92 History of the English Landed Interest. 



" Alleax " or allodial lands were held by the " Libras." They 

 were divided into counties and subdivided into " vills " and 

 " hundreds," presided over by the Count and his subordinates, 

 the"Vicarii" and " Centenarii." The " Feodaux " or feudal 

 lands were held by " Lends " who judged their own people and 

 led them to war ; but such lands were not contained in the 

 classification we have given for the Alleux, nor were their 

 peoples subject to the officers of the latter.^ There were too 

 Allodia and Allodiarii in Italy and elsewhere on the Continent. 

 But the tendency was for allodial property to become feudal, 

 so that before the beginning of the 10th century land abroad 

 was almost entirely held by feoffees. 



It is at first surprising to learn that the possessor in many 

 cases voluntarily converted his allodial lands into feudal. It 

 was, however, found that the king's vassals were in many 

 respects better treated than the freemen, and large quantities 

 of allodialists presented theirlands to the king, to receive them 

 back from him as beneficia or fiefs. This was especially charac- 

 teristic of the turbulent days which ensued on the death of 

 Charlemagne, when everybody stood in need of a protector, 

 and was therefore anxious to incorporate himself among the 

 lords of the feudal monarchy. Thus came about that maxim 

 in French law : " Nulle terre sans seigneur" ; so, though allo- 

 dialism lingered on in Languedoc, Catalonia, and the Low 

 Countries until even the 12th century, the great bulk of 

 Continental lands had become feudal in Saxon days. 2 But in 

 ante-Norman times the powers of the English king were less 

 than those wielded by Continental despots, the nobles were 

 more independent, the land superabundant ; all of which 

 causes militated against the exchange of the freedom enjoyed 

 by allodialism for the servitude inflicted by severe feudal 

 customs. The Anglo-Saxon ferocity required frequent blood- 

 letting from Norman lances before it would brook the conse- 

 quences of homage, reliefs, wardships, marriages, and other 

 burdens inseparable from the Continental system of feudalism, 



* Vide. Montesquieu, UEsprit des Lois, Hb. 30-31. 

 ^ Id. r)id., lib. xxxi., c. 8, vol. 2, p. 431. Compare also Rees, Enclyeo., 

 sub voc. " Allodiura." 



