WARFARE OF THE MIDDLE AGES. . 31 



monstrous Roman empire, from the weakness of its rulers and of its insti- 

 tutions, fell to pieces, the other nations of Europe had already received the 

 seeds of a culture which developed itself with giant strides so soon as they 

 established themselves in fixed settlements and became habituated to per- 

 manent residences. Thus far we have had to mention the other nations 

 of Europe only as they waged war with the Romans, or as allies aided them 

 in their warfare ; from this time forth we have to consider these nations as 

 possessing each a peculiar military system of its own, which was soon 

 destined to hold the Roman in check, and to experience in itself the effects 

 of that continual elevation in culture of which it was itself the cause. We 

 must follow, through a succession of centuries, the principal stages in the 

 formation of the Italian and German military systems, in order to deduce 

 from the same our present science of war, in its incontestably highly per- 

 fected condition. 



With the permanent establishment of the German people in fixed locali- 

 ties came naturally a change of their internal relations and circumstances. 

 Before, the whole race had a common interest, every free man was born a 

 soldier, and his calling was to fight the enemies of his people. Now, this 

 was all changed, and the question soon arose, whether the war commenced 

 was really a war of race and nation, or if only some one of those who had 

 contrived to attain a certain supremacy, had begun the feud for his own 

 personal objects. In the first case, war service became an undeniable duty, 

 but in the second was merely free choice or the lust of gain. For these 

 national wars arose the army-hann, a war service founded upon real 

 property, for discharge of which ownership of the soil was the pay, proof 

 in other words that pay was not needed, or that, by the lien on the soil, it 

 had been received once for all. 



This war duty was naturally in the highest degree troublesome, not for 

 the vassals alone, but the leader received thereby great numbers of people 

 utterly unfit for real service, so that the necessity arose for having, besides 

 the army proper, a number of men trained to war, who should not only be 

 ready themselves in all cases, but be fitted to instruct and discipline the 

 army-bann if called out. At all times the exactor of war service cared less 

 for the person by whom it was rendered than for the actual performance 

 of the duty ; and thus it soon became the custom to accept a substitute, or 

 an equivalent in money, with which an agreement was then made with 

 some war-loving leaders for the enlistment of whole parties. In later times, 

 free men who found themselves in destitute circumstances, or were in some 

 manner oppressed, entered into a kind of vassalage with the powerful, and 

 gave up their freedom, and even a portion of property, for the sake of 

 protection and to be freed for ever from war service. Others engaged 

 themselves, in consideration of various privileges and advantages, and 

 became feudatories. Thus many free men elevated themselves so much 

 above their fellows, that they became masters and formed an especial class 

 of their own, the war nobility. But even among these war nobles no 

 equality reigned, for here also was a higher class, upon whom the lower 

 were to a certain degree dependent, and thus arose the feudal system, in 



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