work (llistoire des Institutions Meroviiigiennes et 
 Carolingiennes, 2 vols., 1843), has in a great measure adopted 
 
 1 A" M. Lehuerou belooRH to what U quariod. he KhoulJ not hnvi- brout;bt the 
 calieU the Roman acbool of Freocb autl- nation from beyood lUe Rhine.
 
 112 THE FRANKS. Notes to 
 
 it : — " Nous croyons devoir declarer que, dans notre opinion, 
 le livre de Dubos, malgr^ les erreurs trop reelles qui le 
 deparent, et I'esprit de systeme qui en a considerablement 
 exagere les consequences, est, de tous ceux qui ont aboi-de 
 le meme probleme au xviii™* siecle, celui ou la question des 
 origines Merovingiennes se trouve le plus jwes de la veritable 
 solution. Get aveu nous dispense de detailler plus longue- 
 meut les obligations que nous lui avons. Elles se reveleront 
 d'ailleurs sufHsamment d'elles-memes." (Introduction, p. xi.) 
 M. Lehuerou does not, however, follow his celebrated guide 
 so far as to overlook the necessary connection between 
 barbarian force and its aggressive character. The final 
 establishment of the Franks in Gaul, according to him, rested 
 partly on the concession and consent of the emperors, who 
 had invited them to their service, and rewarded them, as he 
 conceives, with lands, while the progenitors of Clovis bore the 
 royal name, partly on their own encroaclunents, and especially 
 on the victory of that prince over Syagrius in 486. (Vol. i. 
 p. 228.) 
 
 It may be alleged against Dubos that Clovis advanced into 
 the heart of Gaul as an invader ; that he defeated in battle the 
 lieutenant of the emperor, if Syagrius were such ; or, if we 
 chose to consider him as independent, which probably in 
 tei'ms he was not, that the emperors of Constantinople could 
 merely have relinquished their authority, because they had 
 not the strength to enforce it. Gaul, like Britain, in that age, 
 had become almost a sort of derelict possession, to be seized 
 by the occupant ; but the title of occupancy is not that of 
 succession. It may be true that the Roman subjects of Clovis 
 paid him a ready allegiance ; yet still they had no alternative 
 but to obey. 
 
 Twenty-five years elapsed, during which the kingdom of 
 the Salian Franks was prodigiously aggrandized by the sub- 
 mission of all Northern Gaul, by the reduction of the Ale- 
 manni on tlie right bank of the Rhine, and by the overthrow 
 of the Visigoths at Vougle, which brought almost the whole 
 of the south into subjection to Clovis. It is not disputed by 
 any one that he reigned and conquered in his own right. No 
 one has alleged that he founded his great dominion on any 
 other title than that of the sword, which his Frank people 
 alone enabled him to sustain. But about two years before 
 liis death, as Gregory of Tours relates, the emperor Anas-
 
 Chap. I. . THE FRANKS. 113 
 
 tasius bestowed upon liim the dijxiiity of consul : and this has 
 been eajrerly caught at by the school of Dubos as a tact of 
 higli iniportjuice, and as oslabhshing a positive right of 
 sovereignty, at least over the Romans, that is, the provincial 
 inhabitants of Gaul, which descended to the long line of the 
 Merovingian house. Sir Francis Palgrave, indeed, mure 
 strongly than Dubos himself, seems to consider the French 
 monarch V as deriving its pedigree from Rome rather than the 
 Ell)e. 
 
 The first question that must natui'ally arise is, as to the 
 value assignable to the evidence of Gregory of Tours re- 
 specting the gift of Anastasius. Some might hesitate, at 
 lea>t, to accept the story in all its circumstances. Gregory is 
 neither a contemporary nor, in such a point, an altogether 
 trustworthy witness. His style is verbose and rhetorical ; 
 and, even in matters of positive history, scanty as are our 
 means of refuting him, he has sometimes exposed his igno- 
 rance, and more often given a tone of improbability to his nar- 
 rative. An instance of the former occurs in his third Ijook, 
 respecting tlie death of the widow of Theodoric, contradicted 
 by known history ; and for the latter we may refer to the 
 language he ])uts into the moutli of Clotilda, who urges her 
 hui-ljaud to tlie worsliip of Mars and Mercury, divinities of 
 whom he had never heard. 
 
 The main fact, however, that Anastasius conferred the dig- 
 nity of consul upon Clovis, cannot be rejected. Although it 
 has been alleged that his name does not occur in the Consular 
 Fasti, this seems of no great importance, since the title was 
 meri'ly an honorary distinction, not connecting him with the 
 empire as its subject. Guizot, indeed, and Sismondi conceive 
 that he was only invested with the consular robe, according to 
 what they Uike to have been the usage of the Byzantine 
 court. Jiut Gregory, by the words codicillos de consukdii, 
 seems to imjjly a formal grant. Nor does the fact rest solely 
 on his evidence, though his residence at Tours would put him 
 in i)os-e<sion of the local tra<lition. Ilincniar, tiie famous 
 bi«hop of liheims, has left a Life of St. Reniy, by wlioin 
 Clovis was baptized ; and, though he wrote in the nintli 
 century, he had seen extracts from a contemporary Life of 
 that saint, not then, he says, entirely extant, whicli Life ma\ 
 rea-onalily be thought to have furnished the sultstance ot" 
 the second book of Gregory's history. We find in lliiKinar 
 
 viii,. I. 8
 
 114 THE FRANKS. Notes to 
 
 the language of Gregory on the consulship of Clovis, with a 
 little ditference of expression : " Cum quibus codicillis etiam illi 
 Anastasius coronam auream cum gemmis, et tunicam blateam 
 misit, et ab ea die consul et Augustus est appellatus." (Rec. 
 des Hist. vol. iii. p. 379.) Now, the words of Gregory are the 
 following : — " Igitur ab Anastasio imperatore codicillos de 
 consulatu accepit, et in basilica beati Martini tunica blatea in- 
 dutus est et clamyde, imponens vertici diadema. Tunc ascenso 
 equite, aurum, argentumque in itinere illo, quod inter portam 
 atrii basilicas beati Martini et ecclesiam civitatis est, prsBsenti- 
 bus populis manu propria spargens, voluntate benignissima 
 erogavit, et ab ea die tanquam consul aut Augustus est voci- 
 tatus." The minuteness of local description implies the tra- 
 dition of the city of Tours, which Gregory would, of course, 
 know, and renders all scepticism as to the main story very 
 unreasonable. Thus, if we suppose the Life of St. Remy to 
 have been the original authority, Anastasius will have sent a 
 crown to Clovis. And this would explain the words of Greg- 
 ory, " imponens vertici diadema." Such an addition to the 
 dignity of consul is, doubtless, remarkable, and might of itself 
 lead us to infer that the latter was not meant in its usual 
 sense. This passage is in other respects more pi-ecise than in 
 Gregory ; it has not the indefinite and almost unintelligible 
 words tanquam consul, and has et instead of aut Augustus ; 
 which latter conjunction, however, in low Latin, is often put 
 for the former. 
 
 But, though the historical evidence is considerably strength- 
 ened by the supposition that Gregory copied a Life of St. 
 Remigius of nearly contemporary date with the event, we do 
 not find all our difficulty removed so as to render it implicit 
 credence in every particular. That Clovis would be called 
 consul by the provincial Romans after he had received the 
 title from Anastasius is very natural ; that he was ever called, 
 even by them, Augustus, that is. Emperor, except perhaps in 
 a momentary acclamation, we may not unreasonably scruple 
 to believe. The imperial title would hardly be assumed by 
 one who pretended only to a local sovereignty ; nor is such a 
 usurpation consistent with the theory that the Frank chieftain 
 was on terms of friendsliip with the court of Constantinople, 
 and in subordination to it. One or other hypothesis must sure- 
 ly be rejected. If Clovis was called emperor (and when did 
 Augustus bear any other meaning ?), he was no vicegerent of
 
 Chap. I. THE FRANKS. 1 1 •) 
 
 Ana.*tasiu?, no consul of the empire. T>iu the mo.«t materinl 
 ob.<ervations that ari^e are. — first, that the ilijrnity of consul 
 was merely personal, and we have not the slitrlitest evidence 
 that any of the posterity of Clovis either acquired or assumed 
 it ; secondly that the Franks alone were the source of power 
 to the house of Mcroveus. " Tlie actual and legal authority 
 of Clovis," says Gibbon, "could not receive any new acces- 
 sion from the consular dignity. It was a name, a shadow, an 
 empty pageant ; and, if the conqueror had been instructed to 
 claim the ancient prerogatives of that higli office, tiicy must 
 have expired with the period of its annual duration. But the 
 Romans were disposed to revere in the person of their master 
 that antique title wiiich the emperors condescended to as- 
 sume ; the barbarian himself seemed to contract a sacred 
 obligation to respect the majesty of the republic; and the 
 succes.sors of Theodosius, by soliciting his friendship, tacitly 
 forgave and almost ratified the usurpation of Gaul." (Chap, 
 xxxviii.) It does not appear to me, therefore, very material 
 towards the understanding French history, what was the in- 
 tention of Anastasius in conferring the name of consul on the 
 king of the Franks. It wa.s a token of amity, no doubt ; a 
 pledge, perhaps, that the court of Constantinople renounced 
 the hope of asserting its pretensions to govern a province so 
 irrecoverably separated from it as Gaul; but were it even 
 the absolute cession of a right, which, by the usual law of 
 nations, required something fiir more explicit, it would not 
 affect in any degree the real authority whicli Clovis had won 
 by the sword, and had exercised for more than twenty years 
 over the unresisting subjects of the Roman empire. 
 
 A different argument for tiie theory of devolution of power 
 from the Byzaiuinc emperor on the Franks is founded on the 
 cession of Justinian to Theodebert king of Austrasia, in 540. 
 Provence, whicii continued in the possession of the emperors 
 for some time after tlie conquest of Gaul by Clovis, had fallen 
 into the hands of the Ostrogoths, tiien masters of Italy. Tiie 
 alliance of tiie F'rank king was sought by both partit's, at the 
 price of what one enjoyed and the other claimed — Provence, 
 with its wealthy cities of .M;ir>eilles and Arh.-s. Tiieodelicrt 
 was no vr-ry good ally, eitiier to the Greeks or the Goths ; 
 but he occupied the territory, and after a few years it wa.s 
 formally ce<led to him by Justinian, " That euqicror," in the 
 words of Gibbon, who lias not told tlie history very exactly.
 
 116 THE FEAXKS. Notes to 
 
 "generously yielding to the Franks the sovereignty of the 
 countries beyond the Alps wliich they already possessed, ab- 
 solved the provincials from their allegiance, and established, 
 on a more lawful, though not more solid foundation, the throne 
 of the Merovingians." Procopius, in his Greek vanity, pre- 
 tends that the Franks never thought themselves secure of 
 Gaul until they obtained this sanction from the emperor. 
 " This strong declaration of Procopius," says Gibbon, " would 
 almost suffice to justify the abbe Dubos." I cannot, however, 
 rate the courage of that people so low as to believe that they 
 feared the armies of Justinian, which they had lately put to 
 flight in Italy ; nor do I know that a title of sixty years' pos- 
 session gains much legality by the cession of one who had as- 
 serted no claim during that period. Constantinople had 
 tacitly renounced the western provinces of Rome by her ina- 
 bility to maintain them. I must, moreover, express some 
 doubt whether Procopius ever meant to say that Justinian con- 
 firmed to the Frank sovereign his rights over the whole of 
 Gaul. He uses, indeed, the word TaTAia^ ; but that should, I 
 think, be understood according to the general sense of the 
 passage, which would limit its meaning to Provence, their 
 recent acquisition, and that which the Ostrogoths had already 
 relinquished to them. Gibbon, on the authority of Procopius, 
 goes on to say that the gold coin of the Merovingian kings, 
 '' by a singular privilege, which was denied to the Persian 
 monarch, obtained a legal currency in the empii'e." But this 
 legal currency is not distinctly mentioned by Procopius, 
 though he strangely asserts that it was not lawful, oh Miiiq, 
 for the king of Persia to coin gold with his own effigy, as if 
 the MiiL^ of Constantinople were regarded at Seleucia. There 
 is reason to believe that the Goths, as well as Franks, coined 
 gold, which might possibly circulate in the empire, without 
 having, strictly speaking, a legal cun*ency. The expressions 
 of Agathias, quoted above, that the Franks had nearly the 
 same form of government, and the same laws, as the Romans, 
 may be understood as a mistaken view of what Procopius 
 says in a passage which will be hereafter quoted, and which 
 Agathias, a later writer, perhaps has followed, that the Roman 
 inhabitants of Gaul retained their institutions under the 
 Franks ; which was certainly true, though by no means more 
 so than under the Visigoths.
 
 Chap. I. THE MEROVIXGLIN PERIOD. 117 
 
 Note IV. Page 19. 
 
 It ought, perhaps, to be observed, that no jieriod of ecclesi- 
 astical iiistorv, especially in France, has supplied more saint-; 
 to tiie calendar. It is the golden age of hagioJDgy. Tliiriv 
 French bishops, under Clovis and his sons alone, are vener- 
 ated in the lt<.)uian eluurli ; and not less than seventv-one 
 saints, during tin' >auie >hi>rt pi-riod, have sui)plied some his- 
 torical intbrination. through their Lives in Acta Sanctorum. 
 '• The foundation of half the French churches," says Sis- 
 mondi, " dates from that epoch." (Vol. i. p. oOS.) Nor was 
 the seventh century much less i)roductive of that harvest. 
 Of the service which the Lives of the vSaints have rendered 
 tu history, as well as of the incredible deficiencies of its ordi- 
 narv sources, some notion mav be jrained liv the stranire fact 
 mentioned in Sismondi, that a king of Austrasia, Dagobert 
 II.. was wholly overlooked by historians ; and ids reign, from 
 074: to 078, only retrieved by some learned men in the seven- 
 teenth century, through the Life of our Saint Wilfred, who 
 lunl [)assed through France on his way to Rome. (Hist, des 
 Fran<;ais, vol. ii. p. .31.) But there is a diploma of this 
 prinee in Rec. des Hist, vol iv. p. 08.5. 
 
 Sismondi is too severe a censurer of the religious senti- 
 ment which actuated the men of this period. It did not pre- 
 vent crimes, even in tliosc. frecpientiy, who were penetrated 
 by it. But we cannot im|»ute to the ascetic superstition of 
 the sixth and seventh centuries, as we may to the persecuting 
 spirit of later ages, that it occasioned them — crimes, at least, 
 which stand fortii in history ; for to fraud and falsehood it, no 
 question, lent its aid. The Lives of the Saints, amidst all the 
 mass of falsehood and sU|terstition wiiich incrusts them, bear 
 witness not oidy to an intense piety, which no one will di" 
 pute, but to much of charity and mercy toward man. But, 
 even if we should often doubt jtarlicular facts from slender- 
 ness of proof, they are at least such as the compilers of the>e 
 legends thought praiseworthy, and such as the readers of them 
 would be encouraged to imitate.^ 
 
 • M. \my>i-n Uhk wi-Il obwrvea Uiat it of Proviiionoc HupportinR tin' fiiitliful in 
 
 wiLH not the iiii-n- hit<-rcrtt of the nUiry, tliose troiililniiH tiiiics, iiiiJ nf Hiiiiit" al- 
 
 nor (fvi-n tlie M<iil munility. wliirli coii- wujh intcrl'iTint; in favor of tin- iiinn- 
 
 stituU'il till- |>rinc-l|i.'il rlinnn of the If- cent. — Uint. lAtt. Jo la Frum-c avuut li' 
 
 gcuiiit of luiiutx ; it woji the coiutJiut ideu I'i'oo !<i6clo, ii. 3UU.
 
 118 THE MEROVINGIAN PERIOD. Notes to 
 
 St. Bathikla, of Anglo-Saxon birth, queen of Clovis II., 
 redeeming her countrymen from servitude, to which the bar- 
 barous manners of their own people frequently exposed them, 
 is in some measure a set-off against the tyrant princes of the 
 fiunily mto which she had come. And many other instances 
 of similar virtue are attested with reasonable probability. 
 Sismondi never fuUy learned to judge men according to a 
 subjective standard, that is, their own notions of right and 
 wrong ; or even to perceive the immediate good consequences 
 of many principles, as well as social institutions connected 
 with them, which we would no more Avillingly tolerate at 
 present than himself. In this respect Guizot has displayed a 
 more philosophical temper. Still there may be some caution 
 necessary not to carry this subjective estimate of human 
 actions too far, lest we lose sight of their intrinsic quality. 
 
 We have, unfortunately, to set against the saintly legends 
 an enormous mass of bettei'-attested crimes, especially of op- 
 pression and cruelty. Perhaps there is hardly any history 
 extending over a century which records so much of this with 
 so little information of any virtue, any public spirit, any wis- 
 dom, as the ten books of Gregory of Tours. The seventh 
 century has no historian equally circumstantial ; but the tale 
 of the seventh century is in substance the same. The Eo- 
 nian fraud and perfidy mingled, in baleful confluence, with 
 the ferocity and violence of the Frank. 
 
 " Those wild men's vices they receiv'd, 
 And gave them back their own." 
 
 If the church was deeply tainted with both these classes of 
 crune, it was at least less so, especially with the latter, than 
 the rest of the nation. A saint might have many faults ; but 
 it is strongly to be presumed that Aiankind did not canonize 
 such monsters as the kings and nobles of whom we read 
 almost exclusively in Gregory of Tours. A late writer, actu- 
 ated by the hatred of antiquity, and especially of kings, 
 nobles, and priests, which is too much the popular creed of 
 France, has collected from age to age every testimony to the 
 w^ickethiess of the powerful. His proofs are one-sided, and, 
 consequently, there is some unfairness in the conclusions ; but 
 the facts are, for the most part, irresistibly true. (Dulaure, 
 Hist, de Paris, passim.
 
 Chai-. I. MAYORS OF THE PALACE. 119 
 
 Note V. Page 20. 
 
 Tlu> flavor of the Palace ajipears as the first oifioer of the 
 crown in tlie three Frank kingdoms dunng the hitter hah' of 
 the fixth century. He had the command, as Gnizot sup- 
 poses, of the Antrustions, or vassals of the king. Even after- 
 wards the olRce was not, as this writer believes, })roperly 
 elective, though in the case of a minority of the king, or 
 upon other special occasions, the leudes, or nobles, chose a 
 maynr. The first instance we find of such an election was 
 jn o7o, when, after the murder of Sigebert by Fredegonde, 
 his son Childebert being an infant, the Austrasian leudes chose 
 Gogon for their mayor. There seem, however, so many in- 
 stances of elective mayors in the seventh century, that, al- 
 though the royal consent may probably have been legally 
 requisite, it is hard to doubt that the ottice had fallen into the 
 hands of the nobles. Thus, in G41 : — " Flaochatus, genere 
 Francus, major-domus in regnum Burgundiie, electione ponti- 
 ficum et cunctorum ducum a Nautechilde regina in hunc 
 gradum honoris noliiliter stabilitur." (Fredegar. C'hron. c. 
 8"J.) And on the election of Ebroin : — " Franci in incertum 
 vacillantes, accepto consiUo, Ebruinum in hujus honoris curam 
 ac dignitatem statuunt." (c. 02.) On the death of Ebroin in 
 Csi, " Franci AVarratoncm viruin illustrem in locum ejus cum 
 jussione regis majorem-donuis palalio constituunt." These 
 two instances were in Neustria ; the aristocratic power was 
 still greater in the other parts of the monarchy. 
 
 Si.>mondi adopts a very difierent theory, clinging a little too 
 much to the democratic visions of Mably. " If we knew 
 better," he says, " the constitution of the monarchy, perhaps 
 we might find that the mayoi-, like the Justiciary of Aragon, 
 was the representative, not of the great, but of the freemen, 
 and taken generally from the second rank in society, charged 
 to repress the excesses of the aristociacy as \vell as of tiie 
 crown." (Hist, des Fran^ais, vol. ii. p. 4.) Nothing a|)pears 
 to warrant this vague conjecture, which Guizot wholly rejects, 
 as he does also tin; derivation of major-domus from mord- 
 dohmcn. a verb signifying to scuitencc to death, which Sis- 
 mondi brings forward to sustain his I'ancil'ul analogy to the 
 Anigonese justiciary. 
 
 The hypothesis, indeed, tliat the mayor of tlie ]iai;tcc was
 
 120 MAYORS OF THE PALACE. Notes to 
 
 chosen out of the common freeholders, and not the highest 
 class, is not only contrary to everything we read of the aristo- 
 cratical denomination in the Merovingian kingdoms, but to a 
 passage in Fredegarius, to which probably others might be 
 added. Protadius, he informs us, a mayor of Brunehaut's 
 choice, endeavored to oppress all men of high birth, that no 
 one might be found capable of holding the charge in his room 
 (c. 27). This, indeed, was in the sixth century, before any 
 sort of election -was knoAvn. But m the seventh the power 
 of the great, and not of the people, meets us at every turn. 
 Mably himself would have owned that his democracy had 
 then ceased to exercise any power. 
 
 The Austrasian mayors of the palace were, from the reign 
 of Clotaire II., men of great power, and taken fi-om the house 
 of Pepin of Landen. They carried forward, ultimately for 
 their own aggrandizement, the aristocratic system which had 
 overturned Brunehaut. Ebroin, on the other hand, in Neus- 
 tria, must be considered as keeping up the struggle of the 
 royal authority, which he exercised in the name of several 
 phantoms of kings, against the encroachments of the aristoc- 
 racy, though he could not resist them with final success. 
 Sismondi (vol. ii. p. 64) iancies that Ebroin was a leader of 
 the freemen against the nobles. But he finds a democratic 
 party everywhere ; and Guizot justly questions the conject- 
 ure (Collection des Memoires, vol. ii. p. 320). Sismondi, in 
 consequence of this hypothesis, favors Ebroin ; for whom it 
 may be alleged that we have no account of his character but 
 from his enemies, chiefly the biographer of St. Leger. M. 
 Lehuei'ou sums up his history with apj)arent justice: — 
 " Ainsi perit, apres une administration de vingt ans, un 
 homme remarquable a tons egards, mais que le triomphe de 
 ses ennemis a failli desheriter de sa gloire. Ses violences 
 sont pen douteuses, mais son genie ne Test pas davantage, et 
 rien ne prouve mieux la terreur qu'il inspirait aux Austra- 
 siens que les injures qu'ils lui ont prodiguees." (Institutions 
 Carolingiennes, p. 281.) 
 
 Note VI. Page 20. 
 
 Ai-ibert, or rather Caribert, brother of Dagobert I., was 
 declared king of Aquitaine in 628 ; but on his death, in 631, 
 it became a duchy dependent on the monarchy under his two
 
 Chap. I. AQUITAINE. 121 
 
 son?, with its capital at Touloii'^e. Tliis tlcpendoiu-o. however, 
 appears to have soon ceixsed, in the ilicay of the ^lerovingian 
 line ; and tor a century afterwards Aqiiitaine can hardly he 
 considered as part of either the Neustrian or Anstrasian 
 kingdom. -^ L'ancienne population Roniaine travaillait sans 
 cesse a ressaisir son independance. Les Francs avaient 
 conipiis, mais ne possedaient vrainient pas ces con trees. Des 
 que leurs irrandes incin'sions ces^aient. les villes et les cain- 
 piignes se soulevaient, et se confederaient pour secouer le joug." 
 (Guizot, Cours d'Hist. Moderne, ii. 229.) This important 
 tact, tiiough acknowledged in passing hv most historians, has 
 been largely illustrated in the valuable Ilistoii'e de la Gaule 
 Meridionale, by JM. Fauriel. 
 
 Aquitaine, in its fullest extent, extended from the Loire 
 beyond th'e Garonne, with the eX('cj)tioii of Touraine and the 
 Orleainiois. Tlie 2)eople of Aquitaine, in this large sense 
 of the word, were chiefly Romans, with a few Goths. Tlie 
 Fn\nks, as a conquering nation, had scarcely taken up their 
 abode in those provinces. But undoubtedly, the Merovingian 
 kings possessed estates in the south of France, which they 
 liberally bestowed as benefices upon their kudes, so that the 
 chief men were frequently of Frank origin. They threw 
 off. nevertheless, their hereditary attaclinients, and joined 
 with tlie mass of their new^ countrymen in striving for the 
 independence of Aquit;iine. After the battle of Testry, 
 which subverted the Neustrian monarchy, Aquitaine, and 
 even Burgundy, ceased for a time to be French ; under 
 Charles Martel they were styled the Roman countries. 
 (Michelet, ii. 9.) 
 
 Eudon, by some called Eudes, grandson of Caribert, a 
 prince of cons|)icuous qualities, gained ground upon the 
 Franks during tlie whole period of Pepin Ileristal's power, 
 and united to Aquitaine, not only Provence, but a new 
 conquest from the iiuhipendent natives, Gascony. Eudon 
 obtained in 721 a far greater victory over the Saracens than 
 that of Charles ]\rartel at Poitiers. The slaughter was 
 immense, and confessed by the Arabian writers ; it even 
 appears that a funeral soleiimity, in commemoration of so 
 gn-at a calaiiiitv. was ol)serve<l in vS|)ain tor four or five 
 centuries afterwards. (Fauriel, iii. 79.) But in its conse- 
 quences it was far less important ; tin- the Saracens, some 
 years afterwards, returned to avenge their coMiilrytMrii, and
 
 122 AUSTEASIA AISTD NEUSTRIA. Notes to 
 
 Eudon had no resource but in the aid of Charles Martel. 
 After the retreat of the enemy it became the necessary price 
 of the service rendered by the Frank chieftain that Aquitaine 
 acknowledged his sovereignty. This, however, was still but 
 nominal, till Pepin determined to assert it more seriously, 
 and after a long war overcame the last of the ducal line 
 sprung from Clotaire II., which had displayed, for almost a 
 century and a half, an energy in contrast with the imbecihty 
 of the elder branch. Even this, as M. Fauriel observes, 
 was little more than a change in the reigning family ; the 
 men of Aquitaine never lost their peculiar nationality ; they 
 remained a separate people in Gaul, a people distinguished 
 by their character, and by the part which they were called 
 to play in the political revolutions of the age. (Vol. iii. 300.) 
 
 Note VII. Page 20. 
 
 Pepin Heristal was styled Duke of Austrasia, but assumed 
 the mayoralty of Neustria after his great victory at Testry 
 in 687, which humbled for a long time the great rival branch 
 of the monarchy. But he fixed his residence at Cologne, 
 and his family seldom kept their court at Paris. The Franks 
 under Pepin, his son and grandson, " seemed for a second 
 time," says Sismondi, " to have conquered Gaul ; it is a new 
 invasion of the language, the military spii-it, and the manners 
 of Germany, though only recorded by historians as the vic- 
 tory of the Austrasians over the Neustrians in a civil war. 
 The chiefs of the Carlovingian family called themselves, like 
 their predecessors, kings of the Franks : they appear as 
 legitimate successors of Clovis and his family ; yet all is 
 changed in their spirit and tlieir manners." (Vol. ii. p. 170.) 
 
 This revival of a truly German spirit in the French mon- 
 archy had not been sufficiently indicated by the historians of 
 the eighteenth century. It began with the fall of Brunehaut, 
 which annihilated the scheme, not peculiar to herself, but 
 carried on by her with remarkable steadiness, of establishing 
 a despotism analogous to that of the empire. The Roman 
 policy expired witii her ; Clotaire II. and Dagobert I. were 
 merely kings of barbarians, exercising what authority they 
 might, but on no settled scheme of absolute power. Their 
 successors were unworthy to be mentioned ; though in 
 Neustria, through their mayors of the palace, the royal
 
 Chap. I. DH'ISIONS OF TIIE. 123 
 
 authority may have been apparoTitly better maintained than 
 in the eastern i>ortion of the kingdom. The kingdoms ot" 
 Australia and Neuslria rested on dilierent bases. In the 
 tbnner tlie Franks were more numerous, less seattered. and, 
 as tar as we ean perceive, had a more considerable nobility. 
 They had received a less tincture of Roman policy. They 
 were nearer to the mother country, which had been, as the 
 earth to Anta'us, the source of perpetually recruited vigor. 
 Burgundy, a member latterly of the Neustrian monarchy, 
 luul also a powerful aristocracy, but not in so great a degree, 
 prubaldy. of Frank, or even liarbarian descent. The battle 
 of Testry was the second epoch, as the fall of Brunehaut had 
 been the first, in the restoration of a barbaric supremacy to 
 the kingdom of Clovis ; and the benefices granted by Charles 
 ]Martel were the third. It required the interference of the 
 Holy See, in confirming the throne of the younger Pepin, 
 and still more the splendid (jualities of Charlemagne, to keep 
 up, even for a time, the royal authority and the dominion 
 of law. It is highly important to keep in our minds this 
 distinction between Austrasia and Neustria, subsisting for 
 some ages, and, in fact, only re})laced, s^jcaking without exact 
 geograjjhical precision, by that of Germany and France. 
 
 Note VIII. Page 21. 
 
 The IMerovingian period is so briefly touched in the text, 
 as not, I fear, to be very distinctly ajiprchended by every 
 reader. It may assist the memory to sketch rather a better 
 outhne, di.-tributing the i)eriod into the following divisions: — 
 
 I. The reign of Clovis. — The Frank monarchy is estab- 
 lished in Gaul ; the R4)mans and Visigoths are subdued ; 
 Christianity, in its Catholic tbrm, is as entirely recognized as 
 under the empire ; the Franks and Romans, without greatly 
 intermingling, preserve in the main their separate institutions. 
 
 II. The reigns of his four sons, till the death of Clotaire L, 
 the survivor, in 501. — A period of great aggandizement 
 to the monarchy. Burgundy and Provence in &ud itsidf. 
 Thiiringia, Sualiia, and Bavaria on the other side of the 
 Ivhint', are anncxi-d U) their donunions ; while every crime 
 disgraces the royal line, and in none more than in Clotaire I. 
 
 III. A Hcooiul partition among his four sons ensues: the 
 four kingdoms of Paris, Soissons, Orleans, and Australia
 
 124: MEROVINGIAN PEEIOD. Notes to 
 
 revive ; but a new partition of these is required by the re- 
 cent conquests, and Gontran of Orleans, without resigning 
 that kingdom, removes his residence to Burgundy. The 
 four kingdoms are reduced to three by the death of Caribert 
 of Paris ; one, afterwards very celebrated by the name Neus- 
 tria,^ between the iScheldt and the Loire, is formed under 
 Chilperic, comprehending those of Paris and Soissons. Ca- 
 ribert of Paris had taken Aquitaine, which at his death was 
 divided among the three survivors ; Austrasia was the por- 
 tion of Sigebert. This generation was fruitful of still more 
 crimes than the last, redeemed by no golden glory of con- 
 quest. Fredegonde, the wife of Chilijeric, diffuses a baleful 
 light over this period. But while she tyrannizes with little 
 control in the west of France, her rival and sister in crime, 
 Brunehaut, wife of Sigebert and mother of Thierry II. his 
 successor, has to encounter a powerful opposition from the 
 Austrasian aristocracy ; and in this part of the monarchy a 
 new feature develops itself; the great projivietors, or nobil- 
 ity, act systematically with a view to restrain the royal pow- 
 er. Brunehaut, after many vicissitudes, and after having 
 seen her two sons on the thrones of Austrasia and Burgun- 
 dy, falls mto the hands of Clotaire II., king of the other 
 division, and is sentenced to a cruel death. Clotaire unites 
 the three Frank kingdoms. 
 
 IV. Reigns of Clotaire II. and his son Dagobert I. — The 
 royal power, though shaken by the Austrasian aristocracy, is 
 still effective. Dagobert, a prince who seems to have rather 
 excelled most of his family, and to whose munificence sev- 
 eral extant monuments of architecture and the arts are refer- 
 red, endeavours to stem the current. He was the last of the 
 Merovingians who appears to have possessed any distinctive 
 character: the Insensati follow. After the reisn of Dago- 
 bert most of the provinces beyond the Loire fall off, as it 
 may be said, from the monarchy, and hardly belong to it for 
 a century. 
 
 V. The fifth period begins with the accession of Clovis 
 II., son of Dagobert, in 638, and terminates with Pepin 
 Heristal's victory over the Neustrians at Testry, in 687. It 
 
 1 Neustria, or Western France, is first Tours, as I find by the index; and M. 
 
 mentioned in a diploma of Childebert, Lehuerou seems to think that it was not 
 
 •with the date of 558. But the genuine- much used till after the death of Brune- 
 
 ness of this has been d('iiied : tiie word haut, in 613. 
 never occurs in the history of Gregory of
 
 CiiAi-. I. SUBJECTION OF THE SAXONS. 1 ^.'t 
 
 is di>tiniriii>lioil l)v tho apparent equality dt" the two icniaiii- 
 iiijr kiii;:iluins, liurgiiiKly liu\ ing now tiiUeii into tliat of 
 Xeustria, and by the degradation of the royal line, in each 
 alike, into puppets of the mayors of the palaee. It is, in 
 Austnisia. the triumph of the aristoeraey, among whom the 
 Ijishops are still more prominent than before. Ebroin holds 
 the mayoralty of 2seustria with an unsteady command ; but 
 in Australia the progenitors of Pepin Ilm-istal grow up for 
 two generations in wealth and power, till he becomes the ac- 
 knowledged chief of that part of the kingdom, bearing the 
 title of duke instead of mayor, and by the battle of Testry 
 puts an end to the independence of Neustria. 
 
 Vl. From this time the family of Pepin is virtually sover- 
 eign in France, though at every vacancy kings of the royal 
 house are placed by them on the throne. Charles Martel, 
 indeed, son of Pepin, is not acknowledged, even in Aus- 
 trasia, for a short time after his father's death, and Neustria 
 attempts to regain her indejiendence ; but he is soon called 
 to power, defeats, like his lather, the western Franks, and be- 
 comes, in almost as great a degree as his grandson, the foun- 
 der of a new monarchy. So completely is he recognized as 
 sovereign, though not with the name of king, that he divides 
 France, as an inheritance, among his three sons. But soon 
 one only, Pepin the Short, by fortune or desert, becomes 
 possessor of this goodly bequest. In 7")2 the new dynasty 
 acquii-es a legal name by the coronation of Pepin. 
 
 NOTK IX. Page 24 
 
 The true cause, M. Michelet observes (Hist, de France, 
 ii. 3'.l), of tlie Saxon wars, which had begun under Charles 
 Martel, and were in some degree defensive on the part of 
 the Franks, was the ancient antipathy of race, eniiauced by 
 the growing tendency to civilized habits among the latter. 
 This, indeed, seem-; ^^f^l<•ient to account for the conflict, with- 
 out any national antipathy. It was that whicli makes the 
 Ked Indian perceive an enemy in the Anglo-American, and 
 the Au-tralian savage in the Englishman. The Saxons, in 
 their deep forests and scantily eidtivated plains, could not 
 bear fixed boundaries of land. T\u'\y f/au was indefinite; 
 the mnnsiis wjis certain; it annihilated the l):irbai-iairs only 
 method of combining liberty with po<se>sioii of land, — the.
 
 126 SUBJECTION OF THE SAXONS. Notes to 
 
 right of shifting his occupancy.^ It is not j^robable, from 
 subsequent events, that the Saxons held very tenaciously by 
 their religion; but when Christianity first offered itself, it 
 came in the train of a conqueror. Nor could Christianity, 
 according at least to the ecclesiastical system, be made com- 
 patible with such a state of society as the German in that 
 age. Hence the Saxons endeavored to burn the first 
 churches, thus drawing retaliation on their own idols. 
 
 The first apostles of Germany were English ; and of these 
 the most remarkable was St. Boniface. But this had been 
 in the time of Charles Martel and Pepin. The labors of 
 these missionaries were chiefly in Thuringia, Franconia, and 
 Bavaria, and were rewarded with great success. But we 
 mav here consider them only in their results on the Frank 
 monarchy. Those pai'ts of Germany had long been subject 
 to Austrasia, but, except so far as they furnished troops, 
 scarcely formed an integrant portion of that kingdom. The 
 subjection of a heathen tribe is totally different from that of 
 a Christian province. With the Church came churches, and 
 for churches there must be towns, and for towns a magistra- 
 cy, and for magistracy law and the means of enforcmg it. 
 How different was the condition of Bavaria or Hesse in the 
 ninth century from that of the same countries in the sev- 
 enth ! Not outlying appendages to the Austrasian monarchy, 
 hardly counted among its subjects, but capable of stand- 
 ing by themselves, as coordinate members of the empire, 
 an equipoise to France herself, full of populous towns, weal- 
 thy nobles and prelates, better organized and more flourish- 
 ins: states than their neijjhbors on the left side of the Rhine. 
 Charlemagne founded eight bishoprics in Saxony, and dis- 
 tributed the country into dioceses. 
 
 Note X. Page 25. 
 
 The project of substituting a Frank for a Byzantine sov- 
 ereign was by no means new in 800. Gregory II., by a let- 
 ter to Charles Martel in 741, had offered to renounce his 
 allegiance to the empire, placing Rome under the protection 
 of the French chief, with the title of consul or senator. 
 
 1 Michelet refers to Grimm, who is ex- the age of Tacitus loncjer than German 
 collent authorit}'. The Savons are likely tribes ou the Rhine and Main, 
 to liave maintained the old customs of
 
 Chap. i. CHARLEMAGNE. 127 
 
 Tlie immediate government he iloul)tlo>>; nionnt to kco]) in 
 the hand? of the Holy See. He supplicattMl, at the same 
 time, for assistance against the Lombards, which was the 
 principal motive for this offer. Charles received the pro- 
 posal witli j)lea-sure, but his death ensued before he had time 
 to take any steps towards fuHilHng so glorious a destiny. 
 When Charlemagne acquired the rank of Patrician at Rome 
 in 780. we may consider this as a part performance of Greg- 
 orv II.'s engagement, and the supreme authority was vir- 
 tually in the hands of the king of the Franks : but the 
 renunciation of allegiance toward the Greek empire had never 
 positively taken place, and there are said to have been some 
 tokens of recognition of its nominal sovereignty almost to 
 the end of the century. 
 
 It is contended by Sir F. Palgrave that Gfcarlemagne was 
 chosen by the Romans as lawful successor of Constantine 
 v.. whona his mother Irene had dethroned in 795, the usage 
 of "the empire having never admitted a female sovereign. 
 And for this he quotes two ancient clirouicles, one of which, 
 however, appears to have been copied from the other. It is 
 indeed true, which he omits to mention, that Leo III. had a 
 singidar scheme of a mai-riage between Charles and Irene, 
 which would for a time have united the empire. The pro- 
 posal was actually made, but prudently rejected by the 
 Greek lady. 
 
 It remains nevertheless to be sho^vn by w'hat right Leo 
 III,, cum omni Christiano populo, that is, the priests and 
 populace of degenerate Rome, could dispose of the entire 
 empire, or affect to place a stranger on tlie throne of Con- 
 stantinoj)le ; for if Charles were the successor of Constan- 
 tine v., we must draw this conclusion. Rome, we should 
 keep in mind, was not a jot more invested with authority 
 than any other city ; the Greek capital liad long taken her 
 place ; and in every revolution of new Rome, the decrepit 
 mother had without hesitation obeyed. Nor does it seem to 
 me exceedingly material, if tiie case be such, tliat Charle- 
 magne was not styled emperor of the West, or successor 
 of Augu-itulus. It is evident that his einjiire, relatively to 
 that of the Greeks, was western; and we do not lind that 
 either he or his family ever claimed an exclusive right to 
 the imperial title. The ])retension would have been diamet- 
 ri<ally opposed iioth to jjrescriptive right and actual posses-
 
 128 CHARLEMAGNE. Notes to 
 
 sion. He wrote to the emperor Nicephorus, successor of 
 Irene, as fraternitas vestra ; but it is believed that the 
 Greeks never recognized the title of a western barbarian. 
 In a later age, indeed, some presumed to reckon the em- 
 peror of Constantinople among kings. A writer of the four- 
 teenth century says, in French, — " Or devez savoir qu'il ne 
 doit estre sur terre qu'un seul empereur, combien que celui 
 de Constantinople estime estre seul empereur ; mais non est, 
 il n'est fors seulement qu'un roy." (Ducange, voc. Impera- 
 tor, which is worth consulting.) The kings of France and 
 Castile, as well as our own Anglo-Saxon monarchs in the 
 tenth century, and even those of Bulgaria, sometimes as- 
 sumed the imperial title. But the Anglo-Saxons preferred 
 that of Basileus, which was also a Byzantine appellation. 
 
 The probabl# design of Charlemagne, in accepting the 
 title of emperor, was not only to extend his power as far as 
 possible in Italy, but to invest it with a sort of sacredness 
 and prescriptive dignity in the eyes of his barbarian subjects. 
 These had been accustomed to hear of emperors as some- 
 thing superior to kings ; they were themselves fond of pom- 
 pous titles, and the chancery of the new Augustus soon 
 borrowed the splendid ceremonial of the Byzantine court. 
 His councillors approached him on their knees, and kissed 
 his feet. Yet it does not appear from history that his own 
 royal power, certainly very considerable before, was much 
 enhanced after it became imperial. He still took the advice, 
 and legislated with the consent, of his leudes and bishops ; 
 in fact, he continued to be a German, not a Roman, sover- 
 eign. In the reign of his family this prevalence of the 
 Teutonic element in the Carlovingian polity became more 
 and more evident; the bishops themselves, barbarian in 
 origin and in manners, cannot be reckoned in the opposite 
 scale. 
 
 This was a second failure of the attempt, or at least the 
 scheme, of governing barbarians upon a Roman theory. 
 The first had been tried by the sons of Clovis, and the high- 
 spirited Visigoth Brunchaut. But the associations of Roman 
 authority with the imperial name were too striking to be lost 
 forever; they revived again in the twelfth and thirteenth 
 centuries with the civil law, and gamed strength with the 
 Ghibelin fiction in Italy. Even in France and England, as 
 many think, they were by no means ineffectual; though it
 
 Chap. I. HERIDITARY SUCCESSION. 1 29 
 
 wiis necessary to substitute the abstract principle of royaltv 
 for the Lex Kegia of the Roman enii)ire. 
 
 Note XI. Page 27. 
 
 A question of the utmost importance had been passed 
 over in the eh'vation of Charlemagne to the imperial title. 
 It was that of hereditary succession. No allusion, as far as 
 I have found, was made to this in the irregular act by which 
 the pope, with what he called the Roman peoi)le, transferred 
 their allegiance from Constantinople to Aix-la-Chapelle. It 
 wjvs indeed certain that the empire had not only passed for 
 liereditary from the time of Augustus, but ever since that of 
 Diocletian had been j)artil»le among the imperial family at 
 the will of the possessor. Yet the whole proceeding was so 
 novel, and the pretensions of the Holy See implied in it so 
 indefinite, that some might doubt whether Charles had 
 acquired, along with the rank t)f iinperator, its ancient pre- 
 rogatives. There was also a momentous consideration, how 
 far his Frank subjects, accustomed latterly to be consulted on 
 royal succession, with their rights of election, within the 
 limits of the family, positively recognized at the accession of 
 Pepin, and liable to become jealous of Roman theories of 
 government, would acquiesce in a simple devolution of the 
 title on the eldest born as his legal birthright. In the tirst 
 prospective arrangement, accordingly, which Charles made 
 for the succession, that at Thionville, in 806, a partition 
 among his three sons wa:^ designed, with the largest share 
 reserved for the eldest. But though Italy, by which he 
 meant, as he tells us, Lombardy, was given to one of the 
 younger, care is taken l)y a description of the boundaries to 
 exclude Rome itself, as well a«! the whole exarchate of 
 Ravenna, become, by Pepin's donation, the patrimony of St. 
 Peter; nor is there the least allusion to the title of emperor. 
 Are we to believe that he relin(iuished the eternal city to its 
 bishop, though styling himsidf, in this very instrument, 
 RoMiani rector imperii, and having literally gained not an- 
 other inch of territory by that diguitv? It is surely more 
 proljable that lie reserved the sovereignty over Rome, to l)e 
 annexed to the rank of emperor whenever he should obtain 
 thai for hi-i eldest son. And on the death (if this son, and of 
 hi- next brother, some years afterwards, the whole succession 
 
 VOL. I. 9
 
 130 HEREDITARY SUCCESSION. Notes to 
 
 devolving on Louis the Debonair, Cliarlemagne presented 
 this prince to the great Placitum of the nobles and bishops 
 at Aix-la-Chapelle in 813, requesting them to name him king 
 and emperor. No reference Avas made to the pope for his 
 approbation ; and thus the German principle of sovereignty- 
 gained a decisive victory over the Roman. If some claim 
 of the pope to intermeddle with the empire was intimated at 
 the coronation of Louis at Rheims by Stephen II. in 81G, 
 which does not seem certain, it could only have been througli 
 the pope's knoAvledge of the personal submissiveness to 
 ecclesiastical power which was the misfortune of that prince. 
 He had certainly borne the imperial title from his father's 
 death. 
 
 In the division projected by Louis in 817, to take place on 
 his death, and approved by an assembly at Aix, a considera- 
 ble supremacy was reserved for the future emperor ; he was 
 constituted, in effect, a sort of suzerain, without whose con- 
 sent the younger brothers could do nothing important. Thus 
 the integrity of the empire was maintained, which had been 
 lost in the scheme of Charlemagne in 80(3. But M. Fauriel 
 (vol. iv. p. 83) reasonably suspects an ecclesiastical influence 
 in suggesting this measure of 817, which Avas an overt act 
 of the Roman, or imperial, against the barbarian party. If 
 the latter consented to this in 817, it was probably either 
 because they did not understand it, or because they trusted 
 to setting it aside. And, as is well known, the course of 
 events soon did this for them. " It is indisputable," says 
 Ranke, " that the order of succession to the throne, which 
 Louis the Pious, in utter disregard of the warnings of his 
 faithful adherents, and in opposition to all German modes of 
 thinking, established in the year 817, Avas principally brought 
 about by the influence of the clergy." (Hist, of Reforma- 
 tion, Mrs. Austin's translation, vol. i. p. 9.) He attributes 
 the concurrence of that order, in the subsequent revolt 
 against Louis, to the endeavors he had made to deviate from 
 the provisions of 819 in favor of his youngest son, Charles 
 the 13ald. 
 
 Note XIL Page 31. 
 
 The second period of Carlovingian history, or that which 
 elapsed Ironi the reign of Charles tlie Bald to the accession
 
 Cii.vr. I. THE CARI.UVIXGIAXS. 1 ;U 
 
 of Hugh Capet, must be reckoned the transitional state, 
 through scenes ot" harharous anarchy. Cntui the artificial 
 scheme devised by Ciiarlemagne, in which the Roman and 
 German elements of civil policy were rather in contlict 
 than in union, to a new state of society — the feudal, which, 
 though pregnant itself with great evil, was the means both 
 of preserving the frame of European policy from disintegra- 
 tion, and of elaborating the moral and constitutional i)rinci- 
 ples upon which it afterwards rested. 
 
 This period exhil»its, upon the whole, a failure of the 
 grand endeavor made by Charlemagne for the regeneration 
 of his empire. This proceeded very much from the common 
 chances of hereditary succession, especially when not coun- 
 terbalanced by established powers independent of it. Three 
 of his name, Charles the Bald, the Fat, and the Simi)le, had 
 time to pull down what the great legislator and con<iuernr 
 had erected. Encouraged by their pusillanimity and weak- 
 ness, the nol)ility strove to revive the spirit of the seventh 
 centurv. Thev entered into a coalition with the l)ishi)i)s, 
 though Charles the Bald had often sheltered himself liehind 
 the crosier; and they compelled his son, Louis the Stam- 
 merer, not only to confirm their own privileges and those of 
 the Church, but to style himself " King, by tlie grace of God 
 and election of the people ; " which, indeed, according to the 
 established constitution, was no more than truth, since the 
 absolute right to succession was only in the family. The ina- 
 bility of the crown to protect its subjects from their invaders 
 renilered this assumption of aristocratic independence abso- 
 lutely necessary. In this age of agony, Sismondi Avell says, 
 the nation began to revive ; new social bodies s|)rung from the 
 carcass of the great empire. France, so defenceless under 
 the Bald and the Fat Charleses, bristled with castles before 
 930. She renewed the fable of Deucalion; she sowed stones, 
 and armed men rose out of them. The lords surrounded 
 themselves with vassals ; and had not the Norman incursions 
 cea<e<l before, they wordd have met with a nmch more deter- 
 mined resistance tijan in the preceding century. (Hist, des 
 Francais, iii. 21H, ;)78 ; iv. 9.) 
 
 Notwitii-itaniling the weakness of the throne, the promise 
 of the Franks to I'e|»in, that thev would never elect a king 
 out of anv other familv, thoiiiiii broken on two or three occa- 
 sions in tii<' tenth century, seems to have retaineil its liold
 
 132 TRANSITION PERIOD OF Notes to 
 
 upon the nation, so that an hereditary right in his house was 
 felt as a constitutional sentiment, until experience and neces- 
 sity overcame it. The first interruption to this course was 
 at the election of Eudes, on the death of Charles the Fat, in 
 888. Charles the Simple, son of Carloman, a prince whose 
 short and obscure reign over France had ended in 884, 
 being himself the only surviving branch, in a legitimate line, 
 of the imperial house (for the frequent deaths of those 
 princes without male issue is a remarkable and important 
 circumstance), was an infant of three years old. The king- 
 dom Avas devastated by the Normans, whom it was just 
 beginning to resist with somewhat more energy than for the 
 last half-century ; and Eudes, a man of considerable vigor, 
 possessed several counties in the best parts of France. The 
 nation had no alternative but to choose him for their king. 
 Yet, when Charles attained the age of fifteen, a iiumerous 
 party supported his claim to the throne, which he would 
 probably have substantiated, if the disparity of abilities be- 
 tween the competitors had been less manifest. Eudes, at 
 his death, is said to have recommended Charles to his own 
 party ; and it is certain that he succeeded without opposition. 
 His own Aveak character, however, exposing him to fresh 
 rebellion, Robert, brother of Eudes, and his son-in-law Ro- 
 dolph, became kings of France, that is, we find their names in 
 the royal list, and a part of the kingdom acknowledged their 
 sovereignty. But the south stood oti altogether, and Charles 
 preserved the allegiance of the north-eastern provinces. 
 Robert, in fact, who was killed one year after his partisans 
 had pi-oclaimed him, seems to have no great pretensions, de 
 facto any more than de jure, to be reckoned at all ; nor does 
 any historian give the appellation of Robert II. to the son 
 of Hugh Capet. The father of Hugh Capet, Hugh the 
 Great, son of Robert and nephew of Eudes, being count of 
 Paris and Orleans, who had bestowed the crown on his 
 brother-in-law Rodolph of Burgundy, instead of wearing it 
 himself, paid such deference to the prejudices of at least the 
 majority of the nation in favor of the house of Charlemagne, 
 that he procured the election of Louis IV., son of Charles 
 the Simple, a boy of thirteen years, and then an exile in 
 England ; from which circumstance he has borne the name 
 of Outremer. And though he did not reisn without some 
 opposition from his powerful vassal, he died in possession of
 
 Ch.vp. I. THE CAItLOVINGIAXS. 133 
 
 the crown, and transmitted it to be -worn bvhi?: son Lotliaire, 
 and his <rrand-;on Louis V. It Avas on the death of tliis hist 
 young man that Hugh Capet thought it lime to set a<i(h> the 
 rights of Charles, the hue king's uncle, i\nd call liiuisclf 
 king, with no more national consent than the ])nlal(< and 
 baruns who depended on him might atl'ord ; principally, it 
 seems, through the adherence of Adalberon, archbishop of 
 Rludms, a city in which the kings were already wont to 
 receive the crown. .Such is the national importance which 
 a merely local ])rivilege may sometimes bestow. Even the 
 voice of the capital, regular or tumultuous, which in so many 
 revolutions has determined the ol)edience of a nation, mav 
 be considered as little more than a local superiority. 
 
 A writer distinguished among living historians, M. Thi- 
 erry, has found a key to all the revolutions of two centuries 
 in the antipathy of the Romans, that is, the ancient inhab- 
 itants, to the Franks or Germans. The latter were repre- 
 sented by the house of Charlemagne ; the former by that of 
 Robert the Brave, through its valiant descendants, Eudes, 
 Robert, and Hugh the Great. And this theory of races, to 
 which M. Thierry is always ]>artial, and recurs on many 
 occasions, has seemed to the judicious and impartial Guizot 
 the most satisfactory of all that have been devised to eluci- 
 date the Carlovingian period, though he does not embrace it 
 to its full extent. (Hist, de la Civilisation en France, Lecon 
 24.) Sismondi (vol. iii. p. 08) had said in 1821, what he 
 had probably written as early as INI. Thierry : " La guerre 
 entre Charles et ses deux freres fut celle des penples romains, 
 des Gaules qui rejetaient le joug gernianique ; la (pH-relle 
 insignifiante des rois fut soutenue avec ardeur, parce ([u'elle 
 s'unissait a la querelle des peujjles ; et tous ces prejuges hos- 
 tiles qui s'attachent toujours aux differences des langm^s et 
 des UKcurs, donnerent de la Constance et de raeharnenient 
 aux c<jmi)attans." This relates, indeed, to an earlier period, 
 but still to the same conflict of races which M. Tliienv lia- 
 taken as the ba-is of the resistance made by the Xeusliian 
 provinces to the later Carlovingians. Thierry finds a similar 
 contest in the wars of Louis the Debonair. Li this lie i-j 
 conqxdle*! to suppose that the Ni'ustrian Franks fell in wiiii 
 the Gauls, among whom they lived. But it may well b<' 
 doubterl whether the distinction of Frank descent, and con- 
 sequently of national supremacv, was ol)lilerateil in tlie first
 
 134 TRANSITION PERIOD OF Notes to 
 
 part of the ninth century. The name of Franci was always 
 api)lied to the whole people; the kings are always reges 
 Francoriim ; so that we might in some respects rather say 
 that the Gauls or Eomans had been merged in the dominant 
 races than the reverse. Wealth, also, and especially that 
 springing from hereditary benefices, was chiefly in the hands 
 of the barbarians ; they alone, as is generally believed, so 
 long as the distinction of personal law subsisted, were sum- 
 moned to county or national assemblies ; they perhaps re- 
 tained, in the reign of Louis the Debonair, though we cannot 
 speak decisively as to this, their original language. It has 
 been observed that the f;xmous oath in the Romance language, 
 pronounced by Louis of Germany at the treaty of Strasburg, 
 in 842, and addressed to the army of his brother Charles the 
 Bald, bears more traces of the southern, or Provencal, than 
 of the northern dialect ; and it is probable that the inhabitants 
 of the southern provinces, whatever might have been the 
 origin of their ancestors, spoke no other. This would not 
 be conclusive as to the Neustrian Franks. But this is a 
 disputable question. 
 
 A remarkable presumption of the superiority still retained 
 by the Franks as a nation, even in the south of France, may 
 be di-awn from the Placitum, at Carcassonne, in 918. (Vais- 
 sette. Hist, de Languedoc, vol. ii. Append, p. 56 ; Meyer, In- 
 stitutions Judiciaires, vol. i. p. 419.) In this we fuid named 
 six Roman, four Gothic, and eight Salian judges. It is cer- 
 tain that these judges could not have been taken relatively 
 to the population of the three races in that part of France. 
 Does it not seem most probable that the Franks were still 
 reckoned the predominant people ? Probably, however, the 
 personal distinction, founded on difference of laws, expired 
 earlier in Neustria ; not that the Franks fell mto the Roman 
 jurisprudence, but that the original natives adopted the feu- 
 dal customs. 
 
 This specious theory of hostile races, in order to account 
 for the downfall of the Carlovingian, or Austrasian, d}masty, 
 has not been unanimously received, especially in the extent 
 to which Thierry has urged it. M. Gaudet, the French 
 editor of Richer (a contemporary historian, whose narrative 
 of the wliole period, from the accession of Eudes to the 
 death of Ilugli Capet, is published by Pertz in the Monu- 
 menta Germaniai llistorica, vol. iii., and contains a great
 
 Chap. I. THE CARLOVIXGIAXS. 135 
 
 quantity of new and interesting facts, especially from a.i>. 
 9i")t.> to 'JS7), a]>iti':ils to this writer in contradiction of the 
 hypothesis of 31. Thierry. The appeal, however, is not solely 
 uj)on his authority, since the leading circumstances were 
 sufficiently known : and, to say the truth. I think that more 
 luL-i licen made ot' Kielier's testimony in this particular view 
 than it will hear. Kicher belonged to a monastery at Rheims, 
 and his father had lieen a man of some rank in the confi- 
 dence of Louis 1\'. and Lothaire." He had, therefore, been 
 nursed in respect for the house of Charlemagne, though, with 
 deference to his editor, I do not perceive that he displays any 
 repugnance to the change of dynasty. 
 
 Though the ditlercnces of origin and language, so far as 
 they existed, might be by no means unimportant in the gi-eat 
 revolution near the close of the tenth century, they caimot 
 be relied ui)on as suthciently explaining its cause. Tlie pai'- 
 tisaiis of either family were not exclusively of one blood. 
 Tiie liouse of Capet itself was not of Roman, but probably 
 of Saxon descent. The difference of races had been much 
 effaced after Charles the Bald, but it is to be remembered 
 that the great beneficiaries, the most wealthy and potent 
 famihes in Xeustria or France, were of barbarian origin. 
 Oni' people, so far a.> we can distinguish them, was l)y far 
 the more numerous : the other, of more influence in jwlitical 
 afiairs. The personal distinction of law, however, which liad 
 been the test of descent, ajjpears not to have been preserved 
 in the nortli of France nuu-h after the ninth century ; and 
 tlie Roman, as has Ijcen said alxjve, had yielded to the bar- 
 baric eh-ment — to the feudal customs. The Romance lan- 
 guage, on the other liaiid, iiad obtained a complete ascenden- 
 cy; and that not only in Xeustria, or the parts west of the 
 Sonnne, but thntngliout Picardy, Champagne, and part of 
 Fhinders. But if we were to supjjose that tliese regions were 
 still in some way more Teutonic in sentiment than Xeustria, 
 we certainly could not say the same of those beyond the 
 Loire. A<niitaine and Languedoc. almost whollv Roman, to 
 use the ancient wonh or Frencli,a-; they niiglit now be called, 
 among whose vine-<-overed hills the jjarbarians of the Lower 
 Hliine had hardly fijrmed a perinam lit settlement, or, lia\iug 
 done XI, had early cast off the slough of their rude manners, 
 had been the scenes of a long resistance to the 3Ieroviugian 
 dynjLsty. The tyranny of Chilileric and Clolaii-e, llie liar-
 
 136 TRANSITION PERIOD OF Notes to 
 
 barism of tlie Frank invaders, had created an indelible 
 hatred of their yoke. But they submitted without reluctance 
 to the more civilized government of Charlemagne, and dis- 
 played a spontaneous loyalty towards his line. Never did 
 they recognize, at least without force, the Neustrian usurpers 
 of the tenth century, or date their legal instruments, in truth 
 the chief sign of subjection that they gave, by any other 
 year than that of the Carlovingian sovereign. If Charles 
 the Simple reaj^ed little but this nominal allegiance from his 
 southern subjects, he had the satisfaction to reflect that they 
 owned no one else. 
 
 But a rapacious aristocracy had pressed so hard on the 
 weakness of Charles the Bald and his descendants that, the 
 kingdom being wholly parcelled in great fiefs, they had not 
 the resources left to reward self-interested services as before, 
 nor to I'esist a vassal far superior to themselves. Laon was 
 much behind Paris in Avealth and populousness, and yet even 
 the two capitals were inadec^uate representatives of the pro- 
 portionate strength of the king and the count. Power, as 
 simply taken, was wholly on one side ; yet on the other was 
 prejudice, or rather an absti'act sense of hereditary right ; 
 and this sometimes became a source of jiower. But the long 
 greatness of one family, its manifest influence over the suc- 
 cession to the throne, the conspicuous men whom it produced 
 in Eudes and Hugh the Great, had silently prepared the 
 way for a revolution, neither unnatural nor premature, nor in 
 any way dangerous to the public interests. It is certainly 
 probable that the Neustrian French had come to feel a 
 greater sympathy with the house of Capet than with a line 
 of kings who rarely visited their country, and whom they 
 could not but contemplate as in some adverse relation to their 
 natural and popular chiefs. But the national voice was not 
 greatly consulted in those ages. It is remarkable that sev- 
 eral writers of the nineteenth century, however they may 
 sometimes place the true condition of the people in a vivid 
 light, are constantly relapsing into a democratic theory. 
 They do not by any means underrate the oppressed and 
 almost servile condition of the peasantry and burgesses, when 
 it is their aim to draw a picture of society; yet in reasoning 
 on a political revolution, such as the decline and fall of the 
 German dynasty, they ascribe to these degraded classes both 
 the will and the power to effect it. The proud nationality
 
 Cn.AJ-. I. THE CARLOVIXGIAXS. 1.17 
 
 which spurned a foreign line of princes could not be felt by 
 an inipoverishod and atilicted connnonalty. Yet when '^L 
 Thierry alludes to the rumor that the I'auiily of Capet \va> 
 sprung from the commons (some said, as we read in Dante, 
 from a butcher), he adds, — " Cette opinion, qui se conserva 
 durant phisieurs siecles, ne fut pivs nuisible a sa cause," — as 
 if there had been a.^ etiective a tiers-etat in 987 as 800 yeai-s 
 afterwards. If, however, we are meant only to seek this 
 sentiment anjong the nobles of France, I fear that self- 
 interest, personal attachments, and a predominant desire of 
 maintaining their independence against the crown, were 
 motives far more in operation than the wish to hear the king 
 speak French instead of Cierman. 
 
 It seems, upon the whole, that M. Thierry's hypothesis, 
 countenanced as it is ])y ]\I. Guizot. will not afford a com- 
 plete explanation of the history of France between Charles 
 the Fat and Hugh Capet. The truth is, that the accidents of 
 personal character have more to do with the revolutions of 
 nations than either pliilosophical historians or democratic 
 politicians like to admit. If Eudes and Hugh the Great 
 had been born in the royal line, they would have preserved 
 far l>etter the royal jwwer. If Charles the Simple had not 
 raised too high a fovorite of mean extraction, he might have 
 retained the nobles of Lorraine and Champagne in their 
 fidelity. If Adali)eron, archbishop of Rheims, had been 
 loyal to the house of Chai-lemagne, that of Capet would not, 
 at least so soon, have ascended the throne. If Louis V. had 
 lived some years, and left a son to inherit the lineal right, 
 the more precarious claim of his uncle would not have 
 undergone a disadvantageous competition with tliat of a vig- 
 orous usurper. M. Gaudet has well shown, in his notice on 
 Richer, that the opposition of Adcdberon to Charles of Lor- 
 raine wa-J whollv on personal grounds. No hint is given of 
 any national hostility ; l)Ut whatever of national approbation 
 was trivon to llie new familv, and doubtless in Neustrian 
 FraiK-e it was vi-rv prevalent, nuist ratlier be ascribed to 
 their own re|iiitation llian to any ]ieculiar antipathy towards 
 tlieir conip«'titor. Hugh Capet, it is reconh'd, never wore 
 tlie en>wn. though styling hiins<df king, and took care to 
 jjHM'un', in an jtHsendjly li<dd in Paris, the election of his 
 w»n Roltert to succeed him ; an example which was followed 
 for several reigns.
 
 138 THE NOEMANS. Notes to 
 
 A late Belgian writer, M. Gerard, in a spirited little work, 
 ' La Bai-barie Franque et la Civilisation Romaine ' (Brux- 
 elles, 1845), admitting the theory of the conflict of races, 
 indignantly repels the partisans of what has been called the 
 Roman element. Thierry, Michelet, and even G-uizot, 
 are classed by him as advocates of a corrupted race of 
 degenerate provincials, who called themselves Romans, 
 endeavoring to set up their pretended civilization against the 
 free and generous spirit of the barbarians from jvliom Europe 
 has derived her proudest inheritance. Avoidmg the aristo- 
 cratic arrogance of Boulainvilliers, and laughing justly at the 
 pretensions of motlern French nobles, if any such there are, 
 which I disbelieve, who vaunt their descent as an order from 
 the race of Franks, he bestows his admiration on the old 
 Austrasian portion of the monarchy, to which, as a Belgian, 
 he belongs. But in his persuasion that the two races Avere 
 in distinct opposition to each other, and have continued so 
 ever since, he hardly falls short of Michelet. 
 
 I will just add to this long note a caution to the reader, 
 that it relates only to the second period of the Carlovingian 
 kinofs, that from 888 to 987. In the reigns of Louis the 
 Del)onair and Charles the Bald I do not deny that the desire 
 for the separation of the empire was felt on both sides. But 
 this separation was consummated at Verdun in 843, except 
 that, the kingdom of Lorraine being not long afterwards dis- 
 membered, a small portion of the modern Belgium fell into 
 that of France. 
 
 Note XIIL Page 35. 
 
 The cowardice of the French, during the Noniian incur- 
 sions of the ninth century, has struck both ancient and 
 modern writers, considering that the invaders were by no 
 means numerous, and not better armed than the inhabitants. 
 No one, says Paschasius Radbert, could have anticipated 
 that a kingdom so powerful, extensive, and populous, would 
 have been ravaged by a handful of barbarians. (Mem. de 
 TAcad. des Inscr. vol. xv. p. 639.) Two hundred Normans 
 entered Paris, in 805, to take away some wine, and retired 
 unmolested ; their usual armies seem to have been only of a 
 few hundreds. (Sismondi, vol. iii. p. 170.) Michelet even 
 fancies that the French could not have fought so obstinately
 
 Chai-. [. THE NORiLVXS. IGi) 
 
 at Fuuteiiay as historians relate, on account of the effeminacy 
 which ecck'siaj^tical iiiHnence had produced. This is rather 
 au oxtravag;mt sui>i)osition. But panic is very contagious, 
 and sometimes falls on nations by no means deficient in gen- 
 eral coura'^e. It is to he remcmltered that the cities, even 
 Paris, were not fortilicd (Mem. de I'Acad. vol. xvii. p. 2<S'J) ; 
 that the government of Charles the Bald was imbecile ; that 
 no effort^ were made to array and discii)line the people ; that 
 the feuthil polity was as yet incomplete and unorganized. 
 Ciui it be an excessive reproach, that the citizens lied from 
 their dwellings, or redeenied them by money from a terrible 
 foe against whom their mere superiority of numbers furnished 
 no security ? Every instance of barbarous devastation 
 aggravated the general timidity. Aciuitaine w'as in such a 
 state that the pope removed the archbishop of Bordeaux to 
 Bourges, because his province was eulirely wasted by the 
 pagims. (Sismondi, vol. iii. p. 210.) Never was France in 
 so dejjlorable a condition as under Charles the Bald ; the 
 laitv seem to have deserted the national assemblies ; almost 
 all his ca[)itularies are ecclesiastical ; he was the mere ser- 
 vant of his bishops. The clergy were now at their zenith ; 
 and it has Ijeen suppo-ed that, noble families becommg 
 extinct (for few names of laymen api)ear at this time in his- 
 tory), the Church, which always gained and never lost, took 
 the ascendant in national councils. And this contributed to 
 render the nation less warlike, by depriving it of its natui-al 
 leaders. It might be added, according to Sismondi's very 
 probable suggestion, that the iiiith in relics, encouraged 
 bv tiie Church, lowered the spirit of the people. (Vol. iii. 
 passim; ^iichelet, vol. ii. p. 120, et post.) And it is a 
 quality of superstition not to be undeceived by experience. 
 Some have attriltuted tln^ weakness of France at this period 
 to the bloody battle of Foiitenay, in 811. But if we should 
 sup|)Ose the loss of the kingdom on that day to have been 
 fortv thou-and, which is a high reckoning, this would not 
 explain the want of resistance to the Xormans for half a 
 century. 
 
 Tin; beneticial effect of the cession of Normandy has hard- 
 ly lieiMi put by me in sullicic^ntly strong terms. Nj measure 
 wa> so conducive' to the revi\al of France irom hi-r abase- 
 ni<rit ill tbe uiiitli (-(Mitury. Tin- Normans had been dis- 
 linguisheil l)y a peculiar ferocity toward-^ priests ; yet when
 
 140 THE NORMANS. Notes to 
 
 tlieir conversion to Christianity was made the condition of 
 their possessing Normandy, tliey were ready enougli to com- 
 ply, and in anotlier generation became among the most 
 devout of the French nation. It may be observed that pagan 
 superstitions, thougli tliey often take great liold on the imag- 
 ination, seldom influence the conscience or sense of duty ; 
 they are not definite or moral enough for such an effect, 
 which belongs to positive religions, even when false. And as 
 their efficacy over the imagination itself is generally a good 
 deal dependent on local associations, it is likely to be weak- 
 ened by a change of abode. But a more certain explana- 
 tion of the new zeal for Christianity which spi'ung up among 
 the Normans may be found in the important circumstance, 
 that, having few women with them, they took wives (they 
 had made widows enough) from the native inhabitants. 
 These taught their own faith to their children. They taught 
 also their own language ; and in no other manner can we so 
 well account for the rapid extinction of that of Scandinavia 
 in that province of France. 
 
 Sismondi discovers two causes for the determination of the 
 Normans to settle peaceably in the territory assigned to 
 them ; the devastation which they had made along the coast, 
 rendering it difficult to procure subsistence ; and the growing 
 spirit of resistance in the French nobility, who were fortify- 
 ing their castles and training their vassals on every side. 
 But we need not travel far for an inducement to occupy the 
 fine lands on the Seine and Eure. Piracy and plunder had 
 become their resource, because they could no longer find sub- 
 sistence at home ; they now found it abundantly in a more 
 genial climate. They would probably have accepted the 
 same terms fifty years before. 
 
 Note XIV. Page 36. 
 
 This has been put in the strongest language by Sismondi, 
 Thierry, and other writers. Guizot, however, thinks that it 
 has been urged too far, and that the first four Capetians were 
 not quite so insignificant in their kingdom as has been 
 asserted. " When we look closely at the documents and 
 events of their age, we see that they have played a more 
 important part, and exerted more influence, than is ascribed 
 to them. Read their history ; you will see them interfere
 
 Chap. I. THE CAPETS. 141 
 
 inces-;antlv. whcthiT Itv arms or l)v ncirotiatioii. in the affairs 
 of the county of Burgundy, of the county of Anjou. of the 
 county of Maine, of tiae duchy of Guienne : in a word, in 
 the affairs of all their neijrhhors, and even of very distaiu 
 fiefs. Xo other suzerain certainly, except the dukes of Nor- 
 mandv. wiio conciuered a kingdom, took a part at that time 
 so freiiuently, and at so great a distance from the centre of 
 his domains. Turn over the letters of contemporaries, for 
 example those of FuUiert and of Yves, bishops of Chartrt's, 
 or those of William III. duke of Guienne. and many others, 
 you will see that the king of France was not without 
 imi)ortance. and that the most powerful suzerains treated him 
 with great deference." He a])])eals especially to the extant 
 act of the consecration of Philip I., in 10,30. where a duke 
 of Guienne is mentioned among tlie great fendataries, and 
 asks whether any other suzerain look possession of his rank 
 with so much solemnity. (Civilisation en France, Le9on 42.) 
 "As there was always a country callecl France and a French 
 people, so there was always a king of the French; very far 
 indeed from ruling the country called his kingdom, and with- 
 out iutlnence on the greater part of the population, hut yet no 
 foreigner, and with his name inscribed at the head of the 
 deeds of all the local sovereigns, as one who was their 
 superior, and to wlioni they owed several duties." (Lecon 
 4y.) It may be observed also that the Church r<H'ognized 
 no other sovereign ; not that all the bishops held of him, 
 for many depended on the great fiefs, but the ceremony of 
 consecration gave him a sort of ndigious character, to which 
 no one else aspired. And Suger, tiie ])olitic minister of Louis 
 VI. and Louis VII., made use of the bishops to maintain the 
 royal authority in <listant provinces. (Le^on 42.) This 
 neverthel<is> ratln-r proves tliat the germ of future power 
 wa^ in the kinglv ollicc than that Hugh, ivolx-rl, lIi'iUT, and 
 Philip exercised it. The most remarkable instance of 
 authoritv durin'j lln-ir reigns was the war of Robert in Bur- 
 ginidv, which endeti in his bestowing that great lief on his 
 brother. I have observe<l that the duke of Guienne sub- 
 .scribes a charter of Henry I. in 10.") 1. (Rec. des Ilistorieiis, 
 vol. xi. p. r»HlK) Pr(tbal)ly there are other instances. Henry 
 u<er. a m(»re pompous ami sovereign phra-eoiogy in hi> 
 fliploina-! than his father; the young lion was trying his 
 roar.
 
 142 THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAES. Xotes to 
 
 I concur on the whole in thinking with M. Guizot, that in 
 shunning the hxnguage of uninformed historians, Avho spoke 
 of all kings of France as equally supreme, it had become 
 usual to depreciate the power of the first Capetians rather 
 too much. He had, however, to appearance, done the same 
 a few years before the delivery of these lectures, in 1829 ; 
 for in his Collection of Memoirs (vol. i. p. 6, published in 
 1825), he speaks rather differently of the first four reigns : — 
 " C'est I'epoque ou le royaume de France et la nation frau- 
 ^aise n'ont existe, a vrai dire, que de nom." He observes, 
 also, that the chroniclers of the royal domain are peculiarly 
 meagre, as compared with those of Noi'mandy. 
 
 Note XV. Page 56. 
 
 It may excite surprise that in any sketch, however slight, 
 of the reign of Philip IV., no mention should be made of an 
 event, than which none in his life is more celebrated — the 
 fate of the Knights Templars. But the truth is, that when 
 I first attended to the subject, almost forty years since, I 
 could not satisfy my mind on the disputed problem as to the 
 guilt imputed to that order, and suppressed a note which I 
 had written, as too inconclusive to afford any satisfactory deci- 
 sion. Much has been published since on the Continent, and 
 the question has assumed a different aspect ; though, perhaps, 
 I am not yet more prepared to give an absolutely determi- 
 nate judgment than at first. 
 
 The general current of popular writers in the eighteenth 
 century was in favor of the innocence of the Templars ; in 
 England it would have been almost paradoxical to doubt of 
 it. The rapacious and unprincipled character of Philip, the 
 submission of Clement V. to his will, the apparent incredi- 
 bility of the charges from their monstrousness, the just prej- 
 udice against confessions obtained by torture and retracted 
 afterwards — the other prejudice, not always so just, but in 
 the case of those not convicted on fair evidence deserving a 
 better name in favor of assertions of innocence made on the 
 scaffold and at the stake — created, as they still preserve, a 
 strong willingness to disbelieve the accusations which came 
 so suspiciously before us. It was also often alleged that con- 
 temporary writers had not given credit to these accusations, 
 and that in countries where the inquiry had been less iniq-
 
 Chap. I. THE KNIGHTS TEMPLARS. 143 
 
 uitously coiKluotod no proof of tlit'iu was brought to light. 
 Of these two grouiuls for ufquittal, the former is of little 
 value in a question of legal evidence, and the latter is not 
 quite so fully estalilished as we could desire. 
 
 Ravnouard, who might think himself pledged to the vin- 
 dieation of the Knights Templars by the tragedy he had 
 written on their fate, or at least would naturally have thus 
 imbibed an attaehment to their cause, took u[) their defence 
 in a History of the Procedure. This has been reckoned the 
 best work on that side, and was supposed to confirm their 
 inuDcenee. The question appears to have assumed some- 
 thing of a party character in France, as most history does ; 
 the honor of the crown, and still more of the church, had 
 ailvocates ; but there was a nnu-li greater number, especially 
 among men of letters, who did nt)t like a decision the worse 
 lor Ijeing derogatory to the credit of both. Sismondi, it may 
 easily be supposed, scarcely treats it as a question with two 
 sides ; but even ^Michaud. the firm supporter of church and 
 crown, in his History of the Crusades, takes the favorable 
 view. M. Michelet, however, not under any bias towards 
 either of these, and manifestly so desirous to acquit the 
 Templars that lie labors by every ingenious device to elude 
 or ex|)lain away the evidence, is so overcome by the force 
 and number of testimonies, that he ends by admitting so 
 much as leaves little worth contending for by their patrons. 
 He is the editor of the " Proces des Templiers," in the " Doc- 
 umens Inedits, 1841," and had previously given abundant evi- 
 dence of his acquaintance with the subject in his " Histoire de 
 France," vol. iv. p. 24.;, o4.j. (Bruxelles edition.) 
 
 But the great change that has been made in this process, 
 a.s carried forward before the tril)unal (tf public opinion from 
 age to age, is owing to the production of fresh evidence. 
 The deeplv-learned orientalist, M. von Hammer, now count 
 Hammer Purg<tall, in the sixth volume of a work published at 
 Vienna in IHIH. with the title "Mines de I'Orient exploitees," ^ 
 inserted an essay in Latin, *' Mysterium Uaphometis Kevela- 
 tum, seu Fratres Militiaj Templi qua Gnostici et (piidem 
 Ojihiani. Apo-tasia', Idoloduliie, et Impuritatis coiivicti jier 
 i|»>a eorum .Monumeiita." This is designed to establish the 
 ith-ntity of the iilolatry jiscribed to the Templars with that of 
 
 I I ]i\re thin French title, but there In memoirs are either la that liintjuago or 
 bUo a Ovnuan title-pago, as most of the ia Latla.
 
 144 THE KNIGHTS TEMPLARS. Xotes to 
 
 the ancient Gnostic sects, and especially with those denomi- 
 nated Ophites, or worshippers of tlie serpent ; and to prove 
 also that the extreme im})urity which forms one of the revolt- 
 ing and hardly ci^edible charges adduced by Philip IV. is 
 similar in all its details to the practice of the Gnostics. 
 
 This attack is not conducted with all the coolness which 
 bespeaks impartiality ; but the evidence is startling enough 
 to make refutation apparently difficult. The first part of the 
 proof, which consists in identifying certain Gnostic idols, or, 
 as some suppose, amulets, though it comes much to the same, 
 with the description of what are called Baphometic, in the 
 proceedings against the Templars, published by Dupuy, and 
 since in the " Documens Inedits," is of itself sufficient to raise 
 a considerable presumption. We find the word 7netis con- 
 tinually on these images, of which Von Hammer is able to 
 describe twenty-four. Baphomet is a secret word ascribed 
 to the Templars. But the more important evidence is that 
 furnished by the comj^arison of sculptures extant on some 
 Gnostic and Ophitic bowls with those in churches built by 
 the Templars. Of these there are many in Germany, and 
 some in France. Von Hammer has examined several in the 
 Austrian dominions, and collected accounts of others. It is 
 a striking fiict that in some we find, concealed from the com- 
 mon observer, images and symbols extremely obscene ; and 
 as these, which cannot here be more particularly adverted to, 
 betray the depravity of the architects, and cannot be explained 
 away, we may not so much hesitate as at first to believe that 
 impiety of a strange kind was mingled up with this turpi- 
 tude. The presumptions, of course, from the absolute iden- 
 tity of many emblems in churches with the Gnostic supersti- 
 tions in their worst form, grow stronger and stronger by 
 multiplication of instances ; and though coincidence might be 
 credible in one, it becomes infinitely improbable in so many. 
 One may here be mentioned, though among the slightest 
 resemblances. The Gnostic emblems exhibit a peculiar form 
 of cross, T ; and this is common in the churches built by the 
 Templars. But the freemasons, or that society of architects 
 to whom we owe so many splendid churches, do not escape 
 M. von Hammer's ill opinion better than the Templars. 
 Though he conceives them to be of earlier origin, they had 
 drunk at the same foul spring of impious and impure Gnos- 
 ticism. It is rather amusing to compare the sympathy of
 
 Cn.vp. I. THE KNIGHTS TEMPLARS. 145 
 
 our own modern eoi-lc«;ioloji:i>t> witli tlioso who raised the 
 mediiLval cathedraK tlieir implicit euiitidence in the piety 
 whieli ennobled the conceptions of these architects, with the 
 Ibllowin^x i^assajje in a memoir bv ]M. von Hammer. " Snr 
 deux Cotlrets Gnostiques du moven Age, du cabinet de M. 
 le due de Blaeas. Paris, 1S32!" 
 
 " Les architectes du moyen age, initios dans tous les my- 
 steres du Gnosticisme le plus deprave, se plaisaient a en mul- 
 tiplier les symboles an dehors et au dedans de leurs eglises ; 
 symboles dont le veritable sens n'etait entendu que des adeptes, 
 et devaient rester voiles aux yeux des profanes. Des ligiu'es 
 seandaleu^es, sembhibles a celles des eglises de Montmorillon 
 et de Bordeaux, se retrouvent sur les eglises des Templiers 
 a Eger en Bohenie, ii Sehongrabern en Autriche, a Fornuovi 
 pres de Parme. et en d'autres lieux; nommement le chien 
 (canis aut gattus niger) sur les bas-reliefs de I'eglise gnostique 
 d'Erfurt." (p. !».) The Sta<linghi, heretics of the thirteenth 
 century, are charged, in a bull of (Jn-gory IX., with exactly 
 the same profaueness, even including the black cat, as the 
 Templars of the next century. This is said by von Hammer 
 to be contirmed by sculptures, (p. 7.) 
 
 The statutes of the Knights Templars were compiled in 
 112s, and, as it is said, by St. Bernard. They have been 
 ]>ubiished in 1840 from manuscripts at Dijon, Rome, and 
 Paris, bv M. ^Maillard de Chambure, Conservateur des Ar- 
 chives de Bouriro^rne. 
 
 The title runs — " Regies et Statuts secrets des Templiers." 
 But as the French seems not so ancient as the above date, 
 they may, perluqis, be a translation. It will be easily sup- 
 jio^ed that they contain nothing l)ut what is pious and austere. 
 Tlie knights, however, in their intercourse with the P^ast, 
 fell rapiiUv into disere(lit for loose morals and many vices ; 
 so that Von ilamin<'r ratlier invidioii.-ly liegins his altaek 
 upon them by arguing the a priori probability of what he is 
 altout t<j allege. Some have acconlingly endeavored to steer 
 a middle c(^urse ; ami, discrediting the charges brought gener- 
 ally airainst the order, have admitted that both the vice and 
 the irreligion were truly attributed to a great numl)er. lUit 
 ihi- is iKjt at all the (piestion ; and such a pretended compro- 
 mi-e i- nothing les- tlian an ac(juittal. The whole accusa- 
 tion' which destroyed the order of the Tem|>le relate tn it- 
 fecret rites, and to the mode of initiation. H' tlie-e were not 
 
 VOL. I. 10
 
 146 JOAN OF ARC. Notes to 
 
 stained by the most infamous turpitude, the unhappy knights 
 perished innocently, and the guih of tlieir deatli lies at the 
 door of Philip the Fair. 
 
 The novel evidence furnished by sculpture against the 
 Templars has not been universally received. It was early 
 refuted, or attempted to be refuted, by Raynouard and other 
 French writers. " II est reconnu aujourd'hui, meme en Alle- 
 magne," says M. Chambnre, editor of the Regies et Statuts 
 secrets des Templiers, " que le j)retendu culte baphometique 
 n'est qu'une chimere de ce savant, fondee sur un erreur de 
 numismatique et d'architectonographie." (p. 82.) As I am 
 not competent to form a decisive opinion, I must leave this 
 for the more deeply learned. The proofs of M. von Ham- 
 mer are at least very striking, and it is not easy to see how 
 they have been overcome. But it is also necessary to read 
 the answer of Raynouard in the " Journal des Savans " for 
 1819, who has been partially successful in repelling some of 
 his opponent's arguments, though it appeared to me that he 
 had left much untouched. It seems that the architectural 
 evidence is the most positive, and can only be resisted by 
 disproving its existence, or its connection with the Free- 
 masons and Templars. [1848.] 
 
 Note XVI. Page 88. 
 
 I have followed the common practice of translating Jeanne 
 d'Arc by Joan of Arc. It has been taken for granted that 
 Arc is the name of her birthplace. Southey says, — 
 
 " She thought of Arc, and of the dingled brook 
 Whose waves, oft leaping in their craggy course, 
 Made dance the low-hung willow's dripping twigs ; 
 And, where it spread into a glassy lake, 
 Of that old oak, whicli on the smooth expanse 
 Imaged its hoary mossy-mantled boughs." 
 
 And in another place, — 
 
 ' her mind's eye 
 
 Beheld Domr^my and the plains of Arc." 
 
 It does not appear, however, that any such place as Arc 
 exists in that neigliborhood, though there is a town of that 
 name at a considerable distance. Joan was, as is known, a 
 native of the village of Domremy in Lorrame. The French 
 writers all call her Jeanne d'Arc, with the exception of one,
 
 Chap. I. JOAN OF ARC. 147 
 
 M. Michelet (vii. 02), who spoils her name Daiv. Avliiih in a 
 person ot" her birth seems more i>robalile, tliough 1 eannot 
 account for the uniform usage of an apostrophe and capital 
 letter. 
 
 I cannot jiass Southey's "Joan of Arc" without remlering 
 homage to that early monument of his genius, Avliieh, per- 
 haps, he rarely surpiv<sed. It is a noble epic, never languid, 
 and seldom diffuse : full of generous enthusiasm, of magnifi- 
 cent inventions, and witli a well-eonstrm'ted fable, or rather 
 selection of history. Michelet. who thinks the story of the 
 Maid unfit for jjoetry, had a]iparently never read Southey ; 
 but the author of an article in tl.e " Biographic Universelle " 
 says very well, — " Le poeme de M. Southey en Anglais, 
 intitule 'Joan of Arc,' est la tentative la plus heureuse que 
 les Muses aient faites jusqn'ici pour celebrer I'heroine d'Or- 
 leans. C'est encore une des singularites de son histoire de 
 voir le genie de la poesie Anglaise inspirer de beaux vers en 
 sou honneur, tanilis (jue e(dui de la jioesie Francaise a et^ 
 jusqn'ici rel>elle h ceux qui out voulu la chanter, et n'a 
 favorise que celui qui a outrage sa memoire." If, however, 
 the nuise of France has done litth^ justicv to her memory, it 
 h;is l)een reserved for another Maitl of Orleans, as she has 
 well been styled, in a ditierent art, to fix the image of the 
 first in our minds, and to combine, in forms only less en- 
 during than those of ])oetry, the purity and inspiration witli 
 the unswerving heroism of the immortal Joan.
 
 148 STATE OF ANCIENT GERMANY. Chap. II. Pakt 1. 
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 ON THE FEUDAL SYSTEM, ESPECIALLY IX FRANCE. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 State of Ancient Germany — Effects of the Conquest of Gaul by the Franks — Ten- 
 ures of Land — Distinction of Laws — Constitution of the ancient Frank Monar- 
 chy — Gradual Establishment of Feudal Tenures — Principles of a Feudal 
 Relation — Ceremonies of Homage and investiture — Military Service — Feudal 
 Incidents of Kelief, Aid, AYardship, &c. —Different species of Fiefs — Feudal 
 Law-Books. 
 
 Germany, in the age of Tacitus, was divided among a 
 number of independent tribes, differing greatly in 
 
 Political , . -, { ^ rrii • ^ 
 
 state of population and importance, i lieir country, over- 
 aucieut spread with forests and morasses, afforded no 
 
 Germany. l . ,iittvttii 
 
 large proportion oi arable land. JNor did they 
 ever occupy the same land two years in succession, if what 
 Caesar tells us may be believed, that fresh allotments were 
 annually made by the magistrates.-^ But this could not have 
 been an absolute abandonment of land once cultivated, which 
 Horace ascribes to the migratory Scythians. The Germans 
 had fixed though not contiguous dwellings ; and the inhabi- 
 tants of the (/mi or township must have continued to till the 
 same fields, though it might be with varying rights of sepa- 
 rate property.^ They had kings elected out of particular 
 families ; and other chiefs, both for war and administration of 
 justice, whom merit alone recommended to the public choice. 
 But the power of each was greatly limited ; and the deci- 
 sion of all leading questions, though subject to the previous 
 
 1 Magistratus ac principes in annos non student, nee quisquam agri modum 
 singulos gentibus cognationibusque ho- certum aut fines proprios habet. De 
 minum. qui una coierunt, quantum lis, Bello Gallico, 1. vi. These expressions 
 et quo loco visum est, attribuunt agri, at- may be taken so as not to contradict 
 que anno post alio transirecogunt. Cae- Tacitus. But Luden, who had exam- 
 sar, 1. vi. Tacitus confirms this : Arva ined the ancient history of his coun- 
 per annos mutant. De Mor. Germ. c. try with the most persevering diligence, 
 26. observes that Csesar knew nothing of the 
 
 2 Caesar has not written, probably, Germans, except what he had collected 
 with accurate knowledge, when he says, concerning the Suevi or the Marcomanni. 
 Vita omnis in venatiouibus et studiis rei Geschichte der Deutschen Volker, I. 481- 
 militaris consistit Agriculturae
 
 Feudal System. PAUTITIOX OF CONQUERED LANDS. II 'J 
 
 delibi-nition ot" the cliieftaiiis, sprung tVom the free voice of a 
 popuhir a><eiul>ly.^ The principal men, however, of a Ger- 
 iu:ui tribe fully partook of that estiiutitiou which is always 
 the reward of valor and coniiuonly of birth. They were 
 surrounded by a cluster of youths, the most gallant and am- 
 bitious of the nation, their pride at home, their protection in 
 the tield ; whose ambition was flattered, or gratitude eonciUa- 
 ted, by such presents as a leader of barbarians could confer. 
 These were the institutions of the people who overthrew the 
 empire of Rome, congenial to the spirit of infant societies, 
 and such as travellers have found among nations in the same 
 stage of manners throughout the world. And although, in 
 the lapse of four centuries between the ages of Tacitus and 
 Clovis, some change was wrought by long intercoui'se with 
 the Romans, yet tlie foundations of tlieir political system 
 were unshaken. If the Salic laws were in tiie main drawn 
 up before the occupation of Gaul by the Franks, as seems 
 the better opinion, it is manifest that lands were held by them 
 in determinate several possession ; and in other respects it is 
 impossilde that the manners described by Tacitus should not 
 have undergone some alteration."^ 
 
 When these triljcs from G<'rmany and the neighboring- 
 countries poured down njjon the empire, and began partitiou 
 to form i)ermanent .settlements, they made a par- of lanas in 
 tition or the lands ni the conquered provinces provinces, 
 between themselves and the original possessors. 
 The Burixundians and Visigoths took two thirds of their re- 
 spective conquests, leaving the remainder to the Roman pro- 
 prie'tor. Each Burgundian was quartered, under the gentle 
 name of guest, upon om.' of the former tenants, whose reluc- 
 tant hospit.ility contined him to the smaller portion of his 
 estate.' The Vandals in Africa, a more furious race of plun- 
 derers, seized all the best lands.* Tiie Lombards of Italy 
 
 * Dc minoribiH rebus principes consul- tratcs this use of tlio word Imspes. It 
 
 tant, ill! iiiujoribun ouiiii-.-i; it.'i C;inien, ut wiis (tivcn to tlio military quarfcri'il up- 
 
 en '|Uo.|ui'. (juciruui pcnc-H pichc-in nrbi- on tlie inlmbitJiiits ;iny«here in tho em- 
 
 triuni ej<t, ttpud princi|>«.')t p'rirnr.ientur. pire. iind thus transferred by iiniilii;;y to 
 
 Tut. lie Mor. <ienu. c. x\. AriduliuK nnd the barbiiriiin oconpants. It was need- 
 
 OrotiiisronU-nd for /T'^/raz-rz-n/i/r: which lens. 1 nliould think, for liini to prove 
 
 would l»e neatvr, but the same HcnM- up- thut these lu'qni.sitions. " belter consld- 
 
 [M-iirii to be ronreyed by the common ered im ullodiiil laws," did not contain tlio 
 
 reading. K'T'n of feudality. " There is no (i<<//iic 
 
 - ^■■" \ ' feuilality unless the parties bo eoniie<-t<><l 
 
 •tind. P. W. ijT). Sir F. Pal- by the mutual liond of v:i.ssiila)fi' and 
 
 irri . "IucihI a piuwa(;u from thu »ei({niory.'' Kiig- <'"inii'onw. i. WKJ. 
 
 The<j'io«iau coije, rll. 8, 6, which Uluii- * I'rocopluH du bcllo Vanilal. I. i. c. 5.
 
 150 
 
 ALODIAL AND SALIC LANDS. Chap. II. Part I. 
 
 took a tliird part of the produce. "We cannot discover any 
 mention of a similar arrangement in tlie laws or history of 
 the Franks. It is, however, clear that they occupied, by 
 public allotment or individual pillage, a great portion of the 
 lands of France.-^ 
 
 The estates possessed by the Franks as their property 
 Alodial and Were termed alodial; a word which is sometimes 
 Salic lands, i-estrictcd to such as had descended by inheritance.^ 
 These were subject to no burden except that of public defence. 
 They passed to all the children equally, or, in their failure, 
 to the nearest kindred.^ But of these alodial possessions 
 there was a particular species, denominated Salic, from which 
 females Avere expressly excluded. What these lands were, 
 and what was the cause of the exclusion, has been much 
 disputed. No solution seems more pi-obable than that the 
 ancient lawgivers of the Salian Franks prohibited females 
 from inheriting the lands assigned to the nation upon its 
 conquest of Gaul, both in compliance with their ancient 
 usages, and in order to secure the military service of every 
 proprietor. But lands subsequently acquired by purchase or 
 
 1 [Note II.] 
 
 2 Alodial lands are commonly opposed 
 to lieueficiary or feudal ; the former being 
 strictly proprietary, while the latter de- 
 pended upon a superior. In this sense 
 the word is of continual recurrence in 
 ancient histories, laws, and instruments. 
 It sometimes, however, bears the sense 
 of inheritance, and this seems to be its 
 meaning iu tlie famous 62nd chapter of 
 the Salic law ; de Alodis. Alodium in- 
 terdum opponitur comparato, says Du 
 Cange, in formulis reteribus. Hence, 
 in tile charters of the eleventh century, 
 hereditary fiefs are frequently termed 
 alodia. Ifecueil des Historiens de France, 
 t. xi. preface. Vaissette, llist. de Lan- 
 guedoc, t. ii. p. 109. 
 
 Alodium has by many been derived 
 from All and ocrt, property. (Bu Cange, 
 etalii.) Hut M. (iuizot, with some posi- 
 tivcness, brings it from loos, lot ; thus 
 confining the word to lands acquired by 
 lot on tlie conquest. But in the first 
 place tliis assumes a regular partition to 
 have been made by the Franks, wliich 
 he, in another place, as has been .seen, 
 does not acknowledge ; and secondly. 
 Alodium, or, in its earlier form, Aloi/is, 
 is used for all hereditary lands. (See 
 Grimm, Deutsche Kechts Alterthuiiier, 
 p. 492.) In the Orkneys, where feudal 
 tenures were not introduced, the .alodial 
 proprietor is called au udaller, thus lend- 
 
 ing probability to the former derivation 
 of alod ; since it is only an inversion of 
 the words all and odk ; but it seems also 
 to corroborate the notion of Luden, as it 
 had been of Leibnitz, that the word adel 
 or ethel, applied to designate the nobler 
 class of Germans, had originally the same 
 sense ; it distinguished absolute or alo- 
 dial property from that which, though 
 belonging to freemen, was subject to 
 some conditions of dependency. (Gesch. 
 des Deutsclien Volkes, vol. i. p. 719.) 
 
 The word sors, which seems to have 
 misled several writers, when applied to 
 laud means only an integral patrimony, 
 as it means capital opposed to interest 
 when applied to money. It is common 
 in the civil law, and is no more than the 
 Greek /c/l^pof ; but it had been peculiarly 
 applied to the lands assigned by the 
 Romans to the soldiery after a conquest, 
 which some suppose, I know not on 
 what evidence, to have been by lot. 
 (Du Cange, voc. Sors.) And hence this 
 term was most probably adopted hy the 
 barbarians, or rather those who rendered 
 their laws into Latin. If the Teutonic 
 ■word loos was sometimes used for a 
 mansiis or manor, as JI. Guizot informs 
 us, it seems most probable that this was 
 a literal translation of sors, bearing with 
 it the secondary sense. 
 
 3 Leg. Salicie, c. 62.
 
 Feupal System. ALODLU. AXD SALIC LANDS. 
 
 l.')! 
 
 other means, tliough equally bound to the iniblic (lefence, 
 were relieved troni the severity ot" this rule, and pre^mned 
 not to belong to the class of Salie.^ Hence, m the Kipuary 
 law, the code ot" a tribe of Franks settled upon the l)anks of 
 the Rhine, and dithering rather in words than in substance 
 from tlie Salie law, wliieh it serves to illustrate, it is said that 
 a woman eannut inherit her grandfatlier's estate (luvreditas 
 aviatica), di>tiiiguisliing such finuily projierty from what the 
 father might have actpiired." And Marculfus uses expressions 
 to the same etiect. There existed, however, a right of setting 
 aside the law, and admitting females to succession by testa- 
 ment. It is rather probable, from some ]iassages in the 
 Burgundian code, that even the lands of partition (sortes 
 Burgundionum) were not restricted to male heirs.^ And the 
 
 1 By the (ieruian customs, women, 
 though trv.-itcJ with much respect and 
 delicacy, were not endowed nt their 
 marriage. Uoteui uoii uxor miirito, sed 
 maritus uxori confert. Tacitus, c. 18. 
 A similar principle might debar them of 
 inheritance in fixed (lOssessions. Certjiin 
 it is that ttie exclusion of females was 
 not uufrenuent among the Teutonic 
 nations. We find it in the laws of the 
 Thuringian.s and of the Saxou.s ; both 
 ancient codes, though not free from in- 
 terpolation. Ix'ibnitz, Scriptores Kerum 
 Brunswicen^ium, t. i. p. Hi and 83. 
 But this usage was repugnant to the 
 principles of Koman law, which the 
 Franks found |jrevailing in their new 
 country, and to the natunil feeling which 
 lead.s a man to pn-fer his own descend- 
 ants to collateral heirs. One of the pre- 
 cedents in Marcnlfus(l. ii. form. 12) calls 
 the exclusion of females, diuturna et 
 impia consuetmio. In another a father 
 addrc.«.se3 his daughter : Omnibus non 
 hatietur incogiiitum, rjuod, sicut lex 
 Salica contiiiet, de n-bus uieis, yi((«/ mihi 
 ex alaile yarmtuin meorum ohrrnil, apud 
 gennanos tuog filios meos miniuie in hic- 
 reditate succedere poteras. Formula; 
 Slarculfo ndjectje, 49. These precedent* 
 are supiK^fscvl to have l>eeii compiled about 
 the latter end of the seventh century. 
 
 The opinion expressed in the t*xt. that 
 the ttrra S'llirn. which females could ni)t 
 inherit, was the land acquired by the 
 barbarians on their first comjuest, is con- 
 finned by .>>ismondi (i. l'J<i) and by <iui- 
 zot ( KkmiIs sur I'llist. lie France, p. 94). 
 M. «iui.nird. Imwever, tin- learned eilitor 
 of' ilary ofCliiirtres (l)<M-umen8 
 
 III' . p. '22j, Is persuadi-d that 
 
 Sun. 1 ,11 I ...in that of the diiuutin, from 
 mtii, the hall ur principal residence, as 
 
 opposed to the portion of the estate 
 which wa.s occupied by tenants, benefici- 
 ary or servile. 'J'his, he .s.ays, he has 
 proved in another work, which I have 
 not seen. Till I have done so, much 
 doubt remains to me as to this explana- 
 tion. Montesquieu had already started 
 the same theory, which Ouizot justly, as 
 it si"ems, calls '• incomplete et liypothe- 
 tique." Besides other objections, it 
 seems not to explain the manifest iden- 
 tity between the terra Salirn and the 
 liareditns iii-iiitira of the Ripuiirian law, 
 or the aloilis imrentitiii of Marcnif'us. I 
 ought, however, to mention a remark of 
 Urinim, that, throughout the Frank 
 donnuation, tJennan countries made use 
 of the words trrra Snlica. In them it 
 cinilil not mean lanils of partition or 
 assignment, but mere aloilia. And he 
 thinks that it may, in most cases, be in- 
 t«'rpreted of the ttrra ilominicdiis. (Deut- 
 sche Keclits .\lterthiinier, p. 493.) 
 
 M. Fauriel mainUiins (Hist, de la Gaule 
 Meridion. ii. 18) that the Salic lands 
 were beneficiary, as opposed to the alo- 
 dial. But the •■ ha'reditiLs aviatica"' is 
 repugnant to this. Mavculfus distinctly 
 opposes aloilia to rmyijjarala, and limits 
 the exclusion of daughters to the former 
 According to one of the most recent in- 
 quirers, •• terra S.ilica "' was all the land 
 held by a Salian Frank (lA'hui'rou, i. 80). 
 But the .same cilijictions apply to this so- 
 lution : in addition to which it may be 
 saiil that the whole .Salic law relates to 
 that people, while •' terra Salica " Is 
 plainly descriptive of a peculiar charac- 
 ter "f lands. 
 
 a ('. &<). 
 
 3 I had in former editions asserted the 
 contrary of this, on the authority of Ia-jj. 
 ilurgutid. c. 7tS, which seemed to Uiiilt
 
 152 
 
 EOMAX NATIVES OF GAUL. Chap. II. Part I. 
 
 Visigoths admitted women on equal terms to the whole 
 inheritance.-^ 
 
 A conti'oversy has been maintained in France as to the 
 P condition of the Romans, or rather the provincial 
 
 natives of inhabitants of Gaul, after the invasion of Clovis. 
 Gaul. -gjjj^ neitlier those who have considered the Franks 
 
 as barbarian conquerors, enslaving the former possessors, nor 
 the Aljbe Dubos, in whose theory they appear as allies and 
 friendly inmates, are warranted by liistorical facts, though 
 more approximation to the truth may be found in the latter 
 hypothesis. On the one hand, we find the Romans not only 
 possessed of property, and governed by their own laws, but 
 admitted to the royal favor and the highest offices ; ^ while the 
 bishops and clergy, who were generally of that nation,^ grew 
 up continually in popular estimation, in riches, and in temporal 
 sway. Yet it is undeniable that a marked line was drawn 
 
 the sxiccessiou of estates, called sortes, to 
 male heirs. But the expressions are too 
 obscure to warrant this inference ; aud 
 M. Guizot (Essais sur I'Hist. de France, 
 vol. i. p. 95) refers to the 14th chapter 
 of the same code for the opposite propo- 
 sition. But this, too, is not absolutely 
 clear, as a general rule. 
 
 1 [XOTE III.] 
 
 - Daniel conjectures tliat Clotaire I. 
 ■was the first who athnitted Romans into 
 the army, which had previously beau 
 composed of Franks. From this time we 
 find many in high military command. 
 (Hist, de ia Milice Fraucoise, t. i. p. 11.) 
 It seems by a passage in Gregory of 
 Tours, quoted by Dabos ( t. iii. p. 
 547), that some Romans affected the bar- 
 barian chai'actcr by letting their hair 
 grow. If this were generally permitted, 
 it would be a stronger evidence of ap- 
 proximation between the two races than 
 any that Dubos lias adduced. Montes- 
 quieu certainly takes it for granted tliat 
 a Roman might change his law, and thus 
 become to all material intents a Frank. 
 (Esprit des Loix, 1. x.xviii. c. 4.) But the 
 passage on which he relies is read differ- 
 ently in the manuscripts. [Note IV.] 
 
 2 The barbarians by degrees, got hold 
 of bishoprics. In a list of thirty-four 
 bishops or priests, present at a council 
 in 506, says M. Fauriel (iii. 459), the 
 names are all Roman or Greek. This 
 ■was at Agde, in the dominion of the Vis- 
 igoths. In 511 a council at Orleans ex- 
 hibits one German name. But at the 
 fifth council of Paris, in 577, where for- 
 ty-five bishops attended, the Romans are 
 indeed much the more numerous, but 
 
 mingled with barbaric names, six of 
 whom M. Thierry mentions. (Recits des 
 Temps Merovingiens, vol. ii. p. 183.) In 
 585, at Macon, out of sixty-three names 
 but six are German. Fauriel asserts 
 that, in a diploma of Clovis II. dated 
 653, there are but five Roman names out 
 of forty-five witnesses ; aud hence he in- 
 fers that, by this time, the Franks had 
 seized on the Church as their spoil, fill- 
 ing it with barbarian prelates. But on 
 reference to Rec. des Hist. (iv. 636), I 
 find but four of the witnesses to this in- 
 strument qualified as episcopus : and of 
 these two have Roman names. The ma- 
 jority may have been laymen for anj" ev- 
 idence wliich the diploma presents. In 
 one, however, of Clovis III., dated 693 
 lid. p. 672), I find, among twelve bishops, 
 only three names which appear Roman. 
 We cannot always judge by the modern- 
 ization of a proper name. St. Leger 
 sounds well enough ; but in his Life we 
 find a " Beatus Leodegarius ex progenio 
 celsa Francorum ac nobilissima exortus." 
 Greek names are exceedingly common 
 among the bishops ; but these cannot 
 mislead an attentive reader. 
 
 This inroad of Franks into the Church 
 probably accelerated the utter prostration 
 of intellectual power, at least in its liter- 
 ary manifestation, which throws so dark 
 a shade over the seventh century. And 
 it still more unquestionably tended to 
 the secular, the irregular, tlie warlike 
 character of the higher clergy in France 
 and Germany for many following centu- 
 ries. Some of these bishops, according 
 to Gregory of Tours, were profligate bar- 
 barians.
 
 Feudal System. 
 
 DISTINCTION OF LAWS. 
 
 l.-);3 
 
 at the outset between the conqueror* and the oon((ut'reil. 
 Though one class ot" Romans retained estates of their own, 
 jet there was another, cjilled tril)utary, who seem to have 
 cultivated those of tlie Franks, and were scarcely raised aliove 
 the condition of predial servitude. But no distinction can be 
 more uneijuivocal than that which was established between 
 the two nations, in the iceregild, or composition for homicide. 
 Cai>it:d punishment for nnu'der wa.s contrary to tli<' spirit 
 of the Franks, who, like most barbarous nations, would have 
 thought the loss of one citizen ill I'epaired by that of another. 
 The weregild was paid to the relations of the slain, according 
 to a legal rate. This was Hxed by the Salic law at six 
 hundred solidi for an Antrustion of the king ; at three hun- 
 dred tor a Roman conviva regis (meaning a man of sufficient 
 rank to be admitted to the roval table) ;^ at two hundred tor 
 a common Frank ; at one hundred tor a Roman possessor 
 of lands ; and at forty-tive for a triljutary, or cultivator of 
 another's property. In Burguiidv. wiicre religion and length 
 of settlement had introduced ditfcrent ideas, murder was 
 punished with death. But other jiersonal injuries were 
 comi)ensated, as among the Franks, by a fine, graduated 
 according to the rank and nation of the aggrieved party.'^ 
 
 The barbarous comjuerors of Gaul and Italy Avere guided 
 l)y notions very ditt'erent from those of Rome, who Distiuctioa 
 had imposed her own laws upon all the subjects of o^^'^"''- 
 her empire. Adhering in general to their ancient customs, 
 
 1 This plinuie was borroweil from the 
 Romaii.'i. Till- Tlieoiln^um cdilc ppoaks of 
 tlio«? i.ui iliTiiiii. epulis itdhiticiitur, I't 
 adoninili |iriuci|if.-i fHcultjitcin aiitiquitu.s 
 nitTUcruiit. (ianiier. Oricim; clu (Jou- 
 Teniciiu'iit Kniui,al< (in lyi'l>iT"s Collfc- 
 tiouiJfK Meillfurcs DisKiTbitioiiM rt'liitivos 
 i I'llL-tiire de Kniiici', 1838, vol. v. p. 
 187). Tliln nuMiKiir by Giirnier, wiiic-h 
 oliUiiiic-il :i priw frmii the Aoiuleiiiy of Iii- 
 KcriptioiiM ill 17)>1. i* n litirneil ilisquiKi- 
 tioii OM the reliitiuu hetwe<'ii the Knink 
 luoiuinhy uiid the uwijie" of the Komiiii 
 empire; iiii'liiiiii;; eoii.'.iili'ruhly to the 
 (■ch'"il of DiilxiH. I only n-.ii| it in 1851: 
 it put- -"iiii' things ill tt juxt li(;lit ; yet 
 the : ., which it U-^iveH ix that of 
 
 oil' The uiithor iloi-n not ac- 
 
 couijf lor the rontinuecl <li>i||iK'tion \w- 
 tw«-ii the KmiikH and ItoniiuiK, t^rstiflej 
 
 by thi' I f lii"tory and of law. 
 
 Onrnier i ■ iillii'len to the most 
 
 utrikinK ' I ■ II' e. the inequality of 
 
 coiDpuiiition fur boiulcldc. 
 
 To return to the words conviva repi.i, 
 it seems not probable that they .should 
 be limited to those who actually had 
 feasted at the royal tJible; they naturally 
 iuclude the senatorial families, one of 
 whom would re<-eive that honor if ho 
 should pre.sent himself at court. 
 
 - Left's Salicie, c. 43 ; Lej^es Bur;:un- 
 dionuui, tit. 2. Murder and rohlnry 
 were made capital by Childebert kinn of 
 Paris; but Franrm was to he sent for 
 triiil in the royal court, rftiiViV)/" jirrsiuui 
 ill lord pniiliitiir. Kaluz, t. i. p. 1". I 
 am indinecl to think that the word 
 Frniirus iliiHti not absolutely refer to the 
 nation of the party, but rather to his 
 rank, as opposeil to thbilior pfrsnim : 
 and cons<'(iuently, that it had already 
 acquired the sense of /Vcrwifiii itr frrr-hnrn 
 (intfenuus), which is perhaps its strict 
 meaning. Du Canjre, v<x'. Fnincus, 
 quotes the passa({e in this sense. [XoTE 
 IV.]
 
 154 DISTINCTION OF LAWS. Chap. II. Part I. 
 
 without desire of improvement, they left the former habita- 
 tions in unmolested enjoyment of their civil institutions. The 
 Frank was judged by the Sahc or the Ripuary code ; the 
 Gaul followed that of Theodosius.^ This grand distinction of 
 Roman and barbarian, according to the law which each fol- 
 lowed, was common to the Frank, Burgundian, and Lombard 
 kinsdoms. But the Ostro2;oths, whose settlement in the em- 
 pire and advance in civility of manners were earlier, inclined 
 to desert their old usages, and adopt the Roman jurispru- 
 dence.^ The laws of the Visigoths, too, were com^jiled by 
 bishops upon a Roman foundation, and designed as an uniform 
 code, by which both nations should be governed.^ The name 
 of Gaul or Roman was not entirely lost in that of French- 
 man, nor had the separation of their laws ceased, even in the 
 provinces north of the Loire, till after the time of Charle- 
 magne.* Ultimately, however, the feudal customs of succes- 
 sion, which depended upon principles quite remote from those 
 of the civil law, and the rights of territorial justice which the 
 barons came to possess, contributed to extirpate the Roman 
 jurisprudence in that part of France. But in the south, from 
 whatever cause, it survived the revolutions of the middle 
 ages ; and thus arose a leading division of that kingdom into 
 pays coutumiers and pays du droit ecrit ; the former regulated 
 by a vast variety of ancient usages, the latter by the civil law.^ 
 
 1 Inter Romanes negotia causarum Ro- north of France on account of the supe- 
 
 manis Legibus prsecipimus terminari. rior advantages, particularly in point of 
 
 Edict. Clotair. 1. circ. 560. Baluz. Ca- composition for offences, annexed to the 
 
 pitul. t. i. p. 7. Salic law; while that of the Visigoths 
 
 - Giannone, 1. iii. c. 2. being more equal, the Romans under 
 
 3 Hist, de Languedoc, t. i. p. 242. their government had no inducement to 
 
 Heineccius, Hist. Juris German, c. i. s. quit their own code. (Esprit des Loix, 1. 
 
 15. xxviii. c. 4.) But it does not appear that 
 
 ^ Suger, in his Life of Louis VI., uses the Visigoths had any peculiar code of 
 the expression, lex Salica (Recueil des laws till after their expulsion from the 
 Ilistorieiis. t. xii. p. 24); and I have kingdom of Toulouse. They then re- 
 some recollection of having met with the tained only a small strip of territory in 
 like words in other writings of as mod- France, about Narbonne and Montpel- 
 ernadate. But T am not convinced that lier. 
 
 the original Salic code was meant by this However, the distinction of men ac- 
 
 phrase, which may have been applied to cording to their laws was preserved for 
 
 the local feudal customs. The capitula- many centuries, both in France and 
 
 lies of Charlemagne are frequently term- Italy. A judicial proceeding of the year 
 
 ed lex Salica. Many of these are copied 918, published by the historians of Lan- 
 
 from the Tlieodosian code. guedoc (t. ii. Appendix, p. 56). proves 
 
 5 This division is very ancient, being that the Roman, Gothic, and Salic codes 
 
 found in the edict of Pistes, under were then kept perfectly separate, and 
 
 Charle,s the Bald, in 864: where we reiid, that tliere were distinct" judges for the 
 
 in ilhs rcgionibus, qua; legem Romanam three nations. The Gothic law is refer- 
 
 sequuntur. (Recueil des Histnriens, t. red to as an existing authority in a char- 
 
 vii. p. 664.) Montesquieu thinks that ter of 1070. Idem, t. iii. p. 274; De 
 
 the Roman law fell into disuse in the Marca, Marca Hispanica, p. 1159. Wo-
 
 Feud.vl System. PROVIXCLVL GOVERXilENT. 
 
 IJO 
 
 The kingdom of Clovis M-a-; divideil into a number of dis- 
 ti'icts, eai-li under the government of a count, a Provinoiui 
 name familiar to Roman sultjects, bv which they f-';^^'»;r"uieut 
 rendered the graf of the Germans.' The author- French 
 ity of this (.nicer extended over all the inhal)itants, *"'•'"*• 
 as well Franks as natives. It was his duty to administer 
 justice, to preserve tranquillity, to collect the royal revenues, 
 :uid to lead, when retjuired, the free proprietors into the field."^ 
 The title of a duke implied a higher dignity, and commonly 
 gave authority over several counties.^ These offices were 
 originally conferred during pleasure ; but the claim of a son 
 to succeed his father would often be found too plausible or 
 too formidable to be rejected, and it is highly probable that, 
 even under the Merovingian kings, these provincial governors 
 had laid the foundations of that iiidi'itcndence which was des- 
 tined to change the countenance of EuroiJC."* The Lombard 
 
 men in Itity upon marriape usually 
 chan^'tl their law and adoptvil that of 
 their hushainl, returiiin;; to their own in 
 wiilovrhod.J: hut to this there are excep- 
 tions. Charters are found as late as the 
 twelfth oeiiturv with the expression, ijui 
 prot'essus sum lejre Ix>ni;obardica [aut] 
 lege SaHca [aut] lege Aleuiannorum vi- 
 Tere. But soon afterwards the distinc- 
 tions were entirely lost, partly through 
 the prevalence of the llonian law. and 
 partly through the multitude oi' local 
 stjitutes in the Italian cities. Muratori, 
 Antiiiuitites It:ilia' Dis.sertat. 22; Du 
 i'aiige, V. Ix'X. Heincccius, ULstoria .lu- 
 rij* Oermanici, c. ii. s. 51. [NoTK V.] 
 
 • The word ^raf was not always equiv- 
 alent to rnt?ifs ; it took in some coun- 
 tries, as in Engl ind,the form nfrtfu. and 
 stood for the virrmmts or sherilT, the 
 count or alderman's deputy. Some have 
 derived it from srau. on the hypotlie.si.'i 
 that the elders presided iu the (iermun 
 lL8MMn)i|ies. 
 
 2 Manulfl Formulir, 1. i. .^2. 
 
 3 Ilouard, the learned tnmsliitor of 
 Littleton ( Ancicns I/oix des Kran^oig, 
 t. i. p. H). snppo-u'S these title.^ to have 
 Iteon applii-il indilTerently. Hut tlie con- 
 tmr)' \* <*;i*ily proved, and e»|>ecially by 
 a line of KortuniitUH, r)uot4.-d by DuCange 
 and others 
 
 Qui modo dat Comiti«, dot tibl jura 
 Ducin. 
 The rnu>»» of M. IIoiiiir<rs error may per- 
 hnp" \tf worth notii-inif. In the nliove- 
 plti-<l ftimi of Murculfus, a jnrrnhnt (In 
 law lnii(fliii»te) is given for the appoint- 
 ment of tt duke, count, or patr|ci;in. 
 The uiiitc'rial part Iwing tl»c same, It wuji 
 
 only necessary iofiH vp thi" blanks, as we 
 shouM call it, by inserting the proper 
 designation of office. It is exjiressed 
 therefore, actionem rnmitntiis. dticatus, 
 aut jiulririatiis, iu pngo illo, quam aiite- 
 cfssor liiiix iJti- usque nunc visus est 
 egis.se, tihi agendum regendumque com- 
 uiissimus. Montesquieu hius fallen into 
 a similar mistake (1. xxx c. IG), forget- 
 ting for a uionient, like Ilouard, that 
 these instruments in Marculfus were not 
 records of real tran.sactions, but general 
 foniis for future occasion. 
 
 The ofllce of patrician is rather more 
 obscure. It seems to have nearly cor- 
 reS]ionded with what was afterwards call- 
 ed mayor of the ptilace, and to have 
 implied the command of all the royal 
 forces. Such at least were Celsus and 
 hLs successor Mummolus under Uontrnn. 
 This is probable too from analogy. The 
 patrician was the highest oflii-er in the 
 Itoman empire from the time of Constan- 
 tlncand we know how much the Kninks 
 themselves. aii<l still more their (iaulish 
 subjects), affected to imitate the style of 
 the imperial court. 
 
 This offlco was. as far as T recollect, 
 confined to the kingdom of Hurgundy; 
 but the Kninks of this kingdom nuiy 
 have borrowed it from the Hiirgnndians, 
 as the latter did from the eni;iiie. .Mar- 
 culfus gives a form for the grant of the 
 offli-e of patrician, which seem- to have 
 dilfered only in local extent of authority 
 from that of a duke or a count, which 
 was the least of the three; aw the same 
 formula expressing tlic-ir functions is 
 sullliient for all. 
 
 < That the odlccs of count aud duko
 
 156 THE FRENCH SUCCESSIOX. Chap. H. Part I. 
 
 dukes, those especially of Spoleto and Benevento, acquired 
 very early an hereditary right of governing their provinces, 
 and that kingdom became a sort of federal aristocracy.^ 
 The thi-one of France was always filled by the royal house 
 of Meroveus. However complete we may imagine 
 Succession ^^^ elective rights of the Franks, it is clear that a 
 French fundamental law restrained them to this family, 
 monaic y. g|^^^.j_^^ mdeed, had been the monarchy of their an- 
 cestors the Germans ; such long continued to be those of 
 Spain, of England, and perhaps of all European nations. 
 The reigning family was immutable ; but at every vacancy 
 the heir awaited the confirmation of a popular election, 
 whether that were a substantial privilege or a mere cere- 
 mony. Exceptions, however, to the lineal succession are 
 rare in the history of any country, unless where an infant 
 heir Avas thought unfit to rule a nation of freemen. But, in 
 fact, it is vain to expect a system of constitutional laws 
 rigidly observed in ages of anarchy and ignorance. Those 
 antiquaries who have maintained the most opposite theories 
 upon such points are seldom in want of particular instances 
 to support theh' respective conclusions.^ 
 
 were originally but temporary may be The Helvetian counts appear to have 
 
 inferred from several passages in Gregory been nearly independent as early as this 
 
 of Tours; as 1. v. c. 37, 1. viii. c. 18. period. (Plauta's Hist, of the Helvetic 
 
 But it seems by the laws of the Alemau- Confederacy, chap, i.) 
 
 ni, c. 35, that the hereditarj' succession l Giauuone, 1. iv. [Note VI.] 
 
 of their dukes was tolerably established 2 Hottomau (Franco-Gallia, c. vi.)and 
 
 at the beginning of the seventh century, Boulainvilliers (Etat de la France) seem 
 
 when their code was promulgated. The to consider the crown as absolutely elec- 
 
 Bavarians chose their own dukes out of tive. The Abbe Vertot (Memoires de 
 
 one family, as is declared in their laws; I'Acad. des Inscriptions, t. iv) maintains 
 
 tit. ii. c. 1, and c. 20. (Liudebrog, Co- a limited right of election within the 
 
 dex Legum Antiquarum.) This the em- reigning family. M. de Foncemagne (t. 
 
 peror ilenry II. confirms: Noune scitis i. and t. viii. of the same collection) as- 
 
 (he says), Bajuarios ab initio ducem eli- serts a strict hereditary descent. Neither 
 
 gendi liberam habere potestatem ? (Dit- perhaps sufficiently distinguishes acts of 
 
 mar, apud Schmidt, Hist, des Allemands, violence from those of right, nor observes 
 
 t. ii. p. 404.) Indeed the consent of the changes in the French constitution 
 
 these German provincial nations, if I between Clovis and Ohilderic III. 
 
 may use the expression, seems to have It would now be admitted by the 
 
 been always required, as in an independ- majority of French antiquaries, that the 
 
 ent monarchy. Ditmar, a chronicler of nearest heir would not have a strict right 
 
 the tenth century, says that Eckard was to the throne ; but if he were of full age 
 
 made duke of Thoringia totius populi and in lineal descent, his expectation 
 
 consensu. Pfeffel, .\brege Chronologique would be such as to constitute a moral 
 
 t. i. p. 184. With respect to France, claim never to be defeated or contested, 
 
 properly so called, or the kingdoms of provided no impediment, such as his mi- 
 
 Neustria and Burgundy, it may be less nority or weakness of mind, stood in the 
 
 easy to prove the existence of hereditary way. After the middle of the seventh 
 
 offices under tlie Merovingians. But the century the mayors of the palace selected 
 
 feebleness of their government makes it whom they would. As it is still clearer 
 
 probable that so natural a system of dis- from history that the Carlovingian kings 
 
 organization had not failed to ensue, did not assume the crown without an
 
 Feudal System. CLOVIS. 1.")7 
 
 Clovi? \va> a loailer of barbarians, wlio respected his valor 
 ami tlie vimk which they had given him, but were Liu,;,,,^} 
 incai>able of servile feelings, and jealous of their nutuoiity 
 common as well as individual rights. In order to 
 appreciate the power which he possessed, it has been custom- 
 ary wiili French writers to bring forward the well-known 
 story of the viise of Soissons. When the phnider vase of 
 taken in Clovis's invasion of Gaul was set out in Soissons. 
 this place for distribution, he begged for himself a precious 
 vessel belonging to the church of llheims. The army hav- 
 ing expressed their willingness to consent, "You shall have 
 nothing here," exclaimed a soldier, striking it with his battle- 
 axe, " but what falls to your share by lot." Clovis took the 
 vessel without marking any resentment, but found an oppor- 
 tunity, next year, of revenging himself by the death of the 
 soldier. The whole behavior of Clovis appears to be that 
 of a barbarian chief, not daring to withdraw anything 
 from the rapacity, or to chastise the rudeness, of his tbllow- 
 ers. 
 
 But if such was the liberty of the Franks when they first 
 became conquerors of Gaul, we have good reason p^^^pj. ^^ 
 to believe that thev did not lonir i>rescrve it. A tiie kings 
 
 , . • i .1 • increases. 
 
 people not very numerous spread over the spacious 
 provinces of Gaul, wherever lands were assigned to or seized 
 by them. It became a burden to attend those general assem- 
 blies of the nation which were annually convened in the 
 month of ^larch, to deliberate upon public business, as well 
 as to exhibit a muster of military strength. After some 
 time it appears that these meetings di'cw together only the 
 bishops, and those invested with civil oitices.^ The ancient 
 
 election, we may more probably suppose says, " must have been deeply implanted 
 
 this to have been the aiirient ronstitu- when Pepin was forced to obtain the 
 
 tion. The px^sa^es in (Jn-piry of Tours po|)e'8 sanction before he ventured to 
 
 which liMjk like a mere lierediturysucces- depose the Merovingian prince, obscure 
 
 iion such iLS, Qiintuor filii regniim or- and despised as he was.'' (Kssais sur 
 
 cipiunt rt inter se it'iiiA Innre iliviiiiint, THist. de France, p. 29S.) Hut surely 
 
 do not excluilc a popular election, which this is not to the point. Childeric III. 
 
 he woulcl consider a more fonnality, and was a reigning king; and, besides this, 
 
 which in that case must have been little the i|iic~tii)ii is by no nieatis lui to the 
 
 more. right of the Merovingian fiiniily to the 
 
 I mu^t a<lmtt, however, that M. Ouizot, throne, which no one disputes, but as to 
 
 whose authority is deserveiily so high, that of the nearest heir. The ease was 
 
 givcx more weight to lineal inheritJince the siune with the secoml dynasty. The 
 
 than iiuiny othi-rs luive done; nnil con- Franks bouml themselves to the fandly 
 
 seiiuently tn-ati the phrniu-s of historians of I'cpin, not to any one heir within it. 
 ■Kt-ndni; to imply a choice by the pe'iple • DuboJ. t. ill. p. .'327 : Mably. Observ. 
 
 as merely n-<-ognitinns of a legal right, sur I'llistoire de France, I. I. c. 3. 
 "The principle of hereditary right," he
 
 158 POWER OF THE KINGS. Chap. II. Pakt I. 
 
 inhabitants of Gaul, having little notion of political liberty, 
 were unlikely to resist the most tyrannical conduct. Many 
 of them became officers of state, and advisers of the sover- 
 eign, whose ingenuity might teach maxims of desj)otism un- 
 known in the forests of Germany. We shall scarcely wrong 
 the bishops by suspecting them of more pliable courtUness 
 than was natural to the long-haired warriors of Clovis.-^ Yet 
 it is probable that some of the Franks were themselves in- 
 strumental in this change of their government. The court 
 of the Merovingian kings was crowded with followers, who 
 have been plausibly derived from those of the German chiefs 
 described by Tacitus ; men forming a distinct and elevated 
 class in the state, and known by the titles of Fideles, Leudes, 
 and Antrustiones. They took an oath of fidelity to the king, 
 upon their admission into that rank, and were commonly 
 remunerated with gifts of land. Under difi'erent appellations 
 we find, as some antiquaries think, this class of courtiers in 
 the early records of Lombardy and England. The general 
 name of Vassals (from Gwas, a Celtic word for a servant) is 
 applied to them in every country.'' By the assistance of 
 these faithful supporters, it has been thought that the regal 
 authority of Clovis's successors was insured.^ However this 
 may be, the annals of his more immediate descendants ex- 
 hibit a course of oppression, not merely displayed, as will 
 often happen among uncivilized people, though free, in 
 acts of private injustice, but in such general tyranny as is 
 incompatible with the existence of any real checks upon the 
 sovereign.* 
 
 But before the middle of the seventh century the kings ot 
 
 1 Gregory of Tours, throughout his by being vassals or servants, became tlie 
 history, talks of the royal power in the object of beneficiary donations. In one 
 tone of Louis XIV. 's court. If we were of Marculfus"s precedents, 1. i. f. 18, we 
 obliged to believe all we read, even the have the form by which an Antrustion 
 va.se of Soissons would bear witness to was created. See du Gauge, under these 
 the obedience of the Franks. several words, and Muratori's thirteenth 
 
 2 The Gasindi of Italy and the Anglo- dissertation on Italian Antiquities. The 
 Saxon royal Thaue appear to correspond, Gardingi sometimes mentioned in the 
 more or less, to the Antrustions of Fi-auce. laws of the A'isigoths do not appear to be 
 The word Thane, however, as will be of the same description. 
 
 seen in another chapter, was used in a 3 Boantus . . . vallatus in domo sua, 
 
 very extensive sense, and comprehended ab hominibus regis interfectus est. Greg, 
 
 all free proprietors of land. That of Tur. 1. viii. c. 11. A few spirited retain- 
 
 Leiules seems to imply only subjection, ers were sufficient to execute the man- 
 
 and is frequently applied to the whole dates of arbitrary power among a barbar- 
 
 body of a nation, as well as, in a stricter ous disunited people, 
 
 sense, to the king's personal vassals. * This is more fully discussed in Note 
 
 This name they did not acquire, origin- VII. 
 ally, by possessing benefices ; but rather,
 
 Feudal System. MAYORS OF THE PALACE. 159 
 
 this luie had fallen into that contemiitible state t> 
 which has heen described in tiie last cha[»tcr. of Tiic niviu 
 The mayors of the palivce, who from mere othcers m',"',',^.; of 
 oi" the court had now become masters of the kiiijjj- '^'"^ palace. 
 doui. were elected by the Frank.s not indeed the whole body 
 of that nation, but the provincial governors and considerable 
 proprietors of land.^ Some inequality there probably existed 
 ti-om the beginninff in the partition of estates, and this bail 
 been gi-eatly incre;ised by the connnon changes of pro[)ertv, 
 by the rapine of those savage times, and by royal munifi- 
 cence. Tims arose that landed aristocracv which became tlie 
 most striking feature in the political system of Euro[)e dur- 
 ing many centuries, and is, in fact, its great distinction, both 
 from the despotism of Asia, and the eipiality of republican 
 governments. 
 
 Tiiere has been some dispute about the origin of nobility 
 in France, whicii might perhaps be settled, or at . 
 lea.*t better understood, by fixing our conception of " 
 the term. In our modern acceptation it is usually taken to 
 imply certain distinctive privileges in the political order, 
 inherent in the Itlood of the possessor, and consecpiently not 
 transferable like those which property confers. Limited to 
 this sense, noI)ility, I conceive, was unknown to the con- 
 querors of Gaul till long after the downfall of the Roman 
 emjiire. Tbey felt, no doubt, the common prejudice of man- 
 kind in favor of those wiiose ancestry is conspicuous, when 
 compared with persons of obscure birth. This is the pri- 
 mary meaning of nobility, and jierfectly distinguishable from 
 the possession of exclusive civil rights. Those who are 
 
 1 The revolution which ruined Bnine- It mif;ht even he surmised that the 
 
 haut WHS bniujrht about tiy till- defection crown was considered as more elective 
 
 of her chief notilcs. i's|)e<'i;illy VViirnachar, than before. The author of (iesti Kej^um 
 
 mayor of .\ustnisia. Ipon ("lotaire II. "s Fnincoruin, an old chronicler who lived 
 
 vict/^iry over her he was i-ninpcllcd to re- in tho-^e times, cliunges Ills form of cx- 
 
 wanl the^e adherents at the cx|>ense of pressinp a kind's accession from that of 
 
 the monarchy. \Varnachar wji.s made ("lotaire II. Of the earlier kin^rs he sayg 
 
 mayor of Burpundy, with an oath from only, retnium recejiit. But of ('lotaire, 
 
 the king nevi-r to dispoiiKSji hlni (Krede- Fninci quoijue pra'(lietuni Clotairium 
 
 Karius. e. 42.) In *72>> the nobility of regeni parvulum supni se in regiinm sta- 
 
 Bunrundy deciiniMl to elect a mayor, tuerunt. Ajfain, of the accessjun of 
 
 which iK-ein" to have been crinsidenfd as DaRobertl.: Austrasii Knincisuperiores, 
 
 their ri((ht. from this time nothitii; wax con(fre(fati in unum, DajiobiTtiMii supra 
 
 done witlinnt the coiiPicnt of the aristoo- Be in re(;nuni stjituurit. In another 
 
 racy. Unlcwt we ascribe all to the dif- place, Deccdente pnefato ri'ire ('liid^ivoo, 
 
 fen-nt wayit of thlnkiuK in On'^ory and Kranei Clutjiirium scniorem pucriim ex 
 
 FrT'diifarlus, the one a Koman bishop, trlbus sibi rej;em statiierunt. Several 
 
 the other a Krnnk or Bur^unilian, tho other iuBtances might be <iuoled. 
 gOTemmeut wiu oltogethor changed.
 
 1 GO THE NOBILITY. Chap. II. Part I. 
 
 acquainted with the constitution of the Roman republic will 
 recollect an instance of the ditference between these two 
 species of hereditary distinction, in the patricii and the 
 nohiles. Thousrh I do not think that the tribes of German 
 origin paid so much regard to genealogy as some Scandinavian 
 and Celtic nations (else the beginnings of the greatest houses 
 would not have been so enveloped in doubt as we find them), 
 there are abundant traces of the respect in which families 
 of known antiquity were held among them.^ 
 
 But the essential distinction of ranks in France, pei'haps 
 also in 8]iain and Lombardy, was founded upon the posses- 
 sion of land, or upon civil employment. The aristocracy of 
 wealth preceded that of birth, which indeed is still chiefly 
 dependent upon the other for its importance. A Frank of 
 large estate was styled a noble ; if he wasted or was 
 despoiled of his wealth, his descendants fell into the mass of 
 the people, and the new possessor became noble in his stead. 
 Families were noble by descent, because they w^ere rich by 
 the same means. Wealth gave them power, and power gave 
 them preeminence. But no distinction was made by the 
 Salic or Lombard codes in the composition for homicide, the 
 great test of political station, except in favor of the king's 
 vassals. It seems, however, by some of the barbaric codes, 
 those namely of the Burgundians, Visigoths, Saxons, and 
 the English colony of the latter nation,'^ that the free men 
 were ranged by them into two or three classes, and a diiFer- 
 ence made in the price at which their lives were valued : so 
 that there certainly existed the elements of aristocratic privi- 
 leges, if we cannot in strictness admit their completion at so 
 early a period. The Antrustions of the kings of the Franks 
 were also noble, and a composition was paid for their mur- 
 der, treble of that for an ordinary citizen ; but this was a 
 
 iThe antiquity of French nobility is bishops. (Marculfi Formulae, 1. i. c. 4, 
 maiutiiim'Ll temperately by Schmidt, Hist, cum notis Bignonii, in Baluzii Capitu- 
 des AUemands, t. i. p. 361, and with laribus.) It "was probably much con- 
 acrimony by Montesquieu, Esprit des sidered in conferring dignities. Frede- 
 Loix, I. XXX. c. 25. Neither of them garius says of Protadius, mayor of the 
 proves any more than I have admitted, palace to Brunehaut, Quoscunque genere 
 The expression of Ludovicus Pius to his nobiles reperiebat, totos humiliare cona- 
 freedmau. Hex fecit te liberum, non batur, ut nuUusreperiretur, quigradum, 
 nobilem ; quod impossibile est post liber- quern arripuerat, potuisset assumere. 
 tatem, is very intelligible, without iuiag- [Note VIII.] 
 
 ining a privileged class. Of the practi- -Leg. Burgund. tit. 26; Leg. Visigoth, 
 
 cal regard paid to birth, indeed, there 1. ii. t. 2, c.4 (in Lindebrog.); Du Cange, 
 
 are many proofs. It seems to have been voc. Adalingus, nobilis | Wilkins, Leg. 
 
 a recommendation in ttie choice of Ang. Sax. passim.
 
 Fecdal System. FISCAL LVNDS — BENEFICES. IGl 
 
 pergonal, not an liercflitarv distinction. A link \va.s wanting 
 
 . . * . . . . ^ 
 
 to connect tiicir eminent [nivilcgcs with their posterity; iuid 
 this link wa^ to be snpplied by hereditai'y benetices. 
 
 Besides the lands distributed anionj; the nation, others 
 ■were reserved to the crown, partly tor the support Fiscal 
 of its dignity, and partly for the exercise of its ^''"J^- 
 munificence. These are called fiscal lands ; they were dis- 
 persed over different jiarts of the kinirdoni. and formed the 
 most regular source of revenue.^ But tlie greater portion 
 of them were granted out to favored subjects, under the 
 nanit^ of benefices, the nature of which is one of the most 
 important points in the policy of these ages. Benefices 
 were, it is i)robable, most frequently bestowed upon 
 the professed courtiers, the Antrustiones or Leudes, ®*'^^*'®*- 
 and upon the provincial governors. It by no means appears 
 that any conditions of military service were exj)ressly 
 annexed to these grants : but it may justly be presumed that 
 such favors were not conferred witliout an expectation of 
 some return ; and we read both in law and history that bene- 
 ficiary tenants were more closely connected with the crown 
 than mere alodial proprietors. Whoever possessed a bene- 
 fice was expected to serve his sovereign in the field. But of 
 alodial proprietors only the owner of three mansi was called 
 upon for personal service. AVhere there were three posses- 
 sors of single mansi, one went to the army, and the others 
 contributed to his equipment.^ Such at least were the regu- 
 lations of Charlemagne, whom I cannot believe, with Mably, 
 to have relaxed the obligations of military attendance. 
 After the peace of Coblent/, in 800, Charles the Bald 
 restored all alodial property belonging to his subjects, who 
 liad taken part against him. l>ut not his own beneficiary 
 grants, which they were considered .as having forfeited. 
 
 Most of those who have written \i\Hm the feudal svstem 
 lay it down that benefices were originally precari- Their 
 ou3 and revoked at pleasure by the sovereign ; that *"'f^»'- 
 
 ' The (lpinc*ne lanils of the crown are I cannot define the precise area of a. 
 
 rontiniifilly nicntioiipil in the early writ- niansufl. It consisteil, aocoriliiit; to Pu 
 
 em; tin- kin;-)!, in JouriioyiiKC to liilfcT- <'iinK<', of twclvi; jii(;i-ni ; Init what lie 
 
 ent pnrt* of their ijoiiiiiiloiw. tooli up meant by a jll^;<•^ 1 liiiow not. The an- 
 
 tlii-ir alrfvle In them. Chnrlcma^no U cient Koiiiati jiijier was ahoiit five ri^'htliH 
 
 Ti-ry full In hlM dir«-ctlonii aa to their of an acre ; tlie I'arisian ar|ii'nt whh ,\ 
 
 niniia^^-ioent. CapitularU, A.D. 797, et fourtli inoio than one. This woulil 
 
 alihi. make a dillurenco an two to one. 
 
 »C«pitul. Car Mag. ann. 807 and 812. 
 
 VOL. I. 17
 
 162 EXTENT OF BENEFICES. Chap. II. Part I. 
 
 they were afterwards granted for life ; and at a subsequent 
 period became hereditary. No satisfactory proof, however, 
 appears to have been brought of the first stage m this prog- 
 ress.^ At least, I am not convinced that beneficiary grants 
 were ever considered as resumable at pleasure, unless where 
 some delinquency could be imputed to the vassal. It is pos- 
 sible, though I am not aware of any documents which prove 
 it, that benefices may in some instances have been granted 
 for a term of years, since even fiefs in much later times were 
 occasionally of no greater extent. Their ordmary duration, 
 however, was at least the life of the possessor, after which 
 they reverted to the fisc.^ Nor can I agree with those who 
 deny the existence of hereditary benefices under the first 
 race of French Idngs. The codes of the Burgundians, and 
 of the Visigoths, which advert to them, are, by analogy, wit- 
 nesses to the contrary.^ The precedents given in the forms 
 of Marculfus (about 660) for the grant of a benefice, contain 
 very full terms, extending it to the heirs of the beneficiary.* 
 And Mably has plausibly mferred the perpetuity of bene- 
 fices, at least in some instances, from the language of the 
 treaty at Andely in 587, and of an edict of Clotaire II. some 
 years later.^ We can hardly doubt at least that children 
 Avould put in a very strong claim to what their father had 
 enjoyed ; and the weakness of the crown in the seventh 
 
 1 [Note IX.] one John, in 795. Baluzii Capitularia, 
 
 2 The following passage from Gregory t. ii. p. 1400. 
 
 of Tours seems to prove that, althougli 5 Quicqiiid antefati reges ecclesiis aut 
 
 sons were occasionally permitted to sue- fidelibus suis contulerunt, aut adhuo 
 
 ceed their fathers, an indulgence which conferre cum justitia Deo propitiante 
 
 easily grew up into a right, the crown voluerint.stabiliterconservetur ; etquic- 
 
 had, in his time, an unquestionable re- quid unicuiqiie fidelium in utriusque 
 
 version after the death of its original regno per legem et justitiam redhibetur, 
 
 beneficiary. Hoc tempore et Wande- nullum ei prcjudicium ponatur, sed 
 
 linus, nutritorChildeberti regis obiit; sed liceat res debitas possidere atque reci- 
 
 in locum ejus nuUus est subrogatus, eo pere. Et si aliquid uuicuique per in- 
 
 quod regina mater curam velit propriam terregna sine culpa sublatum est, 
 
 habere de Alio. Quacunque de fisco audientia habita restauretur. Et de eo 
 
 meruit, fisci jiirihus sunt relata. Obiit qviod per munificentias prfBcedentium 
 
 his diebus Bodegesilus dux plenus regum unusquisque usque ad transitum 
 
 dierum; sed nihil de facultate ejus filiis gloriosse memorise domini Chlotha- 
 
 minutum est. 1. viii. c. 22. Gregory's charii regis possedit, cum securitate 
 
 work, however, does not go farther than possideat ; et quod exinde fidelibus per- 
 
 595. sonis ablatum est, de pnesenti recipiat. 
 
 3 Leges Burgundiorum, tit. i.; Leges Foedus Andeliacum, in Gregor. Turon. 
 Visigoth. 1. V. tit. 2. 1. ix. c. 20. 
 
 ■»Marculf. form. xii. and xiv. 1. i. Quoecunque ecclesije vel clericis vel 
 
 This precedent was in use down to the quibuslibet personis a gloriosse memoria3 
 
 eleventh century : its expressions recur prsefatis principibus munificentia; largi- 
 
 in almost every charter. The earliest tate coUatas sunt, omni firmitate per- 
 
 iustance I have seen of an actual grant durent. Edict. Chlotachar I. vel potius 
 
 to a private per.-^ou is of Cliarlemagne to II. in Ilecueil des Historiens, t. iv. p. 11(3.
 
 Fecd^vl System. SUBINFF.UDATIOX. 1 03 
 
 century must have rendered it djilicult to reclaim its prop- 
 erty. 
 
 A natural consequence of hereditary benefices was that those 
 who possessed them carved out portions to be held subinfou- 
 of themselves by a similar tenure. Abundant proofs J^'t'"^^"- 
 of this custom, best known by the name of subinfeudation, 
 occur even in the capitidaries of Pepin and Charleinaiine. 
 At a later period it became universal ; and what had begun 
 perhaps through ambition or pride was at last dictated by 
 necessity. In that dissolution of all law which ensued after 
 the death of Charlemagne, the powerful leaders, constantly 
 engaged iu domestic warfare, placed their chief dependeiiey 
 upon men whom they attached by gratitude, and bound liy 
 strong conditions. The oath of fidelity which they had taken, 
 the homage which they had paid to the sovereign, they 
 exacted from their own vassals. To render military service 
 became the essential obligation which the tenant of a benefice 
 undertook ; and out of those ancient grants, now become tor 
 the most part hereditary, there grew iij) in the tenth century, 
 both iu name and reality, the sy.-tein of feudal tcuui'cs.^ 
 
 This revolution was accompanied by another still more 
 important. The provincial governors, the dukes usurpation 
 and counts, to whom we may add tiie marquises or of proviuciai 
 margraves intrusted with the custody of the fron- e^^'^'^"'"^^- 
 tiers, had taken the lead in all pultlic measures after the 
 decline of the Merovingian kings. Charlemagne, duly jealous 
 of their ascendency, ciiecked it by sutlering the duchies to 
 expire without renewal, by granting very few counties hered- 
 iUu-ily, by removing the administration of justice from the 
 luunls of the counts into those of his own itinerant judges, 
 and, if we are not deceived in his policy, by elevating the 
 ecclesiastical order fus a counterpoise to that of the nobility. 
 Even in his time, the faults of the counts are the constant 
 theme of the c^ipitularies ; their dissipation and neglect of 
 duty, their oppression of the poorer proprietors, and their 
 artt'id attempt- ti> appropriate tli<! crown lauds situatecl williiii 
 their territory.* W Ciiarlemagne was unable to redress those 
 evils, how much must they have increased under his posterity! 
 That great prince seldom gave more than one county to the 
 
 I (XoTB X.) t. ii. p. 168; Oaillurd, Vie de Cborlem. t. 
 
 » <'nplliiliiriii far. MiiK et Uwl. I'll. 111. p. 11«. 
 pa'-liii j SctiiiiMt, Illxt. Jen Alli-umiiiln,
 
 164 CHANGE OF TENURES. Chap. II. Part I. 
 
 same person ; and as they were generally of moderate size, 
 coextensive with episcopal dioceses, there Avas less danger, if 
 this policy had been followed, of their becoming independent.^ 
 But Louis the Debonair, and, in a still greater degree, Charles 
 the Bald, allowed several counties to be enjoyed by the same 
 person. The possessors constantly aimed at acquiring private 
 estates within the limits of their charge, and thus both 
 rendered themselves formidable, and assumed a kind of patri- 
 monial right to their dignities. By a capitulary of Charles 
 the Bald, a.d. 877, the succession of a son to the father's 
 county appears to be recognized as a known usage.'^ In the 
 next century there followed an entire prostration of the royal 
 authority, and the counts usurped their governments as little 
 sovereignties, with the domains and all regalian rights, subject 
 only to the feudal superiority of the king.^ They now added 
 the name of the county to their own, and their wives took the 
 appellation of countess.* In Italy the independence of the 
 dukes was still more complete ; and although Otho the Great 
 and his descendants kept a stricter rein over those of Ger- 
 many, yet we find the great fiefs of their empire, throughout 
 the tenth century, granted almost invariably to the male and 
 even female heirs of the last possessor. 
 
 Meanwhile, the alodial proprietors, who had hitherto formed 
 Change of the Strength of the state, fell mto a much worse con- 
 tludai '"^'^ dition. They were exposed to the rapacity of the 
 tenures. counts, who, whether as magistrates and governors, 
 or as overbearing lords, had it always in their power to harass 
 them. Every district was exposed to continual hostilities ; 
 sometimes from a foreign enemy, more often from the owners 
 of castles and fastnesses, which, in the tenth century, under 
 pretence of resisting the Normans and Hungarians, served 
 the purposes of private war. Against such a system of rapine 
 the military compact of lord and vassal was the only effectual 
 shield ; its essence was the reciprocity of service and protec- 
 tion. But an insulated alodialist had no support ; his fortunes 
 
 1 Vaissette, Hist, de Languedoc, t. i. p. s it appears, by the record of a process 
 
 687, 700, and not. 87. in 918, that the counts of Toulouse had 
 
 - Baluzii Capitularia, t. ii. p. 263, 269. already so far usurped the rights of their 
 
 This is a questionable point, and most sovereign as to claim an estate on the 
 
 French antiquaries consider this famous ground of its being a roj'al benefice. Hist, 
 
 capitulary as the foundation of an hered- de Languedoc, t. ii. Appen. p. 56 
 
 itary right in counties. I am inclined * Vaissette, Hist, de Languedoc, t. i. p. 
 
 to think that there was at least a practice 588, and infri, t. ii. p. 38, 109, and Ap- 
 
 of succession which is implied and guar- pendix, p. 56. 
 anteed by this proTision. [Note VI.]
 
 Fecdal System. PERSONAL COJDIENDATION'. 165 
 
 were strangely chanired since he clnimod, at least in vii^lit, a 
 share in the U-gishition of liis country, and could couiiiare 
 ■with pride his patrimonial tields with the temporary benefices 
 of the crown. Without law to redress his injuries, without 
 the royal powt-r to support his right, he had no coiuse left 
 but to compromise with oppression, and subject himself, in 
 return for protection, to a feudal lord. During the tenth and 
 eleventh centuries it appears tliat alodial lands in France liad 
 chiefly become feudal : that is, they had been surrendered l)y 
 their proprietors, and received back again upon the feudal 
 conditions ; or more frei|uently, periiaps, the owner had l)cen 
 compelled to acknowledge himself the iium or vassal of a 
 suzerain, and thus to confess an original grant which had 
 never existed.^ Changes of the same nature, though not 
 perhaps so extensive, or so distinctly to be traced, took place 
 in Italy and Germany. Yet it would be inaccurate to assert 
 that the prevalence of the feudal system has been unlimited; in 
 a great part of France alodial tenures always subsisted ; and 
 many estates in the emiiire were of the same descriittion.^ 
 
 There are, however, vestiges of a very universal custom 
 distinguishable from the feudal tenin-e of land, ., . , 
 
 ■ , ... , Custom of 
 
 though so analogous to it tliat it seems to have personal 
 nearly escaped the notice of antiquaries. From ti'o„""'"'^'^' 
 this silence of other writers, and the great obscu- 
 rity of the subject, I am almost afraid to notice Avhat several 
 passages in ancient laws and instruments concur to prove, that, 
 besides the relation estaljlished between lord and vassal by 
 
 1 ULit. de LanRueiloc, t. ii. p. 1(»9. It and, od the other hand, in those of tho 
 
 must l*c confessed that there do not occur tenth and eleventh centuries, the word 
 
 go many speeific instances of this con- alodinm is continually used for a feud, or 
 
 Tersion of alodial tenure into femlal iia hereditary benefice, which renders this 
 
 mi^bt be exfiected. in order to warrant subject still more obscure. 
 
 the supposition in the text. Several - The maxim, NuUe terre sans seig- 
 
 records. however, are ijnoted by llobert- neur. wiis so far from beinjj universally 
 
 Bon. Hist. Charles v., note 8; ami others received in France, that in almost all 
 
 may Ik* found in diplomatic colle<-tionfi. sontbern i)rovinces, or pays du droit 
 
 A pn^cedent for surrenderinif aloilial 6crit. lands were presumed to be aloilial. 
 
 property to the kiuK, and receivini; it unle.ss the contrary was shown, or, as it 
 
 baclc as Ills bcnefire, ap|H-ar8 even in was called, fnmc-aleux suns titre. The 
 
 Slarcull'us, 1. i. form 13. The county of parliaments, however, seem latterly to 
 
 Coniin){i-», t>etween the l*yrene<>s. Tou- liave inclined a(;ainst this pri'sumplion, 
 
 louse, and Uii^orn-, was alodial till 1244, and have thrown the burden of proof 
 
 when it wa* put under the feuilul pnitec- on the party dainiinj; alodiality. Kor 
 
 lion of the count of Tonlouse. It de- this see Itenisart, Uictionnaire des De- 
 
 Tolvi-'l by (Mtcbeat to the crovrn in 1443. cisions, art. Kranc-aleu. [Notk XI.) 
 
 Vlllnret, t. XT. p. 34*1. In Oermany, according to Du Cange 
 
 In many early chart<rrs tin- kinjf oon- voc. Haro, tbere was a distinction bc- 
 
 flrms the iHisiu-ssioii even ofalodlal proi>- tween Banmes and ,SeiMper-llarones ; tho 
 
 erty for i^rwitcr security In lawleiw times ; latter holding their lundu alodially.
 
 1G6 PERSONAL COMMENDATION. Chap. II. Part I. 
 
 beaeficiaiy grants, there was another species more personal, 
 and more closely resemblmg that of patron and client in the 
 Roman republic. This was usually called commendation ; 
 and appears to have been founded on two very general princi- 
 ples, both of which the distracted state of society inculcated. 
 The weak needed the protection of the jiowerful ; and the 
 government needed some security for public order. Even 
 before the invasion of the Franks, Salvian, a writer of the 
 fifth century, mentions the custom of obtaining the protection 
 of the great by money, and blames their rapacity, though he 
 allows the natural reasonableness of the practice.-^ The dis- 
 advantageous condition of the less powerful freemen, which 
 ended m the servitude of one part, and in the feudal vassalage 
 of another, led such as fortunately still j^reserved their alodial 
 property to insure its defence by a stipulated payment of 
 money. Such payments, called Salvamenta, may be traced 
 m extant charters, chiefly indeed of monasteries.^ In the case 
 of private persons it may be j)resumed that this voluntary 
 contract was frequently changed by the stronger party into 
 a perfect feudal dependence. From this, however, as I im- 
 agine, it probably differed, in being capable of dissolution at 
 the inferior's pleasure, without incurring a forfeiture, as well 
 as in having no relation to land. Homage, however, seems to 
 have been incident to commendation, as well as to vassalaiie. 
 Military service was sometimes the condition of this engage- 
 ment. It was the law of France, so late at least as the com- 
 mencement of the third race of kings, that no man could take 
 a part in private wars, except in defence of his own lord. 
 This we learn from an historian about the end of the tenth 
 century, who relates that one Erminfrid, having been released 
 from his homage to count Burchard, on ceding the fief he had 
 held of him to a monastery, renewed the ceremony on a war 
 breaking out between Burchard and another nobleman, where- 
 in he was desirous to give assistance ; since, the author ob- 
 serves, it is not, nor has been, the practice in France, for any 
 man to be concerned in war, except in the presence or by the 
 command of his lord.^ Indeed, there is reason to infer, from 
 the capitulaines of Charles the Bald, that every man was 
 bound to attach himseh' to some lord, though it was the priv- 
 ilege of a freeman to choose his own superior.* And this is 
 
 1 Du Cange, t. Salramentum. SRecueil des Historiens, t. x. p. 355. 
 
 -Ibid. *Unusquisqiie liber homo post mor-
 
 Fecdal System. EDICT OF COXRAD THE SALIC. 
 
 167 
 
 s^tronglv supportcil by tlie anah^jry of our Amrlo-Saxon laws, 
 wIrtc it is thiiuently ivpeatt'd that. no luau sliuiikl lontimie 
 without a lord. There are, too, as it seems to me, a great 
 nnmbt'r of passages in Domesday-hook which lonihin this 
 di.-tinction between personal eonnucndatiou and the beneti- 
 ciary tenure of land. Perhaps I may be thought to dwell too 
 prolixly on tliis ol>seure eustom ; but as it tends to illustrate 
 those nuuual relations of lord and vassal which supplied the 
 place of regular government in the polity of Europe, and has 
 seldom or never been explicitly noticed, its introduction 
 seemed not im])roper. 
 
 It has been sometimes said that feuds were first rendered 
 hereditary in Germany by Conrad II., surnamed Edict of 
 the Salic. This opinion is perhaps erroneous, the'^iic. 
 But there is a famous edict of that emperor at 
 Milan, in the year 1037, which, though immediately relating 
 only to Lombardy, marks the full maturity of the system, and 
 the last stage of its progress.^ I have remarked already the 
 custom of subinfeudation, or grants of lands by vassals to be 
 held of them.selves, which had grown up with the growth of 
 these teiuux's. There had occurred, however, some disagree- 
 ment, lur want of settleil usage, between these inferior vas- 
 sals and their immediate lords, which this edict was expressly 
 designed to remove. Four regulations of great importance 
 are estaljlished therein : that no man should be deprived of 
 
 tern domini sui, licenti.im haboat se com- 
 mumliiudi inter htec tria rcjrna ad cjuem- 
 cunquf Toluerit. Similiter ct illc (jui 
 nniiijum alirui rommendatus est. lialuzii 
 Capitularia, t. i. p. 443. \.D. 8(n;. Vo- 
 luiiiu.'i etiajii ut iiuu»iiiiii'(|UC' liber homo 
 in uoctro n.';^no iwiiiorfui i|iialeui voliU'rit 
 in nobU et in noiitris fidi'liluis recipiat. 
 Capit. Car. Calvi, a.d. H'l. Kt voluniue 
 tit cujuscunijuc iioHtrum homo, in cuJuh- 
 cunijue rt'tfiio sit, <-uni Koninre xuo ia 
 hoxtvui. vcl aliirt sui.i utilitatibim p<'ri;at. 
 Ibid. .S«' tixi lialii//-, t. i. p. 5.'}tj, '(iJT. 
 
 liv the K!<talilii4htiientK of St. Luuin, 
 c. A~, fvory Htranijer coining to Fettle 
 within a barony wait to acknowledge the 
 banin a* lonl within a year and a day, or 
 pay a fine. lu ^juh' placen he even l)e- 
 cai. ■ rf or villein of the lord. 
 
 Or leH Koin, p. m~. UlK>n thiri 
 
 jeai..-, -I .11. known wttlcrM which per- 
 vaden the policy of the middle ap-«, waM 
 foundc<i the droit d'aubniNc, or right to 
 their uiovablpM after their dweane. See 
 preface to Urdouiuiucei ilea lUiiD. t. i. 
 p. 16. 
 
 The article Commendatio in DuCange's 
 Glos.<arv furni.shes some hints upon this 
 8uliject, which, however, that author 
 doe.-i not seem to have fully apprehended. 
 Carpentier, in his Supplement to the 
 Ulo.ssary, under the word Va.-i.saticum, 
 gives the clearest notice of it that 1 have 
 anywhere found. Since writing the 
 above pages I have found the subject 
 touched by M. de Montlosier, Hist, de la 
 Monarchic Krancaise, t. i. p. 854. [XoTE 
 XI.] 
 
 ' Spelman tell.") us, in his Treatise of 
 Feuds, chap, ii., thatOonnidus Salicus,« 
 Frenrh einprror, Out of (jirvian ilrscenl 
 [what can this mean .'], went to Konie 
 about 915 to fetch his crown from I'opo 
 John X. when, according to him, the 
 succession of a son to his fiitlier's lief 
 was first conceded. An almost unpanil- 
 leleil blunder in so learned a wrilor ! 
 Conrad tin- Salic was elected iit Worms in 
 11124. crowned at Ki>me by .lolin XI.V. in 
 1(127, uud made this edict at Milan ill 
 1037.
 
 168 PEINCIPLES OF FEUDAL EELATION. Chap. II. Part I. 
 
 his fief, whether held of the emperor or a mesne lord, but by 
 the laws of the empire and the judgment of his peers ; ^ that 
 from such judgment an immediate vassal might appeal to his 
 sovereign ; that fiefs should be inherited by sons and their 
 children, or, in their failure, by brothers, provided they were 
 feuda paterna, such as had descended from the father ; ^ and 
 that the lord should not alienate the fief of his vassal with- 
 out his consent.^ 
 
 Such was the progress of these feudal tenures, which deter- 
 mined the pohtical character of every European monarchy 
 wliere they prevailed, as well as formed the foundations of its 
 jurisprudence. It is certainly inaccurate to refer this sys- 
 tem, as is frequently done, to the destruction of the Roman 
 empire by the northern nations, though in the beneficiary 
 grants of those conquerors we trace its beginning. Four or 
 five centuries, however, elapsed, before the alodial tenures, 
 which had become incomparably the more general, gave way, 
 and before the reciprocal contract of the feud attained its 
 maturity. It is now time to describe the legal qualities and 
 effects of this relation, so far only as may be requisite to un- 
 derstand its influence upon the political system. 
 
 The essential principle of a fief was a mutual contract of 
 Principles Support and fidelity. Whatever obligations it laid 
 of a feudal upou the vassal of service to his lord, correspond- 
 ing duties of protection were imposed by it on the 
 lord towards his vassal.* If these were transgressed on ei- 
 ther side, the one forfeited his land, the other his seigniory or 
 rights over it. Nor were motives of interest left alone to 
 
 1 Nisi secundum constitutionem ante- tion is possible; namely, that the lord 
 
 cessorum nostrorum, et judicium parium should not alienate his own seigniory 
 
 suorum ; the very expressions of Magna withovit his vassal's consent, which was 
 
 Charta. agreeable to the feudal tenures. This, 
 
 - " Gerardus noteth," says Sir H. Spel- indeed, would be putting rather a forced 
 
 man, " that this law settled not the feud construction on the words ne domino 
 
 upou the eldest son, or any other son of feudum militis alienare liceat. 
 
 the feudatary particularly ; but left it in * Crag. Jus Feudale, 1. ii. tit. 11. Beau- 
 
 the lord's election to please himself with manoir, Coutumes de Beauvoisis, c. Ixi. 
 
 which he would." But the phrase of the p. 311 ; Ass. de Jerus. c. 217 ; Lib. Feud, 
 
 edict runs, Alios ejus beneficium tenere : 1. ii. tit. 26, 47. 
 
 which, when nothing more is said, can Upon the mutual obligation of the lord 
 
 only mean a partition among the sous. towards his vassal seems to be founded 
 
 3 The last provision may seem strange the law of warranty, which compelled 
 at so advanced a period of the system ; him to make indemnification where the 
 yet, according to Giannone, feuds were tenant was evicted of his land. This 
 still revocable by the lord in some parts obligation, however unreasonable it may 
 of Lombardy. Istoria di Napoli, 1. xiii. appear to us. extended, according to the 
 c. 3. It seems, however, no more than feudal lawyers, to cases of mere dona- 
 had been ah-eady enacted by the first tion. Crag. 1. ii. tit. 4 ; Butler's Notes 
 clause of this edict. Another iuterpreta- on Co. Litt. p. 335.
 
 Feud.\l System. PKIXCIPLES OF FEUDAL RELATION. IG'J 
 
 operate in sccuriniic the feudal connection. The associations 
 foundeil upon ancient custom and friendly attachment, the 
 impulses of gratitude and honor, the dread of infamy, the 
 sjinctions of religion, were all employed to strengthen these 
 ties, and to render them equally poweii'ul with the relations 
 of nature, and far more so than those of political society. It 
 is a cpiestion, agitated among the feudal lawyers, whetiier a 
 vassal is bound to follow the standard of his lord against his 
 own kindred.^ It was one more important whether he must 
 do so against the king. In the " works of those who wrote 
 when the feudal system was declining, or who were anxious to 
 maintain the royal authority, this is commonly decided in the 
 negixtive. Littleton gives a form of homage, with a reserva- 
 tion of the allegiance due to the sovereign ; ^ and the same 
 prevailed in Normandy and some other countries.^ A law of 
 Frederic Barbarossa enjoins iliat in every oath of fealty to an 
 inferior lord the vassal's duty to the emperor should be ex- 
 pressly reserved. But it was not so during the height of 
 the feudal system in France. The vassals of Henry II. and 
 Ridiard I. never hesitated to adhere to them against the sov- 
 ereign, nor do they appear to have incurred any blame on 
 that account. Even so late as the age of St. Louis, it is laid 
 down in his Estaljlishments, that, if justice is refused by the 
 king to one of his vassals, he might summon his own tenants, 
 under penalty of forfeiting their liefs, to assist him in obtain- 
 ing redress by arms.* Tiie count of Britany, Pierre de 
 Dreux, had practically asserted this feudal right during the 
 minority of St. Louis. In a public instrument he announced 
 to the world, that, liaving met with repeated injuries fiom the 
 regent, and denial of ju-tice, he had let the king know that he 
 
 1 Crn(?. 1. ii. tit. 4. tro vous. Si la reponse est quo volon- 
 
 5 Sect. IxxxT. tiers il fera droit en sa cour, I'liommo 
 
 'IlouarJ, Anc. I»ix des Fmn<;oifi, p. n"e.st point oblige de deforcr i la requisi- 
 
 114. Sec too an in^*tJinrcof thi.i reserva- tion du sire; mai.s il doit, ou le sui^Te, 
 
 tion in Recueil des l£istorien.t, t. xi. on lorefloudre 4 perdre son fief, si lo ohef 
 
 44". 8ei|.;iieur persiste diui.s son n-tus. EtJi- 
 
 * SI Ic Hire dlt a Bon homme li(?e, blisseniens cle St. Louis, c. 4'.t. I have 
 
 Vener Toug en avec nioi. je veux Kucr- copied this from Velly, t. vi. p. 21.3, who 
 
 rover inon Heij^neur, qui me denie le has niodiTiiized the ortlioi;rapliy, which 
 
 Jui;ement de iia cour, le vassal dolt re- Is almost unintellijrilile in the Ordoiinan- 
 
 pfuidre, J'iral »«ivoir H"il est ainsi quo oes des Kois. One MS. ifives the reading 
 
 VOU.1 mc dit«t. Alors il doit aller trou- Koi instead of Srigii'-Hr. And the law 
 
 Tcr le superleur, et luy din-. Sire, lo certiiinly applies to the kiiiR 'J-'-'i'-wc/y; 
 
 (CiMitilhomme de qui y- tlens mon flef so for, in cji.sc of denial of justice hy a 
 
 pUiint qui- vous lui rv'fuM.z justice : je mesne |f)rd, there was an appiMl to the 
 
 Tieiis |K»ur en sciivolr la veriti- ; car jo kinif's court, but from his injury there 
 
 sub neiuouc^ Je uiarcbcr en guerre cou- could be uo api>eal but to the sword.
 
 170 FEUDAL CEREMONIES. Chap. II. Part I. 
 
 no longer considered himself as his vassal, but renounced his 
 homage and defied liim.-^ 
 
 The ceremonies used in conferring a fief were principally 
 Ceremo- thi'ee — homage, fealty, and investiture. 1. The 
 nies of— first was designed as a significant expression of 
 '" ■ the submission and devotedness of the vassal tow- 
 ards his lord. In performing homage, his head was uncov- 
 ered, his belt ungirt, his sword and spurs removed ; he placed 
 his hands, kneeling, between those of the lord, and promised 
 to become his man from thenceforward ; to serve hmi with 
 life and limb and worldly honor, faithfully and loyally, in 
 consideration of the lands which he held under him. None 
 but the lord in person could accept homage, which was com- 
 „ _, ,^ monly concluded by a kiss.^ 2. An oath of fealty 
 
 2. Fealty. / •' ^ r i ^ ^i 
 
 was indispensable m every net ; but the ceremony 
 was less peculiar than that of homage, and it might be re- 
 ceived by proxy. It was taken by ecclesiastics, but not by 
 minors ; and in language differed little from the form of 
 
 3. Invest!- homagc.^ 3. Investiture, or the actual conveyance 
 ture. q£ feudal lands, was of two kinds ; proper and im- 
 proper. The first was an actual putting in possession upon 
 the ground, either by the lord or his deputy ; which is called, 
 in our law, livery of seisin. The second was symbolical, 
 and consisted in the delivery of a turf, a stone, a wand, a 
 branch, or whatever else might have been made usual by 
 the caprice of local custom. Du Cange enumerates not less 
 than ninety-eight varieties of investitures.* 
 
 Upon investiture, the duties of the vassal commenced. 
 Obligations Thcsc it is impossible to define or enumerate ; 
 of a vassal, ijecausc the services of military tenure, which is 
 chiefly to be considered, were in their nature uncertain, and 
 
 1 Du Cange, Observations sur Join- s. 85. Assises de Jerusalem, c. 204 ; Crag, 
 ville, in Collection des Memoires, t. i. p. 1. i. tit. 11; Recueil des Historiens, t. ii. 
 196. It was always necessary for a vassal preface, p. 174. Houiagium per para- 
 to renounce his homage before lie made gium was unaccompanied by any feudal 
 war on his lord, if he woulil avoid the obligation, and distinguished from ho- 
 shame and penalty of feudal treason, niagium ligeum, which carried with it an 
 After a reconcihation the homage was obligation of fidelity. The dukes of Nor- 
 renewed. And in this no distinction was mandy rendered only homage per para- 
 made between the king and another su- gium to the kings of France, and received 
 perior. Thus Henry H. did homage to the like from the dukes of Britauy. lu 
 the king of France in 1188, having re- liege homage it was usual to make rcser- 
 nounced his former obligation to hhn at vations of allegiance to the king, or any 
 the commencement of the preceding war. other lord whom the homager had previ- 
 Mat. Paris, p. 12(j. ously acknowledged. 
 
 ■- Du Cange, Uominium, and Carpen- ^Littl. s. 91; i)u Cange, voc. Fidelitas. 
 
 tier's Supplement, id. voc. Littleton, * Du Cange, voc. luvestitura.
 
 Fecd.vl System. 
 
 MILITARY SERVICE. 
 
 171 
 
 distuijruished a^ such from those incident to feuds of an infe- 
 rior description. It was a breacli of faith to divulge the 
 lord's couusel, to conceal from him the maeliinations of othei's, 
 to injure his person or fortune, or to violate the sanctity of 
 his roof and the honor of his family.^ In battle he was 
 bound to lend his horse to his lord, when dismounted ; to 
 adhere to liis side, while tijrhting ; and to go into captivity as 
 a hostage for him. when taken. His attendance was due to 
 the lord's courts, sometimes to witness, and sometunes to 
 bear a part in, the administration of justice.^ 
 
 The measure, however, of military service was generally 
 settled bv some usage. Forty davs was the usual ^. ., ,. 
 
 1 ■• 1 • 1 V • <■ 'i • . ? ,• Limitations 
 
 term durmg whicli tlie tenant ot a knights lee was of military 
 bound to be in the lield at his own expense.* This ^'^'''^'^^• 
 was exten(h'd by St. Louis to sixty days, except when tlie 
 charter of infeudation expressed a shorter period. But the 
 length of service diminished with the quantity of land. For 
 half a knight's fee but twenty days were due ; for an eighth 
 
 ' A«si:ies de Jerusalem, c. 265. Home 
 ne doit ^ la feme de son seiijneur, ne i sa 
 fiUe requerre vilninie de sou cors, ne i sa 
 soeur tdiit com tile est liemoiselle en son 
 hostrl. I mention this part of feudal 
 duty on account of the li^rlit it throws ou 
 the statute of treasons, 2') E. HI. One 
 of the treasons therein siiecified is, si 
 onine Tinlast la coiiipaitrne le roy, ou 
 ltii;iie fiU U roy nient viarii oa la coin- 
 pai;^ue lei^6 fitz et heire le roy. Those 
 who. like Sir K. Coke and the modern 
 lawyers in treneral. explain this provision 
 by the political daiijicr of coufusini; the 
 royal blood, do not appn-heml its spirit. 
 It would Ik.' absurd, upon such Krouiids, 
 to render the violation of the killer's eldest 
 daU|;hter treasonable, so lonj; only as she 
 remains unman ie<l, when, as is obvious, 
 the dantrer of a spurious issue inheriting 
 could not arise. 1 <'oiisider this provision 
 then-fore a.* entlrt'ly founded upon the 
 feudiil priiicipli'S. which make it a breach 
 of faith (that is, in the primary sense of 
 the word, a treason I to sully the honor 
 of the lorri in that of the near relations 
 who were iinmeiliately protected by resi- 
 dence in bin house. If it is asked why 
 this should l>e restrict*-*! by the statute 
 to the perifju of the el. lest il.'iu);hter, I 
 can only answer tluit this, which is not 
 more rt-aw>nBlp|e a^-cordiii); to the coni- 
 luoii pohtiral iiit<Tpn-tation. is analoKoug 
 Ui many feudal cu.-toms in our own and 
 other countries, which attribute a sort 
 of HU|M-riority in dignity to the eldest 
 ilaui{ht<-r. 
 
 It may be objected that in the reifjn of 
 Edward III. there was little left of the 
 feuilal principle in any part of Europe, 
 and least of all in England. lUit the 
 stjitute of treasons is a declaration of the 
 ancient law. and comprehends, undoubt- 
 edly, what the judj;cs who drew it could 
 find in records now perished, or in lepil 
 traditions of remote antiiiuity. Similar 
 causes of forfeiture are enumerated iu 
 the Libri Feudorum, 1. i. tit. 5. and 1. ii. 
 tit. 24. In the Establishments of St. 
 Louis, c. 51, 52. it is said that a lord 
 seducing his va.ssal's dau;j;hter intrusted 
 to his custody lost his seif^uiory ; a v;u«sal 
 guilty of the .same crime towards the 
 family of his suzerain forfeited his 1,-ind. 
 A proof of the tendency which the feudal 
 law had to purify public morals, and to 
 create that sense of indijjnation anil re- 
 sentment with which we now regard 
 such breaches of liuiior. 
 
 s Assises de Jerusalem, c. 222. A vas- 
 sal, at least in many places, was bouiid 
 to reside upon his fief, or not to iiuit it 
 without the lord's con.-ient. I)u Cange, 
 V(H-. lUfSeantia, Kemaueutia, Itecueil lies 
 Uistoriens, t. xi. preface, p. 172. 
 
 << In the kingdom of Jerusalem feudal 
 service extended to a year. A.^sises de 
 Jerusalem, c. 2.3IJ. It is obvious that 
 this was foumled on the |peculiar ciit-uin- 
 staiic<-s of that state. Service of castle 
 guard, which wiui common in the north 
 of England, was iierformed without lim- 
 itation of lime, bvttelton's lleiirv II. 
 vol. ii. p. 184.
 
 172 MILITARY SERVICE. Chap. II. Pakt I. 
 
 part, but five ; and when tliis was commuted for an escuage 
 or pecuniary assessment, the same pi-oportion was observed.-^ 
 Men turned of sixty, public magistrates, and, of course, wo- 
 men, were free from personal service, but obliged to send 
 their substitutes. A tailure in this primary duty incurred 
 perhaps strictly a forfeiture of the fief. But it was usual for 
 the lord to inflict an amercement, kno^vn in England by the 
 name of escuage.^ Thus, in Philip III.'s expedition against 
 the count de Foix in 1274, barons were assessed for their 
 default of attendance at a hundred sous a day for the ex- 
 penses which they had saved, and fifty sous as a fine to the 
 king ; bannerets, at twenty sous for expenses, and ten as a 
 fine ; knights and squu'es in the same proportion. But ba- 
 rons and bannerets were bound to pay an additional assess- 
 ment for every knight and squire of their vassals whom they 
 ou2;ht to have brouo-ht with them mto the field.^ The re^u- 
 lations as to the place of service were less uniform than 
 those which regarded time. In some places the vassal was 
 not bound to go beyond the lord's territory,* or only so far as 
 that he might return the same day. Other customs com- 
 pelled him to follow his chief upon all his expeditions.^ 
 
 1 Du Cange, voc. Feudum militis ; I have ventured to assume it in the 
 
 Menibrum LoricEe. Stuart's View of So- text. 
 
 ciety, p. 382. This division by knight's The knight's fee was fixed in England 
 
 fees is perfectly familiar in the feudal at the annual value of 20/. Every estate 
 
 law of Euglaud. But I must confess my supposed to be of this value, and entered 
 
 inability to adduce decisive evidence of it as such in the rolls of the exchequer, was 
 
 in that of France, with the usual excep- bound to contribute the service of a 
 
 tion of Normandy. According to the soldier.ortopay an escuage to the amount 
 
 natural principle of fiefs, it might seem assessed upon knights' fee. 
 
 that the same personal service would be 2 Littleton, 1. ii. c.3; Wright's Tenures, 
 
 required from the tenant, whatever were p. 121. 
 
 the extent of his land. AVilliam the 3 Du Chesne, Script. Rerum Gallica- 
 
 Conqueror, it is said, distributed this rum, t. v. p. 553. Daniel, Histoire de la 
 
 kingdom into about 60,000 parcels of Mihce Francjoise, p. 72. The following 
 
 nearly equal value, from each of which extracts from the muster-roll of this ex- 
 
 the service of a soldier was due. He may pedition will illustrate the varieties of, 
 
 possibly have been the inventor of this feudal obligations. Johannes d'Ormoy 
 
 politic arrangement. Some rule must, debet servitium per quatuor dies. Jo- 
 
 however, have been observed in all coun- hannes Malet debet servitium per viginti 
 
 tries in fixing the amercement for ab- die.s, pro quo servitio misit Kichardum 
 
 sence, which could only be equitable if Tichet. Guido de Laval debet sei-vitium 
 
 it bore a just proportion to the value of duorum militum et dimidii. Domiuus 
 
 the fief. And the principle of the knight's Sabrandus dictus Chabot dicit quod nou 
 
 fee was so convenient and reasonable, debet servitium domino regi, nisi in co- 
 
 that it is likely to have been adopted in mitatu Pictaviensi, et ad sumptus regis, 
 
 imitation of England by other feudal tamen venit ad preces regis cum tribus 
 
 countries. In the roll of Philip III.'s militibus et duodecim scutiferis. Guido 
 
 expedition, as will appear by a note im- de Lusiguiaco Dom. de Pierac dicit, quod 
 
 mediately below, there are, I think, sev- non debet ahquid regi prjeterhomagium. 
 
 eral presumptive evidences of it ; and * This was the custom of Beauvoisis. 
 
 though this is rather a late authori- Beaumanoir, c. 2. 
 
 ty to establish a feudal principle, yet 6 Du Cange, et Carpentier, voc. Hostis.
 
 Feudal System. FEUDAL INGIDEXTS. 173 
 
 These iiK'onveiiient aiul varviui: usaLa-"? betrayed the urigiii 
 of the feudal obligations, not foiiuded upon any national pol- 
 icy, but springing from the chaos of anarchy and intestine 
 war. which they were well calculated to perpetuate. For 
 the public defence their machinery was totally unserviceable, 
 until such changes were wrought as destroyed the character 
 of the fabric. 
 
 Tudepindently of the obligations of fealty and service, 
 which the nature of the contract created, other Feiuiai 
 advantages were derived from it by the lord, wliich iucidents. 
 have been called ffudal incidents: these were, 1. Reliefs. 2. 
 Fines upon alienation. 3. Escheats. 4. Aids ; to wliich 
 may be added, though not generally established, o. AVaid- 
 ship, and G. 3Iarriage. 
 
 1. Some writers have accounted for Reliefs in the follow- 
 ing manner. Benetices. whether depending upon j^^ugf^ 
 the crown or its vassals, were not originally granted 
 bv way of absolute inheritance, but renewed frdin time to time 
 upon the death of the ito^sessor, till long custom grew up into 
 right. Hence a sum of money, something between a price 
 and a gratuity, would naturally he ottered by the heir on 
 receiving a fresh inve.-titure of the lief; and length of time 
 might as legitimately turn this present into a due of the lord, 
 as it rendered the inheritance of the tenant indefeasil>le. 
 This is a verv specious account of the matter. But those 
 who consider the antiquity to which hereditary benetices may 
 be traced, and the unreserved expressions of those instru- 
 ments by which tliey were created, as well as the undoulUed 
 fiict that a large })roportiou of liefs had been absolute alodial 
 inheritances, never really granted by the superior, will i)er- 
 haps be led rather to look for the origin of reliefs in that 
 rapaeitv with which the powerful are ever ready to opjiress 
 tlie feeble. When a feudal tenant died, the lord, taking ad- 
 vantage of his own strength and the confusion of the family, 
 would seize the estate into his hands, either l>y the right of 
 force, or under some litigious pretext. Against this violence 
 the lieir could in general have no resource but a comitromise ; 
 and we know liow readily acts of successful injustice change 
 their name, and move demurely, like the wolf in the tiil)le, 
 uufler the- clothing of law. Reliefs and other feudal inci- 
 denti? are sai<l to have been establisheil in France^ about tht; 
 
 1 Onloniuincw dea KoU de France, t. i. prufiici-, p. 10.
 
 174 FEUDAL INCIDENTS. Chap. II. Part I. 
 
 latter part of the tenth century, and they certainly appear in 
 the famous edict of Conrad the Salic, in 1037, which recognizes 
 the usage of presenting horses and arms to the lord upon a 
 change of tenancy.^ But this also subsisted under the name 
 of heriot, in England, as early as the reign of Canute. 
 
 A relief was a sum of money (unless where charter or 
 custom introduced a ditferent tribute) due from every one of 
 full age, taking a fief by descent. This was in some countries 
 arbitrary, or ad misericordiam, and the exactions practised 
 under this pretence both upon superior and inferior vassals 
 ranked amongst the greatest abuses of the feudal policy. 
 Henry I. of England promises in his charter that they shall in 
 future be just and reasonable ; but the rate does not appear to 
 have been finally settled till it was laid down in Magna Charta 
 at about a fourth of the annual value of the fief. We find also 
 fixed reliefs among the old customs of Normandy and Beau- 
 voisis. By a law of St. Louis, in 1245,^ the lord was 
 entitled to enter upon the lands, if the heir could not pay the 
 relief, and possess them for a year. This right existed 
 unconditionally in England under the name of primer seisin, 
 but was confined to the king.^ 
 
 2. Closely connected with reliefs were the fines paid to the 
 Fines upon lord upon the alienation of his vassal's feud ; and 
 alienation, indeed we frequently find them called by the same 
 name. The spirit of feudal tenure established so intimate a 
 connection between the two parties that it could be dissolved 
 by neither without requiring the other's consent. If the lord 
 transferred his seigniory, the tenant was to testify his concur- 
 rence ; and this ceremony was long kept up in England under 
 the name of attornment. The assent of the lord to his vas- 
 sal's alienation was still more essential, and more difficult to 
 be attained. He had received his fief, it was supposed, for 
 reasons peculiar to himself, or to his family; at least his 
 
 1 Servato usu valvassorum majorum sion. Coutumes deBeauvoisis, c. 27. And 
 in tradendis armis equisque suis seniori- this, according to Du Cange, was the 
 bus. This, among other reasons, leads general rule in the customary law of 
 me to doubt the received opinion that France. In Anjou and Maine they were 
 Italian fiefs were not hereditary before not even due upon succession between 
 the promulgation of this etlict. brothers. Ordonnances des Rois, t. i. p. 
 - Ordonnances des IJois, p. 55. 58. And M. de Pastoret, in his valuable 
 3 Du Cange, v. Placitum, Relevium, preface to the sixteenth volume of that 
 Sporla. By many customs a relief was collection, says it was a rule that the 
 due on every change of the lord, as well king had nothing upon lineal succession 
 as of the vassal, l5ut tliis was not the of a fief, whether in the ascending or de- 
 case in England. Beaumont speaks of sccuding Wne^hnt la bouche etles 'mains ; 
 reliefs as due only on collateral succes- i. e. homage and fealty : p. 20.
 
 Feudal System. FINES UPON ALIENATION. 175 
 
 heart and arm were bound to his superior ; and his service 
 was nut to be exchanged for that of a stranger, wlio might 
 be unable or unwillmg to render it. A Uiw of Lothaire II. 
 in Italy forbids the alienation of tiefs without the lord's eon- 
 sent.^ " This prohibition is repeated in one of Frederic I., 
 and a similar enactment wjxs made by Roger king of Sicily.'^ 
 By the law of France the lord was entitled, upon every 
 alienation ma(h^ by his tenmit, either to redeem the tief by 
 paving the purchase-money, or to claim a certain part of the 
 value, by way of line, upon the cliange of tenancy.^ In 
 England' even the practice of subinfeudation, which w.as more 
 confonuable to the law of tiefs and the military genius of the 
 system, but injurious to the suzerains, who lost thereby their 
 escheats and other advantages of seigniory, was checked by 
 Magna Charta.* and forbidden by the statute 18 Edward I., 
 called Quia Emjitorcs, which at the sjune time gave the 
 liberty of alienating lands, to be holden of the grantor's im- 
 mediate lord. The tenants of the crown were not included 
 in this act; but that of 1 Edward III. c. 12, enabled them 
 to alienate, upon the pajiuent of a composition into chancery, 
 which was tixed at one third of the annual value of the 
 lands.6 
 
 These restraints, placed for the lord's advantage upon the 
 transfer of feudal property, are not to be confounded with 
 those designed for the protection of heirs and preservation 
 
 1 Lib. Feudonim, 1. U. tit. 9 and 52. ble upon the oriBinal principles of feudal 
 
 Thi.s wits principallv lovclled at the prac- tenure. 
 
 tice of alienating le'uiLil property in favor * Dalrymple 8pem.« to suppo.se that the 
 
 of the church, which wa.-i cjillcl pro 32<1 ohapt«.r of .Marina Chartu relates to 
 
 animl jmljcare. lUdevicus in Gf.stii* alienation ami not to subinfeuilation. 
 
 Fre.leric I. 1. iv. c.7; Lib. Feud. \. i. Ksgay on Foudal Property, edit. 1758. p. 
 
 tit. 7, 16. I. ii. tit. 10. 83. See Sir E. Coke. 2 Inst. p. 05, 501 ; 
 
 s Ojannone, I. ii. c. 5. and Wright on Tenures, contri. Mr. 
 
 »DuCan|fe. V. Keaccapitum, Plaoitum, Ilargrave oh.serros that " the history of 
 
 Rachatum. I'astoret, preCiceau wizit-me our law with respect to the powers of 
 
 tfime de.« Ordonnance«, p. 2<l : Houaril, alienation before the statute of Quia 
 
 Diet, du Droit Noniiand, art. Fief Ar- Eniptorcs terrarum is very much iiivolv- 
 
 Rou, limt. du Droit Knmvois. 1. ii. c. 2. od in ob.sourity."' Notes on Co. Lit. 43, 
 
 In Beaumanoir's age and district at a. In (llanville's time apparently a man 
 
 leHJit. hUtiinfcuilntioii witliout the lordn could only alienate (to hold of himself ) 
 
 license incurn-d a forfeiture of the land ; nitionahileni partem de terrisua, 1. vii. c. 
 
 and hi« reaKon exu-uils of courw more 1. But thi.s may have liei'n in favor of 
 
 Htrongly to alieiuition. Coiltumen do the kindred as much a.s of the lord. Dal- 
 
 Iti-nuviiUix, c. 2; Vullv, t. vi. p. 1h7. rymple's Essay, ulii supri. 
 Hut. by the (fpneral law of feudjt. the It is probable that Coke i.s mistaken 
 
 foniH-r wrui utrictlv n'gular. while the In supposing that " at the common law 
 
 ti-nant ft>rfidU-<i liii lamj by the lat- the tenant might liave made a leotrment 
 
 UT. t'mig nientionn this distinction of the whole tenancy to be holden of the 
 
 OA one for which he ijt |»erplexed to lord." 
 
 arcount. JuH Feu.lnle, 1. 111. tit. 3, p. 4 2 Inst. p. Ofl ; BLickstoneii Coinmen- 
 
 QiSi. It In, bowcwr, perfectly intellit^- taries, vol. 11. c. 0.
 
 176 FEUDAL INCIDENTS : Chap. II. Part I. 
 
 of families. Such were the jus protimeseos in the books of 
 the tiefs/ and retrait lignager of the French law, which gave 
 to the relations of the vendor a preemption upon the sale 
 of any fief, and a right of subsequent redemption. Such 
 was the positive prohiljition of alienating a fief held by de- 
 scent from the father (feudum paternum), without the consent 
 of the kindred on that line.^ Such, too, were the still more 
 rigorous fetters imposed by the English statute of entails, 
 which precluded all lawful alienation, till, after two centuries, 
 it was overthrown by the fictitious process of a common 
 recovery. Though these partake in some measure of the 
 feudal spirit, and would form an important head in the legal 
 history of that system, it will be sufficient to allude to them 
 in a sketch which is confined to the development of its polit- 
 ical influence. 
 
 A custom very similar in effect to subinfeudation was 
 the tenure by frerage, which prevailed in many parts of 
 France. Primogeniture, in that extreme which our com- 
 mon law has established, was unknown, I believe, in every 
 country upon the Continent. The customs of France found 
 means to preserve the dignity of families, and the indivisi- 
 bility of a feudal homage, without exposing the younger sons 
 of a gentleman to absolute beggary or dependence. Baronies, 
 indeed, were not divided ; but the eldest son was bound to 
 make a provision in money, by way of appanage, for the 
 other children, in proportion to his circumstances and then' 
 birth.^ As to inferior fiefs, in many places an equal partition 
 was made ; in others, the eldest took the chief portion, gen- 
 erally two thirds, and received the homage of his brothers 
 for the remaining part, which they divided. To the lord of 
 whom the fief was held, himself did homage for the whole.* 
 In the early times of the feudal policy, when military sei'- 
 vice was the great object of the relation between lord and 
 
 1 Lib. Feud. 1. v. t. 13. There were puisne, et si doit les filles marier. Eta- 
 analogics to this jus -porLfiTfaeuc in blissem. de St. Louis, c. 24. 
 
 the Roman law, and, still more closely, ^ This was also the law of Flanders 
 
 in the constitutions of the latter By- and Hainault. Martenne, Thesaurus 
 
 zantine emperors. Anecdotor, t. i. p.l092. The customs as 
 
 2 Alieuatio feuiii paterni non valet to succession were exceediny;ly various, 
 etiam domini voluntate, nisi agnatis con- as indeed they continued to be until the 
 sentientibus. Lib. Feud, apud Wright ^ate generalization of French law. Re- 
 on Tenures, p. 108, 156. f^"eil des Histor. t. h. preface, p. 108 ; 
 
 3 Du Cange, v. Apanamentum, Baro. Hi*'- ^le Languedoc, t. ii p. Ill, 511. 
 Baronie ne depart mie entre freres se 1° 'he former work it is said that primo- 
 leur pere ne leur a fait partie; mes li geniture was introduced by the Nor- 
 ainsuez doit faire aveuant bienfet au mans from Scandinavia.
 
 Fecd-vl System. ESCHEATS— AIDS. 177 
 
 vassal, this, like till other subinfeudation, was rather advan- 
 tageous to the former ; for when the homage of a tief was 
 divided, the service was diminished in proportion. Suppose, 
 for example, the oblig-ation of military attendance for an entire 
 manor to liave been forty days ; if that came to be eijuiUly 
 split among two, each would owe but a service of twenty. 
 But if, instead of being homagers to the same suzerain, one 
 tenant held inunediately of the other, as every feudatary 
 m^ight summon the aid of his o\ni vassals, the superior lord 
 would, in fact, obtain the service of both. Whatever opposi- 
 tion, therefore, was made to the rights of subinfeudation or 
 frerage, would indicate a decay in tlie military character, the 
 living principle of feudal tenure. Accordingly, in the reign 
 of Philip Augustus, when the fabric was beginning to shake, 
 we find a confederate agreement of some principal nobles 
 sanctioned by the king, to abrogate the mesne tenure of 
 younger brothers, and establish an immediate dependence of 
 each upon the superior lord.^ Tiiis, however, was not uni- 
 versally adopted, and the original frerage subsisted to the last 
 in some of the customs of France.^ 
 
 3. As fiefs descended but to the posterity of the first taker, 
 or at the utmost to his kindred, they necessarily Escheats 
 became sometimes vacant for want of heirs ; es- ana 
 pecially where, as in England, there was no power '°'^^®''*- 
 
 of devising them by will. In this case it was obvious that 
 they ought to revert to the lord, from whose property they 
 had been derived. These reversions became more frequent 
 through the forfeitures occasioned by the vassal's delinquency, 
 either towards his superior lord or the state. Various cases 
 are laid down in the Assises de Jerusalem, where the vassal 
 fiirfeits his land for a year, for his life, or forever.' But 
 under rapacious kings, such as the Norman line in England, 
 absolute forteitures came to prevail, and a new doctrine was 
 introduced, the corruption of Idood, by which the heir was 
 effectnallv excluded from deducing his title at any distant 
 time tbivnigh an attainted ancestor. 
 
 4. Itdiefs, fines upon alienation, and escheats, seem to be 
 natural reservations in th<' lord's l)ounty to hi> vas- 
 
 pal. lie hail riglits of another class whicii j)rinci- 
 
 pally arose out of fealty and intimate attacliment. Siicli were 
 
 • Oploiitinnrcd (IfN IlniH, t. i. p. 2tt. 
 
 * 1)11 CiiiiKi-, UifBvrt. III. sur .loiiivillc : Ilciiuumn. c. 4". 
 
 VOL. I. 12
 
 178 FEUDAL INCIDENTS. Chap. II. Part I. 
 
 the aids which he was entitled to call for in certain prescribed 
 circumstances. These depended a great deal upon local cus- 
 tom, and were often extorted unreasonably. Du Cange men- 
 tions several as having existed in France ; such as an aid for 
 the lord's expedition to the Holy Land, for marrying his sister 
 or eldest son, and for paying a relief to his suzerain on taking 
 possession of his land.^ Of these, the last appears to have 
 been the most usual in England. But this, and other aids 
 occasionally exacted by the lords, were felt as a severe 
 grievance ; and by Magna Charta three only are retained ; 
 to make the lord's eldest son a knight, to marry his eldest 
 daughter, and to redeem his person from prison. They were 
 restricted to nearly the same description by a law of William 
 I. of Sicily, and by the customs of France.^ These feudal 
 aids are deserving of our attention, as the beginnings of tax- 
 ation, of which for a long time they in a great measure 
 answered the purpose, till the craving necessities and covetous 
 policy of kings substituted for them more durable and onerous 
 burdens. 
 
 I might here, perhaps, close the enumeration of feudal 
 incidents, but that the two remaining, wardship and marriage, 
 though only partial customs, were those of our own country, 
 and tend to illustrate the rapacious character of a feudal aris- 
 tocracy. 
 
 5. In England, and in Normandy, which either led the 
 . way to, or adopted, all these English institutions, 
 the lord had the wardship of his tenant during 
 minority.^ By virtue of this right he had both the care of his 
 person and received to his own use the profits of the estate. 
 There is something in this custom very conformable to the 
 feudal spirit, since none was so fit as the lord to train up his 
 vassal to arms, and none could put in so good a claim to enjoy 
 the fief, while the military service for which it had been 
 granted was suspended. This privilege of guardianship seems 
 to have been enjoyed by the lord in some parts of Germany ; * 
 but in the law of France the custody of the land was intrusted 
 to the next heir, and that of the person, as in socage tenures 
 among us, to the nearest kindred of that blood which could 
 
 1 Du Cange, voc. Auxilium. 162; Argou, Inst, au Droit Francois, 1. i. 
 
 2 Giannone, 1. xii. c. 5; Velly, t. vi. p. c. 6; Ilouard, Anciennes Loix des Fran- 
 200 ; Ordonnances des Rois, t. i. p. 138, t. ^ois, t. i. p. 147. 
 
 xvi. preface. ■* Schilter, Institutiones Juris Feudalis, 
 
 8 Becueil des Historiens, t. si. pref. p. p. 85.
 
 Feudal System. WARDSHIP — MAIMUAC.E. 
 
 179 
 
 not inherit.^ By a gi-o?s abuse of this custom in England, the 
 right of guardianship in ohivah-v, or tenijiorary j)Osses8ion (if 
 tht-' hinds, w;ls assigned over to strangers. Tliis was one of 
 the most vexatious parts of our feudal tenures, and was never, 
 perhaps, more sorely felt than in their last stage under the 
 Tudor and Stuart tamilies. 
 
 G. Another right given to the lord by the Norman and 
 English laws, was that of marriage, or of tendering y^^^.^^ ^ 
 a Imsliand to his female wards while under age, 
 whom they could not reject without forfeiting the value of the 
 marriage ; that is, as much as any one would give to the 
 iruardian for such an alliance. This was afterwards extendi d 
 to male wards, and liecaine a very lucrative source ot extor- 
 tion to the crown, as well as to mesne lords. This custom 
 seems to have had the same extent as that of wards]ii[)s. It 
 is found in the ancient books of Germany, but not of France.- 
 The kings, however, and even inferior lords, of that country, 
 required their consent to be solicited for the marriage of their 
 vassals' daughters. Several proofs of this occur in the history 
 as Well as in the laws of Fi-ance ; and the same prerogative 
 existed in Germany, Sicily, and England.* A still more 
 
 1 Du Cange, t. Custodia ; Assises de 
 Jiriisjilem, o. 178; Etablisseuietis de St. 
 Loiii-". c. IT : Beaiim.'inoir, c. 15 ; Arcou, 
 1. i. 0. 6. The second of tliese uses nearly 
 the sjinie expression as Sir .John Kortescue 
 in acoouiitini: for the exclusion of the 
 next lieir from guardlinsliip of the per- 
 imn : that niauvaise convoitise li iairoit 
 &in- la garde du loup. 
 
 I know not any mistake more usual in 
 English writers who have tn«tecl of the 
 feii'lal law than tliiit of supposinj; that 
 guardianship in chivalry was an univer- 
 8al custom. A charter of 1198. in Kymer, 
 t. i. p. 10.5, seems indeed to imply that 
 the incident" of garde noble and of mar- 
 riiige existed in the Isle of Oleron. Hut 
 Eleanor, by a later instriinieiit. gnint^i 
 that the infiabitants of that island should 
 have the wardship and marriage of their 
 heirs without any interimsitioti, ami ex- 
 I>n'««ly abrogates all the evil customs 
 that her husband had iiitroilurtil : p. 112. 
 From hence I should infer that Henry II. 
 bad end«ivore<l ti> imiKWe these feuilal 
 bunleim (which |«rhaps wen' then new 
 even in Engbindi upon his continental 
 dominions. Iladulphus de Diceto tells us 
 of a claim maili- by him to the warlship 
 of Cliateauroiix in Herry. whii'h could 
 not legally luiTc hi-vn subject to rhat 
 cuittom. Twyikloa, X Scriptoreit, p. 6W. 
 
 And he set up pretensions to tlie custody 
 of the duchy of Britauy after the death 
 of his son Oeoffrey. Tliis might perhaps 
 be justified by the law of Normandy, on 
 which Britany depended. Hut I'hilip 
 Augustus ma<le a similar claim. In fact, 
 these political assertions of right, prompt- 
 ed by ambition and supjiorted by force, 
 are ijyd precedents to establish rules of 
 jurisprudence. Both I'hilip and Henry 
 were abundantly dispo.«ed to realize so 
 convenient a )jrerogative as thtit of guar- 
 dianship in chivalry over the fiefc of their 
 vassals. Lyttleton's Uenry II. vol. iii. p. 
 441. 
 
 • Schilter. ubi supri. Du Cange, voc. 
 Disparagare, seems to admit this feudal 
 right in Knince ; but the pas.sages he 
 quotes do not sup|>ort it. See al.so the 
 wore! Maritagium. (M. (iui/ot has how- 
 ever observed (Hist, de la Civilisation en 
 France, Ix\oii 3!t) that the feudal inci- 
 dents of guardianship in chivalry by 
 marriage were more fn'iiuent than I seem 
 U> suppose. The customary law was so 
 variable, that it is ilangcrous to rely on 
 particular instJinces, or to found a gen- 
 eral negative on their absence. 1S4K.J 
 
 3 Ordonnances des Hois, t. i. p. LV) ; 
 Assises de .brus. c. 1H(I, Hn<l Thau- 
 massiere's n<ite; Du Cange, ubi suprAj 
 GUinvU, 1. vii. c. VI: Olanmme, I. .xl. c
 
 180 FEUDAL INCIDENTS. Chap. II. Part I. 
 
 remarkable law prevailed in the kingdom of Jerusalem. The 
 lord might summon any female vassal to accept one of three 
 whom lie should propose as her husband. No other condition 
 seems to have been imposed on him in selecting these suitors 
 than that they should be of equal rank with herself. Neither 
 the maiden's coyness nor the widow's aiSiction, neither aver- 
 sion to the proffered candidates nor love to one more favored, 
 seem to have passed as legitimate excuses. One, only one 
 plea, could come from the lady's mouth who was resolute to 
 hold her land in single blessedness. It was, that she was past 
 sixty years of age ; and after this unwelcome confession it is 
 justly argued by the author of the law-book which I quote, 
 that tlie lord could not decently press her into matrimony.-' 
 However outrageous such an usage may appear to our ideas, 
 it is to be recollected that the peculiar circumstances of that 
 little state rendered it indispensable to possess in every fief a 
 proper vassal to fulfil the duties of war. 
 
 These feudal servitudes distinguish the maturity of the 
 system. No trace of them appears in the capitulai-ies of 
 Charlemagne and his fixmily, nor in the instruments by which 
 benefices were granted. I believe that they did not make 
 part of the regular feudal law before the eleventh, or, per- 
 haps, the twelfth century, though doubtless ^lartial usages 
 of this kind had grown up antecedently to either of those 
 periods. If I am not mistaken, no allusion occurs to the 
 lucrative rights of seigniory in the Assises de Jerusalem, 
 which are a monument of French usaijes in the eleventh 
 century. Indeed, that very general commutation of alodial 
 property into tenure which took place between the middle of 
 the ninth and eleventh centuries would hardly have been 
 effected if fiefs had then been liable to such burdens and 
 so much extortion. In half-barbarous ao-es the strong are 
 constantly encroaching upon the weak ; a truth which, if it 
 needed illustration, might find it in the progress of the feudal 
 system. 
 
 We have thus far confined our inquiry to fiefs holden on 
 terms of military service ; since those are the most ancient 
 
 5 ; Wright on Tenures, p. 94. St. Louis lord not to marry her without his con- 
 in return declared that he would not sent. Etablissemens de St. Louis, c. 63. 
 marry his own daughter without the i Ass. de .Jerus. c. 224. I must observe 
 consent of his barons. Joinville, t. ii. p. that Lauriere says this usage prevailed 
 140. Henry I. of England had promised en plusieurs lieux, though he quotes no 
 the same. The guardian of a female authority. — Ordounances des Rois, p. 
 minor was obliged to give security to her 155.
 
 Fkl-dal System. PROPER AXO IMPROPER FEUDS. 181 
 
 ami roLHilar. as well a- tlio mo.«t consonant to the y,^^^^^^_^, ,^^^j 
 jipirit ottlie .-ivsteiu. Tlit-y alone were calk'il projxT impmiKr 
 feuds, and all were presumed to be of this descrip- 
 tion until the contrary was i)roved by the charter of investi- 
 ture. A proper feutl was bestowed without price, without 
 fixed stijiulation, upon a vassal capable of servinjr personally 
 in the tielil. But •rradually, with the help of a little legal in- 
 freiniity, inipi'oper tiefs of the most various kinds were intnj- 
 duced, retaininir little of the characteristics, and less of the 
 spirit, which distinguished the original tenures. AVomen, if 
 indeed that were an iiniovation. were admitted to inli<'rit 
 them ; ^ they were granted for a j)rice, and without reference 
 to military service. Tlie language of the feudal law was 
 applied by a kind of metaphor to almost every transfer of 
 property. Hence pensions of money and allowances of pro- 
 visions, however remote from right notions of a lief were 
 sometimes granted under that name ; and even where land 
 was the subject of the donation, its conditions were often 
 lucrative, often honorary, and sometimes ludicrous.'^ 
 
 There is one extensive species of feudal tenure which may 
 be distinctly noticed. The prid(^ of wealth in the y;^f^ ^f 
 midiUe ages was principally exhibited in a multi- office. 
 tude of dependents. Th«; court of Charlemagne was crowded 
 with officers of every rank, some of the most eminent of 
 wiiom exercised functions about the royal person which would 
 have been thought tit only lor slaves in the palace of Augus- 
 tus or Antonine. The freeborn Franks saw nothing menial 
 in the titles of cup-bearer, steward, marshal, and master of 
 the horse, which are still Itorne l)y the noblest families in 
 many parts of Europe, and. till lately, by sovereign ])rinces 
 in the empire.' From the court of the king this favorite 
 piece of magnificence descended to those of the prelates and 
 
 1 Women ili'l not inliorit fic-fH In the the king stipulates to pay annually 4iHt 
 
 (iennan enipiro. Whether they were marks of silver, in ffoito, for the niili-. 
 
 ever exoluileil from suececsion in France Uiry service of his ally. Rynier, Foede- 
 
 1 know not: the genius of ii militiiry ra, t. i. p. 2. 
 
 tenure, nnil the o|.| Teutonic cust^inis, •■< The count of Anjou. umler I.oui'' VI., 
 
 pn-iwrre*! In the Salic law, sei-ni ailverse claimed the office of (treat Si^neschal of 
 
 to their II tpf feudal land*: yet France; that is, to carry dishes ti> the 
 
 the pm i«t friini the elevenlh king's tat)le on stjite days. (Si.sniondi, 
 
 eentur.N iMmnM.nla, doeil not support v. \'.i.').) Thus the feudal nnlions of 
 
 tiie theorv. grand serjeanty prepared thi' way for tlio 
 
 sCnig.'.lus Keu.lftle. 1. 1. tit. 10; Du restonition of royiil supremacy, as the 
 
 Cange, voc. Keudum Ar I'luneri, kr. In niilitary t^'tiun-s had impairol it. The 
 
 the tn-aty U-tween Heiirv I. of Kugland wnuml ami thi' remecly came from the 
 
 aiid iUjtjcrt count of Klandem, A.D. 1101, same Uincc. If the fuudjil system wan
 
 182 FIEFS OF OFFICE. Chap. II. Part I. 
 
 barons, wlio siuTounded themselves with household officers 
 called miuisterials ; a name equally applied to those of a ser- 
 vile and of a liberal description.'- The latter of these were re- 
 warded with grants of lands, which they held under a feudal 
 tenure by the condition of performing some domestic service 
 to the lord. What was called in our law grand serjeanty 
 afibrds an instance of this species of fief.^ It is, however, an 
 instance of the noblest kind ; but Muratori has given abun- 
 dance of proofs that the commonest mechanical arts were car- 
 ried on in the houses of the great by persons receiving lands 
 upon those conditions.^ 
 
 These imperfect feuds, however, belong more properly to 
 the history of law, and are chiefly noticed in the present 
 sketch because they attest the partiality manifested during 
 the middle ages to the name and form of a feudal tenure. 
 In the regular military fief we see the real principle of the 
 system, which might originally have been defined an alliance 
 of free landholders arranged in degrees of subordination, 
 according to their respective capacities of affordmg mutual 
 support. 
 
 The peculiar and varied attributes of feudal tenures natu- 
 Feudai law- rally gave rise to a new jurisprudence, regulating 
 iDooks. territorial I'ights in those parts of Europe which 
 
 had adopted the system. For a length of time this rested in 
 traditionary customs, observed in the domains of each prince 
 or lord, Avithout much resrard to those of liis neighbors. 
 Laws were made occasionally by the emperor in Gemiany 
 and Italy, which tended to fix the usages of those countries. 
 About the year 1170, Girard and Obertus, two Milanese 
 lawyers, published two books of the law of fiefs, which ob- 
 tained a great authority, and have been regarded as the 
 groundwork of that jurisprudence.'* A number of subse- 
 quent commentators swelled this code with their glosses and 
 
 .incompatible with despotism, and even, proper person to tlie king, as to carry 
 
 while in its full Tigor, with legitimate the banner of the king, or his lance, or 
 
 authority, it kept alive the sense of a to lead his array, or to be his marshal, 
 
 supreme chief, of a superiority of rank, or to carry his sword before him at his 
 
 of a certJ^in subjection to an hereditary coronation, or to be his sewer at his cor- 
 
 sovereign, not yet testified by unlimited onation, or his carver, or his butler, or 
 
 obedience, but by homage and loyalty. to be one of his chamberlains at the re- 
 
 1 Schmidt, Hist, des AUeinands, t. iii. ceipt of his exchequer, or to do other 
 p. 92; Du Cange, v. Familia, Ministeriales. like services." Sect. 153. 
 
 2 •' This tenure,"' says Littleton, "is 3 Autiq. Ital. Dissert. 11, ad finem. 
 where a man holds his lands or tene- * (Jiannone, 1st. di Napoh, 1. xiii. c. 3. 
 ments of our sovereign lord the king by The Libri Feudorum are printed in most 
 such services as he ought to do in his editions of the Corpus Juris Civllis.
 
 Feudal System. FEUDAL LAW-BOOKS. 183 
 
 Opinion.*, to enlighten or ob.^ciire the judnmcnt of the imperial 
 tribuniils. These were ehiefiy civilians or canonists, who 
 brought to the interpretation of old barbaric customs the 
 principles of a very different school. Hence a manifest 
 change wivs wrought in the law of feudal tenure, which they 
 as>iuiilaled to the usufruct or the emphyteusis of the Roman 
 code ; modes of property somewhat analogous in appearance, 
 but totally di>tinct in jirinciple, from the legitimate fief. 
 These Lombard lawyers i)ropagated a doctrine which has 
 been too readily received, that the feudal system originated 
 in their country ; and some writers upon jurisprudence, such 
 as Duck and Sir .lames Craig, incline to give a preponder- 
 ating authority to tlieir code. But whatever weight it may 
 have possessed within the limits of the empire, a different 
 guide must be followed in the ancient customs of France and 
 Enghuiil.^ Tlie.-<e were fresli from tlic fountain of that curi- 
 ous polity with which the stream of Roman law had never 
 miufrled its waters. In Enjrland we know that the Norman 
 system established between the Con(iuest and the reign of 
 Henry II. was restrained by regular legislation, by paramount 
 courts of justice, and by learned writings, from breaking into 
 discordant local usages, except in a comj)aratively small num- 
 ber of places, and has become the i)rincii)al source of our 
 common law. But the independence of the French nobles 
 prodiiciMl a much greater variety of customs. The whole 
 number collected and reduced to certainty in the sixteenth 
 century, amounted to two hundred and eighty-five, or, omit- 
 ting tliose inconsiderable for extent or peculiarity, to sixty. 
 Tiie earliest written customary in France is that of Beam, 
 which is said to have been contirmed by Viscount Gaston IV. 
 in 1088.* iNIany others were written in the two subsequent 
 ages, of which the customs of Beauvoi.sis, compiled 1>y Beau- 
 
 1 ftiannone explicitly cnntrasta the lislipd with a fresh title-pnpre and por- 
 
 Fn-nch anJ I^oinlmrJ lawn redppotini? niispion of Henry IV. in 1602 ; the otlitT 
 
 fli-fii. The lntt<T wjid the foundation of at l^srar.><, in 1(^33. The.^^e laws, w* wu 
 
 the I.iliri Feudornni. and fonned the rend them, are subsequent to a revision 
 
 common law of Italy. The former wa."! made in the middle of the sixteenth ccn- 
 
 intrfxluro<l by Kofjer (iuismrd into his tury in which they were more or \cnif 
 
 dominions. In thre<' boolct of constitu- corrected. The hauls, however, is un- 
 
 tiona, print*-"! in l.indebro({"» collection, quostioiiably very ancient. We evi'U 
 
 There wern wvernl mnterial differences, find the composition for homicide pn-- 
 
 which <iiiinnone enumeniti-s, es|M'eially served in tliciu, so that nmrdiT was not 
 
 the Norman custom of primo|;euiture. a capital offence in Iteiirn. though rob- 
 
 liit. di -N'ap. I. xl. c. 5. ),cry was such. — Kuljricii ile llondcidis, 
 
 ' There are two edlllonn of thin curlouB Art. xxxi. See too Hubrica de I'u'uls, 
 
 old code; one at I'au, in 1562, ropub- Art. i. and il.
 
 184 FEUDAL LAW-BOOKS. Chap. H. Part I. 
 
 manoir under Philip III., are the most celebrated, and con- 
 tain a mass of intbrmation on the feudal constitution and 
 manners. Under Charles VII. an ordinance was made for 
 the formation of a general code of customary law, by ascer- 
 taining forever in a written collection those of each district ; 
 but the work was not completed till the reign of Charles IX. 
 This was what may be called the common law of the pays 
 coutumiers, or northern division of France, and the rule of 
 all their tribunals, unless where controlled by royal edicts.
 
 Feudal System. ANALYSIS OF FEUDAL SYSTEM. 185 
 
 TART II. 
 
 Analy-sis of the Fi-mlal System — Its local Extent — Viow of tlio ilifFerent Orders of 
 :^<x•iety diirinff the Veiuial A^es — Noliility — their Kaiiks ami Privileges — 
 Clergy — Kreeiiieu — Serfs or Villeins — Coui|iurative State of Fnince ami Uer- 
 mauy — Privileges enjoyed by the French Vassals — l{i>;ht of eoinini; Money — 
 and of private War — Immunity from Taxation — Historical View of the Uoyal 
 Revenue in France — Methods adopted to aujinient it by Depn^eiation of the 
 Coin, &c. — Ivi'jrislative Power — its State under the Merovin^rian Kings, and 
 Charlemagne — His Councils — Suspension of any genenil Legislative Authority 
 during the Prevalence of Feudal Principles — the King's Council — Means 
 ailopted to supply the Want of a National Assembly — Omdual Progress of the 
 King's Lt-gislative Power — Philip IV. assembles the Stjifes-Oeuenil — Their 
 Powers limited to Taxation — St;ites under the Sons of Philip IV. — States of 
 13oo and 135*) — They nearly effect an entire Kevolutiou — The Crown recovers 
 its Vigor — States of 138l>, under Charles VI. — Subseiiuent Assemblies under 
 Charles VI. and Charles VII. — Tiie Crown becomes more and move absolute — 
 Louis XI. — States of Tours in 1484 — Historical View of Jurisdiction in Fmnce 
 
 — Its earliest StJige under the first Kacc of Kings, and Charlemagne — Territorial 
 Jurisdictiou— Feudal Courts of .lustice — Trial by Combat — Code of St. l,ouis 
 
 — The Territorial .lurisdictions give way — Progress of the .Judicial Power of 
 the Crown — Parliament of Paris — Peers of France — Increased Authority of 
 the Parliament — Kegistration of Etlict« — Causes of the Decline of the Feudal 
 System — Acquisitions of Domain by the Crown — Charters of Incorporation 
 (granted to Towns — Their previous Condition — First Charters in the Twelfth 
 Century — Privileges contiiined in them — Military Service of Feudal Tenants 
 commuted for Jloney — lliifd Troops — Change in the Military System of Europe 
 
 — Ueueral View of the Advantages and Disiidvautages attending the Feudal 
 System. 
 
 The advocates of a Roman orif2;in for most of the institu- 
 tions which we find in the kingdoms erected on tlie ruins of 
 the emitirc are naturally i)ronc to magnify the analogies to 
 feudal tenure which Iviine presents to us, and even to deduce 
 it either fi'om the ancient relation of patron and client, and 
 that of per.<onal commendation, which was its rejUH-sentative in 
 a later age, or from the trontier lands granted in the third 
 century to the Livti, or harharian soldiers, who held them, 
 douhtless, suliject to a condition of military service. The 
 usage of commnuldfion especiallv, so frequent in the fifth 
 ccntuiy, hcfort' the contjuest of Gaul, a,-; well as afterwards, 
 iloes certainly hr-ar a strong analogy to vassalage, and I have 
 already pointed it out as one of its sources. It wanted, how- 
 ever, that definite ndation to the tenure of huid whieh di.-<- 
 tingui.sheil the latter. The royal Antrustio (whether the 
 word coiiuiii'ikIoIiis were a{)|)lied to him or not) stood I)oiiiid 
 by gratituile and loyalty to his .sovereign, an<l in a very diller-
 
 186 ANALYSIS OF FEUDAL SYSTEM. Chap. II. Paet II 
 
 ent degree from a common subject ; but he was not perhaps 
 strictly a vassal till he had received a territorial benefice.-'- 
 The complexity of subinfeudation could have no analogy in 
 commendation. The grants to veterans and to the Lteti are 
 so far only analogous to fiefs, that they established the jDrin- 
 ciple of holding lands on a condition of military service. But 
 this service was no more than what, both under Charlemagne 
 and in England, if not in other times and places, the alodial 
 freeholder was bound to render for the defence of the realm ; 
 it was more commonly required, because the lands were on a 
 barbarian frontier ; but the duty was not even veii'y analo- 
 gous to that of a feudal tenant.^ The essence of a fief seems 
 to be, that its tenant owed fealty to a lord, and not to the state 
 or the sovereign ; the lord might be the latter, but it was not, 
 feudally speaking, as a sovereign that he was obeyed. This 
 is, therefore, sufficient to warrant us in tracing the real theory 
 of feuds no higher than the Merovingian history in France ; 
 their full establishment, as has been seen, is considerably 
 later. But the preparatory steps in the constitutions of the 
 declining empire are of considerable importance, not merely 
 as analogies, but as predisposing circumstances, and even 
 germs to be subsequently developed. The beneficiary tenure 
 of lands could not well be brought by the conquerors from 
 Germany ; but the donatives of arms or precious metals 
 bestowed by the chiefs on their followers were also analogous 
 to fiefs ; and, as the Roman institutions were one source of 
 the law of tenure, so these were another. 
 
 It is of great importance to be on our guard against seeming 
 analogies which vanish away when they are closely observed. 
 We should speak inaccurately if we were to use the word 
 feudal for the service of the Irish or Highland clans to their 
 chieftain ; their tie was that of imagined kindred and respect 
 for birth, not the spontaneous compact of vassalage. Much 
 less can we extend the name of feud, though it is sometimes 
 
 1 This word "vassal" is used very conseqniha.vA\i.v, -at deUctibxts quoqite ob- 
 indefiuitely ; it means, in its original noxii essent et legionibus insererentur. 
 sense, only a servant or dependant. But (Not. ad Cod. Theod. 1. vii. tit. 20, c. 12.) 
 in the continental records of histories Sir Francis Palgrave, however, says, — 
 -we commonly find it applied to feudal " The duty of hearing arms was insepara- 
 tenants. bly connected with the property." (Eng- 
 
 2 If Gothofred is right in his construe- hsh Commonwealth, i. 354.) This is too 
 tionof the tenure of these Lati, tliey were equivocal ; but he certainly means more 
 not even generally liable to this part of than Gothofred ; he suppose's a permanent 
 our trinoda necessita.s, but only to con- universal obhgation to render service in 
 scription for tlie legions. Et ea tamcu aU public warfare. 
 
 conditione terras ilUs excolendas La!ti
 
 pErDAL System. 
 
 ITS EXTENT. 
 
 187 
 
 straiifrelv misapplied, to the polity of Poland and Russia. 
 All the P(tli<h nobles were equal in rights, and independent 
 of eaeh other ; all who were less than nohle were in servitude. 
 No frovernnient ean be more opjiosite to the long gradations 
 and mutual duties of the feudal system.^ 
 
 The regular maohhiery and systematic establishment of 
 feuds, in fact, may be considered as almost confined j,^^,.,,^ ,,,. 
 to the dominions of Charlemagne, and to those tiie feudal 
 countries which afterwards derived it from thene£. *' "*' 
 In England it can hardly be thought to have existed in a 
 complete state before thi- Ci>n(piest. Scotland, it is supposed, 
 borrowed it soon atK>r from lu-r neighbor. The Lonil)ards of 
 Benevento had introduced feudal customs into the Neapolitan 
 j)r(>vinees, whieh the Norman conquerors afterwards ])erfected. 
 Feudal tenures were so general in the kingdom of Aragon, 
 that I reckon it among the monarchies which were founded 
 upon that basis.* Charlemagne's empire, it must be remem- 
 bered, extended as far as the Ebro. But in Castile^ and 
 Portugal they were very rare, and certainly could produce no 
 
 1 Tn civil history many instance? mif^ht 
 bo fount of ffudiil con>moiiies in couiitrii'S 
 not rc;:uliitnl l>y tlip feu. bit law. Thus 
 SelJfU has iiuhlished an infeuJatioii of a 
 vayvu.l of Moldavia Ijy the kiiij; of Poland, 
 A.r>. 14^."), in the regular forms, vol. iii. p. 
 514. But the.se political fiefs have hardly 
 any connection with the (general system, 
 and merely denote the sulionlination of 
 one prince or people to anotlier. 
 
 2 It is proliahle that feudal tenure WOB 
 ai> ancient in the north of Spain as in the 
 conti(.'Uous )iroviiices of Kniiice. Hut it 
 Beems to liave chietiy prevailed in Anij;on 
 about the twelfth (iiid thirteenth centu- 
 rii-«, when the Moors south of the Kbro 
 Wert- sutidued Vjy the enter)>ris<- of ))rivato 
 nobles, who, after conquering cstat<'S for 
 them.selves. clid honuiRe for them to the 
 kinc. .lames I., upon tlie reilurtion of 
 Valeijcia, )fnint<-d lands by way of fief, ou 
 con^lilion of defending that kiiindom 
 apiin^t the .Mo<)rs. and n'sidinj; person- 
 ally upon the itttate. Many did not per- 
 fonii this enpi^emeiit. and were deprived 
 of the lands in eonM-queiie*'. It upp»irM 
 by ttie testiment of this monarch that 
 feuitil ti-nurei subsisted in every part of 
 his doiiiiidoiis. — Martenne. Thesaurus 
 Ani-<'dotorum. I. i p. 1141.11'i5. Ani'iliit 
 of I'eter II. ill 1'21<I pnihil'its the aliena- 
 tion of rviphijt'usfi without the lord's 
 cnniwnt. It is hard t'>s«y whether pe^ular 
 flefs are meant tiy thl« word. — l)e .Mareu, 
 Murea Uispanica, p. ISMi. Thin author 
 
 says that there were no arriere-flefs in 
 Catalonia. 
 
 The Anigonesc flefs appear, however, to 
 have differed from those of other countries 
 in some respects. Zurita mentions fiefs 
 accoriiing to the ctntoin of Itnhi. which he 
 e.xplains to be such as were lial)lo to the 
 usual feudal aids for marrying the lord's 
 daughter, and other occasions. We may 
 infer, therefore, that these prestation.s 
 were not customary in Aragon. — Anales 
 de Anigon, t. ii. p. fQ. 
 
 •' Wliat is said of vassalage in .\lfonzo 
 X.'s code, Las siete partidas, is short and 
 obscure : nor am I certain tliat it meant 
 anything more than vohintnry rominen- 
 ilatinii. the custom mentioned in the 
 former part of this chapter, from which 
 the vas.sal might depart at pleasui-e. See, 
 however, I)u Caiige, v. Honor, where 
 authorities are given for the existence of 
 Castllian fiefs ; and I have met with 
 occasional mention of them in history. 
 1 believe that tenures of this kind were 
 introduced in the fourteenth and flfleeiitll 
 centuries ; but not to any great extent. 
 — Marhia, Teoria de las Cortes, t. iii. p. 14. 
 
 Tenuri's of a feuilal nature, as I collect 
 from Freirii lustitut. .hiris busitani. tniu. 
 ii. t. 1 and 3. i'xist<'d in Portugal, though 
 the jealousy of the crown prevented tho 
 Bystem from being estJiblislied. Them 
 wen' even territorial jurisillctioiis In that 
 kingdom, though not, at leiuit originally, 
 in CBBlUe.
 
 188 NOBILITY. Chap. II. Part II. 
 
 political effect. Benefices for life were sometimes granted in 
 the kingdoms of Denmark and Bohemia.-^ Neither of these, 
 however, nor Sweden, nor Hungaiy, come under the descrip- 
 tion of countries influenced by the feudal system.^ That 
 system, however, after all these limitations, was so extensively 
 diffused, that it might produce confusion as well as prolixity 
 to pursue collateral branches of its history in all the countries 
 where it prevailed. But this embarrassment may be avoided 
 without any loss, I trust, of important information. The 
 English constitution will find its place in another portion of 
 these volumes ; and the political condition of Italy, after the 
 eleventh century, was not much affected, except in the king- 
 dom of Naples, by the laws of feudal tenure. I shall confine 
 myself, therefore, chiefly to France and Germany ; and far 
 more to the former than the latter country. But it may be 
 expedient first to contemplate the state of society in its various 
 classes during the prevalence of feudal principles, before we 
 trace their influence upon the national government. 
 
 It has been laid down already as most probable that no 
 Classes of proper aristocracy, except that of wealth, was 
 Society. known under the early kings of France ; and it 
 Nobility. was hinted that hereditary benefices, or, in other 
 words, fiefs, might supply the link that was wanting between 
 personal privileges and those of descent. The possessors of 
 beneficiary estates were usually the richest and most con- 
 spicuous individuals in the estate. They were immediately 
 connected with the crown, and partakers in the exercise of 
 justice and royal counsels. Their sons now came to inherit 
 this eminence ; and, as fiefs were either inalienable, or at 
 least not very frequently alienated, rich families were kept 
 long in sight ; and, whether engaged in j^ublic affairs, or living 
 with magnificence and hospitality at home, naturally drew to 
 themselves popular estimation. The dukes and counts, who 
 had changed their quality of governors into that of lords over 
 
 1 Dani.-eregnipoliticus status. Elzevir, this does not in the least imply that 
 
 1629. Stransky, Respublica Bohemica, lands in Denmark proper were feudal, of 
 
 ib. lu one of the oldest Danish historians, which I find no evidence. 
 Sweno, I have noticed this expression : - Though there were no feudal tenures 
 
 Waldemarus, patris tunc potitus /eorfo. in Sweden, yet the nobility and others 
 
 Laugebek, Scrip. Iterum Danie. t. i. p. 62. were exempt from taxes on conilitiou of 
 
 By this he means the duchy of Sleswic, serving the king with a horse and arms 
 
 not a fief, but an lionor or government at their own expense ; and a distinction 
 
 possessed by Waldemar. Saxo Grammat- was taken between liber and tributarius. 
 
 icus call.s it, more classically, paternae But any one of the latter might become 
 
 prfefeetursB dignita.s. Sleswic was, in of the formerclass, or vice versa. — Sueciae 
 
 later times, sometimes held as a fief; but descriptio. EUevir, 1631, p. 92.
 
 Feidal System. XOBILITV. 189 
 
 the itrovinces iiitrusteil to tliom, wci-c at tlio head of this 
 noble chi>j. And in imitation ot" them, their own vassals, as 
 well as those of the crown, and even rich alodialists, assnrued 
 titles fmm their towns or castles, and thus arose a numher of 
 petty counts, harons. and viscounts. This disiiuct class of 
 nobility became coextensive with the feudal tenures.^ For 
 the militiiry tenant, however poor, was subject to no tribute ; 
 no prestation, but service in flie Held ; he was the companion 
 of his lord in the sjK)rts and teasting of his castle, the peer of 
 his court ; he foujrht on horseback, he was clad in the coat of 
 mail, while the conunonalty. if sunnnoned at all to war. came 
 on foot, and with no armor of defence. As everything iu the 
 habits of society conspired with that prejudice which, in spite 
 of moral philo-ophers, will constantly raise the profession of 
 arms above all others, it w;v-; a natural consequence that a 
 new species of aristocracy, founded upon the mixed consider- 
 ations of birth, tenure, and occupation, sprung out of the 
 feudal system. Every possessor of a lief was a gentleman, 
 though he owned but a few acres of land, and furnishi-d his 
 slender contriI)ution towards the ecpiipment of a knight. In 
 the Libri Femlorum, indeed, those who were three degrees 
 remo\ ed from the emperor in order of tenancy are coiisiilered 
 as ignoble ; "^ but this is restrained to modern investitures ; and 
 in France, where subinfeudation was carried the farthest, no 
 such distinction has met my observation.* 
 
 There still, however, wanted something to ascertain gentili- 
 ty of blood where it was not marked by the actual tenure of 
 liuid. This was supplied In' two iiniovations devised in the 
 eleventh and twelfth centuries — the adoption of siu'names 
 and of armorial bearings. The first are commoidy referred 
 to the former age. when the nobilitv bej^an to add the names 
 of their estates to their own, or, having any way acquired a 
 distinctive ap|)ellation, transmitted it to their posterity.* As 
 
 > M. Ou^Ttird obH^rrca that in the = I,, ii. t. 10. 
 
 ChJirtulnry of CliurtrfU, exlii)>itiii^ tlio 3 Tlii' iiol>ilit_v of an fi/oiYia/ possession, 
 
 UHHin-K of the eleventh and be^inninK '" Fniiice, ilepenileit upon its rijrht to 
 
 of tlie twelfth renliirles, " \m nohlesse territorial jurisiUetion. Ileiioe tliei-o 
 
 »"v niontru roniplelement oonstituti'-e ; were frnnr-alniT niihlrx anii friiiir-iil' iix 
 
 c'ert i ilin-, p^ivill•;.^l■^• et heri-ditJiire. ratiirifrs ; the latter of which weiT siili- 
 
 Kll'- i«iit etn- divi-.-<- i-ii haute, nioyenne, ji-et to tlie jurisdirtimi nl' the iiei(.'hhor- 
 
 et biu-M-." Ily tin- llr-t he umlerstJinilN iu);lor(l. I^nisrau, Tniite di's .'»ei(;neuriis, 
 
 thoM- "ho helil lnniie<liat<-ly of thecrown ; p. T'i. I>eMisart. Dietionmiire dim Diiel- 
 
 the nil'ldle nohlllty wen' luediat^- vaxsalH, Hlons, art. Kraue-aleu. 
 
 hut hail ri({htn of juri)-lietinii, whieh the < .Mahilloii. Tniite ile Piploniatii|ue, 
 
 lower had not. ( I'roleKoMK'iieM k la 1. ii. e. 7. The auilinrs of the .Nnuveau 
 
 CartuUire Je l'linrtn-», p. »J.) Tniiti dc I)iploniatii{Ue, t. ii. p. Oy,
 
 190 
 
 NOBILITY. 
 
 Chap. II. Part. II. 
 
 to armorial bearings, there is no doubt that emblems some- 
 what similar have been immemorially used both in war and 
 peace. The shields of ancient warriors, and devices upon 
 coins or seals, bear no distant resemblance to modern blazon- 
 ry. But the general introduction of such bearings, as 
 hereditary distinctions, has been sometimes attributed to tour- 
 naments, wherein the champions were distinguished by fanci- 
 ful devices ; sometimes to the crusades, where a multitude of 
 all nations and lans^uages stood in need of some visible token 
 to denote the banners of their respective chiefs. In fact, the 
 peculiar symbols of heraldry point to both these sources, and 
 have been borrowed in part from each.-^ Hereditary arms 
 W'ere perhaps scarcely used by private families before the 
 beginning of the thirteenth century.^ From that time, how- 
 ever, they became very general, and have contributed to 
 elucidate that branch of history which regards the descent of 
 illustrious families. 
 
 trace the use of surnames in a few in- 
 stances even to the beginning of the 
 tenth century ; hut they did not become 
 general, according to tliem, till the thir- 
 teenth. 
 
 M. Guerard finds a few hereditary sur- 
 names in the eleventh century and many 
 that were personal. (Cartulaire de Char- 
 tres, p. 93.) The latter are not surnames 
 at ail, in our usual sense. A good many 
 may be found in Domesday, as that of 
 Burdet in Leicestershire, Malet in Suf- 
 folk, Corbet in Shropshire, Colville in 
 Yorkshire, besides those with de, which 
 of course is a local designation, l)ut be- 
 came hereditary. 
 
 1 Mem de I'Acad. des Inscriptions, t. 
 XX. p. 579. 
 
 2 I should he unwilling to make a 
 negative assertion peremptorily in a mat- 
 ter of mere antiquarian research ; but I 
 am not aware of any decisive evidence 
 that hereditary arms were borne in the 
 twelfth century, except by a very few 
 royal or almost royal famihe.s. Mabil- 
 lon, Traite de Diplomatique, 1. ii. c. 18. 
 Those of Geoffrey the Fair, count of 
 Anjou, who died in 1150, are extant on 
 his shield ; azure, four lions rampant or. 
 Hist. Litteraire de la France, t. ix. p. 
 165. If arms had been considered as 
 hereditary at that time, this should be 
 the beai-ing of England, which, as we all 
 know, differs considerably. Louis VII. 
 sprinkled his seal and coin \vith fleurs-de- 
 lys, a very ancient device, or rather orna- 
 ment, and the Siime as what are some- 
 times called bees. The golden ornaments 
 
 found in the tomb of Childeric I. at 
 Tournay, which may be seen in the 
 library of Paris, may pass either for 
 fleiirs-de-lys or bees. Charles V. reduced 
 the number to three, and thus fixed the 
 arms of France. Tlie counts of Tou- 
 louse used their cross in the twelfth age ; 
 but no other arms, Vaissette tells us, can 
 be traced in Languedoc so far back. T. 
 iii. p. 514. 
 
 Armorial hearings were in use among 
 the Saracens during the later crusades ; 
 as appears by a passage in Joinville, t. i. 
 p. 88 (Collect, des Memoires), and Du 
 Gauge's note upon it. Perhaps, however, 
 they may have been adopted in imitation 
 of the Franks, like the ceremonies of 
 knighthood. Villaiet ingeniously con- 
 jectures that the separation of cUfferent 
 branches of the same family by their 
 settlements in Palestine led to the use of 
 hereditary arms, in order to preserve the 
 connection. T. xi. p. 113. 
 
 M. Sismondi, I observe, seems to enter- 
 tain no doubt that the noble famihes of 
 Pisa, including that whose name he bears, 
 had their armorial distinctions in the 
 beginning of the twelfth century. Hist, 
 des Repub. Ital. t. i. p. 373. It is at 
 least probable that the heraldic devices 
 were as ancient in Italy as in any part of 
 Europe. And the authors of Nouveau 
 Traite de Diplomatique, t. iv. p. 388, in- 
 cline to refer hereditary arms even in 
 France to the beginning of the twelfth 
 century, though without producing any 
 evidence for this.
 
 Feudal System. ITS PRn'ILEGES. 101 
 
 When the privilcfros of birth hud thii^ been roiulcivd ca- 
 pable of legitimate i)roof, they were enluinoecl in a its privi- 
 gi-eat degree, and a line drawn between the high- •'^ses. 
 burn and ignuble classes, almost as broad as that which sepa- 
 rated liberty from servitutle. All ottices of trust and power 
 were conferred on the former ; those excepted which appei'- 
 tain to the legid profession. A plebeian could not possess a 
 tief ' Such at least Avas the original strictness : but as the 
 aristocratic principle grew weaker, an indulgence was ex- 
 tended to heirs, and afterwards to purchasers.- They were 
 even permitted to become noble by the acquisition, or at least 
 by its ix)-session lor three generations.* But notwithstanding 
 this ennobling quality of the land, wjiich seems rather of an 
 equivocal description, it became an established right of tlie 
 crown to take, every twenty years, and on every change of 
 the vassal, a fine, known by the name of franc-fief, from 
 plebeians in possession of land held by a noble tenure.* A 
 gentleman in France or Germany could not exercise any 
 trade without derogating, that is, losing the advantages of his 
 rank. A few exceptions were made, at least in the former 
 countrv, in favor of some liberal arts, and of foreign com- 
 merce.* But in nothing does the feudal liaughtiness of birth 
 more show itself than in the disgrace which attended unequal 
 marriajres. No children could iiilicrit a territorv held im- 
 mediately of the empire unless both their parents belonged to 
 the higher class of nobility. In France the offspring of a 
 gentleman by a plebeian mother were reputed noble for the 
 
 I We have no English word that con- Soe also profaoe to the samp volume, p. 
 
 Teys the full sense of rntiirier. How xii. Accordiiij; to Mably, the jpossessioQ 
 
 (jlorious i-i tliU ileficienoy in our [lolitiral of ii fief iliil not cp.iwe to confer nobility 
 
 Unguajre, and how dilTen'nt are the ideas (analo).mu8 to our barony by tenure) till 
 
 gU)gR«t«<l by rniiimniur .' Itnturier. ac- the Ordonnances iles Ulois in 1579. Ob- 
 
 cordin;; to Du C'liige, is derived from wrvations sur I'llist. de Fninee, 1. iii.c. 1, 
 
 rupturarius, & jR'asaut, ab ai^rum rum- note 6. Uut l<auriirt'. author of the pre- 
 
 pendo. Ciee above citod, refers to Houteiller, a 
 
 s The Establishment'! of St. Louis for- writer of the fourteenth century, to provo 
 
 bid this innovation, but Hoaumanoir that no one could become noble without 
 
 contetids that the prohibitii>ii di>es not the kingV authority. The contrailiclion 
 
 extend to de«ceiir i.r nKirriii;.i-. c. 4'^. The will not niurh perple.x us. when we re- 
 
 roturi'-r who urijuire'l a fief, if he ciml- Hect on the dispn^ition of l.iwyers to a.s- 
 
 lent^d any om-, fciujrlit with iimoblo eribe all preroj^itives to the crown, at 
 
 aniil: but in all other res|>eclH was the expense of territorial proprietors and 
 
 trvsiteil nt a mntlenian. Uiid. Vet a of ancient cuMtoiiiiiry law. 
 
 knight wan not obli^'ed t« ilo homa^ to < The rijjht. orl^riiially perhaps usurpa- 
 
 the mturiirr who UTaine hi* su|«frior by tion, called Inine tief, be^run under I'hilip 
 
 the ac<|UiKi(inn of a fief on which he de- thi- Fair. Ordonnances des Kois, t. i. p. 
 
 peniled. i'ar|wtiUer, Supplement, ad Uu 324; Ih-iiisart, art. Kninc-tief. 
 
 Ca ■' .'ium. 6 Hr.uanl. Diet, du I>r..it Nnniiand. 
 
 le .«t. I»uls, c. 143, Encyclopedic, art. Noblesne. Argou, 1. 
 
 au i .. u, ... 'J. . .uoancei doa llobi, t, I. U. c. 2.
 
 192 ZSrOBILITY. Chap. II. Part II. 
 
 purposes of inheritance and of exemptiou from tribute.^ But 
 they could not be received into any order of chivahy, thougli 
 capable of simple knighthood ; nor were they considered as 
 any better than a bastard class deeply tainted with the alloy of 
 their maternal extraction. Many instances occur where let- 
 ters of nobility have been granted to reinstate them in their 
 rank.^ For several purposes it was necessary to j^rove four, 
 eight, sixteen, or a greater number of quarters, that is, of 
 coats borne by paternal and maternal ancestors, and the same 
 practice still subsists in Germany.^ 
 
 It appears, therefore, that the original nobility of the Con- 
 tinent were what we may call self-created, and did not derive 
 their rank from any su^ concessions of their respective sov- 
 ereigns as have been necessary in subsequent ages. In Eng- 
 land the baronies by tenure might belong to the same class, if 
 the lands upon which they depended had not been granted by 
 the crown. But the kings of France, before the end of the 
 thirteenth century, began to assume a privilege of creating 
 nobles by their own authority, and without regard to the ten- 
 ure of land. Philip the Hardy, in 1271, was the first French 
 king who granted letters of nobility ; under the reigns of 
 Philip the Fair and his children they gradually became fre- 
 quent.^ This effected a change in the character of nobility, 
 and had as obvious a moral, as other events of the same age 
 had a political, influence in diminishing the power and inde- 
 pendence of the territorial aristocracy. The privileges orig- 
 inally connected with ancient lineage and extensive domains 
 became common to the low-born creatures of a court, and lost 
 consequently part of their title to respect. The lawyers, as 
 I have observed above, pretended that nobility could not 
 exist without a royal concession. They acquired themselves, 
 in return for their exaltation of prerogative, an official nobil- 
 ity by the exercise of magistracy. The institutions of chiv- 
 alry again gave rise to a vast increase of gentlemen, knight- 
 
 1 Nobility, to a certain degree, was gentility from the father, and of freedom 
 
 communicated through the mother aloue, from the mother. 
 
 not only by the custom of Cliampagne, 2 Beaumanoir, c. 45 ; Du Cange, Dis- 
 
 but in all parts of France; that is, the sert. 10, sur Joinville ; Carpentier too. 
 
 issue were '' gentilhommes du fait de leur Nobilitatio. 
 
 corps," and could possess fiefs ; but, says 3 [Note XII.] 
 
 Beaumanoir, " la gentilesse par laiiuelle * Velly, t. vi. p. 432 ; Du Cange and 
 
 on deviont chevalier doit veuir de par le Carpentier, voce Nobilitaire, &c. ; Bou- 
 
 pfere," c. 45. There was a proverbial lainvilliers. Hist, de I'Ancieu Gouverue- 
 
 maxim iu French law. rather emphatic meut de France, t. i. p. 317. 
 than decent, to express the derivation of
 
 Feudal System. 
 
 DIFFERENT ORDERS. 
 
 193 
 
 hood, on whomsoever conterred by the sovei'oijrn, being a 
 sufficient pa<?ix)rt to noble privik'ges. It was usual, perhaps, 
 to grant previous letters of nobility to a plebeian lor whom the 
 honor ot" knightliood was designed. 
 
 In this noble or gentle class there were several gradations. 
 All those in France who luld lands immediately depending 
 upon the crown, whatever titles tliey might bear, were com- 
 prised in the order ot" barons. These were origi- Diirereut 
 nally the peei-s of the king's court ; they possessed 'J[^'','i'jif''^ 
 the higher territorial jurisdiction, and had the right 
 of carrying their own banner into the lield.^ To these cor- 
 resitonded the Valvassores majores and Capitanei of the em- 
 pire. In a subordinate class were the vassals of this high 
 nobihty, who, u[>un the Continent, were usually termed Va- 
 vjvssors — an ai)pellation not unknown, though rare, in Eng- 
 land.'^ The Chatelains belonged to the order of Vavassors, 
 as thev held only arriere liet's ; but, having fortified houses, 
 from which they derived their name (a distinction very im- 
 portant in those times), and possessing ampler rights of terri- 
 torial justice, they rose above the level of their fellows in the 
 scale of tenure.* But after the personal noliility of chivalry 
 
 I Be.nimaiinir, c. S4 ; Da Cango, v. 
 Baro; Etablissemons do St. Louis. 1. i. 
 c. 24. 1. ii. c. .31). The vassjils nf infiTior 
 Jonbi were, liowever. calU'il, iiiiiim|KTly, 
 Baron.", botli in Franco and EutflanJ. 
 Kecueil lii-s llistoriens, t. xi. j). 3>Ji); 
 Mailox. Baronia .\n!;lica, p. V.iii. In 
 perfect strirtnes.'i. tlio.se only wlio.ie iin- 
 nie<liiit4? tenure of the crown wa.s older 
 than the accession of Hu(;h Capet were 
 barons of Kr;incc ; namely, Bourbon, 
 Coucy, and Beaujeu. or Beaujnlois. It 
 appears, however, by a rejpster in the 
 Tv'ign of I'liilip .Vutiustus, tliat fifty-nine 
 were reckonfl in that cluRS ; the feuda- 
 taricH of the Capelian fiefs, I'ariH and 
 Orleans Ix-inp; coiifonnde.l with the ori- 
 ginal vasjwls of the crown. Du Cungc, 
 ▼rx". Bam. 
 
 - I)u Caritre, v. Vavassor ; Velly t. vi. 
 p. UjI : Miulnx. Ban)nia .\n(;lica. p. 13.0. 
 There is. |M-rhaps, hanlly any won! nioro 
 loos4'ly us<-il tluiii Vavassor. Bracton 
 «ayii. Sunt etiani VBVa.si«)n;s. nia};nic dig- 
 niuitis riri. In Knmce anil lierniany 
 they are s<|inetliMes luinied with much 
 leiw honor, .le suts un chevalier n6 de 
 Ce»t |»art, de riivm^'urs it ilr Ijdisr unit. 
 ■ay* a romance. This is to l>e expliilned 
 by the (Hiverty Ui which the subjlrlniou 
 of flets r<-<luc<.<l Idle Kentlemen. 
 
 Chaucer coucluJr* tiiii pkturexque dc- 
 
 VOU. 1. 13 
 
 scription of the Franklin, in the prologue 
 to the Canterbury Tales, thus : — 
 
 '• Was never such a worthy vav.i-ssor." 
 This lias perplexed some of our com- 
 mentators, who. not knowing well what 
 Wiis meant by a fninklin or by a vavassor, 
 fancied the latter to be of much hij|;her 
 quality than the former. The poet, how- 
 ever, was strictly correct; his acquaint- 
 ance with French manners showcil liim 
 that the country squire, for his franklin 
 is no other, precisely corresponded to the 
 vavajisor in France. Those wh<i, havint; 
 been deceived, by comparatively modern 
 law-books, into a notion that the word 
 franklin denoted but a stout yeoman, iti 
 spite of the wealth and i-ank which 
 CliauciT a-ssigns to him, and believing 
 also, on the authority of the loose phrase 
 in liricton, tliat all vavassors were 
 " magnir dignititis viri," might well bo 
 puzzled at seeing the words employed lU 
 synonyms. See Todd"s Illusti-ation^ of 
 Qower and Chaucer for an instance. 
 
 ^ I)u Cange, v. Cast<.'llanus : ("orttumes 
 de I'oitou, tit. iii.; I,oiseau Traite des 
 Sfigiieuries, p. \W. Whoever liad a right 
 to ;i castle had la haute justice ; thi- be- 
 ing so in<'iilent to the castle, (hat it wan 
 trmsferred along with It. There might, 
 however, be .a Seigni-ur ha lit -just Icier be- 
 low the Chateluin ; and a ridiculuuM din-
 
 194 
 
 CLEEGY. 
 
 Chap. II. Part II. 
 
 Clergy. 
 
 became the object of pride, the Vavassors who obtained knight- 
 hood wei'e commonly styled bachelors ; those who had not re- 
 ceived that honor feU into the class of squires,-^ or damoiseaux. 
 It will be needless to dwell upon the condition of the infe- 
 rior clergy, whether secular or professed, as it 
 bears Httle upon the general scheme of polity. 
 The prelates, and abbots, however, it must be understood, 
 were coiBpletely feudal nobles. They swore fealty for their 
 lands to the king or other superior, received the homage 
 of their vassals, enjoyed the same immunities, exercised the 
 same jurisdiction, maintained the same authority, as the lay 
 lords among whom they dwelt. Military service does not 
 appear to have been reserved in the beneficiary grants made 
 to cathedrals and monasteries. But when other vassals of the 
 crown were called upon to repay the bounty of their sover- 
 eign by personal attendance in war, the ecclesiastical tenants 
 were supposed to fall within the scope of this feudal duty, 
 which men little less uneducated and violent than their com- 
 patriots were not reluctant to fulfil. Charlemagne exempted 
 or rather prohibited them from personal service by several 
 capitularies.^ The pi'actice, however, as every one who has 
 some knowlege of history will be aware, prevailed in succeed- 
 ing ages. Both in national and private warfare we find very 
 frequent mention of martial prelates.^ But, contrary as this 
 actual service might be to the civil as well as ecclesiastical 
 
 tinction was made as to the number of 
 posts by which their gallows might be 
 supported. A baroa's instrument of exe- 
 cution stood on four posts ; a chEitelain's 
 on three ; while the inferior lord who 
 happened to possess la haute justice was 
 forced to hang his subjects on a two- 
 legged machine. Coutumes de Poitou ; 
 Du Cange, v. Furca. 
 
 Lauriere quotes from an old manu- 
 script the following short scale of ranks : 
 Due est la premifere diguite, puis comtes, 
 puis viscomtes, et puis baron, et puis 
 chatelain, et puis vavasseur, et puis 
 citaen, et puis villain. Ordonnances des 
 Rois, t. i. p. 277. 
 
 1 The sons of knights, and gentlemen 
 not yet knighted, took the appellation of 
 squires in the twelfth century. Vaissette, 
 Hist, de Lang. t. ii. p. 513. That of Da- 
 moiseau came into use in the thirteenth. 
 Id. t. iii. p. 529. The latter was, I think, 
 more usual in France. Du Cange gives 
 little information as to the word squire, 
 fScutifer.) " Apud Anglos," he says, 
 '' penultima est nobUitatis descriptio, 
 
 inter Equitem et Generosum. Quod et 
 alibi in usu fuit." Squire was not used 
 as a title of distinction in England till 
 the reign of Edward III., and then but 
 sparingly. Though by Henry VI. "s time 
 it was grown more common, yet none 
 assumed it but the sons and heirs of 
 knights and some military men; except 
 officers in courts of jvistice, who, by pa- 
 tent or prescription, had obtained that 
 addition Spelman's Posthumous Works, 
 p. 234. 
 
 2 Mably, 1. 1. c. 5 ; Baluze, t. i. p. 410, 
 932, 987. Any bishop, priest, deacon, or 
 subdeaoon bearing arms was to be de- 
 graded and not even admitted to lay 
 communion. Id. p. 932. 
 
 3 One of the latest instances probably 
 of a fighting bishop is Jean Montaigu, 
 archbishop of Sens, who was killed at 
 Azincourt. Monstrelet says that he was 
 " non pas en estat pontifical, car an lieu 
 de mitre il portoit une bacinet, pour dal- 
 matique portoit un haubergeon, pour 
 chasuble la piece d'acier ; et au lieu de 
 crosse, portoit une hache." Fol. 132.
 
 Feudal System. fREEMEN. 105 
 
 la\v>, the fler-i'V who hi'lil military fiefs were of course bound 
 to fuhil the chief obhgatiou of that tenure and send their 
 vassids into the held. We have many instances of their ac- 
 companying the lu-iuy, though not mixing in the eontlict ; and 
 even the parislj priests headed the militia of their villages.^ 
 The prelates, however, sometimes contrived to avttid this mili- 
 tary service, and the payments introduced iu commutation for 
 it, by holding lands in frank-almoigne, a tenure wliich ex- 
 empted them from every s^jecies of obligation except that of 
 saying msvsses for the benefit of the grantor's family.^ But, 
 notwithstanding the warlike disposition of some ecclesiastics, 
 their more usual inability to protect the estates of their 
 cliurches against rai)acious neighbors suggested a new spe- 
 cies of feudal relation and tenure. The rich abbeys elected 
 an advocate, whose business it was to defend their interests 
 both in secular courts and, if necessary, in the field. I'epin 
 and Charlemagne ai'e styled Advocates of the Roman church. 
 Tiiis, indeed, was on a magnificent scale ; but in ordinary 
 practice the advocate of a monastery wjis some neighboring 
 lord, who, in return for his protection, possessed many lucra- 
 tive privileges, and very fn-quently considerable estates by 
 way of fief from his ecclesiastical clients. Some of these 
 advocates are reproached witii violating tlieir obligation, and 
 becoming the plunderers of those whom they had been re- 
 tained to defend.^ 
 
 The classes below the gentry may be divided into freemen 
 and villeins. Of the first were the inhabitants of chartered 
 towns, the citiztnis and burghers, of whom more Avill be said 
 presently. As to those who dwelt in the country, we can 
 have no dilFiculty in recognizing, so far as England is con- 
 cerned, the socjigers, whose tenure was free, though not so 
 noble as knight's service, ami a numerous body of tenants 
 for term of life, wiio tunned tliat ancient basis of our strengtii 
 the English yeomanry. But the mere freemen are not at 
 first sight so distinguishable in other countries. In French 
 records anil law-ljooks of feudal times, all besides tiie gen- 
 try are usually confounded under the names of villeins or 
 iKjmmes de p<j<jste (gens potestatis).* This proves the slight 
 
 1 Danlol, ni»t. do la MlUco Fmn^oiM, ' Du Cnngc, v. Aitvooiitu/t ; n full nnd 
 
 t. I. |i. S8. uwful article. Kci-ueil duM llintorieu*. 
 
 - Ini Cnn(f<', Elix-moiynn LilM'ra ; t. xi. iircfiu'i-, p. 1H4. 
 
 Mwlox. UbpiiiIji AiikI. p. '\V>: Coki- on « llmiio pc,U'»Uitin, tion tiotilUit — Ita 
 
 LiltlctuD, aud other Kfiglijiti liiw-lxxikH. nuucupiintur, quod In poti-Btut*.' douiiui
 
 196 SERFS OR VILLEINS. Chap. II. Paet II. 
 
 estimation in Avliich all persons of ignoble birth were consider- 
 ed. For undoubtedly there existed a great many proprietors 
 of land and others, as free, though not as privileged, as the no- 
 bility. In the south of France, and especially Provence, the 
 number of freemen is remarked to have been greater than in 
 the parts on the right bank of the Loire, where the feudal 
 tenures were almost universal.^ I shall quote part of a pas- 
 sage in Beaumanoir, which points out this distinction of ranks 
 pretty fully. " It should be known," he says,^ " that there 
 are three conditions of men in this world ; the first is that 
 of gentlemen ; and the second is that of such as are naturally 
 free, being born of a free mother. All who have a right to 
 be called gentlemen are free, but all who are free are not 
 gentlemen. Gentility comes by the father, and not by the 
 mother ; but freedom is derived from the mother only ; and 
 whoever is born of a free mother is himself free, and has fr-ee 
 power to do anything that is lawful." ^ 
 
 In every age and country until times comparatively recent, 
 Serfs or personal servitude appears to have been the lot 
 villeins. pf ^ large, perhaps the greater, portion of man- 
 
 kind. We lose a good deal of our sympathy with the spirit 
 of freedom in Greece and Rome, when the importunate rec- 
 ollection occurs to us of the tasks which miglit be enjoined, 
 and the punishments which might be inflicted, without control 
 either of law or opinion, by the keenest patriot of the Comitia, 
 or the Council of Five Thousand. A similar, though less 
 powerful, feeling will often force itself on the mind when we 
 read the history of the middle ages. The Germans, in their 
 primitive settlements, were accustomed to the notion of 
 slavery, incurred not only by captivity, but by crimes, by 
 debt, and especially by loss in gaming. When they invaded 
 the Roman empire they found the same condition established 
 in all its provinces. Hence, from the beginning of the era 
 now under review, servitude, under somewhat different modes, 
 was extremely common. There is some difficulty in ascer- 
 taining its varieties and stages. In the Salic laws, and in the 
 
 sunt — Opponunturvirisnobilibus ; apud to many tributes and oppressive claims 
 
 Butilerium Consuetudinarii vocantur, on the part of their territorial superiors, 
 
 Coustumiers, prestationibus scilicet ob- we cannot be sur|Drised that they are con- 
 
 noxii et operis. Du Gauge, v. Potestas. founded, at this distance, with men in 
 
 As all these freemen were obliged, by the actual servitude. 
 
 ancient laws of France, to live under the i Heeren, Essai sur les Croisades, 
 
 protection of some particular lord, and p. 122. 
 
 found great difficulty in choosing a new 2 Coiitumes deBeauvoisis, c. 45, p. 256 
 
 place of residence, as they were subject 3 [Note XIII.]
 
 Feudal System. SERFS OR VILLEINS. 197 
 
 C:iiiitul.ii-ie-;. wo read not only of Servi, Init of Tiil»niarii, 
 Lull, and Coloni, wlio wt-iv cultivators of the earth and sub- 
 ject to residence upon their lord's estate, though not destitute 
 of property or civil rijriits.* Those who appertained to the 
 demesne lands of the crown were ciUled Fiscalini. The com- 
 position for the murder of one of these was much less than 
 that for a freeman.- The number of these servile cultivators 
 wa- undoubtedlv jrreat. vet in those early times, I siioidd con- 
 ceive, nuu'li le<s than it aftcrwanls became. Property was 
 for the most part in small divisions, and a Frank who could 
 hardlv support his fainilv upon a pcttv alodial patrimony was 
 not likely to encumber hiiu-elf with many servants. But the 
 accumulation of overgrown private wealth had a natural ten- 
 dency to make slavery more frequent. Where the small pro- 
 prietors lost their lands by mere rapine, we may believe that 
 their liberty was hardly less endangered.'^ Even where this 
 was not the case, yet, as the labor either of artisans or of free 
 husbandinen was but sparingly in demand, they were often 
 compelled to exchange their liberty for bread.'' In seasons 
 also of famine, and they were not unfrequent, many freemen 
 soM themselves to slavery. A capitulary of Charles the 
 Bald in .SG4 permits their redemption at an equitable i)rice." 
 Others became slaves, as more fortunate men became vassals, 
 to a powerful lord, lor the sake of his protection. ]\Liny were 
 reduced into this state through inability to pay those pe- 
 cuniary compositions for otrenees which were numerous and 
 sometimes heavv in the barbarian codes of law ; and many 
 more bv neglect of attendance on military expeditions of the 
 
 • Tliese pjtss.ajfe.1 nre too numoroiis for till strirt inquiry h:id hocn maile in tlie 
 
 reference. In u very e.irly rhiirtcr in place to wliirli lie was asserted to lielong, 
 
 >Lirtenne's Thesaurus Anwilotorurn, t. as to his comlition, ami that of his fam- 
 
 i. p. 2ii. 1 lU'ls are Rranted, cum liouiini- ily : p. 4(10. Ami if the villein showed a 
 
 bu.'f ibidem |)onnancntilius. ijuos cnton- charter of eufninchi.sement, the proof 
 
 arin nriliif vivtrr con^itituiiuus. Men of its forp'ry w:i,s to lie upon the lord. 
 
 of this cliisii were culled, in It;ily, Al- No man's liherty could be questioned in 
 
 diones. A Ixjmliard capitulary of Cliarle- the Uun<lred-court. 
 
 nuMtne s.iys, Aldiones ei le|.re vivunt in ■' .\Iontes<iuieu ascribes the increase of 
 
 ItAlii »ub xervitute dominorum suorum, personal .servitude in Fnmce to the con- 
 
 qui Fi'«calini. vel \aA\ vivunt in Krincil. tinned revolts and conunotioiis under tUe 
 
 5Iunitori. Dissert. 14. (Notk XIV. ] two first dynJLsties. 1. xxx. c. 11. 
 
 ' Orijdimlly It was but 46 Bolidi < Du Canute, v. Obnoxatio. 
 
 (I>vs Salic;i'. c. 4.'}l, tint Charlemajrne ' Ralu/.ii Capitularia. The fireek tnid- 
 
 raisel it to 1<K(. Itnlu/.ll Capltularia. p. crs pnn'hase.l famished wndches on llie 
 
 \itl. Til---- •■-■ — vend pnivi-ioiis in the coitsts of It'ilv, whom thi'y sold to tho 
 
 lawn ol ;iiid wis*- laoiianh in .SaraceiiH. — Mnratori, .Xiinali.i il'Itnllii, 
 
 Ctvor of If a lonl claimed any A.D. 7H.j. Much more wouM |M'rsous In 
 
 one either iw lil« TJIIidn or ulave (colonus this extremity HoU thcmselvi>- to nel){h- 
 
 nlvo (M'rvu«), who had ewniieil beyouil borinjf lords, 
 his torritory, he wiis uot to Iw (firen up
 
 198 SERFS OR VILLEINS. Cuaf. II. Part II. 
 
 king, the penalty of which was a fine called Heribann, Avith 
 the altei'native of perpetual servitude.-^ A source of loss 
 of liberty which may strike us as more extraordinary was 
 superstition ; men were infatuated enough to surrender them- 
 selves, as well as their properties, to churches and monaste- 
 ries, in return for such benefits as they might reap by the 
 prayers of their new masters.^ 
 
 The characteristic distinction of a villein was his obligation 
 to remain upon his lord's estate. He was not only precluded 
 from selling the lands upon which he dwelt, but his person 
 was bound, and the loi'd might reclaim him at any time, by 
 suit in a court of justice, if he ventured to stray. But, 
 equally liable to this confinement, there were two classes 
 of villeins, whose condition was exceedingly different. In 
 England, at least from the reign of Henry II., one only, and 
 that the inferior species, existed ; incapable of property, and 
 destitute of redress, except against the most outrageous 
 injuries.^ The lord could seize whatever they acquired or 
 inherited, or convey them, apart from the land, to a stranger. 
 Their tenure bound them to what were called villein services, 
 ignoble in their nature, and indeterminate in their degree ; 
 the felhng of timber, the carrying of manure, the repairing 
 of roads for their lord, who seems to have possessed an 
 equally unbounded right over their labor and its fruits. But 
 by the customs of France and Germany, j^ersons in this 
 abject state seem to have been called serfs, and distinguished 
 from villeins, who were only bound to fixed payments and 
 duties in respect of their lord, though, as it seems, without 
 any legal redress if injured by him.* " The third estate of 
 men," says Beaumanoir, in the passage above quoted, " is 
 that of such as are not free ; and these are not all of one 
 condition, for some are so subject to their lord that he may 
 
 1 Du Cange, Heribannum. A full heri- bien que selon Dieu tu n'as mie plenierc 
 bannum was 60 solidi; but it was some- poeste sur tou vilaia. Dont se tu prena 
 times assessed in proportion to the wealth du sieu fors les di-oites redevances que 
 of the party. te doit, tu les prens centre Dieu, et sur 
 
 - Beaumanoir, c. 45. [Note XV.] le peril de fame et come robievres. Et 
 
 2 Littleton, 1. ii. c. 11. Non potest ce qu'on dit toutes les choses que vilains 
 aliquis (says Glanvil), in villenagio posi- a, sont son Seigneur, c'est voir a garder. 
 tus, libertatem suam propriis denariis Car s"il estoient son seigneur propre, il 
 Ruis qua?rere — quia omnia catalla cu- n'avoit uuledifference entreserf et vilain, 
 juslibet nativi intelliguntur esse in po- mais par notre usage n'a entre toi et ton 
 testate domiiii sui. — I. v. o. 5. vilain juge fors Dieu. taut com il est tes 
 
 « This is clearly expressed in a French couchans et tes levans, s'il n'a autre loi 
 
 law-book of the tliirteenth century, the vers toi fors la commune. This seems 
 
 Conseil of I'ierre des Fontaines, quoted to render the distinction little more than 
 
 by Du Cange, voc. Villanus. Et sache theoretical.
 
 Feldal System. ^UJOLITIOX OF VILLEXAGE. 
 
 109 
 
 take all they have, alive or dead, aiid imitrison them, when- 
 ever he pleases, heinjT accountable to none but Goil ; while 
 others are treated more gently, from whom the lord can take 
 nothing but customary jniyment^j, though at theii- death all 
 they have escheats to liini."^ 
 
 Under every denomination of servitude, the children 
 followed their mother's condition ; except in England, where 
 the father's state determined tiiat of the children ; on whicli 
 account bastards of female villeins were born free, the law 
 presuming the liberty of their father."^ The pro- oonemi 
 portion of freemen, therefore, would have been abolition of 
 miserably dimini>lied if there had been no reflux 
 of tlie tide wliich ran so stronj^iv towards slaverv. liut the 
 usage of manumission made a sort of circulation between 
 these two states of mankind. This, as is well known, was 
 an exceedingly common practice with the Romans ; and is 
 mentioned, with certain ceremonies prescribed, in the Frankish 
 and other early laws. The clergy, and especially several 
 jK)pes, enforced it as a duty upon laymen ; and inveighed 
 against tlie scandal of keeping Cln-istians in bondage.^ As 
 society advanced in Europe, the manumission of slaves grew 
 more fnvjuent.* l>y the indulgence of custom in some 
 
 1 Beauni.inoir, c. 45: Du CniiRe, Vil- 
 lanus. ScTviis. unJ sevt-nil other urticlt-s. 
 Sohini'lt. Hist. (li'!< Alli'inanjls, t. ii. p. 
 171. 4;ij. By a law of the Lioiiibnnl.J. a 
 free woman who married a fijave ini);ht 
 be killcil by her relations, or sold : if 
 they ne;;lecteU t<J <io so, the flsc uii|{ht 
 claim her as its own. — Muratori, Dis- 
 eert. 14. In France also she w.oh liaiile 
 to be treated as a slave. — Marculfi Kor- 
 mulip. 1. ii. '£). Kven in the twelfth oen- 
 tury it »;«.< the law of Flanders that 
 whoever married a villein beeauie one 
 hiniixdf uft<-r In- had livdl with her a 
 twelvemonth. — llwueil des Ilistoriens, 
 t. xiii. p. STyi. And, t)y a capitulary of 
 Pepin, if a man married a villein heliev- 
 ini; her U) he free, he uiii;ht repudiate 
 her and marry another. — Baluze, p. 
 1«1. 
 
 Villein* themJMdves rould not marry 
 without the lord'il license, under penalty 
 of forfeitioK their if'xjili*. or at least of a 
 mulct. — Du ean^e. t. ForlMniarita^rinin. 
 Thij« •"•mn Ut Ix' the true ori^io of the 
 (iuuous m>-rcheta muliernni. whi<'h hao 
 bren aMcrilM-ii to a very ilillereut custom. 
 — IJu riiii^"... V. M<-r<'licta .Mulieruiu; 
 Dalr\ inplc • Aniialii of Sintlaiid, vol. I. 
 p. 31^; Arrhi(.H>lo|^a, vol. xil. p. 31. 
 
 - Littleton, a. l>i>i. Itnu'tuu ludei-d 
 
 hol(U that the spurious issue of a neif, 
 tliou}:h by a free father, should be a. vil- 
 lein, quia .sei^nitur conditioiiem matris, 
 quiLsi vuljTo conceptus, 1. i. e. Ij. Hut 
 the Uiws under the name of Henry I. 
 declare that a son should follow his 
 father's condition ; so that this iwculiar- 
 ity is very ancient in our law. — Leges 
 lien. I. c. 75 and 77. 
 
 ■' Enfranchisements by testament are 
 very common. Thus in the will of Se- 
 niofred, count of Harcelona, in ytj'i. wo 
 fiuil the following piece of corrupt Latin : 
 I>e ipsos ."ervos nieos et ancillas, illi qui 
 tradili fuerunt faciatis illos libros projiter 
 remedium auimu- meu'; et alii i|ui fue- 
 runt de parentorum meorum renianeant 
 ad frutres meos. — Marca llispanica, p. 
 887. 
 
 * No one could enfranchise his villein 
 without the superior lonl's consent; for 
 this was to diminish the value of hiH 
 land, npitirfr If Jul'. — Heaumanoir. c. 
 15. Ktablisseniens de St. Louis, c. 34. 
 It was necessary, then-fore, for the villeui 
 to obtain the suzerain's conlirmation ; 
 otherwise he only (dianp-d masters and 
 escheated, as it were, to the superior; 
 for the Ion! who had tfranti'il the cliarU-r 
 of fr.mcliisc was tslujijinl fniui claiming 
 him aijaiin.
 
 200 ABOLITION OF VILLENAGE. Chap. II. Pakt II. 
 
 places, or perhaps by original convention, villeins niiglit 
 possess property, and thus purchase their own redemption. 
 Even where they had no legal title to property, it was 
 accounted inhuman to divest them of their little possession 
 (the peculium of Roman law), nor was their poverty, per- 
 haps, less tolerable, upon the whole, than that of the modern 
 peasantry in most countries of Europe. It was only in 
 respect of his lord, it must be remembered, that the villein, 
 at least in England, was without rights ; -^ he might inherit, 
 purchase, sue in the courts of law ; though, as defendjmt in 
 a real action or suit wherein land was claimed, he might 
 shelter himself under the plea of villenage. The peasants 
 of this condition were sometimes made use of in war, and 
 rewarded with enfranchisement ; especially in Italy, where 
 the cities and petty states had often occasion to defend them- 
 selves with their own population ; and in peace tlie industry 
 of free laborers must have been found more productive and 
 better directed. Hence the eleventh and twelfth centuries 
 saw the number of slaves in Italy begin to decrease ; early 
 in the fifteenth a writer quoted by Muratori speaks of them 
 as no longer existing.^ The greater part of the peasants in 
 some countries of Germany had acquired their liberty before 
 the end of the thirteenth century ; in other parts, as well as 
 in all the northern and eastern regions of Europe, they re- 
 mained in a sort of villenage till the present age. Some 
 very few instances of predial servitude have been discovered 
 in England so late as the time of Elizabeth,^ and pei-haps 
 they might be traced still lower. Louis Hutin, in France, 
 after innumerable particular instances of manumission had 
 taken place, by a general edict in 1315, reciting that his 
 kingdom is denominated the kingdom of the Franks, that he 
 would have the fact to correspond with the name, emancipates 
 all persons in the royal domains upon paying a just composi- 
 tion, as an example for other lords possessing villeins to 
 
 1 Littleton, s. 189. Perhaps this is not, against their lord, was ever refused in 
 
 applicable to other countries. Villeins England; their state of servitude not 
 
 were incapable of being received as wit- being absolute, like that of negroes in 
 
 nesses against freemen. — Kecueil des the West Indies, but particular and rela- 
 
 Historiens, t. xiv. preface, p. 6.5. There tive, as that of an apprentice or hired 
 
 are some charters of kings of France ad- servant. This subject, however, is not 
 
 mitting the serfs of particular niona.s- devoid of obscurity, 
 
 teries to give evidence, or to engage in 2 Dissert. 14. 
 
 the judicial combat, against freemen. — 3 Barrington's Observations on the An 
 
 Ordonnances des Kois, t. i. p. 3. But T cieut St .tutes, p. 274. 
 do not know that their testiuiouy, except
 
 Feudal System. 
 
 TENURES OF LANDS. 
 
 201 
 
 follow.^ Philip the Long renewed the ?ame eiliot three 
 years atterwanls : a proof that it had not V)een carried into 
 execution.- Indeed there are letters of the former prince, 
 wherein, considering that many of his suhjects are not ap- 
 prised of the extent of the benefit conferred u]>on tlicm, he 
 directs his officers to tax them as high as their fortunes can 
 well bear.' 
 
 It is deserving of notice that a distinction existed from very 
 earlv times in the nature of lands, collateral, as it were, to 
 that of persons. Thus we tind mansi ingcnui and mansi 
 serviles in the oldest charters, corresponding, as we may not 
 uiu-casonably conjecture, to the libcruni teneinentuni and vil- 
 lenagium, or freehold and copyhold of our own law. In 
 France, all lands held in roture appear to be considered as 
 villein tenements, and are so termed in Latin, though many 
 of them rather answer to our socage freeholds. But although 
 originally this servile quality of lands was founded on the 
 state of their occupiers, yet thei'e was this particularity, that 
 
 1 Ordonnances des Rois, t. i. p. 583. 
 
 s 1(1. p. 053. 
 
 3 \eU\, t. viii. p. 38. Philip tlie Fair 
 had eiiiancipatod the villeins in Uio royiil 
 domains throusiliout Lan^uedoc. retain- 
 jnit only an annual rent for their lands, 
 which thus became cfiisivfn, or tnipliij- 
 Ifiisis. It doe.s not appear by the charter 
 that he nold this enfranchisement, thou^rh 
 there can be little doubt about it. Ho 
 pennitteil his viis.<als to follow the v\- 
 auiple — Vaissette. Hist, de Languedoc, 
 t. iv.: .\ppendi.x. p. 3, 12. 
 
 It is nut trencniUy known, I think, 
 that predial servitude wa.s not abolished 
 in all parts of Frsmce till the revolution. 
 In some places, says I'.isciuier, the peas- 
 ants are tiillables i volonte, that is, their 
 Contribution is not (lermanent, but a«- 
 ses.'iol liy the lord with the advice of 
 prud" honimes, re.s.seants sur les lieux, 
 accordin;? to the [leasjint's ability. Oth- 
 ers pay a ftxi-il sum. Some are called 
 »*rfs de poursuite. who cannot leave 
 their habitations, but may be followed 
 liy the lord into any part of Fnince for 
 the taillo upon their ifofKls. This wiut 
 tlie ruse in part of Champagne and the 
 Nivernois. Nor could these Kerfs, or 
 (fi-n- de maiiunort<-, ha they were some- 
 
 I .1.1 I .. trinnumilU'd without let- 
 
 I IV kiiii:. purchaM'd by a 
 
 I ii« de la Kriiii-e. I. Iv. c. fj. 
 
 |iM' - int'irnis ua that, In liil.'). the Tiers 
 Kilt |,ni.M''l till- kiuK til cause- nil s<-rfs 
 (liiiiiiiiiis 'If iiiiii'l') to l>e entraiicliisi-<l 
 on paylug a couipoxitluu j but this wan 
 
 not complied with, and they existed in 
 many parts when he wrote. — llistoire, 
 t'riti.(ue. t- iii- p. '-98. Argou, in his 
 Institutions du Droit Francois, confirms 
 this, and refers to the customaries of Ni- 
 vernois and Vitry, 1. i. c. 1. And M. do 
 ]{rLiiui;;ny, in his preface to the twelfth 
 vnlunie of the collection of Ordonnances, 
 p. 22, says that throujrhout almost the 
 whole jurisdiction of the parliament of 
 Bensan(;oa the peasants were attached 
 to the soil, not being capable of leaving 
 it without the lord's con.sent ; and that 
 in some places he even inherited their 
 goods in exclusion of the kindred. I 
 recollect to have rejul in some part of 
 Voltaire's correspondence an anecdot*? 
 of his interference, with that /.cnl against 
 oppression which is the shining side of 
 his moral character, in behalf of some 
 of these wretched slaves of Francho- 
 comte. 
 
 About the middle of the fifteenth cen- 
 tury, some Oatalonian serfs who l>ad es- 
 capeil into France iM'iiig claimed by their 
 lords, the parliament of Toulouse ile- 
 cbired that every man who entered the 
 kingdom m criiint Frniire should be- 
 come free. The liberty of our kingdom 
 is such, says .Mczeniy, that its air com- 
 municates freeilom to those who lireatho 
 it, and our kings are too august to reign 
 over any but frei-men. Villaret, t. xv. 
 p. 31K." How mui-h pri-tence Mczemy 
 had for such a llourish may be decided 
 by the Ijyuier part of this note.
 
 202 STATE OF FRANCE AND GERMANY. Chap. II. Part II. 
 
 lands never changed tlieir character along with that of the 
 possessor ; so that a nobleman might, and often did, hold 
 estates in roture, as well as a roturier acquire a fief. Thus 
 in England the terre tenants in villenage, who occur in our 
 old books, were not villeins, but freemen holding lands which 
 had been from time immemorial of a villein quality. 
 
 At the final separation of the French from the German 
 side of Charlemagne's empire by the treaty of Verdun in 
 843, there was perhaps hardly any difference in the constitu- 
 tion of the two kingdoms. If any might be con- 
 tiv™stateof jectured to have existed, it would be a greater 
 France and independence and fuller rights of election in the 
 eimany. j^Qijiji^y an(j people of Germany. But in the 
 lapse of another century France had lost all her poUtical 
 unity, and her kings all their authority ; while the Germanic 
 empire was entirely unbroken under an effectual, though not 
 absolute, control of its sovereign. No comparison can be 
 made between the power of Charles the Simple and Conrad 
 the First, though tlie former had the shadow of an hereditary 
 right, and the latter was chosen from among his equals. A 
 long succession of feeble princes or usurpei's, and destructive 
 incursions of the Normans, reduced France almost to a disso- 
 lution of society ; while Germany, under Conrad, Henry, and 
 the Othos, found their arms not less prompt and successful 
 against revolted vassals than external enemies. The high 
 dignities were less completely hereditary than they had 
 become in France ; they were granted, indeed, pretty regu- 
 larly, but they were solicited as well as granted ; while the 
 chief vassals of the French crown assumed them as patrimo- 
 nial sovereignties, to which a royal investiture gave more of 
 ornament than sanction. 
 
 In the eleventh century these impei'ial prerogatives began 
 to lose part of their lustre. The long struggles of the princes 
 and clergy against Henry IV. and his son, the revival of 
 more effective rights of election on the extinction of the house 
 of Franconia, the exhausting contests of the Swabian emper- 
 ors in Italy, the intrinsic weakness produced by a law of the 
 empire, according to which the reigning sovereign could not 
 retain an imperial fief more than a year in liis hands, gradu- 
 ally prepared that independence of the German aristocracy 
 which reached its heiirht about the middle of the thirteenth 
 century. During this period the French crown had been
 
 Feudal System. COIXIXG MONEY. 203 
 
 insensibly gaining strength ; and as one monarch degenerated 
 into the mere head of a confi-ileracy, the other acquired im- 
 hniited power over a sohd kingdom. 
 
 It would be tedious, and not very instructive, to follow the 
 di'tails of German public law during the middle ages ; nor 
 are the more important parts of it easily sejjarable from civil 
 history. In this relation they will tind a place in a subse- 
 quent chapter of the present work. France demands a more 
 minute attention ; and in tracing the character of the feudal 
 system in that country, we >Iiall lind ourselves developing the 
 progress of a very different polity. 
 
 To understand in what degree the peers and barons of 
 France, during the i^revalence of feudal i)rinci|>les, 
 
 • 1 ^ . V .1 * 1 I J Privileges 
 
 were mdependent or the crown, we must look at of the 
 their Icadinir privilejies. These may be reckoned : i''i'«"<^;ii 
 
 ,,-,, '- '■ , ^ "^ , . vassals. 
 
 1. ihe riglit ot coining money; 2. That ot waging 
 private war ; 'i. The exenq)tion from all public tributes, except 
 the feudal aids ; 4. The freedom from legislative control ; 
 and, 0. The exclusive exercise of original judicature in their 
 dominions. Privileges so enormous, and so contrary to all 
 principles of sovereignty, might lead us, in strictness, to ac- 
 count France rather a collection of states, partially allied to 
 each other, than a single monarchy. 
 
 1. Silver and gold were not very scarce in the first ages 
 of the French monarchy ; l)ut they passed more coining 
 by wt'igiit than Ijy tale. A lax and ignorant gov- ™o""-'y- 
 eminent, which had not learned the lucrative mysteries of a 
 royal mint, was not particularly solicitous to give its subjects 
 the security of a known stamp in their exchanges.^ In some 
 cities of France money api)ears to have been coined by pri- 
 vate authority bc.'fore the time of Charlemagne ; at least one 
 of his capitularies ibrbids the circulation of any that had not 
 been stamp(.*d in the royal mint. His successors indulged 
 some of tiieir vassals with tiie privilege of coining money for 
 the u.se of their own territories, but not without the royal 
 stiunp. Alxjut the beginning of the tenth century, however, 
 
 1 The prartico of keepini; flno gold ami tie money wa8 coineil in Fnince, iind that 
 
 irilrer unroiiicil prcTailcl iini(in); privato only for huihII pavnient.-i. — Traiti- ile« 
 
 piTnonn, wt wi-11 n» in the tn-iinury, down MonnoyoK. It \* ("urions that, tlmuifli 
 
 to the time of Thilip the Fair. S'othini; there are many j;olil eoinM extJint of tho 
 
 \r mon- romniou than to llnd, in the in- flrnt niee of kinifM, yet few or none aro 
 
 ■trumenu of i-nrlier time, payments or prenerveil of the Heronil or thirl heforo 
 
 flnex dtipnlaU-l hy weight of (joM or Hil- the n-i(fn of I'hilip the Fair. — Uu Cuuge, 
 
 Ter. Lu lllauc tlierefuru thiukit ttiat lit- v. Moueta.
 
 204 COINING MONEY. Chap. II. Part II. 
 
 the lords, among their other assumptions of independence, 
 issued money with no marks but their own.^ At the accession 
 of Hugh Capet as many as a hundred and fifty are said to 
 have exercised this power. Even under St. Louis it was 
 possessed by about eighty, who, exchiding as far as possible 
 the royal coin from circulation, enriched themselves at their 
 subjects' expense by high duties (seigniorages), which they 
 imposed upon every new coinage, as well as by debasing its 
 standard.^ In 1185 Philip Augustus requests the abbot of 
 Corvey, who had desisted from using his own mint, to let the 
 royal money of Paris circulate through his territories, prom- 
 ising that, when it should please the abbot to coin money 
 afresh for himself, the king would not oppose its circulation.^ 
 
 Several regulations were made by Louis IX. to limit, as 
 far as lay in his power, the exercise of this baronial privilege, 
 and, in particular, by enacting that the royal money should 
 circulate in the domains of those barons who had mints, con- 
 currently with their own, and exclusively within the territories 
 of those who did not enjoy that right. Philip the Fair 
 established royal officers of inspection in every private mint. 
 It was asserted in his reign, as a general truth, that no subject 
 might coin silver money.* In fact, the adulteration practised 
 in tliose baronial mints had reduced their pretended silver to 
 a sort of black metal, as it was called (moneta nigra), into 
 Avhich little entered but copper. Silver, however, and even 
 gold, were coined by the dukes of Britany so long as that 
 fief continued to exist. No subjects ever enjoyed the right 
 of coming silver in England without the royal stamp and 
 superintendence^ — a remarkable proof of the restraint in 
 which the feudal aristocracy was always held in this country. 
 
 2. The passion of revenge, always among the most ungov- 
 
 1 Vaissette, Hist, tie Languedoo, t. ii. profit especial, mais en profit et en la 
 
 p. 110 ; Rec. des Historiens, t. xi. pref. defence du commun. This was in a pro- 
 
 p. ISO ; Du Cange, v. Moneta. cess commenced by the king's procureur- 
 
 - Le Blanc. Traite des Monnoyes, p. 91. general against the comte de Novers. for 
 
 3 Du Cange, voc. Moneta ; Velly, Hist, defacing his coin. — Le Blanc, Traite des 
 
 de France, t. ii. p. 93; Villaret, t. xiv. Monnoyes, p. 92. In many places the 
 
 p. 200. lord took a sum from his tenants every 
 
 * Du Cange. v. Moneta. The right of three years, under the name of nione- 
 
 debasing the coin was also claimed by tagium or focagium, in lieu of debasing 
 
 this prince as a choice flower of his his money. This was finally abolished 
 
 crown. Item, abaisser et amenuser la in 1830. — Du Cange. v. Monctagium. 
 
 monnoye est privilege especial an roy de 5 I do not extend this to the fart; for 
 
 son droit royal, si que a luy appartient, in the anarchy of Stephen's reign both 
 
 et a non autre, et encore en uu seul ea.s, liishops and barons coined money for 
 
 c'est a scavoir en necessite, et loi-s ne themselves. — Hoveden, p. 490. 
 vient pas le ganeg, ne convertit en son
 
 Feudal System. RIGHT OF PRIVATE WAR. 205 
 
 onial)li' in limnan nature, acts with sucli violence,,!. , 
 
 iu\int of 
 Upon liarbarians, tliat it is utterly beyoml the eon- pnvafi- 
 
 trol ot" their inipertect ari-angements of polity. It 
 
 seeni> to them no part of the social compact to sacrifice the 
 
 jirivilcjre which nature has placed in the arm of valor. 
 
 Gradually, however, these tiereer feelings are blunted, and 
 
 another passion, hardly less powerful than resentment, is 
 
 brought to jday in a contrary direction. The earlier ol)ject 
 
 jvcordingly of jurisprudence is to establish a lixed atonement 
 
 for injuries, a-s much for the preservation of tranquillity as the 
 
 prevention of crime. Su<-]i were the wercgilds of the l)ar- 
 
 barie codes, which, for a ditferent ])urpose, I have already 
 
 mentioned.^ But whether it were that the kindred did not 
 
 always accept, or the criminal offer, the legal comi)osition, or 
 
 that other causes of quarrel occurred. pri\ate feuds (faida) 
 
 were i)erpetually breaking out, and many of Charlemagne's 
 
 capitularies are directed against them. After his time all 
 
 hope of restraining so inveterati* a j)ractice was at an end ; and 
 
 every man who owned a castle to shelter him in case of 
 
 defeat, and a sufficient number of dependents to take the field, 
 
 was at liberty to retaliate upon his neighbors whenever he 
 
 thought iiimself injured. It nnist be kej)! in mind that there 
 
 was, frequently, either no jurisdiction to which he could 
 
 appeal, or no power to enforce its awards ; so that we may 
 
 consider the higher nobility of France as in a state of nature 
 
 with respect to each other, and entitled to avail themselves 
 
 of all legitimate grounds of hostility. The right of waging 
 
 private war was moderated by Louis IX., checked by Philip 
 
 IV., suppressed by Charles VI.; but a few vestiges of its 
 
 practice may be found still later.^ 
 
 3. In the modern condition of governments, taxation is a 
 
 1 The antiquity of compositions for penetrating eyo of that liistorian : an.l 
 
 munlcr \* lUuHtnitiMl liy Iliad £, 498, they are arranffed so well as to form ii 
 
 when-, in the iles<Ti|ilioii of the shield of ronipreheiisive treatise in small oompass. 
 
 Arliilles. two dispnt.'ints are represented I know not that I could add anv ninch 
 
 wniirirliiitr t.efop- the jmltre for the were- worthy of notice, unless it he the ful- 
 
 (fild or price uf l.lood ; tlvtua TTOCl'f/C lowinir: — In the treaty hetween I'hilip 
 
 Uftipof n7CO<p{iljiivov. Aujrnstns and Kirhani Cuur de \,v<i\ 
 
 »The «uhj.^t of private warfare U '"'*^': t'l'' '■'"''• r.luse.l t.. admil^ the 
 
 tr«ito.| «o exactly and jM-rspicuouslv hy •'""■'•""»/''; ',"' "'•"'''' ''"", """", "^ ' >» 
 
 K..»»Tt«.ii. that I should only waste' the '"*.'"""'' f '■'.""'" '""". 'l''""''' """''" "'" 
 
 rwider-s time l.v dwelling »o lone uwm it otl'<T; Icxt he should inlnn-e the cus- 
 
 M It^ exu-nt »n'd imi«.runce would other- f""'" "^ '"'•"" •■""' '"■" """;'" ''■"!'"'"""'. 
 
 wiji« demand. - S-^, Hist, of Charles V. '" •l'"'"'" 'onsuetuu. erat ah atitl.iuo. ut 
 
 Tol. 1. note '21. Few lendinit pass.iu'es in ";;•»■'>"'»<•» «■"";■'■' pr-prias n.vi.en, irla.l Is 
 
 tlie monuments of the middle ajfes n-la- ""ctfarent. -- Iloyedeu, p. .41 (in .>;ayille, 
 
 tire to thU Bul.Ject linvo escaped tile •'^'"l''- Anglic.)
 
 206 EEVENUES OF FEANCE. Chap. II. Part II. 
 
 Immunity ^^^i^f engine of the well-compactecl nicicliinery 
 from wliicli regulates the system. The paj'ments, the 
 
 KeTenues prohibitions, the licenses, the watchfulness of col- 
 or kings of lection, the evasions of fraud, the penalties and for- 
 feitures, that attend a fiscal code of laws, present 
 continually to the mind of the most remote and humble indi- 
 vidual the notion of a supreme, vigilant, and coercive au- 
 thorit}\ But the early European kingdoms knew neither the 
 necessities nor the ingenuity of modern finance. From their 
 demesne lands the kings of France and Lombardy supplied 
 the common expenses of a barbarous court. Even Charle- 
 magne regulated the economy of his farms with the minute- 
 ness of a steward, and a large portion of his capitularies are 
 directed to this object. Their actual revenue was chiefly 
 derived from free gifts, made, according to an ancient German 
 custom, at the annual assemblies-^ of the nation, from amerce- 
 ments paid by alodial proprietors for default of military ser- 
 vice, and from the freda, or fines, accruing to the judge out 
 of compositions for murder.^ These amounted to one third 
 of the whole weregild ; one third of this was paid over by 
 the count to the royal exchequer. After the feudal govern- 
 ment prevailed in France, and neither the heribannum nor 
 the weregild continued in use, there seems to have been 
 hardly any source of regular revenue besides the domanial 
 estates of the crown ; unless we may reckon as such, that 
 during a journey the king had a prescriptive right to be 
 supplied with necessaries by the towns and abbeys through 
 which he passed ; commuted sometimes into petty regular 
 payments, called droits de gist et de chevauche.^ Hugh 
 Capet was nearly indigent as king of France, though, as 
 count of Pai'is and Orleans, he might take the feudal aids and 
 reliefs of his vassals. Several other small emoluments of 
 himself and his successors, whatever they may since have 
 been considered, were in that age rather seigniorial than royal. 
 The rights of toll, of customs, of alienage (aubaine), gener- 
 ally even the regale or enjoyment of the temporalities of 
 vacant episcopal sees and other ecclesiastical benefices,* were 
 
 1 Du Oange, Dissertation quatrifeme sur twelfth century. But far the most lu- 
 Joinville. minous view of that subject, for the 
 
 2 Mably. 1. i. c. 2, note 3 ; Du Cange three next ages, is displayed by M. de 
 Toc. Heribannum, Fredum. Pastoret in his prefaces to the fifteenth 
 
 3 Velly, t. ii. p. 329; Villaret, t. xiv. and sixteenth volumes of the Ordon- 
 p. 174-195 ; Recueil des Historiens, t. xiv. nances des Rois. 
 
 preface, p. 37- The last is a perspicuous ♦ The duke of Burgundy and count of 
 account of the royal revenue in the Champagne did not possess the regale.
 
 Feudal System. EXACTIONS FROM THE JEWS. 207 
 
 possessfd within thoir own domains liy the groat fouilatarits of 
 the crown. They, I ai)prehond. eontribnted nothing to their 
 sovereign, not even those aids which the t'ondal cnstoms en- 
 joined.^ 
 
 Tlie history of the royal revenue in France is, however, 
 too iniport:uit to bo shghtly passed over. As the Exactions 
 nocossities of govornmont increased, partly through fr<>»> the 
 the love of niagniticonco and pageantry introduced by " ' ' 
 the crusades and the tenii)er of chivalry, partly in consequence 
 of employing hired troops instead of the feudal militia, it 
 became impossible to defray its expenses by the ordinary 
 moans. Several devices, therefore, were tried, in order to 
 replenish the exchequer. One of these was by extorting 
 money from the Jews. It is almost incredible to what a 
 length this was carried. Usury, tbrbiddon by law and su- 
 perstition to Christians, was confined to tlxis industrious and 
 covetous people.- It is now no secret that all regulations 
 interfering with the interest of money render its terms more 
 rigorous and l)urdensoine. The children of Israel grew rich 
 in despite of insult and oppression, and retaliated upon their 
 Chri>tian dolitors. If an historian of Phili[) Augustus may 
 be believed, they possessed almost one half of Paris. Un- 
 questionably they must have had support both at the court and 
 in the halls of justice. The policy of the kings of France was 
 to emplov them as a sponge to suck their subjects' money, 
 which they might afterwards express with less odium than 
 direct tiixation woidd incur. Philip Augustus released all 
 Christians in his dominions from their debts to the Jews, 
 reserving a lifth i>art to himself.* lie afterwards expelled the 
 whole nation from France. But they appear to have returned 
 again — wlu-tlier by stealth, or, as is more prol)able, by pur- 
 chasing permission. St. Louis twice banished and twice recall- 
 ed the Jews. A series of alternate persecution and tolerance 
 was borne by this extraordinary people with an invincible 
 perseverance, and a talent of accumulating riches which kept 
 
 Bat It wan enjoyed by nil the other tlon paid by the yasfialH of the French 
 
 p«-«>ni : by thi- iliikiii of N'ommmly, Out- crown: l)Ut hi this nctrntivo proposition 
 
 eniif. aii'l HrilJiny ; tlic- loiintx of Tnu- it is ixiBsililc that I may lie ili'ci-ivi'il. 
 
 louM-, I'oitnii. nnil KUimlpni. — Miibly, * The .Ii-ws were cclelinitcil for usury 
 
 1. ill. c. 4: Iti-oufil ilcH HistJirii-nH, t. il. ns early an the sixtli century. — <lrc){. 
 
 p. '££>. and t. xIt. i>. M; OnlunuanccM Turon.l. iv. c. 12, and 1. vii. c. 2.'J. 
 
 (Uw Itnl*. t. I. p. tal. 1 Iti^'ord. in Du Chesne. Hiift. Franc. 
 
 > I liare neTer met with any inntance Script, t. iii. p. 8. 
 of a relief, aid, or other feudal contrlbu-
 
 208 DEBASEMENT OF THE COIN. Chap. II. Part II. 
 
 pace with their phinderers ; till new schemes of finance sup- 
 plying the turn, thej were finally expelled under Charles VL, 
 and never afterwards obtained any legal establishment in 
 France.^ 
 
 A much more extensive plan of rapine was carried on by 
 lowerins the standard of coin. Orijirinally the 
 
 Debjise- o »' 
 
 meut of pound, a money of account, was equivalent to 
 the com. twelve ounccs of silver ; ^ and divided into twenty 
 pieces of coin (sous), each equal consecpiently to nearly three 
 shillings and four pence of our new English money.^ At the 
 revolution the money of France had been depreciated in the 
 proportion of seventy-three to one, and the sol was about 
 equal to an English halfpenny. This was the effect of a 
 long continuance of fraudulent and arbitrary government. 
 The abuse began under Philip I. in 1103, Avho alloyed his 
 silver coin with a third of copper. So good an example was 
 not lost upon .subsequent pi-inces ; till, under St. Louis, the 
 mark-weight of silver, or eight ounces, was equivalent to 
 fifty sous of the debased coin. Nevertheless these changes 
 seem hitherto to have produced no discontent ; whether it 
 were that a people neither commercial nor enlightened did 
 not readily perceive their tendency ; or, as has been ingeni- 
 ously conjectured, that these successive diminutions of the 
 standard were nearly counterbalanced by an augmentation in 
 the value of silvei", occasioned by the drain of money during 
 the crusades, with which they were about contemporaneous.* 
 But the rapacity of Philip the Fair kept no measures with 
 the public ; and the mark in his reign had become equal 
 to eight livres, or a hundi'ed and sixty sous of money. Dis- 
 
 1 Tillaret, t. ix. p. 4.3.3. Metz con- seems not to have been much observed 
 tained, and I suppose still contains, a by those who had previously written 
 great many .Tews ; but Jletz was not part upon the subject. 
 
 of the ancient kingdom. 3 Besides this silver coin there was a 
 
 2 In every edition of this work, till golden sol, worth forty pence. Le Blanc 
 that of 1846. a strange misprint has ap- thinks the solidi of the Salic law and 
 peared of «(W/j(.V instead of «!Cf/i'f ounces, capitularies mean the latter piece of 
 as the division of the pound of silver, nionej'. The denarius, or penny, was 
 Most readers will correct this for them- worth two sous six deniers of modern 
 selves ; but it is more material to observe French coin. 
 
 that, according to what we find in the 4 Villaret, t. xiv. p. 198. The price of 
 
 Memoires de I'Acad. des Inscriptions commoilities, he asserts, did not rise till 
 
 (Nouvelle Serie). vol. xiv. p. 234, the the time of St. Louis. If this be said on 
 
 pound in the time of Charlemagne was good authority it is a remarkable fact ; 
 
 not of 12 ounces, but of 13'. We must, but in England we know very little of 
 
 therefore, add one ninth to the value of prices before that period, and I doubt if 
 
 the sol. so long as this continvied to be their history has been better traced in 
 
 the case. I do not know the proofs upon France, 
 which this assertion rests; but the tact
 
 Feudal System. DIRFXT TAXATIOX. 209 
 
 8ati?tai'fion. niul even tumults arose in consoqnenoo, and he 
 was c'oniiu'lled to rosti>ro tlie coin to its standanl under St. 
 Louis.^ His successors practised the same arts of enriching 
 tiieir treasury ; under Phili|> of Valois the mark Avas apiin 
 worth eigiu livres. But the lihn hatl now dropped from the 
 eves of the people ; and these adulterations of money, ren- 
 dered more vexatious by continued recoinages of the current 
 pieces, uj>on which a fee was extorted by the moueyers, 
 showed in their true, light as mingled fraud and robbery.- 
 
 These resources of government, however, by no means su- 
 perseded the necessity of nuire direct taxation, pircct 
 The kinirs of France exacteil monev from the ro- '"^''''on. 
 turiers, and particularly the inhabitants of towns, witliiu their 
 domains. In this they only acted as proprietors, or suze- 
 rains ; and the barons took the same course in their own 
 huids. Philip Augustus first ventured upon a stretch of pre- 
 rogiitive, which, in the words of his l)iographer, disturbed all 
 France. He deprived by force, says Rigord, l)oth his own 
 vassal-, who had been accustomed to bo;\st of tlieir immuni- 
 ties, and their feudal tenant>, of a third part of their goods.^ 
 Such arbitrarv taxation of the nobility, who deemed that tlieir 
 military service discharged them from all pecuniary burdens, 
 France was fiir too aristocrat ical a country to bear. It seems 
 not to have Iteen repeated ; and his successors generally pur- 
 sued more legitimate courses. Upon obtaining any contribu- 
 tion, it wa< u-ual to grant letters-patent, declaring that it had 
 been freely given, and should not be turned into precedent in 
 time to come. S(-veral of the<e letters-patent of Philip the 
 Fair are extant, and [)ublished in the general collection of 
 
 • It U curious, and not periiaps unim- telle monnoye comme Ton aura em- 
 
 portniit. to learn the course pursued in i)runt6. si I'lle a plciu cours au temps 
 
 adjuHtiiiif paynieiit« U|>on the restoni- du |>ayenient. et sition. ills puyeroiit en 
 
 tion of (rood coin, whicii ImppemM) pret- monnoye oounoible, lors selon la valeur 
 
 ty frequently in the fourtet-iith century, et le prix du mure d'or ou d'ar^ent : p. 
 
 when the Stiite-i-ljenenil. or impular 32. 
 
 cliiinor. forcfil the court to retnut its - Continuator Qui. de N'anifis in Spici- 
 
 friudulent policy. Ije lllanc has pub- lepio, t. iii. For the successive chanRes 
 
 llslied Hoveral urdinances nearly to the in the value of Krench coins the reader 
 
 same efliTt. One of I'harle.x VI. explains may consult IjO Hlanc's treatise, or the 
 
 the metho<I adupti-d nither more fully Onionnaiices des Hois; also a disserbi- 
 
 tlian the rwit. All dehtx incurriHl since tion by Ilonaniy in the Mem. <lv I'Acad. 
 
 the ileprwiated cnhi bepin t/i circnlat*' des Inscriptions, t. xxxii : or he may tind 
 
 were to be [mid in that coin, or according a summary view of them in Dn Canifc, v. 
 
 to itx value. Tlio«- lncnrre<J pn-viously Moiicta. The bad <'Mn.'^e lueiiccs of these 
 
 to it" comnien'i'nii-nt win- to be paid ac- innovations are well tri'at<-d by M- de 
 
 conlioK Ui the value of the money clr- I'.istoret, in his elaborate preface to the 
 
 culathiK »' the time of the contnict. sixte«'nth volume of the Ordouuanrcd 
 
 Item, ')Ue tou» le« vnils emprunti faits des Koi«, p. 4<l 
 
 en deniem i»aiii> fraude iw |iaycrout en '■> Du CheHue, t. v. p. 43. 
 
 vol.. I. 14
 
 210 NO SUPEEME LEGISLATION. Chap. II. Part II. 
 
 ordinances.^ But in the reign of this monarch a great inno- 
 vation tooli place in the French constitution, which, tliough it 
 principally affected the method of levying money, may seem 
 to fall more naturally under the next head of consideration. 
 4. There is no part of the French feudal policy so re- 
 markable as the entire absence of all supreme 
 ^preme legislation. We find it difficult to conceive the 
 legislative existcuce of a political society, nominally one 
 on y. iji,jg(|oii^ and under one head, in which, for more 
 than three hundred years, there was wanting the most essen- 
 tial attribute of govei-nmenf. It will be requisite, however, 
 to take this up a little higher, and inquire what was the 
 original legislature of the French monarchy. 
 
 Arbitrary rule, at least in theory, was uncongenial to the 
 character of the northern nations. Neither the 
 legislative power of making laws, nor that of applying them 
 assemblies ^q ([^q circumstanccs of particular cases, was left at 
 the discretion of the sovereign. The Lombard 
 kings held assemblies every year at Pavia, where the chief 
 officers of the crown and proprietors of lands deliberated 
 upon all legislative measures, in the presence, and nominally 
 at least with the consent, of the multitude.^ Frequent men- 
 tion is made of similar public meetings in France by the his- 
 torians of the Merovingian kings, and still more unequivocally 
 by their statutes.^ These assemblies have been called parlia- 
 ments of the Champ de jNIars, having orginally been held in 
 the month of March. But they are supposed by many to 
 have gone much into disuse under the later Merovingian 
 kings. That of 615, the most important of wdiich any traces 
 remain, was at the close of the great revolution which pun- 
 
 i Fasons scavoir et recognoissons que omni populo assistente. — Muratori, Dis- 
 
 la derniere subvention que ils nous out sert. 22. 
 
 faite (les barons, vassaux,et nobles d'Au- 3 Mably, 1. i. c. i. note 1; Lindebrog. 
 
 vergne) de pure grace sans ce que ils y Codex Legum Antiquarum, p. 363, 369. 
 
 fussent tenus que de grace : et voulons et The following passage, quoted by Mably 
 
 leur octroyones que les autres subven- (c. ii. n. 6), from the preamble of the 
 
 tions que ils nous ont faites ne leur facent revised Salic law under Clotaire II., is 
 
 nul prejudice, es choses esquelles ils-n'e- explicit : Temporibus Clotairii regis un4 
 
 toient tenus, ne parce uul nouveau droit cum principibus suis, id est 33 episcopis 
 
 ne nous soit acquis ne amenuisie. — Or- et 34 ducibus et 79 comitibus, vel caetero 
 
 donnance de 1304. apud Mably, 1. iv. c. populo constituta est. A remarkable in- 
 
 3, note 5. See other authorities In the stance of the use of vel instead of et, 
 
 same place. which was not uncommon, and is noticed 
 
 2 Liutprand, king of the Lombards, by Du Cange, under the word Vel. An- 
 
 says that his laws sibi placuisse uni cum other proof of it occurs in the very next 
 
 omnibus judicibus de Austriie et Ncus- quotation of Mably from the edict of 
 
 trife partibus, et de Tusciaj finibus, cum 615 : cum pontificibus, vel cum magnis 
 
 reliquis fidelibus meis Langobardis, et viris optimatibus.
 
 Feudal System. LEGISLAXnTE ASSEMBLIES. J 1 1 
 
 ished Bnincliaut for a-piring to (lesi)otic power. Wliftlier 
 the-e as.-L'inlilies were coiuposoil of any except prelates, gri at 
 l:\inlliolders, or what we may call nobles, and the Antnistions 
 of the king, is still an unsettled point. Some have even sup- 
 jx><ed. since hisliops are oidy mentioned by name in the great 
 statute of Clotaire II. in dl."), that they were then present for 
 the tirst time ; and Sismondi, forgetting this tact, has gone 
 so far as to think that Pt-pin first admitted the [>r.'lates to 
 national councils.^ But the constitutions of the .Merovingian 
 kin«i-s freqnentlv bear upon ecclesiastical regulations, and nui-t 
 liave been prompted at least by the iwlvice of the bishops. 
 Their influence was immense ; and though the Kumans 
 generallv are not supposed to have been admitted by right 
 of territorial property to the national assemblies, there can be 
 no improbabilitv in presuming tiiat the chiefs of the church, 
 espcciallv when some of them were barliarians, stood in a 
 ditferent iK)sition. We know this was so at least in G15, and 
 nothing leads to a conclusion tliat it was for the first time. 
 
 It is far more difhcult to determine the participation of the 
 Frank people, the alodialists or Rdchimburgii, in these as- 
 semblies of the Field of March. Tiiey could not, it is said, 
 easilv have repaired thither from all parts of France. But 
 while the monarchy wa< diviiled, and all the left bank of the 
 Loire, in consequence of tlic i)aucity of Fi'anks settled there, 
 was hardlv coimecti'(l poliiically with any section of it, there 
 does not seem an im|)rol (ability that the subjects of a king of 
 Paris or Soissons might have been numerously present ui 
 those capitals. It is generally allowed that they attended 
 with annual gifts to their sovereign ; though perhaps these 
 were chi<'tly l)rought by the beneficiary tenants and wealthy 
 alodialists. We certaiidy find expressions, some of which I 
 liave ([uoted, indicating a popidar assent to the resolutions 
 takcMi, or laws enacted, in the Field of March. Perliap- the 
 m<ist probal)le hypothesis may be that the presence ot the 
 nation was traditionally required in conformity to the ancient 
 
 1 Voltaire (Kn«ii nur I'llixtoire Uni- tlie early French history, nncl nmuHeii 
 
 Tcp«'ll<-) n«rTil><"< thin t/) the eliler i'epiu, hiuicclf by (juestioiiiiii; the iiiiiyt iiublic 
 
 ■ urn:iiiii-<l ll.ri«t.il. niii\ qimteH the An- ft« well art prohuhle facts, such an the 
 
 nal« 'if M.tie for tVTl : but neither under death of Hninehaut. The coiii|ilinieiit 
 
 that v«ir nor any other do I tlml n word which Kolj<'rt'«in has paid to Voltaire's 
 
 to the puriK)-**. Vet he poiniKuisly an- hintorical knowle(l(:e is much exa^tfer- 
 
 nouiires thi» iw " an ejiorh not nyanled ated n'latively to the niediiival perioil ; 
 
 by hi»tori.in»'. but that of the teniponil the latter history of hiii country he poi»- 
 
 power of the church in Kreiice ami (!er- wsm-d very well. 
 many." Voltaire knew but 8U|>erllcially
 
 212 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLIES. Chap. IL Part IL 
 
 German usage, which had not been formally abolished ; 
 while the ditiieulty of prevailing on a dispersed people to 
 meet every year, as well as the enhanced influence of the 
 kins: through his armed Antrustions, soon reduced the free- 
 men to little more than spectators from the neighboring dis- 
 tricts. We find indeed that it was with reluctance, and by 
 means of coercive fines, that they were induced to attend the 
 mallus of their count for judicial purposes.-^ 
 
 Although no legislative proceedings of the Merovingian 
 line are extant after 615, it is intimated by early writers that 
 Pepin Heristal and his son Charles Martel restored the 
 national council after some interruption ; and if the language 
 of certain historians be correct, they rendered it considerably 
 popular.'^ 
 
 Pepin the younger, after his accession to the throne, chang- 
 ed the month of this annual assembly from March to May ; 
 and we have some traces of what took place at eight sessions 
 during his reign.^ Of his capitularies, however, one only is 
 said to be made in generali populi conventu ; the rest are en- 
 acted in synods of bishops, and all without exception relatfe 
 merely to ecclesiastical affairs.* And it must be owned that, 
 as in those of the first dynasty, we find generally mention of 
 the optimates who met in these conventions, but rarely any 
 word that can be construed of ordinary freemen. 
 
 Such, indeed, is the impression conveyed by a remarkable 
 passage of Hincmar, archbishop of Rheims, during the time 
 of Charles the Bald, who has preserved, on the authority of a 
 Avriter contemporary with Charlemagne, a sketch of the 
 Assemblies Frankish government under that great prince, 
 held by Two assemblies (})lacita) were annually held, 
 
 magae! I" the first, all regulations of importance to the 
 
 1 Mably generally strives to make the government only the preponderance of 
 
 most of any vestige of popular govern- the kings during one period, and that of 
 
 ment, and Sismondi is not exempt from the aristocracy during another, 
 a similar bias. He overrates the liberties " The first of these Austrasian dukes, 
 
 of the Franks. " Leurs dues et leurs say the Annals of Metz, " Singulis annis 
 
 comtes etaient electifs: leurs generaux in KalendisMartii generale cum omnibus 
 
 etaientchoisis par lessoldats, leurs grands Francis, secundum priscorum consuetu- 
 
 juges ou maires par les hommes libres " dineni, concilium agebat." The second, 
 
 (vol. ii. p. 87.) But no part of the.se according to the biographer of St. Salvian 
 
 privileges can be inferred from the exist- — " jussit campum magnum parari, sicut 
 
 lug histories or other documents. The mos erat Francoruui. Venerunt autem 
 
 dukes and counts were, as we find by optimates et magistratus, omnisque pop- 
 
 Marculfus and other evidence, solely ulus." See the quotations in Guizot. 
 
 appointed by the crown. A great deal (Essais sur I'Hist. de France, p. 321.) 
 of personal liberty may have been pi'e- -J Essais sur I'Hist. de France, p. 324. 
 served by means of the local assemblies < Rec. des Hist. v. 637. 
 of the Franks ; but we find in the general
 
 Fecd.vl System. LKGISLATIVE ASSEMBLIES. 
 
 !13 
 
 public weal for the eiisiiiiiir year were enacted ; and to 
 tlii.-;, he <avs, the whole body of clerjry and laity reiiaircd; 
 the <rreater, to deliberate upon what was fittiujr to be done; 
 and the les^!, to coutinn by their voluntary assent, not thnmirh 
 deference to power, or sometimes even to discuss, the resolu- 
 tions of their superiors.* In the second annual assembly tlie 
 chief men and otlicers of state were alone admitted, to consult 
 upon the most urireiit atlairs of irovernmeut. They debated, 
 in each of these, upon certain capitularies, or short i)roposals, 
 laitl before them by tlie king. The clergy and nobles met in 
 separate chambers, though sometimes united lor the purposes 
 of delil)eration. In these assemblies, ])riucipally, I presume, 
 in the more numerous of tiie two annually sununoned. that 
 extensive body of laws, the capitularies of Charlemagne, 
 were enacted. And though it would contradict the testimony 
 ju<t ailduced from llincmar, to suppose that the lesser free- 
 holders took a very effective share in pul)lic counsels, yet 
 thi'ir j)resence. and the usage of reipiiring their assent, 
 indicate the liberal i)riuciples upon which the system of 
 Charleniagne was tbunded. It is continually expressed in his 
 capitularies and those of his family that they were enacted by 
 general consent.''' In one of Louis the Debonair, we even 
 trace the first germ of represeiuative legislation. Every 
 count is directed to bring witli him to the general assembly 
 twelve Scabini, if there sliould lie so many in iiis county ; or, 
 if not. should till uj) the number otu of the most res})eclable 
 persons resident.'' These Sciil)ini were judicial assessors of 
 the coimt, cho>en by the alodial proprietors, in the county 
 court, or malhis, though generally on his nomination.* 
 
 1 Con-'urtmlo tunc temfxtris tain crat, esse consuimus. (a.d. 801.) Ut populua 
 
 ut nnri Kn>piim, sed hix in anno plnrita intermgetur de capitnlis qiiie in Wge 
 
 Juo U'lien-ntiir. Unuin, qu:iii>l<> ordinii- nnvitcr lulJitii nunt, ct postiiuani (mines 
 
 tintnr ntntui' totiu." rt'jfni ad anni vcr- oonscnsorint, snh.xcriptionfM et nianu- 
 
 tonii.H Hpatiuni ; ijiiod onlinatiini nnlluM flnnatinncs sua.^ in ipsin rapitulis I'aciant. 
 
 eri-ntuK n-rnni, ni'<i sninina niTi'f«ita.-<, (a. I). 813.) Capitularia iiatris nixtri iiniv 
 
 (juif xiniilitiT toti ni;nf> inrnnilM-liat. Kranci pro Ififc ti-ncnda jndicavi-runt 
 
 niilt-'iliat. In <|iio placito p-Iic-nilitu.-" (.\.t>. WiT.) I have borrowed these qiio- 
 
 univ<T-oriini niajoruin, tain elerioorum tationi* from Malily, who remarks that 
 
 quani laieornin. eonveiiiehat : wniort'S the word /xipiiliis in never used in tho 
 
 propter c-onf<iliuni onlinaiiduin : ininoren. earlier laws. See, too, Uu Can^^e. vv. I.ex, 
 
 propter i'leni runxilinm HtiM-ipiendiini, Mallnni. i'artuin. 
 
 et iiiti-nluHi pariter trartHiidnni, et non ' Viilt doininns Imjierator nt in tale 
 
 ex (•oti.i>tate, m.<I cx proprio mentis in- 
 telh-etn re! scnti-nttJ, eonflrmandum. 
 Ilineniar, Kpist. Tj. de orline palatii. I 
 liavi- nof (nin«lBleil tlie word majorum 
 in till' aliovi' 'inoijitioii. not appn-liend- 
 In;.' it- ~Mi«' (VriTK.WI.J 
 
 'Cnpltnln qnie pnrt^rito nnno lej;! 
 
 plaeitnin quale ille nuiie jusserit, veniat 
 unusc|iiis(|ue ooines. et addiicat secum 
 ilnodi'rim sealiinos si tinti t'nerint ; sin 
 aniem. de nieliorihns hominilms illius 
 romibitus suppleat nunierum dnodeua- 
 riuni. Malily, I. ii. e. il. 
 
 * This seems to In- Huftl'iently proved 
 
 Balico; cuiu oiunium cohwdiiu addenda by .Savigny (Tul. i. p. VJ"-. 217, '' I'ust)-
 
 2U 
 
 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLIES. Chap. II. Pakt II. 
 
 The circumstances, however, of the French empire for sev- 
 eral subsequent ages were exceedingly adverse to such en- 
 larged schemes of polity. The nobles contemned the imbecile 
 descendants of Charlemagne ; and the people, or lesser free- 
 holders, if they escaped absolute villenage, lost their immedi- 
 ate relation to the supreme government in the subordination 
 to their lord established by the feudal law. Yet we may 
 trace the shadow of ancient popular rights in one constitution- 
 al function of high importance, the choice of a sovereign. 
 Historians who relate the election of an emperor or king of 
 France seldom omit to specify the consent of the multitude, as 
 well as of the temporal and spiritual aristocracy ; and even in 
 solemn instruments that record such transactions we find a sort 
 of importance attached to the popular suffrage.^ It is surely 
 
 His opinion is adopted by Meyer, Quizot, 
 Grimm, and Troja. The last of these has 
 found Scabini mentioned in Lombai-dy as 
 early as 724; though Savigny had re- 
 jected all documents in which they are 
 named anterior to Charlemagne. 
 
 The Scabini are not to be confounded, 
 as sometimes has been tlie case, with the 
 Rachimburgii, who were not chosen by 
 the alodial proprietors, but were them- 
 selves such, or sometimes, perhaps, bene- 
 ficiaries, summoned by the court as 
 jurors were in England. They answered 
 to the prii(V homines, boiii homines, of 
 later times; they formed the county or 
 the hundred court, for the determina- 
 tion of civil and criminal causes. [Note 
 XVI.} 
 
 1 It has been intimated in another 
 place, p. 154, that the French monarchy 
 seems not to have beea strictly hereditary 
 under the later kings of the Merovingian 
 race: at least expressions indicating a 
 lormal election are frequently employed 
 by historians. Pepin of course came in 
 by the choice of the nation. At his death 
 he requested the consent of the counts 
 and prelates to the succession of his sons 
 (Baluzii Capitularia, p. 187); though they 
 had bound themselves by oath at his 
 consecration never to elect a king out of 
 another family. Ut nunqnam de alteri- 
 us lumbis regem eligere prassumant. 
 (Formula Consecrationis Pippini in Re- 
 cueil des Historiens, t. v.) In the instru- 
 ment of partition by Charlemagne among 
 his descendants he provides for their im- 
 mediate succession in absolute terms, 
 without any mention of consent. But 
 in the event of the decease of one of his 
 sons leaving a child, zvhom the people 
 shall choose, the other princes were to 
 permit him to reign. Baluze, p. 440. 
 This is repeated more perspicuously in 
 
 the partition made by Louis I. in 817. 
 Si quis eorum decedens legitimes filios 
 reliquerit, nou inter eos potestas ipsa 
 dividatur, sed potius populus pariter 
 conveniens, uuum ex iis, quem domiuus 
 voluerit, eligat, et hunc senior frater in 
 loco fratris et filii recipiat. Baluze, p. 
 577. Proofs of popular consent given to 
 the succession of kings during the two 
 next centuries are frequent, but of less 
 importance on accout of the irregular 
 condition of government. Even after 
 Hugh Capefs accession, hereditary right 
 was far from being established. The first 
 six kings of this dynasty procured the 
 couplation of their sons by having them 
 crowned during their own lives. And 
 this was not done without the consent 
 of the chief vassals. (Kecueil des Hist. 
 t. xi. p. 1.33.) In the reign of Robert it 
 was a great question whether the elder 
 son should be thus designated as heir in 
 preference to his younger brother, whom 
 the queen, Constance, was anxious to 
 place upon the throne. Odolric, liishop 
 of Orleans, writes to Fulbert, bishop of 
 Cliartres, in terms wliich lead one to thinli 
 that neither hereditary succession nor 
 primogeniture was settled on any fixed 
 principle. (Id. t. x. p. 504.) And a 
 writer in the same collection, about tho 
 year 1000, expresses himself in the fol- 
 lowing manner : Melius est election! 
 principis non subscribere, quim post 
 suliscriptionem electum coutemnere ; in 
 altero enim libertatis amor laudatur, in 
 altero servilis contumacia probro datur. 
 Tres namque generates electiones novi- 
 mus; quarum una est regis vel inipera- 
 toris, altera pontificis, altera abbatis. Et 
 primam qnidem facit concordia totius 
 regni; secundam vero unanimitas ci^ium 
 etcleri; tertiam .sanius consilium coeno- 
 bitica; congregatiouis. (Id. p. 626.) At
 
 Feudal System. LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLIES. 
 
 21o 
 
 less probalilo that a recoixnition of tlii> olectivc right shouM 
 have l)t'fii iiiiruiUiceil as a moiv ri'ivinoiiy, tlian that tho t'luin 
 should have survived alter length of time and revolutions of gov- 
 enunent had ahnost ohlittn-au'd the recoUeetion of its meaning. 
 
 It must, iiowever, he impossible to ascertain even the theo- 
 retical privileges of the subjects of Charlemagne, much more 
 to decide how far they were sul)stantial or illusory. AYe qhu 
 only assert in general that there continued to be some mix- 
 ture of democracy in the French constitution during the 
 reigns of Charlemagne and his lirst successors. The prime- 
 val German institutions were not erailicated. In the capitu- 
 laries the consent of tlie people is frequently expressed. Fif- 
 ty years after Charlemagne, his grandson Charles the Bald 
 succinctly expresses the theory of legislative power. A law, 
 he says, is made by the people's consent and the king's enact- 
 ment.^ It would hardly be warranted by analogy or prece- 
 dent to interpret the word i)eo[)le so very narrowly as to 
 exclude any alodial proprietors, among whom, howe\ er une- 
 qual in opulence, no legal ine([uality of rank is supposed to 
 have yet arisen. 
 
 But by whatever authority laws were enacte<l, whoever were 
 the eon.-tituent members of national assemblies, they ceased 
 to be held in about seventy years from the death of Charle- 
 magne. The latest capitularies are of Carloman in 882.'^ 
 From this time there ensues a long blank in the history of 
 French legislation. The kingdom was as a great iief, or 
 rather as a bundle of fiefs, and the king little more than one 
 of a numl)er of feudal nobles, ditl'ering rather in dignity than 
 in jKjwer from some (jf the rest. The royal council was eom- 
 
 the coronation of Philip I., in 1059. the 
 nobility imil [io<i|>lo(niilit<-Kvt popiili t;im 
 majores) ijuini niinores ) te.itiflcd tlii-ir 
 conricMit hy cryini;, IjauJiiniUi*, vnlumu.'t, 
 fiat. T. xi. p. *J. I Kupposc', if scarfli 
 wprpiiiailc. that hiniilar tc^tiiiioiiii-s iiiii;ht 
 lie foiiiiil htill liit<T; aiiJ [jcrhapH liereJi- 
 tary Huccctxioii cannot he coMHiilcreJ lu 
 a fumlamcntal law till the Tvign of Phil- 
 ip Au^funtun, the cni of many chaugeii 
 iu the French coiixlitution. 
 
 Sixmon'li ha« i^one a (fn-at ileiil farther 
 down, ami otwrvefi thnt, thoni;h .l<ihn 
 aA'iiini-il the roval power inwiif.liately on 
 thf <l>-ath »{ hi' fatlK-r. in 13.'jl), he' diil 
 not tiik<- the naini- of kiiiK. "or any M-al 
 but that of (liike of Norniandy, till 
 hU coronation, lie nayn, however. " no- 
 tro ruysuuie" lu UIk iiutruuientM (x. 
 
 375). Even Charles V. caller! himself, or 
 wiui called by some, duke of N'oniiandy 
 until his coniuatiou : but all the lawyers 
 called hiiu kinj; (xi. (>). The lawyers li.id 
 ejitablislied their maxim that the kinn 
 never dies; which, howevi'r, was un- 
 known while any traces of elective mou- 
 ar<'hy remained. 
 
 ' l^ex consensu populi fit, congtitutione 
 regis, llei-ueil des Hist. t. vii. ]>. ti56. 
 
 - It is generally sjiid that the capitula- 
 ries cease with Charles the Simple, who 
 die.l inyjl. Itut Italuw has published 
 only two under the name of that prince; 
 the first, a de<d;irilion of his iiui-en's 
 jointure ; the second, an arbitration of 
 disputes ill the chiinh of Tonirn-s; nei- 
 ther, Buivly, deserving the appellation of 
 a law.
 
 216 ASSEMBLIES OF BARONS. Chap. II. Part II. 
 
 posed only of barons, or tenants in chief, prelates, and house- 
 hold officers. These now probably deliberated in private, 
 as we hear no more of the consenting multitude. Political 
 functions were not in that age so clearly separated as we are 
 Royal taught to fancy they should be ; this council ad- 
 
 the third vised the king in matters of government, confirmed 
 race. and consented to his grants, and judged in all civil 
 
 and criminal cases where any peers of their court were con- 
 cerned.-^ The great vassals of the crown acted for them- 
 selves in their own territories, with the assistance of councils 
 similar to that of the king. Such, indeed, was the symmetry 
 of feudal customs, that the manorial court of every vavassor 
 represented in miniature that of his sovereign.^ 
 
 But, notwithstanding the want of any permanent legislation 
 during so long a period, instances occur in which the kings of 
 France appear to have acted with the concurrence of an as- 
 sembly more numerous and more particularly summoned than 
 Occasional ^^^ royal council. At such a congress held in 1146 
 assemblies the crusade of Louis VII. Avas undertaken.^ We 
 find also an ordinance of the same prince in some 
 collections, reciting that he had convoked a general assembly 
 at Soissons, where many prelates and barons then present had 
 consented and requested that private wars might cease for the 
 terra of ten years.* The famous Saladine tithe was imposed 
 upon lay as well as ecclesiastical revenues by a similar con- 
 vention in 1188.^ And when Innocent IV., during his con- 
 
 IRegallpotentiiinnulloabutivolentes, * Ego Ludovicus Dei gratia Francorum 
 
 says Hugh Capet, omiaia negotia rcipub- rex, ad reprimeudum fervorem mallguan- 
 
 licae in consultationeetsententiafidelium tivim, et compescendum violentas prsedo- 
 
 nostrorum disponimus. Ilecueil des Uist. rum manus, postulationibus cleri et as- 
 
 t. X. p.392. The subscriptions of these roy- sensu baronise, totl regno paceni consti- 
 
 al councillors were necessary for the con- tuimus. Ei causa, anno Incarnati Verbi 
 
 firmation, or, at least, the authentication 1155, iv. Idus Jun. Suessionense con- 
 
 of charters, as was also the case in Eng- cilium celebre adunavimus, et effuerunt 
 
 land, Spain, and Italy. This practice con- archiepiscopi Remensis, Sononensis et 
 
 tinned in England till the reign of John, eoruui suffraganei ; item barones, comes 
 
 The Curia regis seems to have differed Flandrensis, Trecensis, et Nivernensis et 
 only in name from the Concilium regium. quamplures alii, et dux Burguudiie. Ex 
 It is also called Curia parium, from the quorum beneplacito ordinavimus a ve- 
 equality of the barons who composed it, niente PaschS ad decern annos, ut omnes 
 standing in the same feudal degree of re- ecclesi;e regni et omnes agrlcola;, etc. 
 lation to the sovereign. But we are not pacem habeant et securitatem. — In pa- 
 yet arrived at the subject of jurisdiction, cem istaui juraverunt dux Burgundiae, 
 
 which it is very difficult to keep distinct comes Flandriaj, et reliqui barones 
 
 from what is immediately before us. qui aderant. 
 
 2 Recueil des Ilist. t. xi. p. 300, and This ordinance is published in Du 
 preface, p. 179. A''aissette, Hist, de Lau- Chesne, Script. Rerum Gallicarum, t. iv., 
 guedoc, t. ii. p. 508. and in Recueil des llistor. t. xiv. p. 387; 
 
 3 Velly, t. iii. p. 119. This, he observes, but not in the general collection, 
 is the first instance in which the word par- 5 Velly, t. iii. p. 315. 
 liament is used for a deliberative assembly.
 
 Feudal System. PLENARY COURTS. 217 
 
 test with the finperor Frfdcric, n'([Uestcd an asylum in Franec, 
 St. Luiiis, tliuugli iiuicli iiK'liiicd to t'avDi- liiiii, vciitmvd only 
 to give a conditional permission, pi-ovidcd it were agreeable 
 to his barons, whom, he said, a king ot" Franee was btxiiul to 
 eonsnlt in sm-h eircumstanees. Aeeordingly he assembled 
 the Freneh liarons, who nnanimonsly refused their consent.^ 
 
 It was the ancient custom of the kings of France as well as 
 of Englaml, and indeed of all tiiose vassals who cours 
 jiftected a kind of sovereignty, to ludd general meet- l*'«"'eres- 
 ings of their barons, called Cours Plenieres, or Parliaments, 
 at the great festivals of the vear. These assemblies were 
 principally intended to make a display of magniticence, and to 
 keep the feudal tenants in good humor ; nor is it easy to dis- 
 cover that they passed in anything but pageantry.'- Some 
 respectable anticpiaries have liowever been of opinion that 
 atl'airs of stiite were occasionally discussed in them ; and this 
 is certainly by no means inconsistent with probability, though 
 not suHii'iently estal)lished by evidence.® 
 
 Execpting a few instances, most of which have been men- 
 tioned, it does not appear that the kings of the house of Capet 
 aete<l according to the advice and deliberation of any national 
 assembly, such as assisted the Normau sovei'eigns of England : 
 nor was any consent required for the validity of their edicts, 
 except that of the ordinary council, chiefly formed of their 
 liousehold officers and less powerful vassals. This is at first 
 sight very remarkable. For there ean be no doubt that the 
 government of Henry 1. or Henry II. was incomparably 
 stronger tlian that of Louis VI. or Louis VII. But tliis 
 apparent absoluteness of the latter was the result of their real 
 wi-akness and the disorganization of the monarchy. The peers 
 of France were infreipient in their attendance ujion the king's 
 council, because they denied its coercive authoritv. lyimititions 
 It was a fundamental principle that every feudal ,'|,',J,'.'i! "u 
 t4'nant was so liir sovereign within the limits of his legislation, 
 lii-f, that he eonhl not be bound i)v any law without his cou- 
 .-eiit. The king, says St. Louis in his Establishments, camn)t 
 make proclamation, that is, declare any new law, in the terri- 
 tory of a ban»n. without his consent, nor can the baron do so 
 in that of a vavassor.* Thus, if legislative power be essential 
 
 * Vi-lly, t. Iv. p. SW. terre iiu biiron wimh son nssi-ntmont. iie II 
 
 * till CnnK)-, ItiitKcrt. J>, our .loinville. Imth (liaron] nu piict iiictlrc liiiii rii la 
 
 * M'lii. ill- I'Arml. il<-« IiiiTipt. t. xli. terre 111! viiviixor. OrJoiiiiuuci-n dt'c UoU, 
 
 lu^iiiii 'U-y ni«t. t. xi. |.nfii<f, p. iiVi. 1. 1. II. rji;. 
 
 * Nc II Tuit uv jiUL't uiettre buu eti lu
 
 218 LEGISLATIVE SUBSTITUTES. Chap. II. Part IL 
 
 to sovereignty, we cannot in strictness assert the king of 
 France to have been sovereign beyond the extent of his 
 domanial territory. Notliing can more strikingly illustrate 
 the dissimilitude of the French and English constitutions of 
 government than the sentence above cited from the code of 
 St. Louis. 
 
 Upon occasions when the necessity of common deliberation, 
 Substitutes or of giving to new provisions more extensive scope 
 lativef^" than the limits of a single fief, was too glaring to be 
 authority. overlooked, congresses of neighboring lords met in 
 order to agree upon resolutions which each of them undertook 
 to execute within his own domains. The king was sometimes 
 a contracting party, but without any coercive authority over 
 the rest. Thus we have what is called an ordinance, but, in 
 reality, an agi'eement, between the king (Philip Augustus), 
 the countess of Troyes or Champagne, and the lord of Dam- 
 pierre,^ relating to the Jews in their domains ; which agree- 
 ment or ordinance, it is said, should endure " until ourselves, 
 and the countess of Troyes, and Guy de Dampierre, who make 
 this contract, shall dissolve it with the consent of such of our 
 barons as we shall summon for that purpose." ^ 
 
 Ecclesiastical councils were another substitute for a regular 
 legislature ; and this defect in the political constitution ren- 
 dered their encroachments less obnoxious, and almost unavoid- 
 able. That of Troyes in 878, composed perhaps in part of 
 laymen, imposed a fine upon the invaders of church property.^ 
 And the council of Toulouse, in 1229, prohibited the erection 
 of any new fortresses, or the entering into any leagues, except 
 against the enemies of religion ; and ordained that judges 
 should administer justice gratuitously, and publish the decrees 
 of the council four times in the year.* 
 
 First The first unequivocal attempt, for it was nothing 
 
 of'^senerai ^^ovc, at general legislation, was under Louis VIII. 
 legislation, in 1223, ill ail ordinance which, like several of 
 
 1 In former editions I have called the '- Quosque nos, et comitissa Trecensis, 
 
 lord of Dampierre count of Flanders, et Guido de Domni petra, qui hoc faci- 
 
 But it has been suggested to me that mus, per nos, et illos de baronibus nos- 
 
 the lord of Dampierre was never count tris, quos ad hoc vocare volumus, illud 
 
 of Flanders ; his second brother married diffaclamus. Ordonnances des liois, t. i. 
 
 the younger sister of the heiress of that p. 29. Tliis ordinance bears no date, hut 
 
 fief, who, after his deatli, inlierited it it was probably between 1218 and 1223, 
 
 from the elder. The ordinance related to the year of Philip's death, 
 
 the domains of Dampierre, in the Niver- '^ Vaissette, Hist, de Languedoc, t. ii. 
 
 nois. This, however, makes the instance p. 6. 
 
 stronger against the legislative authority i Velly, t. iv. p. 132. 
 of the crown than as 1 had stated it.
 
 Fecdal System. INCREASE OF POWER OF THE CROWN". 219 
 
 that age, rclatos to the ooinhtioii and ii^iirioii> di'aliiius of the 
 Jews. It is deehired in the pfeauiblc to have \>vvu vwM-wd 
 per asseiisura arehieijiscoporum, episeoporuin, eoinitiini. h;i- 
 romim, et inilituia legni Franeiie, tiiii JikUvos hal)eiit. it qui 
 Juda'os non haln-nt. Tliis recital is jji-obahly untrue, and in- 
 tended to eloak the bold innovation contained in the last clause 
 of the following provision : Sciendum, quod nos et barones 
 nostri statuimus t-t ordinavimus de statu Judivorum quod nul- 
 lus nostrum altcrius Juda-os recii)ere potest vcl retincre; et 
 hoc inteUigendum est tarn de his qui stabilimentumjuravennt, 
 quam de illis qui noii juniverint} Tiiis was renewed with 
 some alteration in 12o0, de communi consilio baronum nos- 
 trorum.- 
 
 But whatever obedience the vassals of the crown might pay 
 to this ordinance, their original exemption from k'gislative 
 control remained, as we have seen, unimpaired at the date of 
 the Establishments of St. Louis, about 121)9 ; and tlieir ill- 
 judged contidence in tliis feudal privilege still led them to 
 absent themselves from the royal council. It seems impossible 
 to doubt that the barons of France might have asserted the 
 same right which those of England had obtained, that of being 
 duly summoned by special writ, and thus liave rendered their 
 consent necessary to every measure of legislation. But the 
 fortunes of France were ditierent. The Establishments of 
 St. Louis are declared to be made "par grand conseil de 
 Siiges hommes et de bons clers," but no mention is made of 
 any consent given by the barons ; nor does it often, if ever, 
 occur in subsequent ordinances of the French kings. 
 
 The nol>ilily did not long continue safe in their immunity 
 from the king's legishitive power. In the ensuing 
 reign of Philip the Bold, Beaumanoir lays it down, pofveAr" 
 tJKJU'di in very moderate and ditul)tfid terms, that tUe crown 
 
 .■ 1 1 •■' 1 1- • 11 I- increases. 
 
 " wlien tlie kmg makes any ordmance specially tor 
 his own domains, the barons do not cease to act in their 
 territories acc<jrding to th(,' ancient usage; but when tlie ordi- 
 nance is general, it ought to rim through the whole kingdom, 
 and we ought to believe that it is made with good advice, 
 and for tlie common benefit." * In another place he says, 
 with more posiliveness, that "the king is sovereign above all, 
 and has of right the general custody of the realm, iiir which 
 
 > Ortlonniiucci) Jen lloU. t. 1. p. 47. " Coatumes Jc Uvauvdi^i-, r. 4S. 
 
 s Id. p. Ui.
 
 220 INCEEASE OF POWER OF THE CROWN. Chap. II. Part 11. 
 
 cause he may make what ordinances he pleases for the com- 
 mon good, and what he ordains ought to be observed ; nor is 
 there any one so great but may be drawn into the king's court 
 for defauU of right or for false judgment, or in matters that 
 atfect the sovereign." ^ These latter words give us a clue to 
 Causes of the solutiou of the problem by what means an 
 this. absolute monarchy was established m France. 
 
 For though the barons would have been little influenced by 
 the authority of a lawyer like Beauraanoir, they wei'e much 
 less able to resist the coercive logic of a judicial tribunal. It 
 was in vain for them to deny the obligation of royal ordi- 
 nances within their own domains, Avlien they were com- 
 pelled to acknowledge the jurisdiction of the parliament of 
 Paris, which took a very different view of their privileges. 
 This progress of the royal jurisdiction will fall under the next 
 topic of inquiry, and is only now hinted at, as the probable 
 means of confirming the absolute legislative power of the 
 French crown. 
 
 The ultimate source, however, of this increased authority 
 will be found in the commanding attitude assumed by the 
 kings of France from the reign of Philip Augustus, and par- 
 ticularly in the annexation of the two great fiefs of Nor- 
 mandy and Toulouse. Tiiough the chatelains and vavassors 
 who had depended upon those fiefs before their reunion were, 
 agreeably to the text of St. Louis's ordinance, fully sovereign, 
 in respect of legislation, within their territories, yet they were 
 little competent, and perhaps little disposed, to offer any op- 
 position to the royal edicts ; and the same relative superiority 
 of force, which had given the first kings of the house of Capet 
 a tolerably eflFeetive control over the vassals dependent on 
 Paris and Orleans, while they hardly pretended to any over 
 Normandy and Toulouse, was now extended to the greater 
 part of the kingdom. St. Louis, in his scrupulous moder- 
 ation, forbore to avail himself of all the advantages presented 
 by the circumstances of his reign ; and his Establishments 
 bear testimony to a state of political society which, even at 
 the moment of their promulgation, was passing away. The 
 next thirty years after his death, with no marked crisis, and 
 
 1 C. 34. Beaumanoir uses in one place service, so that he may enforce them 
 
 still stronger language about the royal again; "for what it pleases Iiim to do 
 
 authority. The king, he says, may an- ought to be Iield as law " (c. 35). Tliis I 
 
 nul the releases of debts made by any owe to the new edition of the " CoPitumes 
 
 one who accompanies him in miUtary de Beaumanoir," by M. Beugnot, 1842.
 
 Feudal System. 
 
 STATES-GENERAL. 
 
 221 
 
 Avitli little (li>tiirl»:inc(', silently deinolished the teiiilal system, 
 such as had been established in Fraiiee during the dark eon- 
 fusion of the tenth century. Philii) the Fair, by help of his 
 lawyers ami his financiers, found hini>elf, at the beginniuLr of 
 the ti)urteenth i-entiu'y, tiie real master of his subjeets.^ 
 
 There was, however, one essential privilege which he 
 could not hope to overturn by force, the imuniiiity ((mvooatiou 
 from taxation enjoyed by his barons. This, it will of t'le stjiua- 
 be remembered, embraced the whole extent ot Piniip the 
 their tiets, and their tenantry of every descrii)tion ; *'"''■ 
 the king having no more right to impose a tallage upon the 
 demesne towns of his vassals than upon themselves. Thus 
 liis resources, in point of ta.xalion, were limited to his own 
 domain^ ; inchnliiig certainlv. under Philip the Fair, many of 
 the noljlest cities in France, but by no means suilicient 
 to meet his increasing necessities. We have seen already 
 the expedients employed by this rapacious monarch — a 
 shameless depreciation of the coin, and, what was much more 
 ju-titiai)le. the levying taxes within the territories of his vas- 
 sals l)y their consent. Of these measures, the first was odious, 
 the second slow and imperfect. Confiiling in his sovereign 
 authority — though recently, yet almost completely, estab- 
 lished — and little apprehensive of the feudal principlef^, al- 
 ready grown oljsoletc and discoimtenanced. he was bold enough 
 to make an exiraordinarv iimovation in the French constitution. 
 This was the convocation of the States-General, a representa- 
 tive Ijody, composed of the three orders of the nation." They 
 
 1 The roicn of Philip the Fair lias been 
 very well lli^culis<•"l by Miibly, Siymoinli, 
 and <iui7,ot. •• lie chuni;e4,'" KavK the 
 la*t, "monarchy into <lcKpotism ; but he 
 WB« not one of thow ilcxpotx who employ 
 theirab!tolut4- power for the public (jooil."' 
 '"On ne rencontre ■latin tout le courn <Ie 
 »on regne aucuiie iilee ({enenile. et qui 
 p'y nipp'irte au bieii ^le se!< sujets; c'ent 
 un ile-p<ite il-^ointe. ilerouc d lui-iiieme 
 •qui Piriie pour lui hcuI.'' (Leion 45.) 
 The rnyal authority ifaitie.l so much 
 H>ceii>leiicy in liif rei;;n, that, while we 
 have only .'yi onloiiiiain-ex of St. I/OuIk ill 
 forty-two yi-ari", we have !J*4 of Philip 
 IV. in atMjut thirty. 
 
 3 It it nIniiMt unnDimounly a((roed 
 anion/ Kn-ncli wril'-rn that Philip the 
 Fair fir-t iiitro'luccil h repreiu-ntatiou of 
 the t/r.viin into hi" national imi-nibly of 
 8tHCe«-4)eneml. NeTertlielemi, the Cliron- 
 iclcx of Bt. l><-niK. and other hiotoriaiiH 
 of rather a Uilc dat«, awiert that the dep- 
 
 uties of towns were present at n parlia- 
 ment in 1241, to adTLse the king what 
 should be done in consequence of the 
 count of .\ni;oulenie"s refu.>«il of homage. 
 Koulainvillier.4, Hi.>(t. Ue I'Ancieii tinu- 
 Tenieinent de France, t. ii. p. 20; Vil- 
 lanft, t. ix. p. 12.'>. The latter prctcnd.s 
 even that they may be traced a century 
 farther back ; ou voit dej.l les gens de 
 bonnes villcs as.sist<T au.\ ctiit.-) de 1145. 
 Ibid. Hut he quotes no authority for 
 this : ami hi-i vairue language iIdcs not 
 justify us in supposing that any repre- 
 Kentition of the three estates, priqiirly 
 Bo undcrstoo.l, did, or indeed couM. take 
 place in 1145, while the power of (be 
 aristocracy was uiibrokiMi, and very lew 
 towns hail been iiii'iirpnrated. If it be 
 true that the deputies iif snnie nnal 
 towns were sunnuonrd to the parliament 
 of 1241. the conclusion must not be in- 
 ferri'd that thev possessed any consent- 
 ing voile, iiipr periiaps timt they formed,
 
 222 
 
 STATES-GENERAL. 
 
 Chap. II. Paiit II. 
 
 were first convened in 1302, in order to give more weight to 
 the king's cause in his great quarrel with Bonifl^ee VIII. ; but 
 their earliest grant of a subsidy is in 1314. Thus the nobihty 
 surrendered to the crown their last privilege of territorial in- 
 dependence ; and, having first submitted to its appellant juris- 
 diction over their tribunals, next to its legislative supremacy, 
 now suffered their own dependents to become, as it were, 
 immediate, and a third estate to rise up almost coordinate 
 with themselves, endowed with new franchises, and bearing a 
 new relation to the monarchy. 
 
 It is impossible not to perceive the motives of Philip in 
 embodying the deputies of towns as a separate estate in the 
 national representation. He might, no question, have con- 
 voked a parliament of his barons, and obtained a pecuniary 
 contribution, which they would have levied upon their bur- 
 gesses and other tenants. But, besides the ulterior policy of 
 diminishing the control of the barons over their dependents. 
 
 strictly speaking, an integrant portion of 
 the assembly. There is reason to believe 
 that deputies from the royal burghs of 
 Scotland occasionally appeared at the bar 
 of parliament long before they had any 
 deUberative voice. — Pinkerton's Hist, of 
 Scotland, vol. i. p. 371. 
 
 An' ordinance of St Louis, quoted in 
 a very respectable book, Vaissette's His- 
 tory of Languedoc, t. iii. p. 480, but 
 not published in the Recueil des Ordon- 
 nances, not only shows the existence, in 
 one instance, of a provincial legislative 
 assembly, but is the earliest proof per- 
 haps of the tiers etat appearing as a con- 
 stituent part of it. This relates to the 
 seneschaussee, or county, of Beaucaire in 
 Languedoc, and bears date in 1254. It 
 provides that, if the seneschal shall think 
 fit to prohibit the export of merchandise, 
 he shall summon some of the prelates, 
 barons, knights, and inhabitants of the 
 chief towns, by whose advice he shall 
 issue such prohibition, and not recall it, 
 when made, without like advice. But 
 though it is interesting to see the pro- 
 gressive importance of the citizens of 
 towns, yet this temporary and insulated 
 ordinance is not of itself sufScient to 
 establish a constitutional right. Neither 
 do we find therein any evidence of rep- 
 resentation ; it rather appears that the 
 persons assisting in this assembly were 
 notables, selected by the seneschal. 
 
 I am not aware of any instance of 
 regular provincial estates being sum- 
 moned with such full powers, although 
 it was very common in the fourteenth 
 century to ask their consent to grants of 
 
 money, when the court was unwilling to 
 convoke the States-General. Yet there 
 is a passage in a book of considerable 
 credit, the Grand Customary, or Somme 
 Rurale of Bouteiller, which seems to 
 render general the particular case of the 
 seneschaussee of Beaucaire. Bouteiller 
 wrote about the end of the fourteenth 
 century. The great courts summoned 
 from time to time by the bailli.s and 
 seneschals were called assises. Their 
 usual function was to administer justice, 
 especially by way of appeal, and perhaps 
 to redress abuses of inferior officers. But 
 he seems to give them a more extended 
 authority. En assise, he says, appelles, 
 lee sages et seigneurs du pais, peuvent 
 estre mises sus nouvelles coustitvitions, 
 et ordonnances sur le pais et dcstruites 
 autre que seront grevables, et en autre 
 temps non, et doiveut etre publiees safin 
 que nul ne les pueust ignorer, et lors ne 
 les pent ne doit jamais nul redarguer. — 
 Mem. del'Acad. des Inscriptions, t. xxx. 
 p. 606. 
 
 The taille was assessed by respectable 
 persons chosen by the advice of the parish 
 priests and others, which gave the peojjle 
 a sort of share in the repartition, to use 
 a French term, of public burdens; a 
 matter of no small importance where a 
 tax is levied on visible property. Ordon- 
 nances des Kois, p. 291 ; Beaiunanoir, 
 p. 269. Thi.s, however, continued, I be- 
 lieve, to be the practice in later times ; 
 I know it is so in the pre.'ient system of 
 France, and is perfectly distinguishable 
 from a popular consent to taxation.
 
 Feud.ax System. STATES-GENERAL. 223 
 
 he had good reason to expect more hheial ai<l tVoin tho im- 
 mediate ivpre^entatives of the people than through the eon- 
 cession of rt dissatisfied aristocracy. " lie mu.-t be bhnd, 
 indeed," says Pasipiier, " who docs not see that the rotnricr 
 was expressly sinnmoncd to this assembly, contrary to the 
 ancient institutions of France, for no other reason than tliat, 
 inasmuch as the hurdcn was intended to f'all principally upon 
 him, he might engage himself so tiir by promise, that he could 
 not afterwards murmur or become refractory." * Nor would 
 I deny the influence of more generous princifjles ; the ex- 
 ample of neighl)oring countries, the respect due to the pro- 
 gressive civilization and oj>ulence of the towns, and the appH- 
 cation of that ancient maxim of the northern monairhies, that 
 whoever was elevated to the perteet dignity of a freeman ac- 
 quire<l a claim to participate in the imposition of public 
 tril)utes. 
 
 It is very diHicult to a-^ccrtain the constitutional rights of the 
 States-General, claimed or admitted, din-ing tbrly Kijriitsof 
 years after their first convocation. If, indeed, we ueiieraias 
 could implicitly confitle in an historian of the six- '» tiixation. 
 teenth century, who asserts that Louis Ilutin bound himself 
 and his successors not to levy any tax without the consent of 
 the three estates, the problem would find its solution.'^ This 
 ample charter does not a[)pear in the French archives ; and, 
 thougli by no means to be rejected on that account, when we 
 consider the strong motives for its destruction, cannot fairly 
 be adfluced as an authentic fact. Nor can we altogether infer, 
 perhaps, from tlw; collection of ordinances, that the crown had 
 ever intentiunaily divested itself of the riglit to impose tallages 
 on its dcjmanial tenants. All others, however, were certainly 
 exempted from that prerogative ; and there seems to have 
 been a general sentiment that no tax whatever could be levied 
 without free consent of the estates.* Louis Ilutin, in a char- 
 ter granted to the noliles and burgesses of Picardy, promises 
 to abolisli the unjust taxes (maltotes) imposed by his father;* 
 and in another instrument, called the charter of Normandy, 
 
 • IliTlicrrlu'ii lie L'l Kninoi'. 1. ii. c. 7. to Impose tnxos. INfontlosicr (Moniirrhie 
 
 - ll<iuliiiiivilli('r> (Mi-t. lU- I'Aiic. (}ou- Kruiiviiiw, t. i. p. 2<)2) is of tin- s.iiiio 
 
 T<Tii<Min-iit. t. il. p. \'2H) ri-feni for thiH to opinion. In fact, tlicrr is reason (" ln'- 
 
 Xlcholjui GillpH, a cliroiiick-r of no giyiit licvr tliat the kint's in piicnil <liil not 
 
 n-pul)'. claim that prcnifpilivo aljsolutclv. wliat- 
 
 « Mftl)ly, Ohwrvat. siir I'llist. do ewr pretexts tlie.v nii^'lit sot up for wca- 
 
 Vmucf. I. T. r, 1. i* iKwltivc HKainxt tliu clonal stretelii'S of power, 
 
 rii^lit of I'hilip tbe Fair buU Uis auccfuom * Ordouuunc-L-ii Uch KoiH, t. i. p. OiO.
 
 224 STATES-GENER.\L. Chap. II. Part II. 
 
 declares that lie renounces for himself and his successors all 
 undue tallages and exactions, except in case of evident utility.^ 
 This exception is doubtless of perilous ambiguity ; yet, as the 
 charter was literally wrested from the king by an insurrec- 
 tionary league, it might be expected that the same spirit would 
 rebel against his royal interpretation of state-necessity. His 
 successor, Philip the Long, tried the experiment of a gabelle, 
 or excise upon salt. But it produced so much discontent that 
 he was compelled to assemble the States-General, and to pub- 
 lish an ordinance, declaring that the impost was not designed 
 to be })erpetual, and that, if a sufficient supply for the existing 
 war coidd be found elsewhere, it should instantly determine.^ 
 Whether this was done I do not discover ; nor do I conceive 
 that any of the sons of Philip the Fair, inheriting much of his 
 rapacity and ambition, abstained from extorting money with- 
 out consent. Philip of Valois renewed and augmented the 
 duties on salt by his own prerogative, nor had the abuse of 
 debasing the current coin been ever carried to such a height 
 as during his reign and the first years of his successor. These 
 exactions, aggravated by the smart of a hostile invasion, pro- 
 duced a very remarkable concussion in the government of 
 France. 
 
 I have been obliged to advert, in another place, to the 
 states- memorable resistance made by the States-General 
 0/1355 o^ 1355 and 1356 to the royal authority, on account 
 and 1356. of its inseparable connection with the civil history 
 of France.^ In the present chapter the assumption of politi- 
 cal influence by those assemblies deserves particular notice. 
 Not that they pretended to restore the ancient constitution of 
 the northern nations, still flourishing in Spain and England, 
 the participation of legislative power with the crown. Five 
 hundred years of anarchy and ignorance had swept away all 
 remembrance of those general diets in which the capitularies 
 of the Carlovingian dynasty had been established by common 
 consent. Charlemagne himself was hardly known to the 
 French of the fourteenth century, except as the hero of some 
 silly romance or ballad. The States-General remonstrated, 
 indeed, against abuses, and especially the most flagrant of all, 
 the adulteration of money ; but the ordinance granting redress 
 emanated altogether from the king, and without the least 
 
 1 Idem, t. i. p. 589. 3 Chap. i. p. 66. 
 
 8 Ordonnances des Rois, t. i. p. 679.
 
 Feudal System. STATES-GENER.U-. 225 
 
 retiTciK-e to tluMr con-ent. which somotiniP.-! appears to be 
 stiuliuusly uiiiittfil.^ But the privilege upon whieli the Stat4.^g 
 under John solely relied for securing the redi*ess of grievances 
 was that of granting money, and of regulating its eoUeetion. 
 The latter, indeed, though for convenience it may be devolved 
 upon the executive government, appears to be incident to 
 every asseiubly in which tiie right of taxation resides. That, 
 accordingly, wliicli met in looa nominated a committee chosen 
 out of the three orders, which was to sit after their se[)aration, 
 and which the king bound himself to consult, not only as to 
 the internal arrangements of his administration, but upon 
 every proposition of peace or armistice with England. Dep- 
 uties were despatched into each district to superintend the 
 collection and receive the pi'oduce of the subsidy granted by 
 the Stiites." These assum])tions of power would not long, 
 we may be certain, have left the sole autiiority of legislation 
 in the king, and might, perhaps, be censured as usurpation, if 
 the peculiar emergency in which France was then placecl did 
 not furnish their ilefence. But, if it be true that the kingdom 
 was reduced to the utmost danger and exhaustion, as much 
 liy malversation of its government as by the armies of F^dward 
 111., who shall deny to its reiiresentatives the right of ultimate 
 sovereignty, and of suspending at least the royal prerogatives, 
 by the abuse of wluch they were falling into destruction ? ^ 
 I confess that it is exceedingly difficult, or perhaps imprac- 
 ticable, with such information as we possess, to decide upon 
 the motives and conduct of the States-General in their several 
 meetings before and after the battle of Poitiers. Arbitrary 
 power prevailed ; and its oi)ponents beciune, of course, the 
 theme of obloquy with modern historians. Froissart, however, 
 does not seem to impute any fault to these famous assemblies 
 
 • The prore<MiinKS of SUites-Oencral any limitations in respect of enacting 
 
 held unilnr I'liilip IV. and his sons have laws, Kave those which, until tlie mp;n 
 
 left no trace in the French stiitute-lMKik. of Philip the Kair, the feudal principles 
 
 Two ordoniiances alone, out of sonic hail imposed. 
 
 hundn-d enacted by Philip of Valois, 2 Ordonnances dea Rois. t. iii. p. 21 
 
 Bp|«-ar to hiive been founded upon their and preface, p. 42. This ])reface by M. 
 
 sujojestiont. .Secouse, the eilitor, (.'ivos a very clear 
 
 It is abMjIutely certain that the Stated- view of the neni-ral and proviiiciala-sscni- 
 
 Genenil of France had at no |M-rioil, and blies held in the reijjn of .lohn. Bou- 
 
 iu no instance, a cixirdinate leKislativo lainvilliers. Hist, de I'Ancien (louverne- 
 
 authority with the cn<wn, or even a con- uieiit de Fr.ince, t. ii., or Villaret, t. ix., 
 
 neiitinit voice. .Mably, lioulainvillieni, njay be ix-rused with ailvanta^tc. 
 
 and .MoiitlosiiT, an- a» decisive on this » The second continuafor of Nanirfs In 
 
 Kubjwt lu the most courtly writers of the Spiciletnum dwells on tlie heavy tJixeii, 
 
 that country. It follf.»s as a just con- dimiiiutinn nf money, and |.'riiiral oppn-.s- 
 
 M-i|uencr. that France never |>o»seM«'d a slveness of government in rlii-:iL'e: t. iii. 
 
 fn* constitution; nor had the monarchy p. 108. 
 VOL. I. 16
 
 226 
 
 STATES-GENERAL. 
 
 Chap. II. Part II. 
 
 of the States-General ; and still less a more contemporary 
 historian, the anonymous continnator of Nangis. Their 
 notices, however, are very slight ; and our chief knowledge 
 of the parliamentary history of France, if I may employ the 
 expression, must be collected from the royal ordinances made 
 upon these occasions, or from unpublished accounts of their 
 transactions. Some of these, which are quoted by the later 
 historians, are, of course, inaccessible to a writer in this 
 country. But a manuscript in the British Museum, contain- 
 ing the early proceedings of that assembly which met in 
 October, 1356, immediately after the battle of Poitiers, by no 
 means leads to an unfavorable estimate of its intentions.-^ The 
 tone of their representations to the duke of Normandy (Charles 
 v., not then called Dauphin) is full of loyal respect ; their 
 complaints of bad administration, though bold and pointed, not 
 outrageous ; their offers of subsidy liberal. The necessity of 
 restoring the coin is strongly represented as the grand con- 
 dition upon which they consented to tax the people, who had 
 been long defrauded by the base money of Philip the Fair 
 and his successors.^ 
 
 1 Cotton MSS. Titus, t. xii. fol. 58-74. 
 This manuscript is noticed, as an im- 
 portant document, in the preface to the 
 third volume of Ordonnances, p. 48. hy 
 M. Secousse, who had found it mentioned 
 in the Bibliotheque Ilistorique of Le 
 Long, No. 11,242. No French antiquary 
 appears, at least before that time, to have 
 seen it; but Boulaiuvilliers conjectured 
 that it related to the assembly of States 
 in February, 1356 (1.357), and M. Secousse 
 supposed it rather to be the original 
 journal of the preceding meeting in Oc- 
 tober, 1356, from which a copy, found 
 among the manuscripts of Dupuy, and 
 frequently referred to by Secousse him- 
 self in his preface, had beea taken. M. 
 Secousse was perfectly right In supposing 
 the manuscript in question to relate to 
 the proceedings of October, and not of 
 February ; but it is not an original instru- 
 ment. It forms part of a small volume 
 written on vellum, and containing several 
 other treatises. It seems, however, as 
 far as I can judge, to be another copy of 
 the account which Dupuy possessed, and 
 which Secousse so often quotes, under 
 the name of Proces-verbal. 
 
 It is singular that Sismondi says (x. 
 479), with Secousse before his eyes, that 
 the proccs-fe.rbdiix of the States-General, 
 in 13.56, are not extant. 
 
 - Et estoit et est I'entente de ceulx qui 
 a la ditte convocation estoieut, que quel- 
 
 conquo ottroy on ayde qu'lls feissent, ils 
 eussent bonne monnoye et estable selou 
 I'advis des trois estats ; et que les chartres 
 et lettres faites pour ies reformations du 
 royaume par le roy Philippe le Bel, et 
 toutes celles qui furent faites par le roy 
 notre seigneur qui est a present, fussent 
 confirmees, enteriiiees, tenues, et gardees 
 de point en point ; et toutes les .aides 
 quelconques qui faites soient fussent re- 
 cues et distribuees par ceulx qui soient a 
 ce commis par les trois estats, etautori- 
 sees par M. le Due, et sur certaines au- 
 tres conditions et modifications justes et 
 raissonables proulfit.ables, et semhie que 
 ceste aide eust ete moult grant et moult 
 prouffitable, et trop plus que aides de 
 fait de monnoj-e. Car elle se feroit de 
 volonte du peuple et consenteraent com- 
 mun selon Dieu et selon conscience : Et 
 le proufRt que on prent et veult on pren- 
 dre sur le fait de la monnoye duquel on 
 veult faire le fait de la guerre, et ce soit 
 a la destruction, et a este au temps 
 passe, du roy et du royaume et des sub- 
 jets ; Et si se destruit le billon tant par 
 fontures et blanehis comme autrement, 
 ne le fait ne peust durer longuement 
 qu'il ne vienne a destrviction si on con- 
 tinue longuement; Et si est tout certain 
 que les gens d'arraes ne vouldroient 
 estre contens de leurs gaiges par foiblo 
 monnoye, &c.
 
 Feudal System. TROUBLES AT PARIS. 227 
 
 But whatever opportunity might now be afforded for estab- 
 lishiiiir a just and tree eonstitution in Franee was „ , , 
 
 ' • ... Troubles at 
 
 entirely lost. Charles, inexperieneed and snr- I'ans. 
 rounded by evil counsellors, thought the States- ■^'*^*^'" 
 General inclined to encroach upon his rights, of wliidi, in the 
 best part of his life, he was always abundantly careful. He 
 dismissed, therefore, the assembly, and had recourse to the 
 easy but ruinous expedient of debasing the coin. This led to 
 seditions at Paris, by which his authority, and even his life, 
 were endangered. In February, 1357, three months after 
 the last meeting hfid been dissolved, he was obliged to con- 
 voke the States again, and to enact an ordinance coiifoiinable 
 to the petitions tendered l>y the former assembly.^ This con- 
 tained many excellent provisions, both for the redress of abuses 
 and the vigorous prosecution of the war against Edward ; 
 and it is ditlicult to conceive that men who advised measures 
 so conducive to the public weal could have been the blind in- 
 struments of the king of Navarre. But this, as I have 
 already observed, is a problem in history that we cannot hope 
 to resolve. It appears, however, that, in a few weeks after 
 the promulgation of this ordinance, the proceedings of the re- 
 tbrmers fell into discredit, and their commission of thirtv-six, 
 to whom the collection of the new subsidy, the redress of 
 grievances, and, in fact, the whole administration of govern- 
 ment had been intrusted, became unpo]Hilar. The subsidy 
 produced much less than they had led the people to expect: 
 brieriy, the usual conserpience of deinocratical emotions in a 
 monarchy took place. Disa])pointed by the failure of hopes 
 mu'easonably entertained and iniprovidently encouraged, and 
 disgusted liy the excesses of the violent demagogues, the na- 
 tion, especially its privileged classes, who seem to have con- 
 curred in the <triginal proceedings of the States-General, 
 attached themselves to the party of Charles, and enaltled him 
 to ([uell opposition by force.'' Marcel, provost of the trailers, 
 a municipal magistrate of Paris, detected in the overt execu- 
 tion of a traitorou-i consj>ira(V with the king of Navarre, was 
 put to death liy a private han<l. \\ lialever there hail been 
 of real |»alrioti>m in the States-General, artfully confounded, 
 according to the practice of courts, with these schemes of 
 
 1 Op|onn»nce« Jen RoU, t. III. p. 121. cnim rogni ne(cotla ninl« Itq. &c. Con- 
 > ItUrorilia iiiota, ll!l tn-« Btatun iib tinuiitor Giil. Je XimnU in S|il(llcBio, t. 
 lnr<-i>to i>r<>|H>i>lt<j cennarerunt. Ex tunc ill. p. 11.0.
 
 228 ARBITRARY TAXATIOX, Chap. II. Part II. 
 
 disaffected men, shared in the common obloquy ; whatever 
 substantial reforms had been projected the government threw 
 aside as seditious innovations. Charles, who had assumed 
 the title of regent, found in the States-General assembled at 
 Paris, in 1359, a very different disposition from that which 
 their predecessors had displayed, and publicly restored all 
 counsellors whom in the former troubles he had been com- 
 pelled to discard. Thus the monarchy resettled itself on its 
 ancient basis, or, more properly, acquired additional stability.-^ 
 Both John, after the peace of Bretigni, and Charles 
 V. imposed taxes without consent of the States- 
 
 Taxes 
 
 imposed by General.^ The latter, indeed, hardly ever con- 
 Charies^v vokcd that assembly. Upon his death tlie conten- 
 tion between the crown and representative body 
 onihwm-e of ^^'^^ renewed ; and, in the first meeting held after 
 ciiaiies VI. the accession of Charles VI., the government Avas 
 compelled to revoke all taxes illegally imposed 
 since the reign of Philip IV. This is the most remedial or- 
 dinance, perhaps, in the history of French legislation. " We 
 will, ordain and grant," says the king, " that the aids, subsi- 
 dies, and impositions, of whatever kind, and however imposed, 
 that have had course in the realm since the reign of our 
 predecessor, Philip the Fair, shall be repealed and abolished ; 
 and we will and decree that, by the course which the said im- 
 positions have had, we or our successors shall not have ac- 
 quired any right, nor shall any prejudice be wrought to 
 our people, nor to their privileges and liberties, which shall 
 be reestablished in as full a manner as they enjoyed them in 
 the reign of Philip the Fair, or at any time since ; and we 
 will and decree that, if anything has been done contrary to 
 them since that time to the present hour, neither we nor our 
 successors shall take any advantage therefrom."^ If circum- 
 stances had turned out favorably for the cause of liberty, this 
 ordinance might have been the basis of a free constitution, 
 in respect, at least, of immunity from arbitrary taxation. But 
 the coercive measures of the court and tumultuous spirit of 
 
 1 A very full account of these trans- lainvilliers and 5Iably, whom, however, 
 
 actions is given by Secousse, in his His- it is well worth while to hear, 
 
 tory of Charles the Had, p. 107, and in •- Mably, 1. v. c. 5, note 5. 
 
 his preface to the third volume of the 3 Ordonnances des Rois, t. vi. p. 564. 
 
 Ordonnances des Rois. The reader must The ordinance is long, containing fre- 
 
 make allowance for the usual partialities quent repetitions, and a gi-eat redun- 
 
 of a French historian, where an opposi- dance of words, intended to give more 
 
 tion to the reigning prince is his subject, force, or at least solemnity. 
 A contrary bias is manifested by Bou-
 
 Feudal System. AND REMEDIAL ORDINANXE. 220 
 
 the Parisians produced an open quarrel, in whicli the pop- 
 ular party met with a decisive failin-e. 
 
 It sienis, indeed, impossible that a number of deputies, 
 elected merely tor the puri)Ose of granting money, ean ])os- 
 sess that weight, or be invested in the eyes of their eoiistitu- 
 ents with that awtidness of station, wliich is re(iuirc(l to 
 withstand the royal autliority. The States-General had no 
 right of redressing abuses, excejit by petition ; no share in 
 the exercise of sovereignty, which is inseparable from the 
 legislative jxiwer. Hence, even in their proper de|)artment 
 of imposing taxes, they were supposed inciipable of binding 
 their constituents without their special assent. "Whetlicr it 
 were the timidity of the dci)Uties, or false notions of freedom, 
 which produced this doctrine, it was evidently repugnant to 
 the stability and dignity of a representative assembly. Nor 
 was it less ruinous in practice than mistaken in theory. For 
 as the necessary sultsidies, after being provisionally granted 
 by the States, were often rejected by their electors, the king 
 fomid a rea-onalde pretence for dispensing with the concur- 
 rence of hi-i subjects wlun he levied contributions upon 
 them. 
 
 The States-General were convoked but rarely under 
 Ciiarle> VI. ami VII., both of whom levied money ^, ^ 
 
 . , , . ^^ , / State.-i- 
 
 wuhoiit their concurrence, let there are remark- General 
 able testimonies under the latter of these princes "jj:|j.",'^^.g y^ 
 that the sanction of national representatives wivs 
 still esteenie(l strictly requi>ite to any ordinance imposing a 
 general t;ix, however the emergency of circumstances might 
 excuse a more arbitrary procedure. Thus Charles VII.. in 
 14.'i(J, declares that he has set up again the aids which had 
 been previously abolislie*! bi/ the consent of the three estates.^ 
 Anfl in the important edict establisliing the companies of or- 
 domiauce, whidi is recited to Ije done by tiie arlvice and 
 coim«el of the States-General assembled at Orleans, the for- 
 tv-(irst section appears to !•< ar a necessary construction tiiat 
 no tallag<' <'ould lawfully be imposed without such consent. - 
 It i- maintained, indeed, Ijy some writers, that tin- pei|)etual 
 taille e-tablished alujut the sjime time was actually grantetl Iiy 
 these States of H'-i'J, though it does not .so ajjpear upon the 
 
 1 Onlonnancon dpn Hold. t. xlll. p. 211. (frnntcd money during tliU rclgn : t. il 
 s Iblrl , \,. '.i\2. noiiliilnvllll..rn men- \>. 70. 
 iouK otUer iuiilaDci-H where die StjiU.-M
 
 230 PKOVINCIAL ESTATES. Chap. II. Part II. 
 
 face of any ordinance.-' And certainly this is consonant to the 
 real and recognized constitution of that age. 
 
 But the crafty advisers of courts in the fifteenth century, 
 Provincial enlightened by experience of past dangers, were 
 estates. averse to encountering these great political masses, 
 
 from which there were, even in peaceful times, some disquiet- 
 ing interferences, some testimonies of public spirit, and rec- 
 ollections of liberty to apprehend. The kings of France, 
 indeed, had a resource, which generally enabled them to avoid 
 a convocation of the States-General, without violating the 
 national franchises. From provincial assemblies, composed 
 of the three orders, they usually obtained more money than 
 they could have extracted from the common representatives 
 of the nation, and heard less of remonstrance and demand.^ 
 Languedoc in particular had her own assembly of states, and 
 was rarely called upon to send deputies to the general body, 
 or representatives of what was called the Languedoil. But 
 Auvergne, Normandy, and other provinces belonging to the 
 latter division, had frequent convocations of their respective 
 estates during the intervals of the States- General — intervals 
 which by this means were protracted far beyond that dura- 
 tion to which the exigencies of the crown would otherwise 
 have confined them.^ This was one of the essential differ- 
 ences between the constitutions of France and England, and 
 arose out of the original disease of the former monarchy — 
 the distraction and want of unity consequent upon the de- 
 cline of Charlemagne's family, which separated the different 
 provinces, in respect of their interests and domestic govern- 
 ment, from each other. 
 
 But the formality of consent, whether by general or pro- 
 vincial states, now ceased to be reckoned indispensable. The 
 lawyers had rarely seconded any efforts to restrain arbitrary 
 power : in their hatred of feudal principles, especially those 
 of territorial jurisdiction, every generous sentiment of free- 
 dom w^as proscribed ; or, if they admitted that absolute pre- 
 rogative might require some checks, it was such only as 
 themselves, not the national representatives, should impose. 
 Taxes of Charles VII. levied money by his own authority. 
 Louis XI. Louis XI. carried this encroachment to the highest 
 
 1 Br^quigny, preface au treizi^me 2 Villaret, t. xi. p. 270. 
 tome des Ordounances. BoulainvilUers, 3 Ordonnaaces des Rois, t. iii. preface 
 t. iii. p. 108.
 
 Feudal System. STATES-GEXEKAL OF TOURS. 231 
 
 pitcli of (.'xaction. It was the boa>:t of oourtiei-s that Iio first 
 released the kings ot" Fnuioc from dependence {/tors de ptige) ; 
 or, in other worils, that he ett'ectually deniolisiied those bar- 
 riers which, however imperfect and ill-phiced, had imposed 
 some impediment to the estubhshment of despotism.^ 
 
 The exactions of Louis, however, thougli borne with 
 patience, did not pass for legal with those upon whom they 
 pressed. ^len still remcmbcretl their ancient privileges, 
 whicli they might see with mortilication well preserved in 
 England. " There is no monarch or lord upon earth (says 
 Philil) de Cumines, himself bred in courts) who can raise a 
 larthing upon his subjects, beyond his own domains, without 
 their free concession, except througii tyranny and violence. 
 It may be ol)jected that in some cases there may not be time 
 to assemble tliem, and that war will bear no delay; but I re- 
 ply (he proceeds) that such haste ought not to be made, and 
 there will be time enough; and I tell you that princes are 
 more [towcrfid. and more dreatled by their enemies, when 
 they undertake anything witli the consent of their subjects." ^ 
 
 The States-General met but twice during the reign of 
 Lfjuis XI.. and on neither occasion for the purpose „ , 
 
 .. . Ti V 1 1 • 1 . States- 
 
 oi grantmg money. IJut an a.ssembly ni the hrst Oeueraiof 
 year of Charles VIII., the Slates of Tours in J^'g'^" '" 
 1484, is too imjjortant to be overlooked, as it marks 
 the htst struggle of the Frcncli nation by its legal representa- 
 tives tor immunity from aibitrary taxation. 
 
 A warm contention arose for the regency upon the acces- 
 sion of Charles VIII., between his aunt, Anne de Bcaujeu, 
 wliom the hue king liad appointed by testament, and the 
 ])rinces of the blood, at the head of whom stood the duke of 
 Orleans, afterwards Louis XII. The latter combined to de- 
 mand a convocation of the States-General, wliicli accordingly 
 took jilace. Tlie king's minority and tlie factions at court 
 seemed no untiivorable omens for liberty. But a scheme was 
 artfully contrived whicli had the most direct tendency to 
 
 1 Tin- pri'Ciru to the Hixtt'cntli volume (1p Coiiiirn's was forcibly stnick with the 
 
 of OriloiitiHtirpH, Ix-fore huoIikI, (liMpliiys ililTiTciit Hituation of Knulaii'l ami tlio 
 
 a laiiieiitahir- pirturv of tho iiit<Tiinl nit- Nctlicrlanils. Ami Sir .John Fortfsciio 
 
 unlioii of Krnnre in coiiK4'(|iifuro of i;x- haw a rcmarkahli' passa(;o on th<' poverty 
 
 OMiva- tixntioii ami other ahUHoH. Tliitio and Kcrvitudi' of the Kreiirh eniiiiiioim, 
 
 PTil". ill a li-«< Hu'i.'nirnte<l ilet(n>o, con- contnuste.l with KllK'li^*h fieeiiieii— Dif- 
 
 thiiie'l eTi-r t^iiK'e to ri-lapl tin- improve- fereiiri) of Miiiltod uiiJ Ahuolute .Moii- 
 
 meiit nml <liiiiiiiii<li the liitriii-ie pro"- arehy, p. 17. 
 
 p<Tity of n eouiitr)' bo vxtniorilinarily 'i Mem. do Coiiiliie!', I. iv. i'. !!• 
 endowed with natural aUrantag<-ii. Philip
 
 232 STATES-GENERAL OF TOURS. Chap. II. Paet II. 
 
 break the force of a popular assembly. The deputies were 
 classed in six nations, who debated in sepai'ate chambers, and 
 consulted each other only upon the result of their respective 
 dehberations. It was easy for the court to foment the jeal- 
 ousies natural to such a partition. Two nations, the Norman 
 and Burgundian, asserted that the right of providing for the 
 regency devolved, in the king's minority, upon the States- 
 General ; a claim of great boldness, and certainly not much 
 founded upon precedents. In virtue of this, they proposed to 
 form a council, not only of the princes, but of certain depu- 
 ties to be elected by the six nations who composed the States. 
 But the other four, those of Paris, Aquitaine, Languedoc, and 
 Languedoil (which last comprised the central provinces), re- 
 jected this plan, from which the two former ultimately de- 
 sisted, and the choice of councillors was left to the princes. 
 A firmer and more unanimous spirit was displayed upon 
 the subject of public reformation. The tyranny of Louis 
 XI. had been so unbounded, that all ranks agreed in calling 
 for redress, and the new governors were desirous, at least by 
 punishing his favorites, to show their inclination towards a 
 change of system. They were very far, however, from ap- 
 proving the propositions of the States-General. These went 
 to points which no court can bear to feel touched, though 
 there is seldom any other mode of redressing public abuses : 
 the profuse expense of the royal household, the number of 
 pensions and improvident grants, the excessive establishment 
 of troops. The States exj)licitly demanded that the taille and 
 all other arbitrary imposts should be abolished ; and that 
 from thenceforward, " according to the natural liberty of 
 France," no tax should be levied in the kingdom without the 
 consent of the States. It was with great difficulty, and 
 through the skilful management of the court, that they con- 
 sented to tlie collection of the taxes payable in the time of 
 Cliarles VII., with the addition of one fourth as a gift to the 
 king upon his accession. This subsidy they declare to be 
 granted "by way of gift and concession, and not otherwise, 
 and so as no one should from thenceforward call it a tax, but 
 a gift and concession." And this was only to be in force for 
 two years, after which they stipulated that another meeting 
 should be convoked. But it was little likely that the govern- 
 ment would encounter such a risk ; and the princes, whose 
 factious views the States had by no means seconded, felt no
 
 Feudal System. SCHEME OF JURISDICTIOX. 
 
 233 
 
 temptation to uruo atraiii their convocation. No ai^^ieinlily in 
 the annals ot" France seems, notwithstamlinji; some party 
 selfishness arisinir out of the division into nations, to have 
 conducted itself with so much public spirit and niodcration ; 
 nor had tliat i-otmtry perhaps ever so fair a prospect of esialj- 
 li>liin<r a legitimate constitution.* 
 
 5. The right of jurisdiction has luidergone changes in 
 France and in the adiacent countries still more 
 remarkahlc than tliose ot tlie legislative power ; cii:iiii:.s in 
 and passed through three very distinct stages, as pj,'ji[|"|,f '''^ 
 the ]M)pular, aristocratic, or regal influence pre- France, 
 dominated in the political sj-stem. The Franks, orijiinai 
 Lombards, and Sa.vons seem alike to have been f*"''.""""' ^l^ 
 jealous ot juilicial authority, and averse to surren- 
 dering what concerned every man's private riglit out of the 
 hands of his neighbors aiitl his eijuals. Every ten families 
 are supiKised to liave had a magistrate of their own election: 
 the titliingman of England, the decanus of France and Loin- 
 bardy.'- Next in oriler was the Ceiitenariiis or Ilundredary, 
 whose name expresses the extent of his jurisdiction, and who, 
 like tlie Decanus, was chosen by those sul>ject to it.^ But tlie 
 authority of these petty magistrates was gradually coiitined 
 to tlie less important sul)jects of legal iiupiiry. No man, by 
 a cjipitulary of Charlemagne, could i>e impleaded for his life, 
 or libertv, or lands, or servants, in the hundred court.'' In 
 such weighty matters, or by way of appeal from th(! lower 
 jurisdictions, the count of the district was judge. He indeed 
 was appointeil by the sovereign; but his power was checked 
 bv as^e.-sors, called 8<abini, who held their olfice by the 
 election, or at least the concurrence, of the people.^ An ulti- 
 
 * I am altoffcther imlobUMl to flnrnler 
 for the proc<H-ilin(;j of the StutcHof Tours. 
 Hi-i :iri-ouiit (lli.-t. <li' Kriincc, t. xviii. p. 
 l.M-US) is exlriMncIv ropinus, and tlo- 
 rivi-.l from n iniinn.»Ti|it juiiriial. Co- 
 uiini'it alluil<-M to tln-in xoini-tinicx, but 
 with littlo particularity. Tlif hIiovc 
 nii'ntioned inaiiuiwript wajt pulilixlit'd in 
 lr<i,'}. ainon^ thv DocuinuUH IneditK HUr 
 rUintiiire (Ib France. 
 
 ' Tliu DtTsnUH lit mcntioniMl liy a 
 writer of tlir; ninth a(.'i- an tlie lowc.tt 
 uperii-x of ju<li;i-. lMiMic-<IL'it4'ly uniler the 
 
 !'■•■• "■■- !'■•■' ift<r if coMipareil to 
 
 I 1 ', iif achnn'h where 
 
 I , . Ill, an<l the former 
 
 to an intonur pntihyter. Du Cunge, v. 
 
 Decanus ; and Muratori, Antii[. Ital. 
 DiHRert. 10. 
 
 '■> ]t in evident from the Capitularies of 
 Charleniuf;ne (BaUize, I. i. p. i'lii. 4ti'i) 
 that tliu (,'entenarii were elected by tlio 
 people ; that is, I suppose, the frce- 
 iiolderg. 
 
 * Ut nullus homo in placito centenarii 
 ncqun lul mortem, neine ad libertjitem 
 Huam nmittend.'im, ant ad res reddcmlas 
 vel mancipia judicetur. Sed i^ta aut in 
 prewnti.\ comitis vel niissornm no^lro- 
 ruui jndicentur. Oapit. .\.D. Kll!: llaluz. 
 p. 4UT. 
 
 ' llaluzii Capitularia, p. 4ilil: Muni- 
 tfiri. Diisert. iD; l»u Can o. v. .S.-al.inl. 
 These Scjiblui may be traced by the light
 
 234 
 
 TEERITOEIAL JUKISDICTION. Chap. II. Pakt II. 
 
 mate appeal seems to have lain to the Count Palatine, an 
 officer of the royal household ; and sometimes causes were 
 decided by the sovereign himself.^ Such was the original 
 model of judicature ; but as complaints of injustice and neg- 
 lect were frequently made against the counts, Charlemagne, 
 desirous on every account to control them, appointed special 
 judges, called Missi Regii, who held assises from place to 
 place, inquired into abuses and maladministration of justice, 
 enforced its execution, and expelled inferior judges from their 
 offices for misconduct.^ 
 
 This judicial system was gradually superseded by one 
 Territorial founded upon totally opposite principles, those of 
 jurisdiction, feudal privilege. It is difficult to ascertain the 
 progress of territorial jurisdiction. In many early charters 
 of the French kings, beginnino' with one of Da^obort I. in 
 630, we find inserted in their grants of land an immunity 
 from the entrance of the ordinary judges, either to hear 
 causes, or to exact certain dues accruing to the king and to 
 themselves.^ These charters indeed relate to church lands, 
 which, as it seems impUed by a law of Charlemagne, univer- 
 
 of charters clown to the eleventh century. 
 Recueil des Historiens, t. vi. preface, p. 
 186. There is, in particular, a decisire 
 proof of their existence in 918, in a record 
 which I have already had occasion to 
 quote. Vaissette. Hist, de Langviedoc, t. 
 ii. Appendix, p. 56. Du Gauge, Baluze, 
 and other antiquaries have confounded 
 the Scabini with the Rachimburgil, of 
 whom we read in the oldest laws. But 
 Savigny and Guizot have proved the lat- 
 ter were landowners, acting in the coun- 
 ty courts as judges under the presidency 
 of the count, but wholly independent of 
 him. The Scabini in Charlemagne's age 
 superseded them . — Essais sur l"Histoire 
 de France, p. 259, 272. 
 
 1 Du Cange. Dissertation 14, sur Join- 
 ville; and Glossary, v. Comites Palatini; 
 Mem. de I'Acad. des Inscript. t. xxx. p. 
 590. Louis the Debonair v^ave one day 
 in every week for hearing causes ; but 
 his subjects were required not to have 
 recourse to him, unless where the Missi 
 or the counts had not done justice. Ba- 
 luze, t. i. p. 668. Charles the Bald ex- 
 pressly reserves an appeal to himself 
 from the inferior tribunals. Capit. 869, 
 t. ii. p. 215. In his reign there was at 
 least a claim to sovereignty preserved. 
 
 - For the jurisdiction of the Missi 
 Regii.besides the Capitularies themselves, 
 see Muratori's eightli Dissertation. They 
 
 went their circuits four times a-year. 
 Oapitul. .4..T). 812; .\.d. 82.3. A vestige 
 of this institution long continued in tlie 
 province of Auvergne, uniler the name 
 of Grands Jours d"Auvergne ; which 
 Louis XI. revived in 1479. Garnier, 
 Hist, de France, t. xviii. p. 4.58. 
 
 s If a charter of Clovis to a monastery 
 called Reoraaense, dated 496, is genuine, 
 the same words of exemption occurring 
 in it, we must refer territorial jurisdic- 
 tion to the very infancy of the French 
 mon.archy. And M. Lehuerou (Inst. 
 Caroling, p. 225 et post) has strongly 
 contended for the right of lords to exer- 
 cise jurisdiction in virtue of their owner- 
 ship of the soil, and without regard to 
 the personal law of tho.se coming within 
 its scope by residence. This territorial 
 right he deduces from the earliest times; 
 it was an enl.argement of the ancient 
 mundium, or protection, among the Ger- 
 mans ; which must have been solely per- 
 sonal before the establishment of sepa- 
 rate property in land, but became local 
 after the settlement in Gaul, to which 
 that great civil revolution was due. The 
 authority of M. Lehuerou is entitled to 
 much respect ; yet his theory seems to 
 involve a more extensive development of 
 the feudal system in the Jleroviugian 
 period than we generally admit.
 
 Feudal System. TERRITORIAL JURISDICTION. 235 
 
 sallv jx)-.-L'sseil an exemption from onlinary jurisdiction. A 
 preceileiit, liowever, in Miirculfiis Icails us to iut'or a similar 
 immunity to have been usual in gifts to private persons.^ 
 These rights of justice in the beneficiary tenants of the crown 
 are attested in several passages of the capitularies. And a 
 charter of Louis I. to a jjrivate individual contains a full and 
 exclusive concession of jurisdiction over all persons resident 
 within tiie territory, though subject to the appellant control 
 of the royal triliunals.- It is obvious, indeed, that an ex- 
 emption from the regular judicial authorities implied or natu- 
 rally led to a right of a<lininistering justice in their place. 
 But this could at lirst hardlv extend beyond the tributaries or 
 villeins who cultivated their master's soil, or, at most, to free 
 persons without property, resident in the territory. To de- 
 termine their ijuarrels, or chastise their offences, was no very 
 illustrious privilege. An alodial freeholder could own no 
 jurisdiction but that of the king. It was the general preva- 
 lence of subinfeudation whieii gave importance to the terri- 
 torial jurisdictions of the nobility. For now the military 
 tenants, instead of repairing to the county-court, sought jus- 
 tice in that of their immediate lord ; or rather the count him- 
 self, become the suzerain instead of the governor of his dis- 
 trict, altered the form of his tribunal upon the feudal model.* 
 A system of jirocedure so congenial to tiie spirit of the age 
 spread universally over France and Germany. The tri- 
 bunals of the king were forgotten like his laws ; the one 
 retiiining as little authority to correct, as the other to regu- 
 late, tiie decisions of a territorial judge. The rules of evi- 
 dence were super>ided by that monstrous birth of ferocity 
 and superstition, the judicial combat, and the maxims of law 
 reduced to a few cajtricious customs, which varied in almost 
 every barony. 
 
 1 Mareulfi Formula!, 1. i. c. 17. well as royal tribunals. Si aliquia cpis- 
 
 - Kt nullum coiiii-i, ni-c virnrius, noc copu.'!, vel oonies ac Ta.<i.sus iiostiT sue 
 
 jiiniorcn corum, m-c illuH jmlcx piibli- lioiniiii contra reotiuu ct jiistitiani fere- 
 
 cuK illoruin. lioniinuK qui miper illoruui rit. et si inili- aJ nos ix-clainavcrit, sciat 
 
 aprixloiie liabitaiit, aut in illoruni pro- quia, sicut ratio et lex est, hoc ouiondare 
 
 prio. ilihtrinp'n- nf<- ju'llrare pmnuniant ; faciemu.s. 
 
 »«-l .lohaniiei et (ilii Hui, et puKteritiL" il- ^ We may perhaps infer, from a capitu- 
 
 Inruin. illi l•<)^ jmlirent et clintrinKant. lary of Charlemagne in SdH, that tlio 
 
 Kt qui('<)ui<l IMT Uvem juillraverint, uta- fen.liil tenants w.Te already eniplov' "•'* 
 
 hili» j>ernianent. Kt h1 extra le){em fece- aji.w.isorK in the iiihniiii!*tr.itiiin of jii-'tice, 
 
 rint, [XT le(fem onu-ndent. Baluzil Ca- concurrently with the Sealiini inenlicncd 
 
 pitularla. t. ii. p. l*).'!. above. Ut iiulhis ad pliieitnni veniro 
 
 Thi» upiM-llnnt rnntrol wa* predorved eopitur, nl!<i qui eansam habet ad (Hiii'- 
 
 liy the capltnlnry of Charlex the llald, renduni, exrepli^ Krablnl.< et vassallU 
 
 quotcJ already, 'over the territorial as comituni. llalu/.ii C'apituhriu, t. 1. p. -liio.
 
 236 TERRITOEIAL ADMINISTRATION. Chap. II. Part. II. 
 
 These rights of administering jnstice were possessed by the 
 owners of fiefs in very different degrees ; and, in 
 France, were divided into the high, the middle, 
 and the low jurisdiction.-^ The first species alone (la haute 
 justice) conveyed the power of life and death ; it was inherent 
 in the baron and the cliatelain, and sometimes enjoyed by the 
 simple vavassor. The lower jurisdictions were not competent 
 to judge in capital cases, and consequently forced to send such 
 criminals to the court of the superior. But in some places, a 
 thief taken in the fact might be punished with death by a 
 lord who had only the low jui-isdiction. In England this priv- 
 ilege was known by the uncouth terms of Infangthef and 
 Outfangthef. The high jurisdiction, however, was not very 
 common in this country, except in the chartered towns.^ 
 
 Several customs rendered these rights of jurisdiction far 
 is admin- less instrumental to tyranny than we might infer 
 istration. from their extent. While the counts were yet 
 officers of the crown, they frequently appointed a deputy, or 
 viscount, to administer justice. Ecclesiastical lords, who were 
 prohibited by the canons from inflicting capital punishment, 
 and supposed to be unacquainted with the law followed in 
 civil courts, or unable to enforce it, had an officer by name 
 of advocate, or vidame, whose tenure was often feudal and 
 hereditary. The viguiers (vicarii), bailiffs, provosts, and 
 seneschals of lay lords were similar ministers, though not in 
 general of so permanent a right in their offices, or of such 
 eminent station, as the advocates of monasteries. It seems 
 to have been an established maxim, at least in later times, 
 that the lord could not sit personally in judgment, but must 
 intrust that function to his bailiff and vassals.^ According to 
 
 1 Velly, t. Ti. p. 131 : Denisart, Hou- It is remarkable that the Neapolitan 
 ard, and other law-books. barons had no criminal jurisdiction, at 
 
 2 A strangely cruel priyilege was pes- least of the higher kind, till the reign 
 sessed in Aragon by tlie lords who had of Alfonso, in 1443, who sold tliis de- 
 not the higher jurisdiction, and conse- structive privilege, at a time when it 
 quently could not publicly execute a was almost abolished in other king- 
 criminal : that of starving him to death doms. Giannone, 1. xxii. c. 5. and 1. 
 in prison. This was established by law xxvi. c. 6. 
 
 in 1247. Si vassallus domini non ha- 3 Boutillier, in his Somme Rurale, 
 
 bentis merum nee mixtum imperium, in written near the end of the fourteenth 
 
 loco occideret vassalluni, dominus loci century, asserts this positively. II con- 
 
 potcst eum occidere fame, frigore et siti. vient quilz facent jugier par aultre que 
 
 Et quilibet dominus loci habet hanc ju- par enlx, cest a siivoir par leurs honnnes 
 
 risdictionum necaudi fame, frigore et siti feudaulx a leursemonce et conjure ['!] ou 
 
 in suo loco, licet nullam aliam jurisdic- de leur bailiff ou lieutenant, et out res- 
 
 tionem criminalem habeat. Du Cange, sort a leur souverain. Fol. 3. 
 voc. Fame necare.
 
 Feidal System. 
 
 TRIAL BY COMBAT. 
 
 237 
 
 the teiulal rules, tlie lord's vassals or peers o( his eourt were 
 to assist at all its proeeediuj^s. " There are some plaees," 
 says Beaumaiioir, " where the bailiti" deeides in jud;riiR'iit, 
 and others where the vassals of the lord deeide. But fvcn 
 where tiie l)ailiti" is the judge, he ouirht to ailvise with the 
 most prudent, and determine by their advice ; sinee thus 
 he shall be most secure if an appeal is made from his judg- 
 ment." ^ And indeed the piesence of these assessors was 
 so essential to all territorial jurisdiction, that no lord, to what- 
 ever rights of justice his lief might entitle him, was qualified 
 to exercise them, unless he had at least two vassals to sit as 
 peers in his court." 
 
 These courts of a feudal barony or manor required neither 
 the knowledge of positive law nor the dictates of Trial by 
 natural sagacity. In all doubtful cases, and espe- couibut. 
 cially where a crime not capable of notorious proof was 
 charged, the combat was awardeil ; and God, as they deemed, 
 was the judge.* The nobleman fought on horseback, with all 
 his arms of attack and defence ; the plebeian on foot, with his 
 clul) and target. The same were the wi-apons of the cham- 
 jiions to whom women and ecclesiastics were permitted to 
 intrust their rights.'' If the combat was hitended to ascer- 
 tain a civil right, the vanquished party of course forfeited his 
 claim and paid a fine. If he fought by proxy, the champion 
 was liable to have his hand sti'uck otf; a regulation necessary, 
 
 1 Cofltuinc? di' Bi.-ftUToiiiis. p. 11. 
 
 - It wa« In-vful. ill sui-li case, to bor- 
 row till- vassjiU of the su|MTior lord. 
 Tliauniassiere xur Iteaiiiiianoir. |>. 375. 
 S«-<? I)u Canin-. v. I'ares, an excellent ar- 
 ticle : and i'lacituiii. 
 
 In Kii^land a manor is extin|;uiKheil, 
 at leiixt an to jnrisdiction. when there are 
 not two freeholdcrn i<uhji-<-t to ewheat 
 left a.1 Biiitors to the court-liaron. Their 
 tenancy nin«t theri'fon' have l)een creat- 
 ed iM-fiire the Hlatute of Quia Kmptore.'i, 
 1>> Klw. I. (12'.«'K Hiiico which no new 
 ei<tHle in fM'-sunple can tie held of the 
 l<ird, nor coniwquently, be liable to en- 
 cheat to him. 
 
 3 Trial b\ combat does not neern to 
 have ent'iblliihed itKtdf completely in 
 Fr.iti'i! till finlnili went into diniiHe, 
 Mjiiih eiinrleiiiii^iic rather encoiirajjed, 
 ;iii'i which, ill his a|{e, the cler,fy for the 
 iiio-t p.irl approved. The former Kpecien 
 of di'<'i-i<iii, may. however. Iw met with 
 iiiider the flrnt Menivin^^an kinifH (Uti'K. 
 Turoii. I. Til. c. 1"J, I. X. c. Ill), and neeniK 
 to liare prevailed in llurgundy. It in 
 
 established by the laws of the .Memanni 
 or Suabiaiis. Ualuz. t. i, p. Sd. It was 
 always popular in Loinhardy. Liutpraiid, 
 kiiin of the Lombards, says in oue of his 
 laws. Incerti sunius de judicio Dei, et 
 ((uosilam nudivimus per pii);nani sine 
 justl causill suaiii causam perdere. Sed 
 propter coiisuetudinem ({eutis nostriu 
 Luii({obardorum legem inipiaiu vetare 
 noil possuiiius. Muratori, Script. Keriiiii 
 Italiiarniii, t. ii. p. tio. Otlm II. e.-itali- 
 lislied it in all dispute.'' conceniiii); real 
 property ; and there is a famous case 
 where the ri;fht of representation, or 
 preference of the sou of a deceased elder 
 child to his uncle in succession to hi-i 
 friandfather's estate, was settled by this 
 U'st. 
 
 ♦ Kor the cercmonii'.' of trial by com- 
 bat, see llouard, .Viiciciiiies I,ol.\ Fniii- 
 ^'oisw, t. i. p. 2f4 : Vclly, t. vi. p. lei; 
 lte<'Ueil di'S Historieiis, t. xl prcfai'c, p. 
 1K9; l)u Caiitfe, V. Dnellniii. The gri-iit 
 oritrinal authorities are the .\s>ii'i'.< du 
 .lerusalem, c. \Ui, and Ueauumuoir, c. 
 31.
 
 238 TKIAL BY COMBAT. Chap. II. Part II. 
 
 perhaps, to obviate the corruption of these hired defenders. 
 In criminal cases the apjiellant sutFered, in the event of defeat, 
 the same punisliment wliich the law awarded to the offence of 
 which he accused his adversary.'' Even where the cause was 
 more peaceably tried, and brought to a regular adjudication 
 by the court, an appeal for false judgment might indeed be 
 made to the suzerain, but it could only be tried by battle,^ 
 And in this, the appellant, if he would impeach the concur- 
 rent judgment of the court below, was compelled to meet suc- 
 cessively in combat every one of its members ; unless he 
 should vanquish them all within the day, his life, if he escaped 
 from so many hazards, was forfeited to the law. If fortune 
 or miracle should make him conqueror in every contest, the 
 judges were equally subject to death, and their court forfeited 
 their jurisdiction forever. A less perilous mode of appeal 
 was to call the first judge who pronounced a hostile sentence 
 into the field. If the appellant came off victorious in this 
 challenge, the decision was reversed, but the court was not 
 impeached.^ But for denial of justice, that is, for a refusal 
 to try his suit, the plaintiff repaired to the court of the next 
 superior lord, and supported his appeal by testimony.* Yet, 
 even here the witnesses might be defied, and the pure stream 
 of justice turned at once into the torrent of barbarous con- 
 test.^ 
 
 1 Beaumanoir, p. 315. rain, which in general would be readily 
 
 2 Id. c. 61. In England the appeal for afforded. We find several instances of 
 false judgment to the king's court was the king's interference for the redress of 
 not tried by battle. Glanvil, 1. xii. c. 7. injuries in Suger's Life of Louis VI. 
 
 3 Id. c. 61. That active and spirited prince, with the 
 * Id. p. 315. The practice was to chal- assistance of his enlightened biographer, 
 
 lenge the second witness, since the testi- recovered a great part of the royal au- 
 
 mony of one was insuificient. But this thority, which had been reduced to the 
 
 must be done before he completes his lowest ebb in the long and slothful reign 
 
 oath, says Beaumanoir, for after he has of his father, Phihp I. One passage 
 
 been sworn he must be heard and be- especially contains a clear evidence of 
 
 lieved: p. 316. No one was bound, as the appeal for denial of justice, and con- 
 
 we may well believe, to be a witness for sequently refutes Mably's opinion. In 
 
 another, in cases where such an appeal 1105 the inhabitants of St. Severe, in 
 
 might be made from his testimony. Berri, complain of their lord Ilumbald, 
 
 5 Mably is certainly mistaken in his and request the king aut ad exequendam 
 
 opinion that appeals for denial of justice justitiam cogere, aut jure pro injuria 
 
 were not older than the reign of Philip castrum lege Salica amittere. I quote 
 
 Augustus. (Observations sur I'Hist. de from the preface to the fourteenth volume 
 
 F. 1. iii. c. 3.) Before this time the vas- of the Recueil des Ilistoriens, p. 44. It 
 
 sal's remedy, he thinks, was to make war may be noticed, by the way, that lex 
 
 upon his lord. And this may probably Salica is here used for the feudal cus- 
 
 have been frequently practised. Indeed toms ; in which sense I believe it not 
 
 it is permitted, as we have seen by the unfrequently occurs. Many proofs might 
 
 code of St. Louis. But tliose who were be brought of the interposition of both 
 
 not strong enough to adopt this danger- Louis VI. and VII. in the disputes be- 
 
 ous means of redress would surely avail tween their barons and arriere vassals. 
 
 themselves of the assistance of the suze- Thus the war between the latter and
 
 Feudal System. ESTABLISHMENTS OF ST. LOUIS 239 
 
 Such wa> the judicial system of Fi'iince wlien St. Louis 
 enacted that great code which bears tlie name EstaWi^u- 
 ot" his Estabhshments. The rules of civil and nientsof 
 cnmuial pmcedure. as well as the prniciples or 
 legal decisions, are there laid down with much detail. But 
 that incomparable prince, unable to overthrow tlie judicial 
 combat, contincd himself to discourage it by the example of 
 a wiser jurisprudence. It was al)olishe(l throughout the 
 royal domains. The bailiffs and seneschals who rendered 
 justice to the king's immediate sul)jects were bound to follow 
 his own laws. He not only received appeals from their sen- 
 tences in his own court of peers, but listened to all complaints 
 with a kind of patriarchal simplicity. " Many times," says 
 Joinville, " I have seen the good saint, after hearing mass, in 
 the summer season, hiy him<elf at the foot of an oak in the 
 wood of Vincennes. and make us all sit round him ; when 
 those who would, came and s|)ake to him without let of any 
 otHcer, and he would ask aloud if there were any present 
 who had suits ; and when they appeared, would bid two of 
 his bailiffs dcteruiine their cause upon the spot." ^ 
 
 The iufiueuee of this new jurisprudence established by St. 
 Louis, combined with the great enhancements of the royal 
 prerogatives in every other respect, produced a rapid change 
 in the legal administration of France. Though trial bv com- 
 bat occupies a C(»usi(|crable sj)ace in the work of lieaumauoir, 
 written under Philip the Bold, it was already much limited. 
 Appeals for false judgment might sometimes be tried, as he 
 ex[)resse3 it, par erremens de plait ; that is, I presume, where 
 the alleged error of the court below was in matter of law. 
 For wager of battle was chiefly intended to ascertain contro- 
 verted facts.'^ So where the suzerain saw clearly that the 
 judgment of the inferior court was right, he ougiit not to per- 
 mit the »>mbat. Or if the plaiutiff, even in the first instance, 
 could produce a record or a written obligation, or if tlie fict 
 before the court w;ls notorious, there was no room for battle.'* 
 
 Henry IT. of En|;1iiri<l In IIW wn» occn- llKhmentfi of St. Louis nrv not the orig- 
 
 RioncU by bin entiTtaininK a romplnint iniil cnnstitutiunn Of tliiit prince, but ii 
 
 fmni tbe count of Auvoncnp, without worli founcled on thoni — ii roni|iil;iti(>n 
 
 wnitinK for tbe Jiwi'ion of Ilenrj', an of tho olil cuHtonis bli-mlcd witb bi- ni'W 
 
 Juki- i>f (iulcnni". — Vclly, t. ii. p. 190. pn>vi.iionH. K^prit dcK lyoix, xxviii. 31, 
 
 Lyttflt/.n'x Mi-nry II. vol. Ii. p. 448; 3S. I do not know tliut iiii> lat.T In- 
 
 H 'I !■ - M'-'.'-i-"- ubi Hupra, p. 49. ijuirtTH liiivc iidopt^'d tbis bypotliunif). 
 
 nriirvK, t. I. p. 2.0. ■■> !Ji-uuiiinni>ir, p. 'SI. 
 
 .M , . ., tbut tho Entub- a Id. p. 314.
 
 240 ESTABLISHMENTS OF ST. LOUIS. Chap. II. Part II. 
 
 It would be a hard thing, says Beaumanoir, that if one had 
 killed my near relation in open day before many credible 
 persons, I should be compelled to fight in order to prove his 
 death. This reflection is the dictate of common sense, and 
 shows that the prejudice in favor of judicial combat was 
 dying away. In the Assises de Jerusalem, a monument of 
 customs two hundred years earlier than the age of Beau- 
 manoir, we find little mention of any other mode of decision. 
 The compiler of that book thinks it would be very injurious 
 if no wager of battle were to be allowed against witnesses in 
 causes affecting succession ; since otherwise every right heir 
 might be disinherited, as it would be easy to find two persons 
 who would perjure themselves for money, if they had no fear 
 of being challenged for their testimony.'' Tliis passage indi- 
 cates the real cause of preserving the judicial combat, sys- 
 tematic perjury in witnesses, and want of legal discrimination 
 in judges. 
 
 It was, in all civil suits, at the discretion of the litigant 
 parties to adopt the law of the Establishments, instead of 
 resorting to combat.^ As gentler manners prevailed, espe- 
 cially among those who did not make arms their profession, 
 the wisdom and equity of the new code was naturally pre- 
 ferred. The superstition which had originally led to the 
 latter lost its weight through experience and the uniform 
 opposition of the clergy. The same superiority of just and 
 settled rules over fortune and violence, which had forwarded 
 the encroachments of the ecclesiastical courts, was now mani- 
 fested in those of the king. Philip Augustus, by a famous 
 ordinance in 1190, first established royal courts of justice, 
 held by the officers called bailiffs or seneschals, who acted as 
 the king's lieutenants in his domains.^ Every barony, as it 
 became reunited to the crown, was subjected to the jurisdic- 
 tion of one of these officers, and took the name of a bailliage or 
 seneschaussee ; the former name prevailing most in the north- 
 ern, the latter in the southern, provinces. The vassals whose 
 lands depended upon, or, in feudal language, moved, from the 
 supei'iority of this fief, were obliged to submit to the ressort 
 or supreme appellant jurisdiction of the royal court estab- 
 lished in it.* This began rapidly to encroach upon the feudal 
 
 1 C. 167. TAoad. des Inscriptions, t. xxx. p. 603. 
 
 2 Beaumanoir, p. 309. Mably, 1. iv. c. 4. Boulainvilliers, t. ii 
 
 3 Ordonnances des Kois, t. i. p. 18. p. 22. 
 * Du Cange, v. Balivi. Mem. de
 
 Feudal System. ROYAL TKIBUXALS. 241 
 
 rijrhts of justice. In a variety of cases, tcrmcil royal, the 
 territorial couit wtxs pronounceil incompetent ; they Koyai 
 were reserved for the iudges of the crown ; and, 'f''"'""''. 
 
 Jo ' ' an.l progress 
 
 ni every case, unless tlic detendant excepted to tlie of their 
 jurisdiction, the royal court niiirht take cognizance J""''^'''"°"- 
 of a suit, and decide it in exclusion of tlie feudal judicature.^ 
 The nature of cases reserved under the name of royal was 
 kept in studied ambiguitv, under cover of which the judges 
 of tlie crown perpetually strove to MHdti|)ly them. Louis X., 
 Avhen requested by the barons of Champagne to ex|)laiu 
 what was meant by royal causes, gave this mysterious defini- 
 tion : Everything which by right or custom ought exclu- 
 sively to come under the cognizance of a sovereign prince."^ 
 Vassals were permitted to complain in the first instance to 
 the king's court, of injuries conunilted by their lords. These 
 rapid and violent encroachments left the nobility no alterna- 
 tive but armed combinations to supfwrt their remonstrances. 
 Philip the Fair bequeathed to his successor the task of 
 appeasing the >torm which his own administration had ex- 
 cited. Leagues were formed in most of the northern provin- 
 ces for the redress of grievances, in which the third estate, 
 oppressed by taxation, united with the vassals, whose feu- 
 dal privileges had been infringed. Separate charters were 
 granted to each of these confederacies by Louis Hutin, 
 which contain many remedial jtrovisions against the grosser 
 viohitious of ancient riglits, though the crown persisted in 
 restniining territorial jurisdiction.** Appeals became more 
 common for false judgment, as well as denial of right ; and 
 in neither was the combat permitted. It was still, however, 
 preserved in accusations of heinous crimes, unsupported by 
 any testimony but that of the prosecutor, and was never 
 aljolishe<l by any positive law, either in France or England. 
 But insLiUices of its occurrence are not fre<iuent even in the 
 ftjurteenth century ; and one of these, rather remarkable in 
 it« circumstances, must have lia<l a tendency to explo<le the 
 
 1 Mnbly, BoulainTllUpn, Montlosier, t. curiU audiantur, tpI In alio cnsu n<l nos 
 
 1. p. 1'4. IMTtiiicuti. Orcloiiuimccs dos Kois, t. i. 
 
 - Onloiinnnroi Ji-h Koi», p. flOfi. ],. ',i>T2. Tliis oriliiniicf is of I'liilip tlui 
 
 ' Him- [XT]- '■!'■ i.r,.i,ii ii. ■-lirtn, DO Kiiir, in V.fH; but thoHc passccl uinlcr 
 
 • iib'liti. MMi J mil iiut Louis l{iitiii lire to tlio !<iiiiK' I'tfrct. Tln\v 
 
 iNimiiuiu II" III! milijw- limy lie rvmiiit leiiKtli in tlio Oriloiiiiiiiici'H 
 
 toriiiii ii'Mtroruiii, imlmiilur ill cnuiuiin di'S Kiiis ; or abridged by Uouluiiivilliurx, 
 
 coniiii iio«trl» offl.mlilms. m-c eoruiii t. ii. p. 'J4. 
 cauiuL-, uiiil lo caiiu n-'iortl, In uontrii 
 VOI^ I. 10
 
 242 ROYAL COUNCIL. Chap. IL Part IL 
 
 remaining superstition whicli had preserved this mode of 
 decision.-'^ 
 
 The supreme council, or court of peers, to whose deliberate 
 P^ functions I have ah-eady adverted, was also the 
 
 council, great judicial tribunal of the Frencli crown from 
 
 of peers! ^^^ accession of Hugh Capet.^ By this alone the 
 barons of France, or tenants in chief of the king, 
 could be judged. To this court appeals for denials of justice 
 were referred. It was originally comjiosed, as has been ob- 
 served, of the feudal vassals, coequals of those who were to 
 be tried by it ; and also of the household officers, whose right 
 of concurrence, however anomalous, was extremely ancient. 
 But after the business of the court came to increase throuirh 
 the multiplicity of appeals, especially fi-om the bailiffs estab- 
 lished by Philip Augustus in the royal domains, the barons 
 found neither leisure nor capacity for the ordinary administra- 
 tion of justice, and reserved their attendance for occasions 
 where some of their own orders were implicated in a criminal 
 process. St. Louis, anxious for regularity and enlightened 
 decisions, made a considerable alteration by introducing some 
 Cours councillors of inferior rank, chiefly ecclesiastics, 
 
 piemeres. ^^^ adviscrs of tlic court, thougli, as is supposed, 
 without any decisive suffrage. The court now became known 
 by the name of parliament. Registers of its proceedings 
 Avere kept, of which the earliest extant are of the year 1254. 
 It was still perhaps, in some degree ambulatory ; but by far 
 the greater part of its sessions in the thirteenth century were 
 at Paris. The councillors nominated by the king, some of 
 them clerks, others of noble rank, but not peers of the ancient 
 baronage, acquired insensibly a right of suffrage.^ 
 
 An ordinance of Philip the Fair, in 1302, is generally 
 Parliament supposcd to liavc fixed the scat of parliament at 
 of Paria. Paris, as well as altered its constituent parts.* 
 
 1 Philip IV. restricted trial by combat the same conditions as in France. Pink- 
 to cases where four conditions were unit- erton's Hist, of Scotl. vol. i. p. 66. 
 ed. The crime must be capital ; its com- 2 [\ote XVII.] 
 
 mission certain ; The accused greatly sus- s Boulainvilliers, t. li. p. 29, 44 ; Mably, 
 pected ; And no proof to be obtained by 1. iv. c. 2 ; Encyclopedie, art. Parlement ; 
 witnesses. Under thcJe limitations, or Mem. de I'Acad. des Inscript. t. xxx. p. 
 at least some of them, for it appears that 603. The great difficulty I have found 
 they were not all regarded, instances oc- in this investigation will plead my ex- 
 cur for some centuries. cuse if errors are detected. 
 
 See the singular story of Carougcs and ■* Pasqnier (Recherches de la France, 
 
 Le Gris, to which I allude in the text. 1. ii. c. 3) published this ordinance, which, 
 
 Villaret, t. xi. p. 412. Trial by combat indeed, as the editor of Ordonnancos des 
 
 was allowed in Scotland exactly under Rois, t. i. p. 547, observes, is no ordinance,
 
 Feudal System. PEEKS OF FRANCE. 243 
 
 Perhaps a series of progressive changes has been referred to 
 a single epoch. But whether by virtue of tliis ordinanee, or 
 of more gradual events, the character of the Aviiule feudal 
 court WiV* nearly ul)literated in that of the parliament of 
 Paris. A systematic tribunal took the place of a loose 
 aristocratic assembly. It was to hold two sittings in the 
 Tear, each of two months' duration ; it was composed of two 
 prelates, two counts, thirteen clerks, and as many laymen. 
 Great changes were made afterwards in this constitution. 
 The nobility, who originally sat there, grew wearv of an 
 attendance which detained them from war, and from their 
 favorite pursuits at home. The bishops were dismissed to 
 their nec<'ssary residence upon their sees.^ As obii-iitious 
 they withdrew, a class of regular lawyers, origi- '^^ " ^'''***' 
 nally employed, as it appears, in the preparatory business, 
 without any decisive voice, came forward to the higher places, 
 and established a complicated and tedious system of proce- 
 dure, which was always characteristic of French jurisprudence. 
 
 They introduced at the same time a new theory of abso- 
 lute power, and unlimited obedience. All feudal ^ppijup f 
 privileges were treated as encroachments on the the feudal 
 imprescriptible rights of monarchy, "With the *y*'*'"- 
 natural liias of lawyers in favor of prerogative conspired 
 that of the clergy, who fled to the king for refuge against the 
 tyranny of the Itarons. In the civil and canon laws a svstem 
 of political maxims was found very uncongenial to the feudal 
 customs. The French lawyers of tlie fourteenth and fifteenth 
 centuries freipiently give their king the title of emperor, 
 and treat disul)edience to him as sacrilesre.'^ 
 
 But among these lawyers, altlioiigh the general tenants of 
 the crown by barony cetised to ai>iiear, there still Pecrsof 
 continut.-d to sit a more eminent l)ody, tiie lay and i'"'"''^- 
 spiritual peers of France, representatives, as it were, of that 
 ancient baronial ari^tocnu'y. It is a very controverted 
 qiie-tion at what time this exclusive dignity of peerage, a 
 word oitviously applical)le ijy the feudal law to all persons 
 coequal in ilegree of tenure, w;i.s reserved to twelve vassals. 
 At iIm- iijronatiiiii of I'liilip Augustus, in 1171), we first ])er- 
 
 ' ' ■ \<riiti(,ii ofone the J)o«t authorities I hiive found. There 
 
 1 -" it ejitnlilliili limy very [losNitily l>e HupiTliT wiirks on 
 
 '"■ '"■ I'l .i.iiiienf in I'lirJH. tliin Iminrli of tlie Kremli roimtitution 
 
 '^ ' ' '■• Kniiire. f. »li p. ;>i.'J, wliirli liiive not lalli'ii lull, my hiindn. 
 
 ■I'J I , !''•■ '■"■< I'arleiufUt, are - Malily, 1. iv. c. ;j. noi,. In."
 
 244: JURISDICTION OF PARLIAMENT. Chap. II. Part II. 
 
 ceive the six great feudataries, dukes of Burgundy, Nor- 
 mandj, Guienne, counts of Toulouse, Flanders, Champagne, 
 distinguished by the offices they performed in that ceremony. 
 It was natural, indeed, that, by their princely splendor and 
 importance, they should eclipse such petty lords as Bourbon 
 and Coucy. however equal in quality of tenure. During the 
 reign of Philip Augustus, six ecclesiastical peers, the duke- 
 bishops of Rheims, Laon, and Langres, the count-bishops of 
 Beauvais, Chalons, and Noyon, were added as a sort of 
 parallel or counterpoise.-^ Their pi*ecedence does not, how- 
 ever, appear to have carried with it any other privilege, at 
 least in judicature, than other barons enjoyed. But their 
 preeminence being fully confirmed, Philip the Fair set the 
 precedent of augmenting their original number, by conferring 
 the dignity of peerage on the duke of Britany and the count 
 of Artois.'^ Other creations took place subsequently ; but 
 these Avere confined, during the period comprised in this 
 work, to princes of the royal blood. The peers were con- 
 stant members of the parliament, from which other vassals 
 holding in chief, were never, perhaps, excluded by law, but 
 their attendance was rai'e in the fourteenth century, and soon 
 afterwards ceased altogether.^ 
 
 A judicial body, composed of the greatest nobles in France, 
 
 as well as of learned and eminent lawyers, must 
 
 the jurisdic- naturally have soon become politically important. 
 
 tioii of the Notwithstandino; their disposition to enhance every 
 
 parliament. P -i n t i • ^^ 
 
 royal prerogative, as opposed to leudai privileges, 
 the parliament was not disinclined to see its own protection 
 invoked by the subject. It appears by an ordinance of 
 Charles V., in 1371, that the nobility of Languedoc had 
 appealed to the parliament of Paris against a tax imposed 
 by the king's authority ; and this, at a time when the French 
 constitution did not recognize the levying of money without 
 consent of the States-General, must have been a just ground 
 of appeal, though the present ordinance annuls and overturns 
 it.'* During the tempests of Charles VI.'s unhajjpy reign 
 the parliament acquired a more decided authority, and held, 
 in some degree, the balance between the contending factions 
 of Orleans and Burgundy. This influence was partly owing 
 
 1 Velly, t. ii. p. 287 ; t. lii. p. 221 ; t. iv. 3 Encyclop^die, art. Parlement, p. 6. 
 p. 41. * Mably, 1. v. c. 5, note 5. 
 
 2 Id. t. vii. p. 97.
 
 Feudal System. KEGISTKATIOX OF TJOY.VL EDICTS. 245 
 
 to one remarkable funi'tion attributed to tbo ])arliainent, 
 wbifb raised it inueh above the level ot" a inrnly jtolitical 
 tribunal, and has at various times wrought striking etiects 
 in the French monarchy. 
 
 The tew ordinances enacted by kings of France in the 
 twelfth and thirteenth centuries were generally by the advice 
 of their royal council, in which prol)alily they were solenuily 
 declared ais well as agreed uiion. But after the 
 
 , , , . ,. 1 • I i 1 Roval oitiots 
 
 gradual revolution ot govennnent. wlucli took away e„rfi;ist.T.(i 
 from the feudal aristocracv all coiUrol over the '" i"''"'''!- 
 kuig s edicts, and substituted a new magistracy lor 
 the ancient baronial court, these legislative ordinances were 
 commonly drawn up by the interior council, or what we may 
 call the ministry. Thi-y were in some instances promulgated 
 by the king in parliament. Others were sent thither for 
 registration or entry upon their records. This formality was 
 bv degrees, if not troin the beginning, deemed essential to 
 render them authentic and notorious, and therefore indirectly 
 gave them the sanction and validity of a law.-' Such, at 
 least, appears to have been the rei-eived doctrine before the 
 end of the fourteenth century. It has been contended by 
 Mably, among other writers, that at so early an epoch the 
 ]iarli:inient of Paris did not enjov. nor even claim to itself, 
 that anonial(»us rigiit of jmlgiiig tlie expediency of edicts 
 proceeding from the king, which afterwards so remarkably 
 mcMlitied tlie absoluteness of his ])ower. In the tifteenth 
 century, however, it certainly manifested pretensions of this 
 nature: first, by registering ordinances in such a manner as 
 to testify its own unwillingness and disapprobation, of which 
 one instance occurs as early as 141S, and another in 144.'^); 
 and. afterwards I»y remonstrating against and delaying the 
 registration of laws whicli it deemed iMiiiii( al to the |)ublic 
 interest. A con^pieuous ]»roof of this spirit was given in 
 their op[)osition to L<tuis XI. when repealing the Pragmatic 
 Sanction of iiis fatlier — an ordinance essential, in their 
 o|>inion, to the liberties of the (i.illican church. In this 
 instance tliey ultimately yielded ; l)nt at another time iliey 
 ]ier-i«ted in a r<'fu-al to enn-gister letters containing an 
 alienation of tiie royal domain.'' 
 
 The counsellors of parliament were originally :ip|Miiiitrd 
 
 • Knr\rln\t^l\v, art. Pnrli-iiipnt. llaniivr, Hint. Jo Kniucc, t. xvii. p. 2l'J- 
 
 *>Ulily, I. Tt. c. 6, iiou-« Vj mill 21; liH*).
 
 246 COUNSELLORS OF PARLLIMENT. Chap. II. Part II. 
 
 by tlie king ; and they were even changed according to cir- 
 cumstances. Charles V. made the first alteration, by per- 
 mitting them to till np vacancies by election, which usage 
 continued during the next reign. Charles VII. resumed the 
 Counsellors nomination of fresh members upon vacancies, 
 of parliament Louis XI. cvcn displaced actual counsellors. But 
 Ufean'/by ^ ill 14G8, fi'om whatcvcr motive, he published a 
 election. most important ordinance, declaring the presidents 
 and counsellors of parliament immovable, except in case of 
 legal forfeiture.^ This extraordinary measure of conferring 
 independence on a body which had already displayed a con- 
 sciousness of its eminent privilege by opposing the regis- 
 tration of his edicts, is perhaps to be deemed a proof of that 
 shortsightedness as to points of substantial interest so usually 
 found in crafty men. But, be this as it may, there was 
 formed in the parliament of Paris an independent power not 
 emanating from the royal will, nor liable, except through 
 foi'ce, to be destroyed by it ; which, in later times, became 
 almost the sole depositary, if not of what we should call the 
 love of freedom, yet of public spirit and attachment to justice. 
 France, so fertile of great men in the sixteenth and seven- 
 teenth centuries, might better spai'e, perhaps, from her annals 
 any class and description of them than her lawyers. Doubt- 
 less the parliament of Paris, with its prejudices and narrow 
 views, its high notions of loyal obedience so strangely mixed 
 up with remonstrances and resistance, its anomalous privi- 
 lege of objecting to edicts, hardly approved by the nation 
 who did not participate in it, and overturned with facility by 
 the kino- whenever he thoudit fit to exert the sinews of his 
 prerogative, was but an inadequate substitute for that co- 
 ordinate sovereignty, that equal concurrence of national 
 representatives in legislation, which has long been the ex- 
 clusive pride of our government, and to which the States- 
 General of France, in their best days, had never aspired. 
 Xo man of sane understanding would desire to revive insti- 
 tutions both uncongenial to modern opinions and to the 
 natural order of society. Yet the name of the parliament 
 of Paris must ever be respectable. It exhibited upon vari- 
 ous occasions virtues from which human esteem is as insepa- 
 rable as the shadow from the substance — a severe adherence 
 to principles, an unaccommodating sincerity, individual disin- 
 
 i Villaret, t. xiy. p. 231 ; Encyclopedie, art. Parlement.
 
 Feudal System. DECLINE OF FEUDAL SYSTEM. 
 
 terestedness and consistency. Whether indeed these quaH- 
 ties have been so generally characteristic of the French 
 peopk- as to attbnl no ]>eculiar connnendation to the parlia- 
 ment of Paris, it is rather tor the observt-r ot" the i)reseut dav 
 than the historian of past times to decide.^ 
 
 The i)rincipal eauses that operated in subvertinnf the feudal 
 pystt'in may be comprrhended under three distinct onuses of 
 heads — the increasing power of the crown, the the decline 
 elfvation of the lower I'anks, and the decay of the sjstem.*^ 
 ffudal principle. 
 
 It has licen my object in the last pages to jioint out the 
 ac(iuisitions of power by the crown of France in 
 
 '■ !■ 1 • 1 • 1 • ,• • 1 1 • mi Acquisitions 
 
 r<'-peet ot legislative and juihcial authority. Ihe of power by 
 principal augmentations of its domain have been ^'^'^ '^'^""'"• 
 lii.-torically mentioned in the last chaiiter, but the Augmente- 
 subJL'ct may here require furtiier notice. Tiie ti*>» "f "le 
 t reiicli kuigs naturally acted upon a system, ni 
 order to recover those possessions which the improvidence 
 or necessities of the Carlovingiau race had suffered almost 
 to t'all away from the monarchy. This course, pursued with 
 tolerable steadiness for two or three centuries, restored their 
 effective power. By escheat or forfeiture, by bequest or 
 purelia<e, by marriage or succession, a number of fiefs were 
 merged in their increasing domain.^ It was part of theii" 
 
 • The prrivinre of I^nguedoc, with its 
 de|>endeiii-ies of Querey uiiJ llouernuc, 
 hiiriui; beloii)re.l uluiost in full sover- 
 eitfnty to the count." of Touloum-, waj< uot 
 perhaps subject to the feu(lal resort or 
 appcllunt juririiliction of iiiiy trihuiiiil at 
 PsriM. Fliilip the Kulil. after it.s reuninn 
 to the crown, established the parli:inieiit 
 of Toulouse, a tribunal without a|i|ieHl. 
 In 12*). This was. Imwever. sus|»MiJed 
 from l'£i\ to 144^1. ilurini; which interval 
 the |Mrliaini-nt >>f I'aris cxen'iseil an 
 ap|M-llanC jnri»<lirtion over Laiitiuedoc. 
 Yiii^xftti', Hi«t. de Lan);. t. iv. p. tK), 71, 
 ."_ ] courtit rir parlianiento 
 
 1 by CharleH VII. at Ore- 
 i4' ■■ ■ i I i' ..i,.iiini-. and by Ixiuis XI. at 
 Kiipb-iiux and Idjnn for (iuienne and 
 IturjuiiU. Till- I. irlianient of lOiucn is 
 1 ,. institutions rather 
 
 ;( of the parliament 
 of l'.irii>, ulm li h.iU extended over Itur- 
 gumly, and. in time of |>uace, over (iui- 
 enne. 
 
 A work liiw ap|>«an-<l within a few 
 
 , ,,1... 1. .1...... . ,,„ nbundnnt ll({ht on 
 
 ' :iiid iniiH-d on the 
 
 , : France, na well oa 
 
 other countries, durin); the middle ages. 
 I allude to L'Esprit, Orifjine. et Progres 
 des Institutions judiciaires de.s priuci- 
 paux I'ays de I'Europe, by M. Meyer, of 
 Amsterdam ; espwially the first and third 
 volumes. It would have been fortunate 
 had its publication preceded that of the 
 first edition of the present work ; a.s I 
 nii^ht have rendered this chapter on the 
 feudal system iu many respects more 
 perspicuous and correct. As it is. with- 
 out availinj; myself of M. Meyer's learn- 
 ing and acutencss to illustrate the ob- 
 scurity of the.se researches, or disciissiiit; 
 the few iiuestions upon which 1 might 
 venture, with deference, to adhere to 
 another opinion, neither of which could 
 conveniently lie done on the present 
 occasion, I shall content myself with this 
 general reference to a performanci' of 
 singular diligence and ability, which no 
 student of these anti'inities should neg- 
 lect. In all es.seiitial points 1 am happy 
 tn iwrceive that .M. Meyer's views of the 
 middle ages are not fardilferent from my 
 own. — Xi)i' III ilii fiiiirili I 'III. 
 
 • The svord domain is ijilciilati-d. by a 
 iH.-eiuiug ambiguity, to jierplex the ruuder
 
 248 
 
 CAUSES OF DECLINE Chap. II. Part II. 
 
 policy to obtain possession of arriere-fiefs, and thus to be- 
 come tenants of their own barons. In such cases the kino; 
 was obhged by the feudal duties to perform homage, by 
 proxy, to his subjects, and engage himself to tbe service of 
 his fief But, for every political purpose, it is evident that 
 the lord could have no command over so formidable a 
 vassal.-^ 
 
 The reunion of so many fiefs was attempted to be secured 
 by a legal principle, that the domain was inalienable and 
 imprescriptible. This became at length a fundamental 
 maxim in the law of France. But it does not seem to be 
 much older than the reign of Philip V., who, in 1318, 
 revoked the alienations of his predecessors, nor was it 
 thoroughly established, even in theory, till the fifteenth cen- 
 tury.^ Alienations, however, were certainly very repugnant 
 to the pohcy of Philip Augustus and St. Louis. But there 
 was one species of infeudation so consonant to ancient usage 
 and prejudice that it could not be avoided upon any sugges- 
 tions of policy ; this was the investiture of younger princes 
 of the blood with considerable territorial appanages. It is 
 
 of French history. In its primary sense, 
 the domain or desmesne (dominicuni) of 
 any proprietor was confined to the lands 
 in his immediate occupation ; excluding 
 those of which his tenants, whether in 
 fief or villenage, whether for a certain 
 estate or at will, had an actual posses- 
 sion, or, in our law-language, pernancy 
 of the profits. TUus the compilers of 
 Domesday-Book distinguish, in every 
 manor, the lands held by the lord in 
 demesne from those occupied by his 
 villeins or others tenants. And in Eng- 
 land the word, if not technically, yet in 
 use, is still confined to this sense. But 
 in a secondary acceptation, more usual 
 in France, the domain comprehended all 
 lands for which rent wjis paid (censives), 
 and which contributed to the regular 
 annual revenue of the proprietor. The 
 great distinction w^as between lands in 
 demesne and those in fief. A grant of 
 territory, whether by the king or another 
 lord, comprising as well domanial estates 
 and tributary towns as feudal superiori- 
 ties, was expressed to convey " in donii- 
 nico quod est in dominico, et in feodo 
 quod est in feodo." Since, therefore, fiefs, 
 even those of the vavassors or inferior 
 tenantry, were not part of the lord's 
 domain, there is, as T said, an a])pnreiit 
 ambiguity in tlie language of histm-ians 
 who speak of the reunion of provinces to 
 
 the royal domain. This ambiguity, how- 
 ever, is rather apparent than real. When 
 the duchy of Normandy, for example, is 
 said to have been united by Philip Au- 
 gustus to his domain, we are not, of 
 course, to suppose that the soil of that 
 province became the jjrivate estate of 
 the crown. It continued, as before, in 
 the possession of the Norman barons and 
 their sub-vassals, who had held their es- 
 tates of the dukes. But it is meant on- 
 ly that the king of France stood exactly 
 in the place of the duke of Normandy, 
 with tlie same i-ights of possession over 
 lands absolutely in demesne, of rents and 
 customary payments from the burgesses 
 of towns and tenants in roture or villen- 
 age, and of feudal services Irom the mil- 
 itary vassals. The immediate superiori- 
 ty, and the immediate resort, or juris- 
 diction, over these devolved to the crown; 
 .and thus the duchy of Normandy, con- 
 sidered as a fief, was reunited, or, more 
 properly, merged in the royal domain, 
 though a very small part of the territory 
 might become truly domanial. 
 
 1 See a memorial on the acquisition of 
 arriere-fiefs by the kings of France, in 
 Mem. de I'Acad. des Inscript. t. i. by M. 
 Dacier. 
 
 -* Preface au 15me tome des Ordon- 
 nances, par M. Pastoret.
 
 Feudal System. OF THE FEUDAL SYSTEM. 249 
 
 remarkable that the epoch of appanages on so great a scale 
 was the reign of St. Louis, whose ettbrts were constantly 
 directed against feudal independence. Yet he invested his 
 brothers with the counties of Poitou, Anjou, and Artois, 
 and his sons with those of Clermont and Alencon. This 
 l)ractice, in later times, pi-oduced very mischievous conse- 
 quences. 
 
 Under a sect)nd class of events that contributed to destroy 
 the sjiirit of the feudal system we may reckon the abolition 
 of villenage, the increase of conuntTcc^ and consequent opu- 
 lence of merchants and artisans, and esi)ecially the institu- 
 tions of free cities and boroughs. This is one of the most 
 inqiortant and interesting stejis in the progress of society 
 during the middle ages, and deserves particular consider- 
 ation. 
 
 The provincial cities under the Roman empire enjoyed, as 
 is well known, a nuniicipal magistracy and the j,-ri-c an.i 
 riirht of internal regulation. Nor was it repug- c-hartored 
 nant to the spirit ot the I'rank or Gothic con- 
 querors to leave them in possession of these privileges. It 
 wius long believed, however, that little, if any, satisfactory 
 ])roof of their preservation, either in France or Italy, could 
 be found ; or, at least, if they had ever existed, that they 
 were wholly swept away in the former country during the 
 confu-ion ot' the ninth century, which ended in the establish- 
 ment of the feudal system. 
 
 Everv town, except within the royal domains, was subject 
 to some lord. In episcopal cities the bishop possessed a 
 consideralile autiiority; and in many there was a class of 
 resident nobility. But this subject has been better eluci- 
 dated of late years ; and it has been made to api)ear that 
 in-tances of municipal government were at least not rare, 
 especiallv in the south of France, throughout tlic long 
 perioil Itelweeu tlie fall of the western empire ami the be- 
 ginning of the twidfth century,^ though becoming far more 
 eoinuioii in its latter part. 
 
 The earliest charters of conuuunity granted to towns in 
 Fran<-<' have been coinmonly icferred to the time Eiirli.-st 
 of Louis VI. Noyon, St. Quentin, Liwn, and '^•""■'^•"• 
 Amiens appear to have been the lirst that received cinauci- 
 
 »IXoteXVI1I.1
 
 250 CAUSES OF DECLINE Chap. II. Paet II. 
 
 pation at the liands of tliis prince.^ The chief towns in the 
 royal domains were successively admitted to the same privi- 
 leges during the reigns of Louis VI., Louis VII., and Philip 
 Augustus. This example was gradually followed by the 
 peers and other barons ; so that by the end of the thirteenth 
 century the custom had prevailed over all Fi-ance. It has 
 Causes of been sometimes imagined that the crusades had 
 grautiug g^ material influence in promoting the erection of 
 
 them not to . . ,^, '- -, . . '^ i i i 
 
 be found in communities, ihose expeditions would have re- 
 the crusades, ■pg^\^[ Europe for the prodigality of crimes and 
 miseries which attended them if this notion were founded 
 in reality. But I confess that in this, as in most other 
 respects, their beneficial consequences appear to me very 
 much exaggerated. The cities of Italy obtained their 
 internal liberties by gradual encroachments, and by the con- 
 cessions of the Franconian emperors. Those uj^on the 
 Rhine owed many of their privileges to the same monarchs, 
 whose cause they had espoused in the rebellions of Germany. 
 In France the charters granted by Louis the Fat could hard- 
 ly be connected with the first crusade, in which the crown 
 had taken no part, and were long prior to the second. It 
 was not till fitly years afterwards that the barons seem to 
 have trod in his steps by granting charters to their vassals, 
 and these do not appear to have been particularly related in 
 time to any of the crusades. Still less can the corporations 
 erected by Henry 11. in England be ascribed to these holy 
 wars, in which our country had hitherto taken no consider- 
 able share. 
 
 The establishment of chartered towns in France has also 
 nor in been ascribed to deliberate policy. " Louis the 
 
 deliberate Gross," says Robcrtson, " in order to create some 
 ^°"'^' power that might counterbalance those j^otent 
 
 vassals who controlled or gave law to the crown, first 
 adopted the plan of conferring new privileges on the towns 
 situated within his own domain." Yet one does not im- 
 mediately perceive what strength the king could acquire by 
 granting these extensive privileges within his own domains, 
 if the great vassals were only weakened, as he asserts after- 
 wards, by following his example. In what sense, besides, 
 can it be meant that Noyon or Amiens, by obtaining certain 
 
 1 Ordonnances des Rois, ubi supra, p. 7. These charters are as old as 1110, but 
 the precise date is unknown.
 
 FEroAL System. OF THE FEUDAL SYSTEM. 2ol 
 
 franchises, became a power that coiiUl counterbahmee the 
 duke (tf Xonnaiuly or count ot" Clianipagne ? It is more 
 natural to impute this measure, both in tlie king and hi.s 
 barons, to tlieir pecuniary exigencies ; for we could hardly 
 doubt that their concessions were sold at the highest price, 
 even if the existing charters did not exhibit the fullest jnoof 
 of it.^ It is obvious, however, that the coarser niotliotls of 
 rapine must have grown obsolete, and the rights of the in- 
 haltitauts of towns to proi)erty estalilislied, before they could 
 enter into any compact with their lord for the circum- 
 purchase of libertv. Guibert, abbot of St. No- «*""";? 
 
 * • 1.1-1 n att<>iiaiiig 
 
 gent, near L,aon, relates the establishment ot a the treaty 
 community in that city with circumstances, that, in '^^ '^°"- 
 the main, migiit prol)ably occur in any other place. Con- 
 tinual acts of violence and robbery having been committed, 
 which there was no police aih'(piate to })revent, the clergy 
 and principal inhabitants agreed to enfranchise the i)0pulace 
 for a sum of money, and to bind the whole society by regula- 
 tions for general security. These conditions were gladly ac- 
 cepted ; the money was paid, and the leading men swore to 
 maintain the privileges ot the inferior freemen. The bishop 
 of Laoii. who happened to be absent, at first opposed this 
 new institution, but was ultimately indiu'cd, by money, to take 
 a similar oath; and the community was continued by the 
 king. Uiduckily for himself, the bishop afterwards annulled 
 the charter; when the inhabitants, in desj)air at seeing them- 
 selves reiluced to servitude, rose and murdered him. This 
 was in 1112; and Guibcrl's narrative certainly does not sup- 
 port the opinion that charters of comnmnity proceeded from 
 tlie ]M)licy of government. He seems to have looked upon 
 them with the jealousy of a feudal al^ltot, and blames the 
 bishop of Amiens for consc-nting to such an establishment in 
 his city, froui which, according to Guibert, many evils re- 
 eulted. In his .sermons, we are told, this abbot used to 
 descant on " those execralde conmumities, where serfs, 
 against law and ju>tice, withdraw themselves from the power 
 of their lords." '^ 
 
 In some wises they were indebted for success to their own 
 courage and love of liberty. Oppressed by the exactions of 
 their superiors, they had recourse to arms, and united lliem- 
 
 1 Orloniiancvf den IloU, t. xi. prC-fucc, a Hint. I^ltteniire ile In Kniiioe, t. x. 4'i8 ; 
 p. is ft fti. Du t'liiige, voc. Cuuimuiiiu.
 
 252 CAUSES OF DECLINE Chap. II. Part II. 
 
 selves in a common league, confirmed by oath, for the sake 
 of recbess. One of these associations took place at Mans as 
 early as 1067, and, though it did not i)roduce any charter of 
 privileges, is a proof of the spirit to which ultimately the 
 superior classes were obliged to submit.^ Several charters 
 bear witness that thi^ spirit of resistance was justified by op- 
 pression. Louis VII. frequently declares the tyranny exer- 
 cised over the towns to be his motive for enfranchising them. 
 Thus the charter of Mantes, in 1150, is said to be given 
 " pro nimia oppressione pauperum : " that of Compiegne, in 
 1153, " propter enormitates clericorum : " that of Dourlens, 
 granted by the count of Ponthieu in 1202, "propter injurias 
 et molestias a potentibus terrte burgensibus frequenter il- 
 latas." 2 
 
 The privileges which these towns of France derived fro: 
 The extent their charters were surprisingly extensive; esp;.- 
 of their cially if we do not suspect some of them to be mere- 
 prmieges. ^y j^ confirmation of previous usages. They were 
 made capable of possessing common property, and authorized 
 to use a common seal as the symbol of their incorporation. 
 The more oppressive and ignominious tokens of subjection, 
 such as the fine paid to the lord for permission to marry their 
 children, were abolished. Their payments of rent or tribute 
 were limited both in amount and as to the occasions when 
 they might be demanded : and these were levied by assessors 
 of their own electing. Some obtained an exemption from 
 assisting their lord in war ; others were only bound to follow 
 him when he personally commanded ; and almost all limited 
 their service to one, or, at the utmost, very {ew days. If 
 they were persuaded to extend its duration, it was, like that 
 of feudal tenants, at the cost of their superior. Their cus- 
 toms, as to succession and other matters of private right, 
 were reduced to certainty, and, for the most part, laid down 
 in the charter of incorporation. And the observation of 
 these was secured by the most valuable privilege which the 
 chartered towns obtained — that of exemption from the juris- 
 diction, as well of tlie royal as the tei*ritorial judges. Tliey 
 were subject only to that of magistrates, either wholly elected 
 by themselves, or, in some places, with a greater or less par- 
 ticipation of choice in the lord. They were empowered to 
 
 1 Recueil des Historiens, t. xiv. preface 2 Oraonnances des Rois, t. xi. preface, 
 p. 66. p. 17.
 
 Feidal System. OF THE FEUDAL SYSTi:.\[. 2.")3 
 
 make special rules or, as we call tliein. by-laws, so as not to 
 contravi-ne the provisions of their charter, or the ordinanc 'S 
 of tlie kinj:.^ 
 
 It was undoubtedly far from the intention of those barons 
 who ecintiM-red sucli inununities niion their sul)jects 
 to relinipiish their t>wn superiority and rights not of^ftv^ ""^ 
 exi)ressly conceded. But a remarkable change ''>""* «'>ti» 
 
 1 ,.,,.. ,. , , . , the king. 
 
 took place ni tiie begnnnng or the tlnrtcfuth cen- 
 tury, which affected, in a high degree, the feudal constitu- 
 tiuu of France. Towns, distrustful of tlieir lord's lidelity, 
 sometimes called in the king as guarantee of his engage- 
 ments. Tlie first stage of roval interference led to a more 
 extensive measure. Philip Augustus granted letters of safe- 
 guard to conamnnities dependent upon the barons, assuring 
 to tliem his own protection and jiatronage.'^ And this was 
 followed up so quickly by the court, if we believe some wri- 
 ters, that iu the next reign Louis YIII. pretended to the im- 
 mediate sovereignty over all chartered towns, in exclusion 
 of tlicir original liird-.^ Nothing, pcrlinps, had so decisive 
 an efh'Ct in subverting the feudal ari-^tocracy. The liarons 
 perceived, too late, that, for a price long since lavished in 
 proiligal magnificence or useless warfare, they had suffered 
 tlie source of their wealth to be diverted, aud the nerves of 
 their strength to be severed. The government prudently 
 respected tiic privileges secured by charter. Philip the 
 Long established an oflicer in all large towns to preserve 
 peace by an aruied police ; but though subject to the orders 
 of the crown, he was elected by the burgesses, and they took 
 a mutual oath of fidelity to eacli other. Thus shielded under 
 tlie king's manth,', they ventured to encroach upon the neigh- 
 boring lords, and to retaliate for the long oppression of the 
 commonalty.* Every citizen was bound by oath to stand by 
 
 1 OnloiinanccH (Jcs Uois. prffiiocs nus manoir, hnwovor, sixty years afterwards, 
 
 tonn'H xi. ct xii.; Du ('aiiiri-, voc. Com- lays it down that no one ran rrect a 
 
 niunia, Ilostis ; Carpfntirr. Suppl. ad Du coniniuni' without the kin|j;'s consent, 
 
 Cantfi-. V. Ilostis : .Matily, Ohservatioua c. 5*1. p. 2<>8. And this was an unques- 
 
 Hur rHiiit. de Kninre, I. lii. c. 7. tionable maxim in the fourt<'onth cen- 
 
 • Mahly, OliwrvatiouK sur rillnt. de tury. — Ordonnancc'*, t. xi. p. 2'J. 
 Franee. i. lii. r. 7. * hi the eharter of Philip Au^'ustns to 
 
 ' lO-piil.-iUit rivitates ornnei »ua« esse, the town of Koye in I'icarily, \\r read, 
 
 in i|uil>nK rommuni/e i-swut. 1 mention If any slnin^;er, wliether nohle or vilh-in, 
 
 thin in defuH'nre Oi Uu CanRe, Mahly, commits a wronj; against the town, tlie 
 
 and other*, who nanunie the faet ait In- mayor fhall summon him to answer for 
 
 ronfrfU'ertilile : hut tlie pamuij.f is only it. atid if he iIih-s not ohey the summons 
 
 in a nionkixli ehrinirler, »hoM' authority, the nia\or ami inhaliitants may K" and 
 
 wen- it even mon- explieit, wouM not destroy lii< lionj.r, in wliieh we (the kinjf) 
 
 weij;h much in a inatttT of law. Ueau- will leiid them our aiisistanee, if the liou.'-u
 
 254 CAUSES OF DECLINE Chap. IT. Part II. 
 
 the common cause against all aggressors, and this obligation 
 was abundantly fulfilled. In order to swell their numbers, 
 it became the practice to admit all who came to reside with- 
 in their walls to the rights of burghership, even though they 
 were villeins appurtenant to the soil of a master from whom 
 they had escaped.^ Others, having obtained the same privi- 
 leges, continued to dwell in the country ; but, upon any dis- 
 pute with their lords, called in the assistance of their 
 community. Philip the Fair, erecting certain communes in 
 Languedoc, gave to any Avho would declare on oath that he 
 was aggrieved by the lord or his officers the right of being 
 admitted a burgess of the next town, upon paying one mark 
 of silver to the king, and purchasing a tenement of a defi- 
 nite value. But the neglect of this condition and several 
 other abuses are enumerated in an instrument of Charles 
 v., containing the complaints made by the nobility and rich 
 ecclesiastics of the neio-hborhood.^ In his reign the feudal 
 independence had so comjjletely yielded, that the court be- 
 gan to give in to a new policy, which was ever after pur- 
 sued ; that of maintaining the dignity and privileges of the 
 noble class against those attacks which wealth and liberty 
 encouraged the plebeians to make upon them. 
 
 The maritime towns of the south of France 
 towns entered into separate alliances with foreign states ; 
 
 peculiarly ^s Narbonuc with Genoa in 1166, and Montpel- 
 lier in the next century. At the death of Kay- 
 be too strong for the burgesses to pull guedoc, t. iii. p. 115. The territory of a 
 down: except the case of one of our commune was called Pax (p. 185); an 
 vassals, whose house shall not be de- expressive word. 
 
 stroyed ; but he shall not be allowed to i One of the most remarkable privi- 
 enter the town till he has made amends leges of chartered towns was that of con- 
 at the discretion of the mayor and jurats, ferring freedom on runaway serfs, if they 
 Ordonnances des Rois, t. xi. p. 228. This were not reclaimed by their masters with- 
 summary process could only, as I con- in a certain time. This was a pretty 
 ceive, be employed if the house was situ- general law. Si quis nativus quiete per 
 ated within the jurisdiction of the com- unum annum et unum diem in aliquSi 
 mune. See Charter of Crespy, id. p. 253. villa privilegiata manserit, ita quod in 
 In other cases the application for redress eorum communem gyldam tanciuam civis 
 was to be made in tlie first instance to receptus fuerit, eo ipso i villenagio libe- 
 ♦ the lord of the territory wherein the de- rabitur. Glanvil, 1. v. c. 5. The cities 
 linquent resided. lUit upon his failing of Languedoc had the same privilege, 
 to enforce satisfaction, the mayor and Vai.ssette, t. iii. p. 528, 530. And the 
 jurats might satisfy themselves ; liceat editor of the Ordonnances speaks of it as 
 justitiam quierere, prout poterunt ; that general, p. 44. A similar custom was 
 is, might pull down his house provided establisiied in Germany ; but the term 
 they could. Mably positively maintains of prescription was, in some places at 
 the communes to have had the right of least, much longer than a year and a 
 levying war. 1. iii. c. 7. And Hrequigny day. Pfeffel, t. i. p. 294. 
 seems to coincide with him. Ordonnan- - Marteune, Thesaur. Anecd. t. i. p. 
 ces, preface, p. 46; see also Hist, de Lan- 1515.
 
 Feudal System. OF THE FEUDAL SYSTEM. 2r».") 
 
 moml VIT.. Avignon, Aries, and Marsoillos aflTected to set up 
 rt'iuiltliean govt-nnnents ; but they were soon brought into 
 sulijeetion.^ The iiuleiit-ndent character of maritime towns 
 ■\vjis not pecuhar to tliose of the soutliern provinces. Ed- 
 Avard II. and Edwanl III. negotiated and entered into alli- 
 ance!; with the towns of Flanders, to which neither their count 
 nor the king of France were i)arties.- Even so late as the 
 reign of Louis XI. the duke of Burgundy did not hesitate to 
 address the citizens of Kouen, in conseciuence of the capture 
 of some ships, a.s if they had formed an independent state.* 
 This e\-idently arose out of the ancient customs of private 
 warfare, wliich, long after they were repressed by a stricter 
 police at home, continued with lawh'ss violence on the ocean, 
 and gave a character of piracy to the conmiercial enterprise 
 of the niiildh- ages. 
 
 Notwithstanding the forces wliich in opposite directions 
 assailed the feudal system from the enhancement jjiiitjirj' 
 of roval nreroirative, and the elevation of the service of 
 chartered towns, its resistance would have been tommts 
 much lonsrer, Iiut for an intrinsic decav. No 1)0- "immi'te'i 
 
 '^ 1 • 1 1 ' .'^ for uioui-y. 
 
 litical mstitution can endure which does not rivet 
 itself to the hearts of men by ancient prejudice or acknowl- 
 edged interest. The fir-udal compact luul originally much of 
 this character. Its principle of vitality was warm and ac- 
 tive. In fultilling the obligations of mutual assistance and 
 fidelity by military service, the energies of friendship were 
 awakened, and tlie ties of moral symj)athy superadded 
 to those of positive coinijact. "NN'hile private wars were at 
 their height, the connection of lord and vassal grew close and 
 cordial, in projiortiou to the keenness of their enmity towards 
 others. It wivs not the object of a baron to disgust and iui- 
 poverisji his vavit-sors by enhancing the ])rofits of seigniory ; 
 for there was no rent of such price as blood, nor any labor 
 so serviceable sus that of the sword. 
 
 IJiit the nature of femhd obligation was far better adapted 
 to the p;u-tial (juarrejs of neighboring lords than to the wars 
 of kiMgdoui>. Customs, louudeil upon the poverty of the 
 -mailer gentry, li.id limited their martial duties to a period 
 never e.xeeedin;: forty days, and (limiuishe(l according to the 
 ijubdivisioiis of the lief. They could undertake an expedi- 
 
 « Vc-11y. t. It. p. «n. t. T. p. 97. » Oarnler, t. xvii. p. 3fM. 
 
 * ll>iiiLT, t. It. |>aj>i>lm.
 
 256 CAUSES OF DECLINE Chap. II. Part II. 
 
 tion, but not a campaign ; they could burn an open toAvn, but 
 had seldom leisure to besiege a fortress. Hence, when the 
 kings of France and England were engaged in wars Avhich, 
 on our side at least, might be termed national, the inefficiency 
 of the feudal militia became evident. It was not easy to 
 employ the military tenants of England upon the frontiers 
 of Normandy and the Isle of France, within the limits of 
 their term of service. '^Vlien, under Henry II. and Richard 
 I., the scene of war was frequently transferred to the Ga- 
 ronne or the Charente, this was still more impracticable. 
 The first remedy to which sovereigns had recourse was to 
 keep their vassals in service after the expu-ation of their 
 forty days, at a stipulated rate of pay.-^ But this was 
 frequently neither convenient to the tenant, anxious to 
 return back to his household, nor to the king, who could not 
 readily defray the charges of an army.'^ Something was to 
 be devised more adequate to the exigency, though less suita- 
 ble to the feudal spirit. By the feudal law the fief was, in 
 strictness, forfeited by neglect of attendance upon the lord's 
 expedition. A milder usage introduced a fine, which, how- 
 ever, was generally rather heavy, and assessed at discretion. 
 An instance of this kind has been noticed in an earlier part 
 of the present chapter, from the muster-roll of Philip the 
 Bold's expedition against the count de Foix. The first Nor- 
 man kings of England made these amercements very oppres- 
 sive. But when a pecuniary payment became the regular 
 course of redeeming personal service, which, under the name 
 of escuage, may be referred to the reign of Henry II., it 
 was essential to liberty that the military tenant should not 
 lie at the mercy of the crown.^ Accordingly, one of the 
 most important provisions contained in the Magna Charta of 
 John secures the assessment of escuage in parliament. This 
 is not renewed in the charter of Henry III., but the practice 
 during his reign was conformable to its spirit. 
 
 The feudal military tenures had superseded that earlier 
 
 I Du Cange. et Carpentier, toc. Hostis. guedoc. At that of Angers, in 1230, 
 
 -There are several instances wliere nearly the same thing occurred. — M. 
 
 amiies broke up, at the expiration of Paris, p. 308. 
 
 their limited term of service, in conse- 3 JIadox, Hist, of Exchequer, c. 16, 
 
 qucnce of disagreement with the sover- conceives that escuage may have been 
 
 eign. Thus, at the siege of Avignon in levied by Henry I.; the earliest mention 
 
 1226, Theobald count of Champagne re- of it, however, in a record, is under 
 
 tired \yith his troops, that he might not Henry II. in 1159. — Lyttelton's Hist, of 
 
 promote the king's designs upon Lan- Henry II. vol. iv. p. 13.
 
 Feudal System. OF THE FEUDAL SYSTEM. 
 
 257 
 
 system of puWic dt'fence which called upon every man, and 
 especially every landholder, to protect his country.^ The 
 relations of a vassal canic in place of those of a subject and 
 a citizen. This was the revolution of the ninth century. In 
 the twelfth anil thirteenth another innovation ratlier more 
 jrraduallv prevailed, and marks the third period in ,, , 
 tlie military history ot Jiiurope. JMercenary troops ofmoritnary 
 were snlistituted tor the feudal militia. Undoubt- *'"°°^*' 
 edly there could never have been a time when valor was not 
 to be purchased with money ; nor could any employment of 
 surplus wealth be more natural either to the ambitious or the 
 weak. But we cannot expect to find numerous testimonies 
 of facts of this descri]»tion.'- In public national history I am 
 aware of no instance of what may be called a regular army 
 more ancient than the body-<ruards, or huscarles, of Canute 
 the Great. These select troo[>s amounted to six thousand men, 
 on whom he probably relied to ensure the subjection of Eng- 
 
 1 Kverv citizen, however extensive 
 may W his privilege.'', is mituraljy bound 
 to repel invnsion. A roninion risinj; of 
 the people in arms, thoiijrh not always 
 the most convenient nnole of resi.«tance, 
 is one to which all ^rovi-rnnients have a 
 right to re.«ort. Volunius. says Charles 
 the Bald, utcujusounijue nostrum homo, 
 In cujuscunque rejfno sit. cum seniore 
 8U0 in ho<item, vel aliis suis utilitatilius 
 perpit ; ni«i talis n-jini invjusio, quum 
 Lantwri dicnnt (quo<l ahsit ). acciilerit 
 ut omnis populus illius rejniiadeam re- 
 pellendam communiter (K'rK^it. Ilaluzii 
 Capitularia. t. ii. p. 44. Tliis very ancient 
 mention of the Lan/iirrhr. or insurrec- 
 tional militia, sosiinially called forth in 
 the present age, will strike the reader. 
 
 Tile oMipition of bearing arms in de- 
 fensive warfan- was |)eculi;irly incunilH-nt 
 on the fre«-liolder or alodialist. It made 
 part of the trinoilii necejisitas, in Eng- 
 land, erronefjusly confoumled by some 
 wrilent with a feudal militury tenure. 
 But when these latter teiiurt-s l>ecamc 
 nearly univenial. the original principle* 
 of public ilefence wi-re almost obliterated, 
 and I know not linw far hIikIIhI pniprie- 
 tont. where thev exlsti-d. wen- called upon 
 for „Tvi. .• Kliig< did not, however, al- 
 »" ■ »itli such aid as the lower 
 
 pi- i fUpply. I»uis the Fat call- 
 
 ed out llie iiiililla of towns and (Mirishes 
 und<T Hi<-lr prtestii. wlio marrlu-dat their 
 h< ■ 1 they did not a<-turilly coui- 
 
 m I baltlf. In the chartem of 
 
 In. ■■! I ■! .'i"i which towns received the 
 DumlM-r of troopi rcquire<l wax usually 
 
 yor,. I. 17 
 
 expressed. The.se formed the infantry of 
 the Fri'nch armies, perhaps more numer- 
 ous than formidable to an enemy. In 
 the war of the sjime prince with the em- 
 peror Henry V. all the population of the 
 frontier provinces Wius called out ; for the 
 militia of the counties of Rheims and 
 Clullons is said to have amounted to 
 sixty thousand men. Philip IV. sum- 
 moned one foot-solilier for every twenty 
 hearths to tjike the field after the battle 
 of Courtrai. (Daniel.Ilist.de la Mi lice 
 Fmn<;ai<e : Velly. t. iii. p. 62, t. vii. p. 
 287.) Commissions of array, either to 
 call out the whole population, or, as was 
 more common, to select the most service- 
 able by forced impressment, occur in 
 English records from the reign of Edward 
 I. (Stuarfs Viewof Society, p. 400); and 
 there are even several writs directed to 
 the bishops, enjoining them to cau.se all 
 ecclesiastical persons to be arrayed and 
 ariiieil on account of an expected in- 
 vasion. — Ilvnier, t. vi. p. 726 (4(? E. 111.), 
 t. vii. p. lt?2 (1 K. II.), and t. viii. p. 270 
 (311. IV.) 
 
 - The preface to the eleventh volume 
 of Uecueil des Historiens, p. 2.32, notices 
 the word solidnrii, for hired .soldiers, im 
 early as 1(1.311. It was jirobably unusual 
 at that time: though in Roger lloveden, 
 Orili'ricu« Vitalis. and other writers of 
 the twelfth century, it occurs not very 
 unfre(|uently. We may pcrhajis coiij(>c- 
 turo the abbots, an both the richest and 
 the most defenceless, to have be»'n the 
 first who availed thcmselveB of merce- 
 nary valor.
 
 258 CAUSES OF DECLINE Chap. II. Part II. 
 
 land. A code of martial law compiled for their regulation is 
 extant in substance ; and they are reported to have displayed 
 a military spirit of mutual union, of which their master stood 
 in awe.^ Harold II. is also said to have had Danish soldiei's 
 in pay. But the most eminent example of a mercenary army 
 is that by whose assistance William achieved the conquest 
 of England. Historians concur in representing this force to 
 have consisted of sixty thousand men. He afterwards hired 
 soldiers from various regions to resist an invasion from 
 Norway. William Rufus pursued the same course. Hired 
 troops did not, however, in general form a considerable 
 portion of armies till the wars of Henry II. and Philip 
 Augustus. Each of these mouarchs took into pay large 
 bodies of mercenaries, chiefly, as we may infer from their 
 appellation of Braban^ons, enlisted from the Netherlands. 
 These were always disbanded on cessation of hostilities ; and, 
 unfit for any habits but of idleness and license, oppressed 
 the peasantry and i-avaged the country without control. But 
 their soldier-like principles of indiscriminate obedience, still 
 more than their courage and field-discipline, rendered them 
 dear to kings, who dreaded the free spirit of a feudal army. 
 It was by such a foreign force that John saw himself on the 
 point of abrogating the Great Charter, and reduced his 
 barons to the necessity of tendering his kingdom to a prince 
 of France.^ 
 
 It now became manifest that the probabilities of war 
 inclined to the party who could take the field with selected 
 and experienced soldiers. The command of money was the 
 command of armed hirelings, more sure and steady in battle, as 
 
 1 For these facts, of which I remember They were distinguished by their dress 
 no mention in English history, I am in- and golden ornaments. Their manners 
 debted to the Danish collection of Lan- towards each other were regulated ; quar- 
 gebek, Scriptores Rerum Danicarum rels and abusive words subjected to a 
 Medii ^vi. Though the Leges Castrensis penalty. All disputes, even respecting 
 Canuti Magni, published by him, t. iii. lands, were settled among themselves at 
 p. 141, are not in their original statutory their general parliament. A singular 
 form, they proceed from the pen of story is told, which, if false, may still 
 Sweno, the earliest Danish historian, who illustrate the traditionary character of 
 lived under Waldemar I., less than a these guards : that, Canute having killed 
 century and a half after Canute. I ap- one of their body in a fit of anger, it 
 ply the word huscarle, familiar in Anglo- was debated whether the king should in- 
 Saxon documents, to these military re- cur the legal penalty of death ; and this 
 tainers, on the authority of Langebek, in was only compromised by his kneeling 
 another place, t. li. p. 454. The object of on a cushion before the assembly, and 
 Canute's institutions was to produce an awaiting their permission to rise. T. iii. 
 uniformity of discipline and conduct p. 150. 
 among his soldiers, and thus to separate 2 Matt. Paris, 
 them more decidedly from the people.
 
 Feudal System. OF THE FF.mAT. SYSTEM. 2.59 
 
 ■we must confers with shame, than the patriot citizen. Thoii'T-h 
 the nobility still coniposed in a "rreat degree the strenirth of an 
 armv. yet they served in a new eharaeter; their aniniatino- 
 spirit was that ot'cliivalrv ratlier than of feudal tenure ; their 
 connection with a superior was personal rather than territorial. 
 The crusades had prohaMy a material tendency to effectuate 
 this revolution liy sulistitutinij:, what was inevitable in those 
 expeditions, a voluntary stipendiary service for one of abso- 
 lute obliiration.* It is the opinion of Daniel that in the thir- 
 teenth century all feudal tenants received jiay, even during 
 their prescribed term of service.^ This does not appear con- 
 sonant to the law of tiefs ; yet their poverty may often have 
 rendered it impossible to defray the cost of equipment on 
 distant expeditions. A large projwrtion of the exjjcnse must 
 in all cases have fallen upon the lord ; and hence that per- 
 petually increasing taxation, the effects whereof we have 
 lately been investigating. 
 
 A feudal army, however, composed of all tenants in chief 
 and their vas-als, still presented a formidable array. It is 
 very long before the paradox is generally admitted that 
 numbers do not necessaril}- contribute to the intrinsic etH- 
 ciency of armies. Philip IV. assembled a great force by 
 publishing the arrirr('-l)au. or feudal summons, for his un- 
 happy expedition against the Flemings. A small and more 
 disciplined body of troops would not, probably, have met 
 with the disc(imfiture of Courtray. Edward I. and Edward 
 II. tretjuently called upon those who owed military service, 
 in their invasions of Scotland.' But in the French wars of 
 Edward III. the whole, I think, of his army served for pay, 
 and was raised by contract with men of rank and infliu-nce, 
 who received wages for every soldier acc<jnling to his station 
 and the arms he bore. The rate of pay was so remarkably 
 liigli. that, unless we imagine a vast profit to have been 
 intended tor the contractors, the private lancers and even 
 archers must have been chiefly taken from the midtlling 
 
 • JoinTillp. in wT.Tftl pMsnffpii. inti- « Hist, do la Milioe Fnin^iiiso. p. 81. 
 
 matif* tluit mrwt of till- kiii^rlito fcrriiii; in Tho une of niercemiry tmops prcviiili'il 
 
 Pt. t/>'ii-'« <Tiiwiilf n-i-civiMl pay, i-illivr raueli in (Jennany during tin- tliirtci'iitli 
 
 fri' -ii|MTior lonl. if 111- were on century. Hcliniiclt, t. iv. p.89. In Italy 
 
 til' 1. or from nomr oMiit. into it yiun nlno very coninion ; tli(iii(;li itn 
 
 wlj'— ■■ r>i.-<- (li<.y i.|it<.r<N| for tlif tliiic. Kcnt-nil iKloptioii id (<i be rcfiTrnl to tli»> 
 
 H<- iM-t out hIniM'lf wldi ten l(iiii;litH, couiiiiLMu'ciiii'iit of tlii> sin-cciMlinjf iij;o. 
 whom lie ttflirwBr.|< found it difflrult > Itynier, t. ill. p. 17.3, 18'J, I'M, et alibi 
 
 enouirh to mnintnin. — ColliH-tlon dt'ii stcpius. 
 Meuioirfu, t. i. p. 4'J, and t. ii. p. (i3.
 
 260 CAUSES OF DECLINE Chap. II. Part II. 
 
 classes, the smaller gentry, or rich yeomanry of England.-^ 
 This part of Edward's military system was probably a lead- 
 ing cause of his superiority over the French, among whom 
 the feudal tenantry were called into the field, and swelled their 
 miwieldy armies at Crecy and Poitiers. Both parties, how- 
 ever, in this war employed mercenary troops. Philip had 
 15,000 Italian ci'ossbow-men at Crecy. It had for some time 
 before become the trade of soldiers of fortune to enlist under 
 leaders of the same description as themselves in companies 
 of adventure, passing from one service to another, uncon- 
 cerned as to the cause in which they were retained. These 
 military adventurers played a more remarkable part in Italy 
 than in France, though not a little troublesome to the latter 
 country. The feudal tenures had at least furnished a loyal 
 native militia, whose duties, though much limited in the ex- 
 tent, were defined by usage and enforced by principle. They 
 gave place, in an evil hour for the people and eventually for 
 sovereigns, to contracts with mutinous hirelings, generally 
 strangers, whose valor in the day of battle inadequately re- 
 deemed their bad faith and vexatious rapacity. France, in 
 her calamitous period under Charles VI. and Charles VII., 
 experienced the full effects of military licentiousness. At the 
 expulsion of the English, robbery and disorder w^ere substi- 
 tuted for the more specious plundering of war. Perhaps few 
 Establish- mcasurcs have ever been more popular, as few 
 ment of a certainly have been more politic, than the estab- 
 force by hshment of regular companies of troops by an ordi- 
 Chariesvii. ^j^nce of Cliarlcs VII. in 1444.^ These may justly 
 pass for the earliest institution of a standing army in Europe, 
 though some Italian princes had retained troops constantly in 
 their pay, but prospectively to hostilities, which w^ere seldom 
 
 1 Many proofs of this may be adduced 2 The estates at Orleans in 1439 had 
 
 from Rymer's Collection. The following advised this measure, as is recited in the 
 
 is from Brady's History of England, vol. preamble of the ordinance. Ordonnan- 
 
 ii. Appendix, p. 86. The wages allowed ces des Rois, t. xii. p. 312. Sismondi ob- 
 
 by contract in 1346, were for an earl, 65. serves (vol. xiii. p. 3.52) that very little is 
 
 8rf. per day ; for barons and bannerets, to be found in historians about the es- 
 
 is. ; for knights, 2s. ; for squires, Is. ; for tabli.shment of these compagnies d'or- 
 
 archers and hobelers (light cavalry), Qrl.; donnauce, though the most important 
 
 for archers on foot, 3/ ; for Welshmen, event in the reign of Charles VII. The 
 
 2d. The.se sums multiplied by about 24. old soldiers of fortune who pillaged the 
 
 to bring them on a level with the present country either entered into these com- 
 
 ■value of money [1818], will show the pay panics "or were disbanded, and after their 
 
 to have been extremely high. The cav- dispersion were readily made amenable 
 
 airy of course, furnished themselves to the law. This writer is exceedingly 
 
 with horses and equipments, as well as full on the subject, 
 arms, which were very expensive. See 
 too Chap. I. p. 77, of this volume.
 
 Feudal System. OF THE FEUDAL SY^TK^r. 2GI 
 
 long intermitted. Fifteen companies were composed each of 
 a hundred men at arm.*, or lancers ; and. in tlie langiuige of 
 that age, the wliole body was one thousanil live hundred 
 lances. But each lancer had three archers, a coutiller, or 
 soldier armed with ai knite, and a i)age or valet attached to 
 him. all serving on hor^ehack — so that the fifteen companies 
 amounted to nine tliousand cavalry.^ From these small be- 
 ginnings, as they must appesir in modern times, arose the 
 regular arinv of France, which every succeeding king was 
 sohcitous to augment. Tlie ban was sometimes convoked, 
 that is, the possessors of tiefs were called upon for military 
 service in subsequent ages ; but with more of ostentation than 
 real etliciency. 
 
 Tlie feudal compact, thus deprived of its original efficacy, 
 soon lost the respect and attachment which had p^^j^y ^j. 
 attended it. Homage and investiture V)ecame un- feudal 
 meaning ceremonies ; the incidents of relief and "^"^ 
 aid were felt as burdensome exactions. And indeed the 
 rapacity with which these were levied, especially by our 
 !Norman sovereigns and their barons, was of itself sutUcient to 
 extingui-h all the generous feelings of vassalage. Thus 
 galled, as it were, by the armor which he was compelled to 
 wear, but not to use. the military t<'nant of England looked 
 no longer with conteiiiiit upon the owner of lands in socage, 
 who lield his estate with almost the immunities of an alodial 
 jiroprietor. But the profits which tiie crown reaped from 
 wardships, and jicrliaps the prejudices of lawyers, prevented 
 tlie abolition of military tenures till the restoration of Charles 
 II. In France the fiefs of noblemen were very unjustly 
 exempted from all territorial taxation, though the failles of 
 later time» had, >trictly speaking, only sui)erseded the aids to 
 which they had been always liable. The distinction, it is well 
 known, was not aiuiihilated till that event which annihilated 
 all di.>tin<-tions, the French revolution. 
 
 It is remarkable that, although the feudal system established 
 in Kngland upon the Conquest broke in very much upon our 
 ancient Saxon liberties — though it was aftende(l with harsher 
 servilndr-s than in any other country, particularly those two 
 iMtr)leral)le bunlens, wardship and marriage — yet it has in 
 genenil b«.'en treated with more favor by English than I'lench 
 
 I Dnnlfl, UUt. dc la MiUco Fran^;aUe, p. 260 ; VilUirct, IliHt. do Franc.., t. xv. 
 p. 3W.
 
 262 ADVANTAGES AND EVILS Chap. II. Part II. 
 
 writers. The hardiness with which the ancient barons re- 
 sisted theu' sovereign, and the noble struggles which they 
 made for civil liberty, especially in that Great Charter, the 
 basement at least, if not the foundation, of our free constitu- 
 tion, have met with a kindred sympathy in the bosoms of 
 Englishmen ; while, from an opposite feeling, the French 
 have been shocked at that aristocratic independence which 
 cramped the prerogatives and obscured the lustre of their 
 crown. Yet it is precisely to this feudal policy that France 
 is indebted for that which is ever dearest to her children, 
 their national splendor and power. That kingdom would 
 have been irretrievably dismembered in the tenth century, if 
 the laws of feudal dependence had not preserved its integrity. 
 Empires of unwieldy bulk, like that of Charlemagne, have 
 several times been dissolved by the usurpation of provincial 
 governors, as is recorded both in ancient history and in that 
 of the Mahometan dynasties in the East. What question can 
 there be that the powerful dukes of Guienne or counts of 
 Toulouse would have thrown off all connection with the 
 crown of France, when usurj^ed by one of their equals, if the 
 sliglit dependence of vassalage had not been substituted for 
 legitimate subjection to a sovereign ? 
 
 It is the previous state of society, under the grandchildi'en 
 of Charlemagne, which we must always keep in mind, if we 
 would appreciate the effects of the feudal system upon the 
 welfare of mankind. The institutions of the eleventh century 
 must be compared with those of the ninth, not with the ad- 
 vanced civilization of modern times. If the view that I have 
 taken of those dark ages is correct, the state of anarchy 
 which we usually term feudal was the natural result of a vast 
 and barbarous empire feebly administered, and the cause 
 rather than effect of the general establishment of feudal ten- 
 ures. These, by preserving the mutual relations of the whole, 
 kept alive the feeling of a common country and common 
 duties, and settled, after the lapse of ages, into the free con- 
 stitution of England, the firm monarchy of France, and the 
 federal union of Germany. 
 
 The utility of any form of polity may be estimated by its 
 effect upon national greatness and security, upon civil liberty 
 and private rights, upon the tranquillity and order of society, 
 upon the increase and diffusion of wealth, or upon the 
 general tone of moral sentiment and energy; The feudal
 
 Fecdal System. OF THE FEUDAL SYSTEM. 263 
 
 constitution was certainly, as has been observed General 
 already, little ada|)ted for the defence of a iiiijrhty of the"* 
 kinirdom, far less tor schenu's of conquest. But as »Jvi'ntage8 
 
 .,,,.,. II- • and evils 
 
 It pre\ adi'd alike in several adjacent countries, none resuitiug 
 had aii}Thin«i to fear from the military superiority f^„^J'*'* 
 of its iiciirhburs. It was this inelHciency of the system. 
 feudal militia, |K'rhap.s, that saved Europe during the middle 
 a^es from the tlanger of universal monarchy. In times when 
 princes hail little notion of eoidl'deracies for mutual protec- 
 tion, it is hard to say what might not have been the successes 
 of an Otho the Great, a Fretleric Barbarossa, or a Philip 
 Augustus, if they could have wielded the whole force of their 
 subjects whenever tlieir ambition retpiired. If an empire 
 equally extensive with that of Chailciiiagne, and supported by 
 military despotism, had been fornu'd about the twelfth or 
 thirteenth centuries, the sefd< of commerce and lil)erty, just 
 then l)eginning to shoot, would have perished, and Europe, 
 reduced to a barbarous .servitude, might have fallen before 
 the free l)arbarians of Tartary. 
 
 If we look at the feudal jjolity as a scheme of civil free- 
 dom, it beai"s a noble countenance. To the feudal law it is 
 owing that the very names of right and pnvilege were not 
 swept awav, a* in Asia, bv the desolating liand of power. 
 The tyranny which, on every tavorable moment, was break- 
 ing through all barriers, would have rioted without control, 
 if, when the people were poor and disunited, the nobility had 
 not been bra\<' and free. So tar as the sphere of feudality 
 extended, it ditfu-ed the spirit of liberty and the notions of 
 private riglit. Elvery one I think will acknowledge this who 
 considi-r- the limitations of the services of vassalage, so cau- 
 ti<ai«ly markeil in tiiose law-ltooks which are the records of 
 customs, tiie reciprocity of obligation between the lord and 
 his tenant, the consent recpiircd in every measure of a legis- 
 lative or a genenil nature, tiie .security, above all, which every 
 vas.sal found in tlie admini.-tration of ju.stice by his peers, and 
 even (we may in this sr^nse .say) in the trial by combat. The 
 bulk of the jir'ople. it is true, were degraded by servitude ; 
 but this had no connection with the feudal tenures. 
 
 The |K-Hce and good older of society were not promoted 
 ]>y {\i\-* -iysteMi. Tiiough private wars did not oiigiiiale in 
 the feudal cii-toin.s it is impos.-iljle to doubt that they wen; 
 jK-rpetuated by «k» convenient an institution, which indeed
 
 2G4 ADVANTAGES AND EVILS Chap. II. Pakt II, 
 
 owed its universal establisliment to no other cause. And as 
 predominant habits of warfare are totally irreconcilable with 
 those of industry, not merely by the immediate works of 
 destruction which render its efforts unavailing, but through 
 that contempt of peaceful occupations which they produce, 
 the feudal system must have been intrinsically adverse to the 
 accumulation of wealth and the improvement of those arts 
 which mitigate the evils or abridge the labors of mankind. 
 
 But as a school of moral discipline the feudal institutions 
 were perhaps most to be valued. Society had sunk, for sev- 
 eral centuries after the dissolution of the Roman empire, 
 into a condition of utter depravity, where, if any vices could 
 be selected as more eminently characteristic than others, 
 they were falsehood, treachery, and ingratitude. In slowly 
 purging otF the lees of this extreme corruption, the feudal 
 sjjirit exerted its ameliorating influence. Violation of faith 
 stood first in the catalogue of crimes, most repugnant to the 
 very essence of a feudal tenure, most severely and promptly 
 avenged, most branded by general infamy. The feudal 
 law-books breathe tlu'oughout a spirit of honorable obliga- 
 tion. The feudal course of jurisdiction promoted, what trial 
 by peers is peculiarly calculated to promote, a keener feeling 
 and readier perception of moral as well as of legal distinc- 
 tions. And as the judgment and sympathy of mankind are 
 seldom mistaken, in these great points of veracity and justice, 
 except through the temporary success of crimes, or the want 
 of a definite standard of right, they gradually recovered 
 themselves when law precluded the one and supplied the 
 other. In the reciprocal services of lord and vassal there 
 was ample scope for every magnanimous and disinterested 
 energy. The heart of man, when placed in circumstances 
 which have a tendency to excite them, will seldom be defi- 
 cient in such sentiments. No occasions could be more favora- 
 ble than the protection of a faithful supj^orter, or the defence 
 of a beneficent suzerain, against such powerful aggression as 
 left little prospect except of sharing in his ruin. 
 
 From these feelings engendered by the feudal relation has 
 sprung up the peculiar sentiment of pei'sonal reverence 
 and attachment towards a sovei^ign which we denominate 
 loyalty ; alike distinguishable from the stupid devotion of 
 Eastern slaves, and from the abstract respect with which free 
 citizens regard their chief magisti-ate. Men who had been
 
 Fecd.u, System. OF THE FEUDAL SYSTEM. 265 
 
 used to swear fealty, to profess; subjection, to follow, at home 
 anil in the field, a feudal superior and his fmnily, easily 
 transferred the same alk'jrianoo to the monarch. It was a 
 very powerful feelinjr which could make the bravest men 
 {)ut up with slijifhts and ill-treatment at the hands of their 
 sovereiirii ; or call forth all the encftrics of disinterested 
 exertion for one whom they never saw, and in whose char- 
 acter there was nothing to esteem. In ages when the rights 
 of the community were unfclt this sentiment was one great 
 preservative of society ; and, though collateral or even sub- 
 servient to more enlarged principles, it is still indispensable 
 to the tranipiillity and permanence of every monarchy. In a 
 moral view loyalty has scarcely jierhaps less tendency to 
 rehne and elevate the heart than patriotism itself; and holds 
 a middle place in the scale of human motives, as they ascend 
 from the grosser inducements of self-interest to the further- 
 ance of general happiness and conformity to the purposes of 
 Infinite Wisdom.
 
 266 STATE OF AIsrCIEoSTT GEKMANY. Notes to 
 
 NOTES TO CHAPTER 11. 
 
 Note I. Page 149. 
 
 It is almost of course witli the investigators of Teutonic 
 antiquities to rely with absolute confidence on the authority 
 of Tacitus, in his treatise ' De Moribus Germanorum.' And 
 it is indeed a noble jiiece of eloquence — a picture of man- 
 ners so boldly drawn, and, what is more to the purpose, so 
 probable in all its leading characteristics, that we never hesi- 
 tate, in reading, to believe. It is only when we have closed 
 the book that a question may occur to our minds, whether 
 the Roman writer, who had never crossed the Rhine, was 
 altogether a sufficient witness for the internal history, the 
 social institutions, of a people so remote and so dissimilar. 
 But though the sources of his information do not appear, it 
 is manifest that they were copious. His geographical details 
 are minute, distinct, and generally accurate. Perhaps in no 
 instance have his representations of ancient Germany been 
 falsified by direct testimony, if in a few circumstances there 
 may be reason to suspect their exact faithfulness. 
 
 In the very slight mention of German institutions which 
 I have made in the text there can be nothing to excite doubt. 
 They are what Tacitus might easily learn, and what, in fact, 
 we find confirmed by other writers. But when he comes to 
 a more exact description of the social constitution, and of 
 the different orders of men, it may not be unreasonable to 
 receive his testimony with a less unhesitating assent than has 
 commonly been accorded to it. A sentence, a word of 
 Tacitus has passed for conclusive ; and no theory which they 
 contradict would be admitted. A modern writer, however, 
 has justly pointed out that his informers might easily be 
 deceived about the social institutions of the tribes beyond 
 the Rhine ; and, in fact, it is not on Tacitus himself, but on 
 these unknown authorities, that we rely for the fidelity of 
 his representations. We may readily conceive,'1ay our own
 
 Chap. U. STATE OF ANCIENT GERMANY. 267 
 
 experience, the dillieulty of obtaining a clear and exact 
 knowledge of laws, customs, and manners for Nvhich we have 
 no cunf-|Hiiiding analogies. " Let us," says Luden to his 
 eountrvnu-n, "ask an enlightened Englishman wliu speaks 
 German concerning the jjolitieal institutions of his country, 
 and it will he surprising how little we shall understand from 
 him. Ask him to ex|)lain wliat is a free-man, a freeholder, a 
 copyholder, or a yeoman, and we shall tind how hard it is to 
 malice national institutions and relations intrlligi1)le to a for- 
 eigni'r." (Luden, Geschichte des Deutschen N'olkes, vol. i. 
 p. 7(12.) 
 
 This is of course not designed to undervalue the excellent 
 work of TacitM-, to which almost exclusively we areindel)ted 
 lor any ac(juaintance with the progenitors of the Anglo- 
 Saxons and the Franks, but to point out a general principle, 
 which may be far better ai)plied to inferior writers, tliat they 
 give a color of their own country to their descrii)tions of 
 foreign manners, and especially by the adoi)tion of names only 
 analogically ajipropriate. Thus the words servus, libertinus, 
 I'nifenuus. nobilis, art' not necessarily to be understood in a 
 K(Mnan sense when Tacitus employs them in his treatise on 
 Germany. Servus is in Lathi a slave; but the German 
 descrilieil l)y him under that name is the lidiis, subject to a 
 lord, and liable to jiaymeiUs, but not without limit, as he 
 himself exiilains. " Frumenti modum dominus, aut pecoris, 
 aut vestis, ut colono, iinperat ; et servus haetenus paret." 
 Hen; coUmns, in the age of Tacitus, was as much a wrong 
 word in one direction as servus was in another. For we 
 believe that the culonus of early Rome was a tenant, or 
 farmer. vieldLiig rent, but al)solutely a free man;* though in 
 the third century, after barbarians had been settled on lands 
 in the empire, we tind it applied to a semi-servile condition. 
 It is more worthy to be observed that his account of the 
 kinglv oHice among the Germans is not quite consistent. 
 Sometimes it appears as if peculiar to certain tribes, "iis 
 gentibus qu;e regnaiUur " (c. 2.")) ; and here he seems to speak 
 of the power as very great, opposing it to liberty ; wliile at 
 other times w<- are IimI to .-uppose an aristocratic senate and 
 an ultimate right of decision in the people at large, with a 
 very limited sovereign at the head (c. 7, ll,»tc.). This 
 tnple constitution had been taken by IMontesquieu ibr the 
 
 1 vide Ksccloluti Lexicon.
 
 268 PARTITION OF CONQUEEED LANDS. Notes to 
 
 foundation of our own in the well-known words — " Ce beau 
 systeme a ete trouve dans les bois." 
 
 Note II. Page 150. 
 
 It is not ea-^y to exj^lain these partitions made by the bar- 
 barous nations on their settlement in the emj)ire ; and, what 
 would be still more remarkable if historians were not so 
 defective in that age, we find no mention of such partitions 
 in any records, excepting their own laws and a few docu- 
 ments of the same class. Montesquieu says, " Ces deux tiers 
 n'etaient pas que dans certains quartiers qu'on leur assigna." 
 (1. 30, c. 8). Troja seems to hold the same opinion as to 
 the first settlement of the Burgundians in Gaul, but admits a 
 general division in 471 : Storia d'ltalia nel medio evo (iii. 
 1293). It is indeed impossible to get over the proof of such 
 a partition, or at least one founded on a general law, arising 
 from the fifty-fourth section of the Burgundian code : " Eodem 
 tempore quo populus noster mancipiorum tertiam, et duas 
 terrarum partes accepit." This code was promulgated by 
 Gundobald early in the sixth century. It contains several 
 provisions protecting the Roman in the possession of his 
 third against any encroachment of the hospes, a word applied 
 indifferently to both parties, as in common Latin, to host and 
 guest. 
 
 The word sortes, which occurs both with the Burgundians 
 and Visigoths, has often been referred to the general parti- 
 tion, on the hypothesis that the lands had been distributed by 
 lot. This perhaps has no evidence except the erroneous 
 inference from the word sors, but it is not wholly improbable. 
 Savigny, indeed, observes that both the barbarian and the 
 Roman estates were called sortes, referring to Leges Visi- 
 gothorum, lib. x. tit. 2, 1. 1, where we find, in some editions, 
 " sortes Gothicte vel Romanae ; " but all the manuscripts, 
 according to Bouquet, read " sortes Gothicae et tertia Roman- 
 oi-um," which, of course, gives a contrary sense. (Rec. des 
 Hist. iv. 430).-^ It seems, from some texts of the Burgun- 
 
 1 Procopius fays, of the division made an' avTOV KkrjpoL 'QavdiXuv ol aypol 
 
 by Genseric in Italy, Ai/3uaf tovc al- q{,tqi^ ^^ j^^g nakovvrai tov xpovov. 
 
 lovg aipeilETO jiiv rovg aypovg, ol , , , _ ^al tu fiiv ^wpia ^vjxnavTa baa 
 
 TzMaTOi. TE T/erav /cat upiaroi., eg 6e jqi^ ^e nalm Kal rolg uXkotg Bavdi- 
 
 To Tuv Bavdiluv SdveijiEV E'&vog • koI 2x)ig Ti^epLxog Tvapadedux^i, ovdefiiag
 
 Chjlp. II. P.VUTITIOX OF CONQUERED LANDS. 209 
 
 dian law, that the whole territory was not partitioned at once ; 
 bei-ause, in a suppli-inent to the code not iniieh bi-forc 'r2(^, 
 provision i.s made lor new settlers, who were to reeei\e only 
 a nioietv. '* De Romanis hoc ordmavimu.'^, ut non amplius a 
 Burgundioinbus qni intra venernnt, reqniratur, quam, nt 
 pnesens neecssitas t'nerit. nieillL'tas tiMrie. Alia vero medie- 
 tas enm inli-gritate nianeipiorum a Romanis teneatnr; nee 
 exinde nllam violentiam patiantnr." (Leges Burgundionnm, 
 AiMitaint-ntuin 8»rundiun, e. 11.) In this, as in the whole 
 Bingnn<lian law, we pcrroiN e a tenderness for the Roman 
 inhaliitant, and a eontinnal desire to plaee him, as far as 
 possible, on an ef[ual footing with his new neiglibor. The 
 reason assigned for the j)artition is neeessity ; the Burgnndian 
 mnst live. It is true that to assign him two thirds of the land 
 strikes us as an enormous spoliation. Montesquieu supposes 
 that the barbarian took open and pasture lands, leaving the 
 tilth to the aneient possessor, and that this aeeounts for the 
 smaller proportion of slaves whieh he required (1. 30, c. 9). 
 Sisinondi has made a similar siigLr<'stion. It is dwelt n])on by 
 Troja. that the Loml)ards, taking a third of tlie produce in- 
 stead of a [)ortion of the lands themselves, reduced all the 
 original possessors to the rank of tributaries. In none of 
 the barbarous kingdoms was the Roman of so low a status as 
 in theirs. But it maybe said that the ancient law of nations, 
 exercised by none more unsparingly than by the Romans 
 them-elves in Italy. eonfi<eated the whole soil ; that, if the 
 Visigoths and Burguiulians spared one third, if the FraidiS 
 left some R<jman possessors, this was an indulgent relaxation 
 of their right. And this would be an excu.se if we could for 
 a moment look u|ioii the barlnirians as having a just cause 
 of war. The contrary, however, is mimifest in almost every 
 ca«e. 
 
 M. Faurii-1 thinks it probable that the Franks made, likc^ 
 the other barliariaiis, a partition, more or less regular, of llie 
 liiiuian lands in northern France. (Ilist. de la (xaule 
 Meridionale, ii. 31.) Guizot takes a somewhat ditferent 
 view, and conceiv«'S tliat each chief took what best suited 
 him, ami lived there with his followers about him, (Civilis 
 
 ^opov uToywy^f vnori'kTf liu}jvaev abRolutclj- from tlio annloity of Afrjra to 
 
 en«/.-lH- Ik-llo Viin.lnl. I. 1. c. 8. ThU Haul It U imtunil to iiit.rinvt K/J/poi 
 
 p«*«i(Cr Kl».-« no ronnniiHtlon to the hy- \i<lviU/MV oiiJ hortvs Sulicif in tlie Huuie 
 
 j>..tli<-l« of a iinrtilion l.y lot. but tlio UiunutT. 
 coutrery ; au'l tliougli we caouot roaiion
 
 270 PARTITION OF CONQUERED LANDS. Notes to 
 
 en France, Le9on 32.) But if the Franks adopted so aris- 
 tocratic a division as to throw the lands which they occupied 
 into the hands of a few jDroprietors, they must liave gone on 
 very different principles from the other nations, among whom 
 we should infer, from their laws, a much greater equality to 
 have been preserved. It seems, howevei', most probable on 
 the whole, considering the silence of historians and laws, that 
 the Franks made no such systematic distribution of lands as 
 the earlier barbarians. They were, perhaps, less numerous, 
 and, being at first less civilized, would feel more reluctance 
 at submitting to any fixed principle of appropriation. That 
 they dispossessed many of the Roman owners on the right 
 bank of the Loire cannot well be doubted. For, though 
 Raynouard, who treads in the steps of Dubos, denies that 
 they took any but fiscal lands, which had belonged to the 
 imperial domains (Hist, du Droit Municipal, i. 256), Franks 
 were surely as little disposed, and as little able, to live with- 
 out lands as Burgundians, and they were a rougher people.^ 
 Yet both with respect to them and the other barbarians Ave may 
 observe that the spoliation was not altogether so ruinous as 
 would naturally be presumed. In consequence of the long 
 decline and depopulation of the empire, the fruit of fiscal 
 oppression, of frequent invasion, and civil wars, we may add 
 also of pestilences and unfavorable seasons, much land had 
 gone out of cultivation in Gaul ; and though the proportion 
 taken by the Goths and Burgundians was enormous, they 
 probably occupied, in great measure, what the Roman pro- 
 prietor had not the means of tilling. 
 
 This subject, after all, is by no means clear of embarrass- 
 ment, especially as regards the Visigothic and Burgundian 
 partitions. We are driven to suppose a dispersion of these 
 conquering nations among their subjects, each man living 
 separately on his sors, contrary to the policy of all invaders ; 
 we are, apparently, to presume an equality of numbers be- 
 tween the Roman possessors and the barbarians, so that each 
 should have his own hospes. The latter hypothesis, may, 
 perhaps, be dispensed with, or considerably modified ; but I 
 do not see how to get rid of the former. 
 
 I M. Lehuerou supposes that the their subsequent acquisitions would be 
 
 Franks, who served the empire in Gaul at the expense of the nations which they 
 
 under tlie predecessors of CIotis, had re- conquered. (Instit. Merov. i. 237, 268.) 
 
 ceived lands like the Burgundians and But the private estates of the Franks 
 
 Visigoths : so that they were already in seem to have been principally in the 
 
 a great measure provided for, and that north of France.
 
 Chap. II. THE S.KLIC LXW. 271 
 
 Note III. Page 152. 
 
 The Salic law exists in two texts ; one purely Latin, of 
 which thfi-e are titu-en manusoript:^ ; the other miiigkHl witli 
 German words, of which there are three. Most have con- 
 sidered the latter to he the onginal; the manuscripts con- 
 taininir it are entitled Lejr Soliot anfi(ji(issinia, or reftisd'or ; 
 the olliers generally run. Lex Silica rereittior, or emeiuhita. 
 This seems to create a presumption. But INI. Wraida, who 
 puhlished a history of the Salic law in 1.S08, inclines to 
 think the pure Latin older than the other. INL Guizot adopts 
 tiie same opinion (Civilisation en France, Lefon 9). M. 
 Wraida refers its original enactment to the period when the 
 Franks were still on the left hank of the Rhine; that is. long 
 before the reign of Clovis. And this seems an evident in- 
 ference from what is sj\id in the prologue to the law, written 
 long afterwards. But of course it cainiot ajii)ly to those 
 passages which allude to the lloinans as subjects, or to Chris- 
 tianitv. 31. Guizot is of opinion that it bears marks of an 
 age when the Franks had long been mingled with the Roman 
 l>opulation. This is consistent with its having been revised 
 by the sons of Clovis, Childcbert, and Clotaire, as is asserted 
 in the prologue. One manuscript has the words — " Hoc 
 decretum est apud regem et ])rincipes ejus, et apnd cinictum 
 populum Christianum (pii infni regnum I\Ierwingorum con- 
 sistunt." Neither Wraida nor Guizot think it older in its 
 present text than the seventh century ; and as Dagobert L 
 appears in the prologue a-; one reviser, we may suppose him 
 to be the king nuMitioned in the words just quoted. It is 
 to he observed, however, that two later writers, M. Pertz, in 
 "Monnmenta fi<'rm;niia' Ili-torica," and M. Pardessus. in 
 "Mem. de I'Acad. des Inscriptions," voL xv. (Nouvelle Serie), 
 liave enten-d anew on this discussion, and do not agree with 
 M. Wraida, nor wholly with each other. M. Lehuerou is 
 clearly of opinion that, in all its substance, the Salic code is 
 to be refcrnd to Gennany lor its biilhplace, and to the 
 iwri«xi of heathenism for its date. (Institutions Merovin- 
 giennes, ji. 8.'5.) 
 
 The Ki|)uarian Fmnks Guizot, with some apparent rca- 
 w)n, takes for the progenitors of the Austrasians ; the Salian, 
 of the Neustrians. The former were settled on the lelt
 
 272 THE SALIC LAW. Notes to 
 
 bank of the Rhine, as Lceti, or defenders of the frontier, 
 under the empire. These tribes were united under one gov- 
 ernment through the assassination of Sigebert at Cologne, in 
 the last years of Clovis, who assumed his crown. Such a 
 theory might tend to explain the subsequent rivalry of these 
 great portions of the Frank monarchy, though it is hardly 
 required for that purpose. The Ripuarian code of law is re- 
 ferred by Guizot to the reign of Dagobert ; Eccard, however, 
 had conceived it to have been compiled under Thierry, the 
 eldest son of Clovis. (Rec. des. Hist. vol. iv.) It may 
 still have been revised by Dagobert. " We find in this," 
 says M. Guizot, " more of the Roman law, more of the royal 
 and ecclesiastical power ; its provisions are more precise, 
 more extensive, less barbarous ; it indicates a further step in 
 the transition from the German to the Roman form of social 
 life." (Civil, en France, Lecon 10.) 
 
 The Burgundian law, though earlier than either of these 
 in their recensions, displays a far more advanced state of 
 manners. The Burgundian and Roman are placed on the 
 same footing ; more is borrowed from the civil law ; the 
 royal power is more developed. This code remained in 
 force after Chai-lemagne ; but Hincmar says that few contin- 
 ued to live by it. In the Visigothic laws enacted in Spain, 
 to the exclusion of the Roman, in 642, all the barbarous ele- 
 ments have disappeared ; it is the work of the clergy, half 
 ecclesiastical, half imperial. 
 
 It has been remarked by acute writers, Guizot and Troja, 
 that the Salic law does not answer the purpose of a code, 
 being silent on some of the most imj)ortant regulations of 
 civil society. The former adds that we often read of mat- 
 ters decided " secundum legem Salicam," concerning which 
 we can find nothing in that law. He presumes, therefore, 
 that it is only a part of their jurisprudence. Troja (Storia 
 dTtalia nel medio evo, v. 8), quoting Buat for the same opin- 
 ion, thinks it probable that the Franks made use of the Ro- 
 man law where their own was defective. It may perhaps be 
 not less probable than either h^qjothesis that the judges grad- 
 ually introduced principles of decision which, as in our com- 
 mon law, acquired the force of legislative enactment. The 
 rules of the Salic code principally relate to the punishment 
 or compensation of crimes ; and the same wiU be found in 
 our earliest Anglo-Saxon laws. The object of such written
 
 Chap. II. r.OMAN NATIVES OF GAUL. 273 
 
 laws, with a free and barbarous people, was not to record 
 their usajres. or to lav down rules which natural ecjuit y would 
 iJUirirest as the occ;Lsion nii'rht arise, but to prevent the arbi- 
 ti-arv infliction of penalties. Chapter Ixii., ' On Successions,' 
 may have been inserted for the sake of the novel provision 
 about Salic lands, which could not liave formed a part of old 
 Teutonic customs. 
 
 Note IV. Pajres 152, 153. 
 
 The position of the former inhabitants, after the conrpiest 
 of Gaul by tlie Bur<rundians. tlie Visigoths and the Franks, 
 both relatively to the new monarchies and to the barbarian 
 settlers themselves, is a question of high im])ortance. It has, 
 of course, engjiged the i)liilosophical school of the present 
 day, ami has led to much diversity of hypotheses. The 
 extreme poles are occupied, one by iNI. Kaynouard in his 
 ' Hist, du Droit Municipal,' and by a somewhat earlier 
 writi-r. Sir Francis Palgrave, who, following the steps of 
 Duljos, bring the two nations, conquerors and conquered, 
 almost to an equality, as the common subjects of a sovereign 
 who had assumed the prerogatives of a Roman emperor; 
 and, f>n the op])osite side, by Signor Troja,^ and by M. 
 Thierry, wlio finds no closer analogy for their relative condi- 
 tions tlian that of tiie Greeks and Turks in the days that 
 have lately gone by. "It is no more a proof," he contends, 
 *' that tlie Roman natives were treated as free, because a few 
 might gain the favor of a desjjotic court, than that the Chris- 
 tian and Jew stand on an even focjling with the Mussulman, 
 because an Eastern Sultan mav find his advantage in em- 
 ploying >ome of either religion." (Lettres sur I'llist. de 
 Fnince, Lett, vii.) This is not (piite consistent with his lan- 
 guagi" in a later work : " Sons le regne de la premiere race 
 se niontrent deux comlitions de libertii : la liberte par excel- 
 lence, qui est la condition du Franc; et la liberte du second 
 ordre, le droit de cite roinaine." (Recits des Temps Mero- 
 vingiens, i. 212. — IJruxelles, 1840.) 
 
 • Ijs ftoria ill Frnnria witto I rfe delta TliU Is not liornp out l)y history. Wo 
 
 prinis rn/./ji pii<. .lln>l iion rnnniiitiTi- rlip fiml no opprossioii of Koiimnx l>y Krnnk«, 
 
 n<vll ••■wiiipj ili'lli-iippn-uloiii i|i.' Krnnclii tliou({h niucli liy Fniiik kiiiifH. The 
 
 luiprn i rttlii'lhil Koinniil. « delln )(<'Mfn)Wi roniincrom niiiy liavc Ihtii natimially In- 
 
 prntrzi'>i)i.d<-' vuu-ovlo IliiinjuiloKranrlil. noli-ut; but thi« in uot rt'corji'd. 
 (Hlorift d IlAlia. »ol. I l-nrt ». p. 421.) 
 Vol.. I. 18
 
 274 ROMAN NATIVES OF GAUL. Notes to 
 
 It is, however, as it seems to me, and as the French writ- 
 ers have generally held, impossible to maintain either of 
 these theories. The Roman " conviva regis " (by which we 
 may perhaps better understand one who had been actually 
 admitted to the royal table, thus bearing an analogy to the 
 Frank Antrustion, than what I have said in the text, one of 
 a rank not unworthy of such an honor) -^ was estimated in his 
 weregild at half the price of the Barbarian Antrustion, the 
 highest known class at the Merovingian court, and above the 
 common alodial proprietor. But between two such land- 
 holders the same proportion subsisted ; the Frank was val- 
 ued twice as high as the Roman ; but the Roman proprietor 
 was set more than as much above the tributary, or semi- 
 servile husbandman, whose nation is not distinguished by the 
 letter of the Salic code. We have, therefore, in this no- 
 torious distinction, subordination without servitude ; exactly 
 what the circumstances of the conquest, and the general rela- 
 tion of the bju'barians to the empire, would lead us to antici- 
 pate, and what our historical records unequivocally confirm. 
 The oppression of the people, which Thierry infers from the 
 history of Gregory of Tours, under Gontran and Chilperic, 
 was on the part of violent and arbitrary princes, not of the 
 Frank nation ; nor did the latter by any means escape it. It 
 is true that the civil wars of the early Merovingian kings 
 were most disastrous, especially in Aquitaine, and of course 
 the native inhabitants suffered most ; yet this is very distin- 
 guishable from a permanent condition of servitude. 
 
 " The Romans," Sir F. Palgrave has said, " retained their 
 own laws. Their municipal administration was not abrogated 
 or subverted ; and wherever a Roman population subsisted, 
 the barbai'ian king was entitled to command them with the 
 prerogatives that had belonged to the Roman emperors." 
 (Rise and Progress of the English Commonwealth, vol. i. p. 
 362.) In this I demur only to the word entitled, which seems 
 designed to imply something more than the right of the sword. 
 But this is the right, and I can discern no real evidence of 
 any other, which Clovis, and Clotaire, and Chilperic exer- 
 cised ; very like, of course, to the prerogatives of the Roman 
 emperors, since one despotism must be akin to another ; and 
 
 1 I flo not give tliis as very highly senatorial families, who evidently made a 
 probable: rnnviva regis seems an odd noble class among the Romans, 
 phrase ; but it may have included all the
 
 Cn.vr. n. ROiUX XATIVES OF GAFL. 275 
 
 a provincial of Gaul, wlio-;e ancestors had for centuries 
 obeyed an ludiniited monarch, could not claim any Ixttcr 
 privilffrt'-; bv becoininjr the subject of a conqueror. It is 
 universally agreed, at least I appreliend so, that the Roman, 
 as a mere possessor, and independently of any personal dig- 
 nitv with which he might have been honored, did not attend 
 the national as-;emblic-: in the Field of March; nor had he 
 anv bu-iness at tin- phirifmn or iiiaJlus of the count among 
 till' llacliimbnrgii, or freeholders, wlio there determined 
 causes according to their own jurisprudence, and transacted 
 other business relating to their own nation. The kings were 
 always styled merely " Reges Francorum : " ^ whenever, in 
 Gregory of Tours' history, the poj)ular will is expressed, it 
 is by the Franks; no other nation separately, nor the Franks 
 a.s blended with anv other nation, appear in his pages to have 
 acted for themselves. 
 
 It must be almost unnecessary to remind the reader that 
 the word Roman is uniforndy a|)|»lied, especially in the bar- 
 barian laws, to the Gaulish subjects of the empire, whose 
 allegiance had been transferre<l, more or less reluctantly, but 
 always through contpiest, to the three barbarian monarchies, 
 two of which were ultimately subverted by the Franks. But 
 it is only in two senses that this can be reckoned a ])roper 
 appellation ; one. ina-mueh as privileges of Roman citizen- 
 ship liad lieen extended to tiie whole of Gaul by the emper- 
 ors; and another, as applicable, with more correctness, to 
 that population of Roman or Italian descent which had 
 gradually >ettled in the cities. This, during so many ages, 
 must have become not inconsideral)le ; the long continuance 
 of the same legions in the province, the wealth and luxury 
 of manv cities, the comparative security, up to the close of 
 the fourth century, from military revolution and civil war, 
 the fat'ility, perhaps, of jmrchasing lands, would natiiially 
 create a re-ipect;il)Ie cla*-, to who^e highlv civilized manners 
 the rec<irds of the fourth and fifth centuries especially Itear 
 wilnesft.* Tiie Latin language became universal in cities; 
 
 • One liKtanco of nn appnivnt oxeep- cimrtor dcsorvos to bo ronsiiJiTcl. Hut, 
 
 tioii. for IcikIIiik iiic to whir h I niii in- BuiipoHiiij^ it to ho KPiiuiiic, it ilm'ii not go 
 
 (lftitf<l to Mr. SiMMuc (Ijiwn of Europe, a (fniit way towanlH the iiiiporial Htylo. 
 
 p. 'i4<i). Iiiui iiic-t my .-VM. Dii«otM-rt I. - Snlviiiii, in tlio nii>lille of thi' fifth 
 
 ci»11j< liiniM'If. In an in«truiniMit fouml In century. Ji>«riint« on Uio Ix-iiutli-H of 
 
 Vita ll<-atl Mnrtliil. ripucl DuflicKin'. i. Ac|iiil.'i"iiic : " Ailco illic oniiii- ii.lnni.luni 
 
 WCt. •• Ki'Jt Kriii'oruni i-t pninili Hmiuini ri'ifin nut infcrloxtii viiiciK, nut llorulcntn 
 
 pnncr/ii '' Th- nutlii'ntli'ity of tliix prutin, nut distinctii cult urid, nut i-oufittt
 
 276 ROMAN NATIVES OF GAUL. Notes to 
 
 and if in countiy villages some remains of the Celtic might 
 linger, they have left very few traces behind. 
 
 Sismondi has indeed gone mnch too far when he infers, es- 
 pecially from this disuse of the old language, an almost com- 
 plete extinction of the Gauhsh population. And for this he 
 accounts by their reduction to servitude, by the exactions of 
 their new lords, and the facility of purchasing slaves in the 
 markets of the empire (vol. i. p. 84). But such a train 
 of events is wholly without evidence ; without at least any 
 evidence that has been alleged. We do not know that the 
 peasantry were ever proprietors of the soil which they culti- 
 vated before the Roman invasion, but may much rather be- 
 lieve the contrary from the language of Cassar — '' Plebs 
 paene servorum habetur loco." We do not know that they 
 fell into a worse condition afterwards. We do not know that 
 they were oppressed in a greater degree than other subjects 
 of Rome, not surely so as to extinguish the population. We 
 may believe that slaves were occasionally purchased, accord- 
 ing to the usage of the empire, without denying the existence 
 of coloni, indigenous and personally free, of whom the Theo- 
 dosiau code is so full. Nor is it evident why even serfs may 
 not have been of native as easily as of foreign origin. All 
 this is presumed by Sismondi, because the Latin language, 
 and not the Celtic, is the basis of French. And a similar 
 hypothesis must, by parity of reasoning, be applied to the 
 condition of Spain during the centuries of Roman dominion. 
 But it is assumed the more readily, through the tendency of 
 this eminent writer to place in the worst light, what seldom can 
 be placed in a very favorable one, the social institutions and 
 usages of mankind. The chano;e of lano;ua":e is no doubt 
 remarkable. But we may be deceived by laying too much 
 stress on this single circumstance in tracing the history of 
 nations. It is very difficult to lay down a rule as to the ten- 
 dency of one language to gain ground upon another. Some 
 appear in their nature to be aggressive ; such is the Latin, 
 and probably the Ai-abic. But why is it that so much of the 
 Walachian language, and even its syntax,^ comes from Latin, 
 in consequence of a merely military occupation, while a more 
 
 pomis, ant amoenata lucis, aut irrigata ginem possedisse videantur." (De Gu- 
 
 fontibus, aut interfusa tiuminibua, aut bernat. Dei. lib. vii. p. 299, edit. 1(U1.) 
 
 circumdata messibus erat, ut vere po.s- i Vid. Lauriani Tentameu Criticum 
 
 sessores et domiui terra? illius non tarn iu linguam Walachicam. Vienn. 1840. 
 soli illius portiouem quam paradisi ima-
 
 Chap. II. ROMAN NATIVES OF GAUL. 277 
 
 lasting j)O>!S0?sion of Britnin (where flouri.-jliing colonics were 
 tilled with Konuui inhnhiiants, and the natives horrowt'd in 
 .>;onie dv-gree the arts and manners ot" their eontincrors, eon- 
 nt'c-ted witli liit'in al>o \>y religion in the latter i)art of thfir 
 doiniiiiun) did not iiinder the preservation of the original 
 Cehio idiom in Walf». with very sliglit infusion of Latin ? 
 Why is it that iinuiinerable Arabic words, and even some 
 Arabic sounds of letters, are found in the Castilian language, 
 the language of a people foreign and hostile, while seareely 
 a trace is left of the \'isigothic tongue, that of their fathers ; 
 so that for one word, it is said, of Teutonic origin remaining 
 in Spain, there are ten in Italy, and a hundred in France ? ^ 
 If we were to take Sismondi literallv. the l)arbariaiis must 
 have lound nothing in Gaul but a Roman or Komanized 
 aristocracy, surromuled by slaves ; and these as much import- 
 ed, or the ortspring of importation, as the Negroes in Ameri- 
 ca. This is ratlier a iunniliating origin, an illud quod Ulcere 
 nolo, for the French nation. For it is the French nation 
 that is descended from tiie inhabitantjij of Gaid at the epoch 
 of the barbarian coiupiest. 
 
 We have, however, a strong ethnographical argument 
 against this imaginary depopulation, in the national charac- 
 teristics of the French. A liriiliant and ingenious writer 
 has well called our att<'ntioii to llic Celtic element, that under 
 all the modifications which difference of race, political con- 
 stitutions, and tiie stealthy progress of commerce and learn- 
 ing have brought in, still distinguislics the Frenchman : '* La 
 ba.se originaire, celle (pii a tout ret^u, tout accepte, c'est cette 
 jeune molle et mobile race de Gaels, brillante, sensuelle, et 
 legere. prom|ite ;i appreiidre. pidiiipte a di'daignei-, avide des 
 choscs nouvelles. \ Dilii felcmeut primilit, ielement perfecti- 
 ble." (Miciielet, Hist, de France, i. loG.) This is very good, 
 and we cannot but see tlie resemblance to tiie Celtic chararter. 
 Miehelet goes afterward^ too far, and endeavors to show that a 
 great part of tiie Freneii language is Celtic ; failing wliolly in liis 
 (piotations from early writers, which either rehite to tlie peri- 
 o<l immediately siili-ecpient to the Roman comiuest, or to the 
 liiif/iiii Jiuniiinit ni.sti'rii whi(!h iihiiiialelv bee.iiiie I'rench. It 
 i- nevertiicless true that a certain iiumlMi- of C'eiiii- words 
 liave lii-eii relaiuetl ill French, as has in-eii shown cMnof 
 Vi-iL'otMe b\ ^r. Fauriel. He lijus found u,U<)(t wnnU in 
 ' iiJIiib. KevU-w, vol. xxxi. p. 109.
 
 278 EOMAN NATIVES OF GAUL. Notes to 
 
 Provencal, which are not Latin. All of these which ai-e not 
 Gothic, Iberian, Greek, or Arabic, may be reckoned Celtic ; 
 and though the former languages can have left few traces in 
 northern French, we may presume the last to have been re 
 tained in a scarcely less degree than in the Provenpal dia- 
 lect. (Ampere, Hist. Litt. de la France, vol. i. p. 34.) 
 Many French monosyllables are Celtic. But if we tiy to 
 read any French of the twelfth century, we shall feel no 
 doubt that a vast majority of words are derived from the 
 Latin ; and it may be added that the terms of rural occupa- 
 tion, and generally of animals, are full as much Latin as 
 those more familiar in towns. 
 
 The cities of Gaul were occupied probably by a more 
 mingled population than the villages. In the cities dwelt the 
 more ancient and wealthy families, called senators, and dis- 
 tinct, as far as we can see our way in a very perplexed in- 
 quiry, from the ordinary curiales, or decurions. It is ti'ue 
 that these also are sometimes called senators ; but the word 
 has not, as Guizot observes (Collect, des Memoires, i. 247), 
 in Gregory and other writers, a precise sense. Families 
 were often elevated to the senatorial rank by the emperors, 
 which gave their members the title of clarissimi ; and these 
 were probably meant by Gregory, in the expression e primis 
 GaUiarunt, senatoribus, which naturally must be rendered — 
 '' of the first Gaulish nobility." The word is several times 
 employed by him in what seems the same sense. It is, how- 
 ever, also used, as Guizot and Raynouard think, for the high- 
 est class of curiales who had served municipal offices. But 
 more will be said of this in another note. 
 
 Sismondi has remarked (i. 198) that in the lives of the 
 saints, during the Merovingian period, most part of whom 
 were of Roman descent, it is generally mentioned that they 
 were of good family. Tlie Church alforded the means of 
 preserving their respectability ; and thus (without much 
 weight in the monarchy, and often with diminished patrimo- 
 ny, l)ut in return less oppressed by taxation than under the 
 imperial tisc, deriving also a reflected importance from the 
 bishop wlien he was a Roman, and sheltered by his protec- 
 tion) this class of the native inhabitants held not only a free 
 but an honorable position. Yet this was still secondary. In 
 a free commonwealth the exclusion from political rights, by a 
 broad line of legal separation, brings with it an indelible
 
 Chap. IF. KO\LVN NATIVES OF GAUL. 279 
 
 sense of inferiority. But this inferiority is not allowed by 
 all our in(iuirer>. 
 
 "The nation-: who were unequal l>efore the law soon be- 
 eaine ec^ual before tlie sovereign, if not in theory yet in 
 l)ractice ; and the ehildren of the companions of Clovis were 
 subjected, with few and not very material exceptions, to the 
 same positive dominion as the descendants of the proconsul 
 or the senator. It is not ditlicult to form plausible conjec- 
 tures concerning the causes of this equalization ; nor are the 
 means by whicli it was ctfected entirely coneealed. Consid- 
 ered in relation to the Romans, the Franks, for we will con- 
 tinue to instance them, constituted a distinct state, but, 
 comjiared to the Ivunans, a very small one ; and the indi- 
 viduals composing it, disi)ersed over Gaul, were almost lost 
 among the tril)utaries. Experience has shown that whenever 
 a lesser or jMjorer dominion is conjoined, in the person of the 
 same sovereign, to a greater or more opulent one, the minuter 
 ma-is is always in the end subjugated Ity the larger." (Rise 
 and Progress of the English Commonwealth, vol. i. p. 3()3.) 
 
 Such is, in a few wi)rils, the view taken of the 3Ierovingian 
 history by a very learned writer. Sir F. Palgrave. And, 
 doubtless, the concluding observation is just, in the terms 
 wiierein he expresses it. But there seems a fallacy in apply- 
 ing the word " poorer" to the Franks, or any barbarian con- 
 querors of Gaul. They were jioorer before their con([uest ; 
 they were richer afterwards. At the battle of Flastings the 
 balance of weallli was, I doubt not, on the side of Harold more 
 than of William ; l>ut twenty years afterwards Domesday 
 Book tells us a very different story. If an allotment was 
 niaile among tiie Franks, or if they served themselves to land 
 without any allotment, on either hypothesis they became the 
 great jn-oprietors of nortiiern France ; and on whom else did 
 the beneficiary donations, the rewards of faithful Antrustions, 
 generally devolve? It is jierfeetly consistent with tlie national 
 superiority of tlie Franks in the sixlh and seventh centuries 
 that in tiie la-t age of the Carlovingian line, when the dis- 
 tinetion of law- iiad been aboli.-hed or disused, the more 
 ninni-roiis people ^hoidd in many provinces have (not. a-i Sir 
 Francis Palgrave calls it, subjugated but) absorl»ed the oilier. 
 We find thi- to have Iwen the ca.se at the close of the Anglo 
 Norman jieriod at home. 
 
 (Jne essential dilference is generally >iippo-e<l lo have sep-
 
 280 EOMAN NATIVES OF GAUL. Notes to 
 
 arated the Frank from the Roman. The latter was subject 
 to personal and territorial taxation. Such had been his con- 
 dition under the empire ; and whether the burden might or 
 not be equal in degree (probably it was not such), it is not 
 at all reasonable to believe without proof that he was ever 
 exempted from it. It is, however, true that some French 
 writers have assumed all territorial impositions on free land- 
 holders to have ceased after the conquest. (Recits des Temj^s 
 Meroving. i. 268).-^ This controversy I do not absolutely 
 undertake to determine ; but the proof evidently lies on those 
 who assert the Roman to have been more favored than he 
 was under the empire ; when all were liable to the land-tax, 
 though only those destitute of freehold possessions paid the 
 capitation or census. We cannot infer such a distinction on 
 the ground of tenure from a passage of Gregory (lib. ix. c. 
 30) : — Childebertus vero rex descriptores in Pictavos, in- 
 vitante Marovio episcopo, jussit, abire ; id est, Florentianum 
 majorem domus regime, et Romulfum palatii sui comitem, ut 
 scilicet populus censum quem tempore patris functi fuerant, 
 facta ratione innovaturas, reddere deberet. Multi enim ex 
 his defuncti fuerant, et ob hoc viduis oi'phanisque ac debilibus 
 tributi poudus inciderat. Quod hi discutientes per ordinem, 
 relaxantes pauperes ac infirmos, illos quos justiti^e conditio 
 tributaries dabat, censu publico subsiderunt." These collec- 
 tox's were repelled by the citizens of Tours, who proved that 
 Clotaire I. had released their city from any public tribute, 
 out of respect for St. Martin. And the reigning king ac- 
 quiesced in this immunity. It may also be inferred from 
 another passage (Lib. x. c. 7) that even ecclesiastical property 
 was not exempt from taxation, unless by special privilege, 
 which indeed seems to be implied in the many charters con- 
 ceding this immunity, and in the forms of Marculfus." 
 
 1 M. Lehuerou imputes the same theory subject of taxation, clearly proves, in my 
 to Montesquieu. I5ut his words (Espr. opinion, that the land-tax imposerl unJer 
 des Loix, xxx. 13) do not as.sert that tlie the empire continued to be levied on the 
 Romans might not be subject to taxation Itoraan subjects of Clevis and the next 
 in the earlier Merovingian period ; though two generations. {\o\. \. \i.2~\,et post.) 
 afterwards, as he supposes, this obliga- Tbe Franks, such as were tngeniii, were 
 tion was replaced by that of military ser- originally exempt from this and all other 
 vice. tribute. Of this M. Lehuerou makes no 
 
 2 This note was written before I had doubt ; nor, perhaps, has any one doubt- 
 looked at a work published in 1843, by ed it, except Dubos. But, under the sons 
 M. Lehuerou, ' Histoire des Institutions and grandsons of Clevis, endeavors were 
 Merovingieunes,' in which, with much made, to which I have drawn attention 
 impartiality and erudition, lie draws ,a in a subsequent note, by those despotic 
 line between the theories of Duhos and princes, eager to assume the imperial 
 Montesquieu ; and, upon this particular prerogatives over all their subjects, to
 
 Chap. II. ROMAN NATIVES OF GAUL. 281 
 
 It seems, however, clear that the Frank laiulholiliT. the 
 Francits ingenuiis, boni to his share, according to old notions, 
 of national sovt-rciirntv, pive indeed liis voluntary donation 
 aunually to the kinj,% liut reckoned hhnselt' entirely free from 
 compulsory tribute. We read of no tux imposed by the as- 
 semblies of the Field of ^larch ; and if the kinirs had pos- 
 sessed the i)rero,!zative of levyinj; money at will, the monarchy 
 must have become wholly alisolute without opposition. The 
 barbarian was distinguished by his abhorrence of tribute. 
 Tvramiy might strip one man of his jiossessions, banish 
 tmother from his country, destroy the life of a third ; the 
 rest would at the utmost murmur in silence ; but a general 
 imiH)siiion on them as a people was a yoke luider which they 
 would not pass without resistance. I shall mention a few 
 instances in a future note. The Roman, on the other hand, 
 complained doubtless of new or unrea.sonable taxation ; but 
 he couM not avoid acknowledging a principle of government 
 to which his forefathers had titr so many ages submitted. 
 The hou.se of Clovis stood to him in place of the Ccesars ; this 
 part of the theory of Dubos cannot be disputed. Rut when 
 that writer extends the same to the Frank, iis a constitutional 
 fKjsition, and not merely referring to acts protested against as 
 illeg-al, the voice of history refutes him. 
 
 Dulms has a.s.scrted. and is followed by many, that the 
 armv of Chjvis was composed of I»ut a few thousand Salian 
 Franks. And for this the testimony of Gregory has been 
 adduced, who informs us oidy that .'J.OOO of the army of Clovis 
 (a later writer .says (i,<iO<i) were Ijaptized with him. (Greg. 
 Tur. lib. ii. c. 33.) But Clovis wjis not the sole chieftain of 
 his tril)e. It has been seen that he enlarged his command 
 towanls the do-^e of his life, by violent measures with respect 
 to other kings as indepemlent ajiparently as himself, and some 
 of whom Itelonged to his family. Thus the Ripuarian Franks, 
 who octMipicfl tlie left bank of the Rhine, came under his 
 swav. AikI be«iile-; this, tlie argument fioin the luunber of 
 soldier.-* baptized with Clovis assumes that the whole army 
 eml>r.iceil Christianity with their king. It is true that (Jreg- 
 ory .-eeiii- to impiv tliis. Hut, even in the seventh century, 
 the Frank> on the Meuse and Scheldt were still chiefly pagan, 
 
 rrili tli<- ' : liiimiiiiity ; Komil iiiitlinrity of t lie cnviTci^fri. (IliMt. 
 
 Bill n ■■ II iirii't'Mni- di-M liiwt. .Mi-niviiig. I. 4-.J, rt piifl.) 
 
 cjf fH«u. . .........i.il tliu jMjr-
 
 282 ROMAN NATIVES OF GAUL. Notes to 
 
 as the Lives of the Saints are said by Thierry to prove. We 
 have only, it is to be remembered, a declamatory and super- 
 ficial history for this period, derived, as I believe, from the 
 panegyrical life of St. Remy, and bearing traces of legendary 
 incorrectness and exaggeration. We may, however, appeal 
 to other ci'iteria. 
 
 It cannot be too frequently inculcated on the reader who 
 desires to form a general but tolerably exact notion of the 
 state of France under the first line of kings, that he is not 
 hastily to draw inferences from one of the three divisions, 
 Austrasia, Neustria, and Aquitaine, to which, for a part of 
 the period, we must add Burgundy, to the rest. The differ- 
 ence of language, though not always decisive, furnishes a pre- 
 sumption of different origin. We may therefore estimate, 
 with some probability, the proportion of Franks settled in the 
 monarchy on the left bank of the Rhine, by the extent of 
 country wherein the Teutonic language is spoken, unless we 
 have reason to suspect that any change in the boundaries of 
 that and the French has since taken place. The Latin was 
 certainly an encroaching language, and its daughter has in 
 some measure partaken of the same character. Many causes 
 are easy to assign why either might have gained ground on 
 two dialects, the German and Flemish, contiguous to it on 
 the eastern frontier, while we can hardly perceive one for an 
 opposite result. We find, nevertheless, that both have very 
 nearly kept their ancient limits. It has been proved by M. 
 Raoux, in the Memoirs of the Academy of Brussels (vol. iv. 
 p. 411), that few towns or villages have changed their lan- 
 guage since the ninth century. The French or Walloon fol- 
 lowed in that early age the irregular line which, running from 
 Calais and St. Omer to Lisle and Tournay, stretches north of 
 the Meuse as far as Liege, and, bending thence to the south- 
 westward, passes through Longwy to Metz. These towns 
 speak French, and spoke it under Charlemagne, if we can say 
 that under Charlemagne French was spoken anywhere ; at 
 least they spoke a dialect of Latin origin. The exceptions 
 are few ; but where they exist, it is from the progress of 
 French rather than the contrary. A writer of the sixteenth 
 century says of St. Omer that it was " Olim baud dubie mere 
 Flandricum, deinde tamen bilingue, nunc autem in totum fere 
 Gallicum." There has also been a sli<>;ht movement toward 
 French in the last fifty years. 
 
 o
 
 Chap. If. ROMAN NATIVES OF GAUL. 283 
 
 Tin- ino.>t remarkable evidence for the duration ot' the 
 limit is the act of j)artition between Lotliaire of Lorraine and 
 Charles the Bald, in !S7U, whence it appears that the names 
 of places where French is now spoken were then French. 
 Yet most of these had been built, especially the abbeys, sub- 
 sequently to the Frank couipiest : " d'oii on pent conclure 
 que menie dans le periode frampie, le hmirage vulgaire du 
 grand nombre des habitiuis du l)ays, (pii sont i)resentemcnt 
 "Wallons, n'etait pas teutoni(pie ; car on en verrait des traces 
 dans les actes hi>tori(iues et •reojrraphicjucs de ce temps-la." 
 (P. 434.) Nothing', says M. ^Fichelet, can be more French 
 than the Walloon country, (ilist.de France, viii. 287.) He 
 expatiates almost with enthu>iasm on the praise of this people, 
 who seem to have retained a large share of his favorite 
 Celtic element. It ;ip|it ars that the result of an investiga- 
 tion into the languages on the Alsatian frontier would be 
 much the same. Here, therefore, we have a very reasonable 
 presumption that the forefathers of the Flemish Belgians, 
 a.-^ well as of the people of Alsace, were barbarians : some 
 of the former may l)e sprung from Saxon colonies planted in 
 Brabant by Cliarlcinagne ; but we may derive the majority 
 from Salian ami Kipuarian Franks. These were the 
 strength of Austra-ia, and among these the great restorer, 
 or rather founder, of tlie empire fixed his capital at Aix-la- 
 Ciiapelle. 
 
 In A(piitaine, on the other hand, everything appears 
 Roman, in contratlistinction to Frank, except the reigning 
 family. Tiie chief dilliiulty, therefore, concerns Neustria ; 
 that is, from the Scheldt, or, i)erhaps, the Somme, to the 
 L(jire : and to this important king(h)m the advocates of the 
 two nations, Koman and Fiank, lay claim. M. Thierry has 
 paid mudi atti'ntion to the subject, and come to the conclu- 
 sion tiiat. in the seventh century, the luunber of Frank land- 
 holders, from the Rhine to the Loire, much exceeded that 
 of tlie Roman. And this excess he tiikes to have been in- 
 creased througli the seizure of Church lands in the next age 
 by Charles Martei, who bestowed them on his (Icrman troops 
 enli-ted beyond the lihine. Tlie metiiod whicii Tiii( i ry lias 
 pur.'^ued, in ordi-r to ascertain this, is ingenious and presump- 
 ti\ely ri^flit. He icniarkfMl that tli<' names of ])lacfs will 
 otivn indiejite wlieilu;r tlie inhaltitanis, or more often the 
 chief proprietor, were of Roman or Teutonic origin. Thus
 
 284 ROMAN NATIVES OF GAUL. Notes to 
 
 Franconville and Romainville, near Paris, are distinguished, 
 in charters of the ninth century, as Francorum villa and 
 Romanorum villa. This is an instance where the pojndation 
 seems to have been of ditferent race. But commonly the 
 owner's Christian name is followed by a familiar termination. 
 In that same neighborhood j^rojjer names of German origin, 
 Avith the terminations ville, court, mont, vol, and the like, are 
 very frequent. And this he finds to be generally the case 
 north of the Loire, compared with the left bank of that river. 
 It is, of course, to be understood that this proportion of 
 su^^erior landholders did not extend to the general population. 
 For that, in all Neustrian France, was evidently composed 
 of those who spoke the rustic Roman tongue — the corrupt 
 language which, in the tenth or eleventh century, became 
 worthy of the name of French ; and this was the case, as 
 we have just seen, in part of Austrasia, as Champagne and 
 Lorraine. 
 
 We may, therefore, conclude that the Franks, even in the 
 reign of Clovis, were rather a numerous people — including, 
 of course, the Ripuarian as well as the Salian tribe. They 
 certainly appear in great strength soon afterwards. If we 
 believe Procopius, the army which Theodebert, king only of 
 Austrasia, led into Italy in 539, amounted to 100,000. And, 
 admitting the probability of great exaggeration, we could 
 not easily reconcile this with a very low estimate of Frank 
 numbers. But, to say the truth, I do not rely much on this 
 statement. It is, at all events, to be remembered that the 
 dominions of Theodebert, on each side of the Rhine, would 
 furnish barbarian soldiers more easily than those of the 
 western kingdoms. Some may conjecture that the army 
 was partly composed of Romans ; yet it is doubtful whether 
 they served among the Franks at so early a period, though 
 we find them some years afterwards under Chilperic, a 
 Neustrian sovereign. The armies of Aquitaine, it is said, 
 were almost wholly composed of Romans or Goths ; it could 
 not have been otherwise. 
 
 The history of Gregory, which terminates in 598, affords 
 numerous instances of Romans in the highest otfices, not 
 merely of trust, but of power. Such were Celsus, Amatus, 
 Mummolus, and afterwards Protadius in Burgund}^ and De- 
 siderius in Aquitaine. But in these two parts of the mon- 
 archy we might anticipate a greater infiuence of the native
 
 Chap. II. ROMAN' N ATIVFS OF GAUL. 285 
 
 [)opnlation. In Xi'ustria and Au^trasia. a Roman count, or 
 mavor of the palace, niijrht have been uut'avural)ly behel.l. 
 Yet in the hitter khigdoni, all Frank as it was in its jreneral 
 character, we find, even hetbre the micUlle of the sixth cen- 
 turv. Lupus, (hike of C'lianipagne, a man of considerable 
 weiLdit, and a Roman by birth; and, it was the })olicy after- 
 wards of lirunehaut to employ Romans. But this not only 
 excited the hostility of the Austrasian Franks, but of the 
 Burjrundians themselves ; nor ditl anytliimr more tend to the 
 ruin of that ainl>itious woman. Despotism, through its most 
 i-eady instruments, was her aim ; and, when she signally 
 foiled in the attempt, the star of Germany prevailed. From 
 that time. Austrasia at least, if not Neustria, became a Frank 
 aristocracy. We hear little more of Romans, ecclesiastics 
 excepted, in considerable power. 
 
 If" indeed, we could agree with ^Iontes<iuieu and ^NFably, 
 that a Roman subject might change his law and live l)y tlie 
 Salic code at his discretion, his equality with the Franks 
 would have been virtually recognized; since every one 
 might place himself in the condition of the more favored 
 nation. And hence ]Mal)ly accounts for the prevalence of 
 the Frank jurisprudence in tlie north of France, since it 
 wa-i more advantageous to ailojit it a< a jx-rsonal law. The 
 Roman migiit become an alodial landholder, a member of the 
 sovereign legislature in the Field of March. His iceregild 
 would be raised, and with that his relative situation in the 
 commonwealth ; his lands would be exempt from taxation. 
 But this theory has been latterly rejected. We cannot, 
 indeed, conceive one less consonant to the i)rinciples of the 
 barbarian kingdoms, or the general language of the laws. 
 Montes(juieu wa< deeeivecl by a pa>sage in an early capitu- 
 lary, of which the best manuscripts furnish a ditferent nad- 
 ing. Mablv was pleased with an hypothesis which rendered 
 the basis of the slate more democratical. lint the tirst who 
 pro|>agated this error, and on more plausible grounds than 
 3Iontesf|uieu, though he (Esprit des Loix, liv. xxviii. c. 4) 
 seem- to d.-iim it as a discovery of his own, were l)u Cange 
 and >riiratori. They were misled by an edict of the em- 
 f>erf»r Lothaire I. in 824: — " \'ohnnus ut cunctus populus 
 RoMianu-i inlerrogetur rjuali lege vull vivere, ut tali,(|ua!i pro- 
 fe--i tiierint vivere vellf, vivant." But Savigny has pidved 
 tliat this was a peculiar exception of favor granted at thai time
 
 286 DISTIXCTION OF LAWS. Notes to 
 
 to the Romans, or rather separately to each person ; and that 
 not as a privilege of the ancient population, but for the sake 
 of the barbarians who had settled at Rome. Raynouard is 
 one of those who have been deceived by the more obvious 
 meaning of this law, and adopts the notion of Mably on its 
 authority. "Were it even to bear such an interpretation, we 
 could not draw a general inference from it. In the case of 
 married women, or of the clergy, the liberty of changing the 
 law of birth Avas really permitted. (See Savigny, i. 134, et 
 post, Engl, transl.) 
 
 It should, however, be mentioned, that a late very learned 
 writer, Troja, admits the hypothesis of a change of law in 
 France, not as a right in every Roman's power, but as a 
 special privilege sometimes conceded by the king. And we 
 may think this conjecture not unworthy of regard, since it 
 serves to account for what is rather anomalous — the admis- 
 sion of mere Romans, at an early period, to the great offices 
 of the monarchy, and especially to that of count, which in- 
 volved the rank of presiding in the Frank mallus. It is said 
 that Romans sometimes assumed German names, though 
 the contrary never happened ; and this of itself seems to in- 
 dicate a change, as far as was possible, of national connection. 
 But it is of little service to the hypothesis of Montesquieu 
 and Mably. Of the edict of Lothaire Troja thinks like 
 Savigny ; but he adopts the reading of the capitulary, as 
 quoted by Montesquieu, " Francum, aut barbarum, aut 
 hominem qui lege Salica vivit ; " where the best manuscripts 
 omit the second aut. 
 
 Note V. Page 155. 
 
 This subject has been fully treated in the celebrated work 
 by Savigny, ' History of Roman Law in the Middle Ages.' 
 The diligence and fidelity of this eminent writer have been 
 acknowledged on all sides ; nor has any one been so copious 
 in collecting materials for the history of mediaeval jurispru- 
 dence, or so perspicuous in arranging them. In a few points 
 later inquirers have not always concurred with him. But, 
 with the highest respect for Savigny, we may say, that of the 
 two leading propositions — namely, first, the continuance of 
 the Theodosian code, copied into the Breviarium Aniani, as 
 the personal law of the Roman inhabitants, both of France
 
 Ch-u". n. i»i>TrxrTiox of laws. 2.s7 
 
 and Italy, for seversil centuries after the subjtijration of those 
 countries hv the liarharians ; and, seeoiidly, the (|ii(ttati(tii of 
 the Pandects and otlier parts of the hiw of Justinian liy 
 some few writers, before the pretended discovery of a manu- 
 script at Amalfi — the former has been perfectly well known, 
 as least ever since the publication of the glossary of Ducange 
 ill the seventeenth century, and that of iMuratori's Disserta- 
 tions on Italian Antiijuities in the next ; nor, indeed, could it 
 ]>o--;iblv have been overhxtked by any one who had read the 
 barbarian codes, full as they are of reference to those who 
 followed the laws of Rome ; while the second is also proved, 
 though not so abundantly, by several writers of the la-^t age. 
 Guizot, praising Saviguy for his truthfulness, and tor having 
 shown the permanence of Roman jurisprudence in Europe, 
 well a-:ks how it could ever have been doubted. (Civil, en 
 France, Lecon 11.) 
 
 A late writer, indeed, has maintained that the Romans did 
 not preserve their law under the Lombards ; elaborately re- 
 pelling the proofs to the contrary. alleg<>d by ]\ruratori and 
 Savignv. (See Troja, Discorso della Condizione dei Romani 
 vinti dai Longobardi, sul))oined to the fourth volume of his 
 Storia d' Italia.) He does not admit that the inhabitants 
 were treated l)v the Loml)ard conquerors as anything better 
 than tributaries or cohtni. Even the bislio])s and cliM'gy 
 were judged according to thr F.ombard law (vol. v. p. 80). 
 The personal law did not come in till the conquest of Charle- 
 magne, who estaldished it in Italy. And though later, ac- 
 cording to this writer, in its origin, the distinctions introduced 
 by it subsisted much longer than they did in France. In- 
 Ptance* of persons profes-^ing to live by the Lombard law are 
 fouml verv late in tin- middle ages; the last is at Bergamo, 
 in l.")8H. IJut Hcrgamo was a city in which the Lombard 
 population had pn'<loininated. (Savigny, vol. i. p. 87<S.) 
 
 AVhati'ver may have been the case in Lonibardy, the exis- 
 tence of personal law in France is beyond question. It is 
 far more diHicult to fix a date for its termination. These 
 national di»tini'ti(tns wen- indelibly preserved in the south of 
 France by a law of Val<-nliniaii III., copied into the llre- 
 viarium Aniani, which pmliiliitcd tin- int<'rmarriage of Ro- 
 m.'ui' with barliarian-i. This wa- abolishe(l so far as to 
 li'galizf -y\v\i unions, with the permission of the count, l>y a 
 law of tlie Vi^igotlls in Spain, between 053 and f,7-\ Hut
 
 288 DISTIXCTIOX OF LAWS. Notes to 
 
 such an enactment could not have been obligatory in France. 
 Whether the Franks ever took Roman wives I cannot say ; 
 we have, as far as I am aware, no instance of it in their 
 royal family. Proofs might, perhaps, be found, with respect 
 to private families, in the Lives of the Saints ; or, if none, 
 presumptions to the contrary. Troja (Storia d'ltalia, p. 
 1204) says that St. Medard was the oflspring of a marriage 
 between a Frank and a Roman mother, before the conquest 
 by Clo\'is, and that the father lived in the Vermandois. 
 Savigny observes that the prohibition could only have ex- 
 isted among the Visigoths; else a woman could not have 
 changed her law by marriage. This, however, seems rather 
 applicable to Italy than to the north of France, where we 
 have no proof of such a regulation. Raynouard, whose con- 
 stant endeavor is to elevate the Roman population, assumes 
 that they would have disdained intermari-iage with barba- 
 rians. (Hist, du Di'oit Municipal, i. 288.) But the only 
 instance which he adduces, strangely enough, is that of a 
 Goth with a Frank ; which, we are informed, was reckoned 
 to disparage the former. It is very likely, nevertheless, that 
 a Frank Antrustion would not have held himself higlily 
 honored by an alliance with either a Goth or a Roman. 
 Each nation had its own pride ; the conqueror in arms and 
 dominion, the conquered in polished mannei's and ancient 
 renown. 
 
 " At the beginning of the ninth century," says M. Guizot, 
 " the essential characteristic is that laws are personal and not 
 territorial. At the beginning of the eleventh the reverse 
 prevails, except in a very few instances." (Le9on 25. But 
 can we approximate no nearer? The territorial element, to 
 use that favorite word, seems to show itself in an expression 
 of the edict of Pistes, 864: — "In lis regionibus qu£e legem 
 Romanam sequuntur." (Capit. Car. Calvi.) This must be 
 taken to mean the south of France, Avhere the number of 
 persons who followed any other law may have been incon- 
 siderable, relatively to the rest, so that the name of the dis- 
 trict is used collectively for the inhabitants. (Savigny, i. 
 162.) And this became the pays du droit ecrit, bounded, at 
 least in a loose sense, by the Loire, wherein the Roman was 
 the common law down to the French revolution ; the laws 
 of Justinian, in the progress of learning, having naturally 
 taken place of the Theodosian. But in the same capitulary
 
 Chap. II. DKTINCTION OF LAWS. 289 
 
 we read. — " De illis qui secundum legem Romanam vivunt, 
 nihil aliutl nisi quod in iisdem eontinetui' lejribus, derinimus. 
 And the king (C'harles the Bald) I'lnphatioally declares that 
 neither that nor any other capitulary wliich he or his prede- 
 cessoi-s had made is designed for those who obeyed the Roman 
 law. The fact may be open to some limitation ; but we have 
 here an express recognition of the continuance of the separate 
 races. It seems higlily |)robal)le that the interference of the 
 bishops, still in a great measure of Roman birth, and, even 
 where otherwise, disposed to favor Roman policy, contributed 
 to protect the luicient inhabitants from a Icgi-hiture wherein 
 they were not represented. And this strongly coiToborates 
 the jirobability that the Romans had never partaken of the 
 legislative power in the national assemblies. 
 
 In the middle of the tenth century, however, according to 
 Sismondi, the distinction of races was lost ; none were 
 Goth-;, or Romans, or even Franks, but Aquitanians, Bur- 
 gundians, Fleming.*. French had become the language of 
 the nation (iii. 400). French must here be understood to 
 include Provencal, and to be used in opposition to Ger- 
 man. In this sense the assertion seems to be nearly true ; 
 and it may naturally have been the consequence that all 
 difference of personal laws had come to an end. The feudal 
 customs, the local usages of counties and fiefs, took as much 
 the lead in nortliern France a-s the Roman code still pre- 
 served in the south. Tiie pinjs coutumiers separated them- 
 selves In' territorial di-tinctions from the pays du droit} 
 Still the instance quoted in my note, p. 134, from Vaissette 
 (where, at Carca.ssonne, so late as 918, we find Roman, 
 Gotii. and Frank judges enumerated), is a striking evidence 
 
 I A work which I had not dwn when code had been compiled on a different 
 
 thin not<! was written, " nij*t<iire du Droit motivf or leadinjj; principle. This is very 
 
 Fran^jJiis." hv .M. IjiferrierLMp. 8.0), treats much what took place in EiiRland, and 
 
 at Houie length the ori^Tn of the custom- perhaps more nipidlv, in the twelfth cen- 
 
 ary la«- of France. It was not, in any tury ; the .Norman "law, with its feudal 
 
 conxi'leratile di-gree, borrowtil from the principle, replaced the .Xnglo-.Saxon. 
 
 bart - ''. n'lr hTi-atly, as he thinks, Jiut a ltelj;ian writer, .M. Kaepsaet 
 
 trt" inlaw, lii- jxiints out the (.N'ouvcaux -Miinoires de T.-Vcadi iiiic da 
 
 man n-pancies from the former Hruxi-lles, t. iii.), contends th.ut the .Salic 
 
 of theM?. Hut these c(sles Hp|M-ar to have and Ki|>uarian laws had autlioritv in tho 
 
 Ixwn in force under <'harli-ma;;ne. Tho -Vetherlands, down to the thirleciith ccn- 
 
 feudnl cunloms, which liecame the solo tury, for towns and for almlial proprie- 
 
 Inw on the ri|{ht bank of the I^ire, ho torn. We fin<l lex Salira in several 
 
 n-fi-rs to the ninth and two followiuK limtruments : Ofho of Krisin^ien sjiys, 
 
 centuric". And I nuppoM.' there can be " I/cge (juie Salica ns(|Uc' ail lia'C te'm- 
 
 no donlit of this. The xpirlt of the pora vocatiir, nobilissiuios Knmcorum 
 
 Frenrh cu»toni», both t<'rritorial and adliuc uli.' Hut this must have been 
 
 pcrwitml, wttji wholly feu.lal; the Sullc chielly as to successions. 
 
 VOL. 1. Hi
 
 290 PROVIXCIAL GOVERNiVfEXT. Notes to 
 
 that, even far to tlie south, the territorial principle had not 
 yet wholly subverted those privileges of races, to which the 
 barbarians, and also the Romans, clung as honorably dis- 
 tinctive. 
 
 It is only by the force of very natural prejudices, acting 
 on both the polished and the uncivilized, that we can 
 account for the long continuance of this inconvenient sepa- 
 ration. If the Franks scorned the complex and wordy juris- 
 prudence of Rome, it was just as intolerable for a Roman to 
 endure the rude usages of a German tribe. The traditional 
 glory of Rome, transferred by the adoption of that name to 
 the provincials, consoled them in their subjection ; and in the 
 continuance of their law, in the knowledge that it was the 
 guarantee of their civil rights against a litigious barbarian, 
 though it might afford them but imperfect security against 
 his violence, in the connection which it strengthened with 
 the Church (for churchmen of all nations followed it), 
 they found no trifling recommendations of this distinction 
 from the conquerors. It seems to be proved that, in lapse 
 of ages, each had gradually boi'rowed something from the 
 other. The melting down of personal into territorial, that 
 is, uniform law, as it cannot be referred to any positive 
 enactment or to any distinct period, seems to have been the 
 result of such a process. The same judges, the counts and 
 missi, appear to have decided the controversies of all the 
 subject nations, whether among themselves or one with 
 another. Marculfus tells us this in positive terms : " Eos 
 recto tramite secundum legem et consuetudinem eorum 
 regas." (Marculf. Formulae, lib. i. c. 8.) Nor do we find 
 any separate judges, except the defensor es of cities, who 
 were Romans, but had only a limited jurisdiction. It Avas 
 only as to civil rights, as ought to be remarked, that the dis- 
 tinction of personal law was maintained. The penalties of 
 crime were defined by a law of the state. And the same 
 must of course be understood as to military service. 
 
 Note VI. Pages 156, 164. 
 
 The German dukes of the Alemanni and Bavarians be- 
 longed to once royal families : their hereditary rights may 
 be considered as those of territorial chiefs. Again, in Aqui- 
 taiue the Merovingian kings had so little authority that the
 
 Chap. II. PROVIXCIAL GOVERNMENT. 291 
 
 counts became nearly indepenilent. But we do nttt find 
 reason, as far as I am aware, to believe any regular succes- 
 sion of a son to his father, in Xeustria or Austrasia, under 
 the first dynasty: much less would Charlemai;ne have per- 
 mittt'd it to grow u[». It could ucvt-r have beionic an estab- 
 lislied usage, except in a monarchy too weak to maintain 
 any of its jnvrogativcs. Such a monarchy was that of 
 Charles the Bald. I have said that, in the famous capitulary 
 of Kiersi, in 877, the succession of a son to his father appears 
 to be recognized as a known usage. ]\I. Fauriel, on the 
 other hand, denies that this capitularv even confirms it at all. 
 (Hist, de la Gaule Mcridioualc iv. 383.) "VVe both, there- 
 fore, agree against the current of Fi'cnch writers who take 
 this for the epoch of hereditary succession. It seems evident 
 to me that an usage, sutticient, in common parlance, to entitle 
 the son to receive the honor which his father had held, is 
 implied in this capitulary. But the object of the enactment 
 was to provide for the contingency of a territorial govern- 
 ment becoming vaamt by death during the intended absence 
 of the emperor Charles in Italy ; and that in cases only where 
 the son of the deceased count should be with the army, or in 
 his minority, or where no son survived. " It is obvious," 
 Palgrave says, " that the law relates to the custody of the 
 county or fief during the interval between the death of the 
 father and the investiture of the heir." (English Common- 
 wealth, 31(2.) But the case of an heir, that is, a son — for 
 collateral inheritance is excluded by the terms of the capitu- 
 lary — being of full age and on the sj)ot, is not specially 
 mentioned ; so that we must presume tiiat he would have 
 assumed the government of the county, awaiting the sover- 
 eign's confirmation on his return from the Italian exp<'dition. 
 The eajiitulary should Ijc understood as ai)p[icable to tempo- 
 rary circumstances, rather than as a i>ermanent law. But I 
 mu»t think that the lineal succession is taken for granted 
 in it.* 
 
 • 81 r<>ni«4 ol.icrit. riijiis flliui nnl)in- notitiam porvcniat. Si vito filiiim non 
 
 cum nit. niiu« ii>>»t<T rum nitorj" flll<^- hiibuiTit. Alius imstiT cum cati-ris flde- 
 
 libut iiixtriH oriliiict il<- his ijui jlli pluH lihuH iiostrin (inlinct. qui rum minis- 
 
 Cimilli>n-<i i-t prriiiiiKjuion-ii fut-riiit, qui t«rialibuK ipclus comitntrm vt cpiiicopo 
 
 cum iiiinixti^riiiHtiux ip>iuii roniitiituH et IpHum comitittuni prii'vidi-nt, doueo juH- 
 
 epl»<-oi><i lp»uui comliiitum pncvldcat, nio noHtru iiuli; lint. Kt pm \\i»- iiulluH 
 
 ux'jiK- ruiii n»liti) n-tiuiitjctur. ."^i iiut4-tii inixcatur, ni Humlcm comitutum ulltri, 
 
 fill^ ■ -• : ' ' iiirit, iincli-m cum ijui uoliiH pbiruiTit, ili-rlrrliiiuH, i(uiim 
 
 till ' 'iiiiifrttfn i-t i-pis- llli c|iii i-iim li,irti-nu» pinviilit, Sliulli- 
 
 C'l ^' , ..1 1 ■"iinlotlt.i-uuili-m Ut »t do vuriuilli;* nostris fiioiniduui c»t 
 
 cotuilaluui iiritvJUeat, Uouec aU nontrauj (Script. lltT. Oall. Til. 7Ul.)
 
 292 POWER OF THE KINGS. Notes to 
 
 We find that so long at least as the kings retained any 
 power, their confirmation or consent was required on every 
 succession to an honor — that is, a county or other govern- 
 ment — though it was veiy rarely refused. Guadet (Notices 
 sur Richer, p. G2) supposes this to have been the case even 
 in the last reigns of the Caroline family ; that is, in the tenth 
 century ; but this is doubtful, at least as to the southern 
 dukes and counts. These honors gradually, after the acces- 
 sion of the house of Capet, assumed a new character, and 
 were confounded together with benefices under the general 
 name of fiefs of the crown. The counts, indeed, according 
 to Montesquieu and to probability, held beneficiary lands 
 attached to their office. (Esprit des Loix, xxvi. 27.) 
 
 The county, it may here be mentioned, was a temtorial 
 division, generally of the same extent as the pagus of the 
 Roman empire. The latter appellation is used in the Mero- 
 vingian period, and long afterwards. The w^ord county, 
 comitatus, is said to be rare before 800 ; but the royal officer 
 was called comes from the beginning. The number of pagi, 
 or counties, I have not found. The episcopal dioceses were 
 118 in the Caroline period, and were frequently, but not 
 always, coincident in extent with the civil divisions. (See 
 Gruerard, Cartulaire de Chartres, Prolegomenes, p. 6, in 
 Documens Liedits, 1840.) 
 
 Note VIL Page 158. 
 
 A reconsideration of the Merovingian history has led me 
 to doubt whether I may not, in my earlier editions, like sev- 
 eral others, have rather exaggerated the change in the pre- 
 rogative of the French kings from Clovis to Clotaire II. 
 Though the famous story of the vase of Soissons is not 
 insignificant, it now seems to me that an excessive stress has 
 sometimes been laid upon it. In the first place, there is a 
 general objection to founding a large political theory on any 
 anecdote, which proving false, the whole would crumble for 
 want of a basis. This, however, is rather a general remark 
 than intended to throw doubt upon the story told by Gregory 
 of Tours, who, though he came so long afterwards, and 
 though there is every appearance of rhetorical exaggeration 
 and inexactness in the detail, is likely to have learned the
 
 Chap. H. POWER OF nil- KINGS. 2!i;3 
 
 principal fact bv tradition or some lost authority.^ But even 
 taking the circumstances exactly according to his relation, do 
 tht'v iro much further than to inform us, what our kn(i\vled"-e 
 ot harhanan maimers miglit lead any one to presume, that 
 the booty obtained by a victory was divided among the army? 
 Clovis was not refused the vase which he retpiested ; the 
 army gave their assent in terms which Gregor}', we may 
 well believe, has made too submissive ; he took it without 
 regard to the insolence of a single soldier, and revenged 
 himself on the lirst opportunity. Tiie Salian king was, I 
 believe from other evidence, a limited one ; he was oliliged 
 to consult his army in war, his chief men in peace ; but the 
 vase of Soissons does not seem to warrant us in deeming 
 him to have been more limited than fiuni history and anal- 
 ogy we should otherwise infer. If, indeed, the language of 
 Gregory were to be trusted, the whole result would tell more 
 in favor of the royal authority than against it. And thus 
 Dubos. who has written on the principle of believing all that 
 he found in history to the very letter, has interpreted the 
 story. 
 
 Two French writers, the latter of considerable reputation, 
 Bouliunvilliers and Mably, have contributed to render current 
 a notion that the barbarian kings, l)efore the conquest of 
 Gaul, enjoyed scarcely any authority beyond that of leaders 
 of the ai'my. And this theory has lately been maintained 
 by two of our countrymen, whose researches have met with 
 great approbation. " It is plain," says Mr. Allen, "the mon- 
 arcliical theory cannot have Iteen derived from the ancient 
 Germans. In tiie most considerable of the German tribes 
 the f<jrm of government was rejtublicjni. Some of them had 
 a chief whom tiie Kuinans designated with tlie appelhition 
 of king; but his authority was limited, and in the most dis- 
 tinguished of their trib<'5 the name as well as the otlice of 
 king was unknown.- Tlie supreme authority of the nation 
 
 > .*incc thin i>enfonrc wna written I Orpjrory of Tours has reconloil eonocrn- 
 
 h«Tc fiiuixl tlie «tory of tlif tum: of SoU- liip tlie foundiT of the luoimnliy ; very 
 
 ioiw in Hinrmiir"n Lift- of St. Kcnil, rheforieiil, and jirobably not accnnito. 
 
 whtrh, iw I have obwrvf^d in a former but ensentially deserviii;; belief. 
 D'lt. to be taken fnun a dcK'U- • TliiM ih by no means an unqnestion- 
 
 m'" 'nteni|>omry with the Naint, able representjition ot what Tacit iis liaa 
 
 th.ii .-. ...i.i einvln. ,\nd thin oriifiiuil saiil ; but the laiijtnanc of that historian, 
 
 I.if>- of S(. I'.cnil. pri-iKTVi-d only in ex- oj* ban been observed in a former note, in 
 
 tm«t« when Hinrmnr coniiilli-<l liin own not Huflleiently perKpieuouH on this siib- 
 
 bio(fmpliy of tluit fanioiM bii.hop. In, in Ject of Uermaa roynlty, 
 all likelUiooJ, the lioniji of wljat«ver
 
 294 POWER OF THE KINGS. Notes to 
 
 resided in the freemen of wliom it was composed. From 
 them every determination proceeded which affected the gen- 
 eral interests of the community, or decided the hfe or death 
 of any member of the commonwealth. The territory of the 
 state was divided into districts, and in every district there 
 was a chief who presided in its assemblies, and, with the 
 assistance of the other freemen, regulated its internal con- 
 cerns, and in matters of inferior importance administered 
 justice to the inhabitants. 
 
 This form of government subsisted among the Saxons of 
 the Continent so late as the close of the seventh century, and 
 probably continued in existence till their final conquest by 
 Charlemagne. Long before that i^>eriod, however, the tribes 
 that qijitted their native forests, and established themselves 
 in the empire, had converted the temporary general of their 
 army into a permanent magistrate, with the title of king. 
 But that the person decorated with this appellation was in- 
 vested Avith the attributes essential to royalty in after-times is 
 utterly incredible. Freemen with arms in their hands, accus- 
 tomed to participate in the exercise of the sovereign power, 
 were not likely without cause to divest themselves of that 
 high prerogative, and transfer it totally and inalienably to 
 their general. Chiefs who had been recently his equals 
 might, in consideration ot his military talents, and from re- 
 gard to their common interest, acquiesce in his permanent 
 superiority as commander of their united forces ; but it can- 
 not be supposed that they would gratuitously and universally 
 submit to him as their master. There are no written ac- 
 counts, it is true, of the conditions stipulated by the German 
 warriors when they converted him into a king. But there is 
 abundance of facts recorded by historians, which show be- 
 yond a doubt that, though he might occasionally abuse his 
 power by acts of violence and injustice, the authority he pos- 
 sessed by law was far from being unlimited. (Inquiry into 
 the Rise and Growth of Royal Prerogative, p. 11.) 
 
 It may be observed, in the first place, that Mr. Allen ap- 
 peared to have combated a shadow. Few, I presume, contend 
 for an unlimited authority of the Germanic kings, either be- 
 fore or after their conquests of France and England. A 
 despotic monarchy was utterly uncongenial to the mediseval 
 polity. Sir F. Palgrave follows in the same direction : — 
 
 " AVhen the ' three tribes of Germany ' first invaded Brit-
 
 CiiAi>. II. POWER OF THE KINGS. 295 
 
 ain. royalty, in our sense of the term, was unknown to them. 
 Amon">t the Teutons in general the word ' kinir,' nrobaliK' 
 borrowed from the Cehie tongue, thougli now naturalized in all 
 the Teutonie languages, was as yet not introduced or invented. 
 Their patriarchal rulers were their 'aldermen,' or seniors. 
 In 'old Saxony ' there was such an alderman in every pagus. 
 Predominant or preeminent eliietuiins, whom the Romans 
 called • reges,' and who were often confirmed in their domin- 
 ions by the Romans themselves, existed at an earlier period 
 amonirst several of the German tribes ; but it must not be 
 supposed that these leaders possessed any of the exalted 
 functions and complex attributes which, according to our 
 ideas, constitute royal dignity. A king must be invested 
 with permanent and paramount authority. For the material 
 points at issue are not atiected by showing that one poweiful 
 chiettain might receive the com[tlim('ntary title of rex from a 
 foreign power, or that luiother chieftain, with powers ap- 
 proaching to royalty, may not have been created occasionally, 
 and during greater emei'gencies. The real question is, 
 whether the king had become the lord of the soil, or at least 
 tlu; greatest landed proprietor, and the first ' estate ' of the 
 commonwealth, endued with prerogatives which no other 
 member of tlie community could claim or exercise. The dis- 
 posal of the military force, the sujjreme administration of 
 justice, the right of receiving taxes and tributes, and the 
 character of sujireme legislator and perpetual president of 
 the councils of the realm, must all belong to the sovereign, 
 if he is to be king in deed as well as hi name." (Rise and 
 Progress of the English Commonwealth, vol. i. p. oi)3.) 
 
 TIk' prerogatives here assigned to royalty as part of its 
 detinition are of so various a nature, and so indefinitely ex- 
 pressed, that it is difficult to argue about them. Certainly a 
 "king in dfcd " must receive taxes, and dispose, though not 
 necc>-arily without con.sent, of the military force, lie must 
 pre-idf in the councils of the realm; but he need not be su- 
 preme legislator, if that is meant to exclude the participation 
 of his sul»j<'cts ; nmch less need h(! be the lord of the soil — 
 a very nxMh-rn notion, and merely technical, if indeed it 
 could be .sai<l to be true in any |)roper sense — nor cNcn the 
 greatest landed |)n)priet(jr. " A king's a king for a' that ; " 
 and w(! have never in England known any other. 
 
 JJut why do these eminent writers depreciate so confidently
 
 296 POWER OF THE KINGS. Notes to 
 
 the powers of a Frank or Saxon king ? Even if Caesar and 
 Tacitus are to be implicitly confided in for their own times, 
 are we to infer that no consolidation of the German clans, if 
 that word is a right one, had been effected in the four suc- 
 ceeding centuries ? Ax'e we even to reject the numerous tes- 
 timonies of Latin writers during those ages, who speak of 
 kmgs, hereditary chieftains, and leaders of the barbarian 
 armies ? If there is a notorious fact, both as to the Salian 
 Franks and the Saxons of Germany, it is that each had an 
 acknowledged royal family. Even if they sometimes chose 
 a king not according to our rules of descent, it was invaria- 
 bly from one ancestor. The house of Meroveus was proba- 
 bly recognized before the existence of that obscure prince ; 
 and in England Hengist could boast the blood of Woden, the 
 demigod of heroic tradition. A govei'nment by grafs or eal- 
 dormen of the gau, might suit a people whose forests pro- 
 tected them from invasion, but was utterly incompatible with 
 the aggressive warfare of the Franks, or of the first conquer- 
 ors of Kent and Wessex. Grimm, in his excellent antiquities 
 of German Law, has fully treated of the old Teutonic monar- 
 chies, not always hereditary, and never absolute, but easily 
 capable of receiving an enlargement of power in the hands 
 of brave and ambitious princes, such as arose in the great 
 westward movement of Germany. 
 
 If, however, the authority of Clovis has been rated too 
 low, it may also be questioned whether that of the next two 
 generations, his sons and grandsons, has not been exaggerated 
 m contrast. It is certainly true that Gregory of Tours ex- 
 hibits a picture of savage tyranny in several of these sover- 
 eigns. But we are to remember that particular acts of arbi- 
 trary power, and especially the putting obnoxious persons to 
 death, were so congenial to the whole manners of the age, 
 that they do not prove the question at issue, whether the gov- 
 ernment may be called virtually an absolute monarchy. Ev- 
 ery Frank of wealth and courage was a despot within his 
 sphere ; but his sphere of power was a bounded one ; and so, 
 too, might be that of the king. Probably when Gontran or 
 Fredegonde oi'dered a turbulent chief to be assassinated, no 
 weregild was paid to his kindred ; but his death would excite 
 hardly any disapprobation, except among those who thought 
 it undeserved. 
 
 Gregory of Tours, it should be kept in mind, was a Ro-
 
 Cn.u-. n. POTTER OF TOE KIXGS. 207 
 
 man ; he does not always distinguish the two nations ; but a 
 great part of the general oppression whieh we liud under the 
 grandchildren of Clovis seems to have fallen on the suhjcet 
 people. As to these, few are inclined to douI)t that the king 
 was truly absolute. The most remarkable instances of arbi- 
 trary power exerted upon the Franks are in the imposition of 
 taxes. These, as has been said in another note, were repug- 
 nant to the whole genius of barbarian society. AVe find, 
 however, that on the death of Theodel)ert, king of Austrasia, 
 in 547. the Franks murdered one Parthenius, evidently a 
 Roman, and a minister of the late king — "pro eo rpiod iia 
 tributa antedicti regis tempore intlixesset." (Greg. Tur. lib. 
 iii. c. 3G.) "Whether these tril)utes continued afterwards to 
 be paid we do not read. Chilperic, the most oppressive of 
 his line, at a later period, in 57*J, laid a tax on freehold lands 
 — " ut jiossessor de terra propria am[)horam vini per arijien- 
 nem redderet." (Id. lib. v c. 21>.) It is, indeed, possible 
 that this affected only the Romans, though the language of 
 the historian is general — " descrii)tiones novas et graves in 
 omni regno suo fieri jussit." A revolt broke out in conse- 
 quence at Limoges ; but the inhabitants of that city were 
 Roman. Chilperic put this down liy the help of his faithful 
 Antrustions — •• unde multum molestiis rex, dirigens de latere 
 suo personas, immensis damnis populum attiixit, suppliciisque 
 conterruit." Mr. Spence (Laws of Modern Europe, p. 2G9) 
 is clearly of opinion, against Montestpiieu, who confines this 
 tax to the Romans, that it comprehended the Franks also, and 
 was in the nature of the indiction, or laml-tax, imposed on the 
 subjects of the Roman empire by an assessment renewed 
 every fifteen years; and this, perhaps, on the whole, is the 
 more probable hypothesis of the two. Mr. S. says (p. 2G7) 
 that lands subject to tribute still continued liable when in 
 tlie possession of a Frank. Tiiis is possible, but he refers to 
 texts wliicii do not prove it. 
 
 The next passage which I shall quote is more unequivocal. 
 Tin- death of Cliilperic exposed his instruments of tyranny, 
 jL-i it had Partheniu-i in Australia, to the vengeance of an op- 
 ])re>sed people. FiedegoMile, though she escaped condign 
 punishment herself, could not screen these vile ministers: — 
 *• llalieliat tune temporis secinn Audonem judicem, (pii ei 
 teiiqiore regis in multis consenseral nialis. Ips*; eniin cum 
 Muiiujjolo praifecto multos de Francis, qui tenqjorc Cliilde-
 
 298 POWER OF THE KINGS. Notes to 
 
 berti regis senioris ingenui fuerant, publico tribute subegit. 
 Qui, post mortem regis Chilperici, ab ipsis spoilatus ac 
 denudatus est, ut nihil ei, praster quod super se auferre potuit, 
 remaneret. Domos enim ejus incendio subdiderunt ; abstulis- 
 sent utique et ipsam vitara, ni cum regina ecclesiam expetis- 
 set." (Lib. vii. c. 15.) The word ingenui, in the above 
 passage, means the superior class — alodial landholders or 
 beneficiaries, as distinguished from the class named lidi, who 
 are also pei-haps sometimes called trihutariij as well as the 
 Romans, and from whom a public census, as some think, was 
 due. We may remark here, that the removing of a number 
 of Franks from their own place as ingenui, to that of tribu- 
 taries, was a particular act of oppression, and does not stand 
 quite on the footing of a general law. The passage in Greg- 
 ory is chiefly important as it shows that the ingenui were not 
 legally subject to public tribute. 
 
 M. Guizot has adduced a constitution of Clotaire II. in 
 615, as a proof that endeavors had been made by the kings 
 to impose undue taxes. This contains the following article : 
 " Ut ubicunque census novus impie additus est, et a populo 
 reclamatur, justa inquisitione misericorditer emendetur/' (C. 
 8.) But does this warrant the inference that any tax had 
 been imposed on the free-born Frank ? " Census " is gener- 
 ally understood to be the capitation paid by the trihutarii, 
 and the words imply a local exaction rather than a national 
 imposition by the royal authority. It is not even manifest that 
 this provision was founded exclusively on any oppression of 
 the crown ; several other articles in this celebrated law are 
 extensively remedial, and forbid all undue spoliation of the 
 weak. But if we should incline to Guizot's interpretation, it 
 will not prove, of course, the right of the kings to impose 
 taxes on the Franks, since that to which it adverts is called 
 census novus impie additus. 
 
 The inference which I formerly drew from the language 
 of the laws is inconclusive. Bouquet, in the Recueil des 
 Historiens (vol. iv.), admits only seven laws during the Mer- 
 ovingian period, differing from Baluze as to the particu- 
 lar sovereigns by whom several of them were enacted. Of 
 these the first is by Childebert I., king of Paris, in 532, ac- 
 cording to him ; by Childebert II. of Austrasia according 
 to Baluze, which, as the date is Cologne, and several Aus- 
 trasian cities are mentioned in it which never belonged to the
 
 Chap. n. POWER OF THE KINGS. 299 
 
 fii'st Chiklebert, I cannot Imt think more likely. This con- 
 stitution Ims ii/iii ctim iiosfn's optlinatlhus, and coiirenif. iiiiu 
 leuilis iiostris. And tht' expressions lead to two inferences ; 
 first, that the :L-isenibly of the field of March was, in that age, 
 aniuially held ; secondly, that it was customary to send round 
 to ihe people the determinations of tiie ojjtimates in this 
 council : — " Cum nos umues calendas !Martias de quascunque 
 conditiones una cum ojitimatibus nostris pertraetavimus, ad 
 unumqucnuiue nolitiam volunnis pcrvenire." The grammai' 
 is wretched, but such is the evident sense. 
 
 The second law, as it is called, is an agreement between 
 Childebert and Clotaire ; the fii-st of each name according to 
 Bouquet, the second according to Baluze. This wants all 
 enacting words except " Decretum est." The third is au oi'- 
 dinance of Childebert for abolishing idolatrous rites and keep- 
 ing festivals. It is an enforcement of ecclesiasticid regula- 
 tions, not perhaps reckoned at that time to require legislative 
 sanction. The fourth, of Clotaire I. or Clotaire II., begins 
 " Decretum est," and has no other word of enactment. But 
 this does not exclude the probability of consent by the 
 leudes. Clotaire I., in another constitution, speaks authori- 
 tatively. But it will be found, on reading it, that none ex- 
 cept his Roman subjects are concerned. The sixth is merely 
 a precept of Gontran, directed to the bishops and judges, en- 
 joining them to maintain the observance of the Lord's day 
 and other feasts. The last is the edict of Clotaire II. in 
 Gl.j, already quoted, and here we read, — '' Ilanc delibera- 
 tionem quam cum pontificibus vel tarn magnis viris o[)timati- 
 bus, aut fi(l<dibus nostris in synodali concilio instituimus." 
 
 After 01. ii no law is extant enacted in any of the Frank 
 kingdoms before the reign of Pepin. This, however, cannot 
 of itself warrant the assertion that none were enacted which 
 do not remain. It is more surprising, perhaps, tliat even a 
 few have been preserved. The language of Childebert 
 al>ove cited leads to the belief that, in the sixth century, 
 whatever we may suppose as to the next, an assemldy with 
 powers of legislation was regularly held by the Frank sov- 
 ereigns. Nothing, on tlie wiiole, warrants the suji|)o-iti()ii 
 that the three generations after Clovis po.s.sessed an arknowl- 
 edgcd rigiil, either of Icgishiting for their Frank subjects, or 
 inqiosiug luxes upon them. But after the assiussination of 
 Sigebert, under the walls of Touruay, in .375, the Austrasian
 
 300 FEENCH NOBILITY. Notes to 
 
 nobles began to display a steady resistance to tlie authority 
 which his widow Brunehaut endeavored to exercise in her 
 son's name. This, after forty years, terminated in her death, 
 and in the reunion of the Frank monarchy, with a much 
 more aristocratic character than before, under the second 
 Clotaire. It is a revolution to which we have ah*eady drawn 
 attention in the note on Brunehaut. 
 
 Note VIII. Page 160. 
 
 " The existence," says Savigny, " of an original nobility, 
 as a particular patrician order, and not as a class indefinitely 
 distinguished by their wealth and nobility, cannot be ques- 
 tioned. It is difficult to say from what origin this distinction 
 may have proceeded ; whether it was connected with the 
 services of religion, or with the possession of the heritable 
 offices of counts. We may affirm, however, with certainty, 
 that the honor enjoyed was merely personal, and conferred 
 no preponderance in the political or judicial systems." (Ch. 
 iv. p. 172, English translation.) This admits all the theory 
 to which I have inclined in the text, namely, the non-exist- 
 ence of a privileged order, though antiquity of family was 
 in high respect. The eorl of Anglo-Saxon law was, it mny 
 be said, distinguished by certain privileges from the ceorl. 
 Why could not the same have been the case with the 
 Franks ? We may answer that it is by the laws and records 
 of those times that we prove the former distinction in Eng- 
 land, and it is by the absence of all such proof that the non- 
 existence of such a distinction in France has been presumed. 
 But if the lidi, of whom we so often read, were Franks by 
 origin, and moreover personally free, which, to a certain ex- 
 tent, we need not deny, they will be the corresponding rank 
 to the Anglo-Saxon ceorl, superior, as, from whatever cir- 
 cumstances, the latter may have been in his social degree. 
 All the Franci ingenui will thus have constituted a class of 
 nobility ; in no other sense, however, than all men of white 
 race constitute such a class in those of the United States 
 where slavery is abolished, which is not what we usually mean 
 by the word. In some German nations we have, indeed, a 
 distinct nobility of blood. The Bavarians had five families, 
 for the death of a member of whom a double composition
 
 Cn.vi-. 11. FRENCU NOBILITY. 301 
 
 was paid. They hail oni', the Agilolfungi, whose composition 
 wa.> tourtbUl. Troja also finds proof of two chisses among 
 the Alemanns (v. iCS). But we are speaking only of tlia 
 Franks, a cognate people, indeed, to the Saxons and Ale- 
 mjums, but not the same, and whose origin is not that of a 
 pure single tribe. The Franks were collectively like a new 
 people in comparison with some others of Teutonic blood. It 
 does not, theretbre. a})pear to me so untiucstionable as to Sa- 
 vigny tiiat a considerable number of famiUes formed a patri- 
 cian order in the French mmuuvliy, without reference to he- 
 reditary possessions or hereditary ollice. 
 
 A writer of considerable learning and ingenuity, but not 
 always attentive to the strict meaning of what he quotes, has 
 found a proof of family precedence among the Franks in the 
 words crinosiis and crittitus, employed in the Salic law and 
 in an edict of Childebert. (^Nleyer, Institut. Judiciaires, vol. 
 i. p. 104.) This privilege of wearing long hair he supposes 
 peculiar to certain families, and ol)serves that crinosus is op- 
 posed to ionsoratus. But why should we not believe that all 
 superior freemen, that is, all Franks, whose composition was 
 of two hundred solidi, wore this long hair, though it might be 
 an honor denied to the lidi i Gibert, in a memoir on the 
 Merovingians (Acad, des Inscript. xxx. 583), quotes a pas- 
 sajie of Tacitus, conccrnini; the manner in which the nation 
 of the Suevi wore their hair, from whom the Franks are sup- 
 posed by him to be descended. And there is at least some- 
 thing remarkable in the language of Tacitus, which indicates 
 a distinction between the royal family and other freemen, as 
 well as between these and the servile class. The words have 
 not been, I think, often (pioted : — " Nunc de Suevis dicen- 
 dum est. quorum non mia ut Cattorum Tencterorumque gens; 
 majorem fiiim (Ji rmaiiiic parli-m ol)tinent, propriis adhuc na- 
 tionibus discreti, quamquam in communi Suevi dicuntur. 
 In-igne gentis obli(|uare crint-m, nodo(|ue substringere. Sic 
 Su<,'vi a Cicteris (jirmanis, sic Suevorum ingenui a servis 
 sepanmtur. In aliis gentibus, seu cognatione aliciua Suevo- 
 rum, seu, quod accidit, imitatione, raruna et intra juvcnta^ spa- 
 tium, apurl Suevos us(jue ad canitiem, horicnt<'ni capillum 
 retnj scqmnitur, ac sirpe in ipso solo vertice religant ; jiri/t- 
 cipes et ornaliorem huhent." (])e ^lor. German, c. 3.S.) This 
 hi«t fxprf-^ion may account for tlic word rrinltns Itcing some- 
 tiujes applied to tlie royal lianily, ad it were exchi.-ively,
 
 302 FRENCH NOBILITY. Notes to 
 
 sometimes to the Frank nation or its freemen.^ The refer- 
 ences of M. Meyer are so far from sustaining his theory that 
 they rather lead me to an opposite conclusion. 
 
 M. Naudet (in Me moires de 1' Academic des Inscriptions, 
 Nouvelle Serie, vol. viii. p. 502) enters upon an elaborate dis- 
 cussion of the state of persons under the first dynasty. He 
 distinguishes, of course, the ingenui from the lidi. But 
 among the former he conceives that there were two classes : 
 the former absolutely free as to their persons, valued in their 
 weregild at 200 solidi, meeting in the county mallus. and 
 sometimes in the national assembly, — in a word, the populus 
 of the Frank monarchy ; the latter valued, as he supposes, at 
 100 solidi, living under the protection or mundehurde of some 
 rich man, and though still free, and said to be ingemdli 
 ordine servientes, not very distinguishable at present from the 
 lidi. I do not know that this theory has been countenanced 
 by other writers. But even if we admit it, the higher class 
 could not properly be denominated an hereditary nobility ; 
 their privileges would be those of better fortune, which had 
 rescued them from the dependence into which, from one cause 
 or another, their fellow-citizens had fallen. The Franks in 
 general are called by Guizot une noblesse en decadence ; the 
 leudes one en progres. But he maintains that from the fifth 
 to the eleventh age there existed no real nobility of birth. 
 In this, however, he goes much further than Mably, who does 
 not scruple to admit an hereditary nobility in the time of 
 Charlemagne, and probably further than can be reasonably 
 allowed, especially if the eleventh century is to be understood 
 inclusively. In that century we shall see that the nobles 
 formed a distinct order ; and I am much inclined to believe 
 that this was the case as soon as feudal tenure became gen- 
 eral, which was at least as early as the tenth, 
 
 M. Lehuerou denies any hereditary nobility during the 
 Merovingian period, at least, of French history : " II n'exis- 
 tait done point de noblesse dans le sens moderne du mot, 
 puisqu'il n'y avait point d'heredite, et puisque I'heredite, si 
 elle se produisait quelquefois, etait purement accidentelle ; 
 
 1 The royal family seem also to have de his fieri debeat ; et utrum incisa cse- 
 
 wom longer hair than the others. Chil- sarie, ut reliqua plebs habeantur. an 
 
 debert proposed to Clotaire, as we read certe his interfectis regnum gernumi nos- 
 
 in Gregory of Tours (iii. 18), that the tri inter nosmetipsos aequalitate habita 
 
 children of their brother Clotlimer should dividatur." 
 be either cropped or put to death : " quid
 
 Chap. II. BENEFICES. 303 
 
 niais il y avait line aristocratie mobile, cliangcante, variable 
 an gre des accidents et des caprices de la vie barbare, et 
 neaiiinoin> en possession de veritables privileges qii'i! fliut ce 
 garder de nieeunnaitre. Cette aristocratic etait pliitot celle 
 des titres, des places, et des honneurs, que celle de la nais- 
 sance. qiioiipie celle-ci n'y tut pas etrangcre. Elle etait plus 
 dans le present, et nioins dans le passe ; elle empruntait plus 
 h la puissance actuelle qu'a celle des souvenirs ; mais elle 
 ne s'en detacijait pas raoins nettement des couches inferieui'es 
 de la population, et notaniment de la foule de ceux doiit la 
 noble>se ne consistait uue dans leur ingenuite." (Inst. Caro- 
 ling, p. 452.) 
 
 Note IX. Page 162. 
 
 The nature of benefices has been very well discus-^ed, 
 like everything else, by M. Guizot, in his E.ssai sur I'Hist. 
 de France, p. 120. He agrees with me in the two main 
 positions — that benefices, considered generally, never passed 
 through the sujiposed stage of grants revocable at pleasure, 
 and that they were sometimes granted in inheritance from 
 the sixth century downwards. This, however, was rather the 
 exception, he supposes, than the rule. " We cannot doubt 
 that, under Charlemagne, most benefices were granted only 
 for life" (p. 140). Louis the Debonair endeavored to act on 
 he same policy, but his eftbrts were unsuccessful. Heredi- 
 tary grants became the rule, as is proved l)y many charters 
 of his (iwn and Ciiarles the Bald. Finally he tells us, the 
 latter prince, in 877, empowered hhfideles to dispose of their 
 benefices as they thought fit, provided it were to persons capa- 
 ble of serving tiie estate. But this is too largely expressed; 
 the jKJwer given is to those vassals who might desire to take 
 up their abode in a cloister; and it could only be exercised 
 in favor of a son or other kinsman.^ But llie riglit of in- 
 heritanct; had ]u-olial)ly been established before. Still, so 
 deeply was the notion of a personal relation to the grantor 
 implanted in flu- minds cjf men, that it was common, iiotwith- 
 htanding the ljnge>t terms of inlieritance in a grant, for the 
 new tenant to olitain a confirmation irom the crown. This 
 
 • Si allquU ex flili-litmii no«triii post (jul rcipulilioeD prodosgo vnlciit. suos ho- 
 
 oViitiim ti<»(ruiii. JM i-t nonfro aiiioro nuri-H proiit iii«-liiifi voliicrit ci viili-iit pUi- 
 
 coiii|iiiiii'tu«. >ii-<'iil'i rciiiiiiiiiiru volucrlt, clUire. — Script. Kcr. Oull. vii. 701. 
 et fllium vi'l tuli'iii propliii{uuiu liiibuc-rlt
 
 304 BEXEFICES. Notes to 
 
 might also be for the sake of security. And this is precisely 
 the renewal of homage and fealty on a change of tenancy, 
 which belonged to the more matured stage of the feudal 
 polity. 
 
 Mr. Allen observes, with respect to the fonnula of INIar- 
 culfus quoted in my note, p. 161: — "Some authors have 
 considered this as a precedent for the grant of an hereditary 
 benefice. But it is only necessary to read with attention the 
 act itself to perceive that what it creates is not an hereditary 
 benefice, but an alodial estate. It is vicAved in this light in 
 his (Bignon's) notes on a subsequent formula (sect. 17), con- 
 firmatory of what had been done under the preceding one, 
 and it is only from inadvertence that it could have been ( on- 
 sidered in a different point of view." (Inquiry into Royal 
 Prerogative, Appendix, p. 47.) But Bignon took for grant- 
 ed that benefices were only for term of life, and consequently 
 that words of inheritance, in the age of Marculfus, implied 
 an alodial grant. The question is, "What constituted a bene- 
 fice ? Was it not a grant by favor of the kmg or other 
 lord ? If the words used in the formula of Marculfus are 
 inconsistent with a beneficiary property, we must give up 
 the inference from the treaty of Andely, and from all other 
 phrases which have seemed to convey hereditary benefices. 
 It is true that the formula in Marculfus gives a larger power 
 of alienation than belonged afterwards to fiefs ; but did it put 
 an end to the peculiar obligation of the holder of the bene- 
 fice towai'ds the crown ? It does not appear to me unreason- 
 able to suppose an estate so conferred to have been strictly 
 a benefice, according to the notions of the seventh century. 
 
 Subinfeudation could hardly exist to any considerable de- 
 gree until benefices became hereditary. But as soon as that 
 change took place, the principle was very natural and sure 
 to suggest itself. It prodigiously strengthened the aristoc- 
 racy, of which they could not but be aware ; and they had 
 acquired such extensive possessions out of the royal domains, 
 that they could well afford to take a rent for them in iron 
 instead of silver. Charlemagne, as Guizot justly conceives, 
 strove to counteract the growing feudal spirit by drawing 
 closer the bonds between the sovereign and the subject. He 
 demanded an oath of allegiance, as William afterwards did 
 in England, from the vassals of mesne lords. But after his 
 death, and after the complete establishment of an hereditary
 
 Chap. II. SUBINFEUDATION. 305 
 
 right in the {rrauts of the crown, it Avas utterly impossible to 
 prevent the general usage of subinfeudation. 
 
 ]Mal)ly ilistinguishes the lands granted by Charles iNIartel 
 to his German followers from the benefices of the early 
 kings, reserving to the former the name of fiefs. These he 
 conceives to have been granted only for life, and to have 
 involved, for the first lime, the obligation of military service. 
 (Observations sur I'llist. de France, vol. i. p. 32.) But as 
 they were not styled fiefs so early, but only benefices, this 
 distinction seems likely to deceive the reader ; aiid the oath 
 of fidelity taken by the Antrustion, which, though personal, 
 could not be a weixker oliligation after he had acquired a 
 benefice, carries a very strong presumption that military ser- 
 vice, at le;vst in defensive wars, not always distinguishable 
 from wars to revenge a wrong, as most are presumed to be, 
 was demanded by the usages and moral sentiments of the 
 society. We have not a great deal of testimony as to the 
 grants of Charles Martel ; but in the ca[)itularies of Charle- 
 magne it is evident that all holders of benefices >vere bound 
 to follow the sovereign to the field. 
 
 M. fiut-rard (Cartulaire de Chartres, i, 23) is of opinion 
 that, though l)enefices were ultimately Hefs, in the first stage 
 of the monarchy they were only usufructs ; and the w'ord 
 will not be clearlv found in the restrained sense during that 
 perio<l. " Cette ditlcrence entre deux institutions nees I'une 
 de I'autre. quoique assez delicate, etait essentielle. Elle ne 
 pourrait etre meconnue que par ceux qui considdreraient 
 seulement. les benefices a la fin. ct les fiefs au commencement 
 de leur existence; alors en effet les uns et les autres se con- 
 fondaient." That they were not mere usufructs, even at 
 first, appcjirs to me more probable. 
 
 Note X. Page 103. 
 
 Somner says that he has not found the word feudum ante- 
 rior to the year lOOO; ami ^luralori, a still greater autlioiity, 
 doubt-i whctiier it was used so early. I have, however, 
 obx-rvi-d tin- wonls ft-uni and fcvum, which are manifestly 
 corruptions of fi-udum, in .■»everal ciiarters about 'JOn. (Vais- 
 settf, Hist, de Laiiguedoc, t. ii. Appendix, p. 1<I7, 128, et 
 alibi.) Some of tlu-se fiefs appear not to have been heredi- 
 tary. I'ul. independently of positive instances, can it be 
 
 v'..i,. I. «!0
 
 306 SUBINFEUDATION. Notes to 
 
 doubted that some word of barbarous original must have an- 
 swered, in the vernacular languages, to the Latin beneficium ? 
 See Du Cange, v. Feudum. Sir F. Palgrave answers this 
 by producing the word Jekn. (English Commonwealth, ii. 
 208.) And though M. Thierry asserts (Recits des Temps 
 Merovingiens, i. 245) that this is modern German, he seems 
 to be altogether mistaken. (Palgrave, ibid.) But when 
 Sir F. Palgrave proceeds to say — " The essential and fun- 
 damental principle of a territorial fief or feud is, that the 
 land is held by a limited or conditional estate — the property 
 being in the lord, and the usufruct in the tenant," we must 
 think this not a very exact definition of feuds in their ma- 
 ture state, however it might apply to the early benefices for 
 life. The property, by feudal law, was, I conceive, strictly 
 in the tenant ; what else do we mean by fee-simple ? Mili- 
 tary service in most cases, and always fealty, were due to 
 the lord, and an abandonment of the latter might cause for- 
 feiture of the land ; but the tenant was not less the owner, 
 and might destroy it or render it unprofitable if he pleased. 
 
 Feudum Sir F. Palgrave boldly derives from emphyteu- 
 sis ; and, in fact, by processes familiar to etymologists, that 
 is, cutting off the head and legs, and extracting the back- 
 bone, it may thence be exhibited in the old form, feum, or 
 fevum. M. Thierry, however, thinks feh, that is, fee or pay, 
 and odh, property, to be the true root. (Lettres sur I'Hist. 
 de France, Lettre x.) Guizot inclines to the same deriva- 
 tion ; and it is, in fact, given by Du Cange and others. The 
 derivation of alod from all and odh seems to be analogous ; 
 and the Avord udaller, for the freeholder of the Shetland and 
 Orkney Isles, strongly confirms this derivation, being only 
 the two radical elements reversed, as I remember to have 
 seen observed in Gilbert Stuart's View of Society. A char- 
 ter of Charles the Fat is suspected on account of the word 
 feudum, which is at least of very rare occurrence till late in 
 the tenth century. The great objection to emphyteusis is, 
 that a fief is a different thing. Sir F. Palgrave, indeed, 
 contends that an " emphyteusis " is often called a " precaria," 
 and that the word " precaria " was a synonym of " benefi- 
 cium," as beneficium was of " feudum." But does it appear 
 from the ancient use of the words " precaria " and " benefi- 
 cium " that they were convertible, as the former is said, by 
 Mui'atori and Lehuerou, to have been with emphyteusis ?
 
 Chap. II. CHANGE OF TENURES. 307 
 
 (Mnrat. Antiq. Ttal. Di*>. xxxvi. Leluiorou, Inst. Caroling. 
 p. 183.) TIr' tonant by emphyteusis, whom wo find in the 
 Coiles of Theoilosius and Justinian, was little more than a 
 colnims, a deini-serf attaehetl to the soil, thougli incapable of 
 being dispossessed. Is this like the holder of a benefice, the 
 progenitor of tlie great feudal aristocracy ? How can we 
 compare emphyteusis with beneficium without remembering 
 that one was commoidy a grant for a fixed return in value, 
 answering to the " terr:v> ccnsuales " of later times, and tlie 
 latter, as the wonl implies, a free donation with no condition 
 but gratitu<le and tididity ? The word prernn'a is for the 
 most part applied to ecclesiastical property which, by some 
 usurpation, had fallen into the hands of laymen. These af- 
 terwards, by way of compromise, wei'e permitted to continue 
 as tenants of the church tor a limited term, generally of life, 
 on payment of a tixed rate. ^larculfus, however, gives a 
 form in which the grantor of the precaria appears to be a 
 layman. Military service was not conti^mplated in the em- 
 phyteusis or the |>recaria, nor were eitlier of them perpetui- 
 ties ; at least this was not their common condition. ]\Ieyer 
 derives feudum from Jirles, (pioting Almoin : " Leudibussuis 
 injide disposuit." (Inst. Judic. i. 187.) 
 
 Note XL Pages 1G5, 167 
 
 M. Guizot, with the highest probability, refers the conver- 
 sion of alodial into feudal lands to the principle of commenda- 
 tion. (Essais sur I'llist. de France, p. 1G6.) Though orig- 
 inally tills had no relation to land, but created a merely per- 
 sonal tie — fidelity in return for protection — it is easy to 
 conceive that the alodialist who obtained this privilege, as it 
 might ju-tly apju-ar in an ag(! of rapine, must often do so by 
 subjecting iiin>-t'lf" U) the law of tenure — a law less burden- 
 some at a time when warfare, if not always defensive, as it 
 was against the Normans, was always carried on in the 
 neighborhood, at little expense beyond the ravages that 
 might attend its want of suricess. Raynouard has |)ublished 
 a curious p;u«isage from the Life of St. Gerald, a count of Au- 
 rilhu', where he is sjiid to have refused to subject his ahtdial 
 laml' to the rluke of Guienn*-, with the cxce|ition of one 
 firm, jteculiarly situateil. " Erat enim semolim, iutir pcssi- 
 mos vicinos, longe a caeteris disparatum." Ilis oilier lands
 
 308 PERSONAL COMMENDATION. Notes to 
 
 wei^e so situated that he was able to defend them. Nothing 
 can better explain the principle which riveted the feudal 
 yoke upon alodialists. (Hist, du Droit Municipal, ii. 261.) 
 In my text, though M. Guizot has done me the honor to 
 say, " M. Moutlosier et M. Hallam en out mieux demele la 
 natui-e et les causes," the subject is not sufficiently disen- 
 tangled, and the territorial character which commendation 
 ultimately assumed is too much separated from the personal. 
 The letter preceded even the conquest of Gaul, both among 
 the barbarian invaders themselves and the provincial sub- 
 jects,^ and was a sort of clientela ; ^ but the former deserves 
 also the name of commendation, though the Franks had a 
 word of their own to express it. We find in Marculfus the 
 form by which the king took an ecclesiastical person, with 
 his property and followers, under his own mundeburde, or 
 safeguard. (Lib. i. c. 44.) This was equivalent to com- 
 mendation, or rather anotlier word for it ; except as one 
 rather expresses the act of the tenant, the other that of the 
 lord. Letters of safeguard were not by any means confined 
 to the church. They were frequent as long as the crown 
 had any power to protect, and revived again in the decline of 
 the feudal system. Nor were they limited to the crown ; we 
 have the form by which the poor might place themselves un- 
 der the mundeburde of the rich, still being free, " ingenuili 
 ordine servientes." Formulae Veteres Bignonii, c. 44 ; vide 
 Naudet, ubi supra. They were then even sometimes called, 
 as the latter supposes, lidi or liti, so that a freeman, even of 
 
 1 M. Lehuerou has gone very deeply plication of the origin of feudal polity, 
 into the »;!mrf(«»7, or personal safeguard, which was in no degree of a domestic 
 by which the inferior class among the character. The utmost they can allow 
 Gei-mans were cornmnnded to a lord, and is, that territorial jurisdiction was ex- 
 placed under his protection, in return tended to feudal vassals, hy analogy to 
 for their own fidelity and service. (Insti- tliat which the patron, or chief of the 
 tutions Carolingiennes, liv. i. ch. i. § 2.) mundimn, had exercised over those who 
 It is a subject, as he conceives, of the recognized him as protector, as well as 
 liiglu'st importance in these inquiries, over liis family and servants. There is 
 lieing. in fact, the real origin of the nevertheless, perhaps, a larger basis of 
 feudal polity afterwards eskiblished in truth in M. Lehvierou's system tlian they 
 Europe; though, from the circumstances admit, though I do not conceive it to 
 of ancient Geraiany, it was of necessity explain the whole feudal system, 
 a personal and not a territorial vassalage. 2 Garnier has happily adduced a very 
 It fell in very naturally with the similar ancient authority for this use of the 
 principle of commendation existing in word, 
 the Roman empire. Tliis bold and orig- 
 inal theory, however, has not been ad- Thais patri se commendavit ; in chente- 
 mitted by liis contemporary antiquaries. lam et fidem 
 M. Giraud and M. Mignet (Seances et Nobis dedit se. — Ter. Eun., Act 5. 
 Travaux de I'Academie des Sciences Mo- 
 rales et Politiques, pour Novembre, 1843), Origine du Gouvernement Fran^ais (in 
 especially the latter, dissent from this ex- Leber ii. 194).
 
 Chap. II. PERSONAL CO^niENDATION. 309 
 
 the liigher class mij:lit. at his option, fall, for the sake of 
 protection, into an inft-rior position. 
 
 I have no lie<itation in aL'i-et'inir with Guizot that the 
 conversion of aloilial into fiaulal property was nothing more 
 than an extension of the old commendation. It was not 
 necessary that thi're should he an express surrender and 
 regrant of the land ; the acknowledgment of seigniory hy 
 the coinmeiiddtiis would supply the place. M. Naudet 
 (Nouv. Mem. de I'Acad. des Inscrip. vol. viii.) acciunulates 
 proofs of commendation: it is surprising that so little was 
 said of it hy the t-arlii-r antitpiaries. One of his instances 
 deserves to he mentioned. " Isti homines," says a writer of 
 Ciiarlemagne's age, " fucrunt liheri et ingenui ; sed (|uod 
 militiam regis non valebant exercere, tradiderunt alodos 
 siios sancto Germano." ^ (P. oG7.) We may perhaps hifer 
 from this that the tenants of the church were not bound to 
 military service. " No general law," says M. Guizot (Col- 
 lect, de Ml'Ui. i. 419), "exempted them from it: but the 
 clergy endeavored constantly to secure sucli an innnunity, 
 either l»v grant or bv custom, wliieh was one cause that their 
 tenants were better oti' tlian those of laymen." The ditfer- 
 ence was indeed most important, and must have prodigiously 
 enhanced the wealth of the church. But after the feudal 
 polity became established we do not lind that there was any 
 dispensation for ecclesiastical fiefs. The advantage of their 
 tenants lay in the comparatively jjacific character of their 
 spiritual lor<l<. It may Ije added that, from many passages 
 in the hiws of the Saxons. AleiuaMUs, and Bavarians, all the 
 '• commenihiti" appear to liave been denominated va-ssals, 
 whether tliey po.^sessed benelices or not. That word after- 
 wards im))lied a more strictly territorial limitation. 
 
 Thus then let the reader keep in mind that the feudal 
 system, as it is connnoidy called, wa.s^the general estaldish- 
 meiit of a ]»eculiar relation between the sovereign (not as 
 king, l>ut a« lord) ami his imiiie(liate vassals; betw<'en tliese 
 again ami others standing to theiii in the same iil.ilion of 
 va^^alage. and thus fre(|uentlv tlirough several links in the 
 ciiain of tenancy. If this relation, and especially if tin- lat- 
 ter and essential element, sul)inl'eudation, is not to be found, 
 there is no feudal system, though there may be analogies to 
 
 1 It will !>«• niiwrk"! tluil libtri and ingtniii appear liiTC to be tllntin({uliilii'il ; " not 
 only frvo, dut Kvntlfiiiea."
 
 310 PEKSONAL COMMENDATION. Notes to 
 
 it, more or less remarkable or strict. But if lie asks what 
 were the immediate causes of establishing this polity, we 
 must refer him to three alone — to the grants of beneficiary 
 lands to the vassal and his heirs, without which there could 
 hardly be subinfeudation ; to the analogous grants of official 
 honors, particularly that of count or governor of a district ; 
 and, lastly, to the voluntary conversion of alodial into feudal 
 tenure, through free landholders submitting their persons and 
 estates, by way of commendation, to a neighboring lord or 
 to the count of a district. All these, though several instan- 
 ces, especially of the first, occurred much earlier, belong 
 generally to the ninth century, and may be supposed to have 
 been fully accomplished about the beginning of the tenth — 
 to which period, therefore, and not to an earlier one, we refer 
 the feudal system in France. We say in France, because 
 our attention has been chiefly directed to that kingdom ; in 
 none was it of earlier origin, but in some it cannot be traced 
 so high. 
 
 An hereditary benefice was strictly a fief, at least if we 
 presume it to have implied military service ; hereditary gov- 
 ernments were not : something more, therefore, was required 
 to assimilate these, which were far larger and more impor- 
 tant than donations of land. And, perhaps, it was only by 
 degrees that the great chiefs, especially in the south, who, 
 in the decay of the Caroline race, established their patri- 
 monial rule over extensive regions, condescended to swear 
 fealty, and put on the condition of vassals dependent on the 
 crown. Such, at least, is the opinion of some modern 
 French writers, who seem to deny all subjection during the 
 evening of the second and dawn of the third race. But if 
 they did not repair to Paris or Laon in order to swear fealty, 
 they kept the name of the reigning king in their charters. 
 
 The hereditary benefices of the ninth century, or, in other 
 words, fiefs, preserved the nominal tie, and kept France 
 from utter dissolution. They deserve also the greater praise 
 of having been the means of regenerating the national char- 
 acter, and giving its warlike bearing to the French people ; 
 not, indeed, as yet collectively, but in its separate centres of 
 force, after the pusillanimous reign of Charles the Bald. 
 They produced much evil and misery ; but it is reasonable 
 to believe that they prevented more. France was too ex- 
 tensive a kingdom to be governed by a central administra-
 
 CiiAi-. 11. FRENCH NOBILITY. 311 
 
 lion. unle.-5S Charlemagne had possessed the gift of propagat- 
 ing a race of Alfreds and Edwards, instead of Louis the 
 Stannnrrers and Charles the Balds. Her temporary dis- 
 integration by the feudal system was a necessary conse- 
 quence ; without that system there would have been a final 
 dissolution of the moniu-chy, and perhaps its conquest by 
 barbarians. 
 
 Note XH. Page 192. 
 
 M. Thierry, whose writings disjday so much antipathy to 
 the old nobility of his country that they ought not to be 
 fully trusted on such a subject, observes that the Franks 
 were more haughty towards their subjects than any other 
 barbarians, a,s is shown in the dittV'rence of weregild. From 
 them this spirit passed to the French nobles of the middle 
 ages, though tliev were not all of Frank descent. " L'exces 
 d'orgUL-il attache ii longtenqts an noni de gentilliomme est n^ 
 en France ; son foyer, comme celui de I'organization feodale, 
 fut la Gaule du C»'Mitre et du Nord, et peut-etre aussi I'ltalie 
 Lombarde. C'est de la qu'il s'est propage dans les pays 
 Germaniques, ou la noblesse anterieurement se distinguait 
 pen de la simple condition d'hoiume libre. Ce mouvement 
 crea. ]tar-tout ou il s'etendit, deux populations, et comme 
 deux nations, proprcinent distiiictes." (Recits des Temps 
 Merovingiens, i. 2.30.) 
 
 The feudal principle was essentially aristocratic, and tend- 
 ed to enhance every unsocial and uiiciiristian sentiment 
 involved in the exclusive respect for birth. It had, of 
 cour.-e, its countervailing virtues, which writers of M. Thier- 
 r}''s school d(j not enough remember. But a rural aris- 
 tocraev in tlie meridian of feuilal usages was insulated in 
 the midst of tht- other classes of society far more than could 
 ever happen in citi<'S, or in any period of an advanced 
 civili/alicju. "Never," says Guizot, " had the primary social 
 mrdecule been f»o 8ej)arated from other similar molecules ; 
 never had the distance been so great betwecMi the simple 
 anrl essentiid eh*ments of society." The chatelain. amidst 
 his maehieolati'd battlements and massive gates wilii their 
 iron p<»rl<Mdlis, received the vavassor, though as an inferior, 
 at liis boanl ; but to th«' roturier no feudal Itoard wa-* open: 
 the owner of a " terre ccusive," the opulent Itiirgess ot a
 
 312 FEENCH NOBILITY. Notes to 
 
 neigliboring town, was as little admitted to the banquet of 
 the lord as he was allowed to unite himself in marriage to 
 his family. 
 
 " Nee Deus hunc mensa, Doa nee dignata cubili est." 
 
 Pilgrims, indeed, and travelling merchants, may, if we 
 trust romance, have been always excepted. Although, 
 therefore, some of Guizot's phrases seem overcharged, since 
 there was, in fact, more necessary intercourse between the 
 different classes than they intimate, yet that of a voluntary 
 nature, and what we peculiarly call social, was very limited. 
 Nor is this surprising when we recollect that it has been so 
 till comparatively a recent period. 
 
 Guizot has copied a picturesque description of a feudal 
 castle in the fourteenth century from Monteil's " Histoir des 
 Franfais des divers Etats aux cinq derniers Siecles." It is 
 one of the happiest passages in that writer, hardly more 
 distinguished by his vast reading than by his skill in com- 
 bining and applying it, though sometimes bordering on 
 tediousness by the profuse expenditure of his commonplace- 
 books on the reader. 
 
 " Representez vous d'abord une position superbe, une 
 montagne escarpee, herissee de rochers, sillonee de ravins 
 et de precipices ; sur le penchaHt est le chateau. Les petites 
 maisons qui I'entourent enfont ressortir la grandeur ; I'lndre 
 semble s'ecarter avec respect ; elle fait un large demi-cercle 
 k ses pieds. 
 
 " n faut voir ce chateau lorsqu'au soleil levant ses galeries 
 exterieures reluisent des armures de ceux qui font le guet, 
 et que ses tours se montrent toutes brillantes de leurs grandes 
 grilles neuves. II faut voir tons ces hauts batiments qui 
 remplissent de courage ceux qui les defendent, et de frayeur 
 ceux qui seraient tentes de les attaquer. 
 
 " La porte se presente toute couverte de tetes de sang- 
 liers ou de loups, flanquee de tourelles et couronnee d'un 
 haut corps de garde. Entrez-vous ? trois encientes, trois 
 fosses, trois pont-levis a passer; vous vous trouverez dans 
 la grande cour carree ou sont les citernes, et a droite ou a 
 gauche les ecuries, les poulaillers, les colombiers, les remises. 
 Les caves, les souterrains, les prisons sont par dessous ; par 
 dessus sont les logements, les magasins, les lardoirs ou saloirs, 
 les arsenaux. Tous les combles sont hordes des machicoulis,
 
 Ch.u'. ir. FREEMEN. 313 
 
 des parai>ets. iles oherains le ronde, des gut'ritcs. Au iiiiliou 
 de la tour est le doiijoii, qui renl'ernie les archives et le tresor. 
 II est pi\)t()iid*'m»'iit tbssoye dans t<»iit son jtourtoiir, et on n'y 
 entre que jiar uu pout presque tuiijuiirs le\ e ; bieii que les 
 mui-ailles aient, eouune celles du chateau, ])lus de six pieds 
 depaisseur. il est revetu jusqu'a la moitie de sa hauteur, 
 d'une eheinise. ou second niur, en grosses i)ierres de taiUe. 
 
 " Ce diateau vient d'etre refait ii ncuf. II j a quehpie 
 chose de leger, de frais, que n'avaient pas les chateaux 
 lourds et massifs des sieeles passes." (Civilis. en Fiance, 
 Le9on '•}').) 
 
 And this was true ; for the castles of the tenth and 
 eleveiuh centuries wanted all that the progress of luxury 
 and the cessation, or nearly such, of private warfare had in- 
 troduced before the age to which this description refers ; 
 they were strongholds, and nothing more ; dark, small, com- 
 fortless, where one thought alone could tend to dis[)el their 
 gloom, that life and honor, ami what was most valuable in 
 goods, wx-re more secure in them than in the champaign 
 around. 
 
 Note XIII. Page 196. 
 
 'M. Guizot has declared it to Ije the most difficult of ques- 
 tions ri'lating to the state of persons in the iteriod irom the 
 fifth to the tenth century, whether there existed in the coun- 
 tries subdued by tin* Germans, and especially by the Fi-anks, 
 a numerous and important class of freemen, not vassals 
 either of the king or any other proprietor, nor any way de- 
 pendent upon tliem, and with no oldigation except towards 
 the state, its laws and magistrates. (Essais sur I'Hist. de 
 France, p. 232.) And this question, contrary to almost all 
 his predece8.sors, he inclines to decide negatively. It is, 
 indeed, endent. ami is confessed Itv M. Guizot, that in the 
 ages nearest to tin- (•(tiiquest such a class not only existed, 
 but even conq)rised a large part of the nation. Such were 
 the owners of sorffs or of terra Salica, the alodialists of the 
 early perio<l. It is also agreed, as has been shown in 
 another plnee. tliat, towards the tenth century, the number 
 of these independent landholders was exceedingly diinin- 
 i<hr-d by territorial (•t)mrnendation ; that is, the sultjecfion of 
 their lamU to a I'eudal teiiinc. The la.-t of these changes,
 
 314 FREEMEN. Notes to 
 
 however, cannot have become general under Charlemagne, 
 on account of the numerous capitularies which distinguish 
 those who held lands of tlieu' own, or alodia, from beneficiary 
 tenants. The former, therefore, must still have been a 
 large and important class. What proportion they bore to 
 the whole nation at that or any other era it seems impossi- 
 ble to pronounce ; and equally so to what extent the whole 
 usage of personal commendation, contradistinguished from 
 territorial, may have reached. Still alodial lands, as has 
 been observed, were always very common in the south of 
 France, to which Flanders might be added. The strength 
 of the feudal tenures, as Thierry remarks, was between the 
 Somme and the Loire. (Recits des T. M. i. 245.) These 
 alodial proprietors were evidently freemen. In the law of 
 France alodial lands were always noble, like fiefs, till the 
 reformation of the Coutume de Paris in 1580, when "aleux 
 roturiers " were for the first time recognized. I owe this 
 fact, which appears to throw some light on the subject of 
 this note, to Laferriere, Hist, du Droit Franjais, p. 129. 
 But, perhaps, this was not the case in Flanders, which was 
 an alodial country : — " La maxime fran^aise, nuUe terre 
 sans seigneur, n'avait point lieu dans les Pays-Bas. On s'en 
 tenait au jjrincipe de la liberte naturelle des biens, et par 
 suite a la necessite d'en prouver la sujetion ou la servitude ; 
 aussi les biens allodiaux etaient tres nombreux, et rappe- 
 laient toujours I'esprit de liberte que les Beiges ont aime et 
 conserve tant a I'egard de leurs biens que de leurs pei'son- 
 nes." (Mem. de I'Acad. de Bruxelles, vol. iii. p. 16.) It 
 bears on this, that in all the customary law of the Nether- 
 lands no preference was given to sex or primogeniture in 
 succession (p. 21). 
 
 But there were many other freemen in France, even in 
 the tenth century, if we do not insist on the absolute and 
 insulated independence which Guizot requires. "If we 
 must understand," says M. Guerard (Cartulaire de Chartres, 
 p. 34), " by freemen those who enjoyed a liberty without re- 
 striction, that is, who, owing no duties or service to any one, 
 could go and settle whei'ever they pleased, they would not 
 be found very numerous in our chartulary durmg the pure 
 feudal regimen. But if, as we should, we comprehend under 
 this name whoever is neither a noble nor a serf, the number 
 of people in tliis intermediate condition was verv consid-
 
 Chap. II. COLOXI. 315 
 
 emble." And of these he specifies several varieties. This 
 was in the eleventh centui-y, and i)artly later, when tlie con- 
 version of alodial i)roj)orty had been completed. 
 
 Savijrny wa.s the lirst who proved the Arimanui of Loiu- 
 liardv to have been freemen, corresponding to the Kacliim- 
 hnr-rii of the Franks, and distingnishcd both from bondmen 
 and tVom those to whom they owed obedience. Citizens are 
 sometime-; called Arimanni. Tlie word occnrs, though very 
 rarely, ont of Italy. (Vol. i. p. 17<;, English translation.) 
 Guizot includes among the Arimanni the leudes or benefi- 
 ciary vassals. See, too, Troja, v. 14G, 148. There seems, 
 indeed, no reason to doubt that vassals, and other commen- 
 dati, would be counted as Arimanni. Neither feudal tenure 
 nor personal commendation could possibly derogate from a 
 free and honorable status. 
 
 Note XIV. Page 197. 
 
 These names, though in a general sense occupying simi- 
 lar positions in the social scale, denote different persons. 
 The coloni were Romans, in the sense of the word then 
 usual; that is, they were the cultivators of land under the 
 empire, of whom we find abundant notice both in the Theo- 
 dosian Ciwle and that of Justinian.^ An early instance of 
 this use of the word occurs in the llistoria; Augustie Scrip- 
 tores. Trebellius PoUio says, after the great victory of 
 Claudius over the Groths. where an innnense number of pris- 
 oners was taken — " Factus miles barbarus ac colonus ex 
 Gotho ; " an expression not clear, and which perplexed Salma- 
 sius. But it may perhaps be rendered, the barbarians partly 
 entered the legions, partly cultivated the ground, in the rank 
 of coloni. It is tims understood l)yTroja(ii. 7U.3). He con- 
 ceives that a large proportion of the coloni, mentioned under 
 the Ciiristian emperors, were bar])arian settlers (iii. 1074). 
 They ciim«! in the place of ]u-;e(lial slaves, who. though not 
 wlirdly unknmvn. grew less common after the establishment of 
 Cliristianity. Tin- I^tman colonus was free ; he could marry 
 a free woman, and have legitimate children ; he could serve 
 in the army, and wits capal)le of projti'rty ; his peculiuiii, 
 uidike that of the absolute slave, could not be touched l)y 
 
 1 S«« Oo.|. TIk-oJ. 1. T. tit. 9, with the coploug Paratltlon of Ootliofri'd. — C(xl. Just. 
 xJ. tit 47 et utiht.
 
 316 TRIBUTARII, LIDI. Notes to 
 
 his master. Nor could liis fixed rent or duty be enhanced. 
 He could even sue his master for any crime committed with 
 respect to him, or for undue exaction. He was attached, ou 
 the other hand, to the soil, and might in certain cases re- 
 ceive corporal punishment. (Troja, iii. 1072.) He paid a 
 capitation tax or census to the state, the frequent enhance- 
 ment of which contributed to that decline of the agricultural 
 population which preceded the barbarian conquest. Guizot, 
 in whose thirty-seventh lecture on the Civilization of France 
 the subject is well treated, derives the origin of this state of 
 society from that of Gaul before the Roman conquest. But 
 since we find it in the whole empire, as is shown by many 
 laws in the Code of Justmian, we may look on it pei-haps 
 rather as a modification of ancient slavery, unless we sup- 
 pose all the coloni, in this latter sense of the word,^ to have 
 been originally barbarians, who had received lands on con- 
 dition of remaining on them. But this, however frequent, 
 seems a basis not quite wide enough for so extensive a ten- 
 ure. Nor need we believe that the coloni were always 
 raised from slavery ; they might have descended into their 
 own order, as well as risen to it. It appears by a passage in 
 Salvian, about the middle of the fifth century, that many 
 freemen had been compelled to fall into this condition ; which 
 confirms, by analogy, the supposition above mentioned of M. 
 Naudet, as to a similar degradation of a part of the Franks 
 themselves after the conquest. It was an inferior species of 
 commendation or vassalage, or, more strictly, an analogous 
 result of the state of society. 
 
 The forms of Marculfus, and all the documents of the 
 following ages, furnish abundant proofs of the continuance of 
 the coloni in this middle state between entire freedom and 
 servitude. And these were doubtless reckoned among the 
 " tributarii " of the Salic law, whose composition was fixed 
 at forty-five solidi ; for a slave had no composition due to his 
 kindred ; he was his master's chattel, and to be paid for as 
 such. But the tributary was not necessarily a colonus. All 
 who possessed no lands were subjected by the imperial fisc to 
 a personal capitation. And it has appeared to us that the 
 Romans in Gaul continued regularly to pay this under the 
 house of Clovis. To these Roman tributaries the barbarian 
 
 1 The colonus of Cato and other classical authors was a free tenant or farmer, as 
 has been already mentioned.
 
 CiiAi-. 11. VILLEINAGE. 317 
 
 lidi Sfciii iK-arly to luive corrospoiuk'd. This was a class, as 
 has Ix't'ii already said, not quite t'reeborn ; so tliat " Fraiicus 
 iiigeiuius" wa,s no tautology, as some have ianeied, yet far 
 from slaves ; without jxilitieal privileges or rights ot" adminis- 
 tering justice in the eoiuitv court, like the Rachiudiunrii, and 
 so little fuvored, that, while the Frank accused of a theft, that 
 is, I iircsume. taken in the fact, was to be brought before his 
 peers, the lidus, under the name of " debilior persona," which 
 probably includetl the Koman tributary, was to be hanged on 
 the spot. Throughout the Salic and Kipuarian codes the 
 ingennus is opposed both to the lidus and to the scrvus ; so 
 that the threetbld division is inconti-stable. It corresponds in 
 a certain degree to the edelingi, frilingi, and lazzl, or the 
 eurh ceorl, and f/i nt/l oi' the northern nations ((Irimm. Deut- 
 sche Keciits Alterthiimer, p. oOG <'f a/i/ti); though we do not 
 liiul a strict proportion in the social state of the second order 
 in every country. The "coloui partiarii," frequently men- 
 tioned in the Theodosian Code, were metayers : and jNI. 
 Guerard says that lands were ehietly held by such in the age 
 of Charlenvagne and his family. (Cart, de Chartres, i. lO'J.) 
 The demesne lands of the manor, liowever, were never occu- 
 pieil by coloui, Ijut Ijy serfs or tlomestic slaves. 
 
 Note XV. Page 198. 
 
 The i^oor early felt the necessity of .selling themselves for 
 subsistence in times of famine. " Sulxliderunt se pauperes 
 .^ervitio." says Gregory of Tours, a.d. -'tS't, '* ut quantulum- 
 cunque de alimento porrigerent." (Lib. vii. c. 4').) This 
 long continued to be the practice ; and probably the remark 
 aide innnber of famines which are recorded, especially in the 
 ninth and eleventh centuries, swelled the .sad list of those 
 unhaj)py poor who were reduced to barter liberty for bread. 
 Mr. Wright, in the thirtieth volume of the Archicologia (]>. 
 '2'2'''i), has extra<-ted an eiUry from an Anglo-Saxon niauu- 
 .script. where a lady, alwtut the time of the Con(iuest, inann- 
 mit.'i .some slaves, ''whose lieads," as it is simply and iorcilily 
 cxpres-icd, '* she had taken for their meat in tin,- evil days." 
 Kvil indeed wi-re those days in France, when oiU of seveiily- 
 three years, the reigns of Hugh Cajiet and his two successors, 
 forty-eight were years of famine. Evil were tlu; days for five 
 years fnun 10 1.0, in the whole we>tern world, when not a
 
 318 VILLEINAGE. Notes to 
 
 country could be named that was not destitute of bread. 
 These were famines, as Radulfus Glaber and other contem- 
 porary writers tell us, in which mothers ate their children, 
 and children their parents ; and human flesh was sold, with 
 some pretence of concealment, in the markets. It is probable 
 that England suffered less than France ; but so long and fre- 
 quent a scarcity of necessary food must have affected, in the 
 latter country, the whole organic frame of society. 
 
 It has been a very general opinion that during the lawless- 
 ness of the ninth and tenth centuries, the aristocratic element 
 of society continually gaining ground, the cultivators fell into 
 a much worse condition, and either from freemen became 
 villeins, or, if originally in the order of tributaries, became 
 less and less capable of enjoying such personal rights as that 
 state implied ; that they fell, in short, almost into servitude. 
 " Dans le comniencement de la troisieme race," says Montes- 
 quieu, "presque tout le bas peuple etait serf." (Lib. xxviii. 
 c. 45.) Sismondi, who never draws a favorable picture, not 
 only descants repeatedly on this oppression of the common- 
 alty, but traces it by the capitularies. " Les loix-seules nous 
 donnent quelque indication d'une revolution importante a 
 laquelle la grande masse du peuple fut exposee a plusieurs 
 reprises dans toute I'etendue des Gaules, — revolution qui, 
 s'etant operee sans violence, n'a laisse aucune trace dans 
 I'histoire, et qui doit cependant expliquer seule les alterna- 
 tives de force et de faiblesse dans les etats du moyen age. 
 C'est le passage des cultivateurs de la condition libre k la 
 condition servile. L'esclavage etant une fois introduite et 
 protegee par les loix, la consequence de la prosperite, de 
 I'accroissement des richesses devait §tre toujours la disparition 
 de toutes les petites proprietes, la multiplication des esclaves, 
 et la cessation absolue de tout travail qui ne serait pas fait 
 par des mains serviles." (Hist, des Franyais, vol. ii. p. 273.) 
 Nor should we have believed, from the general language of 
 historical antiquaries, that any change for the better took 
 place till a much later ei-a. We know indeed from history 
 that, about the year 1000, the Norman peasantry, excited by 
 oppression, broke out into a general and well-organized re- 
 volt, quelled by the severest punishments. This is told at 
 some length by Wace, in the " Roman de Ron." And every 
 inference from the want of all law except what the lords 
 exercised themselves, from the strength of their castles, from
 
 Chap. n. VILLEINAGE. 319 
 
 the fierceness of tlieir charactei-s, from the apparent inability 
 of tlie peasants to make any resistance which should not end 
 in frreater suft'friiiL''-:. converires to the same result. 
 
 It is not therefore without some surprise that, in a recent 
 publication, we meet with a totally opposite hypothesis on this 
 important portion of social history. The editor of the Cartu- 
 laire de Chart res maintains that the jicasantry, at the bcfrin- 
 ning of the eleventh ceiuury, enjoyed ri;^hts of property and 
 succession which had been denied to their ancestors ; that the 
 movement from the ninth century had been upwards ; so 
 that, during that period of anarchy which we [)resume to 
 have been exceedingly unfavorable to their privileges, they 
 had in reality, by force, usage, or concession, gained possession 
 of tln^m. They could not indeed leave their lands, but they 
 occujiied them subject to known cunditions. 
 
 The passage wherein ^[. Guerard, in a concise and per- 
 spicuous manner, has given his own theory as to the gradual 
 decline of servitude deserves to be extracted ; but I regret 
 very much that he refers to another work, not by name, and 
 unknown to me, for the fidl proof of what has the air of an 
 historical paradox. With sullicient proof every paradox 
 loses its name ; and I have not the least right, from any 
 deep researches of my own. to call in (piestion the testimony 
 which has convinced so Icarnccl and diligent an inquirer. 
 
 '• La servitude, connne je I'ai expose dans un autre travail, 
 alia toujours chez nous en s'adoucissant jusqu'h. ce qu'elle fut 
 entierement alxdie h la chute de I'ancien regime : d'aliord 
 e'est I'esclavage a-peu-pres pur, qui reduisait I'lionime pres- 
 que a letat de chose, et qui le mettait dans I'entiere depen- 
 dance de son mailre. Cette periode pent etre prolongee 
 jusqu'apn-s la cotiquete de I'dnpire d'Occiih-iit ]>ar les bar- 
 bares. Di-|)ui< (•••ttc epcMjue jusipies vers la (in du regne de 
 Charles-le-C'hauve, resdavage propreraent dit est remplace 
 par la scrvituilc. dans liupielle la condition Ininiaine est re- 
 connue, respectec, protegee, si ce n'est encore (rune nianiere 
 sufRsante, par les loix civiles, au raoins plus eflicacemeiit par 
 (•<']]>•< (h: I'Eglise et par les moeurs sociales. Alors le pouvoir 
 de riiomme sur son semblal)le est contcnu grneralcniciit dans 
 (•(•rtaiiis limitcs ; uii fri-in est mis d'onliiiaire a la violence ; 
 la regie et la stabilite remi)orteiit sur I'arbilrairc : lucf. la 
 libfrt<' et la propriet)'- jienetn-iit par qu(l(|U<' cndroit dans la 
 cabane du serf. Knfiii, pendant le desordre d'oii sortit Iriom-
 
 320 VILLEINAGE. Notes to 
 
 phant le regime feodal, le serf soutient conti'e son maitre la 
 lutte soutenue par le vassal centre son seigneur, et par les 
 seigneurs contre le roi. Le succes fut le meme de part et 
 d'autre ; I'usurpation des tenures serviles accompagna celle 
 des tenures liberales, et I'appropriation territoriale ayant eu 
 lieu partout, dans le bas comme dans le haut de la societe, il 
 fut aussi difficile de deposseder un serf, de son manse qu'un 
 seigneur de son benefice. Des ce moment la servitude fut 
 transformee en servage ; le serf, ayant retir^ sa personne 
 et son champ des mains de son maitre, dut a celui-ci non 
 plus son corps ni son bien, mais seulement une partie de 
 son travail et de ses revenus. Des ce moment il a cesse de 
 servir ; il n'est plus en realite qu'un tributaire. 
 
 " Cette grande revolution, qui tira de son etat abject la 
 classe la plus nombreuse de la population, et qui I'investit de 
 droits civils, lorsque auparavant elle ne pouvait guere in- 
 voquer en sa faveur que les droits de I'humanite, n'avait pas 
 encore ete signalee dans notre Listoire. Les faits qui la de- 
 monstrent ont ete developpe dans un autre travail que je ne 
 puis reproduire ici ; mais les traces seules qu'elle a laissees 
 dans notre Cartulaire sont assez nombreuses et assez profon- 
 des pour la faire universellement reconnaitre. Elle etait depuis 
 long-temps consommee, lorsque le moine redigeait, dans la sec- 
 onde moitie du XI^ siecle, la premiere partie du present recueil, 
 et lorsqu'il declarait que les anciens roles (ecrits au ix^.) 
 conserves dans les archives de I'Abbaye, n'accordent aux 
 paysans ni les usages ni les droits dont ils jouissant actuelle- 
 ment. Mais ses paroles meritent d'etre repetees : — ' Lectori 
 intimare curavi,' dit-il dans sa Preface, ' quod ea quce primo 
 scripturus sum a prcesenti usu admodum discrepare videntur; 
 nam roll!, conscripti ah antiquis et in armario nostro nunc 
 reperti, hahuisse minimi ostendunt illius temporis rusticos 
 has consuetudines in reditihus quas moderni rustici in hoc 
 tempore dinoscuntur habere, neque hahent vocahula reriim quas 
 tunc sermo hahehat vulgaris^ Ainsi non seulement les choses, 
 mais encore les noms, tout etait change." (Prolegomenes a 
 la Cartulaire de Chartres, p. 40.) 
 
 The characteristic of the villein, according to Beaumanoir, 
 in the thirteenth century, that his obligations were fixed in 
 kind and degree, would thus appear to have been as old as 
 the eleventh. Many charters of the tenth and eleventh cen- 
 turies are adduced by M. Guerard, wherein, as he mforms us,
 
 Cn-u>. II. VILLF.IXAf^F.. 321 
 
 '* On s't'tforoe de ?e soustraire a la violence, et d'y substitncr 
 les convintions a rarbitraire ; la rejrle ot la mosure tt'iidiMit 
 h s'introdiiiiv partout et jiisciues dans les extortions menies" 
 (p. 100). But this principle of limited rent was also that of 
 the Roman system with respect to the coloni before the con- 
 quest of Oaul by Clovis. Nor do \vc know that it was differ- 
 ent afterwards. No law at least could have effected it ; for 
 the Koman law, by which the coloni were ruled, underwent 
 no chanire. 
 
 M. Guerard seems hardly to have taken a just view of the 
 status of the Roman tributary or colonus. "Nous avons dit 
 que les personnes de condition servile s'etaient ajjpropries leurs 
 benefices. Ce que vient encore nous contirmer dans cette opin- 
 ion, c'est le changcment (pion observe gencralement dans la con- 
 dition des terres depuis le declin du x" siecle. La terre, apres 
 avoir ete cultivee dans Tantiquite par Tesclave an profit de 
 son maitre, le fut ensuite par un espece de fermier nou libre 
 qui partagcait avec le proprietaire, ou qui faisait les fruits 
 siens, moyeimant certains cens et services, auxquels il etait 
 oblige envers lui : c'est I'etat qui nous est represente par le 
 Polyptyque d'Irminon, an temps de Charlemagne, et qui dura 
 encore un .siecle et demi environ apres la mort de ce grand 
 prince. Pui-; connnence une troisieme periode, pendant la- 
 quelle le proprietaire, n'est plus que seigneur, tandis que le 
 tenancier est devenu lui-meme proprietaire, et paie, non plus 
 de fcrmagcs, mais .«eulcmcnt des droits seigneuriaux. Ainsi, 
 d'abord oldigations d'un e.sdave envers un maitre ensuite ob- 
 ligations d'un fermier non libre envers un proprietaire ; enfin, 
 obligations d'un proprietaire non libre envers un seigneur. 
 C'est il la di-rniere pt'riodt- quo nous sommes parvenus dans 
 notre Cartulaire. Les populations >'v njontrent en jouissance 
 du droit de |)ro])riete, et ne sent .«ouniises, k raison des posses- 
 sions, qu'a de simples charges feodales." 
 
 It may be observed upon this, that the colonus wa.s a free 
 man, whether he divided the produce with Ids lord, like the 
 metayer of modr-rn times, or paid a certain rent ; and, sec- 
 on<lly. that, in wliat he calls the third period, the tenant, if he 
 wa-i a villein or homme de poote, could not possibly l>e calh-d 
 " lui-meme proprietaire ; " nor were his liabilities feudal, but 
 either a mniiey-rent or j)ersonal service in labor; wliieh can- 
 not hv. denominated feudal without great impropriety. 
 
 " II est vrai," he proceeds, '* (pie ces charges sont encore 
 
 VOL. I. 21
 
 322 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLIES. Notbs to 
 
 lourdes et souvent accablantes, et que les biens ne sont pas 
 plus que les personnes entierement francs et libres ; ni suffi- 
 samment h I'abri de I'arbitraire et de la violence ; mais la 
 liberte, acquise de jour en jour a I'homme, se communiquait 
 de plus en plus a la terre. Le paysan etant proprietaire, il 
 ne lui restait qu'a. degrever et afFranchir la propriete. C'est 
 a cet oeuvre qu'il travaillera desormais avec perseverance et 
 de toutes ses forces, jusqu'a ce qu'il ait enfin obtenu de ne 
 supporter d'autres charges que celles qui convienent a 
 rhomme libre, et qui sont uniquement fondees sur Futilite 
 commune." 
 
 In this passage the tenant is made much more to resemble 
 the free socager of England than the villein or homo posta- 
 tis of Pierre des Fontaines or Beaumanoir. This latter class, 
 however, was certainly numerous in their age, and could 
 hardly have been less so some centuries before. These were 
 subject to so many onerous restrictions, independent of their 
 compulsory residence on the land, and independently also of 
 their want of abihty to resist undue exactions, that they were 
 always eager to purchase their own enfranchisement. Their 
 mari'iages were not valid without the lord's consent, till Adi-ian 
 IV., in the twelfth century, declared them indissoluble. A 
 freeman marrying a serf became one himself, as did their 
 children. They were liable to occasional as well as regular 
 demands, that is, to tallages, sometimes in a very ai-bitrary 
 manner. It was probably the less frequency of such de- 
 mands, among other reasons, that rendered the condition of 
 ecclesiastical tenants more eligible than that of others. Man- 
 umissions of serfs by the church were very common ; and, 
 indeed, the greater part that have been preserved, as may be 
 expected, come from ecclesiastical repositories. It is observed 
 in my text that the English clergy are said to have been slow 
 in liberating their villeins. But a villein in England was 
 real property ; and I conceive that a monastery could not en- 
 franchise him, at least without the consent of some superior 
 authority, any more than it could alienate its lands. The 
 church were not generally accounted harsh masters. 
 
 Note XVI. Pages 213, 214. 
 
 There would seem naturally little doubt that majorum can 
 mean nothing but the higlier classes of clergy and laity, ex-
 
 Cn.vr. II. LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLIES. 223 
 
 elusive of pari>h priests and ordinary fi'eemen, were it not 
 that a part of these very majores are afterwards designated 
 by the name mitwres. Who, it may be a.'sked, could be the 
 majores clerici, except prelates and abbots ? And of these, 
 how could one be so inferior in degree to another as to be 
 reckoned among minores ? It may perhaps be answered that 
 there was nevertheless a difference of importance, thousrh not 
 of rank. Guizot translates iiiajores "les grands," ami i/iiiio- 
 res " les moins considerables." l)Ut upon tliis construction, 
 whicli certaitdy is what the words fairly bear, none but a 
 chiss denominated majores, relatively to the rest of the nation, 
 were members of the national council. I think, nevertheless, 
 that Guizot, on any hypothesis, has too much depreciated the 
 authority of these general meetings, wherein the capitularies 
 of Charlemagne were enacted. Grant, against 3Ial)ly, that 
 they were not a democratic assembly ; still were they not a 
 legislature ? " Lex consensu fit populi et constitutione regis." 
 This is our own statute language ; but does it make parlia- 
 ment of no avail? " En lui (Charlemagne) reside la volonte 
 et I'impulsion ; c'est de lui (pie toute emane pour revenir a, 
 lui." (Essais sur I'Hist. de France, p. 323.) This is only 
 to say that he was a truly great man, and that his subjects 
 were semi-barbarians, comparatively unfit to devise methods 
 of ruling the empire. No one can doubt that he directed 
 everything. But a weaker sovereign soon found these rude 
 nobles an overmatch for him. It is, moreover, well pointed 
 out by Sir F. Palgrave, that we find instances of petitions 
 pre-ente<l by the lay or spiritual memliersof these assemblies 
 to Cliarlcmagne, upon wliich (•a[)itularies or edicts were after- 
 ward< founded. (English Commonwealth, ii. 411.) It is to 
 be inferrcil. from -icvcral texts in the capitularies of Charle- 
 magne and hi< tiiniily, tliat a gi'ucral consent was required to 
 their legislative constitutions, and that without this a capitu- 
 lary did not bi'come a law. It is not, however, quite so clear 
 in what method this was testified ; or rather two methods ap- 
 pear to be indicated. One was that above described by 
 Hincmar, when the determination of ihasemoresw&A referred 
 to thf minores for their confimiation : " inlcrduin pariter 
 tnictandiim. et non ex pijtestatc sed ex proprio iiiciitis intel- 
 lectu vel sententia contirmandmn." The point of <livergence 
 Ix'tween two M-hooN of constitutional anti(iuari<'s in France Is 
 on the Words ex potesta/e. Mably, and others wlioni 1 have
 
 324 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLIES. Notes to 
 
 followed, say " not by compulsion," or words to that effect. 
 But Guizot renders the words differently : " quelquefois on 
 deliberait aussi, et les confirmaient, non par un consentement 
 foi'mel, mais par leur opinion, et I'adhesion de leur intelli- 
 gence." The Latin idiom will, I conceive, bear either con- 
 struction. But the context, as well as the analogy of other 
 authorities, inclines me to the more popular interpretation, 
 which, though the more popular, does not necessarily carry 
 us beyond the word majores, taking that as descriptive of a 
 numerous aristocracy. 
 
 If, indeed, we are so much bound by the majorum in this 
 passage of Ilincmar as to take for merely loose phrases the 
 continual mention of the populus in the capitularies, we could 
 not establish any theory of popular consent in legislation 
 from the general placita held almost every May by Charle- 
 magne. They would be conventions of an aristocracy ; 
 numerous indeed, and probably comprehending by right 
 all the vassals of the crown, but excluding the freemen or 
 petty alodialists, not only from deliberating upon public laws, 
 but from consenting to them. We find, however, several 
 proofs of another method of obtaining the ratification of this 
 class, that is of the Frank people. I do not allude to the 
 important capitulary of Louis (though I cannot think that M. 
 Guizot has given it sufficient weight), wherein the count is 
 directed to bring twelve Scabini with him to the imperial 
 placitum, because we are chiefly at present referring to the 
 reign of Charlemagne ; and yet this provision looks like one 
 of his devising. The scheme to which I refer is different 
 and less satisfactory. The capitulary determined upon by a 
 national placitum was sent round to the counts, who were to 
 read it in their own mallus to the people, and obtain their 
 confirmation. Thus in 803, " Anno tertio clementissimi domi- 
 ni nostri Karoli Augusti, sub ipso anno ha^c facta capitula 
 sunt, et consignata Stephano comiti, ut h^ec manifesta faceret 
 in civitate Parisiis, mallo publico, et ilia legere faceret coram 
 Scabiniis, quod ita et fecit. Et omnes in uno consenserunt, 
 quod ipsi voluissent omni tempore observare usque in poste- 
 rum. Etiam omnes Scabinii, Episcopi, Abbates, Comites 
 manu propria subter signaverunt." (Rec. des Hist. v. G63.) 
 No text can be more perspicuous than this ; but several other 
 proofs might be given, extending to the subsequent reigns. 
 Sir F. Palgrave is, perhaps, the first who has drawn at-
 
 Chap. II. HOYAL TUini'XALS. o2j 
 
 tcntion to tins scheme of local sanction by the people ; though 
 I nui-t tliiiik that he has somewhat oltscm-ed tlie siilijcct by 
 suppo.-hijr the main, wherein the capitulary was conlirmed, 
 to have been those of sejtarate nations constituting the Frank 
 empire, insteail of being dctermineil by the territorial juris- 
 diction of each count. He gives a natural interi)retati()u to 
 the famous wonls, " Lex consensu populi tit. constitntione 
 regis." The capitularv was a constitution of tlie king, 
 though not without the advit-e of his great men; the law was 
 its continuation by the nation collectively, ui the great placi- 
 tum of the Field of Maivh, or by sa])arate consent and sub- 
 scription in each county. 
 
 We are not. however, to be contident that this assent of 
 the people in their county courts was virtually more than 
 nominal. A little consideration will show that it could not 
 ea^ilv iiave been otherwise, except in the strongest ca^es of 
 unpopular legislation. No Siabini or Kachiinburgii in one 
 county knew much of what passed at a distance ; and 
 dissaii-faction must ' have been universal before it could 
 have tlxuid its organ in such assemblies. Before that 
 time arrived rebellion was a more probable effect. One 
 capitulary, of 823, does not even allude to consent : " In suis 
 comitatibus coram omnilius relegant. ut cunctis nostra ordi- 
 natio et vohuita< nota tieri possit." Hut we cannot set this 
 against the language of so many other capitulai'ies, which 
 imply a tbrinal ratitication. 
 
 Note X\11. Page 242. 
 
 Tlie court of the palace possessed a considerable jiu-isdic- 
 tiou t'roin the earliest times. We have its judgineuts under 
 tin- Merovingian kings. Tlitis in a di|)loma of Clovis III., 
 A.l). fi'.t'J. datcfl at Valenciennes — " C'lun ad universoriun 
 causae audienilas vel recta jmlicia terminanda resideremus." 
 (Itec. «les Hist. iv. G72.) Under the house of Charlemagne 
 it i> fully deserilted l»y Hincmar in the famous passage above 
 inention*.-il. It wa-^ not so miK-h in form a court of appeal as 
 one arting by the s(»vereign's aiuhority, to redress the oppres- 
 sion of the subject by interior magistrates. Mr. Allen has 
 well rejr-j'ir-d the -.ingidar ojiiMion of ^feyer, tiiat an errone- 
 ous or corrupt judgment oi' the iuf'eri(jr court was not revers- 
 ible by this royal tribunal, though the judges might be
 
 326 ROYAL TRIBUNALS. Notes to 
 
 punished for giving it. (Inquiry into Royal Prerogative, 
 Appendix, p. 29.) Though, according to what is said by M. 
 Beugnot, the appeal was not made in regular form, we cannot 
 doubt tliat, where the case of injury by the inferior judge 
 was made out, justice would be done by annulling his sen- 
 tence. The emperor or king often presided here ; or, in his 
 absence, the count of the palace. Bishops, counts, household 
 officers, and others constituted this court, which is not to be 
 confounded with that of the seneschal, having only a local 
 jurisdiction over the domains of the cro^vn, and which did 
 not continue under the house of Capet. (Beugnot, Registres 
 des Arrets, vol. i. p. 15, 18, in Documens Inedits, 1839.) 
 
 This tribunal, the court of the palace, was not founded 
 upon any feudal principle ; and when the right of territorial 
 justice and the subordination of fiefs came to be thoroughly 
 established, it ought, according to analogy, to have been 
 replaced by one wherein none but the great vassals of France 
 should have sat. Such, however, was not the case. This is 
 a remarkable anomaly, and a proof that the spirit of mon- 
 archy was not wholly extinguished. For, weak as was the 
 crown under the first Capets, their court, though composed 
 of persons by no means the peers of all who were amenable 
 to it, gave several judgments afFectmg some considerable 
 feudataries, such as the count of Anjou under Robert. (Id. 
 p. 22.) No court composed only of great vassals appears in 
 the eleventh or twelfth centuries ; no notion of judicial subor- 
 dination prevailed ; the vassals of the crown sat with those 
 of the duchy of France ; and latterly even clerks came in as 
 assessors or advisers, though without suffrage (p. 31). But 
 an important event brought forwai'd, for the first time, the 
 true feudal principle. This was the summons of John, as 
 duke of Normandy, to justify himself as to the death of 
 Arthur. It has been often said that twelve peers of France 
 had appeared at the coronation of Philip Augustus, in 1179. 
 This, however, a late writer has denied, and does not place 
 them higher than the proceedings against John, in 1204. 
 (Id. p. 44.) In civil causes, as has above been said, there 
 had been several instances wherein the king's court had 
 pronounced judgment against vassals of the crown. The idea 
 had gained ground that the king, by virtue of his full pre- 
 rogative, communicated to all who sat in that court a portion 
 of his own sovereignty. Such an opinion would be sanctioned
 
 Chap. II. MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT. 327 
 
 by the bishops, and by all who leaned towai'ds the imperial 
 theory of jrovernment, never quite eradieated in the church. 
 But the hiirh rank of John, and the important con.Neiiuenoes 
 likely to result from his condeuuiatiou, forbade any irregularity 
 of which advantage might be taken. John is always said to 
 have been sentenced, "judicio parium suorum ;" whence we 
 may conehide that inferior lords did not take a part. (Id. 
 ibid.) And from that time we tind abundimt proofs of the 
 {peerage of France, composed of six lay and six spiritual 
 persons; though ujion this supposition Normandy was never 
 a substiinti;d member of that class, having oidy appeared for 
 a moment, to vjuiish in the next by its reunion to the domain. 
 The feudal jirinciple seemed now to have recovered 
 strength : a riglit wliich the vassals had never enjoyed, 
 though in consistency their due, was foi'mally conceded. But 
 it was too late in the thirteenth century to render any new 
 privilege available agiunst the royal power. Though it was 
 from that time an uncontested right of the peers to be tried 
 by some of their order, this was consti*ued so as not to ex- 
 clude others, in any nund)or, and with equivalent suffrage. 
 One or more peers Itcing present, the court was, in a later 
 phrase, " suflisanmient garnie de pairs ; " and thus the lives 
 and rights of the dukes of Guienne or Burgundy were at the 
 mercy of mere law}ers. 
 
 Note XVI II. Page 249. 
 
 Savigny, in Ins History of Roman Law in the Middle 
 Ages, and Iliiynouard, in his Histoire du Droit Municipal 
 (1828). have, since the fir.st ])iil)licati()n of this work in 1818, 
 traced the contimumce of municipal institutions, in several 
 French cities, from tlie age of the Roman empire to the 
 twelfth ct-ntury, when the ibrmal charters of connnuuities 
 first appear. But it will render the subject clearer if we 
 look at the constitution wliich Rome gave to the cities of 
 Itidy, and ultimately of the jirovinces. We are not concerned 
 with the privileges of Roman citizen.'^hip, whether local or 
 jM-r.-onal, but with those appertaining to each city. Tlie.se 
 were originally founded on the republican institutions of 
 Rome herself; the supreme power, so far as it was conceded, 
 juid the choice of magi-trates, rested with the assembly of 
 the citizen.s. But after Tiberius took this away from the
 
 328 MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT. Notes to 
 
 Roman comitia to vest it in the senate, it appears that, either 
 through imitation or by some imperial edict, this exam|)le Avas 
 followed in every provincial city. "We find everywhere a 
 class named " curiales," or " decui'iones " (synonymous words), 
 in whom, or in those elected by them, resided whatever au- 
 thority was not reserved to the proconsul or other Roman 
 magistrate. Though these words occur in early writers, it 
 must be admitted that our chief knowledge of the internal 
 constitution of provincial cities is derived from the rescripts 
 of the later emperors, especially in the Theodosian code. 
 
 The decurions are several times mentioned by Pliny. 
 In Greek or Asiatic towns the word fSovTir) answered to curia, 
 and (jovXevTTjg to decurio. Pliny refers to a lex Pompeia, 
 probably of the great Pompey, which appears to have regu- 
 lated the internal constitution, at least of the Pontic and 
 Bithynian cities. According to this, the members of the 
 council, or povAv, were named by certain censors, to whose 
 list the emperor, in the time of Pliny, added a few by 
 especial favor. (Plin. Epist. x. 113.) In later times the 
 decurions are said to have chosen their own members, which 
 can mean little more than that the form of election was 
 required, for birth or property gave an inchoate title. They 
 were a local aristocracy,-^ requiring perhaps originally the 
 qualification of wealth, w^hich in the time of Pliny, at least 
 in Asia, was of a hundred thousand sesterces, or about 800^. 
 (Epist. i. 19.) But latterly it appears that every son of a 
 decurion inherited the rights as well as the liabilities of his 
 father. We read, " qui origine sunt curiales," and " honor 
 quern nascendo meruit." Property, how^ever, gave a similar 
 title ; every one possessing twenty-five jugera of freehold 
 ought to be inscribed in the order. This title, honorable to 
 Roman ears, ordo decurionum, or simply ordo, is always 
 applied to them. They were summoned on the Kalends of 
 March to choose municipal officers, of whom the most re- 
 markable were the duumvirs, answerins; to the consuls of 
 the imperial city. These possessed a slight degree of civil 
 and criminal jurisdiction, and were bound to maintain the 
 peace. They belonged, however, only to cities enjoying the 
 jus Italicum, a distinction into which we need not now in- 
 quire ; and Savigny maintains that, in Gaul especially, which 
 
 1 Though I use this word, which ex- of law, the decurions were " nulla prsediti 
 presses a general truth, yet, la strictness dignitate." (Cod. Theod. 12, 1, 6. J
 
 Chap. II. MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT. 329 
 
 wc cliictly rt'jranl, no local inaj]jistrate, in a proper sense, 
 ever existed, tiie whole jnri^diotion devolving on the impe- 
 rial otficers. This is far from the representation of Raynou- 
 ard. who, thonjrh writinir after Savijrny, seems ij^iiorant of 
 his work, nor lias it been adopted by later French inipiirers. 
 
 IJiit another institntion is highly remarkable, and does 
 pccidiar honor to the great empire which established it, that 
 of Defen-or C'ivitatis — a standing advocate for the city 
 against the oppression of the provincial governor. Ilis 
 otfice is only known by the laws from the middle of the 
 fourth century, the earliest being of Valentinian and Valens, 
 in ."30.3 ; but both Cicero (Epist. xii. 0(1) and Pliny (Epist. 
 X. 3) mention an Ecilicus with something like the same 
 functions : and Justinian alwavs uses that word to express 
 the Defensor Civiiatis. He was chosen for rive years, not 
 by the curiales, l)ut by the citizens at large. Nor could any 
 decuriou l)e defensor ; he was to be taken " ex aliis idoneis 
 personis ; " which Raynouard tnuislates, " among the most 
 distinguished inhahitaitts ;" a sense neither necessary nor 
 probable. (Cod. Thettd. i. tit. xi. ; Du Cange ; Troja, iii. 
 lOCri ; Raynouard. i. 71.) 
 
 The duties of the defensor will best appear by a passage 
 in a rescript of a.d. 3>s5, inserted in the Code of Justinian : — 
 '•Scilicet, ut in ]irimis parentis vieeni plebi exhilteas. descrip- 
 tionilnis rusticos url)anos(pie non panaris attligi ; oliicialiuni 
 insolentiae et judicum procjicitati, salva reverentia pudoris, 
 ocourra.s ; ingrediendi cum voles ad judicem liberam habeas 
 facultatem ; super exigendi dannia, vel spolia plus petentium 
 ab his quos liberorum loco tueri debes, excludas ; nee patiaris 
 quid(]uani ultni didegationem solitam ab his exigi, quos certum 
 est ni«i tali renn-ilio non posse reparari." (Cod. i. 55, 4.) 
 lint the Defeiixires were also magistrates and preservers of 
 order: — '' Per omnes regiones in quibus fera et periculi sui 
 nes<-ia latronum fi-rvet iiisania, |)roltatissimi quicpie et dis- 
 tricii«>in>i dt-fensores adsint disciplin;e, et quotidianis actibus 
 pne-int, (jui non sinant crimina im|)unita coalescere ; remove- 
 ant putrocinia cpia- favorem reis, et auxilium scelerosis im- 
 parti<Midu, maturari scelera feccrunt." (Id. i. 55, 0. See, 
 too, Tln'od. nhi xiiprd.) 
 
 Ii may Maliiniliy be doubted whether the principles of 
 Irci-doiii ;iim1 jii-tice, which dii-tatid tliesf muiiii'i|pal iii-litu- 
 lions of the empire, were fully carried out in tiritl. Per-
 
 330 MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT. Notes to 
 
 liaps it might be otherwise even iu the best times — those of 
 Trajan and the Antonines. But in the dechne of the empire 
 we find a strikino; revohition in tlie condition of the decurions. 
 Tliose evil days rendered necessary an immense pressm-e of 
 taxation ; and the artificial scheme of imperial policy, intro- 
 duced by Diocletian and perfected by Constantine, had for 
 its main object to drain the resources of the provinces for the 
 imperial treasury. The decurions were made liable to such 
 heavy burdens, their responsibility for local as well as puljlic 
 charges was so extensive (in every case their private estates 
 being required to make up the deficiency in the general tax), 
 that the barren honors of the office afforded no compensation, 
 and many endeavored to shun them. This responsibility, 
 indeed, of the decurions, and their obligation to remain in 
 the city of the domicile, as well as their frequent desire to 
 escape from the burdens of their lot, is manifest even in the 
 Digest, that is, in the beginning of the third century (when 
 the opinions of the lawyers therein collected were given), 
 while the empire was yet unscathed ; but the evil became more 
 flagrant in subsequent times. The laws of the fourth and 
 fifth centuries, in the Theodosian code, perpetually compel 
 the decurions, under severe penalties, to remain at home and 
 undergo their onerous duties. These laws are 192 in num- 
 ber, filling the first title of the twelfth book of that code. 
 Guizot indeed, Savigny, and even Raynouard (though his bias 
 is always to magnify municipal institutions), have drawn 
 from this source such a picture of the condition of the decurions 
 in the last two centuries of the western empire, that we are 
 almost at a loss to reconcile this absolute impoverishment of 
 their order with other facts which apparently bear witness to 
 a better state of society. Foi", gi'eatly fallen as the decurions 
 of the provincial cities must be deemed, in comparison with 
 their earlier condition, there was still, at the beginning of 
 the fifth century, especially in Gaul, a liberal class of good 
 family, and not of ruined fortunes, dwelling mostly in cities, 
 or sometimes in villas or country houses not remote from 
 cities, from whom the church was replenished, and who kept 
 up the politeness and luxury of the empire.^ The senators 
 or senatorial families are often mentioned ; and by the latter 
 
 1 The letters of Sidonius Apollinaris have been much better before. Salvian, 
 
 bear abundant testimony to thi?. even too, in his declamation against the vices 
 
 for his age, which was after the middle of of the provincials, gives us to understand 
 
 the century ; and the state of Gaul must that they were the vices of wealth.
 
 Chap. n. MUNICIPAL GOVEKXilEXT. 331 
 
 term we perceive that aii hereditary nobiUty, whatever might 
 be the case with some of the barbarimi nations, subsisted in 
 public t'-tiination, if not in privik-ge, among their Roman 
 fubjects. The word senate api»ear.s to be sometimes u.-ed 
 for the curia at hirge ; ^ but when we tind senatoriiis ordo, 
 or seiuiton'itin (/etais, we may refer it to the higher chiss, who 
 had served municipal ollices, or had become privileged by 
 imperial favor, and to whom the title of " ehirissimi " legally 
 belonged. It seems probable that this appellative senator, 
 rather than senior, has given rise to seigneur, sire, and the 
 like in modern languages. The word seiiafurius ai)i)ears 
 early to have acquired the meaning noble or gentlemanlike ; 
 though I do not tind tliis in the dictionaries. This is, I con- 
 ceive, what I'liny means by the " c[uidam senatorius decor," 
 which he ascribes to his young son-in-law Acilianus. (Ei)ist. 
 i, 1-i.) It is the atr noble, the indescribable look, rarely met 
 with except in persons of good birth and liberal habits. In 
 the age of Pliny this could only refer to the Koman senate." 
 A great number of laws in this copious title of the Theo- 
 dosiaii code, many of which are cited by Kaynouard (vol. i. ]). 
 80), manifest a distinction between the curia and the senate, 
 or, as it is sometimes called, " nobilissima curia ; " and 
 though perha[)s, in certain instances, they may be referred to 
 the great senates of Rome or Constantinople, which were the 
 fountains of all provincial dignity of tiiis kind, there are oth- 
 ers which can only be explained on the supposition that they 
 rehite to (hcurions, as it were emeriti, and promoted to a 
 higher rank. Thus, one of Valentiuian and Valens, in oG4, 
 which Ls the earliest that seems explicit : — " Nemo ad ordi- 
 nem senatfjrium ante functionera omnium munerum munici- 
 palium senator accedat. Cum autem universis transactis, 
 patriae stipemlia fuerit emensus, turn eum ita ordinis senatorii 
 complexus excipiel, ut reposcentium civium Hagitatio non 
 
 ' ThU wa« rather by analoip' than in 3 1 pposumo thiit Sidoniu>i Apollinaris 
 
 atriftUfitii: thuH. •• Sure. Ji .'i>(/iri o/>or/f<, muan8 80Uifthiii|{ complimeiitjiry wluro 
 
 curis (MTiatori-iii.'' (Mb. 12. tit. 1. lex he giiys — " Pramlobamu.s brfvittT. diiij- 
 
 85.) Hut |MTlin|iM the lauKUiiKC ill illlTer- oso. senatoriuin ad niorem; (|UO iii.«itum 
 
 «-i.' f tin- i-iiipin-, or ill dUIcri'nt iii.'ititiituiiii|Uc iiiultus epuliuf pauci.s pa- 
 
 I" .lit not »>«• tlic name. The liiw rop^iilihuM Hppoiii." — Epist. ii. 'J. 
 
 J ' ^'^ 'liiit. Kilt Mnjorlun The heri'ilitary nobility of the senate, 
 
 ^ > I'l ill till- Ue.-it. of iiii|ilyiin; purity of IjIooiI, wan reootfui/.eil 
 
 til iMi (-iitiiui riM'te ap- Very early in imperial itonie. Hy tlio 
 
 |M-iuiMt iinii<|iii(iu< iiiiiioreui Miiiatuin.'' lex .hilia. the de.'^cencluntt of nenatorH to 
 
 (liothofr<-<l. ill l<v. KO. auprl cltat.) Sonio the fourth (feneration were ineapable of 
 
 luoleru wriu-n t'x) luiirli confound all murrylii); /i6t:rn';i(Z. — Dig. X-xlil. 2, 44. 
 who nn- (lenouilim(e<l nviiaton with the 
 curiitlua.
 
 332 MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT. Notes to 
 
 fatiget." (Lex. Ivii.) The second title of the sixth book of 
 the Theodosian code, " De Senatoribus," is unfortunately lost ; 
 but Gothofred has restored a Paratitlon from other parts of 
 the same code, and especially from the title above mentioned, 
 in the twelfth book, by reference to which this part of the 
 imperial constitution will be best understood. It ajjpears dif- 
 ficult to explain every passage. But on the whole we cannot 
 hesitate to agree with Guizot and Savigny, that the name of 
 senator was given to a privileged class in the provincial cit- 
 ies, who, having served through all the public functions of 
 the curia, were ■ entitled to a legal exemption in future, and 
 ascended to the dignity of " Clarissimi." Many others, inde- 
 pendent of the decurions, obtained this rather by the empe- 
 ror's favor, or by the performance of duties wdiich regularly 
 led to it. They were nominated by the emperor, and might 
 be removed by him ; but otherwise their rank was hereditary. 
 Those decurions, therefore, who could bear the burdens of 
 municipal liabilities without impoverishment, rose so far 
 above them that their families were secure in wealth as well 
 as privilege. Thus the word senator must be taken, in rela- 
 tion to them, as merely an aristocratic distinction, without 
 regard to its original sense.-^ It is sufficiently clear that sen- 
 atorial families, by whatever means separated from the rest, 
 constituted the nobility of Gaul. Thus we read in Gregory of 
 Tours (lib. ii. c. 21, suh ami. 475) — " Sidonius vir secun- 
 dum sseculi dignitatem nobilissimus, et de primis Galliarum 
 senatoribus, ita ut filiam sibi Aviti imperatoris in matrimonio 
 sociarit." Another is called " vir valde nobilis et de primis 
 senatoribus Galliarum." Other passages from the same his- 
 torian might be adduced. But this is not to our immediate 
 purpose, which is to trace briefly the state of municipal insti- 
 tutions in Gaul. The senatorial order, or Roman provincial 
 nobility, of which we have just been speaking, is different. 
 Raynouard, the diligent elucidator of this great question, 
 answers the very specious objection of Mably, drawn from the 
 silence of the capitularies, which, though addressed to many 
 classes of magistrates, never mention any peculiar to the cit- 
 ies, by observing that these capitularies were not designed for 
 
 1 For this distinction between ciiriales all of which throw some light upon, or 
 
 and senatores the reader may consult relate to, this i-ather obscure subject, 
 
 the title of the Theodosian code on De- Guizot, Savigny, and Kaynouard are the 
 
 curions, above cited. Leg. 82. 90, 93. 108, modern guides. 
 110, 111, 118, 122, 129, 130, 180, 182, 183;
 
 Cii.vr. II. MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT. 333 
 
 those wlio livt'tl bv the Roinau l:nv. (^'<ll. ii. p. IGO.) Sa- 
 vigny had ahvatly made the same remark. There s^eems to 
 be some fun-c iii'this answer; and at Ica-^t it is impossible to 
 arsriie wilh iMably. from a ucpitiv.- probability, against the 
 indisputable evidenee that tin- numieipal magistrates of some 
 cities were in being. It may be justly doubted, indeed, 
 whether thev pos.sessed a eonsiderable autliority. Sulijeet to 
 the count, as the great depositary of royal power, they would 
 not perhaps be held worthy of receiving immediate commands 
 from the sovereign in the national council. Troja speaks wilh 
 contempt of the.-e " curia-," whose ciiief business was to regis- 
 ter testaments and witness deals : " Son sempre i medisimi 
 ed anche dcristirj i ricordi delle curie ridotte alle funzioni di 
 registrar testamenti. dona/,ii)ni e contratti, o ad elegger mag- 
 istrati che non poteano difendere il Komano dalle violenze dei 
 Franchi, senza Tintervenzione de' vescovi di sangue Romano, 
 o di sangue barbarico ; ma in vano si cercherebbe la vita e la 
 jKissanza della curia Roniana in quest! vani simulacri." 
 (Vol. i. part \. p. 1 ■!'■>.) They might be, nevertheless, quite 
 as important as under the later emperors. 
 
 It is not necessary to conclude that every city in which the 
 curia or the defensor subsisted during the imperial govern- 
 ment retained those institutions throughout the domination of 
 the Franks. It appears that the functions of ''defensor civ- 
 itatis." that is to sav, the protection of the city against arbi- 
 trary acts of the provincial governors, and the exercise of 
 jurisdiction within its IxMindaries. frequently devolved upon 
 the bishoj). It is impos>ililt; not to recognize the etlicacy of 
 episcopal government in sustaining municii)al rights during 
 the first dvnasty. Tin' bishops were a link, or rather a 
 shield, between the baritarians who respected them and the 
 people whom they protected, and to wiiose race they for a 
 long lime commonly belonged. But the bishop was legally, 
 anil .-oinetimes aftually, elected, as the defen>or had been, by 
 the people at large. This, indeed, ceased to be tlie case be- 
 fore the reign of Charlemagne; and the crown, or (in the 
 progress of tlie feudal system) its chief vassals, usurped the 
 power of n(iminalion, though the tbrmality of eleclion was 
 not alK)li»he<l. Certain it is that from this analogy to the de- 
 fensor, and from the still closer analogy to llie feudal vassal, 
 after royal grants of jurisdiction and innnunity l)ec;nne usual, 
 not le.■^s than by the respect due to his station, tiie bishop
 
 334 MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT. Notes to 
 
 became as much the civil governor of his city as the count 
 was of the rural district. 
 
 This was a great revolution in the internal history of cit- 
 ies and one which generally led to the discontinuance of their 
 popular institutions ; so that after the reign of Charlemagne, 
 if not earlier, we may perhaps consider a municipality choos- 
 ing its own officers as an exception, though not a very unfre- 
 quent one, to the general usage. But instances of this are 
 more commonly found to the south of the Loire, where Ro- 
 man laws prevailed and the feudal spirit was less vigorous 
 than in the northern provinces. Thus Raynouard has de- 
 duced the municipal government of ten cities from the fifth 
 to the twelfth century. Seven of these are of the south — 
 Perigneux, Bourges, Aries, Nismes, Marseilles, Toulouse, 
 and Narbonne ; tlii-ee only of the north — Paris, Rheims. 
 and Metz. (Vol. ii. p. 177.) It seems, however, more than 
 probable that these were not the whole ; even in the north 
 Meaux and Chalons might be added, and, what in eai-ly 
 times was undoubtedly to be reckoned a Frank city, Cologne. 
 The corporate character of many of these is displayed by 
 their coins. " Civitas Massiliensis," or " Narbonensis," will be 
 found on the reverse of pieces bearing the heads of the 
 French kings of the three dynasties, especially under Louis 
 the Debonair and Charles the Bald (p. 152). But it seems 
 to me that the evidence of a popular assembly or curia, even 
 in Rheims, which has always been wont to boast peculiarly 
 of the antiquity of her privileges, is weak comparatively with 
 what M. Raynouard has alleged for the cities of Provence. 
 As to Paris, it is absolutely none at all. This assembly ap- 
 pears to have hardly survived in the north of France, and to 
 have been replaced by scabini. These were originally chos- 
 en by the citizens, but gradually on the bishop's nomination. 
 Those of Rheims appear in 847, exercising their functions 
 under an officer of the archbishop. (Archives Adrainistra- 
 tifs de la Ville de Rheims, Preface, p. 7, in Documens Liedits, 
 1839. The editor, however (M. Varin), inclines to adopt the 
 theory of a Roman origin for the privileges of that city. The 
 citizens called themselves in 991, addressing the archbishop, 
 " cives tui ; " whence M. Varin infers that they took an oath 
 of allegiance to that prelate, and that their claims to a pre- 
 scriptive independence must be given up. (Vol. i. p. 156.) 
 Such independence, (that is, of all but tlae sovereign) can at
 
 Chap. II. .MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT. 335 
 
 most only be admitted as to the great cities of Provence and 
 LangiK'doc, which in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries en- 
 tered into treaties witli fureijin powers, and conducted tlicin- 
 selves as independent republics, though perhaps under the 
 nominal superiority of the counts. Emulous, as it appears, 
 of Italian liberty, they adopted the government l)y consuls 
 elected by the community. And this honorable title was 
 given to the chief magistrates in most cities south of the 
 Loire, though a ditierent system, as we shall see, prevailed 
 on the other bank. 
 
 The Benedictine liistorians of Languedoc are of opinion 
 that the city of Nismes had municipal magistrates in the mid- 
 dle of the tenth century (t. ii. p. 111). The hurgesses of 
 Carcassonne appear by name in a charter of 1107 {\). 515). 
 In one of 1131 the consuls of Beziers are mentioned ; they 
 existed therefore previously (p. 409, and Appendix, p. 950). 
 The magistrates of St. Antonin en Kouergue are named in 
 113G; those of Montpellier in 1142; of Narbonne in 1148; 
 and of St. Gilles in 1149 (p. 515, 432, 442, 464). The 
 capitouls of Toulouse yirt-tund to an extravagant antiquity ; 
 but were in fact established by Alfonso count of Toulouse, 
 who died in 1148. In 1152 Raymond V. confirmed the reg- 
 ulations made by the common council of Toulouse, which be- 
 came the foundation of the customs of that city. (p. 472). 
 
 If we may trust altogether to the Assises de Jerusalem in 
 their present shape, the court of burgesses, having jurisdic- 
 tion over per<on< of that rank, was instituted by Godfrey of 
 Bouillon, who died in 1 lOO. (Ass. de Jerus. c. 2.) This 
 would be even earlier than the charter of London, granted 
 by Henry I. Lord Lyttelton goes so far as to call it "cer- 
 tiiin that in England many cities and towns were bodies cor- 
 porate and connnunities long before the alteration introduced 
 into France by the charters of Louis le Gros." (Hist, of 
 Ili'urv IT. vol. iv. p. 29.) But this position, as I shall more 
 particularly .show in another place, is not borne out by 
 any good authority, if it extends to any internal jurisdiction 
 and management of their own police ; whereof, except in tiie 
 in-»t;ince of London, we have no proof before the reign of 
 Henry II. 
 
 The legal iuorporation of communities was perhaps ear- 
 lier in Spain than in any other country. AHbn<o V. in 1020 
 granted a charter to Leon, which is said to mention the com-
 
 336 MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT. Notes to 
 
 mon council of that city in terms that show it to be an estab- 
 lished institution. During the latter part of the eleventh 
 century, as well as in subsequent times, such charters are 
 very frequent. (^larina, Ensayo Historico-Critico sobre las 
 sieta partidas.) In several instances we find concessions of 
 smaller privileges to towns, without any political power. 
 Tlius Berenger, count of Barcelona, in 1025 confirms to the 
 inhabitants of that city all the franchises which they already 
 possess. These seem, however, to be confined to exemption 
 from paying rent and from any jurisdiction below that of an 
 ofiicer deputed by the count. (De Marca, Marca Hispanica, 
 p. 1038.) Another grant occurs in the same volume (p. 
 909), from the bishop of Barcelona in fevor of a town of his 
 diocese. By some inattention Robertson has quoted these 
 charters as granted to " two villages in the county of Rousil- 
 lon." (Hist. Charles V. note 16.) The charters of Tortosa 
 and Lerida in 1149 do not contain any grant of jui'isdictioa 
 (p. 1303). 
 
 The corporate towns in France and England always en- 
 joyed fuller privileges than these Catalonian charters impart. 
 The essential characteristics of a commune, according to M. 
 Brequigny, were an association confirmed by charter ; a code 
 of fixed sanctioned customs ; and a set of privileges, always 
 including municipal or elective government. (Ordonnances, 
 p. 3.) A distinction ought, however, to be pointed out, 
 which is rather liable to elude observation, between com- 
 munes, or corporate towns, and boroughs (bourgeoisies). The 
 main ditference was that in the latter there was no elective 
 government, the magistrates being appointed by the king or 
 other superior. In the possession of fixed privileges and ex- 
 emptions, in the personal liberty of their inhabitants, and in 
 the certainty of their legal usages, there was no distinction 
 between corporate towns and mere boroughs : and indeed it is 
 agreed that every corporate town was a borough, though ev- 
 ery borough was not a corporation.-^ The French antiquary 
 quoted above does not trace these inferior communities or 
 boroughs higher than the charters of Louis VI. But we 
 find the name and a good deal of the substance, in England 
 
 1 The preface to the twelfth volume of it, however, is applicable to both spo- 
 of Ordonnances des Hois contains a full cies, or rather to the genus and the 
 account of bourgeoisies, as that to the species. See, too, tliat to the fourteenth 
 eleventh does oi communes. A great part volume of Recueil des Historiens, p. 74.
 
 CiiAi-. IT. MUNIClPxVL GOVERXMENT. 337 
 
 under "William the Conqueror, as is uumifest from Domes- 
 day-Book. 
 
 It is evident tliat if exten-ive privilefres of internal gov- 
 ernment had been preserved in the north of Franee, there 
 could have been no need for that great movement towards 
 the close of tlie eleventh centiny, whieh ended in cstab- 
 lishinET civic freedom ; much less coidd tlie contemporary histo- 
 rians luive siKiken of this as a new eiti in the state of France. 
 The bishops were now almost sovereign in their cities ; the 
 episcopal, tlie iiiunieipal, tlie feudal titles, conspired to en- 
 hance their power ; and from lieing the protectors of the peo- 
 ple, from the glorious otfice of defensores civitatis, they had, 
 in many places at lea^t, become odious l>y their own exac- 
 tions. Hence the citizens of Cambray tirst revolted against 
 their bishoi) in 9.")7, and, after several ineffectnal risings, ulti- 
 mately constituted themselves into a conununity in 107(>. The 
 citizens of Man-, about the latter tim(\ had the courage to 
 resist William Duke of Normandy ; l»nt tliis generous at- 
 tempt at freedom was premature. The cities of Noyon, 
 Beauvais, Und St. Quentin, altout the l»egiiniing of the next 
 century, Avere successful in obtaining diarters of imnuniity 
 and self-government from their bishops ; and where these 
 were violated, on one side or the other, the king. Louis VI., 
 came in to redress the injured party or to compose the dis- 
 sensions of both. Hence arose the royal cliarters of the 
 Picard cities, which soon extended to other parts of France, 
 an<l were used as exani]d<'s l)y the vassals of the crown. 
 This sul)ject. and especially the struggles of the cities against 
 the bishops before the legal establisliment of comnmnities by 
 charter, is abundantly discussed by ]\[. Thierry, iji his Let- 
 tres sur rHi>toir(' de France. But even where charters are 
 extant, tliey do not always create an incorporated community, 
 Ijut, as at Laon, recognize and regulate an internal society 
 already establi-becl. ((Juizot, Civilisation en Franee, Lefon 
 
 We must here distinguisii the cities of Flanders and Hol- 
 LuhI. which obtained their independence miicli earlier ; in 
 tu-t, their scdf-governnn-nt goes back beyond any assignable 
 date. (Sismondi, iv. 432.) Tliey appear to hav(* sprung 
 from a dihtinet source, but still from the great reservoir of 
 Ii<*man institutions. The cities on the Rhine retained more 
 of (heir ancient organization than we hnd in northein Fiance. 
 
 VOL. I. 22
 
 338 MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT. Notes to 
 
 The Roman language, says Thierry, had here perished ; 
 the institutions survived. At Cologne we find from age to 
 age a corporation of citizens exactly resembling the curia, 
 and whose members set up hereditary pretensions to a Ro- 
 man descent ; we find there a particular tribunal for the 
 " cessio bonorum," a part of Roman law unknown to the old 
 jurisprudence of Germany as much as to that of the feudal 
 system. In the twelfth century the free constitution of 
 Cologne passed for ancient. From Cologne and Treves mu- 
 nicipal rights spread to the Rhenish cities of less remote 
 orio;in, and reached the great communities of Flanders and 
 Brabant. Thierry has quoted a remarkable passage from 
 the life of the empress St. Adelaide, who died in 999, whence 
 we may infer the continuance, at least in common estimation, 
 of Roman privileges in the Rhenish cities. " Ante duodeci- 
 mum circiter annum obitus sui, in loco qui diciter Salsa 
 (Seltz in Alsace), urbem decrevit fieri sub libertate Homand, 
 quem affectum postea ad perfectum perducit effectum." 
 (Recits des T. M. i. 274.) 
 
 But the acuteness of this writer has discovered a wholly 
 different origin for the communes in the north of France. 
 He deduces them from the old Teutonic institution of guilds, 
 or fraternities by voluntary compact, to relieve egich other in 
 poverty, or to protect each other from injury. Two essential 
 characteristics belonged to them ; the common banquet and 
 the common purse. They had also in many instances a relig- 
 ious, sometimes a secret, ceremonial to knit more firmly the 
 bond of fidelity. Tliey became, as usual, suspicious to gov- 
 ernments, as several capitularies of Charlemagne prove. 
 But they spoke both to the heart and to the reason in a voice 
 which no government could silence. They readily became 
 connected with the exercise of trades, with the training of 
 apprentices, with the traditional rules of art. We find them 
 in all Teutonic and Scandinavian countries ; they are fre- 
 quently mentioned in our Anglo-Saxon documents, and are 
 the basis of those corporations which the Norman kings rec- 
 ognized or founded. The guild was, of course, in its prima- 
 ry character a personal association ; it was in the state, but 
 not the state ; it belonged to the city without embracing all 
 the citizens ; its purposes were the good of the fellows alone. 
 But when their good was inseparable from that of their little 
 country, their walls and churches, the principle of voluntary
 
 Chap. II. MUNICirAL GOVERNMENT. 339 
 
 association \v;i^ readily extended ; and iVom the private 
 guild, possessing alreiuly the vital spirit of faitht'ulness and 
 brotherly love, sprung the sworn eoniniunity, the body of 
 citizens, bound by a voluntary but perpetual obligation to 
 guard each other's rights against the thefts of the weak or 
 the tyranny of the powerful. 
 
 Tiie most remarkable proof of this progress from a mer- 
 chant guild to a corporation is exhibited in the local history 
 of Piu'is. No mention of a curia or Roman municipality in 
 that citv has been traced in any record : we are driven to 
 Kaynouard's argument — Could Paris be destitute of insti- 
 tutions wiiich had become the right of all other cities in 
 Gaul ? A couple of lines, however, from the poem of Guli- 
 elmus Brito, under Philip Augustus, are his only proof (vol. 
 ii. p. 2rJ). But at Paris there was a great college or cor- 
 poration of naiitce or marchands d'eau; that is, who supplied 
 the town with commodities by the navigation of the .Seine.^ 
 These, indeed, do not seem to be traced very far back, but 
 the necessary documents may be deticient. They apj)car 
 al)inidantlv in the twelfth century, with a provost and scabini 
 of their own. And to this body the kings in that age con- 
 ceded certain rights over the inhabitants. The arms borne 
 by the city, a ship, ai-e those of the college of nautce. The 
 subsequent jirocess by which this corporation slid into a nui- 
 nicii)ality is not clearly developed by the writer to whom I 
 must ret't-r. 
 
 Thus there were several sources of the municipal institu- 
 tions in France ; first, the Roman system of ilecurions, handed 
 down prescript ively in some cities, but chiefly in the south ; 
 secondly, the Gt-'mum system of voluntary societies or guilds, 
 spreading to the whole conununity for a common end; thirdly, 
 the forcible in.-urrection of the inhabitants against their lords 
 or prelates ; and hu^tly, the charters, regularly granted by 
 tiic king or by tln-ir imnniliate superior. Few are like- 
 ly now to maintain the old tlieory of Robertson, that the 
 kings of France encouraged the communities, in order to 
 mak<,' head witli tiieir help against the nol)ility, which a closer 
 attention to history refutes. We must here, however, dis- 
 tinguish the corponite towns or conununities from the other 
 
 I 1: III ■ I liy tin- oiU- inxtitutioii uinli-r Tibt-riuH. Hut tliU 
 
 ton of 1 1 1.1- (:c-iiiiiiif, iiiiiHt j)rhiili fur it \>v suHpiclous iu I'O 
 
 the Nnu!.. 1 .......■,. ^..-;. ; .u.utor|K)ruU) trilling degrtH;.
 
 340 MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT. Notes to 
 
 class, called burgages, bourgeoisies. The cliatelains en- 
 couraged the growth of villages around their castles, from 
 whom they often derived assistance in war, and conceded to 
 these burgesses some privileges, though not any municipal 
 independence. 
 
 Guizot observes, as a difference between the curial system 
 of the empire and that of the French communes in the 
 twelfth century, that the former was aristocratic in its spirit ; 
 the decurions filled up vacancies in their body, and ultimate- 
 ly their privileges became hereditary. But the latter were 
 grounded on popular election, though with certain modi- 
 fications as to eligibility. Yet some of the aristocratic ele- 
 ments continued among the communes of the south. (Legon 
 48.) 
 
 It is to be confessed that while the kings, from the end of 
 the thirteenth century, altered so much their former policy as 
 to restrain, in great measure, and even in some instances to 
 overthrow, the liberties of French cities, there was too much 
 pretext for this in their lawless spirit and proneness to injus- 
 tice. The better class, dreading the populace, gave aid to 
 the royal authority, by admitting bailiffs and provosts of the 
 crown to exercise jurisdiction within their walls. But by this 
 the privileges of the city were gradually subverted. (Guizot, 
 Lefon 49 ; Thierry, Lettre xiv.) The ancient registers of 
 the parliament of Paris, called Olim, prove this continual 
 interference of the crown to establish peace and order in 
 towns, and to check their encroachment on the rights of others. 
 " Nulle part," says M. Beugnot, " on ne voit aussi bien que 
 les communes ^taient un instrument puissant pour ojierer 
 dans I'etat de grands et d'heureux changemens, mais non une 
 institution qui cut en elle-meme des conditions de duree." 
 (Registres des Arrets, vol. i. p. 192, in Documens Inedits, 
 1839.) 
 
 A more favorable period for civic liberty commenced and 
 possibly terminated with the most tyrannical of French 
 kings, Louis XI. Though the spirit of rebellion, which 
 actuated a large part of the nobles in his reign, was not 
 strictly feudal, but sprung much more from the combination 
 of a few princes, it equally put the crown in jeopardy, and 
 required all his sagacity to withstand its encroachments. He 
 encouraged, therefore, with a policy unusual in the house of 
 Valois, the Tiers Etat, the middle orders, as a counter^joise.
 
 Chap. II. MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT. 341 
 
 What has erroneously heen sjiiil of Louis VI. is true ut' his 
 subtle de>cendiint. " His onlinauces," it is remarked by 
 Sisiuondi (.viv. 314), ''are distinguished by liberal vnews in 
 go\ eriuaent. He not only gave the citizens, in several plaees, 
 the ehoiee ot" their magistrates, but established an urban 
 militia, training the inhabitants to the use ot" arms, and plac- 
 ing in their hands the appointment of olHcers," And thus, 
 at the close of our medi;eval period, we leave the munici[)al 
 auiiiority of France in no slight vigor. It may only be added 
 that, .ibr miscellaneous information as to the French com- 
 munes, the reader should have recourse to that great reposi- 
 torv of curious knowledge, the " Histoire des Fraufais, par 
 Monteil, Siecle XV." 
 
 The continuance of Italian municipalities has been more 
 disputed of late than that of the French, which both Savigny 
 and ll;\vnouard have placed beyond question. The former 
 of these writers maintains that not only under the Ostrogoths 
 and Greeks (tiie latter indeed might naturally be expected) 
 we have abundant testimony to the ordo decuriouitm and 
 other Roman institutions in the Italian cities, but that, even 
 under the Lombard dominion, the same privileges were un- 
 im|)aire<l, or at least not sul)verted. This is naturally con- 
 nected with the general question as to the condition of the 
 natives in that period ; those who deny tliem any rights of 
 citizenship, or even protection by the law, will not be inclined 
 to favor tlie supposition of im internal jurisdiction. Troja 
 accordingly, following older writers, rejects the notion of civic 
 govcrnniciit in tiio<e cities which endured the Loml)ard yoke, 
 and eialMirattly refutes the jiroofs alleged by Savigny. In 
 this, however, he does not seem always successful ; but the 
 early records of Italian coniinunilies are l)y no means so de- 
 cisive as those tiial we have found in France. 
 
 Liutprand, !is Troja conceives, established communities of 
 L«imbard< .done. But he suggests that even before the reign 
 of Liutprand there may have i^een such a district government 
 a- we linil mentioned by Tacitus among the Germans; antl 
 this might possibly l)e denominated by the Lombards curia 
 or nrdo, in imitatinn of the Rnnian names. If, therefore, we 
 meet with these terms in the hiws or records of Italy before 
 Charlemagne, there is no reason why they should not relate 
 to I>oinbards (p. 12')). This is hardly, [terhaps, a conjecture
 
 342 MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT. Notes to Chap. II. 
 
 that Avill be favored. Charlemagne, however, when he in- 
 troduced the distinction of personal law, constituted in every 
 city a new Lombard community, taking its name from the 
 most numerous people, but in which each nation chose its 
 own scabini or judges (p. 295).
 
 It.vlt. 
 
 STATE OF ITALY, 
 
 U3 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE HISTORY OF ITALY, FROM THE EXTINCTION OF THE 
 CAHLOVIXGIAX EMl'EUOUS TO THE IXVASIOX OF XAl'LES 
 BV CHAKLES VIII. 
 
 TAUT I. 
 
 State of Italy after the I>eath of Charles the Fat — Coronation of Otho the Oreat — 
 State of Rome — Conrnl 11. — I'liinn of the Kinpdoni of Italy with the Enipirc — 
 E.<tahlishment of the Normans in Naples and Sirily — Roger Guiscard — Rise of 
 the Lomhartl Cities — They pnulually lieeome more inilepeuilent of the Emjiire — 
 Their internal Wars — Frcderir Barhan)ssa — Destruction of Milan — Lombard 
 League — Rattle of I>«>jrnano — Peace of Constance — Temporal Principality of the 
 Popes — Ouelf and tihibelin Factions — Otho IV. — Frederic II. — Arnini^enient 
 of the Itjtlian Repnhlics — Second I/Omhard War — E.vtinction of the House of 
 Swabia — Cau.ses of the Success of Lombard Republics — Their Prosperity — and 
 Forms of Government — Contentions between the Nobility and People — Civil 
 Wars — Story of Giovanni di Vicenza.l 
 
 At the death of Charles the Fat in 888, tliat part of 
 Italy which acknowledged the supremacy of the state of 
 Western empire was divided, like France and i^^'y «* the 
 
 Gl. ,. , 111- P>"1 ff ttl8 
 
 ermany, among a tew powertiil vas<Ml.-j, iieredi- ninth 
 
 tary governors of provinces. The principal of '=*="'"'"y> 
 
 I The authorities upon which this 
 chapter is founded, and which do not 
 always ufi|>ear at the fixit of the pa<re, 
 are rhii-Hy the fi-llowinp. 1. Munitori"s 
 Annals of Italy (twelve volumes in 4to. 
 or eifrhtj-en in Svr).) rompndnMiil a sum- 
 mary of Its history fnmi the )M>^ntlnin|! of 
 the (Christian cm to tin- \>v»rf of Aix la 
 Cha|M'lle. The volumes relaliu); to the 
 midille aip-s. into which he has digested 
 the ori;riiial writers cuntalned in his 
 pn-nt cdllertion, S<-ripton*s Reruni Itali- 
 carum, arc by niurli the l«-st ; and of 
 thei*. the part wlilcb extends from the 
 seventh or eiKhlh to the end of the 
 twelfth century Is the fulliwt and most 
 UMffut. Munitori's arcurary is in gen- 
 eral nIm'Mt irnpliciily to be trusted, and 
 hL« plain ItiL-urltv ii|ieakH In all his writ- 
 hiK' : but bi ,- not philosophical 
 
 eiioui;li to ■. the wheat from 
 
 the chnfT, ail ; ,,.- i..ii.its of life Induced 
 
 him to annex an imapinary importance 
 to the dates of diplomas and other incon- 
 siderable matters. His narrative presents 
 a mere skeleton devoid of juices ; and 
 besides its intolerable aridity, it labors 
 under that confusion whicli a merely 
 chronological aiTanpement of onncurrent 
 and independent events must always pro- 
 duce. 2. The nissertjitions on Italian 
 Antiquities, by the same writer, may bo 
 considered either as one or two workj. 
 In Latin they form six volumes in folio, 
 enriched with a preat number of oriiriual 
 di'cunietits. In It.ili.in they are freely 
 translated by Muni tori himself, abridged 
 no doubt, and without most of (lie orig- 
 inal instruments, tint well furnished with 
 quotations, ami ubuiidiintly sulllcient for 
 most purposes. They fnrm three vol- 
 umes in i|uarto. I have in peiienil 
 c|uot4M| only the number of the dihMTla- 
 tion, on account of the variance between
 
 344 
 
 STATE OF ITALY. 
 
 Chap. III. Pakt I. 
 
 these were the dukes of Spoleto and Tuscany, the marquises of 
 Ivrea, Susa, and FriuH. The great Lombard duchy of Bene- 
 vento, wliich had stood against the arms of Charlemagne, and 
 comprised more than half the present kingdom of Naples, 
 had now fallen into decay, and was straitened by the Greeks 
 in Apulia, and by the principahties of Capua and Salerno, 
 which had been severed from its own territory, on the oppo- 
 andinthe ^^*'® coast.^ Though princes of the Carlovingian 
 first part of line Continued to reign in France, their character 
 the tenth. ^^^^^ ^^^ jj^^^^ distinguished to challenge the obedi- 
 ence of Italy, already separated by family partitions from the 
 Transalpine nations ; and the only contest was among her 
 
 the Latin and Italian works: in cases 
 where the page is referred to, I have in- 
 dicated by the title which of the two I 
 intend to vouch. 3. St. Marc, a learned 
 and laborious Frenchman, lias written a 
 chronological abridgment of Italian his- 
 tory, somewhat in the manner of He- 
 nault. but so strangely divided by several 
 parallel columns in every page, that I 
 could h.T-rdly name a book more incon- 
 venient to the reader. His knowledge, 
 like Muratori's, lay a good deal in points 
 of minute inquiry ; and he is chiefly to 
 be valued in ecclesiastical history. The 
 work descends only to the thirteenth 
 century. 4. Denina's Rivoluzioni d'lta- 
 lia, originally published in 1769, is a 
 perspicuous and lively book, in which the 
 principal circumstances are well selected. 
 It is not perhaps free from errors in fact, 
 and still less from those of opinion : but, 
 till lately, I do not know from what 
 source a general acquaintance with tlie 
 history of Italy could have been so easily 
 derived. .5. The publication of M. Sis- 
 mondi's Ilistoire des Ilepubliques Itali- 
 ennes has thrown a blaze of light around 
 the most interesting, at least in many 
 respects, of European countries during 
 the middle ages. I am happy to bear 
 witness, so far as my own studies have 
 enabled me, to the learning and diUgeuce 
 of this writer ; qualities which the world 
 is sometimes apt not to suppose, where 
 they perceive so much eloquence and 
 philo.sophy. I cannot express my opin- 
 ion of M. Sismnndi in this respect more 
 strongly than by .saying that his work 
 has almost superseded the Annals of 
 Muratori ; I mean from the twelfth cen- 
 tury , before which period his labor hariUy 
 begins. Though doubtless not more ac- 
 curate than Muratori, he lias consulted 
 a much more extensive list of authors; 
 and, considered as a register of facts 
 alone, his history is inconiparably more 
 useful. These are combined in so skilful 
 
 a manner as to diminish, in a great de- 
 gree, that inevitable confusion which 
 arises from frequency of transition and 
 want of general unity. It is much to be 
 regretted that, from too redundant de- 
 tails of unnecessary circumstances, and 
 sometimes, if I may take the liberty of 
 saying so, from unnecessary reflections, 
 M. Sisuioudi has run into a prolixity 
 which will probably intimidate the lan- 
 guid students of our age. It is the more 
 to be regretted, because the History of 
 Italian Republics is calculated to pro- 
 duce a good far more important than 
 storing the memory with historical facts, 
 that of communicating to the reader's 
 bosom some sparks of the dignified phi- 
 losophy, the love for truth and virtue, 
 which lives along its eloquent pages. 
 6. To Muratori"s collection of original 
 writers, the Scriptores Rerum Italica- 
 rum, in twenty-four volumes in folio, I 
 have paid considerable attention ; perhaps 
 there is no volume of it which I have not 
 more or less consulted. But, after the 
 Annals of the same writer, and the work 
 of M. Sismondi, I have not thought my- 
 self bound to repeat a laborious search 
 into all the authorities upon which those 
 writers depend. The utility, for the 
 most part, of perusing original and con- 
 temporary authors, consists less in ascer- 
 taining mere facts than in acquiring that 
 insight into the spirit and temper of their 
 times which it is utterly impracticable 
 for any compiler to impart. It would be 
 impossible for me to distinguish wliat 
 information I have derived from these 
 higher sources; in cases, therefore, where 
 no particular authority is named, I would 
 refer to the writings oif Muratori and Sis- 
 mondi, especially the latter, as the sub- 
 stratum of the following chapter. 
 
 1 Giannone, Istoria Civile di Napoli, 
 1. vii. ; Sismondi, Hist, des Ilepubliques 
 Italiennes, t. i. p. 244.
 
 Italt. OTHO the great. 345 
 
 native chiefs. One of these, Berenger, originally marquis of 
 Friiili, or tlie March of Treviso, reigned ibr thirty-six years, 
 but witli i-oiitiiiiially ilis|iule(l prctciisioiis ; and after his death 
 the ealamitics of Italy were sometimes aggravated by tyran- 
 ny, and sometimes by intestine wiw.^ The Hungarians deso- 
 lated Loml)ardy ; the southern coasts ^vere infested by the 
 Saracens, now masters of Sicily. Plunged in an abyss, from 
 which she saw no other means of extricating herself, Italy 
 lost sight of her favorite independence, and called in the as- 
 sistance of Otho the First, king of Germany. Little oppo- 
 sition was made to this powcrfid monarch. Berenger II., the 
 reigning soveivign of ludy, submitted to hold the kingdom of 
 
 him as a fief.- r>iit some years afterwards, new „.. ,, 
 r . 1 < \ 1 ' 1 11,., 0'^° t'le 
 
 disturbances arisnig, Ollio descended irom the Great. 
 
 Ali)s a second time, deposed Berenger, and re- ^'^' ^^^' 
 ceived at the hands of Pope John XII. the imperial dignity, 
 which had been suspended for nearly forlv years. 
 
 Every ancient prejudice, every i-ecolkction, whether of 
 Augustus or of Charlemagne, had led the Italians to annex 
 the notion of sovereignty to the name of Roman Emi)eror; 
 nor were Otho, or his two inunediate descendants, by any 
 means inclined to waive these sujjposed prerogatives, which 
 they were well able to enforce. ]\Iost of the Lombard 
 princes acquiesced without apparent repngnance in the new 
 German government, whii-h was comhictcd by Otho the 
 Great with mucii prudence and vigor, and occasionally \vith 
 severity. The citizens of Loiidtardy were still better satis- 
 fii-d witli a change that ensured a more tranquil and regular 
 administration than they had experienced under the preced- 
 ing kings. But in one, and that the ciiief of Italian cities, 
 very ditfcn-nt .sentiments were prevalent. We find, indeed, 
 a consi<leral)le ol).-<ciu-ity spread over the internal history of 
 
 » Bprcii(,'iT, ^H■\l•,|r (rniii.l«nn, by a impprio |;unrilnno a pii va.ito scopo cd 1 
 
 dauKlit<T. <.f I/<iuiH tliu I><.|ioimir. nmy poiitilici Kouiano sono dalla forza dcllo 
 
 be n^ikoiie.i of tli<! Carl')viiii;iiin fniiilly. cosccliiaiuatia tcnereil fri'iio inti'llcKualo 
 
 Hi- W!iit a Frank hi) law. nri-onlhii; to di-lla civiti ile' popoli di liitta Eiirnpa.'' 
 
 Tmja, wbo denied to liiin and bin iion. Tnja diMtuccH tbe Italian cimiiiiuiics 
 
 Betviiger II.. tb<« nnniu of llaliaiiH. It " dopo il niille" from a (h-riiiati rather 
 
 wan Otiiol. that put «n i-nd to thc'Krank than a lloman origin. "Li xono vira- 
 
 •li.niliiioii. Storia ditalln, V Xii. Inonto i coniuni dov' 6 lu xpada per 
 
 'Or ifii tiitt'i nil' nppiirlr deull OttonI UlfiMidorKJl ; nia n«d regno I.ongolmrdiro 
 
 r\ c.-ini.'ia <lft rn|Hi in ll.illa, nel niodo da liinga Htagiom- la Hpaila pii'i nun pea- 
 
 iiU—"irbe lult-.era.l rangi'ilo alia n-nnta deva dal tlanco ilel Koniano " (p. ;jt;8). 
 
 de' Krnnrhl. !<• rjtU I i-.-le pren- 2 .Mum tori, A.l>.!>.il; Urnina, Itivolu- 
 
 don-i altni Curia, Iti p. veworl zioni d' Italia, 1. ix. c. tj. 
 ■' auiuenta, 1 patU Iri i i >/.io c r
 
 346 INTERNAL STATE OF ROME. Chap. III. Part I. 
 
 Internal Rome during the long period from the recovery 
 state of of Italy by Belisarius to the end of the eleventh 
 
 °"''' century. The popes appear to have possessed 
 
 some measure of temporal power, even while the city was 
 professedly governed by the exarchs of Ravenna, in the 
 name of the Eastern empire. This power became more ex- 
 tensive after her separation from Constantinople. It was, 
 however, subordinate to the undeniable sovereignty of the 
 new imperial family, who were supposed to enter upon all the 
 rights of their predecessors. There was always an imperial 
 officer, or prefect, in that city, to render criminal justice ; an 
 oath of allegiance to the emperor was taken by the j^eople ; 
 and upon any irregular election of a pope, a circumstance by 
 no means unusual, the emperors held themselves entitled to 
 interpose. But the spirit and even the institutions of the 
 Romans were republican. Amidst the darkness of the tenth 
 century, which no contemporary historian dissipates, we 
 faintly distinguish the awful names of senate, consuls, and 
 tribunes, the domestic magistracy of Rome. These shadows 
 of past glory strike us at first with surprise ; yet there is no 
 improbability in the supposition that a city so renowned and 
 populous, and so happily sheltered from the usurpation of the 
 Lombards, might have preserved, or might afterwards es- 
 tablish, a kind of municipal government, which it would be 
 natural to dignify with those august titles of antiquity.^ 
 During that anarchy which ensued upon the fall of the Car- 
 lovingian dynasty, the Romans acquired an independence 
 which they did not deserve. The city became a prey to the 
 most terrible disorders ; the papal chair was sought for at 
 best by bribery or controlling influence, often by violence and 
 assassination ; it was filled by such men as naturally rise by 
 such means, whose sway was precarious, and generally ended 
 either in their murder or degradation. For many years the 
 supreme pontiffs were forced upon the church by two women 
 of high rank but infamous reputation, Theodora and her 
 daughter Marozia. The kings of Italy, whose election in a 
 diet of Lombard princes and bishops at Roncaglia was not 
 conceived to convey any pretensions to the sovereignty of 
 Rome, could never obtain any decided influence in jxipal 
 elections, which were the object of struggling factions among 
 the resident nobility. In this temper of the Romans, they 
 
 1 Muratori, a.d. 967, 987, 1015, 1087 ; Sismondi, t. i. p. 155.
 
 Italy. IIEXRY II. AND ARDOIN. 347 
 
 were ill disposed to resume liahits of obedience to a foreign 
 sovereign. Tlie next year atier Oilio's corona- 
 tion tiiev rebelled, the i)ope at their head ; but ^'^' 
 were of cour-^e sulidued witiiout diHienlty. The .<ame repub- 
 lican spirit broke out whenever the emperors were alxcnt in 
 Germany, especially during the minority of Otho III., and 
 directed itself against the temjioral superiority of the pope. 
 But when that emperor attained manhood he besieged and 
 took the city, crushing all resistance by measures of severity ; 
 and especially by the execution of the consul Crescentius, a 
 leadi-r of the popular faction, to whose instigation tlic tmiiul- 
 tuous license of Rome was principally ascribed.^ 
 
 At the death of Otho III. without children, in 1002, the 
 compact between Italy and the emjx'rors of the iicnrv it. 
 house of Saxony was determined. Her engage- ''"'^'^'^'''^'"' 
 ment of fidelitv was certainly not applicable to every sover- 
 eign whom the princes of Germany might raise to their 
 throne, Accordinglv Ardnin marquis of Ivrea was elected 
 king of Italy. But a GcriMan party existed among the 
 Lombard princes and bishops, to which his insolent demeanor 
 soon gave a pretext for inviting Henry II., the new king of 
 Germany. coUateially related to their late soveriMgn. Ardoin 
 wa-: deserted by most of the Italians, but retained his former 
 subjects in Piedmont, and disputed the crown for many years 
 with Henry, who pa-^sed very little time in Italy. During 
 this period (here wa^ hardly any recognized government ; 
 and the Lombanl-^ became more and more accustomed, 
 through neces^ilv, tf» protect themselves, and to provide for 
 their own internal police. Meanwhile the German nation had 
 l)ecome odious to the Italians. The rude soldiery, insolent 
 and addicted to intoxication, were engaged in frequent dis- 
 putes with the citizens, wherein the latter, as is usual in 
 similar ca<es, were exjKtsed lirst to the summary vengeance 
 of the tnK)i)s, and afterward^ to penal chastisem<'nt for sedi- 
 tion.'- In one of these tumults, at tin- entry of Heni'v II. in 
 I'tUl, the city of Pavia was burned to the ground, wliicli in- 
 spired lUi inhabitants with a constant animosity against that 
 emperor. ITjmn his death in 102 I, the Italians were dispos- 
 ed to break once more their connection with Germany, which 
 
 « Hininonili. t. I. p. \i'A. miilcoii n pntrint of hintory. without vourhinj? for tlio ac- 
 
 h«"r«> of Crvno-ntluK. But we know no oiinicy of its n-proMciitJitiniiH. 
 littln of tli« uimi or till! tiiiii-H, tliiit it ^ .Munituri, a.u. 1u2T, 1u37. 
 •wiiiii Iwll^r to follow tliv couiuioii tvuor
 
 348 CONE AD II. Chap. III. Part I. 
 
 had elected as sovereign Conrad duke of Franconia. They 
 offered their crown to Robert king of France, and to Wilhani 
 duke of Guienne ; but neither of them was imprudent enough 
 to involve himself in the difficult and faithless politics of 
 Italy. It may surprise us that no candidate appeared from 
 among her native princes. But it had been the dexterous 
 policy of the Othos to weaken the great Italian fiefs, which 
 were still rather considered as hereditary governments than 
 as absolute patrimonies, by separating districts from their 
 jui'isdiction, under inferior marquises and rural counts.-^ The 
 bishops were incapable of becoming competitors, and gen- 
 erally attached to the German party. The cities already 
 possessed material influence, but were disunited by mutual 
 Election of jealousics. Sincc ancient prejudices, therefore, 
 Counui II. precluded a federate league of independent princi- 
 ^'^' ' ' palities and republics, for which perhaps the actual 
 condition of Italy unfitted her, Eribert archbishop of Milan, 
 accompanied by some other chief men of Lombardy, repaired 
 to Constance, and tendered the crown to Conrad, which he was 
 already disposed to claim as a sort of dependency upon Ger- 
 many. It does not appear that either Conrad or his succes- 
 sors were ever regularly elected to reign over Italy ; ^ but 
 whether this ceremony took place or not, we may certainly 
 date from that time the subjection of Italy to the Germanic 
 body. It became an unquestionable maxim, that the votes 
 of a few German princes conferred a right to the sovereignty 
 of a country which had never been conquered, and which had 
 never formally recognized this superiority.^ But it was an 
 equally fundamental rule, that the elected king of Germany 
 could not assume the title of Roman Emperor until his cor- 
 onation by the pope. The middle appellation of King of the 
 Romans was invented as a sort of approximation to the im- 
 
 1 Denina, 1. ix. c. 11; Muratori, Antiq. Romani gloria regni 
 Ital. Dissert. 8; Annali tl'Italia, a.d. 989. Nos penes est ; quemcuuque sibi Germa- 
 
 2 Muratori, a.d. 1026. It is said after- uia rcgem 
 
 wards, p. 367, that he was a Romauis ad Pnieficit, hunc dives submisso vertice 
 
 Imperatorem electus. The people of Roma [Rhenus. 
 
 Rome therefore preserved their nominal Accipit, et verso Tiberim regit ordine 
 
 right of concurring in the election of an Gunther. Ligurinus ap. Struvium 
 
 emperor. Muratori, in another place, Corpus Hist. German, p. 266. 
 
 A.D. 1040, supposes that Henry III. was Yet it appears from Otho of Frisingen, 
 
 chosen king of Italy, though lie allows an unquestionable authority, that some 
 
 that no proof of it exists ; and there Italian nobles concurred, or at least were 
 
 seems no reason for the supposition. present and assisting, in the election of 
 
 3 Gunther, the poet of Frederic Bar- Frederic himself : 1. ii. c. J. 
 barossa, expre.sses this not inelegantly :
 
 Italy. THE NORMANS AT AVERSA. 349 
 
 perial dignity. But it wa.^ not till the reign of ^Maximilian 
 that tlie actual coronation at Rome was dispensed with, and 
 the title of emperor taken inunediattdy after the election. 
 
 The period between Conrad of Franconia and Frederic 
 Bariiarossa, or from about the middle of the eleventh to that 
 of the twelfth century, is marked by three great events in 
 Italian historv ; the struggle between the empire and the 
 j)a|)acv tor ecclt-siastical investitures, the establishment of the 
 Xorman kingdom in Na|)les, and the formation of distinct and 
 nearly indei)endenl republics among the cities of Lombardy. 
 The first of these will tind a more appropriate place in a 
 subsequent chapter, where I shall trace the progress of eccle- 
 siastical power. But it produced a long and almost incessant 
 state of disturbance in Italy ; and should be mentioned at 
 present as one of the main causes which excited in that 
 country a systematic opposition to the imperial authority. 
 
 The southern provinces of Italy, in the beginning of the 
 eleventh century, were chiefly subject to the Greek empire, 
 which had latterly recovered part of its losses, and exhibited 
 some ambition and enterprise, thouLrh without an}' 
 
 • . • • • rr<i ' , 1 ,. Greek 
 
 nitrm-ic vigor. Ihcy were goverued by a lieu- provinces 
 tenant, styled Catapan,^ who resided at Bari in "'" ^""tiiem 
 Apulia. On the Mediterranean coast three duchies, 
 or rather rejaiijlics of Naples, Gaeta, and Amalfi. had for 
 several ages preserved their connection with the Greek em- 
 pire, and acknowletlged its nominal sovereignty. The Lom- 
 banl principalities of Benevento, Salerno, and Capua had 
 nnich declined from their ancient splendor. The Greeks 
 Were, however, not likely to attempt any further conquests : 
 the court of Constantinople had relapsed into its usual indo- 
 lence ; nor had they nnieh riglit to boast of successes rather 
 due to tin- Saracen auxiliaries whom they hired from Sicily. 
 No momentous revolution apparently threatened the south of 
 Italy, and lea--t of all (•oid<l it be anticipated from what quar- 
 ter the storm was altout to gather. 
 
 The fbllowei-s of litAlo, who rested from plunder and piracy 
 in the quiet possession of Normandy, became de- 
 vout profe>s<)rs of the Christian faith, and particu- ,',f eiie"^"" 
 larlv addicted to the cu>toui (jf piLriiiiia"-e, which >"""»'"• at 
 gralined tlieir curiosity an<l spirit of adventure. 
 
 I CsU|i«o«M, from Kara nuv, one employed In gencnil iiilmlni»tnitlon of of- 
 blm.
 
 350 ROBERT GUISCARD. Chap. III. Part I. 
 
 In small bodies, well ai'med on account of the lawless charac- 
 ter of the countries through which they passed, the Norman 
 pilgrims visited the shrines of Italy and even the Holy Land. 
 Some of these, very early in the eleventh century, were en- 
 gaged by a Lombard prince of Salerno against the Saracens, 
 who had invaded his territory ; and through that superiority 
 of valor, and perhaps of corporal strength, which this singular 
 people seem to have possessed above all other Europeans, 
 they made surprising havoc among the enemy.-" This ex- 
 ploit led to fresh engagements, and these engagements drew 
 new adventurers from Normandy ; they founded the little 
 city of Aversa, near Capua, and were employed by the 
 Greeks against the Saracens of Sicily. But, though perform- 
 ing splendid services in this war, they were ill repaid by 
 their ungrateful employex's ; and being by no means of a tem- 
 per to bear with injury, they revenged themselves by a sud- 
 A D 1042 ^^^^ invasion of Apulia. This province was speedi- 
 Conquests ly subducd, and divided among twelve Norman 
 Guiscard. counts ; but soon afterwards Robert Guiscard, one 
 of twelve brothers, many of whom were renowned 
 in these Italian wars, acquired the sovereignty ; 
 and, adding Calabria to his conquests, put an end to the long 
 dominion of the Eastern emperors in Italy .^ He reduced 
 the principalities of Salenio and Benevento, in the latter in- 
 stance sharing the spoil with the pope, who took the city to 
 himself, while Robert retained the territory. His conquests 
 in Greece, which he invaded with the magnificent design of 
 jQ„ overthrowing the Eastern empire, were at least 
 equally splendid, though less durable. Roger, his 
 younger brother, undertook meanwhile the romantic enter- 
 prise, as it appeared, of conquering the island of Sicily with 
 a small body of Norman volunteers. But the Saracens were 
 broken into petty states, and discouraged by the bad success 
 of their brethren in Spain and Sardinia. After many years 
 of war Roger became sole master of Sicily, and took the 
 title of Count. The son of this prince, upon the extinction 
 of Robert Guiscard's posterity, united the two Norman sover- 
 
 1 Giannone, t. ii. p. 7 [edit. 1753]. I 2 The final blow was giyen to the Greek 
 
 should observe that St. Marc, a more domination over Italy by the capture of 
 
 critical writer in examination of facts Bari in 1071, after a siege of four years, 
 
 than Giannone, treats this first adventure It had for some time been confined to 
 
 of the Normans as unautheuticated. — this single city. Muratori, St. Marc. 
 Abrege Chronologique, p. 990.
 
 Italy. PROGRESS OF THE LOMBARD CITIES. Sol 
 
 fidelities, ami, siihiiiuatini!; the five rti)ul)lies of 
 
 • AD 11227 
 
 Naples ami Amalfi, ami the principality of Capua, 
 establishetl a boundary which has hariUy been changed since 
 his tiuie.^ 
 
 The tii-st successes of these Norman leaders were viewed 
 unfavorably liy the popes. Leo IX. marched in y, ^ -^^^ 
 person ajrainst Kobert Giiiscard wiih an army of vestjtures 
 German mercenaries, but was beaten and made ° " "''' '^^^ 
 prisoner in this unwise enterprise, the scandal of which noth- 
 ing but good tbrtune could have lightened. He fell, however, 
 into the hands of a devout jieople, who implored his absolu- 
 tion for the crime of deti luliiig themselves ; and, whether 
 through gratitude, or as the price of his liberation, invested 
 them wiih their recent comiuests in Apulia, as tiefs of the 
 Holy See. This investiture was repeated and enlarged as 
 the popes, especially in their contention with Henry IV. and 
 Henry V., found the advantage of using the Normans as 
 faithful auxiliaries. Finally, Innocent II., in 1139, conferred 
 upon Roger the title of King of Sicily. It is ditlicult to 
 understand by what pretence these countries could be claimed 
 by the see of Koine in sovereignty, unless by virtue of the pre- 
 tended donation ui' Constanline, or that of Louis the Debonair, 
 which is hardly less suspicious ; ^ and least of all how Inno- 
 cent II. CDuld surrender the liberties of the city of Naples, 
 whether that was considered as an independent republic, or 
 as a portion of the Grc^ek empire. But the Normans, who 
 hjwl no title but their swords, were natumlly ghid to give an 
 appearance of legitimacy to their conquest; and the kingdom 
 of Na|iles, even in the hands of the most powerful iirinces in 
 Europe, never ceased to pay a feudal acknowledgment to the 
 chair <jf Si. Peter. 
 
 The revolutions which time lirought forth on the opposite 
 side of Itjdy were still more interestinsr. Under „ , 
 
 •' . n ^ Progress or 
 
 the Lijiiibard and r rench pruices every city with thu [.om- 
 its adja<-<-nt ili-iriet was subject to the govern- '''"'' '"""'*" 
 meiit and jurixliction of a count, who was himself subor- 
 
 ' M. Slxmon^ll hnit rxrfHwl hlniKelf In the int<Tpol:itcil. if not Hpiirinus, (,'nmts 
 dixtrril>iii;{ tin- roii.|ii.-»t of Ainnlfl mid of I/miM tin,' Di-hoiiiiir. Otlio I., iiml 
 Nm|iIiv< l.y IUpkit (iuiM-iinl (t. I. c. 4); Henry II. to the ceo of Koiue, «cro pro- 
 warming hill inini^inatloN with rinionii of iniil(;iitei| iilioiif the IImh- of tin- tlrst con- 
 lIUTty an<l rlrtiie in Uir>iM) olj«curo re- ceHHionK to the .\<jnimMs, in order tn ({'v» 
 (luhlirii, whicli uo real history iiurvlvca the pope« ii colonilile pretext to <li«pi»M> 
 t<j'Jiii|M-l. of the Koutlieru provinces of Ituly. A.D. 
 
 • MuraUirl pretumri lo luppom that 1U01>.
 
 352 PROGRESS OF THE Chap. III. Part I. 
 
 dinate to the duke or marquis of the province. From these 
 counties it was the practice of the first German emperors 
 to dismember particular towns or tracts of country, grant- 
 ing them upon a feudal tenure to rural lords, by many of 
 whom also the same title was assumed. Thus by degrees 
 the authority of the original officers was confined almost to 
 the Avails of their own cities ; and in many cases the bishops 
 obtained a grant of the temporal government, and exercised 
 the functions Avhich had belonged to the count.^ 
 
 It is impossible to ascertain the time at which the cities of 
 Lombardy began to assume a republican form of government, 
 or to trace with precision the gradations of their progress. 
 The last historian of Italy asserts that Otho the First erected 
 them into municipal communities, and permitted the election 
 of their magistrates ; but of this he produces no evidence ; 
 and Muratori, from whose authority it is rash to depart with- 
 out strong reasons, is not only silent about any charters, but 
 discovers no express unequivocal testimonies of a popular 
 government for the whole eleventh century.^ The first ap- 
 pearance of the citizens acting for themselves is in a tumult 
 at Milan in 991, Avhen the archbishop was expelled from the 
 city.^ But this was a transitory ebullition, and we must de- 
 scend lower for more specific proofs. It is possible that the 
 disputed succession of Ardoin and Henry, at the beginning 
 of the eleventh age, and the kind of interregnum which then 
 took place, gave the inhabitants an opportunity of choosing 
 magistrates and of sharing in public deliberations. A similar 
 relaxation indeed of government in France had exposed the 
 people to greater servitude, and established a feudal aristoc- 
 racy. But the feudal tenures seem not to have produced in 
 Italy that systematic and regular subordination which existed 
 in France during the same period ; nor were the mutual 
 duties of the relation between loi'd and vassal so well under- 
 stood or observed. Hence we find not only disputes, but 
 actual civil war, between the lesser gentry or vavassors, and 
 the higher nobility, their immediate superiors. These differ- 
 ences were adjusted by Conrad the Sahc, who published a 
 remarkable edict in 1037, by which the feudal law of Italy 
 was reduced to more certainty.'* Fi'om this disunion among 
 
 1 Muratori, Antiquit. Italiae, Dissert. 8 ; 2 gjsniondi, t. i. p. 97, 384; Muratori, 
 Anuali d"Italia, A.D. 989 J Antichita Es- Dissert. 49. 
 teusi, p. 26. "* Muratori, Annali d'ltalia. 
 
 * Muratori, Annali d'ltalia. St Marc.
 
 Italt. 
 
 LOMBARD CITIES. 
 
 333 
 
 the members ot the feudal oonf('(leraey, it was more easy for 
 the citizens to reiuler themselves seeiire against its dominion. 
 Tlie cities too of Lombardy were far more populous and 
 better defended than those of Franee ; they had learned to 
 stand sieges in the Hungarian invasions of the tenth century, 
 and had acquired the right of protecting themselves by strong 
 fortilications. Those which had been placed under tlie tem- 
 jx)ral government of tiieir bishops had peculiar advantages in 
 struggHng tor emanci|>ation.^ This circumstance in the state 
 of Lombardy I consider as highly important towards explain- 
 ing the subsetiuent revolution. Xotwithsfanding several ex- 
 ce])tiuns. a churdnnan was less hki-ly to be bold and active 
 in command than a soldier; ami the sort of election which 
 was always necessary, and sometimes more than nominal, on 
 a vacancy of the see, kept up among the citizens a notion 
 that the autiiority of their bishop and chief magistrate ema- 
 nated in some degree from themselves. In many instances, 
 especially in the ciiurch of ]\Iilaii, the earliest perhaps, and 
 certaiidy the most famous of Lombard republics, there occurred 
 a disputed election ; two, or even three, competitors claimed 
 the archie]iiscopal functions, and were compidled, in the ab- 
 sence of tlie eini)erors, to obtain the exercise of them by means 
 of their own faction among tlie citizens.^ 
 
 • The bi»hopg teem to have become 
 coanU. or temporal Kovernor.'', of their 
 teen, al>out the eml of the tenth, or he 
 fore thf uii'MIe of the eleveuth century. 
 .Murat<iri. DLss. 8; D<Miiiui. I. ix. r. 11; 
 St. Mar.-. A. I.. 1(41, HM", 1070. In .\r- 
 nulfs lli.»t'iry of .Mihm, written before 
 the close of the latter age. we luive a con- 
 tenipfiniry evi^lence. Ami from the peru- 
 lul of that work I HhoulJ infer tliat the 
 archbisliop w:l<, in tlie nii<l<lle of tlie 
 elerenth century, the chief ma;ot^tnite of 
 the city. Hut. at the Kaniu time, it ap- 
 pennt hi;;hly pnihalile tliat an a-xwnibly 
 of the ritizi-u". or at lea.«t a piirt of the 
 citiu-n*. pari'Hik in the ailniiui.ttnition 
 o( puhlir aff.iiri. Munitori, .Scriptores 
 Keriiui Italirarum, t. ir. p. It), '£1, 23, 
 an>l parlieul.-irly the but. hi moitt citleD 
 U> llic eaitwrml of IheTexino, the biiiliO|>fi 
 luit their teiii|H>nil authority in tiio 
 twc"" • — •' i-h the archblHhnp 
 
 ol 
 
 tin: 
 Hut in 
 Id tbi- 
 
 an<l even 1 tinn. Mere 
 their re«|M-<-tivo pn-lat4.i) till the thlr- 
 tvenlli century. Kor thin reAjKin, aiiiong 
 V<»I,. I. 2a 
 
 i.reprpitivrt while 
 I :■- a ri-puhlic. 
 Mnue<i lonifer 
 ; >.r. Vercelli, 
 iiluioot inbject to 
 
 Others, tho Picdmontese cities are hardly 
 to l)e reckoneil among the republics of 
 lyombaniy. — Denina, Intoria dell' Italia 
 Occidcntjile, t. i. p. 191. 
 
 - Munitiiri, a.d. 1345. Sometimes the 
 inhnbitiint.4 of a city refused to acknowl- 
 eil;,'!- a liislmp named by the emperor, aa 
 hap|H-ned at I'avia and A.sti about 1057. 
 .\rnulf, p. 22. This waa, in other words, 
 hetling up them.^elves as republics. But 
 the most reni.irkable instjince of this 
 kind occurred iu 1070, when the Milanese 
 absolutely n-jecti'd Oodfrey, appointed 
 by Henry IV., and, after a resistjiiice of 
 lieveral years, obliged the emperor to fix 
 upon another person. The city had been 
 previously involved in Iouk and violent 
 tumults, which, thoui^;!) rattier belonging 
 to ecclesiiujtical than civil history, as they 
 arose out of the endeavors made to re- 
 form the conduct and enforce the celibacy 
 of the clergy, had aconsiclenible t»'iidency 
 t4i diminish the archbishop's antlinrity, 
 and to give a n-public.iii ch.irai-ler tu tho 
 inliabit'iiits. These proceisllngs are told 
 at great length liy St. .Man-, t. ill. A.I). 
 105<»-1077. Arnuff and l,;iii>lnlf are tho 
 original sources.
 
 354 PEOGEESS OF THE LOMBAED CITIES. Chap. III. Part I. 
 
 These were the general causes which, operating at various 
 times during the eleventh century, seem gradually to have 
 produced a republican form of government in the Italian cit- 
 ies. But this part of history is very obscure. The archives 
 of all cities before the reign of Frederic Babarossa have per- 
 ished. For many years there is a great deficiency of con- 
 temporary Lombard historians ; and those of a later age, who 
 endeavored to search into the antiquities of their country, 
 have found only some barren and insulated events to record. 
 We perceive, however, throughout the eleventh century, tliat 
 the cities were continually in warfare with each other. This, 
 indeed, was according to the manners of that age, and no 
 inference can absolutely be drawn from it as to their internal 
 freedom. But it is observable that their chronicles speak, in 
 recording these transactions, of the people, and not of their 
 leaders, which is the true i-epublican tone of history. Thus, 
 in the Annals of Pisa, we read, under the years 1002 and 1004, 
 of victories gained by the Pisans over the people of Lucca ; 
 in 1006, that the Pisans and Genoese conquered Sardinia.-^ 
 These annals, indeed, are not by a contemporary writer, nor 
 perhaps of much authority. But we have an original account 
 of a war that broke out in 1057, between Pavia and Mihm, 
 in which the citizens are said to have raised armies, made al- 
 liances, hired foreign troops, and in every respect acted like 
 mdependent states.^ There was, in fact, no power left in the 
 empire to control them. The two Henrys IV. and V. were 
 so much embarrassed during the quarrel concerning investi- 
 tures, and the continual troubles of Germany, that they were 
 less likely to interfere with the rising freedom of the Italian 
 cities, than to purchase their assistance by large concessions. 
 Henry IV. granted a charter to Pisa in 1081, full of the most 
 important privileges, promising even not to name any mar- 
 quis of Tuscany without the people's consent ; ^ and it is possi- 
 ble that, although the instruments have perished, other places 
 might obtain similar advantages. However this may be, it is 
 certain that before the death of Henry V., in 1125, almost all 
 
 iMurat. Diss. 45. Arnulfus, the his- That of Landulphus corroborates this 
 
 toriaii of Milan, makes no mention of supposition, whicii indeed is capable of 
 
 any temporal counts, which seems to be proof as to Milan and several other cities 
 
 a proof that there were none in any in which the temporal government had 
 
 authority. He speaks always of Mediola- been Icfjally vested in the bishops, 
 
 nenses, Papicnses, Kavenates, &c. This 2 Mur it. Diss. 45; Arnulf. Ilist. Medio- 
 
 histoVy was written about 1085, but re- Ian. p. 22. 
 
 lates to the earlier part of that century. saxurat. Dissert. 45.
 
 It.vlt. LOMBARD ACQUISITIONS. 355 
 
 the citic? of Lomb'inly, and nwny among those of Tuscany, 
 were aooustonieil to ek'ct their own magistrates, and to act as 
 intk'peiident communities in waging war and iu domestic gov- 
 ernment.* 
 
 Tlie territory subjected originally to the count or bishop 
 of tliese cities, had been reduced, a5 I mentioned ^,^^1^. j^^. 
 above, by numerou-; concessions to the rural nobility, qvusitions of 
 But the new republics, deeming tliemselves entitled *^"' °''^' 
 to all which their former governors had once possessed, began 
 to attack their nearest neighbors, and to recover the sov- 
 ereignty of all their ancient territory. They besieged the 
 castles of the rural counts, and successively reduced thcni into 
 eubjection. Tiiey suppressed some minor communities, which 
 had been formed in imitatidn of themselves by little towns 
 belonging to their district. Sometimes they purchased feudal 
 superioi'ities or territorial jurisdictions, and, according to a 
 policy not unusual with the stronger party, converted the 
 rights of property into those of government.'-^ Hence, at the 
 midtlle of the twelfth century, we are assured by a contempo- 
 rary writer that hardly any nobleman could be found, excejft 
 tile manjuis of ]\Iontferrat, wlio had not submitted to some 
 city.' We may exce[it, also, I should presume, the families 
 of Este and Malaspina, as well as that of Savoy. Muratori 
 jiroduces many charters of mutual comjiact between the 
 nol)li.'S and the neighboring cities ; whereof one invariable ar- 
 ticle is, that tl»e former should reside within the walls a cer- 
 tain number of months in the year.* Tlie rural nol»ility, thus 
 deprive<l of the independence which had endeared their cas- 
 tle-, iinl»il)e(l a new ambition of ilirecting tlie nuniicipal gov- 
 ernment of the cities, which consequently, during this period 
 of tlie republics, fell chiefly into tiie hands of the superior 
 families. It was the sag;u-ious policy of the Lombards to 
 invite settlers by throwing open to them the privileges of citi- 
 zenship, and sometimes they even bestowed them by compul- 
 sion. Sometimes a city, imitating the wisdom of ancient 
 lii)iiu\ granted these privileges to all tiie inhabitants of 
 
 ' Murnt. Anrinll d'ltnl. A.D. 1107. ziono, c 1' nitro J" un' iilfrn. Doniiin, 1. 
 
 » n 'l'>f!iliii'. iiHW- .|.-!I<- rltU o dc' vll- xli. p. 3. This prixlurfd a v:ist iiifricm-y 
 
 1 ' 1 due o piii |>n- of titlcH, wliich wiut of course udviiutji- 
 
 'I 'TO II climcuiio p-ouH to tlioso who wiiiitod 11 pix'lt'xt for 
 
 '' " -I iivicli-niMiro 1 pro- riihbniK thi-ir iicii^hhors. 
 
 1 ••. iivri-ni rhi- ruiio hIu- '■> (»th<) Kri«inp'iis. 1. ii. c. 13. 
 
 li ■ n ■ ■ '- • -""» i<|MiU' dtdU t^urliuil- * .Munit. Di/tn. 4'J.
 
 356 
 
 THEIR MUTUAL ANIMOSITIES. Chap. III. Pakt I. 
 
 another.^ Thus, the principal cities, and especially Milan, 
 reached, before the middle of the twelfth century, a degree of 
 population very far beyond that of the capitals of the great 
 kingdoms. Within their strong walls and deep trenches, and 
 in the midst of their well-peopled streets, the industrious 
 dwelt secure from the license of armed pillagers and the op- 
 pression of feudal tyrants. Artisans, wdiom the military 
 landholders contemned, acquired and deserved the right of 
 bearing arms for their own and the public defence.^ Their 
 occupations became liberal, because they were the foundation 
 of their political franchises ; the citizens were classed in com- 
 panies according to their respective crafts, each of Avhich had 
 its tribune or standardbearer (gonfalonier), at wdiose com- 
 mand, when any tumult arose or enemy threatened, they 
 rushed in arms to muster in the market-place. 
 
 But, unhappily, we cannot extend the sympatliy which in- 
 Their stitutions SO fuU of liberty create to the national 
 
 mutual conduct of these httle republics. Their love of 
 
 animosities. f^.ggjQj-Q ^r^g alloyed by that restless spirit, from 
 which a democracy is seldom exempt, of tyrannizing over 
 weaker neighbors. They played over again the tragedy of 
 ancient Greece, with all its cii'cumstances of inveterate hatred, 
 unjust ambition, and atrocious retaliation, though with less 
 consummate actors upon the scene. Among all the Lombard 
 cities, Milan was the most conspicuous, as Avell for power and 
 population as for the abuse of those resources by arbitrary 
 and ambitious conduct. Thus, in 1111, they razed the town 
 of Lodi to the ground, distributing the inhabitants among six 
 villages, and subjecting them to an unrelenting despotism.^ 
 Thus, in 1118, they commenced a war of ten years' duration 
 with the little city of Como ; but the surprising perseverance 
 of its inhabitants procured for them better terms of capitula- 
 
 1 Murat. Diss. 49. 
 
 2 Otlio Krisingensis ap. Murat. Scr. Rer. 
 Ital. t. vi. p. 708. Ut etiam ad compri- 
 meudos vicinos materia non careant, iu- 
 ferioris onlinis juvenes, vel quoslibet 
 contemptibilium etiam menhanicarum 
 artiuni opifices, quos caeterie gentes ab 
 honestioribus et liberioribus studiis tan- 
 quam jiestem propelluiit, ad inilitiaj cin- 
 gulum, vel digiiitatum gradu.* assumere 
 non dedignantur. Ex quo factum est, 
 ut cfeteris orbis civitatibus, divitiia et 
 potentid pra^emineaiit. 
 
 3 The animosity between Milan and 
 
 Lodi was of very old standing. It origi- 
 nated, according to Arnulf, in the resist- 
 ance made by the inhabitants of the latter 
 city to an attempt made by archbishop 
 Eribert to force a bishop of his own 
 nomination upon them. The bloodshed, 
 plunder, and conflagrations which had 
 ensued, would, he says, fill a volume, if 
 they were related at length. Scrip tores 
 Uei'um Italic, t. iv. p. 16. And this is 
 the testimony of a writer who did not 
 live beyond 1085. Seventy years more 
 either of hostility or servitude elapsed 
 before Lodi was permitted to respire.
 
 Italy. SOTErwEIGNTY OF THE EMPERORS. 3o7 
 
 tion. thoujrh they lost tla-ir oriiriiml indopiinlcnce. The Crc- 
 monese treated so harshly the town of Crema that it revolteil 
 from them, and put itself untler the proteetion of ^Nlilan. 
 Cities of more equal forees carried on intenninalile hostilities 
 l»y \va»tinir eaeh other's territory, destroying the harvests, and 
 linrninj the viliap:es. 
 
 The sovereiirnty of the em|>erors, meanwhile, thongh not 
 verv etfeetive, was in theory always admitted. „ » 
 
 Their name was used in ]»nl>lic acts, and appeared of tiie 
 upon tile coin. "When they came into Italy they ^■"P'''''"- 
 had certain customary sn|)i)lies of provisions, called fodrum 
 rejrale, at tlie expense of the city where they resided ; dnring 
 their presence all inferior magistracies were suspended, and 
 the right of jurisdiction devoht-d upon them alone. But such 
 was tiie jealoM<y of tiie Lombards, tiiat they built the royal 
 palaces outside their gates ; a precaution to which the empe- 
 rors were compelled to sulimit. This was at a very early 
 time a sul)ject of contention Ijctween the iidialtitants of Pavia 
 and Conrad II.. who-e palace, sealed in the heart of the city, 
 they had demolishe<l in a sedition, and were unwillui"; to re- 
 huild in that <ituation.^ 
 
 Such wa-; tiie coinlition of Italy when Frederic Barbarossa, 
 diike of Sualiia, and nephew of the last emperor, Frederic 
 Conrad III., ascended tiic throne of Germany, "•"•i.aro.sa. 
 IIi< accession forms tiie commencement of a new period, the 
 duration of which is about one hundred years, and Avhich is 
 terminated In' the death of Conrad IV., the last emperor of 
 the house of Siiabia. It is characterized, like the former, by 
 three di>tingiii«liing features in Italian history; the victorious 
 struggle of the Lombanl and other cities for independence, the 
 final establi^iiment of a temporal sovereignty over the middle 
 provinces Ity the popes, ami the union of tiie kingdom of Na- 
 ples to the dominions of the house of Suabia. 
 
 In Frederic Harbarossa the Italians found a very different 
 povcreign fnun tiie two last emperors, Lothaire ami Conrad 
 III., who lijul seldom appeared in Italy, and with forces quite 
 inadcipcite to control such insubonliiiate subjects. The dis- 
 tini.nii'lied valor and ability of thi-; prince rendered a >evert? 
 atid arliitrarv temper and a haughty conceit of his imperial 
 rights more formidalile. He believed, or professed to believe, 
 
 ' Oiho FrUingcDs. p. 710; Miiratrirl. ad. 1"1!7.
 
 358 FREDERIC BARBAROSSA. Chap. III. Part I. 
 
 the magnificent absurdity, that, as successor of Augustus, he 
 inherited tlie kingdoms of the world. In the same riglit, lie 
 more powerfully, if not more rationally, laid claim to the 
 entire prerogatives of the Roman emperors over their own 
 subjects ; and in this the professors of the civil law, which 
 was now diligently studied, lent him their aid with the utmost 
 servility. To such a disposition the self-government of the 
 Lombard cities appeared mere rebellion. Milan especially, 
 the most renowned of them all, drew down upon herself his 
 inveterate resentment. He found, unfortunately, too good a 
 pretence in her behavior towards Lodi. Two natives of that 
 ruined city threw themselves at the emperor's feet, imploring 
 him, as the ultimate source of justice, to redress the wrongs 
 of their country. It is a striking proof of the terror in- 
 spired by Milan that the consuls of Lodi disavowed the com- 
 plaints of their countrymen, and the inhabitants trembled at 
 the danger of provoking a summary vengeance, against 
 which the imperial arms seemed no protection.-^ The Milan- 
 ese, however, abstained from attacking the people of Lodi, 
 though they treated with contempt the emperor's order to 
 leave them at liberty. Frederic meanwhile came into Italy, 
 and held a diet at Roncaglia, where comj^laints poured in 
 from many quarters against the Milanese. Pavia and Cre- 
 mona, their ancient enemies, were impatient to renew hostili- 
 ties under the imperial auspices. Brescia, Tortona, and 
 Crema were allies, or rather dependents, of Milan. Frederic 
 soon took occasion to attack the latter confederacy. Tortona 
 was compelled to surrender and levelled to the ground. But 
 a feudal army was soon dissolved ; the emperor had much to 
 demand his attention at Rome, where he was on ill terms 
 with Adrian IV. ; and wdien the imperial troops were with- 
 dra^\n from Lombardy, the Milanese rebuilt Tortona, and 
 expelled the citizens of Lodi from their dwellings. Frederic 
 assembled a fresh army, to which almost every city of Lom- 
 bardy, willingly or by force, contributed its militia. It is said 
 to have exceeded a hundred thousand men. The Milanese 
 shut themselves up within their walls; and perhaps might 
 have defied the imperial forces, if their immense population, 
 which gave them confidence in arms, had not exposed them 
 
 1 See an interesting account of these reproacties Morena for partiality towards 
 
 circumstances in the narrative of Otho Frederic in the Milanese war, should 
 
 Morena, a citizen of Lodi. Script, ller. have remembered the provocation.'i of 
 
 Ital. t. Ti. p. 966. M. Sismou(U, who Lodi. Ilist. des Repub. Ital. t. ii. p. 102.
 
 Italy. CAPTURE OF MILAN. 3d9 
 
 to a tlitferent enemy. Milan was obliged by hunger to capitu- 
 late, upon conditions not very severe, if a vanquished peoi)le 
 could ever sj.fely rely upon the convention that testities their 
 submission. 
 
 Frederic, aHer the surrender of ^lilan, held a diet at 
 Roncaglia, where the etiect of his victories wasjj.^|.^j. 
 fatally perceived. The bishops, the higher nobility, Koncagiia. 
 the lawyers, vied with one another in exalting his ^'^' '^^' 
 prerogatives. He defined the regalian rights, as they were 
 called, in such a manner as to exclude the cities and i^rivate 
 projuuetors from coining money, and from tolls or territorial 
 dues, which they had for many years possessed. These, 
 however, he permitted them to retain for a pecuniary stipula- 
 tion. A more imjjortant innovation was the appointment of 
 magistrates, with the title of podestjv, to administer justice 
 concurrently with the consuls ; but he soon proceeded to 
 abolish the latter office in many cities, and to throw the whole 
 government into the hands of his own magistrates, lie pro- 
 hibited the cities i'rom levving war ajrainst each other. It 
 may be pre-umed that he showed no favor to IMilan. The 
 capituhition w:ls set at naught in its most express provisions; 
 a ixxlesta was sent to supersede the consuls, and part of the 
 territory taki.'U away. Whatever might be the risk of resist- 
 ance, anil the 3Iilanese had experience enough not to under- 
 value it, they were determined rather to see their liberties at 
 once overthrown than gradually destroyed by a faithless 
 tyrant. Tiiey availed tlu-mselves of tiie absence of his army 
 to renew the war. Its issue was more calaiuitous than that 
 of the lji.«*t. Almost all Lombaixly lay patient under subjec- 
 tion. The small town of Crema, always the faithfid ally of 
 Milan, stooil a memorable siege against the imperial army ; 
 but till' inhai/itants were ultimately com[)elled to capitulate 
 for tln'ir liv«;s, and the viinlictive Cremonese razed their 
 «lwellings to tlie ground.^ Ibit all smaller calami- capture and 
 ties were forgotten when the great city of Milan, <iL'stru<tiou 
 worn out by famine rather than >ubdued by force, " 
 was redui-ed to surrender at discretion. L()nil)ar(ly stood 
 in anxious suspense to know the determination of Frederic 
 
 ' ' '■ 1.1 U told at (frwit count of the inetlioila usisl In tlio nttiick 
 
 1. > It 1< iMtcnrctinK, an.l ilcfiMiii' <il' l'nrtlM<-l pl.ieiM Lrlnre tho 
 
 ti'- ' ■ -"iT.llMiiry, liitr<i<Uirtiiin "f artillery. Srrip. Ker. 
 
 tliouKli 111! n<'e aiij lUil. t. vi. p. llJ32-10ij2. 
 
 Intrepidity, ' ■ ; ■ lilcl ue-
 
 360 LEAGUE OF LOMBAEDY Chap. III. Part I. 
 
 respecting this ancient metropolis, the seat of the early Chris- 
 tian emperors, and second only to Rome in the hierarchy of 
 the Latin church. A delay of three weeks excited fiillaeious 
 hopes ; but at the end of that time an order was given to the 
 Milanese to evacuate their habitations. The deserted streets 
 were instantly occupied by the imperial army ; the people of 
 Pavia and Cremona, of Lodi and Conio, were commissioned 
 to revenge themselves on the respective quarters of the city 
 assigned to them ; and in a few days the pillaged churches 
 stood alone amidst the ruins of what had been Milan. 
 
 There was now little left of that freedom to which Lom- 
 bardy had aspired : it was gone like a pleasant 
 dream, and she awoke to the fears and miseries of 
 servitude. Frederic obeyed the dictates of his vindictive 
 temper, and of the policy usual among statesmen. He abro- 
 gated the consular regimen in some even of the cities which 
 had supported him, and established his podesta in their place. 
 This magistrate was always a stranger, frequently not even 
 an Italian ; and he came to his office with all those prejudices 
 against the people he was to govern which cut oif every hope 
 of justice and humanity. The citizens of Lombardy, espe- 
 cially the Milanese, who had been dispersed in the villages 
 adjoining their ruined capital, Avere unable to meet the per- 
 petual demands of tribute. In some parts, it is said, two 
 thirds of the produce of their lands, the only wealth that re- 
 mained, were extorted from them by the imperial officers. 
 It was in vain that they prostrated themselves at the feet of 
 Frederic. He gave at the best only vague promises of re- 
 dress ; they were in his eyes rebels ; his delegates had acted 
 as faithful officers, whom, even if they had gone a little be- 
 yond his intentions, he could not be expected to punish. 
 
 But there still remained at the heai*t of Lombardy the 
 League of Strong principle of national liberty, imperishable 
 Lombardy among the perisliinQ- armies of her patriots, incon- 
 
 ao-aiust , . , 
 
 Frederic. sumablc in the conflagration of her cities.-^ Those 
 A.D. 1167. whom private animosities had led to assist the 
 German conqueror blushed at the degradation of their coun- 
 try, and at the share they had taken in it. A league was 
 secretly formed, in which Cremona, one of the chief cities on 
 the imperial side, took a prominent part. Those beyond 
 
 1 Quae neque Darclaniis campis potuere perire, 
 Nee cum capta capi, nee cum combusta cremari. — Enniiis.
 
 Italy. AGAINST FREDERIC. 3G1 
 
 the Adi^e, hitherto not iinu-h engaged in tlie disputes of 
 central Lonihardy, had ah'eady formed a separate eonfederaey 
 to seeure thein>elvesi from enoroachments, which appeared 
 the more unjust, as they had never borne arms against tlie 
 emperor. Their first suceesses corresponded to ,,.,, 
 
 1 • • • 1 • TT 1 • 11 ■*•"• lit**- 
 
 the justice ot their cause; rrederie was rejuilsed 
 from the territory of Verona, a fortunate augury for the rest 
 of LiJinbardy. These two chisters of cities on the east and 
 west of the Adige now united themselves into the lamous 
 Lombard league, the terms of which were settled in a general 
 diet. Their alliance was to last twenty yeai's, during which 
 they pledged themselves to mutual assistance against any one 
 who should exact more from tliem than they had been used 
 to peribrm from the time of Ileury to the first coming of 
 Frederic into Italy ; imiilying in this the recovery of their 
 elective magistracies, their rights of war and peace, and those 
 lucrative privileges which, under the name of regalian, had 
 been wrested from them in the diet of Koncaglia.^ 
 
 Tliis union of the Lombard cities was formed at a very 
 favor.d)le juncture. Frederic had almost ever since his 
 accession been engaged in o})en hostility witli the see of 
 Rome, and was pursuing the fruitless policy of Henry IV., 
 who iiad endeavored to substitute an antipope of his own 
 liiction for the legitimate pontiff. In the jirosecufion of tiiis 
 sciieme lie had lie.-ieged Koine with a great army, wliich, the 
 citizens resisting longer than he expected, fell a prey to the 
 autumnal jtestilence which visits the neigliI)Oihoo<l (tf that 
 cajjital. The flower of German nobility was cut ott" by this 
 csilamity, and the emperor recrossed the Alps, entirely unable 
 for the |)resent to withstand tlie Lombard confederacy. Their 
 first overt act of insurrection was the rebuilding of ]\Iilan ; 
 the confederal*' troops all joiiUMl in this undertaking; and the 
 Milanese, still niinu'rous, though dispersed and persecuted, 
 revived as a powerful republic. Lodi was compelled to 
 enter into the league ; Pavia alone continued on tlie inipe- 
 
 ' ^'■ ' •'■•■ • ■■ \ . .....iiti.,,,« nf the nny nnnirrical desi;;nation, to intvrprot 
 
 I/' ::il nu- it of till? l.ifit bv.iriiiif that iitimc; iic wo 
 
 til • rtntion. (Uiv Kin;; W'illiiiiii, for \Villi:iiii thi- Thinl. 
 
 The wopIji, n tJ-iii|M)n- lii-iiru'i i(i-|;iH iinquo Ami rtTUiinly the lilnTtirs nf l,oiiil>:ir>ly 
 
 ><1 Inlmituiii hiiiM-nil'irl" Kn-'ii-rirl, li-nvo wct« more iM-rfcrt uinlcr llriirj V. Ihiin 
 
 It niiihl^uoaa wlilrh nf the lli'iiricK wim hix fiithiT; iH'siclcM whi< li, thi' one rriifii 
 
 |iiU-iii|i-<l. Munit'iri thiiiku it wah lli-iiry iiii|;ht Htill Ix' n'liiciiilirri'd, iiinl thv otlii-r 
 
 IV ' •' • th.Mi 1)1-^1111 to he rc'Kt^'il ill tniilitinii. The iiuf.-itioii, liow- 
 
 lii . ■. howcviT, iiutii- ever, ii« of Utile iiiomuiit. 
 
 mi. — .; . iiiciitiuiieU without
 
 362 PEACE OF CONSTANCE. Chap. III. Part I. 
 
 rial side. As a check to Pavia, and to the marquis of Mont- 
 ferrat, the most potent of the independent nobihty, the 
 Lombards planned the erection of a new city between the 
 conhnes of these two enemies, in a rich plain to the south of 
 the Po, and bestowed upon it, in comphment to the Pope, 
 Alexander III., the name of Alessandria. Though, from its 
 hasty construction, Alessandria was even in that age deem- 
 ed rude in appearance, it rapidly became a thriving and 
 populous city.-^ The intrinsic energy and resources of Lom- 
 bardy were now made manifest. Frederic, who had tri- 
 umphed by their disunion, was unequal to contend against 
 their league. After several years of indecisive war the 
 emperor invaded the Milanese territory ; but the confederates 
 gave him battle, and gained a complete victory at Legnano. 
 Frederic escaped alone and disguised from the 
 Legnano. field, with little hope of raising a fresh army, 
 A.D. 11(6. though still reluctant from shame to acquiesce in 
 the freedom of Lombardy. He was at length persuaded, 
 through the mediation of the republic of Venice, to consent 
 to a truce of six years, the provisional terms of which were 
 all favorable to the league. It was weakened, however, by 
 the defection of some of its own members ; Cremona, which 
 had never cordially united with her ancient enemies, made 
 separate conditions with Frederic, and suffered herself to be 
 named among the cities on the imperial side in the armistice. 
 Tortona and even Alessandria followed the same course 
 during the six years of its duration ; a fatal testimony of 
 unsubdued animosities, and omen of the calamities of Italy. 
 At the expiration of the truce Frederic's anxiety to secure 
 Peace of ^^^^ ci'own for his son overcame his pride, and the 
 Constance, famous pcacc of Constaucc established the Lom- 
 ^'^' ' bard republics in real independence. 
 
 By the treaty of Constance the cities were maintained in 
 the enjoyment of all the regalian rights, whether within their 
 walls or in their district, which they could claim by usage. 
 Those of levying war, of erecting fortifications, and of admin- 
 istering civil and criminal justice, were specially mentioned. 
 The nomination of their consuls, or other magistrates, was 
 left absolutely to the citizens ; but they were to receive the 
 
 1 Alessandria was surnamed, in deri- Csesarea, as it is actually called in the 
 
 sion, della paglia, fi^m the thatch with peace of Constance, being at that time 
 
 whicli the houses were covered. Frederic on the imperial side. But it soon recov- 
 
 was very desirous to change its name to ered its former appellation.
 
 Italy. PEACE OF CONSTANCE. 3G3 
 
 investiture of their ollice from an imperial lepite. The eus- 
 toiuarv tributes of provision during tlie emperor's resitlenee 
 in Itaiv were preserved; iind he was autliorized to apj^int in 
 everv eitv a judire of appeal in eivil causes. The Lomliard 
 league was eoulirmed, and the eities were permitted to renew 
 it at their own discretion ; but they were to take every ten 
 years an oath of tidelity to the emperor. This just compact 
 preserved, along witli every security for the liberties and 
 welfare of the cities, as much of the imperial prerogatives as 
 could be exercised by a foreign sovereign consistently with 
 the people's happiness.^ 
 
 The successt'ul insurrection of Lombardy is a memorable 
 refutation of that system of policy to which its advocates give 
 the appellation of vigorous, and which they perpetually hold 
 forth as the only means through which a disatfected people 
 are to be restniined. Bv a certain class of statesmen, and 
 bv all men of harsh and violent disposition, measures of con- 
 ciliation, adherence to the spirit of treaties, regard to ancient 
 privileges, or to those rules of moral justice which are para- 
 mount to all positive right, are always treated with derision. 
 Terror is their only specific ; and the phy.-ical inability to 
 rebtd their oidy security for allegiance. IJut if the razing of 
 cities, the abrogation of i)rivileges, the impoverishment and 
 o]ipression of a nation could assure its constant submission, 
 Frederic liarbarossa would never have seen the militia of 
 Lombardy arrayed against him at Legnano. Whatever may 
 be the pressure upon a conquered people, there will come a 
 moment of their recoil. Nor is it mat<Mial to allege, in 
 aii-wer to the proent in>taiiee, that the accidental destruction 
 of Frederic's army by disease enabled the cities of Lombardy 
 to .succeed in thfir resistiuice. The fact may well be dis- 
 I»uted, since Lombardy, when united, ap|tears to have been 
 more than ecpial to a contest with any German force that 
 could have ber-n brought again.st her; but even if we admit 
 the effect of this circinnstanee, it only exhibits th(^ preca- 
 ri<ju>ness of a policy wliich collateral events are always lialile 
 to disturb. Providence reserves to it.self various means by 
 which the Ixjud- of the oppri'ssor mav be bi'oken ; anil it is 
 not for human sagacity to anticipate whether the army of a 
 coiupieror .-hall moulder in the unwholesome marshes of 
 liome or stiffen with frost in a Russian winter. 
 
 > .Muntori, AntiquitutvH Ibilitc, Din*. 60.
 
 364 AFFAIRS OF SICILY. Chap. III. Pakt I. 
 
 The peace of Constance presented a noble opportunity to 
 the Lombards of estabUshing a permanent federal union of 
 small republics ; a form of government congenial from the 
 earliest ages to Italy, and that, perhaps, under which she is 
 again destined one day to flourish. They were entitled by 
 the provisions of that treaty to preserve their league, the 
 basis of a more perfect confederacy, Avhich the course of 
 events would have emancipated from every kind of subjec- 
 tion to Germany.^ But dark, long-cherished hatreds, and 
 that implacable vindictiveness which, at least in former ages, 
 distinguished the private manners of Italy, deformed her 
 national character, which can only be the aggregate of in- 
 dividual passions. For revenge she threw away the pearl 
 of great price, and sacrificed even the recollection of that 
 liberty which had stalked like a majestic spirit among the 
 ruins of Milan.^ It passed away, that high disdain of abso- 
 lute power, that steadiness and self-devotion, which raised the 
 half-civilized Lombards of the twelfth century to the level of 
 those ancient republics from whose history our first notions 
 of freedom and virtue are derived. The victim by turns of 
 selfish and sanguinary factions, of petty tyrants, and of 
 foreign invaders, Italy has fallen like a star from its place in 
 heaven ; she has seen her harvests trodden down by the 
 horses of the stranger, and the blood of her children wasted 
 in quai'rels not their own : Conquering or conquered, in the 
 indignant language of her poet, still alike a slaved a long 
 retribution for the tyranny of Rome. 
 
 Frederic did not attempt to molest the cities of Lombardy 
 Affairs of '^^^ the enjoyment of those privileges conceded by 
 Sicily. tjie treaty of Constance. His ambition was di- 
 
 verted to a new scheme for ao-Jirandizino; the house of Suabia 
 by the marriage of his eldest son Henry with Constance, the 
 aunt and heiress of Wilham II., king of Sicily. That king- 
 dom, which the first monarch Roger had elevated to a high 
 
 1 Tliougli there was no permanent diet in a federal constitvition. — Muratori, An- 
 
 of the Lombard league, the consuls and tichiti Itahane, t. iii. p. 126; Dissert. 50; 
 
 podestis of the respective cities compos- Sismondi, t. ii. p. 189. 
 
 ing it occasionally met in congress to de- 2 Anzi girar la liberti mirai, 
 
 liberate upon measures of general safety. E baciar lieta ogni ruina, e dire, 
 
 Thus assembled, they were called Recto- Ruine si, ma servitu non mai. 
 
 res Societatis Lombardia). It is evident Gaetana Passerini (ossia ])iutosto 
 
 that, if Lombardy had continued in any Giovan Battista Pastoriiii.) in 
 
 degree to preserve the spirit of union, Mathias, Componimeuti Lirici, 
 
 this congress might readily have become vol. iii. p. 331. 
 
 a permanent body, like the Helvetic diet, s Per servir sempre, o vincitrice o viuta. 
 
 with as extensive powers as are necessary — Filicaja.
 
 Italy. INNOCENT III. 3G5 
 
 pitch ut" ivudwii ami ih)\voi\ fell into decay throutrli the 
 miscoiuhict ut" his sou Williuin, siiniainecl the Bad. and did 
 not recover much of its lustre under the secontl "William, 
 thouirh styled the Good. His death without issue was 
 apparently no remote event ; and Constance was the sole 
 legitimate survivor of tlie royal family. It is a curious cir- 
 cumstance that no hereditary kingdom appears absolutely to 
 have excluded females from its throne, except that wliich 
 from its magnitude was ut" all the most secure from falling 
 into the condition of a province. The Sicihans felt too 
 late the defect of their constitution, which permitted an 
 independent i)eople to be transferred, as the dowry of a 
 woman, to a foreign prince, by whose ministers they might 
 justly expect to be insulted and up])ressed. Henry, whose 
 marriage with Constance took place in 118(5, and who suc- 
 ceeded in her riglit to the throne of Sicily three years after- 
 wards, was exasperated by a courageous but unsuccessful 
 effort of the Norman barons to jireserve the crown for an 
 illegitimate branch of the royal family; and his reign is 
 disgraced by a series of atrocious cruelties. The power of 
 the hou>e of Snabia was now at its zenith on each side of the 
 Alps; Hem-y received the Imperial crown the year after his 
 fatlicr's death in the third crusade, and even prevailed upon 
 the princes of Germany to elect his infant son Frederic as 
 his successor. But his own pninalure decease clouded the 
 prospects of Ids family: Constance survived him l»ut a year; 
 and a child of four years old was left with the inheritance of 
 a kingdom which his father's severity had rendered disaf- 
 fectefl, and which the leaxlers of German mercenaries in his 
 service desolated and disputed. 
 
 During tin.' minority of Frederic II., from 1108 to 121 G, 
 the papal chair was filled by Innocent HI., a name i„„ocent 
 second ciidv, and h.inlly sec(jnd, to that of Gregory '"■ 
 VII. Young, noble, and intrepid, he united witli the accus- 
 tomed spirit of eecle-iastical usurpation, whicli no one had 
 ever carried to so high a jioint, the more worldly ambition of 
 consolidating a separate jirincipality for the Holy See in the 
 Ci.-ntre of Italy. The real or sj)m-ious donations of Constan- 
 tine. Pepin, Charlemagne, and Loiii-;, hail given rise to a 
 p<-rpetual claim, on the jiart of the popes, li> very extensive 
 dominiont ; but little of this had beeu iffectnatid, and in 
 li^jme itself they were thwarted by the prefect, an oHicer
 
 366 BEQUEST OF COUNTESS MATILDA. Chap. III. Pakt I. 
 
 who swore fidelity to the emperor, and by the insubordinate 
 spirit of the people. In the very neighborhood the small 
 cities owned no subjection to the capital, and were probably 
 as much self-governed as those of Lombardy. One is trans- 
 ported back to the earliest times of the republic in reading of 
 the desperate wars between Rome and Tibur or Tusculum ; 
 neither of which was subjugated till the latter part of the 
 twelfth century. At a further distance were the duchy of 
 Spoleto, the march of Ancona, and what had been the ex- 
 archate of Ravenna, to all of which the jiopes had more or 
 less grounded pretensions. Early in the last-mentioned age 
 the famous countess Matilda, to whose zealous protection 
 Gregory VII. had been eminently indebted during his long 
 dispute with the emperor, granted the reversion of all her 
 possessions to the Holy See, first in the lifetime of Gregory, 
 and again under the pontificate of Paschal III. These were 
 very extensive, and held by different titles. Of her vast 
 Be uest of imperial fiefs, Mantua, Modena, and Tuscany, she 
 the countess certainly could not dispose. The duchy of Spoleto 
 latiida. ^^^1 march of Ancona were supposed to rest upon 
 a different footing. I confess myself not distinctly to com- 
 prehend the nature of this part of her succession. These 
 had been formerly among the great fiefs of the kingdom of 
 Italy. But if I understand it rightly, they had tacitly ceased 
 to be subject to the emperors some years before they were 
 seized by Godfrey of Lorraine, father-in-law and step-father 
 of Matilda. To his son, her husband, she succeeded in the 
 possession of those countries. They are commonly consid- 
 ered as her alodial or patrimonial property ; yet it is not easy 
 to see how, being herself a subject of the empire, she could 
 transfer even her alodial estates from its sovereignty. Nor 
 on the other hand can it apparently be maintained that she 
 was lawful sovereign of countries which had not long since 
 been imperial fiefs, and the suzerainty over which had never 
 been renounced. The original title of the Holy See, there- 
 fore, does not seem incontestable even as to this part of Ma- 
 tilda's donation. But I state with hesitation a difficulty to 
 which the authors I have consulted do not advert.^ It is 
 
 1 It is almost hopeless to look for ex- the whole, the fairest of them all, moves 
 
 plicit information upon the rights and cautiously over this grouml; except when 
 
 pretensions of the Roman see iu Italian the claims of Rome happen to clash with 
 
 writers even of the eighteenth century, those of the house of Este. But I have 
 
 Muratori, the most learned, and upon not been able to satisfy myself by the
 
 Italy. ECCLESIASTICAL STATE REDUCED. 307 
 
 certain, however, that the emperors kept possession of the. 
 whole ihiring the twelfth oentnrv, and treated both Spoleto 
 and Aneona as parts of the empire, notwithstanding continnid 
 remonstrances from the Homan jtontitis. Frederic Barlia- 
 rossa, at tlie negotiations of Venice in 1177, promised to 
 restore the patrimony of Matilda in tifteen years ; but at the 
 close of tliat period Ileiu-y VI. was not disposed to execute 
 this arrangenniit. ami granted the county in lief to some of 
 his German followers. I'pon his death the circumstances 
 were favorable to Innocent III. The infant king of Sicily 
 had been intrusted by Constance to his guardianship. A 
 double (dection of Pliilij). brother of Ilein-y VI., and of 
 Otho duke of Brunswick, engaged the princes of Germany, 
 who had entirely overlookecl tlie claims of young Frederic, 
 in a doubtful civil war. Neither party was in a condition to 
 enter Italv ; and the inijierial dignity wivs vacant for several 
 years, till, the death of Pliilip removing one competitor, Otho 
 IV.. whom the j)ope had constantly favored, was crowned 
 emperor. During this interval the Italians had no superior ; 
 and Innocent availed himstdf of it to maintain the pretensions 
 of the see. These he backed Ity the produetion of rather a 
 questionable document, the will of Ilemy VI., said to have 
 been found among the baggage of Marquard, one of the 
 German soldiers who had been invested with fiefs by the 
 late emperor. The cities of what we now call the Ecciesiusti- 
 ecclesi;L>tic:il state had in the tweltlh century their fni stato ro- 
 own nnniicipal govennnent like those of Lombardy ; innocent 
 but tlwv were far less able to assert a complete in- ^'^• 
 depen<leiiee. They gladly, therefore, put themstdves under 
 the protection of the Holy See, which held out some prospect 
 of securing tln-m from ^^a^lMard an<l other rapacious parti- 
 sans, without di.-turliing their internal regidations. Thus the 
 duchy of Spoleto and march of Aneona submitted to Innocent 
 III.; but lie wa.s not strong enough to keep constant posses- 
 sion of su<h extensive territories, and some years afterwards 
 a<h>pt«-d th<- prudent course of granting Ancdua in tief to the 
 nianpiis of Este. He did not, as may be supposed, neglect 
 lii' authoritv at home; the prefect of Rome wa< now com- 
 JK-dled to ^v^'•.•^|• :dli'_'iatic<' to the pope, which put .111 cud to 
 
 p«-r ' I- leiiriiliiif (warrcly iiifiTinr In tliiit nf Mu- 
 
 ti<< II- nituri, iKiftfX-KFi-il iiHiri' ii|i|iortuiilty unU 
 
 do 1 lift ii iiMa>, I ir I. Mill, uitli lui'Uiiutiuii tu aiiviik uut.
 
 368 LEAGUE OF TUSCANY. Chap. III. Part I. 
 
 the regular imperial supremacy over that city, and the privi- 
 leges of the citizens were abridged. This is the proper era 
 of* that temporal sovereignty which the bishops of Rome 
 possess over their own city, though still prevented by various 
 causes, for nearly three centuries, from becoming unques- 
 tioned and unlimited. 
 
 The policy of Rome was now more clearly defined than 
 ever. In order to preserve what she had thus suddenly 
 gained rather by opportunity than strength, it was her interest 
 to enfeeble the imperial power, and consequently to maintain 
 League of the freedom of the Italian republics. Tuscany 
 Tuscany. J^.^^| hitherto been ruled by a marquis of the em- 
 peror's appointment, though her cities were flourishing, and, 
 within themselves, independent. In imitation of the Lom- 
 bard confederacy, and impelled by Innocent III., they now 
 (with the exception of Pisa, which was always strongly 
 attached to the empire) formed a similar league for the 
 preservation of their rights. In this league the influence 
 of the pope was far more strongly manifested than in that 
 of Lombardy. Although the latter had been in alliance 
 with Alexander III., and was formed during the height of 
 his dispute with Frederic, this ecclesiastical quarrel mingled 
 so little in their struggle for liberty that no allusion to it is 
 found in the act of their confederacy. But the Tuscan union 
 was expressly established " for the honor and aggrandizement 
 of the apostolic see." The members bound themselves to 
 defend the possessions and rights of the church, and not to 
 acknowledge any king or emperor without the approbation 
 of the supreme pontiff.^ The Tuscans accordingly were 
 more thoroughly attached to the church party than the Lom- 
 bards, whose principle was animosity towards the house of 
 Suabia. Hence, when Innocent IIL, some time after, sup- 
 ported Frederic II. against the emperor Otho IV., the Mi- 
 lanese and their allies were arranged on the imperial side ; 
 but the Tuscans continued to adhere to the pope. 
 
 In the wars of Frederic Barbarossa against Milan and 
 
 Factions of ^^^ aHics, we have seen the cities of Lombardy 
 
 Gueifs and divided, and a considerable number of them firmly 
 
 attached to the imperial interest. It does not ap- 
 
 1 Quod possessioncs ct jura sacrosanctiB perent, nisi quem Romanus pontifex ap- 
 ecclesia; bona fide dcfeiiileront; et quod probiiret. Muratori, Dissert. 48. (Latin, 
 nullum in regem aut iinperatorom reel- t. iv. p. 320; Italian, t. iii. p. 112.)
 
 Italy. GUELFS AND GIIIBELIXS. 369 
 
 pear. I believe, from history, tliough it is by no means im- 
 probable, that the citizens were at so early a time divided 
 amonir themselves, as to their line of public poliey, and that 
 the adhi-renee of a particular eity to the emperor, or to the 
 Lombard leajjue, was only, as proved afterwards the case, 
 that one faction or another acquired an ascendancy in its 
 councils. l)Ut ji'alou<ies lonj; exi-tinir between th<> ditf'crent 
 cLisses, and onlv su-iK'nded bv tlie national stniiiirlc which 
 terminated at Constance, gave rise to new modifications of in- 
 terests, an<l new relations towards the empire. About the 
 year 12<>(). or perliaps a little later, the two leading parties 
 which divided the cities of LomI)ardy, and whose mutual ani- 
 mosity, having no general sul)ject of contention, required the 
 a.sso<'iation of a nanie to direct as well as invigorate its preju- 
 dices, became distinguished by the celebrated appellations of 
 Guelfs and Ghibelins ; the former a^lhering to the papal side, 
 the latter to that of the emperor. These names were derived 
 from Germany, and had l)een the rallying word of faction for 
 more than half a century in that country before they were 
 transported to a still more favoralde soil. The Guelfs took 
 their name from a very illustrious family, several of whom 
 had successively been dukes of Bavaria in the tenth and 
 eleventh centuries. The heiress of tlu.' last of these inter- 
 married with a younger s(in of the house of Este, a noble 
 family settled near Padua, and possessed of great estates on 
 each !)ank of tlie lower Po. They gave birth to a second 
 line of Guelfs. from whom the royal house of Brunswick is 
 des<-ended. The name of (ihibelin is derived from a villajre 
 in Franconia, whence Conrad the Salic came, the progenitor, 
 through females, of the Suabian emperors. At the election 
 of Lotliaire in 112."». the Sua1)ian f unily were disappointed 
 of wliat tliey considered almost an hereditary possession ; and 
 at this time an hostility appears to have commenced between 
 them and tin- luju-e of Giielf who were nearly related to Lo- 
 tliaire. Henry the Proml, and his son Henry the Lion, rej)- 
 resentiitives of the latter lamily, were fref|uently persecuted 
 by the Sii.-iliian emperors ; but their fortunes belong to the 
 hi-tory of (ienn:iny.* Mr-anwiiile the elder branch, though 
 not reserv«;d for such glorious destinies as the Guells, contin- 
 
 1 Ttm Oprinan oriiriti of thorn n.'\e- innttnn tninHfcrred to Itiily. Stniviim, 
 bmt*-"! brllnna la mivi-.I liy a ('or|iUi< IIM. lienniiu. p. '-i'S, ainl .Muru- 
 
 p«Mnf(v in Oth". •■; wlin llvi-.l t/)ri, a.d. IIW. 
 
 half » coiitury licifui. ^. „,..i tlie •Iciioiu- 
 
 Vol,. I. 24
 
 370 OTHO IV. CHAr. III. Part I. 
 
 ued to flourish in Italy ; the mai'quises of Este were by far 
 the most powerful nobles in eastern Lombardy, and about the 
 end of the twelfth century began to be considered as the 
 heads of the church party in their neighborhood. They were 
 frequently chosen to the office of jDodesta, or chief magistrate, 
 by the cities of Romagna ; and in 1208 the people of Fer- 
 rara set the fatal example of sacrificing their freedom for 
 tranquillity, by electing Azzo VII., marquis of Este, as their 
 lord or sovereign.^ 
 
 Otho IV. was son of Henry the Lion, and consequently 
 head of the Guelfs. On his obtaining the imperial 
 crown, the prejudices of Italian factions were di- 
 verted out of their usual channel. He was soon enrao-ed in 
 a quarrel with the pope, whose hostility to tlie empire was 
 certain, into whatever hands it might fall. In Milan, how- 
 ever, and generally in the cities which had belonged to the 
 Lombard league against Frederic I., hatred of the house of 
 Suabia prevailed more than jealousy of the imperial prerog- 
 atives ; they adhered to names rather than to principles, and 
 supported a Guelf emperor even against the pope. Terms 
 of this description, having no definite relation to principles 
 which it might be troublesome to learn and defend, are al- 
 ways acceptable to mankind, and have the peculiar advantage 
 of precluding altogether that spirit of compromise and ac- 
 commodation, by which it is sometimes endeavored to ob- 
 struct their tendency to hate and injure each other. From 
 this time, every city, and almost every citizen, gloried in one 
 of these barbarous denominations. In several cities the im- 
 perial party predominated through hatred of their neighbors, 
 who espoused that of the church. Thus the inveterate feuds 
 between Pisa and Florence, Modena and Bologna, Cremona 
 and Milan, threw them into opposite factions. But there 
 was in every one of these a strong party against that which 
 prevailed, and consequently a Guelf city frequently became 
 Ghibelin, or conversely, according to the fluctuations of the 
 time.^ 
 
 1 Sismondi, t. ii. p. 329. nulla si opero sotto nome o pretesto dclle 
 
 - For the Guelf and Ghibelin factions, fazioni suddette. Solamente ritounoro 
 
 besides the historiaos, the 51st disserta- esse piede in alcume private famiglie. 
 
 tion of Muratori sliould be read. There Antichiti Italiane. t. iii. p. 148. But 
 
 is some degree of inaccuracy in iiis Ian- certainly the names of Guelf and Ghibe- 
 
 guage, where he speaks of these distrac- lin, as party distinctions, may be traced 
 
 tions expiring at the beginning of the all through the fifteenth century. The 
 
 fifteenth century. Quel secolo, e vero, former faction showed it.self distinctly in 
 
 abbondo anch' esso di molte guerre, ma the insurrection of the cities subject to
 
 Italy. FREDERIC II. 371 
 
 The change to which we have adverted in the politics of 
 the Giieh" party hi.<ted only during the reign of 
 Otho I\'. \Vlien the heir of tlie house of Sualiia 
 grew u[> to nianliood, Iiuiocent, who, thougli iiis guardian, 
 had tidcen little care of liis interests, a.s long as he liatiered 
 himself with the liope of finding a Guelf emperor oix-dicnt, 
 placed the young Frederic at the head of an o[)posiiion. com- 
 poscil of citifs always attaciied to his family, and of such as 
 implicitly followed the see of Rome. lie met with considei'- 
 ahle success lioth in Italy and Germany, and after the death 
 of Otho, received the imperial crown. But he had no longer 
 to expect any assistance from the })Ope who conferred it. In- 
 nocent was dead, and IIonoriu.s III., his successor, could not 
 behold without apprehension the va-t power of Frederic, sup- 
 ported in Loinl)ardy by a faction wiiicli balanced that of the 
 church, and menacing the ecclesiastical territories on the oth- 
 er side, by the possession of Naph-s and Sicily. This kin'»- 
 dom, feu(hitory to Rome, and long her firmest allv, was now, 
 by a fatal connection which she had not been able to {)revent, 
 thi-own into the scale of her most dangerous enemy. Hence 
 the temporal dominion which Innocent III. had taken so 
 much pains to establisii, became a very precarious possession, 
 exposed on each side to the attacks of a power that had legit- 
 imate pretensions to almost every province composing it. 
 The life of Frederic II. was wasted in an unceasing conten- 
 tion with the church, and with his Italian subjects, wliom she 
 excited to rebellions against him. Without inveighing, like 
 the popish writers, against this prince, certaiidy an encour- 
 ager of letters, and endowed with many eminent (pialities, 
 we may lay to his charge a good deal of dissimulation ; I will 
 not ad<l ambition. bccau>e I am not aware of anv jieriod in 
 the reign of Frederic, when lie wa.s not obliged to act on his 
 defence against the aggression of others. But if he had been 
 a model of virtue-, <ui-h men as IIon(»rius III., Gregorv IX., 
 and Innocent I\'„ the popes with whom he had successivelv 
 
 *'•' ••"n thra«ith of Oinn (iainazzo .SU-fiino Infi-SHurn, iu 14M7. speaks faniil- 
 
 1 H"^*. Ii npi.-irrl iiifiiin in iurlv of thciii. Si-ript. Kit. Itiil. t. iii. 
 
 il>t ..f tlir Miliiii.-M- t. r,. -t ,1.. p. 1221. And ovfii in the r-oiii|Ucs( of 
 
 iiiih ilK-ir repuhllc in U-j;. MiUn l.y Ixmis XII. in irjiMI. Hi.' (iiii-lfs 
 
 t. Ix )• .'fil H<i in 1477. I.U'I' . i of tliut i-itv iiri' rcpn-si'iitril iiK iitf.-u-lifil 
 
 m»<|p Htv of <ilil)M-lin pn-ju<lii.-« u. ex- to tin- Kn-ficli |>iirtv. wiiiir the OliilH-linii 
 
 rlu.lr ihr re«iMii Konnc >>( .Suvov aji a al>i-tt<'<l I,ui|ovii-o Sfonui iind .\Iii.\iniilliiii. 
 
 '' ' "II. < xl 1> 7i*. In the Guiroiiirdini, p. .'fit'.). Oflii-r p:i<«iK'<'s in 
 
 ■lie tlu- •iiniH illHtini-tionH tin- Hiini« lii»toriHti hIiow thi-.i)' fiu'llonK to 
 
 .., ,- .. . . ., ... Imimi pr<-Mrvf<i ttill later. Imvu liccii alive in various parts of Italy.
 
 372 FREDERICK II. Chap. III. Part I. 
 
 to contend, would not have given him respite, while he re- 
 mained master of Naples, as well as the empire.-^ 
 
 It was the custom of every pope to urge princes into a 
 crusade, which the condition of Palestine rendered indispen- 
 sable, or, more properly, desperate. But this great piece of 
 supererogatory devotion had never yet been raised into an 
 absolute duty of their station, nor had even private persons 
 been ever required to take up the cross by compulsion. Hono- 
 rius III., however, exacted a vow from Frederic, before he con- 
 ferred upon him the imperial crown, that he would undertake 
 a crusade for the deliverance of Jerusalem. Frederic sub- 
 mitted to this engagement, which perhaps he never designed 
 to keep, and certainly endeavored afterwards to evade. 
 Tiiough he became by marriage nominal king of Jerusalem,^ 
 his excellent understanding was not captivated with so barren 
 a prospect, and at length his delays in the performance of his 
 vow provoked Gregory IX. to issue against him a sentence 
 of excommunication. Such a thunderbolt was not to be 
 lightly regarded ; and Frederic sailed, the next year, for Pal- 
 estine. But having disdained to solicit absolution for what 
 he considered as no crime, the court of Rome w^as excited to 
 still fiercer indignation against this profanation of a crusade 
 by an excommunicated sovereign. Upon his arrival in Pal- 
 estine, he received intelligence that the papal troops had 
 broken mto the kingdom of Naples. No one could ration- 
 
 1 The rancor of bigoted Catholics terandheiressof Isabella, wife of Conrad, 
 agaiust Frederic has hardly subsided at marquis of Montferrat. This Isabella 
 the present day. A very moderate com- was the youngest daughter of Almaric 
 mendation of him in Tiraboschi, vol. iv. or Amaury, king of Jerusalem, and by 
 t. 7, was not suffered to pass uncontra- the deaths of her brother Baldwin IV., 
 dieted by the Roman editor. And though of her eldest sister Sibilki, wife of Guy de 
 Muratori shows quite enough prejudice Lusignan. and that sister's child Bald- 
 against that emperor's character, a fierce win V., succeeded to a claim upon Jeru- 
 Roman bigot, whose animadversions are salem, which, since the victories of 
 printed in the 17th volume of his Annals Saladin, was not very profitable. It is 
 (8vo. edition), flies into paroxysms of fury said that the kings of Naples deduce 
 at everj' syllable tiiat looks like modera- their title to that sounding inheritance 
 tion. It is well known that, although from this marriage of Frederic (Gian- 
 the public policy of Rome has long dis- none, 1. xvi. c. 2); but the extinction of 
 played the pacific temper of weakness, Frederic's posterity must have, strictly 
 the thermometer of eccle.siastical senti- speaking, put an end to any right derived 
 ment in that city stands very nearly as from him ; and Giannone himself indi- 
 high as in the thirteenth century [1810]. cates a better title by the cession of 
 Giannone, who suffered for his boldness, Maria, a princess of Antioch, and legiti- 
 has drawn Frederic II. very favorably, mate heiress of Jerusalem, to Charles of 
 perhaps too favorably, in the 16th and Anjou in 1272. How far, indeed, this 
 J 7th books of the Istoria Civile di Napoli. may have been regularly transmitted to 
 
 2 The second wife of Frederic was the present king of Naples, I do not 
 lolante, or Violante. daughter of .Fohn, know, and am sure that it is not worth 
 count of Brienue, by Maria, eldest daugh- while to inquire.
 
 Italy. HIS AVARS AVITII THE LOMBARDS. 373 
 
 ally have Mametl Frc<loric'. if he hatl quitted the Holy Land 
 a< he tonnd it ; but he made a treaty with the Sa^aeen^;, 
 which, tlioiijrh bv no means .<o (Usadvantajreous as under all 
 the eirenmstances miLrht have been expected, served as a pre- 
 text for new calumnies airainst him in Europe. The charire 
 of irreligion, eagt-rly and successfully propagated, he rejxdlcd 
 bv jiersecuting edicts ajrainst heresy, that do no great honor 
 to hi< inemorv. and availed him little at the time. Over his 
 Nea|K>litan dominions he exercised a rigorous government, 
 rendered ])erhaps necessary by the levity and insubordination 
 characteristic of the inhabitants, but which tended, through 
 the artt'ul re])re>entations of Ilonorius and Gregory, to alarm 
 and alienate the Italian rc|)ulilics. 
 
 A new generation had risen up in Lombardy since the 
 peace of Constance, and the prerogatives reserved ,jj^ „.,,„ 
 by that treaty to the empire were so seldom called »ith Uie 
 
 i,» .. T 1^ 1 Lombards. 
 
 into action, tliat lew cities were disposed to recol- 
 lect their existence. They denominated themselves Giielfs or 
 Ghibelin<. according to habit, and out of their mutual oppo- 
 sition, but without much reference to the empire. Those how- 
 ever of the former jjarty, and especially Milan, retained their 
 antipathv to the iiouse of Suabia. Though Frederic II. was 
 entitled, as far a< e-tabli-lied usage can create a rigiit, to the 
 sovereignty of Italy, the INIilanese would never acknowledge 
 him. nor permit his coronation at ^lon/a, according t(j ancient 
 ceremony, with the iron crown of the Lombard kings. The 
 pope fomented, to the utmo-;t of liis power, tiiis disaffected 
 .spirit, and encouraged the I>«jmbard cities to renew their for- 
 mer li-ague. This, although coiiformal)le to a provision in 
 the treaty of Con-tance, was maiiife>tly hostile to Freileric, 
 and raav be considi'red as the commencement of a second 
 content between tin- repuliiicaii cities of Lombardy and thi' 
 empire. Hut tliere w;i.s a >triking dirt'erence between this and 
 th«,' former confederacy against Frederic Barbarossa. In the 
 league of 1107, almost every city, forgetting all smaller ani- 
 mosities in tile great cause of defending tiie national pri\ i- 
 legf'S efuitriltuted its share of exertion to sustain tiiat perilous 
 conflict ; aiitl this transient unanimity in a [>eople so distracted 
 bv internal faction as tlie I^oniliards is the surest witness to 
 the ju-li<-e of tlu'ir undertaking. Sixty y<'ars af'teiwards, 
 their war against the second Frederic had less of provocation 
 and le-s of public spirit. It wa< in fact a party struggle of
 
 374 AKRANGEMENT OF Chap. III. Part. I. 
 
 Giielf and Ghibelin cities, to wliich the names of the cliurch 
 and the em^iire gave more of dignity and consistence. 
 
 The republics of Italy in the thirteenth century were so 
 
 numerous and independent, and their revolutions so 
 
 me^t°of" frequent, that it is a ditiicult matter to avoid con- 
 
 Lombard fusion in following their history. It will give 
 
 cities. ° . . •> o ' ^ 
 
 more arrangement to our ideas, and at the same 
 time illustrate the changes that took place in these little 
 states, if we consider them as divided into four clusters or 
 constellations, not indeed unconnected one with another, yet 
 each having its own centre of motion and its own boundaries. 
 The tirst of these we may suppose formed of the cities in 
 central Lombardy, between the Sessia and the Adige, the 
 Alps and the Ligurian mountains ; it comprehends Milan, 
 Cremona, Pavia, Brescia, Bergamo, Parma, Piacenza, JVIan- 
 tua, Lodi, Alessandria, and several others less distinguished. 
 These were the original seats of Italian hberty, the great 
 movers in the wars of the elder Frederic. Milan was at the 
 head of this cluster of cities, and her influence gave an ascen- 
 dency to the Guelf party ; she had, since the treaty of Con- 
 stance, rendered Lodi and Pavia almost her subjects, and was 
 in strict union with Brescia and Piacenza. Parma, howevei", 
 and Cremona, were unshaken defenders of the empire. In 
 the second class we may place the cities of the march of Ve- 
 rona, between the Adige and the frontiers of Germany. Of 
 these there were but four worth mentioning : Verona, Vicenza, 
 Padua and Treviso. The citizens of all the four were in- 
 clined to the Guelf interests ; but a powerful body of rui\al 
 nobility, who had never been compelled, like those upon the 
 Upper Po, to quit their fortresses in the hilly country, or 
 reside within the walls, attached themselves to the opposite 
 denomination.^ Some of them obtained very great authority 
 in the civil feuds of these four republics ; and especially two 
 brothers, Eccelin and Alberic da Romano, of a rich and dis- 
 tinguished family, known for its devotion to the empire. By 
 extraordinary vigor and decision of character, by dissimula- 
 tion and breach of oaths, by the intimidating effects of almost 
 unparalleled cruelty, Eccelin da Romano became after some 
 years the absolute master of three cities, Padua, Verona, 
 and Vicenza; and the Guelf party, in consequence, Avas 
 
 1 Sismondi, t. ii. p. 222.
 
 Italv. 
 
 LOMBARD CITIES. 
 
 375 
 
 cntiivlv siil)Vortt.'tl hevond the Adiiio. (lurinfr the continuance 
 of his tyraiuiy.^ Anotlu-r chister was voinposcd of the cities 
 in Roniajrna ; Bologna, Iniohi, Faonza, Ferrara, and several 
 others. Of tliese, Holojrna was far the most powerful, and, 
 as no city was more steailily for the interests of the church, 
 the Gnelfs usually predominated in this class ; to which also 
 the influence of tlie house of Este not a little contrihuted. 
 Modena, though not geographically within the limits of this 
 division, may be classed along with it liom her constant wars 
 witli liologmu A fourth class will comprehend the whole 
 of Tuscany, separated almost entirely from the ])olitics of 
 Lomliardy and Komagna. Florence headed the Guelf cities 
 in this pi-ovince, Pisa the Ghihelin. The Tuscan union was 
 form('(l, as has been said above, by Iimocent III., and was 
 strongly inclined to the popes ; but gradually the Ghibehn 
 party ac(piired its share of intluence ; and the cities of Siena, 
 Arezzo, and Lucca shifted their policy, according to external 
 circumstances or the fluctuations of their internal factions. 
 Tile petty cities in the region of Spuleto and Ancona hardly 
 perhaps deserve the name of republics ; and Genoa does not 
 reaililv fall into any of our four classes, unless her wars with 
 Pisa may be thought to coimect her with Tuscany.- 
 
 After several years of transient hostility and precarious 
 truce, the Guelf cities of Lombardy engaged in a regular 
 and ])rotracted war with Frederic II., or more pro])erly with 
 their ( ihilielin adver>aries. Few events of this contest de- 
 6er\'e particular notice. Neither party ever obtained such 
 decijiive advantages as had alternately belonged to Frederic 
 
 ' The crupltled of Eroelin excited unl- 
 Tenul hniT»r in nii ni^- when inhutnniitty 
 townrlii cm-iiiii-.i wim ilh roniiiiuii an fenr 
 anil T^■\ V.I' it. It wiiH an 
 
 Uiiunl • :ill over lUilv. to 
 
 pn'Icn.l : . ...1 U-cn ilfpriv!.-! of 
 
 thi-lr e\ei< or liinlw l)y tin- Vcnmi-ix! 
 tynnt. Tlii-m ia hnnlly an in'tanre in 
 y,UT"\)ti\n iii«t'iry of w) miiiruinary a 
 
 (fo»«'rttfn^«it 
 
 r» 
 u 
 
 cr- 
 of 
 of 
 
 (iiaii aii> •'( 
 > I liarp t 
 Id Ihla Jirloi 
 
 KultaiKtini; for nior<- tlinn 
 
 Tin- rriinf" of FVo'lin are 
 
 wi-ll Kutli<'iiiirati-<l liy tlio 
 
 - ' - rv writ- 
 Mont 
 .: J volume 
 
 ITtlUl. Slll- 
 
 _ . la inort- full 
 
 llrr. fif Piftlmont 
 
 llK- hUtory of that 
 
 country seems to be less elucidated by 
 ancipnt or modern writers thiin that of 
 otlier parts of Italy. It was at this time 
 'liridcd iM'twctMi the counts of Savoy 
 and mariiui.sfs of Montfrrrat. But Asti, 
 Cliieri. and Turin, especially the two 
 former, appear to have had a repuliliean 
 fonn of noTernment. They were, how- 
 ever, not absolutely independent. The 
 only l*iedmont<'.s« city that can iirojM-rly 
 he conniclered nn a sepanite state, in tlio 
 thirteenth century, was Vercelli ; and 
 even there the liishop siienis to have 
 piiMK<-iiiief| a sort of temporal si>ven-i;fnty . 
 I)<-nina.author of the Kivuln/iMni il'ltvilia, 
 first printed in ITli'.l, lived to piihllsh in 
 his o|.| a|{e a history of western Italy, or 
 
 Piedmont, from wlileh I Imve iflea I a 
 
 few fact*. — Istoriaileir Italia Oceideiitalc; 
 Torino. IKOlt, f) volii. 8vo.
 
 376 LOMBARD CITIES. Chap. III. Part I. 
 
 Barbarossa and the Lombard confederacy, during the war of 
 the preceding century. A defeat of the Milanese by the 
 emperor, at Corte Nuova, in 1237, was balanced by his 
 unsuccessful siege at Brescia the next year. The Pisans 
 assisted Frederic to gain a great naval victory over the 
 Genoese fleet, in 1241; but he was obliged to rise from the 
 blockade of Parma, which had left the standard of Ghibelin- 
 ism, in 1248. Ultimately, however, the strength of the 
 house of Suabia was exhausted by so tedious a struggle ; the 
 Ghibelins of Italy had their vicissitudes of success ; but their 
 country, and even themselves, lost more and more of the 
 ancient connection with Germany. 
 
 In this resistance to Frederic 11. the Lombards were much 
 indebted to the constant support of Gregory IX. and his 
 successor Innocent IV. ; and the Guelf, or the church party, 
 were used as synonymous terms. These pontiffs bore an 
 unquenchable hatred to the house of Suabia. No concessions 
 mitigated their animosity ; no reconciliation was sincere. 
 Whatever faults may be imputed to Frederic, it is impossible 
 for any one, not blindly devoted to the court of Rome, to 
 deny that he was iniquitously proscribed by her unprincipled 
 ambition. His real crime was the inheritance of his ances- 
 tors, and the name of the house of Suabia. In 1239 he 
 was excommunicated by Gregory IX. To this he was tol- 
 erably accustomed by former experience ; but the sentence 
 was attended by an absolution of his subjects from their 
 allegiance, and a formal deposition. These sentences were 
 not very effective upon men of vigorous minds, or upon those 
 whose passions were engaged in their cause ; but they influ- 
 enced both those who feared the threatenings of the clergy 
 and those who wavered already as to their line of political 
 conduct. In the fluctuating state of Lombardy the excom- 
 munication of Frederic undermined his interests even in 
 cities like Parma, that had been friendly, and seemed to 
 identify the cause of his enemies with that of religion — a 
 prejudice artfully fomented by means of calumnies propagated 
 against himself, and which the conduct of such leading 
 Ghibelins as Eccelin, who lived in an open defiance of God 
 and man, did not contribute to lessen. In 1240, Gregory 
 proceeded to publish a crusade against Frederic, as if he had 
 been an open enemy to religion ; which he revenged by 
 putting to death all the prisoners he made who wore the
 
 Italy. CODNX'IL Ul- LYONS. 377 
 
 cross. There wa.s one thiiifr wantiiiLT to make tlie exinilsion 
 of the emperor from the Christian eommonweahh mure cum- 
 plete. Gregory IX. accordingly projected, and Innocent IV 
 carried into effect, the convocation of a general council. 
 Thi< was held at Lyon.s, an imperial city, but over c^,„npii ^f 
 whicii Freileric could no longer retain his suprem- ''•>""*•. 
 acy. In this assembly, where one hundred and • • - • 
 forty prelates apiu-ared'. the (piestion whether Frederic ought 
 to be dei>osed was soiennd}" discussed ; he submitted to de- 
 fend himself by his advocates: and the pope in the presence, 
 though without formally collecting the suffrages of the council, 
 pronounced a sentence, by which Frederic's excommunica- 
 tion was ren(>wed. the empire and all his kingdoms taken 
 away, and his subjects absolved Irom their fidelity. This is 
 the most j>oin[)ous act of usurpation in all the records of the 
 church of Kome; and the tacit ajtiiroliration of a general 
 council seemed to incorporate the pretended right of deposing 
 kings, which might have pjissed as a mad vaunt of Ciregory 
 VII. and his successors, with the estaltlished I'aith of Chris- 
 tendom. 
 
 U|K)n tlie death of Frederic II. in 12rjO. he left to his son 
 Conrad a content to maintain for every part of his inheritance, 
 as well as for the imiicrial crown. IJut the vigor 
 
 -, , , i> o 1 • n 1 Conrad IV. 
 
 of the house ot buabia was gone ; Conratl was re- 
 duee<l to fight for the king(h)m of Naples, the only succession 
 which he could hope to secure against the troops of Innocent 
 IV., who still pursueil his family witli implacable hatred, and 
 claimed that kingdom jts forfeited to its feudal superior, the 
 IIolv Si'e, Al'li-r Conrad's premature death, which happen- 
 ed in 12.>1, the throne was filled by his illegitimate brother 
 Manfred, who retained it by his bravery and address, in de- 
 .spite of the popes, till they were compelled to Call in the 
 assistance of a more powerful arm. 
 
 The death of Conrad brings to a termination that period 
 in Italian hi>tory which we have described as nearly coex- 
 tensive with the greatness of the house of Sual»ia. It is 
 p<;rhaps u|K)n the whole the most honorable to Italv ; thai in 
 wliich she disphiyed the most of national energy and patriot- 
 ism. A Florentine or Venetian may dwell with pleasure 
 upon later time», but a Lomliard will east bark his eye across 
 the de-ert of centuries, till it rep(»ses on the Held <tf Legnano. 
 Great changes followe<l in the foreign and internal iiolicy, in
 
 378 CAUSES OF SUCCESS OF LOMBARDY. Chap. III. Part I. 
 
 the moral and military character of Italy. But before we de- 
 scend to the next period, it will be necessary to remark some 
 material circumstances in that which has just passed under 
 our review. 
 
 The successful resistance of the Lombard cities to such 
 Causes of the pi"i»ces as botli the Frederics must astonish a 
 success of reader who brings to the story of these middle 
 Lombardy. notions derived from modern times. But 
 
 when we consider not only the ineffectual control which 
 could be exerted over a feudal army, bound only to a short 
 term of service, and reluctantly kept in the field at its own 
 cost, but the peculiar distrust and disaffection with which 
 many German princes regarded the house of Suabia, less 
 reason will appear for surprise. Nor did the kingdom of 
 Naples, almost always in agitation, yield any material aid to 
 the second Fredei*ic. The main cause, however, of that 
 triumph which attended Lombardy was the intrinsic energy 
 of a free government. From the eleventh century, when the 
 cities became virtually republican, they put out those vigor- 
 ous shoots which are the growth of freedom alone. Their 
 domestic feuds, their mutual wars, the fierce assaults of their 
 national enemies, checked not their strength, their wealth, or 
 their population ; but rather as the limbs are nerved by 
 labor and hardship, the republics of Italy grew in vigor and 
 courage through the conflicts they sustained. If we but re- 
 member what savage license prevailed during the ages that 
 preceded their rise, the rapine of public robbers, or of feudal 
 nobles little differing from robbers, the contempt of industri- 
 ous arts, the inadequacy of penal laws and the impossibility 
 of carrying them into effect, we shall form some notion of 
 the change which was wrought in the condition of Italy by 
 the growth of its cities. In comparison with the blessings 
 of industry protected, injustice controlled, emulation awak- 
 ened, the disorders which ruffled their surface appear slight 
 and momentary. I speak only of this first stage of their in- 
 dependence, and chiefly of the twelfth century, before those 
 civil dissensions had reached their height, by which the glory 
 and prosperity of Lombardy were soon to be subverted. 
 
 We have few authentic testimonies as to the domestic im- 
 provement of the free Italian cities, while they still deserve 
 the name. But we may perceive by history that their power 
 and population, according to their extent of territory, were
 
 Italy. LOMBAUD CITIES. o7l) 
 
 alino>t incredible. In Galvaneus Flanima, a ^Milanese 
 writer, we liiul a eurious statistieal account of that city in 
 12.S.S, wliicli. though of a date al)out thirty years after its 
 liberties liad been overthrown by usuritation. must l)e con- 
 sidered as iinplyinjr a hitih degree of previous adxanci nicnt, 
 even if we nialce allowance, a.s j>robably we shoukl, for some 
 exaggeration. Tiie inhabitant.-* are reckoned at 200,000 ; the 
 private houses 13.000 ; the nol)ility alone dweh in sixty 
 streets; S,U00 gentlemen or heavy cavalry (milites) might 
 be nui-t«'red from the city and its district, and 240,000 men 
 capable of arms : a force suflicient, the writer observes, to 
 erush all the Saracens. There wore in Mihui six hundred 
 notaries, two hundred physicians, eiglity sciioolmasler.-;, and 
 fiftv transcribers of manuscripts. In the district were one 
 hundred and tifty castles with adjoining villages. Such was 
 the state of Milan, Flamma concludes, in 1288 ; it is not for 
 me to sav whether it lias gained or lost ground since that 
 time.^ At iliis period tlie territory of Milan was not per- 
 haps mun- extensive than the county of Sin-rey ; it was 
 bounded at a little distance, on almost every side, by Lodi, 
 or Pavia, or Bergamo, or Como. It is possible, however, 
 that Klanuna may have meant to include some of the.se as 
 dependencies of Milan, though not strictly united with it. 
 How tl<juri.«hing must the state of cultivation have been in 
 sucli a coimtry, which not only drew no supplies from any 
 foreign land, but exported ])art of her own produce! It was 
 in the liest agi' of their liberties, inunediately after the battle 
 of Legnano, that the 3Iilane.se commenced the great canal 
 whi<h conducts the waters of the Tesino to their capital, a 
 work very extraonlinary for tiiat time. During the same 
 period the cities gave proofs of internal prosperity that in 
 m;uiv in-tances have descended to our own observation in 
 the .soliditv and nuignificenee of their architecture. Eccle- 
 siastical structures were |)erhaps more splendid in France 
 an<l Knghmd ; but neither country could pretend to match 
 
 I MurmUiri. .Script. Hrrum ItAllo. t. xl. work to the jimiseB of A/.zo. assprti 
 
 T' - ' ' ^' V IU.PII1 to thiTfln, that he IukI Rn-iitly iiiiprovfa 
 
 i ■•■•I III liln till' hciiiitv mill coiivciiiciice of tin- city ; 
 
 r Vft an tlioiiKli Un-wiii. Crcmoiiii. hikI other 
 
 .•n contiiiuailv BilvanrinK in plnccK tmil diM-linifil. A/JiritiK. too, n writiT 
 
 ; hnl it»t vrt cxiMTiriirfil miy of thi' Kniiic hk'"'. Iimkcfi n similar p')iri'- 
 
 t >i. I miiiiot hiiRi.'iiiP wiiUitioii. .Script. Iter. Hal. t. .ivl. \>\>. 
 
 • aj- : nn.l the mill" 314. .')I7. Of Lii.hiiio Vi»(oiiti lir mm*.^ : 
 
 i Ml. »ii.. i. !i .-n-nt Hntttrrvr of till- Stntiiin Miiiiioliiiii n-iiiti-tfravit in taiitiiiii, 
 
 \ 1 ml, BtKl hoji .IcIirnUnJ a particular ijuo.! iioii rlvlux. b.-J provliiclu viJi-lwitur.
 
 380 LOMBAKD CITIES. Chap. III. Part I. 
 
 the palaces and public buildings, the streets tlagged with 
 stone, the bridges of the same material, or the commodious 
 private houses of Italy.-^ 
 
 The courage of these cities was wrought sometimes to a 
 tone of insolent defiance through the security inspired by 
 their means of defence. From the time of the Romans to 
 that when the use of gunpowder came to prevail, little 
 change was made, or pei'haps could be made, in that part of 
 military science which relates to the attack and defence of 
 fortified j)laces. We find precisely the same engines of 
 offence ; the cumbrous towers, from which arrows wex'e shot 
 at the besieged, the machines from which stones were dis- 
 charged, the battering-rams which assailed the walls, and 
 the basket-work covering (the vinea or testudo of the an- 
 cients, and the gattus or chat-chateil of the middle ages) 
 under which those who pushed the battering engines were 
 protected from the enemy. On the other hand, a city was 
 fortified with a strong wall of brick or marble, with towers 
 raised upon it at intervals, and a deep moat in front. Some- 
 times the antemural or bai-bacan was added ; a rampart of 
 less height, which impeded the approach of the hostile en- 
 gines. The gates were guarded with a portcullis ; an inven- 
 tion which, as well as the barbacan, was borrowed from the 
 Saracens.^ With such advantages for defence, a numei-ous 
 and intrepid body of burghers might not unreasonably stand 
 at bay against a powerful army ; and as the consequences of 
 capture were most terrible, Avhile resistance was seldom 
 hopeless, we cannot wonder at the desparate bravery of so 
 many besieged towns. Indeed it seldom happened that one 
 of considerable size was taken, except by famine or treach- 
 ery. Tortona did not submit to Frederic Barbarossa till the 
 besiegers had corrupted with sulphur the only fountain that 
 supplied the citizens ; nor Crema till her walls were over- 
 topped by the battering engines. Ancona held out a noble 
 example of sustaining the pressure of extreme famine. 
 Brescia tried all the resources of a skilful engineer against 
 the second Frederic ; and swerved not from her steadiness, 
 when that prince, imitating an atrocious precedent of his 
 grandfather at the siege of Crema, exposed his prisoners 
 
 1 Sismondi, t. iv. p. 176; Tirabosehi, imleeJ, applicable to a period rather later 
 
 t. iv. p. 426. See also tlie observations than that of her free republics, 
 of Denina on the population and ajiri- 2 JIuratori, Antiquit. Ital. Dissert. 26. 
 culture of Italy, 1. xiv. c. 9, 10, chiefly,
 
 Italy. THEIR INTERNAL GOVERNMENT. 381 
 
 upon l\is l)att(M-iu<: oiiirino? to the atones that were hurled by 
 their tellow-eiti/.ens upon the walls.' 
 
 Of the {.^ovenunent whieh existed in the republics of Italy 
 during the twt'ltth and thirteenth centuries, no q,,,^,jj, 
 detinite sketch can be traced. The chroniclers of i"t<'rnni 
 those times are few and jejune ; and, as is usual s»^"^'"'>«"en , 
 with ctiutemporaries. rather intimate than describe the civil 
 polity of their respective countries. It would indeed be a 
 weary task, if it were even possible, to delineate the consti- 
 tutions of thirty or forty little states which were in perpetual 
 tlucluation. The mairistrates elected in almost all of them, 
 wiii-n they first ]>eji:an to shake off the juriMliction of their 
 count or l)isho]). were styled consuls ; a word very expressive 
 to an Italian ear, since, in the <larkest a^res, tradition must 
 have preserved some actpiaintance with the republican gov- 
 ermnent of Rome.* The consuls were always annual ; and 
 their otlice comprehended the command of the national mili- 
 tia in war, as well as the administration of justice and pre- 
 servation (»f public order; but their number was various; 
 two. four, six, or even twelve. In their legislative and de- 
 liberative councils the Lombards still copied the Roman con- 
 stitution, or perhaps tell naturally into the form most ealcu- 
 hited to unite sound discretion with the exercise of popular 
 sovereignty. A council of trust and .secrecy (della credenza) 
 wa< comi>osed of a small numl)er of persons, who took the 
 management of pulilic atlairs. and may be called the minis- 
 ters of the stiite. But the decision up(»n matters of general 
 importance, treaties of alliance <ir declarations of war, the 
 choice of con>uls, or amlia^sadors, belonged to the general 
 council. This appear- not to have been uniformly con.stitut- 
 ed in every city ; and according to its comj)osition the gov- 
 eniment was more or less democrat ical. An ultimate .sover- 
 ••igiily, lioweviT, wa.H reserved to the ma-ss of the j)eople ; 
 and a parliament or general }t«.sembly was held to deliberate 
 on any change in the form of constitution.'' 
 
 AU)Ut the end of the twelfth centiu'y a new and singular 
 species of inagist racy was introduced into the Lombard cities. 
 
 • Sw tlir*«> ■lnP-« In the ioconJ an>l IilmKcir publicorum offlrinruin pnrHcop* 
 
 Ui''-' •■ ' • -' !i TImt lit «'t cortJi//i(m (■pi.KtolHriiiii 'lii'tafiir. Si-ript. 
 
 Ai '.I.! Mjth rp- I{<T. Itjil. t. V. p. 4Sii. Tlii- U. I l>ilirvi', 
 
 ni ■ ■ml liiU-runt- the ciirlii'st iiiriitiini of tlnxf iimjfi-lniti-.t. 
 
 I" Munieorl. Aiiimli <!' ItJilia. A.I'. llOT. 
 
 "UngFr. whoM> hliiinry ^ .Munitori. DU-ifrt. -10 una U. Sb- 
 
 of Miub ixU'uOs froni lOM to IISJ, coll* nionat, t. i. p. mni.
 
 382 LOMBARD CITIES. Chap. III. Part I. 
 
 During the tyranny of Frederic I. he had appointed officers 
 of his own, called podestas, instead of the elective consuls. 
 It is remarkable that this memorial of despotic power should 
 not have excited insuperable alarm and disgust in the free 
 republics. But, on the contrary, they almost univei'sally, 
 after the peace of Constance, revived an office which had 
 been abrogated when they first rose in rebellion against 
 Frederic. From experience, as we must presume, of the par- 
 tiality which their domestic factions carried into the adminis- 
 tration of justice, it became a general practice to elect, by 
 the name of podesta, a citizen of some neighboring state as 
 their general, their criminal judge, and preserver of the 
 peace. The last duty was frequently arduous, and requir- 
 ed a vigorous as well as an upright magistrate. Offences 
 against the laws and security of the commonwealth were 
 during the middle ages as often, perhaps more often, com- 
 mitted by the rich and powerful than by the inferior class 
 of society. Rude and licentious manners, family feuds and 
 private revenge, or the mere insolence of strength, rendered 
 the execution of criminal justice practically and in every 
 day's experience, what is now little required, a necessary 
 protection to the poor against oppression. The sentence of 
 a magistrate against a powerful offender was not pronounced 
 without danger of tumult ; it was seldom executed without 
 force. A convicted criminal was not, as at present, the 
 stricken deer of society, whose disgrace his kindred shrink 
 from participating, and whose memory they strive to forget. 
 Imputing his sentence to iniquity, or glorying in an act which 
 the laws of his fellow-citizens, but not their sentiments, con- 
 demned, he stood upon his defence amidst a circle of friends. 
 The law was to be enforced not against an individual, but a 
 family — not against a family, but a faction — not perhaps 
 against a local faction, but the whole Guelf or Ghibelin 
 name, which might become interested in the quarrel. The 
 podesta was to arm the republic against her refractory citi- 
 zen ; his house was to be besieged and razed to the ground, his 
 defenders to be quelled by violence : and thus the people, 
 become familiar with outrage and homicide under the com- 
 mand of their magistrates, were more disposed to repeat 
 such scenes at the instigation of their passions.^ 
 
 1 Sismondi, t. iii. p. 258; from whom trated by Villani's history of Florence, 
 the substance of these observations is and Stella's annals of Genoa, 
 borrowed. They may be copiously illus-
 
 Italy. THEIR DISSENSIONS. 383 
 
 The j»odt'sta wtis sometimes chosen in a general assembly, 
 sometimes by a select number of citizens. His office was 
 annual, though prolonged in peculiar emergencies. lie was 
 invariably a man of noble family, even in those cities which 
 exchuleil their own nobility from any share in the govern- 
 ment. He received a lixed salary, and was compelled to 
 remain in the city after tlie exi)iration of his office for the 
 purpose of answering such charges as might be aiUhiced 
 against his conduct. He could neither marry a native of 
 the city, nor have any relation resident within the district, 
 nor even, so great was tlieir jealousy, eat or drink in the 
 house of ixny chizen. The authority of these foreign magis- 
 trates wtvs not by any means alike in all cities. In some he 
 seems to have superseded the consuls, and commanded the 
 armies in war. In others, as Mihui and Florence, Ids au- 
 thority was merely judicial. We lind in some of the old 
 annals the years headed liy the names of the podestas, as by 
 those of the consuls in the history of Rome.^ 
 
 The effects of the evil spirit of discord that had so fatally 
 breathed upon the republics of Lombardy Avere by and aissen- 
 no means c<infined to national interests, or to the *'°°^' 
 grand distinctidn of (Jiielf and Gliibelin. Dissensions glow- 
 ed in the heart of every city, and as the danger of foreign 
 war became distant, these grew jnore fierce and uiiai)peasa- 
 ble. The feudal system had been establislied upon the prin- 
 ciple of territorial aristocracy; it maintained the authority, 
 it encouraged the pride of rank. Hence, when the rural 
 nobility were compelled to take uj) tiieir residence in cities, 
 thev preserved the a-cendency of birth and riches. From 
 the natural respect wliich is shown to these advantages, all 
 offices of trust and command were shared amongst them; it 
 is not material whether this were by j)ositive right or con- 
 tinual usage. A limited aristocracy of this description, 
 where the inferior citizens ])osse.ss the riglit of selecting 
 their magistrates by free suttrage from a numerous body of 
 nol)h-s is not among the worst forms of government, and 
 affords nri contem[)tible security against oppression and an- 
 archv. This regimen apjiears to liave pre\ailed in most of 
 the Lombard citie- during the eleventli and twelflli centuries ; 
 tliough, in so great u deficiency of authentic materials, it 
 
 iMuratori, DUwrt. 40.
 
 384 LOMBAED CITIES. Chap, III. Part I. 
 
 would be too peremptory to assert this as an unequivocal 
 truth. Tiiere is one very early instance, in the year 1041, 
 of a civil war at Milan between the capitanei, or vassals of 
 the empire, and the plebeian burgesses, which was appeased 
 by the mediation of Henry III. This is asci'ibed to the ill 
 treatment which the latter experienced — as was usual in- 
 deed in all parts of Europe, but which was endured with 
 inevitable submission everywhere else. In this civil war, 
 which lasted three years, the nobility were obliged to leave 
 Milan, and carry on the contest in the adjacent plains ; and 
 one of their class, by name Lanzon, whether moved by am- 
 bition, or by virtuous indignation against tyranny, put him- 
 self at the head of the people.-^ 
 
 From this time we scarcely find any mention of dissen- 
 sions among the two orders till after the peace of Constance — 
 a proof, however defective the contemporary annals may be, 
 that such disturbances had neither been frequent nor serious. 
 A schism between the nobles and people is noticed to have 
 occurred at Faenza in 1185. A serious civil war of some 
 duration broke out between them at Brescia in 1200. From 
 this time mutual jealousies interru^jted the domestic tranquil- 
 lity of other cities, but it is about 1220 that they appear to 
 have taken a decided aspect of civil war ; within a few years 
 of that epoch the question of aristocratical or popular com- 
 mand was tried by arms in Milan, Piacenza, Modena, Cremo- 
 na, and Bologna.^ 
 
 It would be in vain to enter upon the merits of these feuds, 
 which the meagre historians of the time are seldom much 
 disposed to elucidate, and which they saw with their own 
 prejudices. A writer of the present age would show little 
 philojpophy if he were to heat his passions by the reflection, 
 as it were, of those forgotten animosities, and aggravate, like 
 a partinl contemporary, the failings of one or another faction. 
 We have no need of positive testimony to acquaint us with 
 the general tenor of their history. We know that a nobility 
 is always insolent, that a populace is always intemperate ; and 
 may safely presume that the former began, as the latter end- 
 ed, by injustice and abuse of power. At one time the aris- 
 tocracy, not content with seeing the annual magistrates selected 
 
 1 Landulfus, Hist. Mediolan. in Script. 2 Sismondi, t. ii. p. 444 ; Muratori, 
 Rerum Ital. t. iv. p. 86; Muratori, Di.s- Anuali d' Italia, a.d. 1185, &c. 
 sert. 52; Annali d' Italia, a.d. 1041; ." t. 
 Marc, t. iii. p. 94.
 
 Italy. THEIR DISSENSIONS. 385 
 
 from tlii'ir bodv, would eiuloavor by usurpation to cxchule 
 the bulk of the citizL-ns from sutVrage. At another, the nu-r- 
 chants, gi-own proud by riches, and confident of their strength, 
 would aim at obtaininfr the honors of the state, which had 
 been reserved to the nobility. This is the inevitable conse- 
 quence of commercial wealth, and indeed of freedom and 
 social onler, which are the parents of wealth. There is in 
 the progress of civilization a terra at which exclusive privi- 
 leges must be relaxed, or the possessors must perish along 
 Avith them. In one or two cities a temporary compromise 
 was made through the intervention of the pope, whereby of- 
 lices of public trust, from the highest to the lowest, were di- 
 vided, in equal proportions, or otherwise, between the nobles 
 and the people. This also is no bad expedient, and proved 
 singuhirly eilicacious in appeasing the dissensions of ancient 
 Rome. 
 
 There is, however, a natural preponderance in the popular 
 scale, which, in a fair trial, invariably gains on that of the 
 less numerous class. The artisans, who composed the bulk 
 of the iHtpulation, were arranged in companies according to 
 their occupations. Sometimes, as at ^lilan, they formed sep- 
 arate associations, with ruh-s for their internal government.^ 
 The clubs, called at Milan la Motta and la Credenza, obtained 
 a degree of weight not at all sur{)rising to those who consider 
 the spirit of mutual attachment which belongs to such frater- 
 nities; and we >liall see a more striking instance of this here- 
 after in the republic of Florence. To so formidable and 
 organized a democracy the nobles opposed their niunerous 
 families, the generous spirit that belongs to high birth, tiie in- 
 fluence of wealth and established name. The memljcrs of 
 each distinguishe<l family apjiear to have lived in the same 
 street ; their hous<'S were fortified with square massive towers 
 of commanding height, and wore the semblance of castles 
 within the walls of a city. Brancaleon, the famous senator 
 of Koine. cle<troy<"<l one hundred and forty of these domestic 
 entrenchments, which were constantly serving the purpose of 
 civil broils juid outrage. Expelled, as frequently happened, 
 frrtm the city, it was in the |)Ower of the nobles to avail tln'in- 
 M'lvca of their superiority in the use of cavalry, and to lay 
 waste the district, till weariness of an unprofitable contention 
 
 I Muratori, Dinwrt. 62; Biimondi, t. 111. p. 2G2. 
 
 vou I. ib
 
 386 LOMBARD CITIES. Chap. III. Part I. 
 
 reduced tlie citizens to terms of compromise. But when all 
 these resources wei'e ineiFectual, they were tempted or forced 
 to sacrifice the pubhc liberty to their own welfare, and lent 
 their aid to a foreign master or a domestic usurper. 
 
 In all these scenes of turbulence, whether the contest was 
 between the nobles and people or the Guelf or Ghibehn fac- 
 tions, no mercy was shown by the conquerors. The van- 
 quished lost their homes and fortunes, and, retiring to other 
 cities of their own party, waited for the opportunity of revenge. 
 In a popular tumult the houses of the beaten side were fre- 
 quently levelled to the ground — not perhaps from a sort of 
 senseless fury, which Muratori inveighs against, but on ac- 
 count of the injury which these fortified houses inflicted upon 
 the lower citizens. The most deadly hatred is tliat which 
 men exasperated by proscription and forfeiture bear to their 
 country ; nor have we need to ask any other cause for the 
 calamities of Italy than the bitterness with which an unsuc- 
 cessful faction was thus pursued into banishment. When 
 the Ghibelins were returning to Florence, after a defeat given 
 to the prevailing party in 1260, it was proposed among them 
 to demolish the city itself which had cast them out ; and, but 
 for the persuasion of one man, Farinata degl' Uberti, their 
 revenge would have thus extinguished all patriotism.^ It is 
 to this that we must ascribe their proneness to call in assist- 
 ance from every side, and to invite any servitude for the sake 
 of retaliating upon their adversaries. The simple love of 
 public liberty is in general, I fear, too abstract a passion to 
 glow warmly in the human breast ; and though often in- 
 vigorated as well as determined by personal animosities 
 and predilections, is as frequently extinguished by the same 
 cause. 
 
 Independently of the two leading differences which embattled 
 the citizens of an Italian state, their form of government and 
 their relation to the empire, there were others more contemp- 
 tible though not less mischievous. In every city the quarrels 
 of private families became the foundation of general schism, 
 sedition, and prosci'iption. Sometimes these blended them- 
 selves with the grand distinctions of Guelf and Ghibehn ; 
 
 I (J. Villani, 1. vi. c. 82. Sismondi. conversation of the poet with Farinata, 
 
 I cannot forjrive Dante for placiag this cant. 10, is very fine, and illustrative of 
 
 patriot tri 1" anime piu nere, in one of Florentine history, 
 the worst regions of his Inferno. The
 
 Italy. CIVIL DISSENSIONS. 387 
 
 sometimes thev were more nakeilly conspicuous. This may 
 be illustnitcil liy one or two prominent e.xuniples. Imikla de' 
 Liiuiberia/zi, a noble young buly at Bologna, was .surprised 
 by her bi-othei-s in a .secret interview with Boniface Gieremei, 
 who'Je family had long beiMi sejiaratcd by the most inveterate 
 enmity from her own. She had just time to escape, while 
 the Lambertazzi despatched her lover with their poisoned 
 djiggcrs. On her return she found his body still warm, and 
 a faint hoi)e suggested the remedy of sucking the venom 
 from his wounds. But it only commimicated itself to her 
 own veins, and they were found by her attendants stretched 
 lifeless by each other's side. So cruel an outrage wrought 
 the Gieremei to madness ; they formed alliances with some 
 neighboring republics ; the Lmnbertazzi took the same meas- 
 ures ; and after alight hi the streets of Bologna, of forty 
 days' duration, the latter were driven out of the city, with all 
 the Ghibelins, their political associates. Twelve thousand 
 citizens were condenmed to banishment, their houses razed, and 
 theii- estiites confiscated.* Florence was at rest till, hi 1215, 
 the assjissination of jm individual produced a mortal feud 
 between the hmiilies Buondehnonti and Uberti, in which all 
 the city took a part. An outrage committed at Pistoja in 
 K300 sitlit the iniiabitants into tiie pai'ties of Bianchi and 
 JS^eri ; and the.«e, spreading to Florence, created one of the 
 mo>t virul<-nt divi-ioiis which amioved that republic. In one 
 of the changes wiiich attended this little ramilication of tiic- 
 tion, Florence expelled a young citizen wlio had borne of- 
 fices of magi>tracy, and espoused the c;iuse of the Bian- 
 chi. Dante -tyighieri retired to the courts of some Ghibelin 
 princes, where his sublime and inventive mind, in the 
 gloom of exile, completed that original combination of vast 
 and extravagant conceptions with keen political satin;, which 
 has given ininiorlality to his name, luid even lustre to the 
 petty conle.sLs of his time.* 
 
 In the earlier stages of the Lombard repiildics their differ- 
 ence-», jus well mutual a.s domestic, had Ijeen fie(jueiitly aj)- 
 pea^ed by the mediation of the emperors ; and the loss of 
 thia «ilutury influence may be considered as no slight evil 
 
 J Pl»iii...,.ll t iii T. 412 Ttiln ffory » 1)1 no CompiiKnl, In Srr. lt<T. ItJil. t. 
 
 Bi-i mill Jull.-t, Ix; Villaul, iMt. Fiorent. 1. viil.; Dttnte. 
 
 ll" i 11 niivrl, mid iiiLHeliu. 
 tuii ui uuiwturiU |jiclum uf uutoncn.
 
 388 GIOVANNI DI VICENZA. Chap. III. Part I. 
 
 attached to that absokite emancipation which Italy attained 
 in the thirteenth century. The popes sometimes endeavored 
 to interpose an authority which, though not quite so direct, 
 was held in greater veneration ; and if their own tempers 
 had been always pure from the selfish and vindictive pas- 
 sions of those whom they influenced, might have produced 
 more general and permanent good. But they considered the 
 Ghibelins as their own peculiar enemies, and the triumph of 
 the opposite faction as the church's best security. Gregory 
 X. and Nicholas III., whether from benevolent motives, or 
 because their jealousy of Charles of Anjou, while at the 
 head of the Guelfs, suggested the revival of a Ghibelin 
 party as a counterpoise to his power, distinguished their pon- 
 tificate by enforcing measures of reconciliation in all Italian 
 cities ; but their successors returned to the ancient policy and 
 prejudices of Rome. 
 
 The singular history of an individual far less elevated in 
 Giovanni di Station than popes or emperors, Fra Giovanni di 
 Vicenza. Viccuza, bclongs to thcsc times and to this subject. 
 This Dominican friar began his career at Bologna in 1233, 
 preaching the cessation of war and forgiveness of injuries. 
 He repaired from thence to Padua, to Verona, and the neigh- 
 boring cities. At his command men laid down their in- 
 struments of war, and embraced their enemies. With that 
 susceptibility of transient impulse natural to popular govern- 
 ments, several republics implored him to reform their laws 
 and to settle their differences. A general meeting was sum- 
 moned in the plain of Paquara, upon the banks of the Adige. 
 The Lombards poured themselves forth from Romagna and 
 the cities of the March ; Guelfs and Ghibelins, nobles and 
 burghers, free citizens and tenantry of feudal lords, mar- 
 shalled around their carroccios, caught from the lips of the 
 preacher the allusive promise of universal peace. They 
 submitted to agreements dictated by Fra Giovanni, which 
 contain Uttle else than a mutual amnesty ; whether it were 
 that their quarrels had been really without object, or that he 
 had dexterously avoided to determine the real points of con- 
 tention. But power and reputation suddenly acquired are 
 transitory. Not satisfied with being the legislator and arbi- 
 ter of Italian cities, he aimed at becoming their master, and 
 abused the enthusiasm of Vicenza and Verona to obtain a 
 grant of absolute sovereignty. Changed from an apostle to
 
 Italy. GIOVANNI DI YICENZA. 389 
 
 an usurper, the fate of Fra Giovanni might be predii-tod ; 
 and he speedily gave place to those who, though tluy made 
 a worse use of their power, had, in the eyes of niiuikind, 
 more natural pretensions to possess it.^ 
 
 > Timbosrhi, Storia della Letteratura, t. iv p. 214 (a very well-written account) 
 SUmoudi, t. li. p. 4S4.
 
 390 STATE OF ITALY. Chap. III. Pakt II. 
 
 PART II. 
 
 State of Italy after the Extinction of the House of Suabia — Conquest of Naples 
 by Charles of Anjou — The Lombard Republics become severally subject to Princes 
 or Usurpers — The Tisconti of Milan — Their Aggrandizement — Decline of the 
 Impei-ial Authority over Italy — Internal , State of Rome — Rienzi — Florence — 
 her Forms of Government historically traced to the End of the Fourteenth Cen- 
 tury — Conquest of Pisa — Pisa — its Commerce, Naval Wars with Genoa, and 
 Decay — Genoa — her Contentions with Venice — War of Chioggio — Government of 
 Genoa — Venice — her Origin and Prosperity — Venetian Government — its Vices — 
 Territorial Conquests of Venice — Military System of Italy — Companies of Adven- 
 ture — 1, foreign; Guarnieri, Hawliwood — and 2, native; Braccio, Sforza — Im- 
 provements in Military Service — Arms, offensive and defensive — Invention of 
 Gunpowder — Naples — First Line of Anjou — Joanna I. — Ladislaus — Joanna II. 
 — Francis Sforza becomes Duke of Milan — AUbnzo King of Naples — State of Italy 
 during the Fifteenth Century — Florence — Rise of the Medici, and Ruin of their 
 Adversaries — Pretensions of Charles VIII. to Naples. 
 
 From the death of Frederic II. in 1250, to the invasion 
 of Charles VIII. in 1494, a long and undistinguished period 
 occurs, which it is impossible to break into any natural divi- 
 sions. It is an age in many respects highly brilliant : the 
 age of poetry and letters, of art, and of continual imj^rove- 
 ment. Italy displayed an intellectual superiority in this 
 period over the Transalpine nations which certainly had not 
 appeared since the destruction of the Roman empire. But 
 her political history presents a labyrinth of petty facts so 
 obscure and of so little influence as not to arrest the atten- 
 tion, so intricate and incapable of classification as to leave 
 only confusion in the memory. The general events that are 
 worthy of notice, and give a character to this long period, 
 are the establishment of small tyrannies upon the ruins of 
 republican government in most of the cities, the gradual rise 
 of three considerable states, Milan, Florence, and Venice, 
 the naval and commercial rivalry between the last city and 
 Genoa, the final acquisition by the popes of their present 
 territorial sovereignty, and the revolutions in the kingdom of 
 Naples under the lines of Anjou and Ai-agon. 
 
 After the death of Frederic II. the distinctions of Guelf 
 and Ghibelia became destitute of all rational meaning. The 
 most odious crimes were constantly perpetrated, and the ut- 
 most miseries endured, for an echo and a shade that mocked
 
 Italy. AFFAIRS OF NAPLES. 391 
 
 the (It'luJeJ enthu>iasts of faction. None of the Guolfs de- 
 nied the noniinul but Lndi'tinite sovoreigiUj of the empire ; 
 and beyond a naine the Gliibelins themselves would have 
 been little disjHjsed to carry it. But the vinilent hatreds at- 
 taclied to these words grew continually more imp]aeal)le. till 
 ages of ignominy and tyrannical government had extin- 
 guished every energetic passion in the bosoms of a degraded 
 people. 
 
 Ill the fall of the house of Suabia, Rome appeared to have 
 consummated her triumjih; and although the Ghibclin party 
 wa- for a little time able to inaiiitain itself, and even to gain 
 ground, in the north of Italy, yet two events that occurred 
 not long afterwards restored the ascendency of their adver- 
 saries. The first of these was the fall of Eccelin da Romano, 
 whose rapid successes in Lomliardy appeared to ^ ^^ ^259 
 threaten the establisluuent of a trememlous despot- 
 ism, and induced a temjjorary union of Guelf and Ghibelin 
 states, by which he was overthrown. The next and far more 
 iinj>ortant was the change of dynasty in Naj)les. Affairs of 
 This kingdom had been occupied, after the death >'"p'''s- 
 of Conrad, by his illegitimate brother, Manfied, in the be- 
 half, as he at lirst pretended, of young Conradin 
 the heir, but in fact as his own accpiisition. He 
 was a prince of an active and firm mind, well fitted for his 
 difficult post, to whom the Ghibelins looked up as their liead, 
 and as the representative of his father. It wa-s a natural ob- 
 ject with the popes, independently of their ill-will towards . 
 a son of Frederic II., to see a sovereign on whom tiiey could 
 better rely placed uj)on so neighboring a throne, cimriesof 
 Charles count of Anjou, brother of JSt. Louis, was ^"Jo"- 
 tempted by them to lead a crusade (for as such all wars for 
 the interest of Home were now considered) against the 
 Neapolitan usurper. The chance of a battle de- 
 cided the fate of Naples, and hail a striking in- 
 fluence u{Kjn the history of Kiini|)e for several centuries. 
 Manfred was killed in the field : but there remained the 
 legitimate heir of the Frederics, a boy of seventeen years 
 old, C<jnnidin, son of Conrad, who rashly, as we say at least 
 alter the event, attempted to regain his inheritance. He fell 
 uilo the hands of Charles; and tli«; voice of those rud(! ages, 
 as well as of a mon; enlightened posterity, has united in brand- 
 ing with everhi-sting infamy the name of that prince, who
 
 392 DECLINE OF THE GHIBELINS. Chap. III. Part II 
 
 A D 1268 ^^^ ^^^ hesitate to purchase the security of his 
 own title by the public execution of an honorable 
 competitor, or rather a rightful claimant of the throne he 
 had usurped. With Coni-adin the house of Suabia was ex- 
 tmguished; but Constance the daughter of Manfred had 
 transported Ms right to Sicily and Naples into the house of 
 Ai'agon, by her marriage with Peter III. 
 
 This success of a monarch selected by the Roman pontiffs 
 Decline of ^^ their particular champion, turned the tide of 
 the Ghibeiin faction ovcr all Italy. He expelled the Ghibelins 
 ^^^ ^' from Florence, of which they had a few years 
 
 before obtained a complete command by means of their 
 memorable victory upon the river Arbia. After the fall of 
 Conradin that party was everywhere discouraged. Germany 
 held out small hopes of support, even when the imperial 
 thi'one, which had long been vacant, should be filled by one 
 of her princes. The populace were in almost every city 
 attached to the church and to the name of Guelf ; the kings 
 of Naples employed their arms, and the popes their excom- 
 munications ; so that for the remainder of the thirteenth cen- 
 tury the name of Ghibeiin was a term of proscription in the 
 majority of Lombard and Tuscan republics. Charles was 
 constituted by the pope vicar-general in Tuscany. This was 
 a new pretension of the Roman pontiffs, to name the lieuten- 
 ants of the empire durmg its vacancy, which indeed could 
 not be completely filled up without their consent. It soon, 
 however, became evident that he aimed at the sovereignty of 
 Italy. Some of the popes themselves, Gregory X. and Nich- 
 olas IV., grew jealous of their own creature. At the congress 
 of Cremona, in 1269, it was proposed to confer upon Charles 
 the seigniory of all the Guelf cities ; but the greater part 
 were prudent enough to choose him rather as a friend than a 
 master.^ 
 
 The Lorn- The cities of Lombardy, however, of either de- 
 
 become'sub- '^O'^ination, Were no longer influenced by that 
 ject to lords, generous disdain of one man's will which is to re- 
 
 1 Sismondi, t. iii. p.417. Several, how- empire, and either to acquire that title 
 
 ever, including Milan, took an oath of himself, or at least to stand in the same 
 
 fidelity to Charles the same year. Ibid, relation as the emperors had done to the 
 
 In 1273 he was lord of Alessandria and Italian states ; which, according to the 
 
 Piacenza, and received tribute from Mi- usage of the twelfth and thirteenth cen- 
 
 lan, Bologna, and most Lombard cities, turies, left them in possession of every- 
 
 Muratori. It was evidently his intention thing that we call independence, with 
 
 to avail himself of the vacancy of the the reservation of a nominal aUegiauce.
 
 Italy. SUBJECTION OF LOMB.LRD CITIES. 393 
 
 publican governments what ohastitj is to wonion — a conser- 
 vative i)rincijik', never to be reasoned upon, or subjected to 
 calculations of utility. By force, or stratairera, or free con- 
 sent, almost all the Lomliard republics had already fallen un- 
 der the yoke of some leading citizen, who became the lord 
 (signore) or, in the German sense, tyrant of his country. 
 The first instance of a voluntary delegation of sovereignty 
 was that above mentioned of Ferrara, which placed itself 
 xuider the lord of Este. Eccelin made himself truly the 
 tyrant of the cities beyond the Adige ; and such experience 
 ought naturally to have inspired the Italians with more 
 univcrsil abiiorrence of despotism. But every danger ap- 
 peared trivial in the eyes of exasperated factions when 
 compared with the ascendency of tlieir adversaries. Weary 
 of unceasing luul useless contests, in which ruin fell with an 
 alternate but equal hand uj)on either party, liberty withdrew 
 from a people who disgraced her name ; and the tumultuous, 
 the brave, the intractable Lombards becjuiie eager to submit 
 themselves to a master, and patient under the heaviest 
 oppression. Or, if tyranny sometimes overstepped the limits 
 of forbearance, and a seditious risinj; expelled the rei<niinor 
 j)rinct/, It was only to produce a change of liands, and transfer 
 the iraiwtent people to a different, and perhaps a worse, des- 
 potism.' In many cities not a conspiracy was planned, not a 
 sigh was breatiied, in favor of repul)lican government, after 
 once they had passed under the sway of a single j)erson. 
 The progress indeed was gradual, though sure, from limited 
 to absolute, from temj>f»niry to iieredilary power, from a just 
 and conciliating rule to extortion and cruelty. But before 
 the midille of the fourteenth century, at the latest, all those 
 citie- wliich hail spurned at the fiiintest mark of submission 
 to the emperors lost even the recollection of self-government, 
 and were bequenthed, like an undoubted patrimony, among 
 the chililren of their new lords. Such is the progress of 
 usuqiation ; and such the vengeance thsit Heaven reserves 
 
 » »«• an iMtanr* of the manner in the »pot, put Ills Ron to death in cold 
 
 »l,i. 1, .-,,■• rv-,,,r ,, .. .,,1.,.,.. I f.r ,.,,. i.l.Kxl, (• pol Hi fcco ficnoro lii'llii terra. 
 
 Villiiiil, 1. X. c. "Jtt, olj-t-rvi'M, liki' ii ^nod 
 
 ' ' r<-|)ulili<-iiii, that (!<i<l iiii.l ttiltlll<-.| 111 (his 
 
 «** ■■ ihp cilj (riinw the wonts of IiIn Onii|M'l (((lU'ry, what 
 
 l^ ■ f h'Ti*, crvliiic, (ioiipelf), I will slay mv eiH'iiiy hy ">y 
 
 VIt» Ii J- 1' •. •■ u. ' I'uM-riiio enemy — abbattvudu i'u'iio tlraiiuo pet 
 
 • la »u« gahrUe! I ■ riuo uj^n I'altro.
 
 394 THE TOERIAOT AND VISCONTL Chap. HI. Paet II. 
 
 for those who waste in license and faction its first of social 
 blessings, liberty.^ 
 
 The city most distinguished in both wars against the house 
 The of Suabia, for an unconquerable attachment to 
 
 an^T^^ republican institutions, was the first to sacrifice 
 conti at them in a few years after the death of Frederic 
 Milan. jj^ Milan had for a considerable time been agi- 
 
 tated by civil dissensions between the nobility and inferior 
 citizens. These parties were pretty equally balanced, and 
 their success was consequently alternate. Each had its own 
 podesta, as a party-leader, distmct from the legitimate magis- 
 trate of the city. At the head of the nobility was their arch- 
 bishop, Fra Leon Perego ; the people chose Martin della 
 Torre, one of a noble family which had ambitiously sided 
 with the democratic faction. In consequence of the crime of 
 a nobleman, who had murdered one of his creditors, the two 
 parties took up arms in 1257. A civil war, of various suc- 
 cess, and interrupted by several pacifications, which in that 
 unhappy temper could not be durable, was terminated in 
 about two years by the entire discomfiture of the aristocracy, 
 and by the election of Martin della Torre as chief and lord 
 (capitano e signore) of the people. Though the Milanese 
 did not probably intend to renounce the sovereignty resident 
 in their general assemblies, yet they soon lost the republican 
 spirit ; five in succession of the family della Torre might be 
 said to reign in Milan ; each, indeed, by a formal election, 
 but with an implied recognition of a sort of hereditary title. 
 Twenty years afterwards the Visconti, a family of opposite 
 interests, supplanted the Torriani at Milan ; and the rivalry 
 between these great houses was not at an end till the final 
 establishment of Matteo Yisconti in 1313 ; but the people 
 were not otherwise considered than as aiding by force the one 
 or other party, and at most deciding between the pretensions 
 of their masters. 
 
 The vigor and concert infused into the Guelf party by the 
 
 1 See the observations of Sismondi, t. people was consulted upon several occa- 
 
 iv. p. 212, on the conduct of the Lorn- sions. At Milan there was a council of 
 
 bard signori (I know not of any English 900 nobles, not permanent or represent- 
 
 word that characterizes them, except ative, but selected and convened at the 
 
 tyrant in its primitive sense) during the discretion of the government, throughout 
 
 first period of their dominion. They the reigns of the Visconti. Corio, p. 519, 
 
 were generally chosen in an assembly of 583. Thus, as Sismondi remarks, they 
 
 the people, sometimes for a short term, respected the sovereignty of the people, 
 
 prolonged in the same manner. The while they destroyed its liberty. 
 
 I
 
 Italy. REVIV.U. OF THE GHIBELINS. 395 
 
 successes of Charles of Anjou, was not very dura- i;,.viv„i of 
 ble. That prince was soon involved in a protracted t'l^- 'iiiibe- 
 and unfortunate quarrel with the kings of Arag:on, '" ''" ^' 
 to whose prtitection his revolted subjects iu Italy had recurred. 
 On th<> other hand, several men of enertretic character retrieved 
 the (Tliil>elin interests in l^nnhardy, and even in the Tuscan 
 cities. The Visconti were acknowledjred heads of that faction. 
 A faniilv earlv estahlished as lords of Verona. th(^ della Scala, 
 maintained tlie credit of the same denomination between the 
 Adijre and the Adriatic. Castruccio Castrucani, an adven- 
 turer of remarkable ability, rendered himself j)rince of Lucca, 
 and drew over a ibrmidable accession to the imperial side 
 from the lieart of tlie church-party in Tuscjuiy, though his 
 death restored the ancient order of things. The inferior 
 tyrant-: were partly Ouelf, partly Ohibelin, according to local 
 revolutions; but upon the whole the latter acijuired a gradual 
 ascendency. Those indeed who cared for the independence 
 of Italv. or for tiieir own power, had far less to fear from the 
 phantom of imperial prerogatives, long intermitted and inca- 
 ]iable of l)eing enforced, than from the new race of foreign 
 princes whom the church had substituted for the 
 iiouse of Suabia. The Angevin kings of Naples Nap^s^iiin 
 Wert' sovereigns of Provence, and from thence "' ^"""""nd 
 
 11 -f^' 1 11 1 "'^ Italy. 
 
 easily encroaclied uiwn I'letlmont, and threatened 
 the Milanese. Robert, the third of this line, almost openly 
 aspired, like his grandtather Charles I., to a real sovereignty 
 over Italy. His otTers of assistance to Guelf cities in war 
 were always coupled with a demand of the sovereignty. 
 Many vielded to liis ambition ; and even Florence twice 
 Ix'stowed upon him a tein|>oraiy dietatorshiii. In l.'U4 he 
 Wits acknowledged lord of Lucca, Florence, Pavia, Alessan- 
 dria. IJergamo. and the cities of Romagna. In l.'!18 the 
 Gui'lts of Genua foinid no other resoiiice against the Gliibe- 
 lin emigrants who were under their walls than to resign their 
 lilM-rtie^ to the king of Naples for the term of ten years, 
 wliieh he prorured to Im- renewed for six more. The Avignon 
 jK)|)«'s, e-<|H'ciaIly John XXII., out of blind hatred to the em- 
 peror Ijouis of Havaria and the Visconti family, abetted all 
 these mea»ure-< of ambition. But they were rendered alior- 
 tive bv Robert's ileatli iuid the .-ubsecpient disturliances ol his 
 kingdom. 
 
 At the hitter end of the thirteenth century there were
 
 396 STATE OF LOMBARDY. Chap. III. Part II. 
 
 almost as many princes in the north of Italy as there had 
 been free cities in the preceding age. Their equality, and 
 the frequent domestic revolutions which made their seat un- 
 steady, kept them for a while from encroaching on each other. 
 Gradually, however, they became less numerous : a quantity 
 of obscure tyrants were swept away from the smaller cities ; 
 and the people, careless or hopeless of liberty, were glad to 
 exchange the rule of despicable petty usurpers for 
 Lombartiy that of morc distinguished and powerful families. 
 0° the"''^'^^'' About the year 1350 the central parts of Lombar- 
 fourteenth dy had fallen under the dominion of the Visconti. 
 cen ury. Four Other houses occupied the second rank ; that 
 of Este at Ferrara and Modena ; of Scala at Verona, which 
 under Cane and Mastino della Scala had seemed likely to 
 contest with the lords of Milan the supremacy over Lombar- 
 dy ; of Carrara at Padua, which later than any Lombard 
 city had resigned her liberty ; and of Gonzaga at Mantua, 
 which, without ever obtaining any material extension of terri- 
 tory, continued, probably for that reason, to reign undis- 
 Power of the turbed till the eighteenth century. But these 
 Visconti. united were hardly a match, as they sometimes 
 experienced, for the Visconti. That family, the object of 
 every league formed in Italy for more than fifty years, in con- 
 stant hostility to the church, and well inured to interdicts and 
 excommunications, pi'oducing no one man of military talents, 
 but fertile of tyrants detested for their perfidiousness and 
 cruelty, was nevertheless enabled, with almost uninterrupted 
 success, to add city after city to the dominion of Milan till it 
 absorbed all the north of Italy. Under Gian Galeazzo, whose 
 reign began in 1385, the viper (their armorial bearing) as- 
 sumed indeed a menacing attitude : ^ he overturned the great 
 family of Scala, and annexed their extensive possessions to his 
 own ; no power intervened from Vercelli in Piedmont to Fel- 
 tre and Belluno ; while the free cities of Tuscany, Pisa, Siena, 
 Perugia, and even Bologna, as if by a kind of witchcraft, 
 voluntarily called in a dissembhng tyi'ant as their master. 
 
 Powerful as the Visconti were in Italy, they were long in 
 washing out the tinge of recent usui'pation, which humbled 
 them before the legitimate dynasties of Europe. At the siege 
 
 1 Allusions to heraldry are very com- bitually use the viper, il biscione, as a 
 nion in the Italian writers. All the his- synonym for the power of Milan, 
 toriaus of the fourteenth century ha-
 
 Italy. KELATIOXS WITH THE EMriHE. 397 
 
 of Genoa in 1318 Robert king of Naples rejected with eon- 
 tempt the ehalleiige of Mareo Vi-eonti to decide their quar- 
 rel in single combat.^ But the pride of sovereigns, Hke that 
 of private men, is easily set aside for their interest. Gale- 
 azzo Visconti purchased with 100,000 Horins a daughter of 
 France for his .-on, which the French historians mention as a 
 deplorable humiliation for their crown. A few years after- 
 wards, Lionel duke of Clarence, second son of Edward III., 
 certainly not an inferior match, espoused Galeazzo's daughter. 
 Both these connections were short-lived ; but the union of 
 Valentine, daughter of Gian Galeazzo, with the duke of Or- 
 leans, in 138'J, produced far more important consequences, 
 and served to transmit a claim to her descendants, Louis XIL 
 and Francis L, from which the long calamities of Italy at the 
 beginning of the sixteenth century were chiefly derived. Not 
 long after this marriage the Visconti were tacitly admitted 
 among the reigning princes, by the erection of 
 Milan into a duchy under letters-patent of the * " ^^°' 
 emperor Weii<"eslau»." 
 
 The imperial authority over Italy was almost entirely sus- 
 pended after the death of Frederic II. A long interregnum 
 followed in Germany ; and when the vacancy was supplied 
 by Rodolph of Ilapsburg, he was too prudent to „ , ,. 
 dissipate Ins moderate resources where the great tho ompire 
 house of Suabia had failed. About forty years *'"' \"l!^- 
 afterwards the emperor Ili-nry of Luxemburg, a 
 prince, like Rfxlolph, of small' hereditary posses- "^'"■y ^^• 
 sions, but active and discreet, availed himself of * "' 
 the aneir-nt rcsjH'ct borne to the imperial name, and the 
 mutual jealou.-ies of tin,- Italians, to recover for a very short 
 time a remarkable influence. But, though professing neu- 
 trality and desire of union between the Guelfs and Ghii)elin3, 
 he could not succeed in removing the distrust of the former; 
 his exigencii's impelled him to large demands of money ; and 
 the Italians, when they counted his scjinty German cavalry, 
 pcnu-ived that ob<'dicnce wa< altogether a matt<'r of their 
 own ehoiee. Henry died, however, in time to .save himself 
 from any decisive reverse. His succes.sors, Louis of Bavaria 
 and Charles IV., de-^cended from the Alps with similar ino- 
 
 'I' " " IW mnlto tulefino noblomnn of I'ixa, tlinu|{h a sort uf priiira 
 
 O* I !«• <•• K3. It WM Iti Siinliiiiii.to marry one of thu Viitcoutl. 
 
 rwk'.i,. 1 ;i ii,.«-uiiiiiir<>. u I>aiiU.< U'll/I I'unfntoriii, rant. vlll. 
 uj, lu the widow of .Mno 01 Ualluru, a a Corlo, ji. MS.
 
 398 CESSION OF EOaiAGNE. Chap. III. Part II. 
 
 lives, but after some temporary good fortune were obliged to 
 return, not without discredit. Yet the Italians never broke 
 that almost invisible thread which connected them with Ger- 
 many ; the fallacious name of Roman emperor still chal- 
 lenged their allegiance, though conferred by seven Teutonic 
 electors without their concurrence. Even Florence, the most 
 independent and high-spirited of republics, was induced to 
 make a treaty with Charles IV. in 1355, which, while it con- 
 firmed all her actual Uberties, not a little, by that very con- 
 firmation, affected her sovereignty.'^ This deference to the 
 supposed prerogatives of the empire, even while they were 
 least formidable, was partly owing to jealousy of French or 
 Neapolitan interference, partly by the national hatred of the 
 popes who had seceded to Avignon, and in some degree to a 
 misplaced respect for antiquity, to which the revival of let- 
 ters had given birth. The great civilians, and the much 
 greater poets, of the fourteenth century, taught Italy to con- 
 sider her emperor as a dormant sovereign, to whom her 
 various principalities and republics were subordinate, and 
 during whose absence alone they had legitimate authority. 
 In one part, however, of that country, the empire had, 
 Cession of ^^ou after the commencement of this period, spon- 
 Romagua to taucously renounced its sovereignty. From the 
 ae popes. ^^^ ^^ Pepin's donation, confirmed and extended 
 by many subsequent charters, the Holy See had tolerably 
 just pretensions to the province entitled Romagna, or the 
 exarcbate of Ravenna. But the popes, whose menaces were 
 dreaded at the extremities of Europe, were still very weak 
 as temporal princes. Even Innocent III. had never been 
 
 1 The republic of Florence was at In this, it must be owned, he assumes a 
 this time in considerable peiil from a decided tone of sovereignty. The gon- 
 coalition of the Tuscan cities against her, falonier and priors are declared to be his 
 which rendered the protection of the vicars. The deputies of the city did 
 emperor convenient. But it was very homage and swore obedience. Circum- 
 reluetantly that she acquiesced in even a stances induced the principal citizens to 
 nominal submission to his authority. The make this submission, which they knew 
 Florentine envoys, in their first address, to be merely nominal. But the high- 
 would only use the words, Santa Corona, spirited people, not so indifferent about 
 or Serenissimo Principe ; senza ricordarlo names, came into it very unwillingly, 
 imperadore, o dimostrargli alcuna reve- The treaty was seven times proposed, 
 renza di suggezzione, domandando che and as often rejected, in the consiglio del 
 il commune di Firenze volea essendogli popolo, before their feelings were sub- 
 ubbidiente, le cotali e le cotali fran- dued. Its publication was received with 
 chigie per mantenere il suo popolo nelP no marks of joy. The public buildings 
 usata libertade. Mat. ViUani, p. 274. alone were illuminated : but a sad silence 
 (Script. Rer. Ital. t. xiv.) This style indicated the wounded pride of every 
 made Charles angry ; and the city soon private citizen. — M. ViUani, p. 286, 290 ; 
 atoned for it by accepting his privilege. Sismondi, t. vi. p. 238. 
 
 i
 
 It.vlt. internal state OF RO^[K. 899 
 
 able to obtain possession of this part of St. Peter's patri- 
 monv. The cin-umstjuK-es of Rotlulph's accession insjiired 
 >>ichuhLS III. with more confidence. That emperor grunted 
 a confirmation of everything inchided in the donations of 
 Louis I., Olho, juid his other predecessors ; but was still re- 
 luctant or :t<h:uncd to renounce his imperial rights. Accord- 
 inglv his rharter is expressed to be granted without diminu- 
 tion of the empire (sine demembratione imperii) ; and his 
 chanei-ll<ir received an oath of lidclity from the cities of 1\0- 
 magna. But the |>ope insisting lirmly on his own claim, 
 l^nlolph discreetly avoided involving himself in a fatal quar- 
 rel, and, in 1278, al)s<)lutt'ly released the ini|)erial supremacy 
 over all the dominions already granted to the Holy See.^ 
 
 This is a leiiding epocii in the temporal monarchy of llome. 
 But she stood only in the place of the emperor; and her 
 ultimate sovereignty was compatible with tin- practicable in- 
 dependence of the free cities, or of the usiiri>ers who had 
 risen up among them. Bologna, Faenza, Rimini, and Ka- 
 vi-nna, with many others le<s (•onsi<l<'rable, tO(jk an (jatli in- 
 deed to the pope, but continued to regulate both their inter- 
 nal concerns and foreign relations at their own discretion. 
 Tlie first of these cities was far preeminent above the rest 
 Ibr (Kjpulation and renown, and, though not without several 
 int«'rmissions, preserved a republiam character till the end 
 of the fourteenth century. The rest were soon enslaved by 
 prtty tyrants, more obscure than those of Lomliardy. It was 
 not ca>v for the j»ontiffs of" Avignon to reinstate themselves 
 in a dominion which they seemed to have abandoned ; but 
 they maile sevenil attempts to recover it, sometimes with 
 spiritual anns, sometimes with the more eiricaeious aid of 
 nurcenary troops. The amiaLs of this part of Italy arc 
 peculiarly uninteresting. 
 
 liome itself wit", throughout the miildle ages, very little 
 dispoM,'d to ae(juiesce in tiie government of her jnt^^nai 
 bi>ii<(p. His rights were indefinite, and uncon- kuu.- of 
 firmed Ity jHJsitive law ; llie <inperor was long """'"• 
 eovereign, the people always meant to be free. Besides the 
 commou causes of insulxirdination and anarchy among the 
 Italians, which applied ecpiully U) the cjipital city, other sen- 
 timents more pecuhjir to Itoniif jireservecl a continual, tliough 
 
 I MuntoH, wi Ban. 1274, 1275, 1278 ; Slamoudi, t. lU. p. Ml.
 
 400 INTERNAL STATE OF ROME. Chap. III. Part II. 
 
 not uniform, influence foi' many centuries. There still re- 
 mained enough in the wreck of that vast inheritance to 
 swell the bosoms of her citizens with a consciousness of their 
 own dignity. They bore the venerable name, they contem- 
 plated the monuments of art and empire, and forgot, in the 
 illusions of national pride, that the tutelar gods of the build- 
 ing were departed forever. About the middle of the twelfth 
 century these recollections were heightened by the eloquence 
 of Arnold of Brescia, a political heretic who preached against 
 the temporal jurisdiction of the hierarchy. In a temporary 
 intoxication of fancy, they were led to make a ridiculous 
 show of self-imjjortance towards Frederic Barbarossa, when 
 he came to receive the imperial crown ; but the German 
 sternly chided their ostentation, and chastised their resistance.-^ 
 With the popes they could deal more securely. Several of 
 them were expelled from Rome during that age by the sedi- 
 tious citizens. Lucius II. died of hurts received in a tumult. 
 The government was vested in fifty-six senators, annually 
 chosen by the people, through the intervention of an electoral 
 body, ten delegates from each of the thirteen districts of the 
 city.^ This constitution lasted not quite fifty years. In 1192 
 Rome imitated the prevailing fashion by the appointment of 
 an annual foreign magistrate.^ Except in name, the senator 
 of Rome appears to have perfectly resembled the podesta of 
 other cities. This magistrate superseded the representative 
 senate, who had proved by no means adequate to control the 
 most lawless aristocracy of Italy. I shall not repeat the story 
 of Brancaleon's rigorous and inflexible justice, which a great 
 historian has already drawn from obscurity. It illustrates 
 not the annals of Rome alone, but the general state of Italian 
 society, the nature of a podesta's duty, and the difficulties of 
 its execution. The office of senator survives after more than 
 six hundred years ; but he no longer wields the " iron flail " * 
 of Brancaleon ; and his nomination proceeds, of course, from 
 the supreme pontiff, not from the people. In the twelfth and 
 
 1 The impertinent address of a Roman ages to the last chapters of Gibbon's 
 orator to Frederic, and his answer, are Decline and Fall. 
 
 preserved in Otho of Frisingen, 1. ii. 3 Sismondi, t. ii. p. 308. 
 
 c. 22; but so much at length, that we * The readers of Spenser will recollect 
 
 may suspect some e.xaggeration. Otho the iron flail of Talus, the attendant 
 
 is rather rhetorical. They may be read of Arthegal, emblematic of the severe 
 
 in Gibbon, c. 69. justice of the lord deputy of Ireland, 
 
 2 Sismondi, t. ii. p. 36. Besides Sis- Sir Arthur Grey, shadowed under that 
 mondi and Muratori, I would refer for allegory. 
 
 the history of Gome during the middie
 
 Italy. RIENZI. 401 
 
 thirteenth centune«i the iJenatt'. and the senator who sueoeeded 
 them, exereised one distinjjuishiiig attribute of sovereignty, 
 tliat of eoininiT uohl and silver monev. Some of their coins 
 still exist, witli lejrends in a very republican tone.^ Doubt- 
 less the tfni|>oral authority of the juipes varied accordinjj to 
 their |»ersonal character. Innocent III. had much more than 
 his predecessors for almost a century, or than some of his 
 successors. He made the senator take an oath of fealty to 
 him, which, though not very comprehensive, must have passed 
 ill those times as a recognition of his superiority.- 
 
 Though thei*e was much less obedience to any legitimate 
 power at Kome than anywhere else in Italy, even during the 
 thirteenth century, yet, after the secession of the popes to 
 Avignon, their own city was let\ in a far worse condition than 
 before. Di-orders of every kind, tunudt and robbery, pre- 
 vailed in the streets. The Homan nobility were engaged in 
 perpetual war with each olh<r. Not content with their own 
 fortified palaces, they turned the sacred monuments of antiq- 
 uity into stmngholds, and consunnnated the destruction of 
 time and contjuest. At no period has the city endured such 
 irreparalile injuries ; nor was the downfall of the western 
 empire S4j fatal to its capital as the contemptible feuds of the 
 Orsini and Colonna families. AVhatever there was of gov- 
 ernment. whether administered by a legate from Avignon or 
 by the numicipal authorities, had lo.-t all hold on these power- 
 ful barons. In the midst of this degradation and wretched- 
 ness, an obscure man, Nicola di Rienzi, conceived ^y^^ tribune 
 the project of restoring Home, not oidy to good itienzi. _ 
 order, but even to her ancient greatness. He had *'"' '" 
 re<'eive<l an education beyond his birth, and nourished his 
 miixl with tin.' ^tudy of the best writers. After many ha- 
 rangues to the people, which the noltility, blinded by their 
 SfclfHonfidence, <lifl not attempt to repress, Rienzi suddenly 
 excited an insurrection, and obtained complete success. He 
 w:l« placed at the head of a new goverinnent, with the title 
 of Tribune, and with ahnost unlimited power. The first 
 eflTeeis of this revolution were wonderful. All the noldes 
 Hubmitled, though with great reluctance ; the roads were 
 cl«:ared of njblwrs ; traiKpiillity wa> restored at home; some 
 severe examples of justic«- intimidated oflenders ; juid the 
 
 I <illit>oii. rol. ill. p. 289 ; Muntori, Antiqult. lul Diswrt. 27. 
 : MuiiioiiJI. p 9/J 
 Voi„ I. 'JO
 
 402 AFFAIRS OF ROME. Chap. III. Part II. 
 
 tribune was regarded by all the people as the destined re- 
 storer of Rome and Italy. Though the court of Avignon 
 could not approve of such an usurpation, it temporized 
 enough not directly to oppose it. Most of the Italian repub- 
 lics, and some of the princes, sent ambassadors, and seemed 
 to recognize pretensions which were tolerably ostentatious. 
 The king of Hungary and queen of Naples submitted their 
 quarrel to the arbitration of Rienzi, who did not, however, 
 undertake to decide upon it. But this sudden exaltation in- 
 toxicated his understanding, and exhibited failings entirely 
 incompatible with his elevated condition. If Rienzi had lived 
 in our own age, his talents, which were really great, would have 
 found their proper orbit. For his character was one not 
 unusual among literary politicians — a combination of knowl- 
 edge, eloquence, and enthusiasm for ideal excellence, with 
 vanity, inexperience of mankind, unsteadiness, and physical 
 timidity. As these latter qualities became conspicuous, they 
 eclipsed his virtues and caused his benefits to be forgotten ; 
 he was compelled to abdicate his government, and retire into 
 exile. After several years, some of which he passed in the 
 prisons of Avignon, Rienzi was brought back to Rome, with 
 the title of Senator, and under the command of the legate. 
 It was supposed that the Romans, who had returned to their 
 habits of insubordination, would gladly submit to their favor- 
 ite tribune. And this proved the case for a few months ; but 
 after that time they ceased altogether to respect a man who so 
 little respected himself in accepting a station where he could 
 no longer be free ; and Rienzi was killed in a sedition.-'^ 
 
 Once more, not long after the death of Rienzi, the free- 
 Subsequent ^'^^^ *^^ Rome seems to have revived in republican 
 affairs of institutions, though with names less calculated to 
 °™®' inspire peculiar recollections. Magistrates called 
 
 1 Sismondi, t. v. c. 37; t. vi. p. 201 ; the reTolution produced by Rienzi. Gio- 
 
 Gibbon, c. 70; De Sade, Viede Petrarque, vanni A'illani, living at Florence, and a 
 
 t. ii. passim ; Tiraboschi, t. vi. p. 339. stanch republican, formed a very differ- 
 
 It is difiRcult to resist the admiration ent estimate, which weighs more than 
 
 which all the romantic circumstances of the enthusiastic panegyrics of Petrarch. 
 
 Rienzi's history tend to excite, and to La detta impresa del tribuno era un' 
 
 which Petrarch so blindly gave way. opera fantastica, e di poco durare. 1. xii. 
 
 That great man's cliaracteristic excel- c. 90. An illustrious female writer has 
 
 lence was not good common sense. He drawn with a single stroke the character 
 
 had imbibed two notions, of which it is of Rienzi, Crescentius, and Arnold of 
 
 hard to say which was the more absurd : Brescia, the fond restorers of Roman Ub- 
 
 that Rome had a legitimate right to all erty, qui out pris les souvenirs pour les 
 
 her ancient authority over the rest of the esperances. Corinne, t. i. p. 159. Could 
 
 world ; and that she was likely to re- Tacitus have excelled this ? 
 cover this authority in consequence of
 
 Italy. AFFAIKS OF ROME. 403 
 
 bannerets, chosen fi-om the thirteen districts of (he citv. with 
 a militia of three thoiisnnd citizens at their coininaiKl, were 
 jihu-ed at the lieml of this coiumonweahh, Tlie ^reat oliject 
 of tins new orgjinization was to intimidate the Roman nobil- 
 ity, who-e ontrajres. in the total altsenee of goverinneiit. Iiad 
 grown intolerahle. Several of them were hanged the tirst 
 year by order of the hannerets. The citizens, however, had 
 no serious intention of throwing otf their allegiance to tlie 
 pope*. Tliey provided for their own security, on account of 
 the lainentahle secession and neglect of those who claimed 
 allegiance while they denied i»rotection. But they were ready 
 to acknowledge ami welcdine hack their hi^hop as their sov- 
 ereign. Even witiiout this they surrciidered tlieir republican 
 constitution in l.'3G2, it does not appear for what reason, and 
 permitted the legate of Innocent VI. to assume the govern- 
 ment.* We tind, however, the institution of bannerets re- 
 vived and in full authority some years afterwards. But the 
 internal history of Rome appears to be obscure, and I have 
 not had opportunities of examining it niinnlelv. Some de- 
 gree of political freedom the eity proliably eiijove<l during 
 the schism of the church ; but it is not easy to discriminate 
 the as-iertion of legitimate privileges from the licentious 
 tuiuult-J of the l)arons or populace. In 113.5 the Romans 
 formally took away the government from Eugenius IV., and 
 elected seven signiors or chief magistrates, like the priors 
 of Florence.^ But this revolution was not of long continuance. 
 On the death of Eugenius tin- citizens deliljcrated ujion pro- 
 ]Ki»ing a constitutional charter to the future pope. Stephen 
 Porcaro. a man of gcwKl familv and inflamed l>v a strong 
 spirit ot liberty, wius one of their princij)al instigators. But 
 the ]wop\e did not suflTiciently partake of that spirit. No 
 mr-asures were t:ik<'n u|ion this occasion; and Porcaro, whose 
 ardent imagination rlisguised the hopelessness of his enter- 
 |)ri»e. tampering in a fn'>h conspiracy, was put to death luider 
 tlif jK^mtificate of Nicholas V.' 
 
 The provinee of Tu-eany continued longer pj,;,,, „f 
 than Ixiiibardy undi-r the government of an iin- T'l-oi'iiy- 
 p-rial lientenaiit. It wjus not till about the mid- '"''""'""• 
 
 1 M.tt. VllUnl. p. 676. AM. 709; m«- « Script. Ilcrum lUiUc. t. lU. pars 2, 
 
 Hi- Mx-nw U> Imvo p. ]1'28. 
 r i«-ri<«l of ^.TiTii- M<l. p. 1131, 1134; SlumouOl, I. x. 
 
 i - ;-. auJ n-fom tlii-lr In- p. IH. 
 
 ■lUuUbii Ut 1376.
 
 404 CITIES OF TUSCANY. Chap. III. Part II. 
 
 die of the twelfth century that the cities of Florence, Lucca, 
 Pisa, Siena, Arezzo, Pistoja, and several less considerable 
 which might, perhaps, have already their own elected magis- 
 trates, became independent republics. Their history is, with 
 the exception of Pisa, very scanty till the death of Frederic 
 II. The earliest fact of any importance recorded of Flor- 
 ence occurs in 1184, when it is said that Frederic Barbarossa 
 took from her the dominion over the district or county, and 
 restored it to the rural nobility, on account of her attach- 
 ment to the church.^ This I chiefly mention to illustrate 
 the system pursued by the cities, of bringing the territorial 
 proprietors in their neighborhood under subjection. During 
 the reign of Frederic II. Florence became, as far as she was 
 able, an ally of the popes. There was, indeed, a strong 
 Ghibelin party, comprehending many of the greatest fami- 
 lies, which occasionally predominated through the assistance 
 of the emperor. It seems, however, to have existed chiefly 
 among the nobility ; the spirit of the people was thoroughly 
 Guelf. After several revolutions, accompanied by alter- 
 nate proscription and demolition of houses, the Guelf party, 
 through the assistance of Charles of Anjou, obtained a final 
 ascendency in 1266; and after one or two unavailing schemes 
 of accommodation it was established as a fundamental law in 
 the Florentine constitution that no person of Ghibelin ances- 
 try could be admitted to offices of public trust, which, in such 
 a government, w^as in eflTect an exclusion from the privileges 
 of citizenship. 
 
 The changes of internal government and vicissitudes of 
 Government succcss among factions were so frequent at Flor- 
 of riorence. g^^^ f^^. jjjgj^y years after this time that she is 
 compared by her great banished poet to one in sickness, 
 who, unable to rest, gives herself momentary ease by con- 
 tinual change of posture in her bed.^ They did not become 
 much less numerous after the age of Dante. Yet the revo- 
 lutions of Florence should, perhaps, be considered as no more 
 than a necessary price of her liberty. It was her boast and 
 her happiness to have escaped, except for one short period, 
 that odious rule of vile usurpers, under which so many other 
 free cities had been crushed. A sketch of the constitution 
 
 1 ViUani, 1. v. c. 12. Che non pu6 trovar posa in su le 
 
 2 E se ben ti ricorrli, e vedi 11 lume, plume, 
 
 Vedral te somigUante a quella in- Ma con dar volta suo dolorescherma. 
 
 ferma, Purgatorio, cant. vi.
 
 Italy. GO'STRXJIEXT OF FLORENCE. 40 J 
 
 of -d tainoiis a repuhlio outrlit not to he omitted in this place. 
 Notliiiig else in the hi.story of Italy after Frederic II. is so 
 worthy of our attention.' 
 
 The basis of the Florentine polity was a division of the' 
 citizens exercising comnierce into their several coni[)anies or 
 arts. These were at tirst twelve ; seven called the greater 
 arts, and live lesser ; but the latter were gi'adually increased 
 to fourteen. The seven greater arts were those of lawyers 
 and notaries, of dealers in titreign cloth, called .sonietinies 
 Caliniala. of bankers or money-changers, of woollen-drapers, 
 of physicians and druggists, of dealers in silk, and of fur- 
 riers. The inferior arts were those of retailers of cloth, 
 butchers, smiths, shoemakers, and builders. This division, 
 so far at least as regarded the greater arts, was as old as the 
 beginning of the thirteenth century.'^ But it was fully 
 established and rendered essential to the constitution in 1206. 
 By the provisions made in that year each of the seven greater 
 arts had a council of its own, a chief magistrate or consul, 
 who administered justice in civil causes to all members of 
 his company, and a banneret (gonfaloniere) or military offi- 
 cer, to whose standard they repaired when any attempt was 
 made to ilistiirb tiie peace of the city. 
 
 The administration of criminal justice belonged at Flor- 
 ence, as at other cities, to a foreign ])odesta, or rather to two 
 foreign magistrates, the jtodesta anil the capifano did popido, 
 whose juriMliction, so far as I can trace it, appears to have 
 been concurrent.* In the tirst part of the thirteenth century 
 the authority of the podesta may have been more extensive 
 than afterwards. These offices were preserved till the in- 
 novations of the Medici. The domestic magistracies under- 
 went more changes. Instead of consuls, which had been the 
 first denomination of the chief magi>tiates of FloreMi-e, a 
 college ot' twelve or fourteen perMins eulled Anziani or Buo- 
 nuomini, but varying in name as well as number, according 
 to revolutions of party, was established al)out the middle of 
 the thirteenth century, to direct public atliiirs.^ This order 
 
 1 1 have found ronniilcrnhli- 'lifllcultipii press thoniHolvpn nither inaccuriitcly, as 
 
 in tliut part of uiy tiwk ; no nutlior with If Ui«y hiid licen erwteil at timt time, 
 
 whom I Bin a('i|iinint4s| ({ivin({ iitolcnihlu which iiidwd in tlie cm of their politii-al 
 
 t1<-w of thi" Klon-ntini' ^''vcrniinMit. ex- linportuncK. 
 
 ri-pt -M. Si«iiioMdi, who in hliuHolf not ' .M;itt<'o Villiini. p. I'.M. O. Villiml 
 
 »l» I ^ I'lry. pliici'rt the in.Hlitiition of the |)odi'rtti iu 
 
 • \ nd «nn. 12(4 et liVi. r.i07 : wi- tliid it. howovi-r, ii« curly an 
 
 Vlll .!.•«. 1. Til. r. i;i. that th(! 11K4. Aninilnito. 
 
 Brt» •■xi«i<-d n» ''oiniiicn'iiil ronipunii-n \h- < U. Villaid, 1. vi. o. 3U. 
 fort- 12'>;. .Miu-liiii\<'lli and SUuioudl ex-
 
 406 GOVERNMENT OF FLORENCE. Chap. III. Part. H. 
 
 was entirely changed in 1282, and gave j^lace to a new form 
 of supreme magistracy, which lasted till the extinction of the 
 republic. Six priors, elected every two months, one from 
 • each of the six quarters of the city, and from each of the 
 greater arts, except that of lawyers, constituted an executive 
 magistracy. They lived during their continuance in office 
 in a palace belonging to the city, and were maintained at the 
 public cost. The actual priors, jointly with the chiefs and 
 councils (usually called la capitudiue) of the seven greater 
 arts, and with certain adjuncts (arroti) named by themselves, 
 elected by ballot their successors. Such was the practice 
 for about forty years after this government was established. 
 But an innovation, begun in 1324, and perfected four years 
 afterwards, gave a peculiar character to the constitution of 
 Florence. A lively and ambitious people, not merely jeal- 
 ous of their public sovereignty, but deeming its exercise a 
 matter of personal enjoyment, aware at the same time that 
 the will of the whole body could neither be immediately ex- 
 pressed on all occasions, nor even through chosen representa- 
 tives, without the risk of violence and partiality, fell upon 
 the singular idea of admitting all citizens not unworthy by 
 their station or conduct to offices of magistracy by rotation. 
 Lists were sepai'ately made out by the priors, the twelve 
 buonuomini, the chiefs and councils of arts, the bannei'ets 
 and other respectable persons, of all citizens, Guelfs by 
 origin, turned of thirty years of age, and, in their judgment, 
 worthy of public trust. The lists thus formed were then 
 united, and those who had composed them, meeting together, in 
 number ninety-seven, proceeded to ballot upon every name. 
 Whoever obtained sixty-eight black balls was placed upon 
 the reformed list ; and all the names it contained, being put 
 on separate tickets into a bag or purse (imborsati), were 
 drawn successively as the magistracies were renewed. As 
 there were above fifty of these, none of which could be held 
 for more than four months, several hundred citizens were 
 called in rotation to bear their share in the government with- 
 in two years. But at the expiration of every two years the 
 scrutiny was renewed, and fresh names were mingled with 
 those which still continued undrawn ; so that accident might 
 deprive a man for life of his portion of magistracy.-' 
 
 1 Villani, 1. ix. c. 27, 1. x. c. 110, 1. xi. an apparent fairness and incompatibil- 
 c. 105; Sismondi, t. v. p. 174. This spe- itj- flith undue influence, was speedily 
 cies of lottery, recommending itself by adopted in all the neighboring republics,
 
 Italy. GOVERNMENT OF FLORENCE. 407 
 
 Four councils luid been e.'^tablished by the constitution of 
 12G(J lor the decision of Jill j)roi)ositions laid before llieiu by 
 the executive magistrates, whether of a legishxtive nature or 
 rehiting to public policy. These were now abrogated ; antl 
 in their placi-s were sul)stituted one of 300 members, all ple- 
 beians, callcil consiglio di i)0[)olo, and one of '2oO, called con- 
 siglio di commune, into which tiie nobles might enter. These 
 were changed by the same rotation as the magistracies, every 
 foiu- months.^ A piu'liament, or general assembly of the 
 Florentine people, was rarely convoked ; but the leading 
 principle of a democratical republic, the ultimate sovereignty 
 of the multitude, was not forgotten. This constitution of 
 132-t was fixed by the citizens at large in a parliament ; and 
 the same sanction was given to those temporary delegations 
 of the signiory to a prince, which occasionally took place. 
 What is technically culled by their hislov'iims jars i poj)ulo was 
 the assembly of a parliament, or a resolution of all deriv- 
 ative powers into the immediate operation of the popular 
 will. 
 
 The ancient government of this republic appears to have 
 been chiefly in the hands of its nobility. These were very 
 niunerous, and possessed large estates in the district. But by 
 the constitution of 120(5, which was nearly coincident with 
 the triumph of the Guelf faction, the essential powers of 
 magistracy as well as of legislation were thrown into the 
 scale of the commons. The colleges of arts, whose functions 
 bec;ime so emint-nt, were altogether commercial. Many, in- 
 deed, of the nobles enrolled themselves in these companies, 
 and were among the most conspicut)us merchants of Flor- 
 ence. The<e Were not excluded from the executive college 
 of the priors at its first in.stitution in 1282. It was neces- 
 sar)', ho\v(,'ver, to be-long to one or other of the greater arts in 
 order to reju-h that magistracy. The majority, therefore, of 
 the ancient families saw themselves jjushed aside from the 
 helm, whii'h was intrusted to a class whom they had habitu- 
 allv lnM in contempt. 
 
 it iloL-s n(jt appear that the nobility made any overt oppo- 
 Bition to these democratical institutions. Confident in a force 
 
 anil hnji alwnyi rontlnued, ruronlinK to tho privilppe of choosing tlu-ir municipal 
 t<lj<Mioii<ll. in Lucca, itml in Hiuhc citicH olflccrH ; p, '.)5. 
 
 of tUo fcclei.liutical aUitc wliidi preHcrvea ' Villani. 1. Ix. c. 27, 1. x. c. 110, I. xl. 
 
 c. 10.0; SL'^uioiidi, t. v. p. 174
 
 408 GOVERNMENT OF FLORENCE. Chap. III. Part II. 
 
 beyond the law, they cared less for what the law might pro- 
 vide against them. They still retained the proud spirit of 
 personal independence which had belonged to their ancestors 
 in the fastnesses of the Apennines. Though the laws of 
 Florence and a change in Italian customs had trans2:)lant- 
 ed their residence to the city, it was in strong and lofty houses 
 that they dwelt, among their kindred, and among the fellows 
 of their rank. Notwithstanding the tenor of the constitution, 
 Florence was for some years after the establishment of priors 
 incapable of resisting the violence of her nobility. Her his- 
 torians all attest the outrages and assassinations committed by 
 them on the inferior people. It was in vain that justice was 
 offered by the podesta and the capitano del popolo. Wit- 
 nesses dared not to appear against a noble offender ; or if, on 
 a complaint, the officer of justice arrested the accused, his 
 family made common cause to rescue their kinsman, and the 
 populace rose in defence of the laws, till the city was a scene 
 of tumult and bloodshed. I have ali-eady alluded to this in- 
 subordination of the higher classes as general in the Italian 
 republics ; but the Florentine writers, being fuller than the 
 rest, are our best specific testimonies.^ 
 
 The dissensions between the patrician and plebeian orders 
 
 ,„„, ran very high, when Giano della Bella, a man of 
 A.D. 1295. . •',. ° 1 ,1 . , , . . 
 
 ancient hneage, but attached, without ambitious 
 
 views, so far as appears, though not without passion, to the 
 poj)ular side, introduced a series of enactme)its exceedingly 
 disadvantageous to the ancient aristocracy. The first of 
 these was tlie appointment of an executive officer, the gonfa- 
 lonier of justice, whose duty it was to enforce the sentences 
 of the podesta and capitiino del popolo in cases where the or- 
 dinary officers were insufficient. A thousand citizens, after- 
 wards increased to four tunes that number, were bound to 
 obey his commands. They were distributed into companies, 
 the gonfaloniers or captains of which became a sort of cor- 
 poration or college, and a constituent part of the government. 
 A D 1295 This new militia seems to have superseded that 
 of the companies of arts, which I have not ob- 
 served to be mentioned at any later period. The gonfalonier 
 of justice was part of the signiory along with the priors, of 
 whom he was reckoned the president, and changed, like them, 
 
 1 Villani, 1. vii. o . 113, 1. viii. c. 8j Ammirato, Storia Fiorentina, 1. iv. in 
 comiaciamento.
 
 Italy. GOVERNMENT OF FLORENCE. 409 
 
 every two months. He was, in fact, the first niajiistratc of 
 Florence.^ If Giuno delhi Bella had trusted tu the ellieaey 
 of this new security for justice, his fame wouUl have been 
 beyond reproach. But he followed it up by harsher pro- 
 visions. The nobility were now made absolutely ineligible 
 to the oflice of prior. For an offence committed by one of a 
 noble family, his relations were declared responsible in a 
 ])fnalty of ."'{••(lO pound-. And, to obviate the difiiculty aris- 
 ing from the fre([uent intimidation of witnesses, it was pro- 
 vided that common fame, attested by two credible persons, 
 should be suflicient for the condemnation of a nobleman.'^ 
 
 These are the famous ordinances of justice which passed 
 at Florence for the great charter of her democracy. They 
 ha\e been rei)robated in later times as scandalously unjust ; 
 and I have little inclination to defend them. The last, espe- 
 cially, was a violation of those eternal principles which for- 
 bid us, for any calculations of advantage, to risk the sacrifice 
 of innocent blood. But it is imi)ossible not to perceive that 
 the .-iame unjust severity has sometimes, under a like pretext 
 of necessity, been applied to the weaker classes of the peo- 
 ple, which they were in this instance able to exercise towards 
 their natural superiors. 
 
 The nobility were soon aware of the i)Osition in which 
 they stootl. For half a century their great object was to 
 j)rocure the relaxation of the onlinauces of justice. But 
 they had no success with an elated enemy. In three years' 
 time, indeed, Giano della Bella, the author of these institu- 
 tion.s, was driven into exile; a conspicuous, though by no 
 mean- singular. ])roof of Florentine ingratitude.^ The wealth 
 and pliv^-ical .-treiigtii of the n(»l)les were, however, untouched ; 
 and their influence must always have been considerable. In 
 the great feuds of the Bianchi and Xeri the ancient families 
 were most distingui>hed. Xo man plays a greater part in the 
 annals of Florence at the beginning of the fourteenth century 
 
 > It Ui to be regretted that the ac- ({onfaloniere di touf'ti!'-i'i, il popolo e |1 
 
 r'imiilljitifd MopraphiT of Ix>renzo de' coiiiuiic di-lla citti di Fireuzo. U. Villani, 
 
 Mclirl iilixuM hare Liken no pnins to I. xii. r. ID'J. 
 
 liifonii liiniN-ir of the iMo^t ordinary pur- - Villaiii, 1. viii. c. 1; Amniinito, p. 
 
 tirul:ir« in tlio ront-titution of Klon-iico. 188, edit. 1047. A nia(,'i''trat<>, called 
 
 Auiong many ritlier errom lie miyn, Tol. U. 1' CHocutor della niusti/.ia, wan appointed 
 
 i>. 51. 6Ui edit., that the Konfalonier of with anthority eijual to that of the po- 
 
 Jui'ti'-e WN« KulHirdinato to the deleKnted denti for the xpeci.il purpone of WHtrlilng 
 
 Ui. 1 haij expreMion), or priori over the oliHervation of the onlinancen of 
 
 d"- M- nunitjer, t<jo, heaiiionentjt juittiie. Amniinito, p. litW. 
 
 to li'M i UI' profMT Ktyle of the npulilic ^ Villani, I. viii. c. O. 
 •wuu to ruu tlius: 1 priori deli' urti u
 
 410 GOVERNMENT OF FLOEENCE. Chap. III. Part II. 
 
 than Corso Donati, chief of the latter faction, who might pass 
 as representative of the turbulent, intrepid, ambitious citizen- 
 noble of an Italian republic.-^ But the laws gradually be- 
 came more sure of obedience ; the sort of proscription which 
 attended the ancient nobles lowered their spirit ; while a new 
 aristocracy began to raise its head, the aristoci'acy of families 
 who, after filling the highest magistracies for two or three 
 generations, obtained an hereditary importance, which an- 
 swered the purpose of more unequivocal nobility ; just as in 
 ancient Rome plebeian families, by admission to curule of- 
 fices, acquired the character and, appellation of nobiUty, and 
 were only distinguishable by their genealogy from the origi- 
 nal patricians.^ Florence had her plebeian nobles (popolani 
 grandi), as well as Rome ; the Peruzzi, the Ricci, the Albizi, 
 the Medici, correspond to the Catos, the Pompeys, the Bru- 
 tuses, and the Antonies. But at Rome the two orders, after an 
 equal partition of the highest offices, were content to respect 
 their mutual privileges ; at Florence the commoner preserved a 
 rigorous monopoly, and the distinction of high birth was, that 
 it debarred men from political franchises and civil justice.^ 
 
 This second aristocracy did not obtain much more of the 
 popular affection than that which it superseded. Public out- 
 rage and violation of law became less frequent ; but the new 
 leaders of Florence are accused of continual misgovernment 
 at home and abroad, and sometimes of peculation. There 
 was of course a sti-ong antipathy between the leading com- 
 moners and the ancient nobles ; both were disliked by the 
 people. In order to keep the nobles under more control the 
 governing party more than once introduced a new foreign 
 magistrate, with the title of captain of defence (della guar- 
 dia), whom they invested with an almost unbounded criminal 
 A.D. 1336. jurisdiction. One Gabrielli of Agobbio was twice 
 A.D. 1340. fetched for this purpose ; and in each case he be- 
 haved in so tyrannical a manner as to occasion a tumult.* 
 His office, however, was of short duration, and the title at 
 least did not import a sovereign command. But very soon 
 
 1 Dino Compagtii : VQlani. i- la Fiorentina nobiliti. Ammirato delle 
 
 2 La nobiliti civile, .se bene non in Famiglie Fiorentiue. Firenze, 1614, p. 25. 
 baronaggi, e capace di grandissimi honori, ^ Quello, che all' altre citti suolo 
 percioche esei-eitando i supremi uiagis- recai'e splendore, in Fircnzc era danuopo, 
 trati della sua patria, viene spesso a o veramente vano e inutile, says Am- 
 comandare a capitani d' eserciti e ella niirato of nobility. Storia Fiorentina, 
 Btessa per se 6 in mare, 6 in terra, niolte p. 161. 
 
 Tota i supremi carichi adopera. E tale * Villani, 1. xi. c. 39 and 11".
 
 Italy. GOVERNMENT OF FLORENCE. 411 
 
 afterwards Florence h;ul to experience one ta>te of a enp 
 ■which her neiirhljors had drunk oil" to the dreg;*, and to ani- 
 mate her uiagnaninious love of freedom by a knowledge of 
 the calamities of t\Tainiy. 
 
 A war with Pisa, luisuecessfnlly, if not uuskiUully, con- 
 ducted, gave rise to such dissatisfaction in the city, that the 
 leading commoners had recourse to an appointment some- 
 thing like that of Gabrielli. and from similar motives. 
 Waiter de Brieime, duke of Alliens, was descended fn)m one 
 of the French crusaders who had dismembered the Grecian 
 empire in the preceding century ; but his father, defeated 
 in battle, had lost the princijjality along with his life, and tlie 
 titular duke was an adventurer in the court of France. He 
 had been, however, slightly known at Florence on a former 
 occasion. Tiiere was an iniilbrm maxim among the Italian 
 re[)ublics that extraordinary powers should be conferred 
 upon none but strangers. The duke of Athens was accord- 
 ingly pitched upon for the military conmiand, which was 
 united with domestic jurisdiction. This ai)pears to have 
 been promoted by the governing party in order to curb the 
 noljility ; but they were soon undeceived in their expecta- 
 tions. The first act of the duke of Athens \vas to bring four 
 of the mo.-t eminent connnoners to cai)ital i)unishment for 
 military offences. These sentences, whether just or other- 
 wise, gave much pleasure to the nobles, who had so frecpiently 
 been expo-ed to similar severity, and to the popuhice, who 
 are naturally pleased with the humiliation of their superiors. 
 Both of these were caressed by the duke, and both conspired, 
 with blind ])assion, to second his ambitious views. It was 
 proposed and carried in a full parliament, or assembly of the 
 people, to bestow upon him the signiory for Ufe. The real 
 friends of their country, as well as the oligarchy, 
 shuddered at this measure. Throughout all the 
 vicis.-itudes of ])arty Florence had never yet lost sight of 
 rejiublicau institutions. Not that she had never accoinmo- 
 datid herself to temporary circumstances by naming a 
 eignior. Cliarles of Anjou had been invested with that dig- 
 nity for tiie term of ten years; Kobert king of Naples for 
 fiv«; ; and his son, the duke of Calabria, was at his death 
 signior of Florenc*-. Tiiese jtrinces named tlie poilcsla, if 
 not the priors; and were certainly pretty absolute in their 
 executive powers, though bound by oatii not to alter the
 
 412 GOVERNMENT OF FLORENCE. Chap. III. Part II. 
 
 Statutes of the city.^ But tlieir office had always been tem- 
 porary. Like the dictatorship of Rome, it was a confessed, 
 unavoidable evil ; a suspension, but not extinguishment, of 
 rights. Like that, too, it was a dangerous precedent, 
 through which crafty ambition and popular rashness might 
 ultimately subvert the republic. If Walter de Brienne had 
 possessed the subtle prudence of a Matteo Visconti or a Cane 
 della Scala, there appears no reason to suppose that Florence 
 Avould have escaped the fate of other cities ; and her history 
 might have become as useless a record of pei*fidy and assas- 
 sination as that of Mantua or Verona.^ 
 
 But, happily for Florence, the reign of tyranny was very 
 short. The duke of Athens had neither judgment nor 
 activity for so difficult a station. He launched out at once 
 into excesses which it would be desirable that arbitrary power 
 should always commit at the outset. The taxes were consid- 
 erably increased ; their produce was dissipated. The honor 
 of the state was sacrificed by an inglorious treaty with Pisa ; 
 her territory was diminished by some towns throwing off 
 their dependence. Severe and multiplied punishments spread 
 terror through the city. The noble families, who had on the 
 duke's election destroyed the ordinances of justice, now 
 found themselves exposed to the more partial caprice of a 
 despot. He filled the magistracies with low creatures from 
 the inferior artificers ; a class which he continued to flatter.^ 
 Ten months passed in this manner, when three separate con- 
 spiracies, embracing most of the nobihty and of the great 
 commoners, were planned for the recovery of freedom. The 
 duke was protected by a strong body of hired cavalry. 
 Revolutions in an Italian city were generally effected by 
 surprise. The streets were so narrow and so easily secured 
 by barricades, that, if a people had time to stand on its 
 defence, no cavalry was of any avail. On the other hand, a 
 body of lancers in plate-armor might dissipate any number 
 of a disorderly populace. Accordingly, if a prince or usurper 
 would get possession by surprise, he, as it was called, rode the 
 city ; that is, galloped with his cavalry along the streets, so 
 as to prevent the people from collecting to erect barricades. 
 This expression is very usual with historians of the four- 
 teenth century.^ The conspirators at Florence were too 
 
 1 ViUani, 1. ix. c. 55, 60, 135, 328. 3 Villani, c. 8. 
 
 2 Id. 1. xii. c. 1, 2, 3. * Villani, 1. x. c. 81; Castruccio . . ,
 
 Italy. GOVERNMENT OF FLORENCE. 41.) 
 
 quick ft)r the duke of Atlien.-;. The city was barricaded in 
 every direct iou ; and after a contest of some duration he 
 consented to abdicate his signiory. 
 
 Thus Florence recovered her liberty. Her constitutional 
 laws now seemed to revive of themselves. But the iiol)ility, 
 who had taken a very active part in the recent liberation of 
 their country, thou<rht it hanl to be still [daced under the 
 rigorous ordinances of justice. Many of the richer eom- 
 niDuers acquiesced in an equitable partition of magistracies, 
 which was established through the inlluence of the bishop. 
 But the jHipulace of Florence, with its characteristic forget- 
 fulness of benefits, was tt-naciuus of those proscriptive ordi- 
 nances. The nobles too, elated by their success, began again 
 to strike and injure the inferior citizens. A new civil war 
 in the city-streets decided tlieir (piarrel ; after a desperate 
 resistance many of the principal houses were pillaged and 
 burned ; and the perpetual exclusion of the nobility was 
 contirmed by fresh laws. But the jjcople, now sure of their 
 triunqili, relaxed a little upon this occasion the ordinances of 
 justice ; and to make some distinction in favor of merit or 
 innocence, effaced certain families from the list of nobility. 
 Five Innuked and thirty persons were thus elevated, as we 
 may call it, to the rank of connnoners.^ As it was beyond 
 the competence of the republic of Florence to change a man's 
 ancestors, this nominal alteration left all the real advantages 
 of birth as they were, and was undoubtedly an enhancement 
 of dignity, though, in ai)])earance, a very singular one. 
 Converselv, several unpopular coMimoni'rs were ennobled, in 
 order to disfranchise them. Nothing was more usual in sub- 
 sequent times than such an arbitrary change of rank, as a 
 penalty or a benefit.'* Those nobles who were rendered 
 plebeian by favor, were obliged to change their name and 
 arms.* The constitution now iniderwent some change. 
 From six the priors were increased to eight ; and instead 
 
 corw 1a citti <li PUa dac rolte. Sin- euch in tlipordiiuiiircs of jiistici'; nf least 
 
 momli. t. T. p. U)5. I <)i> ii<<t know wlmt iitlivr di-tiuition 
 
 I Vllliini. I. xll. r. lH-2.3. Sininnnill tlnTf \v(i«. 
 
 MVK. l>y a nionii-ntary ovcrniclit. <"lnci '•' McHscr Antonio di natilinnrcii) di'Kli 
 
 cent trvnU- /niHi«'<, t.y. \> 377. There Adiiimri, tiitto clii; fosse du pii'i );niiidi e 
 
 were liut tiiirty-w-ven noble fnniilies at nnbili, piT t'ni/.iii cm mexso trii "1 iiopolo. 
 
 Florence, ax M. Hlnmondl hiniwlf in- — Villani. 1. xii. c. 108. 
 
 fi.rni* iiK. t. It. |i. W : tliouKh Villiml •' Aniiiiinito. ji. 74K. Tln-re were sevenil 
 
 ri-<'k<iitji ttie nuniU-r of IndivldiiaU at exei'ptioiis to this rule In later times. 
 
 lfyi*t. Xol/les, or frnn'li ad they ar« The I'azzi were made popolnni. pli'lielans, 
 
 Diore utri'tly railed, were such an had hy favor of Cosmo du' Medici. Muchia- 
 
 twvu liucribc-d, or rattier pruocribed, aji vcUi.
 
 414 go"vt:rx:hent of Florence. Chap. hi. part ii, 
 
 of being chosen from each of the greater arts, they were 
 taken from the four quarters of the city, the lesser artisans, 
 as I conceive, being admissible. The gonfaloniers of compa- 
 nies were reduced to sixteen. And these, along with the 
 signiory, and the twelve buonuomini, formed the college, 
 where every proposition was discussed before it could be 
 offered to the councils for their legislative sanction. But it 
 could only originate, strictly speaking, in the signiory, that is, 
 the gonfalonier of justice, and eight priors, the rest of the 
 college having merely the function of advice and assist- 
 
 ed 
 ance.-' 
 
 Several years elapsed before any material disturbance arose 
 at Florence. Her contemporary historian complains, indeed, 
 that mean and ignorant persons obtained the office of prior, 
 and ascribes some errors in her external policy to this cause.^ 
 Besides the natural effects of the established rotation, a par- 
 ticular law, called the divieto, tended to throw the better 
 families out of juiblic office. By this law two of the same 
 name could not be drawn for any magistracy : which, as the 
 ancient families were extremely numerous, rendered it diffi- 
 cult for their members to succeed ; especially as a ticket once 
 drawn was not replaced in the purse, so that an individual 
 liable to the divieto was excluded until the next biennial rev- 
 olution.^ This created dissatisfaction among the leading 
 families. They were likewise divided by a new faction, 
 entirely founded, as far as appears, on personal animosity 
 between two prominent houses, the Albizi and the Ricci. 
 The city was, however, tranquil, when in 1357 a spring was 
 set in motion which gave quite a different character to the 
 domestic history of Florence. 
 
 At the time when the Guelfs, with the assistance of 
 Charles of Anjou, acquired an exclusive domination in the 
 republic, the estates of the Ghibelins were confiscated. 
 One third of these confiscations was allotted to the state ; 
 another went to repair the losses of Guelf citizens ; but the 
 remainder became the property of a new corporate society, 
 denominated the Guelf ]iarty (parte Guelfa), with a regular 
 internal organization. The Guelf party had two councils, 
 one of fourteen and one of sixty members ; three, or after- 
 
 1 Nardi, Storia di Firenze, p. 7, edit. 2 Matteo Villani in Script. Rer. Italic. 
 1584. Villani, loc. cit. t. xiv. p. 98. 244. 
 
 3 Sismondi, t. ri. p. 338.
 
 Italy. GOVERNMENT OF FLORENCE. 415 
 
 wards four, captains, elected by scrutiny e\ery two months, a 
 treasury, and common seixl ; a little republic within the repub- 
 lic of Florence. Tiieir primary duty was to watch over the 
 Guelf interest ; and for this pur[)ose they had a particular 
 otHcer for the accusation of suspected Ghibelins.^ "We hear 
 not much, however, of the Guelf society for near a century 
 alter tiieir establishment. The Gliibelins hardly ventured 
 to show themselves after the fall of the Wliite Guelfs in 
 1304, with whom they had been connected, and confiscation 
 hail almost annihilated that unfortunate faction. But as the 
 oligarcliy of Guelf tamilies lost part of its influence through 
 the divieto and system of lottery, some persons of Gliibelin 
 descent crept into public offices ; and this was exaggerated 
 by the zealots of an opposite party, as if the fundamental 
 policy of tiie city was put into danger. 
 
 The Guelf society had begun, as early as 1346, to mani- 
 fest some disquietude at the foreign artisans, who, settling at 
 Florence and becoming members of some of the tradiu"; cor- 
 porations, pretended to superior offices. They procured ac- 
 cordingly a law excluding from public trust and magistracy 
 all persons not being natives of the city or its territory. 
 2sext year they advanced a step farther; and, with a view to 
 prevent disorder, which seemed to threaten the city, a law 
 was i>asse(l declaring every one whose ancestors at any time 
 since 13U0 had been known Gliibelins, or who had not the 
 reputation of sound Guelf principles, incapable of being 
 drawn or elected to offices.- It is manifest from the lansxuacre 
 of tlie historian who relates these circumstances, and whose 
 testimony is more remarkalile from his having died several 
 years before the j)olitics of the Guelf corporation more 
 decidedly showed thems<*lves, that the real cause of their 
 jealou.-y was not the increase of Ghibelinism, a merely 
 plausible pretext, but the democratical character which the 
 government had assumed since the revolution of 1343 ; which 
 raised the fourt<M-n inferior arts to the level of those which 
 the great merchants of Florence exercised. In the Guelf 
 society the ancient nobles retained a considerable influence. 
 Tiie laws <jf exclusion had never been ajiplied to that corpo- 
 ra! i(jn. Two of the captiiins were always noble, two were 
 commoners. The people, in debarring the nobility from ordi- 
 
 « 0. VUlanl, 1. Til. c. 16. « 0. VUlanl, 1. xU. c. 72 and 79.
 
 416 GOVERNMENT OF FLORENCE. Chap. III. Part II. 
 
 nary privileges, were little aware of the more dangerous chan- 
 nel which had been left open to their ambition. With the no- 
 biUty some of the great commoners acted in concert, and espe- 
 cially the family and faction of the Albizi. The introduction 
 of obscure persons into oifice stiU continued, and some meas- 
 ures more vigorous than the law of 1347 seemed necessary 
 to restore the influence of their aristocracy. They proposed, 
 and, notwithstanding the reluctance of the priors, carried by 
 violence, both in the preliminary deliberations of the signiory 
 and in the two councils, a law by which every person ac- 
 cepting an office who should be convicted of Gliibelinism or 
 of Ghibelin descent, upon testimony of public fame, became 
 liable to punishment, capital or jjecuniary, at the discretion 
 of the priors. To this law they gave a retrospective effect, 
 and indeed it appears to have been little more than a revival 
 of the provisions made in 1347, which had probably been 
 disregarded. Many citizens who had been magistrates with- 
 in a few years were cast in heavy fines on this indefinite 
 charge. But the more usual practice was to warn (am- 
 monire) men beforehand against undertaking public trust. 
 If they neglected this hint, they were sure to be treated as 
 convicted Ghibelins. Thus a very numerous class, called 
 Ammoniti, was formed of proscribed and discontented per- 
 sons, eager to throw off the intolerable yoke of the Guelf 
 society. For the imputation of Ghibelin connections was 
 generally an unfounded pretext for crushing the enemies of 
 the governing faction.-^ Men of approved Guelf principles 
 and origin were every day warned from their natural privi- 
 leges of sharing in magistracy. This spread an universal 
 alarm through the city ; but the great advantage of union and 
 secret confederacy rendei'cd the Guelf society, who had also 
 the law on their side, irresistible by their opponents. Mean- 
 while the public honor was well supported abroad ; Florence 
 had never before been so distinguished as during the preva- 
 lence of this oligarchy.'^ 
 
 1 Besides the effect of ancient pre- Villani says of Passerine, lord of Mantua, 
 
 judice, Ghibelinism was considered at that his ancestors had been Guelfs, ma 
 
 Florence, in the fourteenth century, as per essere signore e tiranno si fece Ghib- 
 
 immediately connected with tyrannical ellino : 1. x. c. 99. And Matteo Villani 
 
 usurpation. The Guelf party, says Matteo of the Pepoli at Bologna; essendo di na- 
 
 Villani, is the foundation rock of liberty tura Guelfi, per la tirannia erano quasi 
 
 in Italy ; so that, if any Guelf becomes a alienati della parte : p. 69. 
 
 tyrant, he must of necessity turn to the '- M. Villani, p. 531, 637, 731. Am- 
 
 Ghibelin side ; and of this there hare been mirato ; Machiavelli ; Sismondi. 
 many instances : p. 481. So Giovanni
 
 Italy. GOVERNMENT OF FLORENCE. -ilT 
 
 Tlie Guelf society had governed Avitli more or less abso- 
 luteness tor near twenty years, when tlie repul)lic became in- 
 volved, through the perfidious conduct of the papal legate, in 
 a war with the Holy See. Thongli the Florentines were by 
 no means superstitious, this hostility to the chnrch appeared 
 almost an absurdity to determined Guelts, and shocked those 
 prejuilices about names which make up the politics of" vulgar 
 minds. The Guelt' society, though it could not openly resist 
 the popular indignation against Gregory XL, was not heartily 
 inclined to this war. Its management fell therefore into the 
 bands of eight connnissioners, some of tliem not well affected 
 to the society ; whose admini>tration was so successful and 
 popular as to excite the utmost jealousy in the Guelfs. They 
 began to renew their warnings, and in eight months excluded 
 fourscore citizens.^ 
 
 The tyranny of a court may endure for ages ; but that of 
 a faction is seldom permanent. In June, lo78, the gonfa- 
 lonier of justice was Salvestro de' Medici, a man of approved 
 patriotism, whose family liad been so notoriously of Guelf 
 principles, that it was iin[)ossible to warn him from office. 
 He propo-ed to mitigate the severity of the existing law. 
 His proposition did not succeed; but its rejection provoked 
 an insurrection, tlie forerunner of still more alarming tumults. 
 Tlie po|»ulace of Florence, like that of other cities, was ter- 
 rible in the moment of sedition ; and a party so long dreaded 
 shrunk before the physical strength of the nmltitude. Many 
 leaders of the Guelf society had their houses destroyed, and 
 some flefl from the city. But instead of animlling their acts, 
 a middle course wa-; adopted by the committee of magistrates 
 who had been empowered to reform the st^ite ; the Annnoniti 
 were suspended three years longer from office, and the Guelf 
 .society preserve<l with some limitations. This temporizing 
 course di<l not .satisfy either the Annnoniti or the i)opulace. 
 Tile greater arts were generally attached to the Guelf society. 
 Between them and the lesser arts, comi)Osed of retail and 
 mechanical traders, there wa.s a strong jealousy. The latter 
 were adverse to the prevailing oligarchy and to the Guelf 
 sfjciety, by whose influence it was maintained. They were 
 eager to make Flon-nce a democracy in fact as well as in 
 name, by participating in the executive government. 
 
 ■ Aiiitnliato, p. 700. 
 VOL. 1. 27
 
 418 GOVERNMENT OF FLORENCE. Chap. III. Part II. 
 
 But every political institution appears to rest on too con- 
 fined a basis to those whose point of view is from beneath it. 
 While the lesser arts were murmuring at the exclusive 
 privileges of the commercial aristocracy, there was yet an in- 
 ferior class of citizens who thought their own claims to equal 
 privileges irrefragable. The arrangement of twenty-one 
 trading companies had still left several kinds of artisans un- 
 incorporated, and consequently unprivileged. These had been 
 attached to the art with which their craft had most connec- 
 tion in a sort of dependent relation. Thus to the company 
 of drapers, the most wealthy of all, the various occupations 
 instrumental in the manufacture, as woolcombers, dyers, and 
 weavers, were appendant.-*^ Besides the sense of political 
 exclusion, these artisans alleged that they were oppressed 
 by their employers of the art, and that, when they com- 
 plained to the consul, their judge in civil matters, no redress 
 could be procured. A still lower order of the community 
 was the mere populace, who did not practise any regular 
 trade, or who only worked for daily hire. These were called 
 Ciompi, a corruption, it is said, of the French compere. 
 
 " Let no one," says Machiavel in this place, " who begins 
 an innovation in a state expect that he shall stop it at his 
 pleasure, or I'egulate it according to his intention." After 
 about a month from the first sedition another broke out, in 
 which the ciompi, or lowest po})ulace, were alone concerned. 
 Through the surprise, or cowardice, or disaffection of the su- 
 perior citizens, this was suffered to get ahead, and for three 
 days the city was in the hand of a tumultuous rabble. It 
 was vain to withstand their propositions, had they even been 
 more unreasonable than they were. But they only demanded 
 the establishment of two new arts for the trades hitherto de- 
 pendent, and one for the lower people ; and that three of the 
 priors should be chosen from the greater arts, three from the 
 fourteen lesser, and two from those just created. Some de- 
 lay, however, occurring to prevent the sanction of these in- 
 novations by the councils, a new fury took possession of the 
 populace ; the gates of the palace belonging to the signiory 
 were forced open, the priors compelled to fly, and no appear- 
 ance of a constitutional magistracy remained to throw the 
 veil of law over the excesses of anarchy. The republic 
 
 1 Before the year 1340, according to Villani's calculation, the woolen trade 
 occupied 30,000 persons. 1. xi. c. 93.
 
 Italy. GOVERXMKXT OF FLOREXCE. 110 
 
 seemed to rock from its fomulations ; and the circumstance to 
 which historians ascribe its salvation is not the least sinsrular 
 in this critical epoch. One Michel di Lando, a woolconiber, 
 half dressed and without shoes, happened to hold the standard 
 of justice wrested from the proper oflicer when the populace 
 bur-t into the palace. Whether he was })revionsly conspicu- 
 ous in the tumult is not recorded ; but the wild, capricious 
 mob. who had destroyed what they had no conception how to 
 rebuild, suddenly cried out that Lando should be o;ontak)nier 
 or signior, and reform the city at his pleasure. 
 
 A choice, arising probably from wanton folly, could not 
 have been better made by wisdom. Lando was a man of 
 courage, moderation, and integrity. He gave innnediate 
 proofs of these qualities by causing his office to be respected. 
 The eight commissioners of the war, who, though not insti- 
 gators of the sedition, were well pleased to see the Guelf 
 })arty so entirely prostrated, now fancied themselves masters, 
 and began to nominate priors. But Lando sent a message to 
 them, that he was elected by the pr'0|)le, and that he could 
 dispense with their assistance. He then proceeded to the 
 choice of priors. Three were taken from the greater arts ; 
 three from the lesser ; and three from the two new arts and 
 the lower people. Tiiis eccentric college lost no time in re- 
 storing tranrpiillity, and compelled the populace, by threat of 
 pimishment, to return to their occupations. But the ciompi 
 were not disposed to give up the pleasures of anarchy so 
 readily. They were dissatisfied at the small share allotted 
 to them in the new distribution of offices, and murmured at 
 their gonfalonier as a trait<»r to the jioptdar cause. Lando 
 was aware that an insurrection was projected ; he took meas- 
 ures with the mo<t respectable citizens; the insurgents, when 
 they showed themselves, were quelled by force, and the gon- 
 falonier retired from office with an approbation which all his- 
 torians of FIon-Mce have agreed to p( rjtetiiate. l*art of this 
 Ih'W undoubtedly been founded on a consideration of the mis- 
 chief which it was in his power to inflict. The ciomiii, once 
 (■he(.'ked, were soon defeated. Tiie next gonfalonier was, 
 like- Lando, a w(X)lcomber ; but, wanting the intrinsic merit of 
 Lando, his mean station excited universal contempt. None 
 of the arts could endure their low coadjutors ; a slK)rt struggle 
 was made by iIk; populace, but they were entirely overpow- 
 ered with considenible slaughter, and the govei-nment was
 
 420 GOVEKNMENT OF FLORENCE. Chap. III. Part II. 
 
 divided between the seven greater and sixteen lesser arts, in 
 nearly equal proportions. 
 
 The party of the lesser arts, or inferior tradesmen, which 
 had begun this confusion, were left winners when it ceased. 
 Three men of distinguished families wdio had instigated the 
 revolution became the leaders of Florence ; Benedetto Alber- 
 ti, Tomaso Strozzi, and Georgio Scali. Their government 
 had at first to contend with the ciompi, smarting under loss 
 and disappointment. But a populace which is beneath the 
 inferior mechanics may with ordinary prudence be kept in 
 subjection by a government that has a well-organized militia 
 at its command. The Guelf aristocracy was far more to be 
 dreaded. Some of them had been banished, some fined, 
 some ennobled : the usual consequences of revolution which 
 they had too often practised to complain. A more iniquitous 
 proceeding disgi'aces the new administration. Under pre- 
 tence of conspiracy, the chief of the house of Albizi, and 
 several of his most eminent associates, were thrown into 
 prison. So little evidence of the charge appeared that the 
 podesta refused to condemn them ; but the people were clam- 
 orous for blood, and half with, half without the forms of jus- 
 tice, these noble citizens were led to execution. The part he 
 took in this murder sullies the fame of Benedetto Alberti, 
 who in his general conduct had been inore uniformly influ- 
 enced by honest principles than most of his contemporaries. 
 Those who shared Avith him the ascendency in the existing 
 government, Strozzi and Scali, abused their power by oppres- 
 sion towards their enemies, and insolence towards all. Their 
 popularity w^as, of course, soon at an end. Alberti, a sin- 
 cere lover of freedom, separated himself from men who 
 seemed to emulate the arbitrary government they had over- 
 thrown. An outrage of Scali, in rescuing a criminal from 
 justice, brought the discontent to a crisis ; he was arrested, 
 and lost his head on the scaiFold ; while Strozzi, his colleague, 
 fled from the city. But this event was instantly followed by 
 a reaction, which Alberti, perhaps, did not anticipate. Armed 
 men filled the streets ; the cry of " Live the Guelfs ! " was 
 heard. After a three years' depression the aristocratical party 
 regained its ascendency. They did not revive the severity 
 practised towards the Ammoniti ; but the two new arts, cre- 
 ated for the small trades, were abolished, and the lesser arts 
 reduced to a third part, instead of something more than one
 
 Italy. GOVERNMENT OF FLORENCE. 421 
 
 half, of pultlic office;!. Several person?^ who had favoieil tlie 
 plelieians were sent into exile ; and among tlie.-e 31icliel di 
 Lando, whose great services in snbdning anarchy ouglit to 
 have secured the protection of every government. Bene- 
 detto Alherti. the enemy by turns of every faction — because 
 every I'aciidU was in its turn oppressive — experienced some 
 years afterwards the same fate. For half a century after 
 this time no revolution took place at Florence. Tlie Giulf 
 ari-tocracy, strong in opulence and antiquity, and rendered 
 prudent by experience, under the guidance of the Albizi 
 family, maintained a preponderating influence without much 
 departing, the times considered, frou) moderation and respect 
 for the laws.^ 
 
 It is suthciently manifest, from this sketch of the domestic 
 historv of Florence, how far that famous republic was i'rom 
 atlording a perfect security for civil rights or general tranquil- 
 lity. They who hate the name of free constitutions may ex- 
 idt in her internal dissensions, as in those of Atliensor Rome. 
 But the calm jihilosopher will not take his standard of com- 
 parison from ideal excellence, nor even from that practical 
 good which has been reached in our own unequalled consti- 
 tution, and in some of the repul)licsof modern Europe. The 
 men ami the institutions of tlie fourteentli ceiiturv are to be 
 measured by fiieir contemporaries. Who would not rather 
 liave been a citizen of Florence than a sul»ject of the Vis- 
 conti ? In a superficial review of history we are sometimes 
 apt to exaggerate tlie vices of free states, and to lose sight of 
 tliose inherent in tyrannical power. The bold censoriousness 
 of re])iddican historians, and the cautious servilitv of writers 
 under an absolute monarchy, conspire to mislead us as to the 
 relative j)nisperity of nations. Acts of outrage and tumultu- 
 ous exces-es in a free state are blazoned in mimite detail, and 
 (le>ceiid to posterity; the deeds of tyranny anj studiously and 
 jM-rpetually suppressed. Even those historians who have no 
 j)articular motiv<"s for concealment turn away from the monoto- 
 nous and rlisgusting crimes of tyrants. " Deeds of crueltv." it 
 is well ol)served bv Matleo Villani, after rehititiir an action of 
 
 I For thU piirt of Flon-ntlno hl*tory, pIoa«in|;. but it bn'nlts olT riitluT too 
 
 1 . -i l.-t Ainiiiinitri. Miirliiavi-I. nml Si»- k(k>h. at tlio instimt of LamlirK a»uiiiiiin 
 
 li. I linvi' n-ail an Irilorui'tiiii; iiarni- (lie offlpc of liaiiiiiTi't. Aimtlirr coii- 
 
 tin- of tlie oolitiun of the riiniipi, liy teiiiporary writ<'r, Mdi'liioiii' ili' St<'faiii, 
 
 <iino <'n|i|K>ni, in tlur clj^htciMitli rohirn<- who mimms to have furnishcil tin- niatiol- 
 
 of Miiratorl'ii rollit-tion. It hoii an air alt of tin- thrri- hiftorlauH ahovo uiun- 
 
 of UvelincM an<l trutli which U Tcry tionod, hart not fiillua In uiy way.
 
 422 ACQUISITION OF TERRITORY Chap. III. Part II. 
 
 Bernabo Visconti, " are little worthy of remembrance ; yet let 
 me be excused for having recounted one out of many, as an 
 example of the peril to which men are exposed under the 
 yoke of an unbounded tyranny." ^ The reign of Bernabo af- 
 forded abundant instances of a like kind. Second only to 
 Eccelin among the tyrants of Italy, he rested the security of 
 his dominion upon tortures and death, and his laws themselves 
 enact the protraction of capital j)uni6hment through forty 
 days of suffering.^ His nephew, Giovanni Maria, is said, 
 with a madness like that of Nero or Commodus, to have 
 coursed the streets of Milan by night with blood-hounds, 
 ready to chase and tear any unlucky passenger.^ Nor were 
 other Italian principalities free from similar tyrants, though 
 none, perhaps, upon the whole, so odious as the Visconti. The 
 private history of many families, such, for instance, as the 
 Scala and the Gonzaga, is but a series of assassinations. The 
 ordinary vices of mankind assumed a tint of portentous guilt 
 in the palaces of Italian 2:)rinces. Their revenge was fratri- 
 cide, and their lust was incest. 
 
 Though fertile and populous, the proper district of Flor- 
 Acquisition 6nce was by no means extensive. An indepen- 
 of territory dcut nobility occupicd the Tuscan Appennines with 
 y orence. ^j^^jj. (.^stles. Of these the most conspicuous were 
 the counts of Guidi, a numerous and powerful family, who 
 possessed a material influence in the affairs of Florence and 
 of all Tuscany till the middle of the fourteenth century, and 
 some of whom preserved their independence much longer.* 
 To the south, the republics of Arezzo, Perugia, and Siena ; 
 to the west, those of Volterra, Pisa, and Lucca ; Prato and 
 Pistoja to the north, limited the Florentine territory. It was 
 late before these boundaries were removed. During the 
 usurpations of Uguccione at Pisa, and of Castruccio at Lucca, 
 the republic of Florence was always unsuccessful in the field. 
 After the death of Castruccio she began to act more vigor- 
 ously, and engaged in several confederacies with the powers 
 of Lombardy, especially in a league with Venice against 
 Mastino della Scala. But the republic made no acquisition 
 of territory tiU 1351, when she annexed the small city of 
 
 1 p. 434. The last of the counts Guidi. having un- 
 
 2 Sismondi, t. vi. p. 316; Corio, 1st. di wisely embarked in a confederacy against 
 Milauo, p. 486. Florence, was obliged to give up his an- 
 
 3 Corio, p: 595. cient patrimony in 1440. 
 * G. Villani, 1. v. c. 37, 41, ct alibi.
 
 Italy. 
 
 BY FLOUENCE. 
 
 423 
 
 Prato. not ten miles from her walls.^ Pistoja, thougli still 
 nominally independent, received a Florentine ganison aViout 
 the same time. Several additions were made to the district 
 by lair purchase from the nobility of the Appennines, and a 
 few by main force. The territory Avas still very Jittle pro- 
 portioned to the fame and power of Florence. The latter 
 was founded upon her vast commercial opulence. Every 
 Italian state employed mercenary troops, and the richest was, 
 of course, the most powerful. In the war against Mestino 
 della Scala in lo3() the revenues of Florence are reckoned 
 by Villani at three hundred tliousand florins, which, as he 
 observes, is more than tlic king of Naples or of Aragon pos- 
 sesses.'- The expenditure went at that time very nuich be- 
 yond the receipt, and was defrayed by loans from the princi- 
 pal mercantile tirms, which were secured by public funds, 
 the earliest instance, I believe, of that financial resource.* 
 Her population was computed at ninety thousand souls. 
 Villani reckons the district at eighty thousand men, I sup- 
 pose those only of military age ; but this calculation must 
 have been too large, even though he included, as we may 
 presume, the city in his estimate.'* Tuscany, though well 
 
 1 M. Villani, p. 72. This was rather 
 a uiuii-'ure of usurpiition ; hut thcrppub- 
 lic ha<l Mime n-xsoii to apprfhcnJ that 
 Prato niit'lit fill into the hands of the 
 A'isiotiti. Their conduct towards I'istoja 
 was intlu<'nr<-d hy the same motive ; but 
 it was still further removed from abso- 
 lute justire. p. 91. 
 
 ■•: a. Villani. 1. ix. c OO-M. These 
 chapters eonUiin a very full and interest- 
 ln(^ ^t.•lt<■nleut <if the revenues, e.xpenseg, 
 population, and internal condition of 
 Florence at that time. I'art of tliem is 
 extracted by M. Sismondi, t. v. p. ,'Jt'tj. 
 The gold florin was worth about ten 
 Rhillings of our money. The district of 
 Flon-nce was not then much larger than 
 Mi'Mlesex. 
 
 ^•i. Villani, 1 xl.o. 49. 
 
 * ('. 93. Troviamo diligentemente, che 
 In ijuesti tempi uvea in Kiri-nitc circa a 
 2.') niil:i nouiiiii da portan- arme dit 15 
 In 7<* anni — Stiniavasi avero in Kin-nite 
 dji '.*) niilu bocche tni uoniiiii e feniinu c 
 funciulli, per r avviiui del pane bisoifnnvu 
 al continuoalla cltU. Tliehe proportions 
 of '2i>,il><t) men Ix-twi-en flfl<'en and sev- 
 enty, and of 9<l.i«(f) wiuls. an- us ni-arly 
 BJi (lOi-j-ible ciiii«onant U) UKxIern calcula- 
 tion, of which Villani knew nothing, 
 whii-h rniiDrnin his accunicy ; though M. 
 Sisuioudl uintertx, p. 'Jiyj, that the city 
 
 contained 150,000 inhabitants, on no bet- 
 ter authority, as far as appesirs, than 
 that of Boccaccio, who says that 100,000 
 perished in the great plague of 1348, 
 which was gi-nerally suppo.sed to destroy 
 two out of thrif. But surely two vague 
 8up|)ositions are not to be combined, in 
 order to overthrow such a testimony as 
 that of Villani, who seems to have con- 
 sulted all n-gisters and other authentic 
 documents in his reach. 
 
 U'hat Villani sjiys of the population 
 of the district may lead us to reckon it, 
 piTliaps. at about IgO.fKH) souls, allowing 
 the baptisms to be one in thirty of the 
 population. Kagionavasi in ((uesti tempi 
 aviTe nel contudo e distretfo di Kireuzo 
 dc 80 niila uomini. Troviamo del pio- 
 vano, che batte/./jiva i fanclulli. impc- 
 roche per ogni nuischio, che battcz/jiva 
 in San (iiovanni, per avero il novero, 
 metea una fava nera, e jier ogni feniina 
 una bianca, trovo, ch' eraiio 1' anno in 
 ijuesti tcmiii dalle 5.S(H) in sei mila, avan- 
 /aiido le [liii volte il sesso niavi ulino da 
 3<KJ in 5()0 per anno. Baplisnis could 
 only be performed in one publii' font, at 
 Klorence, I'isa, and some other cities. 
 The building that contjtiued this font 
 was callc-d tlie Baptistery. The liaptis- 
 terii'H of Klorence and I'isa still ri'maln, 
 and are well known. Du Cunge, v. Bap-
 
 424 PISA. Chap. III. Part II. 
 
 cultivated and flourishing, does not contain by any means so 
 great a number of inhabitants in that sj)ace at present. 
 
 The first eminent conquest made by Florence was that of 
 p. Pisa, early in the fifteenth century. Pisa had 
 
 been distinguished as a commercial city ever since 
 the age of the Otlios. From her ports, and those of Genoa, 
 the earliest naval armaments of the western nations were 
 fitted out against the Saracen corsairs who infested the Medi- 
 terranean coasts. In the eleventh century she undertook, 
 and, after a pretty long struggle, completed, the important, 
 or at least the splendid, conquest of Sardinia, an island long 
 subject to a Moorish chieftain. Several noble families of 
 Pisa, who had defrayed the chief cost of this expedition, 
 shared the island in districts, which they held in fief of the 
 republic' At a later period the Balearic isles were sub- 
 jected, but not long retained, by Pisa. Her naval prowess 
 was supported by her commerce. A writer of the twelfth 
 century repi'oaches her with the Jews, the Arabians, and 
 other " monsters of the sea," who thronged in her streets.^ 
 The crusades poured fresh wealth into the lap of the mari- 
 time Italian cities. In some of those expeditions a great 
 portion of the armament was conveyed by sea to Palestine, 
 and freighted the vessels of Pisa, Genoa, and Venice. When 
 the Christians had bought with their blood the sea-coast of 
 Syria, these republics procured the most extensive privileges 
 in the new states that were formed out of their slender con- 
 quests, and became the conduits tlu-ough which the produce 
 of the East flowed in upon the ruder nations of Europe. 
 Pisa maintained a large share of this commerce, as well as 
 of maritime greatness, till near the end of the thirteenth cen- 
 tury. In 1282, we are told by Villani, she Avas in great 
 power, possessing Sardinia, Corsica, and Elba, from whence 
 
 tisterium. But there were fifty -seven par- trict of Florence in 1343 is estimated by 
 
 ishes and one hundred and ten cliurches Villani to contain as great a number, 
 
 within the city. Villani, ibid. Mr. Ilos- before Pisa, Volterra, or even Prato and 
 
 coe has published a manuscript, evi- Pistoja, had been annexed to it. — Ros- 
 
 dently written after the taking of Pisa in coe's Life of Lorenzo. Appendix, No. 16. 
 
 1406, though, as I should guess, not long i Sismondi. t. i. p. 345, 372. 
 
 after that event, containing a proposi- 2 Qui pergit Pisas, videt illic monstra 
 
 tion for an income-tax of ten per cent. marina ; 
 
 throughout the Florentine dominions. Ha'c urbs, Paganis, Turchis, Libycis 
 
 Among its other calculations, the popu- quoque, Parthis, 
 
 lation is reckoned at 400,000 ; assuming Sordida; Chaldeei sua lustrant moenia 
 
 that to be the proportion to 80,000 men tetri. 
 
 of military age, though cert.ainly beyond Donizo, VitaComitissseMathildis, 
 
 the mark. It is singular that the dis- apud Muratori, Dissert. 31.
 
 Italy. lUsA. 425 
 
 the republic, as well as private persons, derived larg^e rev- 
 enues, and almost ruled the sea with their sliips and mer- 
 chandises, and beyond sea were very powerful in (he city of 
 Acre, and much connected with its principal citizens.^ The 
 prosperous era of Pisa is marked by her ])ublii- cdihces. 
 She was the tirst Italian city tliat took a pride in architect- 
 ural maguiticence. Her cathedral is of the eleventh cen- 
 tury ; the baptistery, the famous inclined tower, or belfry, the 
 arcades that surntund the Campo Santo, or cemetery of 
 Pisa, are of the twelftli, or, at latest, of the thirteenth. - 
 
 It would liave been no slight anomaly in the annals of 
 Italy, or. we might say. of mankind, if twu neighl)()ring cities, 
 competitors in every mercantile occupation and every naval 
 enterprise, had not been perpetual enemies to each other. One 
 is more surprised, if the fact be true, that no war broke out 
 between Pi>a and Genoa till IITJ." From this time at least 
 they continually recurred. An eipiality of forces and of 
 courage kept the contiict uncertain for the greater part of 
 two centuries. Tiieir battles were numerous, and sonietinies, 
 taken separately, decisive ; but the public spirit and resources 
 of each city were called out by defeat, and we generally find 
 a new armament replaee the losses of an unsuccessful com- 
 bat. In tills respect the naval contest between Pisa and 
 Genoa, tiiough much longer protracted, resembles that of 
 Kome and Carthage in the first Punic war. But Pisa was 
 reserved for her yEgades. In one fatal battle, off the little 
 isle of Meluria, in 12H4, her whole navy was destroyed. 
 Several unfortunate and expensive armaments had almost ex- 
 hau-te<l tlie state, and this was the last effort, by private sac- 
 rifices, to ecpiip one more fleet. After this defeat it was in 
 vain to contend for empire. Eleven thousand Pisans lan- 
 ^'uished for many years in prison ; it was a current saying 
 that whoever would see Pisa sliould seek her at Genoa. A 
 treacherous ehiet", that coimt Ugolino whose guilt was so 
 terrilily avenged, is said to have purposely lost the battle, 
 an«l prevented liie ransom of tlie captives, to secure his 
 power: accusations that obtain easy credit with an unsuc- 
 cessful people. 
 
 From the epoch of the battle of Meloria, Pi>a ceased to 
 
 I Vlllaiil. I. Ti. r. 83. 
 
 5 S|.iii..i„|l. f. iv. p. i;S; TlruboHchi, t. iii. p. 4llti. 
 
 ' Munitori. ad aim. III'J.
 
 426 GENOA. Chap. III. Paet II. 
 
 be a maritime power. Forty years afterwards she was strip- 
 ped of her ancient colony, the island of Sardinia. The four 
 Pisan families who had been invested wdth that conquest had 
 been apt to consider it as their absolute property ; their appel- 
 lation of judge seemed to indicate deputed power, but they 
 sometimes assumed that of king, and several attempts had been 
 made to establish an immediate dependence on the empire, 
 or even on the pope. A new potentate had now come for- 
 ward on the stage. The malecontent feudataries of Sardinia 
 made overtures to the king of Ai'agon, who had no scruples 
 about attacking the indisputable possession of a declining 
 republic. Pisa made a few unavailing efforts to defend Sar- 
 dinia ; but the nominal superiority was hardly worth a con- 
 test; and she surrendered her rights to the crown of Aragon. 
 Her commerce now dwindled with her greatness. During 
 the fourteenth century Pisa almost renounced the ocean and 
 directed her main attention to the pohtics of Tuscany. Ghib- 
 elin by invariable predilection, she was in constant opposition 
 to the Guelf cities which looked up to Florence. But in the 
 fourteenth century the names of freeman and Ghibelin were 
 not easily united ; and a city in that interest stood insulated 
 between the republics of an opposite faction and the tyrants 
 of her own. Pisa fell several times under the yoke of 
 usurpers ; she was included in the wide-spreading acquisitions 
 of Gian Galeazzo Visconti. At his death one of his family 
 seized the dominion, and finally the Florentines purchased 
 for 400,000 florins a rival and once equal city. The Pisans 
 made a resistance more according to what they had been 
 than what they were. 
 
 The early history of Genoa, in all her foreign relations, is 
 Genoa. involved in that of Pisa. As allies against the 
 
 Her wars Saraccus of Africa, Spain, and the Mediterranean* 
 islands, as corrivals in commerce with these very Saracens 
 or with the Christians of the East, as cooperators in the 
 great expeditions under the banner of the cross, or as engaged 
 in deadly warfare with each other, the two republics stand in 
 continual parallel. From the beginning of the thirteenth 
 century Genoa was, I think, the more prominent and flour- 
 ishing of the two. She had conquered the island of Corsica 
 at the same time that Pisa reduced Sardinia ; and 
 her acquisition, though less considerable, was longer 
 preserved. Her territory at home, the ancient Liguria, was
 
 Italy. HER AVARS. 427 
 
 much more extensive, and, wlu\t was most important, con- 
 tiiined a frrcater ranire of sea-coast than that ot" Pi?a. But 
 the couiuK'ivial and niariliuic prosperity ot" Genoa may be 
 diited from the recovery of Constantinople by the Greeks in 
 12G1. Jealous of the Venetians, by whose arms the Latin 
 empei'Oi's had been phieed, and were still maintained, on iheir 
 throne, the Genoese assisted Palajologus in overturning that 
 usurpation. They obtained in consequence the suburb of 
 Pera or Galata, over against Constantinople, as an exclusive 
 settlement, where their colony was ruled by a magistrate sent 
 from honae, and frequently defied the Greek capital with its 
 armed galleys and intrt'j)id seamen. From this convenient 
 station Gi.'uoa extended her commerce into the Ulark Sea, 
 and estiiblished her principal factory at Caffa, in the Crimean 
 peninsula. This commercial monopoly, for such she endeav- 
 ored to render it, ag<;ravated the animosity of , „ . 
 Venice. As Pisa retired from the field of waters, 
 a new enemy appeared upon the horizon to dispute the mari- 
 time dominion of Genoa. Her first war with Venice was in 
 l^.y^^. The second was not till after the victory of Meloria 
 had crushed her more ancient enemy. It broke out in 1293, 
 and was prosecuted with determined fury and a great display 
 of naval strength on both sides. One Genoese armament, 
 as we are assured by an historian, consisted of one hundred 
 and fifty-five galleys, each manned with from two hundred 
 and twenty to three hundre<l sailors ; ^ a force astonishing to 
 tlio^e wlio know the more slender resources of Italv in mod- 
 em times, but which is rendered credible by several analogous 
 facts of good autliority. It wa-*. however, beyond any other 
 exertion. Tlie usual fleets of Genoa and Venice were of 
 seventy to ninety galleys. 
 
 Perliaps the naval exploits of these two republics may 
 aflford a more inten-sting spectiicle to some minds than any 
 other part of Itjdian history. Compared with military trans- 
 actions of the same age, they are more sanguinary, more 
 brilliant, and exhibit full as much skill and intre])i(lity. But 
 maritime warfare is scanty in circinn>taiiees, and the iiult-fi- 
 niteness of its lociility prevents it from resting in the memory. 
 And th'iugh the wars of Genoa and Venice were not always 
 so unconnected with territcjrial politics as those of the former 
 
 > Munitorl, ad. 1295
 
 428 GENOA. Chap. III. Part II. 
 
 city with Pisa, yet, from the alternation of success and equal- 
 ity of forces, they did not often produce any decisive effect. 
 One memorable encounter in the Sea of Marmoi'a, whei-e 
 the Genoese fought and conquered single-handed against the 
 Venetians, the Catalans, and the Greeks, hardly belongs to 
 Italian history.-^ 
 
 But the most remarkable war, and that productive of the 
 
 1352 greatest consequences, was one that commenced in 
 
 War of 1.378, after several acts of hostility in the Levant, 
 
 loggia. wherein the Venetians appear to have been the 
 principal aggressors. Genoa did not stand alone in this war. 
 A formidable confederacy was raised against Venice, who 
 had given provocation to many enemies. Of this Francis 
 Carrara, signor of Padua, and the king of Hungary were the 
 leaders. But the principal struggle was, as usual, upon the 
 Avaves. During the winter of 1378 a Genoese fleet kept the 
 sea, and ravaged the shores of Dalmatia. The Venetian 
 armament had been weakened by an epidemic disease, and 
 when Vittor Pisani, their admiral, gave battle to the enemy, 
 he was compelled to fight with a hasty conscription of lands- 
 men against the best sailors in the world. Entirely defeated, 
 and taking refuge at Venice with only seven galleys, Pisani 
 was cast into prison, as if his iU fortune had been his crime. 
 Meanwhile the Genoese fleet, augmented by a strong rein- 
 forcement, rode before the long natural ramparts that separate 
 the lagunes of Venice from the Adriatic. Six passages in- 
 tersect the islands which constitute this barrier, besides the 
 broader outlets of Brondolo and Fossone, through which the 
 waters of the Brenta and the Adige are discharged. The 
 lagune itself, as is well known, consists of extremely shallow 
 water, unnavigable for any vessel except along the course 
 of artificial and intricate passages. Notwithstanding the ap- 
 parent ditficulties of such an enterprise, Pietro Doria, the 
 Genoese admiral, determined to reduce the city. His first 
 successes gave him reason to hope. He forced the passage, 
 and stormed the little town of Chioggia,^ built upon the inside 
 of the isle bearing that name, about twenty-five miles south 
 of Venice. Nearly four thousand prisoners fell here into 
 his hands : an augury, as it seemed, of a more splendid 
 
 1 Gibbon, c. 63. of the Venetian dialect, which changes 
 
 2 Chioggia, known at Venice by the the §■ into z. 
 name of Chioza, according to the usage
 
 Italy. HER WARS. -129 
 
 triumph. Tu the consternation thi:* misfortune inspired at 
 Venice the tirst impulse was to ask tor peace. Tlie ambas- 
 sadors carried with them seven Genoese prisoners, as a sort 
 of pcace-ollerin<r to the admiral, and were empowered to 
 make larj^e anil humiliating concessions, reservinjr nothing 
 but the liberty of \'enice. Francis Carrara strongly urged 
 his allies to treat for peace. But the Genoese were stimu- 
 lated by long hatred, and intoxicated by this tniexpectcd 
 opiiortunity of revenge. lX)ria, calling the amkxssadors 
 into council, thus addressed them: ''Ye shall obtain no 
 peace from us, I swear to you, nor from the lord of Padua, 
 till lirst we have jjut a curb in the mouths of those wild 
 horses that stand upon the place of St. ]Mark. "When they 
 are bridled you shall have enough of peace. Take back 
 with you your Genoese ca|)tives. for I am coming within a 
 few days to release both them and their comjianions fiom 
 your prisons." When this answer was reported to the 
 senate, they prepared to defend themselves with the charac- 
 teristic firmness of their government. Every eye Avas turned 
 towards a great man unjustly punished, their admiral Mttor 
 Pisani. He was called out of ]u-ison to defend his country 
 amid-t general acclamations; but, etjual in magnanimifv and 
 simple republican patriotism to the noblest characters of 
 antiquity, Pisani repressed the favoring voices of the multi- 
 tudf. anil bade them reserve their enthusiasm for St. i\Iark, 
 the symltol and war-cry of Venice. Under the vigorous 
 command of Pisani the canals were fortified or occujtied by 
 large vessels armed with artillery; thirty-four galleys were 
 equijiped; every citizen conlriluitcd according to his power; 
 in the entire want of conuncrcial resf)urces (for Venice had 
 not a merchant-ship during tiiis war) ju-ivate plate was 
 melted : and tlie senate held out the promise of enno1»ling 
 tliirly families wlio .-liould be mo>t forward in tliis strife of 
 j)atrioti-iii. 
 
 The new Ih'et was so ill provide<l with seamen that for 
 some montiis the a<lmiral « luployed them only in manoMiv- 
 ring along the canals. From some un;iccouiilable siq)ine- 
 ness, or more probably from the insuperable ditliculties of the 
 nndert:ikiiig, tiie Genoese made no assault upon the eilv. 
 Tbey had, indeed, fair grounds to iiope its reduction by 
 famine or despair. Every acces.s to the continent was cut 
 off by the troops of Padua; and the king of Ilinigary iiad
 
 430 WARS OF GENOA. Chap. III. Part II. 
 
 mastored almost all the Venetian towns in Istria and along 
 the Dalmatian coast. The doge Contarini, taking the chief 
 command, appeared at length with his fleet near Chioggia, 
 before the Genoese were aware. They were still less aware 
 of his secret design. He pushed one of the large round 
 vessels, then called cocche, into the narrow passage of Chiog- 
 gia which connects the lagune with the sea, and, mooring her 
 athwart the channel, interrupted that communication. At- 
 tacked with fury by the enemy, this vessel went down on the 
 spot, and the doge improved his advantage by sinking loads 
 of stones until the passage became absolutely unnavigable. 
 It was still possible for the Genoese fleet to follow the prin- 
 cipal canal of the lagune towards Venice and the northern 
 passages, or to sail out of it by the harbor of Brondolo ; but, 
 whether from confusion or from miscalculating the dangers 
 of their position, they suffered the Venetians to close the 
 canal upon them by the same means they had used at Chiog- 
 gia, and even to place their fleet in the entrance of Brondolo 
 so near to the lagune that the Genoese could not form their 
 ships in line of battle. The circumstances of the two com- 
 batants were thus entirely changed. But the Genoese fleet, 
 though besieged in Chioggia, was impregnable, and their 
 command of the land secured them from famine. Venice, 
 notwithstanding her unexpected success, was still very far 
 from secure ; it was difficult for the doge to keep his position 
 through the winter ; and if the enemy could appear in open 
 sea, the risks of combat were extremely hazardous. It is 
 said that the senate deliberated upon transporting the seat of 
 their liberty to Candia, and that the doge had announced his 
 intention to raise the siege of Chioggia, if expected succors 
 did not arrive by the 1st of January, 1380. On that very 
 day Carlo Zeno, an admiral who, ignorant of the dangers of 
 his country, had been supporting the honor of her flag in the 
 Levant and on the coast of Liguria, appeared with a rein- 
 forcement of eighteen galleys and a store of provisions. 
 From that moment the confidence of Venice revived. The 
 fleet, now superior in strength to the enemy, began to attack 
 them with vivacity. After several months of obstinate re- 
 sistance the Genoese, whom their republic had ineffectually 
 attempted to relieve by a fresh armament, blocked up in the 
 town of Chioggia, and pressed by hunger, were obliged to 
 surrender. Nineteen galleys only out of forty-eight were in
 
 Italy. HER GOVERNMENT. 431 
 
 gooil condition ; and the crewi* wore equally diinini?:ln'd in 
 tlie ton niontiis of tJK'ir occupation of C'liiogj^ia. Tlic pride 
 of Genoa was deemed to be justly humbled ; and even her 
 own historian confesses that God would not sutler so noble a 
 city as \\'nice to become the six)il of a conqueror.^ 
 
 Each of the two republics had sufficient reason to lament 
 their mutual prejudices, and the seliish cupidity of their mer- 
 chants, which u-urps in all maritime countries the name of 
 patriotism. Though the capture of Chioggia did not termi- 
 nate the war, both jiarties were exhausted, and willing, next 
 year, to accept the mediation of the duke of Savoy. By the 
 peace of Turin, Venice surrendered most of her territorial 
 possessions to tlie king of Hungary. That prince and 
 Francis Carrara were the only gainers. Genoa obtained the 
 isle of Tenedo*, one of the original subjects of dispute ; a 
 poor indenmity for her losses. Tliougli, upon a hasty view, 
 the result of this war appears more unfavorable to Venice, 
 yet in fact it is the epoch of the decline of Genoa. From 
 this time she never commanded the ocean with such navies 
 as before ; her commerce gradually went into decay ; and 
 the fifteenth century, the most splendid in the annals of 
 Venice, is, till recent times, the most ignominious in those of 
 Genoa. But this was partly owing to internal dissensions, 
 by which her liberty, as well as glory, was for a while sus- 
 pended. 
 
 At Genoa, as in other cities of Loml)ardy, the principal 
 magistrates of the republic were originally styled Government 
 Con.-uls. A chronicle drawn up under the inspec- °^ Genoa, 
 tion of the senate perpetuates tiie names of these early 
 magistrates. It apjjcars that their number varied from four 
 to six, annually elected by the people in their full parlia- 
 ment. These consuls y)resided over the republic and com- 
 manded the for<-(*s Ity land and sea; while another class of 
 magistrates, bearing the same title, were anmially elected by 
 the several crunpanies into which the people were divided, 
 lor the administration of civil justice.'^ Tiiis was the regi- 
 men of the twelfth century ; but in the next Genoa fell into 
 the fashion of intrusting the executive power to a foreign 
 
 Mi. SU-lIn, AnnaleM Qonuoniica; Ga- Sidinondi's nnmitivo is vory clear and 
 
 t-im. I«t<irin I'n'lovnna. Uotli thcHc con- /ipiritcd. — nUt. doH lUpubl. Ital. t. vU. 
 
 t.-iri;".nirv work", of whirh the latt<-r p. 'iOfi-aS. 
 (.'i\> - lln- Ix-xt ri'liition, are in tlio Hoven- "J Siauioudi. t. I. p. 353. 
 Ui-uCti Tulume of Munituri'ii coUcctiou.
 
 432 GOVERNMENT OF GENOA. Chap. IH. Part II. 
 
 podesta. The podesta was assisted by a council of eight, 
 chosen by the eight com2>anies of nobility. This institution, 
 if indeed it were anything more than a custom or usurpation, 
 originated jjrobably not much later than the beginning of 
 the thirteenth century. It gave not only an aristocratic, but 
 almost an oligarchical character to the constitution, since 
 many of the nobility were not members of these eight socie- 
 ties. Of the senate or councils we hardly know more than 
 their existence ; they are very little mentioned by historians. 
 Everything of a general nature, everything that required the 
 expression of public will, was reserved for the entire and un- 
 represented sovereignty of the people. In no city was the 
 parliament so often convened ; for war, for peace, for al- 
 liance, for change of government.-^ These very dissonant 
 elements were not likely to harmonize. The people, suf- 
 ficiently accustomed to the forms of democracy to imbibe its 
 spirit, repined at the practical influence which was thrown 
 into the scale of the nobles. Nor did some of the latter class 
 scruple to enter that path of ambition which leads to power 
 by flattery of the populace. Two or three times within the 
 thirteenth century a high-born demagogue had nearly over- 
 turned the general liberty, like the Torriani at Milan, tlu'ough 
 the pretence of defending that of individuals.^ Among the 
 nobility themselves four houses were distinguished beyond 
 all the rest — the Grimaldi, the Fieschi, the Doria, the Spi- 
 nola ; the two former of Guelf politics, the latter adherents 
 of the empire.^ Perhaps their equality of forces, and a jeal- 
 ousy which even the families of the same faction entertained 
 of each other, prevented any one fi-om usurping the signiory 
 at Genoa. Neither the Guelf nor Ghibelin party obtaining a 
 decided preponderance, continual revolutions occurred in the 
 city. The most celebrated was the expulsion of the Ghibe- 
 Hns under the Doria and Spinola in 1318. They had re- 
 course to the Visconti of Milan, and their own resources 
 were not unequal to cope with their country. The Guelfs 
 thought it necessary to call in Robert king of Naples, always 
 ready to give assistance as the price of dominion, and con- 
 ferred upon him the temporary sovereignty of Genoa. A 
 siege of several years' duration, if we believe an historian of 
 that age, produced as many remarkable exploits as that of 
 
 » Id. t. iii p. 319. 2 Sismondi, p. 324. 8 id. t. iii. p. 328.
 
 Italy. THE FIRST DOGE. 433 
 
 Troy. They have not proved po intere?ting to po:^tonty. 
 The GhihehiKS continued lor a length of tune exeluded I'rom 
 tlie city, but in jjossession of the seaport of Savona, whence 
 they traded and equipped fleets, as a rival republic, and even 
 entered uito a separate war with Venice.^ Experience of 
 the uselessness of hostility, and the loss to which they ex- 
 posed their common country, produced a reconciliation, or 
 rather a compromise, in lo."U, when the Ghibelins returned 
 to Genoa. But the people felt that many years of misfor- 
 tune had been owing to the private enmities of four over- 
 bearing families. An ojjportunity soon offered of reducing 
 their inthience within very narrow bounds. 
 
 The Ghibelin faction was at the head of affairs in 1339, 
 a Doria and a Spinola being its leaders, when the „, ,. , 
 
 T !• ^ jt ° ^ , 1 Election of 
 
 discontent ot a large fleet m want or pay broke the first 
 out in ojien insurrection. Savona and the neigh- ^"°'^' 
 boring towns took arms avowedly against the aristocrat ical 
 tyranny ; and the cajtital was itself on the point of joining 
 the insurgents. There was, by the Genoese constitution, a 
 magistrate named the Altbot of tiie people, acting as a kind 
 of tribune for their protection against the oppression of the 
 nol)ility. His functions are not, however, in any book I Iiave 
 seen, very clearly deflned. This office liad been abolished by 
 the present goveniment, and it was the first demand of the 
 malecontents that it should be restoreil. This was acceded 
 to. and twenty delegates were appointetl to make the choice. 
 AVhile they delayed, and the populace was grown weary with 
 waiting, a nameless artisan called out from an elevated station 
 that he could direct them to a fit ])orson. "When the people, 
 in jest, bade him speak on, he uttered the name of Simon 
 Boccanegra. This was a man of noble birth, and well es- 
 teemed, who wa< then present among the crowd. The word 
 wa.s suddenly taken uj) ; a cry was heard that Boccanegi-a 
 should be abbot ; he was instiuitly brought forward, and th(3 
 sword of justice forced into his hand. As soon as silence 
 could be obtained he mo<le>tly thanked them for their favor, 
 Init declined an ollice which his nobility dis(pialili<-d him fiom 
 exercising. At tliis a single voice out of the crowd exclaimed, 
 " Sii/uior.' " and (his title was reverberated from every side. 
 Fearfid of worse coii-ei|ueiices, the actual magistrates urged 
 
 I Villani, 1. ix. paHKiui. 
 vor.. I. 28
 
 434 REVOLUTIONS OF GENOA. Chap. III. Part II. 
 
 him to comply with the people and accept the office of abbot. 
 But Boccanegra, addressing the assembly, declared his readi- 
 ness to become their abbot, signior, or whatever they would. 
 The cry of " Signior ! " was now louder than before ; while 
 others cried out, " Let him be duke ! " The latter title was 
 received with greater approbation ; and Boccanegra was con- 
 ducted to the palace, the first duke, or doge, of Genoa.-"^ 
 
 Caprice alone, or an idea of more pomp and dignity, led 
 Subsequent the populacc, we may conjecture, to prefer this 
 revolutions, ^jdg ^q fi^r^f of gignior ; but it produccd important 
 and highly beneficial consequences. In all neighboring cities 
 an arbitrary government had been already establislied under 
 their respective signiors ; the name was associated with indef- 
 inite power, while that of doge had only been taken by the 
 elective and very limited chief magistrate of another mari- 
 time re})ublic. Neither Boccanegra nor his successors ever 
 rendered their authority unlimited or hereditary. The con- 
 stitution of Genoa, from an oppressive ai'istocracy, became 
 a mixture of the two other forms, with an exclusion of the 
 nobles from power. Tliose four great families who had dom- 
 ineered alternately for almost a century lost their influence 
 at home after the revolution of 1339. Yet, what is remarka- 
 ble enough, they were still selected in preference for the 
 highest of trusts ; their names are still identified with the 
 glory of Genoa ; her fleets hardly sailed but under a Doria, 
 a Spinola, or a Grimaldi ; such confidence could the republic 
 bestow upon their patriotism, or that of those whom they 
 commanded. Meanwhile two or three new families, a ple- 
 beian oligarchy, filled their place in domestic honors ; the 
 Adorni, the Fregosi, the Montalti, contended for the ascend- 
 ant. From their competition ensued revolutions too numer- 
 ous almost for a separate history; in four years, from 1390 
 to 1394, the doge was ten times changed; swept away or 
 brought back in the fluctuations of popular tumult. Antoni- 
 otto Adorno, four times doge of Genoa, had sought the friend- 
 ship of Gian Galeazzo Visconti ; but that crafty tyrant 
 meditated the subjugation of the republic, and played her 
 factions against one another to render her fall secure. Adorno 
 perceived tliat tliere was no hope for ultimate independence 
 but by making a temporary sacrifice of it. His own power, 
 
 1 G. Stella. Annal. Genuenses, in Script. Rer. Ital. t. xvii. p. 1072.
 
 Italy. YF.XICE. 43.3 
 
 ambitious a* he had been, he vohmtarily resigned, and placid 
 the republic under the protection or signiorv of" the kiu'j of 
 France. Terms were stipulated very favorable to her liber- 
 ties ; but, with a French garrison once received into the city, 
 they were not always sure of observance.* 
 
 While Genoa lost even her political independence, Venice 
 became more conspicuous and i)owerful than be- ^ . 
 
 \ GDIC© 
 
 lore. That fixmous republic deduces its origi- 
 nal, and even its liberty, from an era beyond the com- 
 mencement of the middle ages. The Venetians boast of a 
 perpetual emancipation from the yoke of barbarians. From 
 that ignominious servitude some natives, or, as their histori- 
 ans will have it, nobles, of Aipiilcja and neighboring towns,- 
 fled to the small cluster of islands that rise amidst the shoals 
 at the mouth of the Brenta. Here they built Jhe town of 
 Rivoalto, the modern Venice, in 421 ; l)ut their chief settle- 
 ment was. till the beginning of the ninth century, at ^lala- 
 mocco. A living writer has, in a passage of remarkable elo- 
 quence, describcil the sovereign n-public immoveable uj^n 
 the bosom of the waters from which her palaces emerge, 
 contemplating the successive tides of continental invasion, the 
 rise and fall of emj)ires, the change of dynasties, the whole 
 moving scene of human revcdution, till, in her own turn, the 
 last surviving witness of anticjuity, the common link between 
 two periods of civilization, has submitted to the destroving 
 hand of time.' Some part of this renown must, on a col<l- 
 blooded scrutiny, be detracted from Venice. Her independ- 
 ence was, at the best, the fruit of her obscuritv. 
 Neglected up<.n their i^lan-ls. a people of fisher- ""tu^tSe" 
 men might without molestation elect their own •^■"'"ek 
 magistrates; a very equivocal proof of sovereignty ^"'""'" 
 in cities much more considerable than Venice. But both the 
 western aixl the eastern empire alternately pretended to ex- 
 ercise dominion over her ; sln^ was conquered by Pepin, son 
 of Charlemagne, and restored by him, as the chronicles say, 
 to the f Jreek emperor Nicephorus. There is every appear- 
 ance that tli(! \'eiieiians had always considered them-elves 
 a** subject, in a large sense not exclusive of their municipal 
 Kelf-government, to the eastern empire.* And this connec- 
 
 1 Si • ril. p. 237. .307. ' Slsmon.li, t. I. p. 3<">9. 
 
 * f I'lo. imyi) Saiiuto bnugb- * Nli-fplionm Btipiiliitos with (Miarle- 
 
 tlly. iiMi 11 )>:ii<u>ri. roini- ebbe Koma, mnirix* fur bin fiiithliil city of Venice, 
 
 lua (U poU-iiti. e Doblli. Quw In duvutiouu linpvril lllihatuj fte-
 
 436 ACQUISITIONS OF VEXICE. Chap. III. Fart II. 
 
 tion was not broken, in the eai'ly part, at least, of the tenth 
 century. But, for every essential purpose, Venice might 
 long before be deemed an independent state. Her doge was 
 not confirmed at Constantinople ; she paid no tribute, and 
 lent no assistance in war. Her own navies, in the ninth cen- 
 tury, encountered the Normans, the Saracens, and the Scla- 
 voniaus in the Adriatic Sea. Upon the coast of Dalmatia 
 were several Greek cities, which the empire had ceased to 
 protect, and which, like Venice itself, became republics for 
 want of a master. Ragusa was one of these, and, more for- 
 tunate than the rest, survived as an independent city till our 
 Conquest of own age. In return for the assistance of Venice, 
 a matia. ([^q^q little scaports jjut themselves under her gov- 
 A.D. 997. ernment ; the Sclavonian pirates were repressed ; 
 and after acquiring, partly by consent, partly by arms, a 
 large tract of maritime territory, the doge took the title of duke 
 of Dalmatia, which is said by Dandolo to have been confirmed 
 at Constantinople. Three or four centuries, however, elapsed 
 before the republic became secure of these conquests, which 
 were frequently wrested from her by rebellions of the inhab- 
 itants, or by her powerful neighbor, the king of Hungary. 
 
 A more important source of Venetian greatness was com- 
 Her acnui- nicrce. In the darkest and most barbarous period, 
 sitions in befoi'e Gcuoa or even Pisa had entered into mer- 
 
 the Levant. ^.i v tt • • i j. • 
 
 cantile pursuits, Venice carried on an extensive 
 traffic both with the Greek and Saracen regions of the Le- 
 vant. The crusades enriched and aggrandized Venice more, 
 perhaps, than any other city. Her splendor may, however, 
 be dated from the taking of Constantinople by the Latins in 
 1204. In this famous enterprise, which diverted a great ar- 
 mament destined for the recovery of Jerusalem, the French 
 and Venetian nations were alone engaged ; but the former 
 only as private adventurers, the latter with the whole strength 
 
 terant. DanduliChronicon, in Muratori, Giannone's history, t. ii. p. 283, edit. 
 
 Script. Rer. Ital. t. xii. p. 156. In the Haia, 1753. Muratori informs us that 
 
 tenth century Constantine Porphyro- so late as 1084 the doge obtained the title 
 
 genitus, in liis book De Administratione of Imperialis Protosevastos from the 
 
 Imperii, claims the Venetians as his sub- court of Constantinople ; a title which 
 
 jects, though he admits that they had, he continued always to use. (Aunali 
 
 for peace sake, paid tribute to Pepin ami d' Italia, ad ann.) But I should lay no 
 
 his successors as kings of Italy, p. 71. stress on this circumstance. The Greek, 
 
 I have not read the famous Squittiuio like the German emperors in modern 
 
 della liberti Veneta, which gave the re- times, had a mint of specious titles, 
 
 public so much offence in the .seventeenth whiclx passed for ready money over 
 
 century ; but a very strong case is made Christendom, 
 out against their early independence in
 
 Italy. HER GOVERXMEXT. 437 
 
 of tlu'ir ri'jmblic umler its dotre Henry Daiulolo. Three 
 e'ghtlis of the eity of Constantinople, and an equal propor- 
 tion of the province:?, were allotted to tiieni in the partition 
 of the spoil, and the dojre took the sinirular hut accurate title, 
 Duke of three eigths of the Konian empire. Their share 
 was increased hy purchases from less opulent crusaders, es- 
 ]>ec;:dly one of much importance, the islaixl of Candia. wliich 
 they retained till the miildle of the seventeenth ccnturv. These 
 foreign actpiisitions were generally granted out in fief to pri- 
 vate Venetian nobles under the supremacy of the republic.^ 
 It was thus that the Ionian islan<ls. to adopt the vocabulary 
 of our day, came under the dominion of Venice, and giiar- 
 anteeil that sovereignty winch she now began to affect over 
 tiie Adriatic. Those of the Archipcdago were lost in the 
 sixteenth century. Tiiis political greatness was sustained 
 by an increasing commerce. No Christian state preserved 
 so considerable an intercourse with the Moliammedans. 
 While Genoa kept the keys of the Black Sea by lier colo- 
 nies of Pera and Catfa, Venice directed her vessels to Acre 
 and Alexandria. These connections, as is the natural eftect 
 of trade, deadened the sense of religious anti|)athy ; an<l the 
 Venetians were sometimes charged with ol)strncting all efforts 
 towards a new crusade, or even any partial attacks upon the 
 Mniiannneilan nations. 
 
 TIk- earliest form of government at Venice, as we collect 
 from an epistle of Cassiodorus in the sixth century, Venetian 
 wa> by twelve annual tribunes. Perhaps the eo''^"""ent. 
 union of the ditierent islanch'rs was merely federative. 
 However, in GI)7, they resolved to (dect a chief magistrate 
 by name of duke, or, in their diah'ct, doge of Venice. 
 No couiU'iN appear to have limited his powt-r. or represented 
 the national will. The doge was general and judge; he was 
 sometimes permitted to associate his son with him, and thus 
 to pn-pare the road for hereditary power ; his government 
 had all the prerogatives, ami, as far as in such a stale of 
 maimers was possible, the pomp, of a monarchy, liiit lie 
 acti'd in im|)ort:int matters with the concurrence of a general 
 a-«-ml)ly, though, from the want of positive restraints, his 
 executive government might be considered as nearly abs(»- 
 lute. Time, however, demonstrated to the Venetians the 
 
 1 SUmondi, t. U. p. 431.
 
 438 
 
 GOVEENJEENT OF VENICE. Chap. III. Paet II. 
 
 imperfections of such a constitution. Limitations were ac- 
 cordingly imposed on the doge in 1032 ; he was prohibited 
 from associating a son in the government, and obliged to act 
 with the consent of two elected counsellors, and, on impor- 
 tant occasions, to call in some of the principal citizens. No 
 other change appears to have taken place till 1172, long 
 after every other Italian city had provided for its liberty by 
 constitutional laws, more or less successful, but always mani- 
 festing a good deal of contrivance and complication. Venice 
 was, however, dissatisfied with her existing institutions. 
 General assemblies were found, in practice, inconvenient 
 and unsatisfactory. Yet some adequate safeguard against 
 a magistrate of indefinite powers was required by freemen. 
 A repix'sentative council, as in other republics, justly appear- 
 ed the best innovation that could be introduced.^ 
 
 The great council of Venice, as established in 1172, was 
 to consist of four hundred and eighty citizens, eqvially taken 
 from the six districts of the city, and annually renewed. But 
 the election was not made immediately by the people. Two 
 electors, called tribunes, from each of the six districts, ap- 
 pointed the members of the council by separate nomination. 
 These tribunes at first were themselves chosen by the people, 
 so that the intervention of this electoral body did not appar- 
 ently trespass upon the democratical character of the consti- 
 tution. But the great council, principally composed of men 
 of high birth, and invested by the law with the appointment 
 of the doge, and of all the councils of magistracy, seem, 
 early in the thirteenth century, to have assumed the right of 
 naming their own constituents. Besides appointing the trib- 
 unes, they took upon themselves another privilege, that of 
 confirming or rejecting their successors before they resigned 
 their functions. These usurpations rendered the amiual 
 election almost nugatory ; the same members were usually 
 renewed ; and though the dignity of councillor was not yet 
 hereditary, it remained, upon the whole, in the same families. 
 In this transitional state the Venetian government continued 
 during the thirteenth century ; the people actually debarred 
 
 1 Sismondi, t. iii. p. 287. As I have 
 never read the Storia civile Veneta by 
 Vettor SaDdi, in niue vols. 4to., or even 
 Laugier's History of Venice, my reliance 
 has chiefly been placed on M. Sismondi, 
 who has made use of Sandi, the latest, 
 and probably the most accurate, histo- 
 
 rian. To avoid freqxient reference, the 
 principal passages in Sismondi relative to 
 the domestic revolutions of Venice are 
 t. j. p. 323. t. iii. p. 287-300, t. iv. p. 349- 
 370. The history of Daru had not been 
 published when this was written.
 
 Italy. GOVERNMENT OF VENICE. 439 
 
 of power, but an liercditarv aristocraoy not completely or 
 legally contii-nu'd. The right of electing, or rather of re- 
 electing, the great council was transfeiTed, in 1297, from the 
 tribunes, whose othce wjxs abolished, to the council of forty ; 
 they kdloted upon the names of the members who already sat ; 
 and whoever obtained twelve favoring balls out of forty re- 
 tained his place. The vacancies occasioned by rejection or 
 death were tilled up by a suj)plemental list formed by three 
 electors nominated in the great council. But they were ex- 
 pressly prohibited, by laws of 1298 and 1300, from insei'ting 
 the name of any one whose paternal ancestors had not en- 
 joyed the same honor. Thus an exclusive hereditary aris- 
 tocracy was finally established. And the personal rights of 
 noble descent were rendered complete in 1319 by the aboli- 
 tion of all elective forms. By the constitution of Venice as 
 it was then settled, every descendant of a member of the 
 great council, on attaining twenty-five years of age, entered 
 as of right into that body, which, of course, became un- 
 limited in its numbers.^ 
 
 But an assembly so numerous as the great council, even 
 before it was thus thrown 0})en to all the nobility, could 
 never have conducted tlie public atfairs with that secrecy 
 and steadiness which were characteristic of Venice ; and 
 without an intermediary power between the doge and the 
 patrician muhitude the constitution would have gained 
 nothing in stability to compensate for the loss of popular 
 freedom. The great council had i)roceeded very soon after 
 its in-titution to limit the ducal prerogatives. That of exer- 
 cising criminal justice, a trust of vast importance, was trans- 
 ferred in 1179 to a council of forty members annually 
 cho-en. Tlie executive government itself was tlioiight too 
 considerable for the doge without some material liniilations. 
 Instead of naming his own assistants or pregadi, he was 
 only to preside in a council of sixty members, to whom the 
 care of the state in all domestic and foreign relations, and 
 
 • T lii:il ch:iniri-H l)ct»een 1297 noble had a riglit to take his scat in the 
 
 anil mt iiimli- known liy San Jl, grpnt rounril. Uiit tlie niinifs of those 
 
 from »ii'.Mi .1 Sii.niiin'li ha;< intn)ilu<-cii who had paHHeil the a^e of twenty were 
 
 th'- fa'-t- into Iiii4 own hi-Iory. I notire annually put into an urn, .iml one fifth 
 
 thi<, iHTiini'e all fonm-r wrlt<Tii, both an- drawn out by lot, who were tliereu|ion 
 
 flent and nio<l<Tn, (Ix the ronipli-ti' and adniitteil. On an averaRe, therefore, tho 
 
 final e«tjil>li«liinent of Ihu Venetian arin- a^e of ailini.x.xion wan about twenty-three, 
 
 torrnry in 12»7. .lanotuK cle Kcp. Venet. — Contarini. — 
 
 T»<'nlv-llv<- yenrn complete wax tho Ann-lot de la HouKmiyu. 
 (tatulnble agf at which eTery Venetian
 
 440 GOVEENMENT OF VENICE. Chap. III. Part II. 
 
 the previous deliberation upon proposals submitted to the 
 great council, was confided. This council of pregadi, gen- 
 erally called in later times the senate, was enlarged in 
 the fourteenth century by sixty additional members ; and 
 as a great part of the magistrates had also seats in it, the 
 whole number amounted to between two and three hundred. 
 Though the legislative power, properly speaking, remained 
 with the great council, the senate used to impose taxes, and 
 had the exclusive right of making peace and war. It was 
 annually renewed, like almost all other councils at Venice, 
 by the great council. But since even this body was too nu- 
 mei'ous for the preliminary discussion of business, six coun- 
 cillors, forming, along with the doge, the signiory, or visible 
 representative of the republic, were empowered to dispatch 
 orders, to correspond with ambassadors, to treat with foreign 
 states, to convoke and preside in the councils, and perform 
 other duties of an administration. In part of these they 
 were obliged to act with the concurrence of what was term- 
 ed the college, comprising, besides themselves, certain select 
 councillors, from ditferent constituted authorities.-^ 
 
 It might be imagined that a dignity so shorn of its lustre 
 as that of doo:e would not excite an overweenino; ambition. 
 But the Venetians were still jealous of extinguished power ; 
 and Avhile their constitution was yet immature, the great 
 council planned new methods of restricting their chief mag- 
 istrate. An oath was taken by the doge on his election, so 
 compi'ehensive as to embrace every possible check upon un- 
 due influence. He was bound not to correspond with foreign 
 states, or to open their letters, except in the presence of the 
 signiory; to acquire no property beyond the Venetian do- 
 minions, and to resign Avhat he might already possess ; to in- 
 terpose, directly or indirectly, in no judicial process ; and not 
 to permit any citizen to use tokens of subjection in saluting 
 him. As a further secui'ity, they devised a remarkably com- 
 plicated mode of supplying the vacancy of his office. Elec- 
 tion by open suffi-age is always liable to tumult or corruption ; 
 nor does the method of secret ballot, while it prevents the 
 
 1 The college of Savj consisted of six- bate. The signiory had the same privi- 
 teen persons; and it possessed the »/! (Via- lege. Thus the virtu.al powers even of 
 live in all public measures that required the senate were far more limited than 
 the assent of the senate. For no single tliey appear at first siglit ; and no possi- 
 senator. much less any noble of the great bility remained of innovation in the fun- 
 council, could propose anything for de- damental principles of the constitution.
 
 Italy. GOVERXMEXT OF VEXICE. 441 
 
 one. afford in practice any adequate security ajrainst the 
 other. Ehx'tion by lot incurs the risk of placinjr incapable 
 persons in situations of arduous trust. The Venetian scheme 
 was intended to combine the two modes without their evils, 
 by leavinjr the absolute choice of their doire to electors taken 
 by lot. It was ]ire>umed that, among a competent number 
 of ]iersons. thoujrh taken promiscuoush', good sense and right 
 jirinriples would gain such an ascendency as to prevent any 
 flagrantly improper nomination, if undue influence could be 
 excluded. For this purpose the ballot was rendered exceed- 
 inglv complicated, that no possible ingenuity or stratagem 
 might ascertain the electoral body before the last moment. 
 A single lottery, if fairly conducted, is certainly sufficient for 
 this end. At Venice as many balls as there were members 
 of the great council present were placed in an urn. Thirty 
 of these were gilt. The holders of gilt balls were reduced 
 by a second ballot to nine. The nine elected forty, whom 
 lot reduced to twelve. The twelve chose twenty-five by 
 separate nomination.^ The twenty-five were reduced by lot 
 to nine ; and each of the nine chose five. These forty-five 
 were reduced to eleven as before ; the eleven elected forty- 
 one, who were the ultimate voters for a doge. Tiiis intri- 
 cacv ap])ears useless, and consequently absurd ; but the original 
 principle of a Venetian election (for something of the same 
 kind was applied to all their councils and magistrates) may 
 not alwavs be nnwortliy of imitation. In one of our best 
 nio«lei-n statutes, that for regulating the trials of contested 
 elections, we have seen this mixture of chance and selection 
 verv happily introduced.^ 
 
 An hereditary prince could never have remained quiet in 
 such trammels as were imposed upon the doge of Venice. 
 But earlv ])roiudice accustoms men to consider restraint, even 
 u|Mtn themselves, as advantageous; and the limitations of du- 
 cal power appeared to every Venetian as fundamental as the 
 g?*cat hiws (if the Englisli consfitutiori do to ourselves. INFany 
 d >'_'es of Venice, (-speciidly in the middle ages, were consid- 
 eral)le men ; but they were content with the functions assigned 
 
 > Amolot dn In noii««iyi* annnrtu thin: ronxon to rlouht whether irro.'iKorlnstnnrod 
 
 hut. nTf>riliii({ t/) <'ontnriiil, the method of lartiiil or tiiijiiit. <ir at lust crroiiroiis, 
 
 wnc by tmllot. detiTiiiiiiiition hiive not tjiki'ii pliice sl.iro 
 
 5 Thin WM writti-n >t>oiit 1810. Tho a new trihuiml whh erertcil. tlian roiild 
 
 •tntiiti- to whirh I nllnde iiri-vi out of )m> hnjiiited to thu celelinited (ireiirillo 
 
 (BTor afUrwardJ. Itut there U too much Act. {18(0.]
 
 442 GOVERNMENT OF VENICE. Chap. III. Part 11. 
 
 to them, which, if they could avoid the tantaHzing comparison 
 of sovereign princes, were enough for the ambition of repub- 
 licans. For life the chief magistrates of their country, her 
 noble citizens for ever, they might thank her in their own 
 name for what she gave, and in that of their posterity for 
 what she withheld. Once only a doge of Venice was tempted 
 ,„-c to betray the freedom of the republic. Marin 
 Falieri, a man far advanced in life, engaged, from 
 some petty resentment, in a wild intrigue to overturn the 
 government. The conspiracy was soon discovered, and the 
 doge avowed his guilt. An aristocracy so firm and so 
 severe did not hesitate to order his execution in the ducal 
 palace. 
 
 For some years after what was called the closing of the 
 great council by the law of 1296, which excluded all but the 
 families actually in possession, a good deal of discontent 
 showed itself among the commonalty. Several commotions 
 took place about the beginning of the fourteenth century, with 
 the object of restoring a more popular regimen. Upon the 
 suppression of the last, in 1310, the aristocracy sacrificed their 
 own individual freedom, along with that of the people, to the 
 preservation of an imaginary privilege. They established 
 the famous council of ten, that most remarkable part of the 
 Venetian constitution. This council, it should be observed, 
 consisted in fact of seventeen, comprising the signiory, or the 
 doge and his six councillors, as well as the ten j^roperly so 
 called. The council of ten had by usage, if not by right, a 
 controlling and dictatorial power over the senate and other 
 magistrates, rescinding their decisions, and ti'eating separately 
 with foreign princes. Their vast influence strengthened the 
 executive government, of which they formed a part, and 
 gave a vigor to its movements which the jealousy of the 
 councils would possibly have impeded. But they are chiefly 
 known as an arbitrary and inquisitorial tribunal, the standing- 
 tyranny of Venice. Excluding the old council of forty, a 
 regular court of criminal judicature, not only from the inves- 
 tigation of treasonable charges but of several other crimes 
 of magnitude, they inquired, they judged, they punished, ac- 
 cording to what they called reason of state. The public eye 
 never penetrated the mystery of their proceedings ; the ac- 
 cused was sometimes not heard, never confronted with wit- 
 nesses ; the condemnation was secret as the inquiry, the
 
 Italy. GOVERNMENT OF VENICE. 44:3 
 
 puni.-lunent umlivulL'tHl like botli.^ Tlic terrible and odious nia- 
 eliiiiery of a police, the insidious spy, the stipendiary iutbruier, 
 unknown to the carelessness of feudal governments, found their 
 natural soil in the republic of Venice. Tumultuous assem- 
 blies were scarcely possible in so peculiar a city ; and private 
 conspiracies never failed to be detected by the vigilance of 
 the council of ten. Compared with the Tuscan republics the 
 tranquillity of ^'enice is truly striking. The names of Guelf 
 and Ghibelin hardly raised any emotion in her streets, though 
 the government was considered in the first part of the four- 
 teenth ciMitury as rather inclined towards tiie latter party ."- 
 But the wildest excesses of tiiction are less dishonoring than 
 the stillness and moral degradation of servitude.^ 
 
 It was a very common theme with political writers till 
 about the beginning of the hust century, when Venice fell 
 almost into obhvion, to descant upon the wisdom of this gov- 
 ernment. And, indeed, if the preservation of ancient insti- 
 tutions be, as st)me appear to consider it, not a means but an 
 end, and an end tor which tlie rights of man and laws of 
 God may at any time be set aside, we must acknowledge that 
 it was a wisely constructed system. Formed to compress the 
 two opj»iisite forces from which resist;ince might be expected, 
 it kei)t Ijotli the doge and the people in perfect subordination. 
 Even the coalition of an executive magistrate with the multi- 
 tude, so fatal to mo>t aristocracies, never endangered that of 
 Venice. It is most remarkal)le that a part of the constitution 
 which destroyed every man's security, and incurred general 
 hatred, was still maintained by a sense of its necessity. The 
 couni'il of ten, annually renewed, might annually have been 
 annihilated. Tiie great council had only to withhold their 
 
 1 Ilium etiam morom obMrviint, no tian i^OTernment: but Daru informs us 
 
 reuin, cum >le oo ju'liriuni l;ituri «unt, it \ta» by a law enacted in 1400. Hist. 
 
 in roU'-tfiuin a'linittJiiit i|uc loijiiito- de Vc-niw. I. .VJ. It is uoticeil by Auie- 
 
 rtm, aut oniton-m r|iii-iiipi;iiii, (jui i-jus lot de la Iloussayc, who tells us also, us 
 
 cnuwini agut. Coiitariiii de Itrp. Vciict. Daru does, tliat the nobility evaded the 
 
 - Villani several tiiiiei sin-iilo) of the law by secret partnership with the privi- 
 
 VenetianJt ax n-ifular OhilM-lins. 1. Ix. c. Icged merchants or cittadini, who formed 
 
 2. 1. X. c. K9, &r. Hut thi.< Is put much a separate class at Venice. This was the 
 
 t'K) iitroni?ly : thoujjh thc-ir (fovernniiint custom in modern times. Itut I have 
 
 may have had a iili;;ht bias toward* that never understoixl the principle or com- 
 
 fa'tioii, thi'y were in reality neutral, and nion sense of such a restriction, espe- 
 
 far erioii;.'h removed fnim any domestic clally combined with that other fiinda- 
 
 feud* uiHMi that won". mental law which dlsi|ualili<>d a Venetian 
 
 ' By the modern law of Venice a noble- nobleman from posses-^in;? a lainlcd estate 
 
 man mul I unt en^aiCe in trade without on the tern lirma of the n>[iulilic. The 
 
 dfp ri hi> rank : I do not finrl latter, however, did not ext<Mid, as 1 havo 
 
 thl- , oli.MTvi»l by Jannotti and )>een infoniied, to Ualumtiu, or the Ionian 
 
 Confirtni, tii>- uldejitwrit«n ou the Vene- Islands.
 
 444 
 
 GOVERNMENT OF VENICE. Chap. III. Part II. 
 
 suffrages from the new candidates, and the tyranny expired 
 of itself. This was several times attempted (I speak now of 
 more modern ages) ; bnt the nobles, though detesting the 
 council of ten, never steadily persevered in refusing to re- 
 elect it. It was, in fact, become essential to Venice. So great 
 were the vices of her constitution that she could not endure 
 their remedies. If the council of ten had been abolished at 
 any time since the fifteenth century, if the removal of that 
 jealous despotism had given scope to the corruption of a poor 
 and debased aristocracy, to the license of a people unworthy 
 of freedom, the republic would have soon lost her territorial 
 possessions, if not her own independence. If, indeed, it be 
 true, as reported, that during the last hundred years this for- 
 midable tribunal had sensibly relaxed its vigilance, if the Ve- 
 netian government had become less tyrannical through sloth 
 or decline of national spirit, our conjecture will have acquired 
 the confirmation of experience. Experience has recently 
 shown that a worse calamity than domestic tyranny might 
 befall the queen of the Adriatic. In the Place of St. Mark, 
 among the monuments of extinguished greatness, a traveller 
 may regret to think that an insolent German soldiery has re- 
 placed even the senators of Venice. Her ancient liberty, her 
 bright and romantic career of glory in countries so dear to the 
 imagination, her magnanimous defence in the war of Chiog- 
 gia, a few thinly scattered names of illustrious men, will rise 
 upon his mind, and mingle with his indignation at the treach- 
 ery which robbed her of her independence. But if he has 
 learned the true attributes of wisdom in civil policy, he will 
 not easily prostitute that word to a constitution formed without 
 reference to property or to population, that vested sovereign 
 power partly in a body of impoverished nobles, partly in an 
 overruling despotism ; or to a practical system of government 
 that made vice the ally of tyranny, and sought impunity for 
 its own assassinations by encouraging dissoluteness of private 
 life. Perhaps, too, the wisdom so often imputed to the sen- 
 ate in its foreign policy has been greatly exaggerated. The 
 balance of power established in Europe, and above all in Italy, 
 maintained for the two last centuries states of small intrinsic 
 resources, without any efforts of their own. In the ultimate 
 crisis, at least, of Venetian liberty, that solemn mockery of 
 statesmanship was exhibited to contempt ; too blind to avert 
 danger, too cowardly to withstand it, the most ancient gov-
 
 Italy. STATE OF LOMUAUDV. 445 
 
 ernment of Europe made not an instant's resistance ; the 
 peasant-; ot" UiulerwaUl died ui)on thoir mountains ; the nobles 
 ot" A'eiiiee chniL;; onlv to their hves.^ 
 
 Until ahnost the middle of the fonrteeuth century Venice 
 had been content without any territorial possessions in Italy; 
 unless we reckon a very narrow strip of sea-coast, bordering 
 ou her lagunes, called the Dogato. Neutral in Territorial 
 the great contests between the church and the acfiuisitious 
 
 1 . a\ I' •»• 1 .1 • of Veuice. 
 
 empire, between the tree cities and their sover- 
 eigns, she was respected by ])oth parties, while neither ven- 
 tured to claim her as an ally, liut the rapid progress of 
 Mastino della Scala, lord of Verona, with some particular 
 injuries, led the senate to form a league with Florence 
 against him. Villani mentions it as a singular honor for his 
 country to have become the conf('(lerate of the Venetians, 
 '' wlio, tor their great excellence and power, had never allied 
 themselves with any state or prince, except at their ancient 
 conquest of Constantinople and Romania."^ The result of 
 this combination was to annex the district of Treviso to the 
 Venetian dominions. l>ut they made no further conquests 
 in that age. On the contrary, they lost Treviso in the 
 unfortunate war of Chioggia, and did n(»t regaiii it till l.')89. 
 Nor did they seriou.-ly attempt to withstand the progre-s of 
 Gian Galcazzo Visconti, who, after overthrowing the family 
 of Scala, stretched almost to the Adriatic, and altojrether 
 subverted for a time the bahmce of power in Loml)ardy. 
 But upon the death of this prince, in 1404, a remarkable 
 crisis USok place in that country. He left twostau-of 
 sons. Giovanni Maria and Filippo INFaria. both .^j"^,;^;""''^ 
 young, and under the care of a mother who wa.s bcj^'inning 
 little fitted for her situation. Through her mis- fifj-euth 
 conduct and the selfish ambition of some military century. 
 
 1 The cimimntiincfs to which Vpnicc r|n;;e himsplf lies in that of the .lesuif-i. 
 
 was n?<luc<r<l in her last atfony by the The words Manini Cineres may l>e nM 1 
 
 t' ' 1 I tp-iirhery fif N;ii>iilc<iii, unci in both, whii-h |irol):il)lv was tho cause 
 
 ' rit iiiiiMiiritiJlity of an ••ITi-ctive of my fort;i'(fiilni-iM. |18.')').] 
 
 «o fully i|c.«cril>eil l>y I):iru, See in the hMlrjIiur^h Keview, vol. xii. 
 
 • Iter by IlolLn. imluce nie to p. '.il'J. an account of u hook which i*. 
 
 I M-verity of thin remark. In perhups, little known, though inten-sf- 
 
 forimr e-lilionx I hare by mixt.-ike mid inif to the history of our own Hge : a col- 
 
 thnt the \iu>i iloge of Venice, Manini, in lection of iliH-uments iliustratiuK the fill 
 
 biiri»-l In tie- <hurch of the Si-aizi, with of the ri'public of Venice. The .irlicle i^ 
 
 till- ill-.! ri|iii'iii on the »tone, .Manini wi-ll written, ami. 1 presume, contains a 
 
 Ciinr.-- 'riri-< cliiirch wa;< Indi-*-!! built faithful aicount of the- work ; tin- author 
 
 t.\ III.- roritrit.nlloiiK of wvenil iiohle of m hlcji. Signor llar/oni. iH respecttMl lui 
 
 f:iniill<-", ainonif tlivni the .Manini. mogt u patriotic writer in Italy. 
 
 of wboiu an lutem-d there ; but the loMt '■' L. xl. c. 4U.
 
 446 STATE OF LOMBARDY. Chap. III. Part II. 
 
 leaders, who liad commanded Giaii Galeazzo's mercenaries, 
 that extensive dominion was soon broken into fragments. 
 Bergamo, Como, Lodi, Cremona, and other cities revolted, 
 submittinsf themselves in o;eneral to the families of their 
 former princes, the earlier race of usurpers, who had for 
 nearly a century been crushed by the Visconti. A Gueh" 
 faction revived after the name had long been proscribed in 
 Lombardy. Francesco da Carrara, lord of Padua, availed 
 himself of this revolution to get possession of Verona, and 
 seemed likely to unite all the cities beyond the Adige. No 
 family was so odious to the Venetians as that of Carrara. 
 Though they had seemed inditferent to the more real danger 
 in Gian Galeazzo's lifetime, they took up arms against this 
 inferior enemy. Both Padua and Verona were reduced, 
 and, the duke of Milan ceding Vicenza, the republic of 
 Venice came suddenly into the possession of an extensive 
 territory. Francesco da Carrara, who had surrendered in 
 his capital, was put to death in prison at Venice. 
 
 NotAvithstanding the deranged condition of the Milanese, 
 no further attempts were made by the senate of Venice for 
 twenty years. They had not yet acquired that decided love 
 of war and conquest which soon began to influence them 
 against all the rules of their ancient policy. There were still 
 left some wary statesmen of the old school to check ambitious 
 designs. Sanuto has preserved an interesting account of 
 the wealth and commerce of Venice in those days. This is 
 thrown into the mouth of the Doge Mocenigo, whom he 
 represents as dissuading his country, with his dying words, 
 from undertaking a war against Milan. " Through peace 
 our city has eveiy year," he said, " ten millions of ducats 
 employed as mercantile capital in different parts of the 
 world ; the annual profit of our traders upon this sum 
 amounts to four millions. Our housing is valued at 7,000,000 
 ducats ; its annual rental at 500,000. Three thousand mer- 
 chant-ships carry on our trade ; forty-three galleys and thi'ee 
 hundred smaller vessels, manned by 19,000 sailors, secure 
 our naval power. Our mint has coined 1,000,000 ducats 
 within the year. From the Milanese dominions alone we 
 draw 1,654,000 ducats in coin, and the value of 900,000 
 more in cloths ; our profit upon this traffic may be reckoned 
 at 600,000 ducats. Proceeding as you have done to acquire 
 this wealth, you will become masters of all the gold in Chris-
 
 Italy. WARS OF MIL.VJN' AND VENICE. 447 
 
 tendom ; but w ai-. and especially unjust war, will lead infal- 
 libly to ruin. Already you liave spent ;)0(),0(M) diu-ats in the 
 aeipiisition ot" Verona and I'adua ; yet the expense ot" pro- 
 tecting these places absorbs all the revenue which they yield. 
 Yon have manv aniouir yon. men ot" probity and experience ; 
 choose one ot" these to succeed me ; but beware of Francesco 
 Foseari. If he is doge, you will soon have war, and war 
 will bring poverty and loss of honor." ^ Mocenigo died, and 
 Foseari became doge : the prophecies of the former were 
 neglected; and it cannot wholly be atlirmed that they were 
 fnltilletl. Yet Venice is described by a writer thirty years 
 later as somewhat impaired in opulence by her long warfare 
 with the dukes of Milan. 
 
 The latter had recovered a great part of their dominions 
 as ra]>i<lly as they had lost them. (4iovanni ^Maria, ^varsof 
 the elder brother, a monster of jjuilt even amonu Miiim and 
 the Visconti, having been assassinated, Filippi) 
 Maria assumed the government of ]\Iilan and Pavia, almost 
 his oidy possessions. l?ut though weak and unwarlike him- 
 selt", he had the good fortune to employ Carmagnola, one of 
 the greatest generals of that military age. Most of the 
 revolted cities were tired of their new masters, and, their 
 inclinations conspiring with Carmagnola's eminent talents 
 and activity, the house of Visconti reassumed its Ibrmer as- 
 cendency from the Sessia to the Adige. Its fortunes might 
 have been still more j)rosperous if Filijtpo INfaria had not 
 ra~hly as well as ungratefully oti"ended Carmagnola. That 
 great captain retired to Venice, and inflamed a disposition 
 toward-^ war which the Florentines and the duke of Savoy 
 had alrea<ly excited. Tiie Venetians had previously gained 
 some important advantages in another quarter, by reducing 
 the country <jt" Friuli, with part of Istria, which had for many 
 centurie-; depended on the temporal authority of a neigldjor- 
 ing prelate, the patriarch of Atjuileia. They entered into 
 
 ' i'.'iriuto. VUc <11 Durhl ili Vt-nfzin, In stjinJinif hor acquisition, in tho niuan- 
 
 Siri|t Kit. I till. t. xxli. i>. 'J.SK. Morcol- time, of Uri-.^oia. ltiT);aiiir), Kiivenna, and 
 
 u' • - li:iniin;iic in TiTV loiin In Sunuto. I Cn-iiia M. ii. 4<i2. Tlicv incrrii.^od con- 
 
 li.\. .■iiJ<-avon'<l to pn-niTTo tlie Hub- (liili'nil)ly in the iip.xt twriity veiirs. Tlio 
 
 «tiii'... Hut tin- oalrulutiohH are no taxec, liowi'Ver, wiTi' light in tliu Vciii'tiiiu 
 
 >'r irr.'i- ami nianifi-ftlr inexact tliat tln-y (loniinioiiH ; and Daru coiiiTivcrt tlio rrve- 
 
 .]. -. rw- little n-ifnril. Idiru liiui ({ivn nucH of tin? rcpnlilic, rcdurrd to a rorn 
 
 tii.iii inori' at len^tli. Hi"t. de Vt-niw, price, to have not exi-i-eded tho valuo 
 
 V-, li p 'JftTi. The rivenue* of Venire, of ll.(KJ<l,(XX) fnincH ut the pri-Hcnt day. 
 
 whi' h had anionnt<-<l to !)U<i.'J!l<)dnrattiln p. tA'2. 
 liUa, were but 5MZ),7oU in Uii>, notwltU-
 
 448 CHANGE IN MILITARY SYSTEM. Chap. III. Part II. 
 
 tills new alliance. No undertaking of tlie republic had been 
 
 I49fi more successful. Carmagnola led on their armies, 
 
 and in about two years Venice acquired Brescia 
 
 and Bergamo, and extended her boundary to the river Adda, 
 
 which she was destined never to pass. 
 
 Such conquests could only be made by a city so peculiai*- 
 „, . ly maritime as Venice through the heh) of mer- 
 
 Cnange in .* t) • i • i 
 
 the military ccuary troops. But, m employing them, she 
 system. merely conformed to a fashion which states to 
 
 whom it was less indispensable had long since established. 
 A great revolution had taken place in the system of military 
 service through most parts of Europe, but especially in Italy. 
 During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, whether the 
 Italian cities were engaged in their contest with the em- 
 perors or in less arduous and general hostilities among each 
 other, they seem to have poured out almost their whole 
 population as an armed and loosely organized militia. A 
 single city, with its adjacent district, sometimes brought 
 twenty or thirty thousand men into the tield. Every man, 
 according to the trade he practised, or quarter of the city 
 wherein he dwelt, knew his own banner and the captain he 
 was to obey.^ In battle the carroccio formed one com- 
 mon rallying-point, the pivot of every movement. This 
 was a chariot, or rather wagon, painted with vermilion, and 
 bearing the city standard elevated upon it. That of Milan 
 required four pair of oxen to drag it forward.^ To defend 
 this sacred emblem of his country, which Muratori compares 
 to the ark of the covenant among the Jews, was the constant 
 object, that, giving a sort of concentration and uniformity to 
 the army, supplied in some degree the want of more regular 
 tactics. This militia was of course principally composed 
 of infantry. At the famous battle of the Arbia, in 1260, 
 the Guelf Florentines had thirty thousand foot and three 
 thousand horse ; ^ and the usual proportion was five, six, or 
 ten to one. Gentlemen, however, were always mounted ; and 
 the superiority of a heavy cavalry must have been prodig- 
 iously great over an undisciplined and ill-armed j^opulace. 
 
 1 Muratori, Antiq. Ital. Diss. 26; Deni- to Rome. Parma and Cremona lost their 
 na, Kivoluzioni d' Italia, 1. .\ii. c. 4. oarroceios to each other, and exchanged 
 
 2 The carroccio was invented by Eribort, them some years afterwards with great 
 a celebrated archbishop of Milan, about exultation. In the fourteenth century 
 1039. Annali di Miirat. ; .\ntiq. Ital. this custom had gone into disuse. — Id. 
 Diss. 26. The carroccio of Milan was ibid. Denina, 1. xii. c. 4. 
 
 taken by Frederic II. in 1237, and sent ^ Villaui, 1. Ti. c. 79.
 
 Italt. employe i:nt of foreign TROOrS. 449 
 
 In the thirteenth and followinj; centuries ai'mies seem to 
 have been consiilered as fonnidalile nearly in proportion to 
 tlie number ot" men-at-arms or laneers. A eharj^e of eav- 
 ahy was irresistible ; battles were continually won by inferior 
 numbers, and vast slaufrhter was made amonir tlie fiiiritives.^ 
 
 As the comparative iuL'thciency of foot-soldiers became 
 evident, a greater proportion of cavalry was employed, and 
 armies, though better equipped and disciplined, were less 
 numerous. Tliis we find in the early part of the fourteenth 
 centurv. The main i)oini for a state at war was „ , 
 to obtam a sutncient lorce oi men-at-arms. As tew of foreign 
 Italian cities could muster a large body of cavalry *'^°p^- 
 from their own population, the obvious resource was to hire 
 mercenary troops. This had been i>ractised in some instances 
 much earlier. The city of Genoa took the count of Savoy 
 into pay with two hundred horse in 122.').- Florence re- 
 tained tive hundred French lances in 1282.* But it became 
 much more general in the fourteenth century, chiefly after 
 the expedition of the emperor Henry VII. in 1310. IMany 
 German soldiers of fortune, remaining in Italy upon this oc- 
 casion, engaged in the service of ^lilan, Florence, or some 
 other state. The subsequent expeditions of Louis of Ba- 
 varia in 132G, and of John king of Bohemia in 1331, 
 brought a fresh accession of adventurers from the same 
 country. Others again came from France, and some from 
 Hungary. All jjreferred to contiiuie in the richest country 
 ami line-it climate of Europe, where their services were 
 anxiously solicited and abundantly repaid. An unfortunate 
 prejuiliee in favor of strangers prevailed among the Italians 
 of that age. They ceded to them, one knows not why, cer- 
 tainly without having been vancpiished, the palm of military 
 skill and valor. Tin,' word Transalpine (Oltiamontani) is 
 frequently applied to hired cavalry by the two Villani as an 
 ejiitlict ot" excellence. 
 
 Tlie experience of every fresh campaign now told more 
 
 I 8i«mon<li. t. iii. p. 2'!3, &c., ha* Home the ir/K) IiinccH n-lio composed tho oriKi- 
 
 JuJlrioux ol»M-rTatlnim on tills subject. mil roiiiimiiifH of ordcjiiuaiu-e niisoil by 
 
 J Mumtori. ninwrt 'it). Cbiirli-.i VI. aiiiountcd to nliii! thouniitij 
 
 3 Aniiiilnito, Int. Fl'in-iit. p. 159. Tho aivajrv. Jtut in Italy the niinilHT wiia 
 
 (aiii(! wuH ilon<- in I'JKT. p. UK). A Utner, Hinalli-r. We ruad frcquontly of barlmll, 
 
 in till- ti-<-liiiirnl lnni;uni;<' of thonv a^i!'', wliirh are <l<-tlneil lan/.i- ile due cjivalli. 
 
 iiirliKli-d the liKbt^T ejivalry altai'h(r<l to Corio, p. 4.'J7. IjinieH of tlireu horxeil 
 
 the iiian-ut-uriiiM nn well aj< hiiMiu-lf. In WH^■ introilureil about the middle of the 
 
 Frniiee the full romplement of a Iniieo fourtvunth century. — Id. p. 4()ti. 
 (lanee foumlv) woji Uve ur itix horaeii ; thus 
 vol.. I. 28
 
 450 EMPLOYjSIENT of FOREIGN" TROOPS. Chap. III. Paet II. 
 
 and more against tlie ordinaiy militia. It has been usual for 
 modern writers to lament the degeneracy of martial spirit 
 among the Italians of that age. But the contest was too un- 
 equal between an absolutely invulnerable body of cuirassiers 
 and an infantry of peasants or citizens. The bravest men 
 have little appetite for receiving wounds and death without 
 the hope of inflicting any in return. The parochial militia of 
 France had proved equally unserviceable ; though, as the 
 life of a French peasant was of much less account in the 
 eyes of his government than that of an Italian citizen, they 
 were still led forward like sheep to the slaughter against the 
 disciplined forces of Edward III. The cavalry had about 
 this time laid aside the hauberk, or coat of mail, their ancient 
 distinction from the unprotected populace ; which, though in- 
 capable of being cut through by the sabre, afforded no de- 
 fence against the pointed sword introduced in the thirteenth 
 century,^ nor repelled the impulse of a lance or the crushing 
 blow of a battle-axe. Plate-armor was substituted in its 
 place ; and the man-at-arms, cased in entire steel, the several 
 pieces firmly riveted, and proof against every stroke, his 
 charger protected on the face, chest, and shoulders, or, as it 
 was called, barded, with plates of steel, fought with a securi- 
 ty of success against enemies inferior perhaps only in these 
 adventitious sources of courage to himself."^ 
 
 Nor was the new system of conducting hostilities less 
 inconvenient to the citizens than the tactics of a 
 
 Citizens ex- iit i^-it 
 
 cused from battle. Instead of rapid and predatory invasions, 
 service. terminated instantly by ^a single action, and not 
 
 extending more than a few days' march from the soldier's 
 home, the more skiFul combinations usual in the fourteenth 
 century frequently protracted an indecisive contest for a 
 whole summer.^ As wealth and civilization made evident 
 the advantages of agriculture and mercantile industry, this 
 loss of productive labor could no longer be endured. Azzo 
 Visconti, who died in 1339, dispensed with the personal ser- 
 
 1 Muratori, ad ann. 1226. This is represented in a statue of Charles 
 
 - Tlie earliest plate-armor, engraved in I. king of Naples, who died in 1285. P03- 
 
 Montfaucon's Monumens de la Monarchie sibly the statue may not be quite so 
 
 Fran(jaise, t. ii., is of the reign of Philip ancient. Montfaucon, passim. — Daniel, 
 
 the Long, about 1315 ; but it does not Hist, de la Milice Franijaise, p. 395. 
 appear generally till that of Philip of Va- ■^ This tedious warfare d la Fabius is 
 
 lois, or even later. Before the complete called by Villani guerra guereggiata, 1. 
 
 harness of steel was adopted, plated caps viii. c. 49 ; at least I can annex no other 
 
 were sometimes worn on the knees and meaning to the expression, 
 elbows, and even greaves on the legs.
 
 Italy. CITIZENS EXCUSED FROM SERVICE. 451 
 
 vice of hi? ^lilanese subjects. " Another of his laws," says 
 Galvaneo Fianima, " was, that the people should not go to 
 war, hut remain at home fiir their own business. Fur they 
 had liilln-rto been kept with nnich danger and expense every 
 year, and especially in time of harvest and vintage, when 
 princes are wont to go to war, in besieging cities, and incur- 
 red numberless losses, and chiefly on account of the long 
 time that they were so detained.^ This law of Azzo Vis- 
 conti, taken separately, might be ascribed to the usual policy 
 of an absolute government. But we find a similar innovation 
 not long afterwards at Florence. In the war carried on l)y 
 that republic against Giovanni Visconti in 1351, the younger 
 Yillani informs us that " the useless and mischievous personal 
 service of the inhabitants of the district was commuted into a 
 money payment." - This change indeed was necessarily ac- 
 companied by a va-st increase of taxation. The Italian states, 
 republics as well as principalities, levied very heavy contri- 
 butions, ^lastino della Scala had a revenue of 700,000 
 florins, more, says John Villani, than the king of any Euro- 
 pean country, except France, possesses.^ Yet this arose 
 from only nine cities of Loml>ardy. Considered with refer- 
 ence to economy, almost any taxes must be a cheap commuta- 
 tion tor personal service. But economy may be regardeil 
 too exclusively, and can never couiUerbalance that degra<la- 
 tion of a national character which proceeds from intrusting 
 the public defence to foreigners. 
 
 It could lianlly be expected that stipen<linry troops, chiefly 
 composed of Germans, would conduct tliem<elves companies 
 without insolence and contempt of the effeminacy of a<iven- 
 
 ... ii- • TT/T- .,1 turers. 
 
 whicli courted tlieir services. Indinerent to tiie 
 
 cau.-e tiiey supported, tlie highest j)ay and the richest plun- 
 der were their constant motives. As Italy was generally the 
 theatre of war in some of her numerous states, a soldier of 
 f)rtune, with his lance and charger for an inheritance, pa^-ed 
 from one service to another williout regret and witliout dis- 
 credit. I')Ut if peace happened to be pretty universal, he 
 might be ihidwn out of his oidy occupation, and reduced to 
 a very inferior condition, in a country of which he was not 
 
 • Murntori. Antiqntt. Itol. DtaHort. 26. turo to (nijjmont tlie taxca Impniipil while 
 »Miitt. Villiinl. |i. l.'il. thi-y hail 1 n fn-.-. ('oiii|iliiiiiis nf licnvy 
 
 * L. xl. c i'l. I miinot ImaiflriP why tHXHtimi iin- ciTtjiinly nftiri iiuicli' ii|riiinRt 
 PUmoii'll «i>"orU, t. Iv. p. 4;f2. thiit t\w tho Vlwonfi iiml othor tyruiitd In the 
 Innl* of cUiM 111 lyjinljanly ili<l not wn- fourUftith century.
 
 452 COMPANIES OF ADVENTURERS. Chap. III. Part IL 
 
 a native. It naturally occurred to men of their feelings, 
 that, if money and honor could only be had while they re- 
 tained their arms, it was their own fault if they ever 
 relinquished them. Upon this principle they first acted in 
 1343, when the republic of Pisa disbanded a large body of 
 German cavalry which had been employed in a war with 
 Florence.-^ A partisan, whom the Italians call the duke 
 Guarnieri, engaged these dissatisfied mercenaries to remain 
 united under his command. His plan was to levy contribu- 
 tions on all countries which he entered with his company, 
 without aiming at any conquests. No Italian army, he well 
 knew, could be raised to oppose him ; and he trusted that 
 other mercenaries would not be ready to fight against men 
 who had devised a scheme so advantageous to the profession. 
 This was the first of the companies of adventure which con- 
 tinued for many years to be the scourge and disgrace of 
 Italy. Guarnieri, after some time, withdrew his troops, sati- 
 ated with plunder, into Germany ; but he served in the inva- 
 sion of Naples by Louis king of Hungary in 1348, and, 
 forming a new company, ravaged the ecclesiastical state. A 
 still more formidable band of disciplined robbers appeared 
 in 1353, under the command of Fra Moriale, and after- 
 wards of Conrad Lando. This was denominated the Great 
 Company, and consisted of several thousand regular troops, 
 besides a multitude of half-armed ruffians, who assisted as 
 spies, pioneers, and plunderers. The rich cities of Tuscany 
 and Romagna paid large sums, that the great company, which 
 was perpetually in motion, might not march through their 
 territory. Florence alone magnanimously resolved not to 
 offer this ignominious tribute. Upon two occasions, once in 
 1358, and still more conspicuously the next year, she refused 
 either to give a passage to the company, or to redeem herself 
 by money ; and in each instance the Gei'man robbers were 
 compelled to retire. At this time they consisted of five 
 thousand cuirassiers, and their whole body was not less than 
 twenty thousand men ; a terrible proof of the evils which 
 an erroneous system had entailed upon Italy. Nor were 
 
 1 Sismondi, t.v. p.380. The dangerous some desperate battles the mercenaries 
 aspect which these German mercenaries were defeated and Lodrisio talien. t. v. 
 might assume had appeared four years p. 278. In this instance, however, they 
 before, when Lodrisio, one of the Visconti, acted for another ; Guarnieri was the first 
 .naving quarrelled with the lord of Milan, who taught them to preserve the impar- 
 led a large body of troops who had just tiality of general robbers. 
 been disbanded against the city. After
 
 - ."» 
 
 Italy. SIR JOIIX IIAWKWOOD. io, 
 
 they repulseil on this ocoasion by the actual exertions of 
 Florence. The courage of that republic was in her councils, 
 not in her arms ; the resistance made to Lando's demand was 
 a burst of national feeling, and rather against the advice of 
 the leading Florentines;^ but the army emjdoyed was en- 
 tirely composed of meivenary troops, and prol)al>ly for the 
 greater part of foreigners. 
 
 None of the foreigu ))artizans who entered into tho service 
 of Italian states aciiuireil such renown in tliat ca- sir John 
 reer as an Englishman wliom contemporary writers "'^"'^""ood. 
 call Aucud or AguUH. but to whom we may restore his na- 
 tional ai)pellation of vSir John Ilawkwood. This very eminent 
 man liad served in the war of Edward III., and obtained his 
 knighthood from that sovereign, thougii originally, if we may 
 trust common fame, bred to tlu' trade of a tailor. After the 
 peace of Breligui, France was ravaged by the di-banded 
 troops, whose devastations Edward was accused, perhaps un- 
 justly, of secretly instigating. A large body of these, under 
 the name of the White Company, passed into the service of 
 the ^Iai'<piis of ^lontferrat. They were some time afterwards 
 employed by the Pisans against Florence ; and during this 
 latter war Ilawkwood ai>pears as their commander. For 
 thirty y<'ars he was continually engaged in the service of the 
 Visconti. of the pope, or of the P^lorentines, to whom he de- 
 voted himself for the latter ]iart of his life with more fidelity 
 and »t»'adiness than he had shown in his first camjiaigns. 
 The republic testified her gratitude by a public funeral, and 
 by a monument in the Duomo, wliicii still perpetuates his 
 memory. 
 
 Till' name of Sir John Ilawkwood is worthy to be remem- 
 bered as that of the first distinguished commandi-r want of 
 who had aiiiK-arcd in Euroiie since tin- destruction '>>ii>t"ry 
 of the Roman empire. It would be absurd to sup- bctore ub 
 pose that any of the constituent elements of mil- *"""■ 
 itary gi-nius which nature furnishes to energetic characters 
 were wanting to the leaders of a bar!)arian or feutlal army : 
 initroubled |»erspicacity in confusion, firm decision, rapid exe- 
 cution, providence against attack, fertility of resom-ce and 
 stratagem — thf-^e are in qiialitv as much required from the 
 chief of an Indian tribe as fiuiu the accouiplishid cnuuuaudcr. 
 
 1 Matt. Vllliini, p. 5.37.
 
 454 WAJSTT OF MILITAKY SCIENCE. Chap. III. Part II. 
 
 But we do not find them in any instance so consummated by 
 habitual skill as to challenge the name of generalship. No 
 one at least occurs to me, previously to the middle of the 
 fourteenth century, to whom history has unequivocally as- 
 signed that character. It is very rai'ely that we find even 
 the order of battle specially noticed. The monks, indeed, our 
 only chroniclers, were poor judges of martial excellence ; yet, 
 as war is the main topic of all annals, we could hardly re- 
 main ignorant of any distinguished skill in its operations. 
 This neglect of military science certainly did not proceed from 
 any predilection for the arts of peace. It arose out of the gen- 
 eral manners of society, and out of the nature and composition 
 of armies in the middle ages. The insubordinate spirit of feu- 
 dal tenants, and the emulous equality of chivalry, were alike 
 hostile to that gradation of rank, that punctual observance of 
 irksome duties, that prompt obedience to a supreme command, 
 through which a single soul is infused into the active mass, 
 and the rays of individual merit converge to the head of the 
 general. 
 
 In the fourteenth centuiy we begin to perceive something 
 of a more scientific character in military pi'oceedings, and 
 historians for the first time discover that success does not en- 
 tirely depend upon intrepidity and physical prowess. The 
 victory of Muhldorf over the Austrian princes in 1322, that 
 decided a civil war in the empire, is ascribed to the ability of 
 the Bavarian commander.^ Many distinguished officers were 
 formed in the school of Edward III. Yet their excellences 
 Avere perhaps rather those of active partisans than of expe- 
 rienced generals. Their successes are still due rather to 
 daring enthusiasm than to wary and calculating combination. 
 Like inexpert chess-players, they surprise us by happy sallies 
 against rule, or display their talents in rescuing themselves 
 from the consequence of their own mistakes. Thus the ad- 
 mirable arrangements of the Black Prince at Poitiers hardly 
 redeem the temerity which placed him in a situation where 
 the egregious folly of his adversary alone could have per- 
 mitted him to triumph. Hawkwood therefore appears to me 
 the first real general of modern times ; the earliest master, 
 however imperfect, in the science of Turenne and Welling- 
 ton. Every contemporary Italian historian speaks with 
 
 1 Struvius, Corpus Hist. German, p. ral, is called by a contemporary writer 
 585. Schwepperuiau, the Bavarian gene- clarus militari scientia vir.
 
 Italy. SCUOOL OF ITALIAN GENEILVLS. Aoo 
 
 aJiniiation of his skilful tactics in battle, his stratagems, his 
 well-coiuluctecl retreats. Praise of this description, as I liave 
 observed, is hardly bestowed, certainly not so continually, ou 
 any former captain. 
 
 Ilawkwtuxl was not only the greatest but the last of the 
 foreiirn conduttieri, or caiitains of mercenary bands. „ , , , 
 
 ,,', .',' , ,. . ' .1. "^ 1 , School of 
 
 >> hue lie wivs yet hviiig, a new mtlitmy school itjiiian 
 had been funned in Italy, which not only super- s^"«™'^- 
 seded, but eclipsed, all the strangers. This imjiortant reform 
 was ascribed to Alberic di Barbiano, lord of some petty ter- 
 ritories near Bologna, lie formed a company altogether of 
 Italians about the year loT'J. It is not to be supposed that 
 natives of Italy had before been absolutely excluded from 
 service. "SVe lind several Italians, such as the Malatesta 
 family, lords of Rimini, and the Rossi of Parma, command- 
 ing the armies of Florence much earlier. But this was the 
 first trading company, if I may borrow the analogy, the first 
 regular body of Italian mercenaries, attached only to their 
 commander without any consideration of party, like the Ger- 
 mans and English of Laiido and IIa\vkwo(Kl. Alberic di 
 Bari»iano, though himself no doulit a man of military talents, 
 is principally distinguished Ity the school of great geiienils 
 which the company of St. George under his command pro- 
 duced, and which may be deduced, by regular succession, to 
 the sixteenth century. The first in order of time, and imme- 
 diate contemporaries of Barljiano, were Jacopo del Verine, 
 Facino Cane, and Ottobon Terzo. Among an intelligent and 
 educated people, httle inclined to servile imitation, the mili- 
 tary art made great jirogress. The most eminent coudottieri 
 biiug divided, in general, between belligerents, each of them 
 had his genius excited and kept in tension by that of a rival 
 in glory. Every resource of science as well as ex|)erience, 
 every improvement in tactical arrangements, and the use of 
 arms, were required to obtain an advantage over such equal 
 enemies. In the first year of the fifteenth century the 
 Italians brought their newly {wquired superiority to a test. 
 Tlie enqieror Rob<.-rt, in alliance willi Florence, invaded (ii.in 
 Galeazzo's dominions with a considerable army. From old 
 rei)Utation, which .-o fre(|ueiilly survives the iiiliiiisic (pialilies 
 n|ioii whieh it wa> Uiiiiided, an iuq)ressiun ajjpeais l(j have 
 been excited in Italy that the native troops were still uueciual 
 to meet the charge of (Jermati ciiinussiers. Tin- duke of
 
 456 DEFENSIVE ARMS. Chap. III. Part II. 
 
 Milan gave orders to his general, Jacopo del Verme, to avoid 
 a combat. But that able leader was aware of a great relative 
 change in the two armies. The Germans had neglected to 
 improve their discipline ; their arms were less easily wielded, 
 their horses less obedient to the bit. A single skirmish was 
 enough to open their eyes ; they found themselves decidedly 
 inferior ; and having engaged in the war with the expectation 
 of easy success, were readily disheartened.-^ This victory, 
 or rather this decisive proof that victory might be achieved, 
 set Italy at rest for almost a century from any apprehensions 
 on the side of her ancient masters. 
 
 Whatever evils might be derived, and they were not trifling, 
 from the employment of foreign or native mercenaries, it was 
 impossible to discontinue the system without general consent ; 
 and too many states found their own advantage in it for such 
 an agreement. The condottieri were indeed all notorious for 
 contempt of engagements. Their rapacity was equal to their 
 bad faith. Besides an enormous pay, for every private cui- 
 rassier received much more in value than a subaltern officer 
 at present, they exacted gratifications for every success.^ But 
 everything was endured by ambitious governments who wanted 
 their aid. Florence and Venice were the two states which 
 owed most to the companies of adventure. The one loved 
 war without its perils ; the other could never have obtained 
 an inch of territory with a poj)ulation of sailors. But they 
 were both almost inexhaustibly rich by commercial industry ; 
 and, as the surest paymasters, were best served by those they 
 employed. The Visconti might perhaps have extended their 
 conquest over Lombardy with the militia of Milan ; but with- 
 out a Jacopo del Verme or a Carmagnola, the banner of 
 St. Mark would never have floated at Verona and Ber- 
 gamo. 
 
 The Italian armies of the fifteenth century have been re- 
 
 Defensive mfW'ked for One striking peculiarity. War has 
 
 arms of never been conducted at so little personal hazard 
 
 age. ^^ jj^g soldier. Combats frequently occur, in the 
 
 1 Sismondi, t. vii. p. 439. Matt. Villani, p. 62; Sismondi, t. v. p. 
 
 " Paga doppia, e mese compiuto, of 412. 
 which we frequently read, sometimes Giau Galeazzo Visconti promised con- 
 granted improvidently, and more often stant half-pay to the condottieri whom 
 demanded unreasonahly. The first speaks he disbanded in 1.396. This, perhaps, is 
 for itself; the second was the reckoning the first instance of half-pay. — Sismondi, 
 a month's service as completed when it t. vii. p. 879. 
 was begun, in calculating their pay. —
 
 Italy. 
 
 DEFENSIVE AILMS. 
 
 4:. 7 
 
 annals of that age, wherein success, though warmly contested, 
 co-;ts vei'v few lives even to the vanquished.^ This innocence 
 of hlooil, which some historians turn into ridicule, was no 
 doubt owing in a great degree to the rapacity of the compa- 
 nies of adventure, who, in expei-tation of enriching them- 
 selves by the ransom of prisoners, were anxious to save 
 their lives. Much of the humanity of modern warfare was 
 originally due to this motive. But it was rendered more 
 practicable by the nature of their arms. For once, and for 
 once only in the history of mankind, the art of defence had 
 out-tripped that of destruction. In a charge of lancers many 
 fell, unhorsed by the shock, and might be suffocated or bruised 
 to death by the pressure of their own armor; but the lance's 
 point could not penetrate the breastplate, the sword fell 
 harmless upon the helmet, the concjueror. in the first impulse 
 of passion, could not assail any vital part of a })rostrate but 
 not exposed enemy. Still less was to be dreaded from the 
 archers or cross-bowmen, who composed a large part of the 
 infantry. The bow indeeil. as drawn by an English foot- 
 soldier, was the most formidable of arms before the invention 
 of gimpowder. That ancient weapon, though not perhaps 
 connnon among the Northern nations, nor for several centu- 
 ries after their settlement, was occasionally in use before the 
 crusades. William employed archers in the battle of Hast- 
 ings.- Intercourse with the East, its natural soil during the 
 twidfth ami thirteenth ages, rendered the bow better known. 
 But the Ein-opeans improved on the eastern method of cou- 
 
 1 Iiiitinrfs of tliis arp very frrquont. 
 Tim- lit till' action of Zii>;on:ini, in 142.'i, 
 but tlirw iMTsoiiK, acciiriliiii; to Marliia- 
 Tfl. lO'it tliuir livon, anci tlu-st- by sulTix-a- 
 tion in the mucl, Itit. Kiorunt. I. iv. At 
 that of Moliiii-lln. in 14<i7, ho savK tliat 
 no on<' was killeil. 1. vij. Auiniinito rc- 
 I)n)Vi-* him for thii, iw all the authorK of 
 the time n-prcwiit it to have been saii);iii- 
 narv (t. ii. p. llil!), aii<l in'iiiiiateH that 
 Miiliiavel ri'liruli-s the inoffeii-iveness of 
 
 til aniiiuii more than they cje.ierve, 
 
 ^^■le•rI|en<lo, ronio (rtfli miol Cir. cjnella 
 inilu.ia. Certainly mime few battleH of 
 till- tifloonth rentury wen? not only ob- 
 ctitiately rnnU-tU-'l. but attemleil with 
 r..i,.i.|.ribl4- l.i-rt. Si«monili. t. x. p. 12*i. 
 TiT. r.iit. ill (."•m-ral. tliir iilauKht«r niuxt 
 ' ir »ery tritlinif. Amminito lilm»elf 
 Miat In nn artlon betui'<-ii the Nea- 
 iri nn<l pajwl troopa in UW, whicli 
 
 UutlcU all liny, not only no odo woo killeU, 
 
 but it is not reoordcil that any one was 
 woumlej. Uosco<!"s Lorenzo de' Medici, 
 vol. ii. J). .37. (iuirciiirdini".'< (^neral tes- 
 timony to the chantoter of the.<e combats 
 in uiieiiuiv(K-al. He speak.s of the battle 
 of Kornova, between the confederates of 
 Lonibardy and the army of Churles VIII. 
 returriinji from Naples in 1495, a.s very 
 remarkable on account of t\w sjaujrhter, 
 which amounted on the Italian side to 
 3.<HH) men : pen-lii'r f.'i la prima, die da 
 luuKhlssimo tempo in quX .si coinbattcsso 
 con uccisioue o con san^ue in Italia, 
 perche innauzi Ii questa morivano pcx'hi.s- 
 ximi uomini in un futto d'armo. 1. ii. p. 
 175. 
 
 ^ I'edite.s in fronte locavit. im|.fittis nr- 
 inatos et balistis, item pedite.s in ordino 
 Heoundo (irniiores et loricalos. ultimo tur- 
 mas e(|uitum. (lul. I'ictJivien-is (in Dn 
 ("hesne), p. '20l. Several archern aru rep- 
 ruxentuU in thu tapextry of llayeux.
 
 458 DEFENSIVE ARMS. Chap. III. Pakt II. 
 
 fining its use to cavalry. By employing infantiy as archers, 
 they gained increased size, more steady position, and surer 
 aim for the bow. Much, however, depended on the strength 
 and skill of the archer. It was a peculiarly English weapon, 
 and none of the other principal nations adopted it so gener- 
 ally or so successfully. The cross-bow, which brought the 
 strong and weak to a level, was more in favor upon tlae con- 
 tinent. This instrument is said by some writers to have been 
 introduced after the first crusade in the reign of Louis the 
 Fat.^ But, if we may trust William of Poitou, it was em- 
 ployed, as well as the long-bow, at the battle of Hastings. 
 Several of the popes prohibited it as a treacherous weapon ; 
 and the restriction was so far regarded, that, in the time of 
 Philip Augustus, its use is said to have been unknown in 
 France.^ By degrees it became more general; and cross- 
 bowmen were considered as a very necessary part of a well- 
 organized army. But both the arrow and the quarrel glanced 
 away from plate-armor, such as it became in the fifteenth 
 century, impervious in every point, except when the vizor 
 was raised from the face, or some part of the body acciden- 
 tally exposed. The horse indeed was less completely pro- 
 tected. 
 
 Many disadvantages attended the security against wounds 
 for which this armor had been devised. The enormous 
 weight exhausted the force and crippled the limbs. It ren- 
 dered the heat of a southern climate insupportable. In some 
 circumstances it increased the danger of death, as in the 
 passage of a river or morass. It was impossible to compel 
 an enemy to fight, because the least entrenchment or natural 
 obstacle could stop such unwieldy assailants. The troops 
 might be kept in constant alarm at night, and either com- 
 pelled to sleep under arms, or run the risk of being surprised 
 before they could rivet their plates of steel.^ Neither the 
 Italians, however, nor the Transalpines, would surrender a 
 mode of defence which they ought to have deemed inglorious. 
 But in order to obviate some of its military inconveniences, 
 as well as to give a concentration in attack, which lancers 
 impetuously charging in a single line, according to the prac- 
 tice at least of France in the middle ages, did not preserve, 
 
 1 Le Grand, Vie privee des Fran^ais, t. i. p. 349. 
 
 2 Du Cansp, v. Balista ; Muratori Diss. 26, t. i. p. 462 (Ital.). 
 
 3 Sisinondi, t. ix. p. 158.
 
 Italy. INVENTION OF GUNPOWDER. 4j0 
 
 it became usual for the cavalry to dismount, and, ^ . <■ 
 
 ... • ' (. ustoni of 
 
 leaving their horses at some distance, to combat cavnir.v ais- 
 on foot with the laiice. This practice, which must """""""s- 
 have been singularly embarras^ing with the plate-armor of 
 the fifteenth century, wa> introduced before it became so pon- 
 derous. It is mentioned by iiistorians of the twelftii ceiiliay, 
 both as a German and an EngH.-;h custom.^ We find it in 
 tiie wars of Edward III. llawkwood, the disci])le of that 
 school, introduced it into Italy.- ^Vnd it wa;? practised by the 
 Engli^h in their second wars with France, especially at the 
 battles of Crevant and Verneuil.^ 
 
 Meanwhile a discovery accidentally made, i)erha[)s in some 
 remote age and distant region, and whose impor- invention of 
 t;ince was but slowly perceived by Europe, had funp^wier. 
 prepared the way not only for a change in her military system, 
 but for political effects still more extensive. If we con.-ider 
 gunpowder as an instrument of human destruction, incalcula- 
 bly more powerful than any that skill had devised or accident 
 presented before, acipiiring, iUj experience shows us, a more 
 sanguinary dominion in every succeeding ajje, and borrowinjr 
 all the progressive resources ot science and civilizatian for 
 the extermination of mankind, we shall be apjjalled at the fu- 
 ture prospects of the species, and feel perliaps in no other 
 instance so much difficulty in reconciling the mysterious dis- 
 pensation with the benevolent order of Providence. As the 
 great si-curity for e-tabli>hed governments, the surest preser- 
 vation against popular tumult, it assumes a more etpiivocal 
 charactt.-r, dei)ending upon the solution of a doubtful problem, 
 whether the sum of general ha|)piness hits lost more in the 
 last three centuries through arljitrary power, than it has 
 gained through regular police and suppression of disorder. 
 
 There seems little rea.-;on to doubt that gunjiowder was in- 
 troduced through the means of the Saracens into Euroi)e. 
 Ils use in engines of war, though they may seem to have 
 been rather like our fireworks than artillery, is mentioned by 
 
 1 The ••mperor Connul'n ravnlry in the Stan.liinl. in 1138. TwysJen, De<ini 
 
 r4^"w\ •Tiiau'lu nrv wil.l Ijy Wiliiiiiii of Script. ]>. ^2. 
 ' vi- .li-iiii>uiit4-.i ononein'cttnion, s SIsiuondl, t. vi. p. 429; .\zjiriu», in 
 
 on f'x.t. (lc'e<|ui« .l.'«-e-ii<l<Mit.'H, Script. IUt lUl. t. xvi. ; .Matt. Villiinl. 
 . ' . 1. 1 |,.-.lil<-ji ; iiriil miis ru T'Ut(iiiiri.\ 3 .Monstri-lct, t. ii. fol. 7, 14. "li ; Villii- 
 
 in Miinniiit iu-<'<-i.iiitnti)>ui( iM-IJIrii tnictHre n-t, t. wii. p. 8'.t. It vi:i* ii Itiiik'nnaian 
 
 ii.-k".tin. 1. xvll. c. 4. Aii'l till- Kiinio iih wi-ll ii« Knulixli fiinliiiin. Kntro los 
 
 uiin I'liii- >iy th<- Kri;,'lii<h ill tlic-ir enictia-- IJonrnniuniinH, wivh ('oniini-H, lorn i-h- 
 
 Mi.-iit »itli thi- Sc-<,t/(i Mi!nr .\orth-.\lliT- toicnt Ick plui4 lioiiorcz n-nx (jue do8- 
 
 ton, colli luonljr call««l the buttle of tin- ctniiluiuot utim; Ic8 archerx. 1. 1. c. 3.
 
 460 INVENTION OF GUNPOWDER. Chap. III. Part II. 
 
 an Arabic writer in the Escurial collection about the year 
 1249.^ It was known not long afterwards to our philosopher 
 Roger Bacon, though he concealed, in some degree, the secret 
 of its composition. In the first part of the fourteenth century 
 cannon, or rather mortars, were invented, and the applicabil- 
 ity of gunpowder to purposes of war was understood. Ed- 
 ward III. employed some pieces of artillery with considerable 
 effect at Crecy.^ But its use was still not very frequent ; — 
 a circumstance which will surprise us less when we consider 
 the unscientific construction of artillery ; the slowness with 
 which it could be loaded ; its stone balls, of uncertain aim 
 and imperfect force, being commonly fired at a considerable 
 elevation ; and especially the difficulty of removing it from 
 place to place during an action. In sieges, and in naval en- 
 gagements, as, for example, in the war of Chioggia, it was 
 more frequently employed.^ Gradually, however, the new 
 artifice of evil gained ground. The French made the princi- 
 pal improvements. They cast their cannon smaller, placed 
 them on lighter carriages, and used balls of iron.* They in- 
 vented portable arms for a single soldier, which, though clumsy 
 in comparison with their px-esent s.tate, gave an augury of a 
 prodigious revolution in the miUtary art. John Duke of Bur- 
 
 1 Casiri, Bibl. Arab. Ilispan. t. ii. p. 7, 456, where he speaks of the art, nuper 
 
 thus renders the original description of rara, nunc communis, 
 
 certain missiles used by tlie Moors. Ser- - G. Villani, 1. xii. c. 67. f Gibbon has 
 
 punt, susurrantque scorpiones circumli- thrown out a sort of objection to the cer- 
 
 gati ac pulvere nitrato incensi, unde tainty of this fact, on account of Frois- 
 
 explosi fulgurant ac incendunt. Jam sarfs silence. But the positive testimony 
 
 videre erat manganum excussum veluti of Villani, who died within two years 
 
 nubem per aera extendi ac tonitrus instar afterwards, and had manifestly obtained 
 
 horrendum edere fragorem. ignemque much information as to the great erents 
 
 undequAque vomens, omnia dirumpere, passing in France, cannot be rejected, 
 
 incendere, in cineres i-edigere. The Ara- He ascribes a material effect to the cannon 
 
 bic passage is at the bottom of the page ; of Edward, colpi delle bombarde, which I 
 
 and one would be glad to know whether suspect, from his strong expressions, had 
 
 pulvis nitratus is a fair translation. But not been employed before, except against 
 
 I think there can on the whole be no stonewalls. It seemed, he saj-s, as if God 
 
 doubt that gunpowder is meant. An- thundered con grande uccisione di genti, 
 
 other Arabian writer seems to describe e sfondamento di cavalli. 
 
 the use of cannon in the years 1312 and 3 Gattaro, 1st. Padovana, in Script. Her. 
 
 1323. Id. ibid. And the chronicle of Ital. t. xvii. p. 360. Several proofs of the 
 
 Alphonso XI., king of Castile, distinctly employment of artillery in French sieges 
 
 mentions them at the siege of Algeciras during the reign of Charles V. occur in 
 
 in 13-12. But before this they were suf- Villaret. See the word Artillerie in the 
 
 ficiently known in France. Gunpowder index. 
 
 and cannon are both mentioned in regis- Gian Galeazzo had, according to Corio, 
 ters of accounts under 1338 (Du Cange, v. thirty-four pieces of cannon, small and 
 Bombarda). and in another document of great, in the Milanese army, about 1397. 
 1345. llist. du Languedoc, t. iv. p. 204. * Guicciardini, 1. i. p. 75, has a remark- 
 But the strongest eviilence is a passage of able passage on the superiority of the 
 Petrarch, written before 1-344. and quoted French over the Italian artillery in con- 
 in Muratori, Antich. Ital. Dissert. 26, p. sequence of these improvements.
 
 Italy. SFOKZA AND BliACCIO. 4G1 
 
 gundy, in 1-ill, had 4000 hand-cannon^ as they were called, 
 in his arniy.^ They are found, under ditierent names and niud- 
 itieations of form — for wliieli 1 refer the reader to professed 
 writers on tiu-tics — in most of the wars that historians of the 
 liftecnlli eeiitury record, but less in Italy than beyond the Alps. 
 The Milanese, in ll-l',>, are said to have armed tiieir militia 
 with 20.000 muskets, which struck terror into the old generals.- 
 But tiiese muskets, supported on a rest, and charged with great 
 delay, did less execution than our sanguinary science would 
 re(iuire ; and, imcombined with the admirable invention of the 
 bayonet, could not in any degree resist a charge of cavalry. 
 The pike had a greater tendency to subvert the military sys- 
 tem uf the iniildle ages, and to demonstrate the elliciency of dis- 
 ciplined infantry. Two free nations had already discomfited, 
 by the help of such infantry, tlnjse arrogant knights on whom 
 the fate of battles had dei)ended — the Jiohemians, instructed 
 in the art of war by their great master, John Zisca ; and the 
 Swiss, who, after winning their independence inch by inch 
 from the house of Austria, had lately established their 
 renown by a splendid victory over Charles of Burgundy. 
 Louis XI. took a body of 'mercenaries from the United Can- 
 tons into pay. ^laximilian had recourse to the same assist- 
 ance.^ And though the im[)ortance of infantry was not 
 jierhaps decidedly established till the Milanese wars of Louis 
 XII. and Francis I., in the sixteenth century, yet the last 
 years of the middle ages, according to our division, indicated 
 the commencement of that military revolution in the general 
 employment of pikemen and musketeers. 
 
 Soon after the beginning of the fifteenth century, to return 
 from this digression, two illustrious captains, edu- ^jvnirv of 
 cated under Alberic di Barbiano, turned upon storai ;iii,i 
 themselves the cye:^ of Ituly. These were Braccio 
 di Montone, a noble Perugian, and Sibrza Attendolo, origi- 
 nallv a peasant in the viUage of Cotigruiola. Nearly e(iual 
 in reputJition, uidess perhaps Braccio may be reckoned the 
 more consummate general, they were divided by a l(jng 
 
 > VllUrct, t. xiil. p. Vn, 310. ' Sc-o Ouiociardinis clinnirtcr of the 
 
 ^.''Ijtmoiiili, t. ix. p. .'i41. 1I<> Hay g that Swiss troopM, p. 11/2. The Kri'iich, ho 
 
 It ruqulnil n (iiiarttTiif iiii hour t<) rhari;o sa.vii, huil no iiiitivi- iiifimtrv ; il rcf{iio ill 
 
 nii>l tlrva iiiimktft I iiiiiitt coiifeKM that I Kniiiciii oni ilcboli.s.iiiiio Ji fiiiitcriii pro- 
 
 viTV much ilouht thi^ fact of no many pria, thu iioliility iiionopoli/.iijg ull war- 
 
 mu>'ki't'< harttiK hcvn roll(.irt«<l. In 1472 like occupatioiiu. Ibid, 
 that arm vrim im-i-ii for thi- flr»t time in 
 Tiucany. MurutJjri, Dliuort. W, p. 457.
 
 462 FRANCESCO SFORZA. Chap. III. Part II. 
 
 rivalry, Avhicli descended to the next generation, and involved 
 all the distinguished leaders of Italy. The distractions of 
 Naples, and the anarchy of the ecclesiastical state, gave scope 
 not only to their military but political ambition. Sforza was 
 invested with extensive fiefs in the kingdom of Naples, and 
 with the office of Great Constable. Braccio aimed at inde- 
 pendent acquisitions, and formed a sort of principality around 
 Perugia. This, however, was entirely dissipated at his 
 death. When Sforza and Braccio were no more, their re- 
 Francesco spective parties were headed by the son of the 
 Sforza. former, Francesco Sforza, and by Nicholas Picci- 
 
 nino, who for more than twenty years fought, with few ex- 
 ceptions, under opposite banners. Piccinino was constantly 
 in the service of Milan. Sforza, whose political talents fully 
 equalled his military skill, never lost sight of the splendid 
 prospects that ojDened to his ambition. From Eugenius IV. 
 he obtained the March of Ancona, as a fief of the Roman 
 see. Thus rendered more independent than the ordinary 
 condottieri, he mingled as a sovereign prince in the politics 
 of Italy. He was generally in alliance with Venice and 
 Florence, throwing his weight into' their scale to preserve the 
 balance of power against Milan and Naples. But his ulti- 
 mate designs rested upon Milan. Filippo Maria, duke of 
 that city, the last of his family, had only a natural daughter, 
 whose hand he sometimes offered and sometimes withheld 
 from Sforza. Even after he had consented to their union. 
 He acuuires ^^^ suspicious temper was incapable of admitting 
 the duchy such a sou-in-law into confidence, and he joined in 
 Milan. ^ confederacy with the j^ope and king of Naples to 
 strip Sforza of the March. At the death of Filippo Maria 
 in 1 447, that general had nothing left but his glory, and a 
 very disputable claim to the Milanese succession. This, how- 
 ever, was set aside by the citizens, who revived their republi- 
 can government. A republic in that part of Lombardy 
 might, with the help of Venice and Florence, have withstood 
 any domestic or foreign usurpation. But Venice w^as hostile, 
 and Florence indifferent. Sforza became the general of this 
 new state, aware that such would be the probable means of 
 becoming its master. No politician of that age scrupled any 
 breach of faith for his interest. Nothing, says Machiavel, 
 VFas thought shameful, but to fail. Sforza, with his army, 
 deserted to the Venetians ; and the republic of Milan, being
 
 Italy. KEBELLIOX OF SICILY. 463 
 
 both incapable of flefonding itself and tlistraoteil by civil dis- 
 sensions, soon fell a prey to his ambition. In 14.*><» lie was 
 proclaimed duke, rather by light of election, or of conquest, 
 than in virtue of his raarriaire with Bianca. whose sex, as 
 well as illegitimacy, seemed to preclude her from inheriting. 
 
 I have not alluded for some time to the domestic history 
 of a kingdom which bore a considerable part, dur- Affairs of 
 ing the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, in tlie ^""P'<;s- 
 general comljinalions of Italian policy, not wishing to inter- 
 rupt the reader's attention by too frequent transitions. We 
 must return again to a more remote age in order to take up 
 the history of Naples. Charles of Anion, after 
 the deaths of Manti-ed and Conradin had left him ' ' ' 
 without a competitor, might be ranked in the first class of 
 European sovereigns, blaster of Provence and Naples, and 
 at the head of the Guelf faction in Italy, he had already 
 prepared a formidable attack on the Greek empire, when a 
 menioral)le revolution in Sicily brought humiliation on his 
 latter years. John of Procida, a Neapolitan, whose patri- 
 mony had been confiscated for his adlaerence to Rebellion 
 the partv of Manfred. retaine<l. duriuLr lonji years '^S ^''"y 
 or exile, an implacahle resentment against tlie chmies 
 house of Anjou. From the dominions of Peter ""^ -^"J<"»- 
 III., king of Aragon, who had bestowed estates upon him in 
 Valencia, he kept his eye continually fixed on Naples and 
 Sicily. The fijrmer held out no f;ivoral)le prospects ; the 
 Ghibelin party had been entirely subdued, and the principal 
 barons were of French extraction or inclinations. But the 
 i-land was in a very different state. I'liuscd to any strong 
 government, it was now treated as a contjuered country. A 
 large body of French soldiers garrisoned the forfilied towns, 
 and the sy>teniatic oppression was aggravated by those in- 
 sults ujjon the honor of families which are most intolerable 
 to an Italian temperament, .hjhn of Procida, travelling in 
 di-giiisc through the island, aiiiinatcd the barons with a 
 hope of deliverance. In like disguise he repaired to the 
 jMjpe, Nicolas III., who was jealous of the new Neapolitan 
 dynasty, and obtaiin-d his sanction to the projected insurrec- 
 tion ; to the court of Constantinople, from whicii he ntidily 
 obtained money; and to the king of Aragon, who eni|)loyed 
 that money in fitting out an armament, that hovered upon 
 the coast <jf Africa, under pretext of attacking the Moors.
 
 464 SICILIAN VESPERS. Chap. III. Part II. 
 
 It is, however, difficult at this time to distinguish tlie effects 
 of preconcerted conspiracy fi'oui those of casual resentment. 
 Before the intrigues so skilfully conducted had taken efltect, 
 yet after they were ripe for development, an outrage commit- 
 ted upon a lady at Palermo, during a procession on the vigil 
 of Easter, provoked the people to that terrible massacre of 
 Sicilian J^H the French in their island which has obtained 
 
 Vespers. tlie name of Sicilian Vespers. Unpremeditated 
 as such an ebullition of popular fury must appear, it fell in, 
 -looo by the happiest coincidence, with the previous con- 
 s^ju'acy. ihe knig ot Aragons lleet was at hand; 
 the Sicihans soon called in his assistance ; he sailed to Paler- 
 mo, and accepted the crown. John of Procida is a remarka- 
 ble witness to a truth which the pride of governments will 
 seldom permit them to acknowledge : that an individual, ob- 
 scure and apparently insignificant, may sometimes, by perse- 
 verance and energy, shake the foundations of established 
 states ; while the perfect concealment of his intrigues proves 
 also, against a popular maxim, that a political secret may be 
 preserved by a number of persons during a considerable 
 length of time.-^ 
 
 The long war that ensued upon this revolution involved or 
 War in interested the greater part of civihzed Europe, 
 
 consequence phiHp HI, of France adhered to his uncle, and the 
 France and king of Aragou was Compelled to fight for Sicily 
 Aragon. within his native dominions. This indeed was the 
 more vulnerable point of attack. Upon the sea he was lord 
 of the ascendant. His Catalans, the most intrepid of Med- 
 iterranean sailors, were led to victory by a Calabrian refu- 
 gee, Roger di Loria, the most illustrious and successful 
 admiral whom Europe produced till the age of Blake and de 
 Ruyter. In one of Loria's battles the eldest son of the king 
 of Naples was made prisoner, and the first years of his own 
 
 1 Giannone, though he has well de- Palermo. The thought of calUng in 
 
 scribed the schemes of ,Tohn of Procida, Peter, he asserts, did not occur to the 
 
 yet, as is too often his custom, or rather Sicilians till Charles had actually com- 
 
 that of Costanzo, whom he implicitly fol- menced the siege of Messina. But this 
 
 lows, drops or slides over leading facts ; is ecjually removed from the truth. 
 
 and thus, omitting entirely, or misrepre- Gibbon has made more errors than are 
 
 sentiug, the circumstances of the Sicilian usual with so accurate an historian in 
 
 Vespers, treats the whole insurrection as his account of this revolution, such as 
 
 the result of a deliberate conspiracy, calling Constance, the queen of Peter, 
 
 On the other hand, Nicolas Specialis. a sister instead of rlaugJiter of Manfred, 
 
 contemporary writer, in the seventh vol- A good narrative of the Sicilian Vespers 
 
 ume of Muratori's collection, represents may be found in VeUy's History of 
 
 the Sicilian Vespers as proceeding entirely France, t. vi. 
 from the casual outrage in the streets of
 
 Italy. WAR BETWEEN FR.VXCE AXD ARAGOX. A(]o 
 
 reign were spent in continenient. But notwith>tan(ling tho*e 
 advantages, it was tbmul iinprai'ticalile tor Aragon to contend 
 against the arms of" France, and latterly of Castile, sustained 
 by the rolling thunders of the Vatican. Peter III. had be- 
 queathed Sicily to his second son James ; Alfonso, the •■ld(\-;t, 
 king of Ai-agon, could not fairly bo expected to ruin his in- 
 heritance for his brother's cause ; nor were the barons of that 
 Iree country disposed to carry on a war without national ob- 
 jects. He made peace, accordingly, in 1295, and engaged 
 to withdraw all his sulijects from the Sicilian service. Upon 
 his own di'ath, which followed very soon, James succeeded to 
 the kingiloni of Aragon, and ratified the renunciation of Sic- 
 ily. But the natives of that island had received too deeply 
 the spirit of independence to be thus assigned over by the 
 letter of a treaty. After solemnly abjuring, by their ambas- 
 sadors, their allegiance to the king of Aragon, they placed the 
 crown upon the head of his brother Frederic. They main- 
 tained the war against Charles II. of Naples, against James 
 of Aragon, their former king, who had bound himself to en- 
 force their submission, and even against the great Roger di 
 Loria, who, upon some discontent with Frederic, deserted 
 their banner, and entered into (he Neapolitan service. Peace 
 was at length made in 1300, upon condition that Frederic 
 should retain diwing his life the kingdom, which was after- 
 wards to revert to the crown of Naples : a condition not 
 likely to be fulfilled. 
 
 Upon the death of Charles II. king of Naples, in 1305, a 
 question arose as to the succession. I lis eldest son, Charles 
 Martel, had been called by maternal inheritance to the throne 
 of Hungary, and had left at iiis decease a son, Carobert, the 
 reigning sovereign of that country. According to the laws 
 of representative succession, which were at this time tolerably 
 settled in |)rivate inheritance, the crown of Naples ought to 
 have regularly devolved u]ion that i)rince. But it iiobertking 
 wa< contoted'bv his uncle Robert, the eldest livin<r °^ ^'"l'''"' 
 son of Charles II., and the cause was pleaded by civilians at 
 Avignon before Pope Clement V., the feudal superior of the 
 Neapolitan kingdom. Reasons of pultlic \itility. rathr-r than 
 of legal analogy, seem to have prevaih-d in the decision 
 wliich wjis made in favor of Robert.* The course of his 
 
 > aiannonc, I. xxll. ; Humtnontc, t. ii. p. 370. Sonic of tbc rivillaDS of tluit Bge, 
 boweriT. o(i|ir<iv<-<l the dtflclnn. 
 vol.. I. 30
 
 466 
 
 ROBERT KING OF NAPLES. Chap. III. Paet II. 
 
 reign 
 
 evinced the wisdom of this determination. Robert, a 
 wise and active, though not personally a martial prince, main- 
 tained the ascendency of the Guelf faction, and the papal 
 influence connected with it, against the formidable combina- 
 tion of Ghibelin usurpers in Lombardy, and the two empe- 
 rors Henry VII. and Louis of Bavaria. No male issue 
 survived Robert, whose crown descended to his granddaughter 
 Joanna. She had been espoused, while a child, to her cousin 
 Andrew, son of Carobert king of Hungary, who was educated 
 with her in the court of Naples. Auspiciously contrived as 
 this union might seem to silence a subsisting claim upon the 
 kingdom, it proved eventually the source of civil war and 
 calamity for a hundred and fifty years. Andrew's manners 
 were barbarous, more worthy of his native country than of 
 that polished court wherein he had been bred. He gave 
 himself up to the society of Hungarians, who taught him to 
 beheve that a matrimonial crown and derivative royalty were 
 derogatory to a prince who claimed by a paramount hered- 
 itary right. In fact, he was pressing the court of 
 Avignon to permit his own coronation, which would 
 have placed in a very hazardous condition the rights of the 
 queen, with whom he was living on ill terms, when one night 
 he was seized, strangled, and thrown out of a window. Public 
 rumor, in the absence of notorious proof, imputed 
 the guilt of this mysterious assassination to Joanna. 
 Whether historians are authorized to assume her 
 participation in it so confidently as they have gen- 
 erally done, may perhaps be doubted ; though I cannot ven- 
 ture positively to rescind their sentence. The circumstances 
 of Andrew's death were undoubtedly pregnant with strong 
 suspicions.-^ Louis king of Hungary, his brother, a just and 
 
 A.D. 1343. 
 
 Joanna. 
 Murder of 
 her husband 
 Andrew. 
 
 1 The Chronicle of Dominic di Gra- 
 vina (Script. Rer. Ital. t. xii.) seems to 
 be our best testimony for the circum- 
 stances connected with Andrew's death ; 
 and after reading his narrative more 
 than once, I find myself undecided as to 
 this perplexed and mysterious story. 
 Gravina's opinion, it should be observed, 
 is extremely hostile to tlie queen. 
 Nevertheless there are not wanting pre- 
 sumptions that Charles, first duke of 
 Durazzo, who had married the sister of 
 Andrew, was concerned in his murder, 
 for whicli in fact he was afterwards put 
 to death by the king of Hungary. But, 
 if the duke of Durazzo was guilty, it is 
 
 unlikely that Joanna should be so too ; 
 because she was on very bad terms with 
 him, and indeed the chief proofs against 
 her are founded on the investigation 
 which Durazzo himself professed to in- 
 stitute. Confessions obtained through 
 torture are as little credible in history as 
 they ought to be in judicature ; even if 
 we could be positively sure, which is not 
 the case in this instance, that such con- 
 fessions were ever made. However, I do 
 not pretend to acquit Joanna, but merely 
 to notice the uncertainty that rests over 
 her story, on account of the positiveness 
 with wliich all historians, except those 
 of Naples and the Abbe de Sade, whose
 
 Italy. JO.VXXA. 4G7 
 
 Stern prince, invaded Nai>les:. jtartly a.'^ an avoniror. partly a-» 
 a conqueror. The queen and her seeond husband, Louis of 
 Tarento. tied to Provence, where her acquittal, after a solemn, 
 it" not an impartial, invest itration, was pronounced I ly Clement 
 VI. Louis, mi'anwhile. found it more ditfieult to retain than 
 to acquire tiie kingdom oi' Xa])les ; his own dominion required 
 his presence ; and Joanna soon recovered her crown. She 
 reigned for thirtv vears more without the attack of any 
 enemv, but not intt-rmeddlinji. like her progenitors, in the 
 general concerns of Italy. Childless by four husbands, the 
 succession of Joanna began to excite ambitious speculations. 
 Of all the male descendants of Charles I. none remained but 
 the king of Hungary, and Charles duke of Durazzo, who 
 had married the queen's niece, and was regarded by her as 
 the )>resumptive heir to the crown. But, ottended by her 
 marriage with Otho of lirunswick, he procured the assistance 
 of an Hungarian army to inva<le the kingdom, and, getting 
 the (lueen into his power, took possession of the throne. In 
 this enteqjrise he was seconded by Urban VI., against whom 
 Joanna had unfortunately declared in the great schism of the 
 church. She was smothered with a pillow, in prison, I)y the 
 order of Charles. The name of Joan of Naples 
 
 ... 1 1 t 1 .• • i' 1 • A.D. 13(8. 
 
 ha^ sutlered by the lax repetUion of cahnnmes. 
 AVhatever share she may have had in her husband's death, 
 and certaiulv under circumstances of extenuation, her sub- 
 secjuent life was not open to any flagrant reproach. The 
 charge of dissolute manners, so frequently made, is not 
 warranted by any specific proof or contemporary testi- 
 mony. 
 
 In the extremity of Joanna's distress she had sought assist- 
 ance fi'om a quarter too remote to afford it in time for her 
 reli<'f She adopted Louis duke of Anjou, eldest uouseof 
 uncle of the young king of France, Charles VI., as •'^"J""- 
 her heir in the kingdom of Naples and county of Provence. 
 This bequest took cf^V-ct witiiout difficulty in the latter coun- 
 try. Naples was entirely in the possession of Charles of 
 Durazzo. Louis, however, entered Italy with a very large 
 army, consisting at least of 30,000 cavalry, and, according to 
 S(ime writers, mon- than double that ninnber.^ lie was 
 
 rindlratlon (VIp de IV-tntniuc, t. II. notes) Jx-cn liiT own nrt, an if rIic liiul onlered 
 
 doea her more hnrm tluiii gfKxi, linvu bin cxnutldii in ojh'Ii iliiv. 
 
 BMumcU the muitliT of Audrew to liavo ' Munitori ; Suuimonto j Coitanzo.
 
 468 LADISLAUS. Chap. III. Part II. 
 
 joined by many Neapolitan barons attached to the late 
 queen. But, by a fate not unusual in so imperfect a state 
 of military science, this armament produced no adequate 
 effect, and mouldered away through disease and want of 
 provisions. Louis himself dying not long afterwards, the 
 government of Charles III. appeared secure, and he was 
 tempted to accept an offer of the crown of Hungary. This 
 enterprise, equally unjust and injudicious, terminated in his 
 assassination. Ladislaus, his son, a child ten years old, suc- 
 ceeded to the throne of Naples, under the guardianship of 
 his mother Margaret, whose exactions of money producing 
 discontent, the party which had supported the late duke of 
 Anjou became powerful enough to call in his son. Louis IL, 
 as he was called, reigned at Naples, and possessed most part 
 of the kingdom, for several years ; the young king Ladislaus, 
 who retained some of the northern provinces, fixing his resi- 
 dence at Gaeta. If Louis had prosecuted the war with 
 activity, it seems probable that he would have subdued his 
 adversaiy. But his character was not very energetic ; and 
 Ladislaus, as he advanced to manhood, displaying much 
 superior qualities, gained ground by degrees, till the Ange- 
 vin barons, perceiving the turn of the tide, came over to his 
 banner, and he recovered his whole dominions. 
 
 The kingdom of Naples, at the close of the fourteenth 
 century, was still alto2;ether a feudal government. 
 
 Ladislaus . . 
 
 This had been introduced by the first Noi'man 
 kings, and the system had rather been strengthened than 
 impaired under the Angevin line. The princes of the blood, 
 who were at one time numerous, obtained extensive domains 
 by way of appanage. The principality of Tarento was a 
 large portion of the kingdom.-^ The rest was occupied by 
 some great famihes, whose strength, as well as pride, was 
 shown in the number of men-at-arms whom they could mus- 
 ter under their banner. At the coronation of Louis IL, in 
 1390, the Sanseverini appeared with 1800 cavalry completely 
 equipped.^ This illustrious house, which had filled all the 
 high offices of state, and changed kings at its pleasure, was 
 crushed by Ladislaus, whose bold and unrelenting spirit well 
 
 1 It comprehended the provinces now 1463, had 4000 troops in arms, and the 
 
 called Terra d'Otranto and Terra di Barl ; value of 1.000,000 florins in movables, 
 
 besides part of those adjoining. Sum- Sismondi, t. x. p. 151. 
 
 monte, Istoria di Napoli, t. iii. p. 537. 2 Summonte, t. iii. p. 517; Giannone, 
 
 Orsini. prince of Tarento, who died in 1. xxiv. c. 4.
 
 Italy. JOAXXA II. 409 
 
 fitted him to bruise the lieatls of the aristoenilie hy(h-:i. 
 Alter thoroughly estabhshiug his government at liome. this 
 ambitious monarch directed his powertul resources towards 
 foreign conciuests. The ecclesiastical territories had never 
 been >ecure from rcltcllion or usnri)ation ; but legitimate 
 sovereigns had hitherto respected the patrimony of the Ik ail 
 of the church. It was reserved for Ladislaus. a feudal vas- 
 sal of the Holy See, to seize upon Rome itself as his spoil. 
 For several yeax's, while the di.<ionlered state of the church, 
 in consequence of the schism and the means taken to extin- 
 guish it. gave him an opportunity, the king of Naples occu- 
 pied great i)art of the papal territories. He was disposed to 
 liave carried his arms farther north, and attacked the republic 
 of Florence, if not the states of Lombardy, when liis death 
 relieved Italy from the danger of this new tyranny. 
 
 An elder sister, Joana II., reigned at Naples after Ladis- 
 laus. Under this queen, destitute of corn-age and j^^^^^jj 
 understanding, and the slave of ajipetites which " 
 her age remlered douldy disgracefid, the kingdom relapsed 
 into tliat state of anarcliy from which its late sovereign had 
 rescued it. I shall only refer tlie reader to more eidarged 
 hi^tories tor the lirst years of Joanna's reign. In 1421 the 
 two most powerful individuals were Sforza Attendolo, great 
 constalile, and Ser Gianni Caraceioli, the ([ueen's minion, who 
 governed the palace with unlimited sway. Sforza, aware that 
 the favorite was contriving his ruin, and remembering the 
 prison in which he had lain more than once .since the accession 
 of .Toaima, determined to anticipate his enemies by calling in 
 a pretender to the crown, another Louis of Anjou. tiiinl in 
 descent of that unsucces.sful dynasty. The Angevin party, 
 though proscribed and o])pressed, was not extinct ; and the 
 jKtpulace of Naples in particular had always been on that 
 side. Caraccioli's influence and the queen's di.<honorable 
 weakness rendered the nobility disattected. Louis III., there- 
 fore, had no remote prospect of success. But Caraceioli was 
 more prudent than favorites, .^ielected from such motives, have 
 UMiallv proved. Joanna was old and childless; the reversion 
 to her dominion"! was a valuable object to any AiiopMnn of 
 prince in Europe. None was .xo competent to as- ^'^'^^,'^,;"^,"" 
 sist her, or so likely to be influenced l)y the hope Air.iiroof 
 of .succession, as Alfonso king of Aragon and Sic- '" ^' 
 ily. That i-^iand, after the reign of its deliverer, Frederic I.,
 
 470 ALFONSO OF ARAGON. Chap. III. Pakt II. 
 
 had unfortunately devolved upon weak or infant princes. 
 One great family, the Chiaranionti, had possessed itself of 
 half Sicily ; not by a feudal title as in other kingdoms, but as 
 a kind of counter-sovereignty, in opposition to the ci'own, 
 though affecting rather to bear arms against the advisers of 
 their kings than against themselves. The marriage of Maria, 
 queen of Sicily, with Martin, son of the king of Aragon, put 
 an end to the national indej)endence of her countiy. Dying 
 without issue, she left the crown to her husband. This was 
 consonant, perhaps, to the received law of some European 
 kingdoms. But, upon the death of Martin, in 1409, his 
 father, also named Martin, king of Aragon, took possession as 
 heir to his son, without any election by the Sicilian parlia- 
 ment. The Chiaramonti had been destroyed by the younger 
 Martin, and no party remained to make opposition. Thus 
 was Sicily united to the crown of Aragon. Alfonso, who 
 now enjoyed those two crowns, gladly embraced the proposals 
 of the queen of Naples. They were founded, indeed, on the 
 most substantial basis, mutual interest. She adopted Alfonso 
 as her son and successor, while he bound himself to employ 
 his forces in delivering a kingdom that was to become his 
 own. Louis of Anjou, though acknowledged in several prov- 
 inces, was chiefly to depend upon the army of Sforza ; and an 
 army of Italian mercenaries could only be kept by means 
 which he was not able to apply. The king of Aragon, there- 
 fore, had far the better prospects in the war, when one of the 
 many revolutions of this reign defeated his immediate expec- 
 tations. Whether it were that Alfonso's noble and affable 
 nature afforded a contrast which Joanna was afraid of exhib- 
 iting to the people, or that he had really formed a plan to an- 
 ticipate his succession to the throne, she became more and 
 more distrustful of her adopted son, till, an open rupture hav- 
 its revoca- i»g taken place, she entered into a treaty with her 
 fivor of hereditary competitor, Louis of Anjou, and, revok- 
 
 Louis of ing the adoption of Alfonso, substituted the French 
 Anjou. prince in his room. The king of Aragon was dis- 
 
 appointed by this unforeseen stroke, which, uniting the Ange- 
 vin faction with that of the reigning family, made it imprac- 
 ticable for him to maintain his ground for any length of time 
 in the kingdom. Joanna reigned for more than ten years 
 without experiencing any inquietude from the pacific spirit of 
 Louis, who, content with his reversionary hopes, lived as a
 
 Italy. 
 
 ^VLFONSO KING OF NAPLES. 
 
 471 
 
 sort of exile in Calabria.'^ Upon his death, the qucon, wlio 
 did not lontr survive hira, settled the kingdom on his brother 
 Rejrnier. The Neai>olit!Uis were genernlh' disposed to exe- 
 cute this betjuest. But Keirnier was indne\ily at that time a 
 prisoner to the duke of liingundy; and though his wife main- 
 tained the cause with great spirit, it was ditheult lor her, or 
 even for himself to eont<Mid against the king of Aragon, who 
 immediately laitl claim to the kingdom. After a contest of 
 several years, Regnier, having experienced the treacherous 
 and .selfish abandonment of his frientls, yielded the game to 
 his adversary ; ami Alfonso founded the Aragonese line 
 of sovereigns at Naples, deriving pretensions more splendid 
 than just from !Manfred, from the house of Suabia, and from 
 Roger Guiscard.'- 
 
 In the fir?t year of Alfon.so's Neapolitan war he was defeated 
 and taken prisoner by a fleet of the Genoese, who, j^,jj,„j^ 
 as constant enemies of the Catalans in all the kiiin of 
 naval warfare of the Mediterranean, had willingly ^"p'^^- 
 lent their aid to tlie Angevin party, Genoa was at this time 
 subject to FiUi)i)0 Maria duke of ^Nlilan, and her royal cap- 
 tive was transmitted to his court. But here the brilliant 
 graces of ^Vlfuiiso's character won over his conrpieror, who 
 had no reason to consider the war as his own concern. The 
 king persnaded him, on the contrary, that a strict allianci' with 
 an Anigonese dyna.<ty in Naples against the pretensions of 
 any French claimant would be the true policy and best secu- 
 
 1 Joanna's f^reat fiivoritc. Caraooinli. 
 ft-U a victim soinp tiini? tjoforv liin mis- 
 tre8«"8 death to an intrij^iu- of f lie paliioo ; 
 the (liiPhesd of Se.-win, a new favorite, 
 bavini; preT.iili-il on ttie fwljle oM queen 
 to permit liiiii to lie ii!i«ii*"inat<il. Aliout 
 thin time Alfonso lia<l every rea.son to 
 hope for tlie renewal «( the lU'ttlenient 
 in hi» favor. Canicrltili hail himself 
 ojieneil a iieKoliation with the kinjf of 
 Ari(fon ; and afl<-r hij< death the dueheHS 
 of A-njda eniharked in the wiuie oanse. 
 Jo<in even revokeil woretlv the adoption 
 of the duke of .Viijnn. Thin rlrcunintanre 
 niixht ap|M-ar clnuhlful : Imt the liii«- 
 torinn t'> whom I refi-r hait piilillNlied 
 the art of revoeatlon itwlf, «hi<-h Ix-iin) 
 (lute April llth, W.fi. /urita (Annale« 
 de Aru(;on, t. iv. p. 217) adiiiitJi that no 
 other writer, either ronteniponiry or Hub- 
 lu-quent. haji mentioned any part of the 
 tniiuta<-tion. whirh muKt hive Immmi kept 
 Very weret ; hut hin authority in no 
 
 re^|H'otj\ble that T thought it worth no- 
 tice, however uninteresting these remote 
 intrigues may appear to most readers. 
 Joanna xoon changed her mind again, 
 and took no overt steps in lavor of Al- 
 foriKo. 
 
 - Accorilinn to a treaty between Fred- 
 eric III., kiiijr of Sicily, and Joanna I. 
 of Naples, in 13<>;J, the former monarch 
 \riui to assume the title of kinc of Trin- 
 acria, leavini? the ori^rinal style to the 
 Nea|iolitan line. But neither he nor his 
 successors in the island eviT complied 
 with this condition, or entitled tlieni- 
 s«dveH iithenvise tliiiM kiofrs of Sicily ul- 
 tra I'harum. in coiitnidlstinction to the 
 other kiofriloni. which they denominated 
 Sicily citra I'harum. Allo'n.so of Ani(;on, 
 when he united both tlicsi', was the tlrst 
 who took the title. Kim; of the Two 
 Sicilies, which his succe.-sors have re- 
 tained ever since, liianuone, t. ill. p.
 
 472 QUADRUPLE LEAGUE. Ch.vp. IIL Pakt II. 
 
 rity of Milan. That city, which he had entered as a prisoner, 
 he left as a friend and ally. From this time Filippo Ma- 
 ria Visconti and Alfonso Avere firmly united in their Italian 
 politics, and formed one weight of the balance which the re- 
 His con- publics of Venice and Florence kej^t in equipoise. 
 nection After the succession of Sforza to the duchy of 
 
 with Jiiian. ]\j;iijj^ ti^g same alliance was generally preserved. 
 Sforza had still more powerful reasons than his predecessor 
 for excluding the Fi'ench from Italy, his own title being con- 
 tested by the duke of Orleans, who derived a claim from his 
 mother Valentine, a daughter of Gian Galeazzo Visconti. 
 But the two republics were no longer disposed towards war. 
 Florence had spent a great deal without any advantage in her 
 contest with Filippo Maria ; -^ and the new duke of Milan had 
 been the constaiat personal friend of Cosmo de' Medici, who 
 altogether influenced that republic. At Venice, indeed, he 
 had been regarded with very different sentiments ; the senate 
 had prolonged their war against Milan with redoubled ani- 
 mosity after his elevation, deeming him a not less ambitious 
 and more formidable neighbor than the Visconti. But they 
 were deceived in the chai'acter of Sforza. Conscious that 
 he had reached an eminence beyond his early hopes, he had 
 no care but to secure for his family the possession of Milan, 
 without disturbing the balance of Lombardy. No one bet- 
 ter knew than Sforza the faithless temper and destructive 
 politics of the condottieri, whose interest was placed in the 
 oscillations of interminable war, and whose defection might 
 shake the stability of any government. "Without peace it 
 was impossible to break that ruinous system, and accustom 
 states to rely upon their natural resources. Venice had 
 little reason to expect further conquests in Lombai'dy ; and 
 if her ambition had inspired the hope of them, she was sum- 
 moned by a stronger call, that of self-preservation, to defend 
 her numerous and dispersed possessions in the Levant against 
 the arms of Mahomet II. All Italy, indeed, felt the peril 
 Quadruple that impended from that side ; and these various 
 ip'^s^of motions occasioned a quadruple league in 1455, 
 between the king of Naples, the duke of Milan, 
 and the two republics, for the preservation of peace in Italy. 
 One object of this alliance, and the prevailing object with 
 
 1 The war ending with the peace of repuhhc of Florence 3,500,000 florins. 
 Ferrara, in 1428, is said to have cost the Ammirato, p. 1043.
 
 Italy. FERDINAND. 473 
 
 Alfoii-o, w;v* tlie iinplii'd giiaraiitL'o of his succession in the 
 kiiigiluin ot" Na[)les to his iUcgitiniate son Fcnhiiand. He 
 hail no hiwtiil issue ; and there seemed no reason why an ac- 
 qnisition ot" his own valor should i)a-s against his will to i-ol- 
 hiteral heirs. The pope, as teiidal superior of the kingdom, 
 and the Neapolitan parliament, the sole competent tribunal, 
 continued the inheritance of Ferdinand.^ Whatever may he 
 thoufrht of the claim- subsi-tinj; in the house of Anion, there 
 Qiin be no question that the reigning tamily of Aragon were 
 legitimately excluded from the throne of Naples, though 
 force and treachery enaldctl them ultimately to olitain it. 
 
 Alt()nso, surnamecl the ^lagnaninions, was by far the most 
 accomplished sovereign whom the fifteenth century character 
 produced. The virtues of chivalry were (•om1)ined of Alfonso. 
 in liim with the patronage of letters, and with nu)re tiian their 
 patronage, a real enthusiasm for learning, seldom found in a 
 king, and especially in one so active and ambitious,- This 
 devotion to literature was, among the Italians of that age, 
 almost as sure a passport to general admiration as his more 
 chivalrous jierfection. Magnificence in architecture and the 
 pageantrv of a splendid coiu't gave fresh lu-^fre to his reign. 
 The Neapolitans perceived with grateful pride that he lived 
 almo-t entirely among them, in preference to his patrimonial 
 kingdom, and forgave the heavy taxes which faults nearly 
 allied to his virtues, profuseness and ambition, compelled him 
 to imj)ose.' But they remarked a very different character in 
 his son. Ferdinand was as dark and vindictive as „ ,. 
 
 , . ,. , ... , , , rni 1 Ferdinand, 
 
 hi- father wa- ailahle and generous. llie harons, 
 
 who had many opportunities of ascertaining his disposition, 
 
 began, immediately upon Alfonso's death, to cabal against his 
 
 succession, turning tln-ir eyes first to tiie legitimate branch 
 
 of the fiimilv, and, on finding that pros])ect not fiivorable, to 
 
 John, titular dnke of Calabria, son of liegnier of .,,., 
 
 . . ' , . , . , " , A.D. 1401 
 
 Anjou, wlio survived to protest agamst the revohi- 
 tion that had dc.-throned him. Jolin was easily prevailed upon 
 to undertake an invasion of Naples. Notwitli.-tanding tlie 
 treaty concluded in 1 4. '».">, Florence assi.sted him with money, 
 and Venice at lea-t with her wishes ; but Sforza reinaiiuMl 
 un.-haken in that alliance with Ferdinand which his cleai- 
 
 > Glnnnonv, 1. xxtI. c. 2. kint? of iin illnens. See other proofs of 
 
 s A •lory l« I'll. I. true or falno, that his hiit love of letterH lu Tiruboschi, t. vl. 
 
 dfllKlit in heariiiK QtiiiittiH CurtiiiH ri-iul, p. 4(). 
 
 without any other uicdicine, cured tho ^ (Jiuiinoue, 1. xxvi.
 
 474 
 
 STATE OF ITALY. 
 
 Chap. III. Part II. 
 
 sighted policy discerned to be the best safeguard for his own 
 dynasty. A large proportion of the Neapolitan nobility, 
 including Orsini prince of Tarento, the most powerful vassal 
 of the crown, raised the banner of Anjou, which was sus- 
 tained also by the youngest Piccinino, the last of the great 
 condottieri, under whose command the veterans of former 
 warfare rejoiced to serve. But John underwent the fate that 
 had always attended his family in their long competition for 
 that throne. After some brilliant successes, his want of re- 
 sources, aggravated by the defection of Genoa, on whose 
 ancient enmity to the house of Aragon he had relied, was 
 perceived by the barons of his party, who, accord- 
 ing to the practice of their ancestors, returned one 
 by one to the allegiance of Ferdinand. 
 
 The peace of Italy was little disturbed, except by a few 
 domestic revolutions, for several years after this 
 Neapolitan war.-"- Even the most short-sighted 
 politicians were sometimes withdrawn from seltish 
 objects by the ap^Dalling progress of the Turks, 
 though there was not energy enough in their coun- 
 
 State of 
 Italy iu the 
 latter part 
 of the 
 fifteenth 
 century. 
 
 1 The following distribution of a tax 
 of 458,000 florins, imposed, or rather pro- 
 posed, in 1464, to defray the expense of 
 a general war against the Turks, will 
 give a notion of the relative wealth and 
 resources of the Italian powers ; but it is 
 probable that the pope rated himself 
 above his fair contingent. He was to 
 pav 100,000 florins ; the Venetians 100,- 
 000; Ferdinand of Naples 80,000; the 
 duke of Milan 70,000 ; Florence 50,000 ; 
 the duke of Modoua 20,000 ; Siena 15,- 
 000; the marquis of Mantua 10,000; 
 Lucca 8,000 ; the marquis of Montferrat 
 5,000. Simondi, t. x. p. 229. A similar 
 assessment occurs (p. 307) where the pro- 
 portions are not quite the same. 
 
 Perhaps it may be worth while to ex- 
 tract an estimate of the force of all 
 Christian powers, written about 1454, 
 from Sanuto's Lives of the Doges of 
 Venice, p. 963. Some parts, however, 
 appear very questionable. The king of 
 France, it is said, can raise 30,000 men- 
 at-arms ; but for any foreign enterprise 
 only 15,000. The king of England can 
 do the same. These powers are exactly 
 equal ; otherwise one of the two would 
 be destroyed. The king of Scotland, 
 " ch' e signore di grandi paesi e popoli 
 con grando poverti," can raise 10,000 
 men-at-arms : the king of Norw.ay the 
 same: the king of Spain (Castile) 
 30,000: the king of Portugal 6000: 
 
 the duke of Savoy 8000: the duke of 
 Milan 10,000. The republic of Venice 
 can pay from her revenues 10.000 : that 
 of Florence 4000 : the pope 6000. The 
 emperor and empire can raise 60,000 ; 
 the king of Hungary 80,000 (not men- 
 at-arms, certainly). 
 
 The king of France, in 1414, had 
 2,000,000 ducats of revenue ; but now 
 only half. The king of England had 
 then as much ; now only 700,000. The 
 king of Spain's revenue also is reduced 
 by the wars from 3.000,000 to 800,000. 
 The duke of Burgundy had 3,000,000; 
 now 900,000. The duke of Milau had 
 sunk from 1,000,000 to 500,000 : Venice 
 from 1,100,000, which she possessed in 
 1423, to 800,000: Florence from 400,000 
 to 200,000. 
 
 These statistical calculations, which 
 are not quite accurate as to Venice, and 
 probably much less so as to some other 
 states, are chiefly remarkable as they 
 manifest that comprehensive spirit of 
 treating all the powers of Europe as 
 parts of a common system which began 
 to actuate the Italians of the fifteenth 
 century. Of these enlarged views of 
 poUcy the writings of iEueas Sylvius 
 afford an eminent instance. Besides the 
 more general and insensible causes, the 
 increase of navigation and revival of lit- 
 erature, this may be ascribed to the con- 
 tinual dafigcr from the progress of the
 
 Italy. AFFAIRS OF GENOA. 17o 
 
 cib to form anv concertcil plans tor their own security. Venice 
 maintained a Ion;; I>ut uhiniatelv an unsnccesstul contest with 
 Mahonici II. for her maritime acquisitions in Greece and 
 Alliania : and it was not till after his death relieved Italy from 
 its immediate terror that the ambitious republic endeavored 
 to extend its territories by encroaching on the house of Este. 
 Nor had 3Iilan shown much disijosition towards ,,^„ 
 agjirandi/.ement. Francesco Sforza had been suc- 
 ceeded, such is the condition of despotic governments, by his 
 sou Galeazzo, a tyrant more execrable than the worst of the 
 Yisconti. His extreme cruelties, and the insolence of a de- 
 baucliery that gloried in the public dislionor of families, 
 excited a few diu'ing spirits to assassinate him. 
 The Milanese profited l)y a tyrannicide the ])crpe- 
 trators of which they had not coinage or gratitude to protect. 
 The regency of Bonne of Savoy, mother of the infant duke 
 Gian Galeazzo, deserved the praise of wisdom and modera- 
 tion. But it was overthrown in a few years by Ludovico 
 Sibrza, surnamed the Moor, her hu>band's brother ; 
 Avho, while he proclaimed his nei)hew's majority 
 and affected to treat him as a sovereign, hardly disguised in 
 his conduct towards foreign states that he liAd usurped for 
 himself the sole direction of government. 
 
 The annals of one of the few surviving republics, that of 
 Genoa, present to us, during the fifteenth as well ^^1^^,""^," j^*^ 
 as the preceding century, an unceasing series of that age, 
 revolutions, the shortest enumeration of which would occupy 
 several pages. Torn by the factions of Adoriii and Fregosi, 
 equal an<l eternal rivals, to whom the whole patrician families 
 of Doria and Fieschi were content to become secondary, 
 sometimes ^inking from weariness of civil tumult into the 
 gnu<p of Milan or France, and again, from impatience of 
 foreign sul)jection, starting back from servitude to anarchy, 
 the Genoa of those ages exhibits a singular contrast to the 
 calm anil regular aristocracy of the next three centuries. 
 The latest revolution within the compass of this work was 
 in 1488, when the duke of Mihm became sovereign, and 
 Adrtrno holding the (jflicc of doge as his lieutenant. 
 
 FlorcMice, the nio-t illii-trlous and fortunate of Italiiui re- 
 
 Oltoiimii Brnm. whirh |p<l tlio pdliticiuiii* tlierf.sourcesaudcUfipoiiltlongof ChriKtian 
 of tliiit ixirt of Kiirr>|ie iiioiit i-xporu-il to Htatoit. 
 tlicui iiitu luuru c-xu-otlTu tIuwh as to
 
 476 AFFAIRS OF FLORENCE. Chap. III. Part II. 
 
 publics, was now rapidly descending from her rank among 
 and of free commonwealths, though surrounded with more 
 
 Florence. jj^.^j^ usual lustrc in the eyes of Europe. We 
 must take up the story of that city from the revolution of 
 1382, which restored the ancient Guelf aristocracy, or party 
 of the Albizi, to the ascendency of which a popular insurrec- 
 tion had stripped them. Fifty years elapsed during which 
 this party retained the government in its own hands with few 
 attempts at disturbance. Their principal adversaries had been 
 exiled, according to the invariable and perhaps necessary cus- 
 tom of a republic ; the populace and inferior artisans were 
 dispirited by their ill success. Compared with the leaders of 
 other factions, Maso degl' Albizi, and Nicola di Uzzano, who 
 succeeded him in the management of his party, were attached 
 to a constitutional liberty. Yet so difficult is it for any gov- 
 ernment which does not rest on a broad basis of public con- 
 sent to avoid injustice, that they twice deemed it necessary 
 to violate the ancient constitution. In 1393, after a partial 
 movement in behalf of the vanquished faction, they assembled 
 a pai'liament, and established what was technically called at 
 Florence a Balia.-^ This was a temporary delegation of sov- 
 ereignty to a number, generally a considerable number, of 
 citizens, who during the period of their dictatorship named 
 the magistrates, instead of drawing them by lot, and banished 
 suspected individuals. A precedent so dangerous was event- 
 ually fatal to themselves and to the freedom of their country. 
 Besides this temporary balia, the regular scrutinies periodi- 
 cally made in order to replenish the bags out of which the 
 names of all magistrates were drawn by lot, according to the 
 constitution established in 1328, were so managed as to ex- 
 clude all persons disaffiscted to the dominant faction. But, 
 for still greater security, a council of two hundred was formed 
 in 1411, out of those alone Avho had enjoyed some of the 
 higher offices within the last thirty years, the period of the 
 aristocratical ascendency, through which every proposition 
 was to pass before it could be submitted to the two legislative 
 councils.'^ These precautions indicate a government conscious 
 of public enmity ; and if the Albizi had continued to sway 
 the republic of Florence, their jealousy of the people would 
 have suggested still more innovations, till the constitution had 
 
 1 Ammirato, p. 8-10. 2 lb. p. 961.
 
 Italy. RISE OF THE MEDICI. 477 
 
 acquiroil, in legal form as well a> sul)>taiico. an absolutely 
 aristooraticjil charaeter. 
 
 But, while eriishiiiir with deliltcrate seventy their avowed 
 adversaries, the ndiiii: party had left oue family whose pru- 
 dence jrave no reasonable exeuse for iiersecuting uisoof the 
 them, and whose popularity as well as wealth ren- ^^'-'^^"■ 
 di-n-d the experiment hazardous. The Mcdiei were among 
 the nK»t eon>ideral>le of the new or pk-beian nobility. From 
 the first years of the fourteenth century their name not very 
 unfre(pientlv occurs in the domestic and military annals of 
 Florence.^ Salvestro de' Medici, who had been partially im- 
 plicated in the demoeratical revolution that lasted from 1378 
 to 1382, escaped proscription on the revival of the Guelf 
 party, though some of his tiunily were afterwards banished. 
 Throughout the long depression of the popular faction the 
 house of Medici was always regarded as their consolation 
 and their hope. That house was now^ represented l)y Gio- 
 vamii,- whose immense wealth, honorably acquired by com- 
 mercial dealings, which had already rendered the name cele- 
 brated in Europe, was expended with liberality and magnifi- 
 cence. Of a mild temper, and averse to cabals, Giovanni 
 de' ^ledici did not attempt to set up a party, and contented 
 himself with repressing some fresh encroachments on the 
 |topidar part of the constitution which the Albizi were dis- 
 p(i>ed to make.^ They, in tiieir turn, I'reely admitted him to 
 that sliare in public councils to which he was entitled by his 
 eminence and virtues; a ])roof that the spirit of their adniin- 
 i>tration was not illiberally exclusive, liut, on the death of 
 Giovanni, his son Cosmo de' Medici, inheriting his father's 
 riches and estimation, with more talents and more anil)iti()n, 
 thought it time to avail himself of the popularity belonging 
 to hi- name. ]iy extensive connections with the most emi- 
 nent men in Italy, especially with Sfbrza, he came to be con- 
 siilered as the lirst citizen of Florence. The oligarchy were 
 more than ever unpopular. Their administration >ince lo<S2 
 
 1 The McTiri nrc cniiiiH'mtrHl l.y Vil- Snlvpfitro dc' Mcilicl. Their fiimilios nre 
 
 Innl ninoii^' thif rhii-fn of thi- lllnrk fiii-tioii (uiiJ [RT luimo triitto iill(intjiiiar,-i. Aiii- 
 
 lii lan. 1. Tiii. r. 71. Otii" of thiit fiiniily ininito, j). 'M2. NfV«Tthcl(<s, his Kriiin 
 
 wnii Im-Ii<-.'ii|4mI liy onliT of Uif iliikc of ilniwri pinfiilotilcr in 1-1'Jl cn'iitfil ii 
 
 '•' -r l.'J4.3. I. xii. r. 2. It Ik "111- irniit H-iisation in thr I'ity. iiikI |iiv|iiir<'J 
 
 • Mr. lloKTo,. nhoulil n'fiT thiir the way to the HiilKHcciucut revolution. 
 
 ;.. ., , iniiin- in hl"tory, iid hi- wi'Iiih n>lJ. .Macliiavflh, 1. iv. 
 
 to do. to th<- 'ii-iiv of Srjir|i<Tiu in l.'i'jl. " Mucliiardii, Intoriu Klorcnt. 1. iv. 
 < Ciuvminl Hu uot ucarly rclutvii to
 
 478 KISE OF THE MEDICI. Chap. III. Part II. 
 
 had indeed been in general eminently successful ; the acquisi- 
 tion of Pisa and of other Tuscan cities had aggrandized the 
 republic, while from the port of Leghorn her ships had begun 
 to trade with Alexandria, and sometimes to contend with the 
 Genoese.^ But an unprosperous war with Lucca diminished 
 a reputation which was never sustained by public affection. 
 Cosmo and his friends aggravated the errors of the govern- 
 ment which having lost its wise and temperate leader Nicola 
 di Uzzano, had fallen into the rasher hands of Rinaldo degl' 
 Albizi. He incurred the blame of being the first aggressor 
 in a struggle which had become inevitable. Cosmo was 
 " arrested by command of a gonfalonier devoted to 
 A.D. 1433. ^j^^ Albizi, and condemned to banishment. But the 
 oligarchy had done too much or too little. The city was full 
 of his friends ; the honors conferred upon him in his exile 
 attested the sentiments of Italy. Next year he was recalled 
 in triumph to Florence, and the Albizi were completely 
 overthrown. 
 
 It is vain to expect that a victorious faction will scruple 
 to retaliate upon its enemies a still greater measure of in- 
 justice than it experienced at their hands. The vanquished 
 have no rights in the eyes of a conqueror. The sword of re- 
 turning exiles, flushed by victory and incensed by suffering, 
 falls successively upon their enemies, upon those whom they 
 suspect of being enemies, upon those who may hereafter be- 
 come such. The Albizi had in general respected the legal 
 forms of their free republic, which good citizens, and per- 
 haps themselves, might hope one day to see more effective. 
 The Medici made all their government conducive to heredi- 
 tary monarchy. A multitude of noble citizens were driven 
 from their country ; some were even put to death. A balia 
 was appointed for ten years to exclude all the Albizi from 
 magistracy, and, for the sake of this security to the ruling 
 faction, to supersede the legitimate institutions of the republic. 
 
 1 The riorentines sent their first mer- silk and cloth of gold had never flourished 
 
 chant-ship to Alexandria in 1422, with so much. Architecture shone under Bru- 
 
 great and anxious hopes. Prayers were nelleschi : literature under LeonardAretin 
 
 ordered for the success of the republic by and Filelfo. p. 977. There is some truth 
 
 sea, and an embassy despatched with in M. Sismondi's remark, that the Medici 
 
 presents to conciliate the Sultan of Ha- have derived part of their glory from their 
 
 bylon, that is, of Grand Cairo. Ammi- predecessors in government, whom they 
 
 rato, p. 997. Florence had never before subverted, and whom they have rendered 
 
 been so wealthy. The circulating money obscure. But the Jlilanese war, breaking 
 
 was reckoned (perhaps extravagantly) at out in 1423, tended a good deal to im- 
 
 4,000,000 florins. The manufactures of poverish the city.
 
 Italy. LORENZO DE' MEDICI. 479 
 
 After the expiration of this period the dietatorial powtT was 
 renewed on pretence of fresh daiijier, and this was repeated 
 six times in twenty-tme years.^ In 14.")0 the constitutional 
 mode of drawing magistrates was permitted to re\ ive, against 
 the wishes of some of tlie leacHng party. They had good 
 reason to be jealous of a liberty which was incompatible with 
 their usurpation. Tlie gonfidoniers, drawn at random troiu 
 among respectable citizens, began to act with an indcjxn- 
 dcnce to which the new oligarchy was little accustomed. 
 Cosmo, indeed, the acknowledged chief of tlie party, perceiv- 
 ing that some who had acted in subordination to him were 
 looking forward to the opportunity of becoming themselves its 
 leaders, was not unwilling to throw upon them the unpopu- 
 larity attached to an usurpation by which he had maintained 
 his inthience. Without his apparent participation, though 
 not against his will, the free constitution was again suspended 
 by a lialia appointed for tlie nomination of magistrates; and 
 the regular drawing of names by lot seems never to have 
 been restored.' Cosmo died at an advanced age in 14G4. 
 His son. Piero de' !Medici, though not deficient in eitlier vir- 
 tues or abilities, seeme<l too infirm in health tor the adminis- 
 tration of public atl'airs. At least, he could only be chosen 
 by a sort of hereditary title, which the party above mentioned, 
 some from patriotic, more from selfish motives, were reluc- 
 tant to a<lmit. A strong opposition was raised to the family 
 pretensions of the Medici. Like all Florentine factions, it 
 trusted to violence ; and the chance of arms was not in its 
 favor. From this revolution in 1466, when some of the 
 most considerable citizens were banished, we may date an 
 acknowledged supremacy in the house of Medici, the chief 
 of wliich nominated the regidar magistrates, and drew to 
 him»elf till- whole conduct of the repidjlie.^ 
 
 The two sons of Piero, Lorenzo and Julian, especially the 
 former, though young at their father's death, assumed, l)y (he 
 request of tlieir friends, the reigns of government. i^oroii7/> 
 It was impossible that, among a people who had >io' Mi'IH- 
 so many recollections to attach to the name of lib- 
 erty, among so many citizens wliom their ancient constitution 
 invited to ]iuldic trust, the control of a single fiimily should 
 
 « MnrhiaTflli, 1. t. ; Aminlmto. The two Inttor nro iMTixtiml rrfin'nces 
 
 « AnitiilrnU.. t. II. i>. K2-X7. in thin |mrt of history, w hiro uo other U 
 
 * .\iiiniinito. ji. '.4 : lt(.wtio"« T»n'nw) luoUc. 
 (le'M«Jlcl,rU.2; Machiiirtlll ; .Sluuiomli.
 
 480 LORNlSrZO DE' MEDICI. Chap. III. Part II. 
 
 excite no dissatisfaction ; and perhaps their want of any posi- 
 tive authority heightened the appearance of usurpation in 
 their influence. But, if tlie people's wish to resign their 
 fi-eedom gives a title to accept the government of a country, 
 the Medici were no usurpers. That family never lost the 
 affections of the populace. The cry of Palle, Palle (their 
 armorial distinction), would at anytime rouse the Florentines 
 to defend the chosen patrons of the republic. If their sub- 
 stantial influence could before be questioned, the conspiracy 
 of the Pazzi, wherein Julian perished, excited an enthusiasm 
 for the surviving brother, that never ceased during his life. 
 Nor was this anything unnatural, or any severe reproach to 
 Florence. All around, in Lombardy and Romagn;u the lamp 
 of liberty had long since been extinguished in blood. The 
 freedom of Siena and Genoa was dearly purchased by revo- 
 lutionary proscriptions ; that of Venice was only a name. 
 The republic which had preserved longest, and with greatest 
 purity, that vestal fire, had at least no relative degradation to 
 fear in surrendering herself to Lorenzo de' Medici. I need 
 not in this place expatiate upon what the name instantly sug- 
 gests, the patronage of science and art, and the constellation 
 of scholars and poets, of architects and painters, whose re- 
 flected beams cast their radiance around his head. His polit- 
 ical reputation, though far less durable, was in his own age 
 as conspicuous as that which he acquired in the history of 
 letters. Equally active and sagacious, he held his way 
 tln-ough the varying combinations of Italian policy, always 
 with credit, and generally with success. Florence, if not en- 
 riched, was upon the whole aggrandized during his adminis- 
 tration, which was exposed to some sevei*e storms from the 
 unscrupulous adversaries, Sixtus IV. and Ferdinand of 
 Naples, whom he was compelled to resist. As a patriot, in- 
 deed, we never can bestow upon Lorenzo de' Medici the 
 meed of disinterested virtue. He completed that subversion 
 of the Florentine republic which his two immediate ancestors 
 had so well prepared. The two councils, her regular legisla- 
 ture, he superseded by a permanent senate of seventy per- 
 sons ; ^ while the gonfalonier and priors, become a mockery 
 
 1 Ammirato, p. 145. Machiavel says were now abolished, yet from M. Sis- 
 
 (1. viii.) that this was done ristringere il mondi, t. xi. p. 186, who quotes an author 
 
 governo, e elie ledeliberazioui imporfcmti I liave not seen, and from Nardi, p. 7, 
 
 si ridueessero in uiinore nunicro. But I should infer that they still formally 
 
 though it rather appears from Ammi- subsisted. 
 rato"s expressions that the two councils
 
 Italy. 
 
 PRETENSIONS OF FRANCE. 
 
 481 
 
 antl pageant to keep up the illusion of liherty, were taught 
 that in exercising a legitimate authority without the sanetion 
 of their prince, a name now tirst heard at Florence, they in- 
 curnil the risk of iiunisinneut for their au<hicity.^ Even the 
 total (lilapiilation of his commercial wealth was re[)aired at the 
 cost of the state ; and the repuhlic disgracefully screened the 
 bankruptev of the Medii-i by her own.- But compareil with 
 the statesmen of his age, we can reproach Lorenzo with 
 no heinous crime. He had many enemies ; his descendants 
 had many more ; but no unequivoeal charge of treachery or 
 assassination has been sul)stantiated against his memory. By 
 the side of Galeazzo or Ludovico .Stbrza, of Ferdinand or 
 his son Alfonso of Naples, of the pope Sixtus IV., ^ ^ ^^^^ 
 he shines with uiispotli-d lustre. So much was 
 Lorenzo esteemed by his coutem[K)raries, that his [jremature 
 death has frequently been considered as the cause of those 
 uidia|>pv revoluticms that speedily ensued, and which his fore- 
 sight would, it was imairined, have been able to prevent ; an 
 opinion which, whether founded in probability or otherwise, 
 attests the common sentiinent about his character. 
 
 If indeed Lorenzo dt,-' Medici could not have changed the 
 destinies of Italv. however i)remalure his death „ , 
 mav appear it we consider the orduiarv duration of Knmce 
 of "human existence, it must be admitted that for "'**'" ^'"p'^' 
 
 1 Cnmlii. a ponfalonior of justice, hml, 
 in concert with the priDr.j, iiJiiionished 
 f>ouie pulilic officers for a brea<-h of duty. 
 Fu tou'licafo quer'to iitto iiiolto superbo, 
 wivH .Kuuiiinitn, che soiiz;! participazioue 
 <li Ix>ren»J Je" Me<lici. princi[ie Jel )j;o- 
 venio. fo«.«e doguito, che in I'isa in quel 
 t«ni|f« ni ritrovava. p. 184. Tlie gonfa- 
 lonier wn.-) fineil for cx<-cutint: his con- 
 ftitiitional funrtionn. Thi< wan n down- 
 right confeshion that the repuhlic wan at 
 ■n end: and all it pnivoke.s M. Sismondi 
 to Kiy is not Uxt inucii, t. xi. p. .345. 
 
 J Sinc<> the .Mi-dici t<M.lc on them- 
 «pIt«-ii the character of princes, they had 
 for)(<>tt<fn how to l>e merchants. But, 
 Imprudently enough, they had not ilis- 
 continuol their connnerce, which was 
 of eiiurse niisninnaxed by agents whom 
 they did not overli«>k. The i-onsequence 
 wa> the conipletit illlnpidation of their 
 TBjit fortune. The public revenues had 
 bivn for Mime yiiip* applieil Ut make up 
 its defleieneies. liut from the measures 
 •ilopti-d by the republic, if we nuty still 
 UDi* tluit name, alie ohoulilnpis'nr t'lliavo 
 coiislden-d herw-lf. nttlier tiiaii Uirenzo, 
 M the debtor. The interest of the public 
 VUL. I. 31 
 
 debt was diminished one half. Many 
 charitable foundations were suppres.sed. 
 The circulatinj; s|H'cie wxs t.iken at one- 
 fifth below its noniiniil value in payment 
 of taxes, while the t;overnmeut continued 
 to i.ssue it at its former rate. Thus was 
 Ixircnzo reimbursed a part of his loss at 
 the expense of all his fellow-citizens. Sis- 
 mondi. t. xi. p. 347. It is sli);htly alluded 
 to by Machiavel. 
 
 Tlie vast expenditure of the Medici for 
 the sake of political influence would of 
 itself have alisorbed all their profits. 
 Cosmo is said by Ouicciardini to have 
 g|«'nt4<'".f)'H) ducats in building churches, 
 monasteries, ami other public works. 
 1. i. p. 91. The expensi-s of the family 
 l>etween H!it4 ami 1471, in buiJdintfs, 
 charities, and taxes alone, amouuti-ii to 
 <Wi.'^^> florins : ei|ual in valu<\ accordinii 
 to Sismondi, to ;j2,IKMt,lMKJ francs at pres- 
 ent. Hist, dcs Itipubl. t. X. p. 173. 
 They set'ui to have advanced moneyH 
 imprudently, throutfh their agents, to 
 Kdward IV., who was not the best of 
 debtors. Oouiines, .Mem. de Charles VIII. 
 1. vii. c. 6.
 
 482 PRETENSIONS OF FRANCE Chap. III. Part U. 
 
 his own welfiire, perhaps for his glory, he had lived out the 
 full measure of his time. An age of new and uncommon 
 revolutions was about to arise, among the earliest of which 
 the temporary downfall of his family was to be reckoned. 
 The long-contested succession of Naples was again to involve 
 Italy in war. The ambition of strangers was once more to 
 desolate her plains. Ferdinand king of Naples had reigned 
 for thirty years after the discomfiture of his competitor with 
 success and ability ; but with a degree of ill faith as well as 
 tyranny towards his subjects that rendered his goveniment 
 deservedly odious. His son Alfonso, whose succession seemed 
 now near at hand, was still more marked by these vices than 
 himself.^ Meanwhile, the pretensions of the house of Anjou 
 had legally descended, after the death of old Regnier, to 
 Regnier duke of Lorraine, his grandson by a daughter ; 
 whose marriage into the house of Lorraine had, however, 
 so displeased her father, that he bequeathed his Neapolitan 
 title, along with his real patrimony, the county of Provence, 
 to a count of Maine ; by whose testament they became vested 
 in the crown of France. Louis XL, while he took posses- 
 sion of Provence, gave himself no trouble about Naples. 
 But Charles VIII., inheriting his father's ambition without 
 that cool sagacity which restrained it in general from im- 
 practicable attempts, and far better circumstanced at home 
 than Louis had ever been, was ripe for an expedition to 
 vindicate his pretensions upon Naples, or even for more 
 extensive projects. It was now two centuries since the 
 kings of France had begun to aim, by intervals, at conquests 
 in Italy. Philip the Fair and his successors Avere anxious 
 to keep up a connection with the Guelf party, and to be 
 considered its natural heads, as tlie German emperors were 
 of the Ghibelins. The lonjj Enijlish wars changed all views 
 of the court of France to self-defence. But in the fifteenth 
 century its plans of aggrandizement beyond the Alps began 
 to revive. Several times, as I have mentioned, the republic 
 of Genoa put itself under the dominion of France. The 
 dukes of Savoy, jiossessing most part of Piedmont, and mas- 
 ters of the mountain-passes, were, by birth, intermarriage, 
 and habitual policy, completely dedicated to the French in- 
 
 1 Comines, who speaks sufficiently ill cruel que lui, ne plus mauvais, ne plus 
 of the father, sums up the son's character vicieux et plus infect, ne plus gourmand 
 very concisely : Nul homme n'a este plus que lui. 1. vii. c. 13.
 
 Italy. UPON NAPLES. 483 
 
 terests.^ In the former wars of Fenlinaiid against the house 
 of Anjou, Pope Puis II., a very enlightened statesman, fore- 
 saw the danger of Italy from the prevaiHng influence of 
 France, and deprecated the introduction of her armies.- But 
 at that time tlie central i)arls of Lonihardv were held liv a 
 man ecjually renowned as a soldier and a politician, Francesco 
 Sforza. C"onsi-i(jus that a claim n[>on his own dominions sub- 
 si-tfil in the house of Orleans, he maintained a strict alliance 
 with the Aragonese dynfisty at Naples, as having a common 
 interest against France. But after his death the connection 
 hetween Milan and Naples came to be weakened. In the 
 new system of alliances Milan and Florence, sometimes in- 
 cluding Venice, were combined against Ferdinand and Sixtus 
 IV.. an unpriiici|iled and restless pontitf. Ludovico Sfoiza, 
 who had u-urped the guardian-hip of his nephew the duke 
 of 3Iilan. found, a- that young man advanced to maturity, 
 that one crime rciiuin-d to be com])leted l»v another. To 
 depose and murder his ward was, however, a scheme that 
 prudence, thougli not conscience, bade him hesitiite to exe- 
 cute, lie iiad rendered Ferdinand of Naples and Piero de' 
 Medici. Lorenzo's heir, his decided enemies. A revolution 
 at Milan would be the prol)able result of his continuing 
 in usurpation. In these circumstances Ludovico 
 Sforza exciteil the king of France to undertake 
 the conquest of Na[)les.'^ 
 
 So long as the three great nations of Europe were unable 
 to put forth their natural stivnglh through internal separation 
 or foreign war, the Itidians had so litth- to dr(;ad for their 
 independence, that their policy was altogether directed to 
 regulating the domestic balance of power among themselves. 
 
 • Deiiina, Ptoria dell' TtAlin Occidcn- armis ejioi, neque id Ituliac libcrtati con- 
 tale, t. ii. im.«siiii. Loiiw XI. tn-ated durere : (iallfis, si rcirnmii obfiimissent, 
 Savoy 8JI a flef of Kniiiie : iiiterfi-riiit; in Semis hand iliiliii'-suhactiiros; Kloicntiiios 
 all itx nftiint. and even taking; oil liiiiiMi'ir advirsus lili.i nihil iietunis ; llursiunx 
 the ntjenryaner tliedeatliof I'liililxTt I., .Miitinie duieni (Jallis (riillioreni videri ; 
 under pretence of prevenliuK disorders. Flaininla- re(.'nloH ad Fniiicos inclinare; 
 p. IV). The niar<|iiiK of .Saliizzo, who <i<'iiuani Fnincis siihe.sse, et eivitateni 
 pO)o>e«j<«-<l roni-'idoniljle ferritorieii in the Astenseui : si pontifex Konianns ali- 
 iviuth of I'iolniont, had iloni- 'lomajfe to ijiiaiido Fraiicoruiii amicus assiniiatiir, 
 France ever since l;{,",.3 (p. 4'i;. thon(;h nihil reli<(iii in Itall.i rcnianere (jiiod non 
 to the injury of his n-al su|K-rior. the tniiis<^>a( in (iallnruni nonien ; tueri so 
 duke of .Ha Toy. This (.mve Fnince an'>tlier Ilaliani, dutn KiTilinaiiduni tneretnr. 
 pretext for interference In Italy, p. 187. Con ntar. I'ii Scciindi, 1. iv. p. W. 
 
 'Cosmo de' .Medici. In* a conference Spomlanais, who led me to this passuKi-, 
 
 with I'iii" II at Klon-nce, havlni; ex- is very an).'ry ; hut the year 14'.*4 proved 
 
 pf' '• that the iiojie should Plus It. to hi- a wary statesnnin. 
 
 »" I: I'onllfex hau'l fe- •' (iuicciardini, 1. i. 
 niei.iiii i.ii -.■ •■ic.iep'niaseronstitututn,
 
 484 CLAIMS ON NAPLES. Chap. III. Part n. 
 
 In the latter part of the fifteenth centnry a more enlarged 
 view of Europe would have manifested the necessity of 
 reconciling petty animosities, and sacrificing petty ambition, 
 in order to preserve the nationality of their governments; 
 not by attempting to melt down Lombards and Neapolitans, 
 principalities and republics, into a single monarchy, but by 
 the more just and rational scheme of a common federation. 
 The j)oliticians of Italy were abundantly competent, as far as 
 cool and clear understandings could render them, to perceive 
 the interests of their country. But it is the will of Provi- 
 dence that the highest and surest wisdom, even in matters 
 of policy, should never be unconnected with virtue. In re- 
 lieving himself from an immediate danger, Ludovico Sforza 
 overlooked the consideration that the presumptive heir of 
 the king of France claimed by an ancient title that princi- 
 pality of Milan which he was compassing by usurpation and 
 murder. But neither Milan nor Naples was free from other 
 claimants than France, nor was she reserved to enjoy unmo- 
 lested the spoil of Italy. A louder and a louder strain of 
 warhke dissonance will be heard from the banks of the 
 Danube, and from the Mediterranean gulf. The dark and 
 wily Ferdinand, the rash and lively Maximilian, are pre- 
 paring to hasten into the lists ; the schemes of ambition are 
 assuming a more comprehensive aspect ; and the controversy 
 of Neapolitan succession is to expand into the long rivalry 
 between the houses of France and Austria. But here, while 
 Italy is still untouched, and before as yet the first lances of 
 France gleam along the defiles of the Alps, we close the 
 history of the Middle Ages. 
 
 END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.
 
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