736 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



lasted two centuries, until overthrown by Charlemagne and the Franks ; 

 and they again were succeeded by the Germans, in 962, under Otho 

 the Great. 



Thus, during the space of five centuries, Italy was overrun by five 

 successive hosts of invaders : but, with great sagacity, they left the 

 Roman municipal institutions untouched : so that while the forms re- 

 mained the population was almost entirely renewed. Moreover, the 

 invaders on all occasions favored emancipation, so that by the eleventh 

 century slavery had died out, and the land was once more inhabited by 

 a free people. 



Thus, after the gestation of five centuries, the conquering races 

 and the conquered had become amalgamated into one people, and a 

 new nation arose which exhibited such a transformation as had never 

 before been exhibited in the history of the world. The land which 

 had been held by the most prosaic and unimaginative of nations be- 

 came the mother of all the arts and of all the sciences. 



The cities of Italy, enjoying peace and settled government under 

 the Germanic emperors, rapidly progressed in prosperity and wealth, 

 and began to extend their commerce throughout Europe, and became 

 habituated to self-government under the decaying house of Franconia. 



But when the Hohenstaufens, a more energetic race, succeeded, 

 Frederick Barbarossa, one of the ablest sovereigns of the middle ages, 

 attempted to reimpose upon them the yoke of the empire. The Lom- 

 bard cities took up arms in their own defense. Barbarossa was at first 

 successful : he captured Milan and razed it to the ground. But he 

 was finally vanquished in 1176, on the field of Legnano ; and Italy be- 

 came all but nominally independent. 



The energies of the people being thus aroused, soon developed 

 themselves in every direction. First architecture, then sculpture, then 

 painting, then poesy, was called into existence ; and, during the space 

 of four centuries, Italy produced such a galaxy of illustrious names in 

 the arts as no other country can boast. The powers of Nature seemed 

 to culminate in Michael Angelo, and then decayed. 



The day that Michael Angelo died, Galileo was born. 



At the same time the study of jurisprudence revived. The great 

 Code of Justinian had been published during a short period while Italy 

 was reunited to the Eastern Empire, and then Justinian caused his 

 code to be adopted throughout the whole empire. But the original 

 Latin soon fell into desuetude in the East, and was superseded by Greek 

 compilations ; and was finally set aside by the revised code called the 

 Basilica, published in Greek in the ninth century. 



In the troubled state of Italy the study of jurisprudence was natu- 

 rally much neglected. Each separate race of invaders had its own 

 code of laws founded, however, on preceding Roman codes ; and 

 every nationality was allowed to follow its own laws. Consequently, 

 though the Code of Justinian never ceased to exist, its effects were 



