FEODAL. 
imply the receipt of a reward given for past, 
and to secure future services ; it might/ in- 
deed, be considered an actual sale of the 
person for military purposes, and the bar- 
gain became void by the land reverting to 
the first possessor, if the party refused to 
march, or fled from his chief in battle ; but 
this, or similard ishonourable 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 bar- 
barians, it must be admitted that a better 
could not well be devised, as the chief held 
officers of trust to his interest, by combin- 
ing 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 necessity of preserving 
their conquests rather than any generous 
principle towards each other, evidently 
dictated the feodal system, and it was ren- 
dered almost impossible by this means that 
insurrections 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 feu- 
datories ; hence the nations thus constituted, 
became powerful in the aggregate, and 
every individual, oppressed by bis lord, liad 
a common claim for redress from the low- 
est feudatory in gradation to the chief, 
otherwise the whole fabric must have fallen 
into ruin. Exclusive of the feodal 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 bad a right to 
dispose of their territory. In order to se- 
cure the prompt assistance of this descrip- 
tion 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 follow what was 
then thought the inglorious arts of peace. 
These allodial proprietors composed a nati- 
onal militia, and had the privilege of pos- 
sessing moveables and money, a circum- 
stance 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 dis- 
putes 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, 
injured and insulted them, well knowing 
that as they were scattered at remote dis- 
tances throughout the country, and forbid- 
den by law from committing hostilities, they 
had nothing to apprehend from their resent- 
ment. The folly and barbarity of this con* 
duct can only be accounted for by the con- 
summate ignorance and brutality of all 
classes of men, who inured to rapine, in- 
justice, and bloodshed, paid homage to 
power alone, rejecting the sacred claims of 
property, and despising all other merit be- 
sides 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 propor- 
tion, because he could derive no advantage 
from them; they in return became com- 
pletely disgusted with their situation, and 
wearied by the neglect of the monarch, 
tiie destruction of their property without 
hope of redress, and continual insults, they 
finally determined to solicit common protec- 
tion, by resigning 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 uni- 
versal. 
The advocates for a state of society so 
constituted, urge with some degree of jus- 
tice, that a feudal lord, surrounded by his 
vassals, resembled the father of a numerous 
family, each reciprocally benefiting the 
other, and this was certainly the fact in 
some particular cases, when the lord hap- 
pened to be of a benevolent disposition and 
dispensed his favours liberally, such a man 
deserved, and perhaps received, gratitude 
equivalent, and hence originated feodal inci- 
dents. The expectants of fiefs, before they 
were hereditary, and the heirs afterwards, 
educated under liis immediate inspection, 
were attached to him as if they had been 
his own offspring, and received their lands 
when of age, with a determination to de- 
fend his interest to the utmost of their abi- 
lity, in return for his careful and paternal 
wardship, which they further demonstrated 
by a grateful present on taking possession. 
The former was called the incident of ward- 
ship, and the latter the incident of relief. 
There was also an incident of marriage, 
which was founded upon the same principle 
as that of reliefs ; this operated to prevent 
alliances with the family or vassals of inimi- 
cal chiefs, and induced the lord to find 
such persons for his wards as would promote 
his own future advantage. 
The incident of aid, is explained by the 
teym; in this case all vassals were com- 
