FEODAL. 



its most distant possessions, the Celtic 

 nations, taking advantage of the reduced 

 state of their various military posts, 

 marched in such numbers through the 

 southern parts of Europe, that opposition 

 was deemed vain, and these northern 

 hordes of Lombards, Franks, Huns, 

 Goths, and Vandals, conquered them 

 without difficulty. Acting upon their 

 previous policy, they immediately in- 

 troduced the military-practice they had 

 adopted towards their enemies, which 

 was the general confiscation of land to 

 the use of the most powerful chiefs; 

 those, for obvious motives, distributed 

 portions to enterprising subordinates, and 

 even to the common soldier who had 

 earned laurels in their predatory wars. 

 The grants thus made were conditional, 

 and called feoda, feuds, fiefs, or fees, 

 which words imply the receipt of a re- 

 ward given for past, and to secure future 

 services ; it might, indeed, be considered 

 an actual sale of the person for military 

 purposes, and the bargain became void, 

 by the land reverting to the first posses- 

 sor, if the party refused to march, or fled 

 from his chief in battle; but this, or simi- 

 lar dishonourable conduct, was further 

 guarded against by an oath of fealty. 



Viewing this system only in the light of 

 a firm bond of union subsisting between 

 barbarians, it must be admitted, that a 

 better could not well be devised, as the 

 chief held officers of trust to his interest, 

 by combining it with their own, and the 

 vassals of the latter had an equally just 

 reason to rely on the fidelity of others, 

 who held land under their fee. The ne- 

 cessity of preserving their conquests, 

 rather than any generous principle to- 

 wards each other, evidently dictated the 

 feodal system, and it was rendered al- 

 most impossible by this means that insur- 

 rections of the conquered nations should 

 succeed, or that foreign armies could 

 have the least chance of success, when 

 opposed to a prince at the head of his 

 feudatories; hence the nations thus con- 

 stituted became powerful in the aggre- 

 gate, and every individual, oppressed by 

 his lord, had a common claim for redress, 

 from the lowest feudatory in gradation to 

 the chief, otherwise the whole fabric 

 must have fallen into ruin. Exclusive of 

 the feoclal grants, there were others, 

 termed allodial, which, though not free 

 from military service, were given upon 

 more liberal principles than the former; 

 by those all free men had a right to dis- 

 pose of their territory. Tn order to se- 

 cure the prompt assistance of this de- 



VOL. V. 



scription of persons, they were invited 

 by a sort of honourable liberty to defend 

 the country in battle, which was denied 

 to the slaves, who were compelled to fol- 

 low what was then thought the inglorious 

 arts of peace. These allodial proprietors 

 composed a national militia, and had the 

 privilege of possessing moveables and 

 money, a circumstance which compelled 

 them to take the field at the requisition 

 of the sovereign, when the country was 

 in danger ; but they were exempt from 

 interfering in the disputes of feudal 

 lords ; and this exemption operated at 

 length in subverting all their advantages; 

 being independent of either party, both 

 the lords and their vassals viewed them 

 with jealousy, and each presuming upon 

 their inability to protect themselves, in- 

 jured and insulted them, well knowing 

 that, as they were scattered at remote 

 distances throughout the country, and 

 forbidden by law from committing 1 hos- 

 tilities, they had nothing to apprehend 

 from their resentment. The folly and 

 barbarity of this conduct can only bt ac- 

 counted for by the consummate igno- 

 rance and brutality of all classes of men, 

 who, inured to rapine, injustice, and 

 bloodshed, paid homage to power alone, 

 rejecting the sacred claims of property, 

 and despising all other merit besides 

 that of courage; the necessary conse- 

 quence was, that the prince courted the 

 most valiant and powerful of his chiefs, 

 and neglected the allodial proprietors in 

 proportion, because he could derive no 

 advantage from them ; they in return 

 became completely disgusted with their 

 situation, and wearied by the neglect of 

 the monarch, the destruction of theil* 

 property without hope of redress, and 

 continual insults, they finally determined 

 to solicit common protection, by resign- 

 ing their lands to those lords who would 

 deign to return them as feodal tenures: 

 such was the effect of this cruel system 

 of plunder, which made fiefs universal. 



The advocates for a state of society so 

 constituted urge, with some degree of 

 justice, that a feudal lord, surrounded 

 by his vassals, resembled the father of a 

 numerous family, each reciprocally be- 

 nch* tting the other; and this was certain- 

 ly the fact in some particular cases, when 

 the lord happened to be of a benevolent 

 disposition, and dispensed his favours li- 

 berally; such a man deserved, and, per- 

 haps, received, gratitude equivalent, and 

 hence originated feodal incidents. The 

 expectants of fiefs, before they were 

 hereditary, and the heirs afterwards^ 



S 



