Early European History Part 76

Va.s.sALAGE

The tie which bound the tenant who accepted a fief to the lord who granted it was called va.s.salage. Every holder of land was the va.s.sal of some lord.

At the apex of the feudal pyramid stood the king, the supreme landlord, who was supposed to hold his land from G.o.d; below the king stood the greater lords (dukes, marquises, counts, and barons), with large estates; and below them stood the lesser lords, or knights, whose possessions were too small for further subdivision.

PERSONAL SERVICES OF THE Va.s.sAL

The va.s.sal, first of all, owed various services to the lord. In time of war he did garrison duty at the lord's castle and joined him in military expeditions. In time of peace the va.s.sal attended the lord on ceremonial occasions, gave him the benefit of his advice, when required, and helped him as a judge in trying cases.

THE Va.s.sAL'S MONEY PAYMENTS

Under certain circ.u.mstances the va.s.sal was also compelled to make money payments. When a new heir succeeded to the fief, the lord received from him a sum usually money equivalent to one year's revenue of the estate.

This payment was called a "relief." Again, if a man sold his fief, the lord demanded another large sum from the purchaser, before giving his consent to the transaction. Va.s.sals were also expected to raise money for the lord's ransom, in case he was made prisoner of war, to meet the expenses connected with the knighting of his eldest son, and to provide a dowry for his eldest daughter. Such exceptional payments went by the name of "aids."

THE LORD'S DUTY TO THE Va.s.sAL

The va.s.sal, in return for his services and payments, looked to the lord for the protection of life and property. The lord agreed to secure him in the enjoyment of his fief, to guard him against his enemies, and to see that in all matters he received just treatment. This was no slight undertaking.

HOMAGE

The ceremony of homage [5] symbolized the whole feudal relationship. One who proposed to become a va.s.sal and hold a fief came into the lord's presence, bareheaded and unarmed, knelt down, placed his hands between those of the lord, and promised henceforth to become his "man." The lord then kissed him and raised him to his feet. After the ceremony the va.s.sal placed his hand upon the Bible or upon sacred relics and swore to remain faithful to his lord. This was the oath of "fealty." The lord then gave the va.s.sal some object--a stick, a clod of earth, a lance, or a glove--in token of the fief with the possession of which he was now "invested."

FEUDAL GOVERNMENT A SUBSt.i.tUTE FOR ANARCHY

It is clear that the feudal method of land tenure, coupled with the custom of va.s.salage, made in some degree for security and order. Each n.o.ble was attached to the lord above him by the bond of personal service and the oath of fidelity. To his va.s.sals beneath him he was at once protector, benefactor, and friend. Unfortunately, feudal obligations were far less strictly observed in practice than in theory. Both lords and va.s.sals often broke their engagements, when it seemed profitable to do so. Hence they had many quarrels and indulged in constant warfare. But feudalism, despite its defects, was better than anarchy. The feudal lords drove back the pirates and hanged the brigands and enforced the laws, as no feeble king could do. They provided a rude form of local government for a rude society.

151. FEUDAL JUSTICE

FEUDALISM AS A SYSTEM OF LOCAL JUSTICE

Feudalism was not only a system of local government; it was also a system of local justice. Knights, barons, counts, and dukes had their separate courts, and the king had his court above all. Cases arising on the lord's estate were tried before him and the va.s.sals whom he called to his a.s.sistance in giving justice. Since most wrongs could be atoned for by the payment of a fine, the conduct of justice on a large fief produced a considerable income. The n.o.bles, accordingly, regarded their judicial rights as a valuable property, which they were loath to surrender to the state.

JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATION

The law followed in a feudal court was largely based on old Germanic customs. The court did not act in the public interest, as with us, but waited until the plaintiff requested service. Moreover, until the case had been decided, the accuser and the accused received the same treatment.

Both were imprisoned; and the plaintiff who lost his case suffered the same penalty which the defendant, had he been found guilty, would have undergone.

THE OATH

Unlike a modern court, again, the feudal court did not require the accuser to prove his case by calling witnesses and having them give testimony. The burden of proof lay on the accused, who had to clear himself of the charge, if he could do so. In one form of trial it was enough for him to declare his innocence under oath, and then to bring in several "oath- helpers," sometimes relatives, but more often neighbors, who swore that they believed him to be telling the truth. The number of these "oath- helpers" varied according to the seriousness of the crime and the rank of the accused. This method was hardly as unsatisfactory as it seems to be, for a person of evil reputation might not be able to secure the required number of friends who would commit perjury on his behalf. To take an oath was a very solemn proceeding; it was an appeal to G.o.d, by which a man called down on himself divine punishment if he swore falsely.

ORDEALS

The consequences of a false oath were not apparent at once. Ordeals, however, formed a method of appealing to G.o.d, the results of which could be immediately observed. A common form of ordeal was by fire. The accused walked barefoot over live brands, or stuck his hand into a flame, or carried a piece of red-hot iron for a certain distance. In the ordeal by hot water he plunged his arm into boiling water. A man established his innocence through one of these tests, if the wound healed properly after three days. The ordeal by cold water rested on the belief that pure water would reject the criminal. Hence the accused was thrown bound into a stream: if he floated he was guilty; if he sank he was innocent and had to be rescued. Though a crude method of securing justice, ordeals were doubtless useful in many instances. The real culprit would often prefer to confess, rather than incur the anger of G.o.d by submitting to the test.

THE JUDICIAL DUEL

A form of trial which especially appealed to the warlike n.o.bles was the judicial duel. [6] The accuser and the accused fought with each other; and the conqueror won the case. G.o.d, it was believed, would give victory to the innocent party, because he had right on his side. When one of the adversaries could not fight, he secured a champion to take his place.

Though the judicial duel finally went out of use in the law courts, it still continued to be employed privately, as a means of settling disputes which involved a man's honor. The practice of dueling is only now dying out in civilized communities.

[Ill.u.s.tration: TRIAL BY COMBAT From a ma.n.u.script of the fifteenth century.]

FEUDAL AND ROMAN LAW

Oaths, ordeals, and duels formed an inheritance from Germanic antiquity.

[7] They offered a sharp contrast to Roman law, which acted in the public interest, balanced evidence, and sought only to get at the truth. After the middle of the twelfth century the revival of the study of Roman law, as embodied in Justinian's code, [8] led gradually to the abandonment of most forms of appeal to the judgment of G.o.d. At the same time the kings grew powerful enough to take into their own hands the administration of justice.

152. FEUDAL WARFARE

FEUDALISM AS A SYSTEM OF LOCAL DEFENSE

Feudalism, once more, was a system of local defense. The knight must guard his small estate, the baron his barony, the count his county, the duke his duchy. At the lord's bidding the va.s.sal had to follow him to war, either alone or with a certain number of men, according to the size of the fief.

But this a.s.sistance was limited. A va.s.sal served only for a definite period (varying from one month to three in the year), and then only within a reasonable distance from the lands for which he did homage. These restrictions made it difficult to conduct a lengthy campaign, or one far removed from the va.s.sal's fief, unless mercenary soldiers were employed.

THE FEUDAL ARMY

The feudal army, as a rule, consisted entirely of cavalry. Such swiftly moving a.s.sailants as the Northmen and the Magyars could best be dealt with by mounted men who could bring them to bay, compel them to fight, and overwhelm them by the shock of the charge. In this way the foot soldiers of Charlemagne's time came to be replaced by the mailed hors.e.m.e.n who for four centuries or more dominated European battlefields.

[Ill.u.s.tration: MOUNTED KNIGHT Seal of Robert Fitzwalter, showing a mounted knight in complete mail armor; date about 1265 A.D.]

ARMS AND ARMOR

The armor used in the Middle Ages was gradually perfected, until at length the knight became a living fortress. [9] In the early feudal period he wore a cloth or leather tunic covered with iron rings or scales, and an iron cap with a nose guard. About the beginning of the twelfth century he adopted chain mail, with a hood of the same material for the head. During the fourteenth century the knight began to wear heavy plate armor, weighing fifty pounds or more, and a helmet with a visor which could be raised or lowered. Thus completely incased in metal, provided with shield, lance, straight sword or battle-ax, and mounted on a powerful horse, the knight could ride down almost any number of poorly armed peasants. Not till the development of missile weapons--the longbow, and later the musket--did the foot soldier resume his importance in warfare. The feudal age by this time was drawing to a close.

PREVALENCE OF PRIVATE WAR

The n.o.bles regarded the right of waging war on one another as their most cherished privilege. Fighting became almost a form of business enterprise, which enriched the lords and their retainers through the sack of castles, the plunder of villages, and the ransom of prisoners. Every hill became a stronghold and every plain a battlefield. Such neighborhood warfare, though rarely very b.l.o.o.d.y, spread terrible havoc throughout the land.

THE PEACE AND TRUCE OF G.o.d

The Church, to its great honor, lifted a protesting voice against this evil. It proclaimed a "Peace of G.o.d" and forbade attacks on all defenseless people, including priests, monks, pilgrims, merchants, peasants, and women. But it was found impossible to prevent the feudal lords from warring with each other, even though they were threatened with the eternal torments of h.e.l.l; and so the Church tried to restrict what it could not altogether abolish. A "Truce of G.o.d" was established. All men were to cease fighting from Wednesday evening to Monday morning of each week, during Lent, and on various holy days. The truce would have given Christendom peace for about two hundred and forty days each year; but it seems never to have been strictly observed except in limited areas.

ABOLITION OF PRIVATE WARFARE

As the power of the kings increased in western Europe, they naturally sought to put an end to the constant fighting between their subjects. The Norman rulers of Normandy, England, and Sicily restrained their turbulent n.o.bles with a strong hand. Peace came later in most parts of the Continent; in Germany, "fist right" (the rule of the strongest) prevailed until the end of the fifteenth century. The abolition of private war was the first step in Europe toward universal peace. The second step--the abolition of public war between nations--is yet to be taken.

153. THE CASTLE AND LIFE OF THE n.o.bLES

DEVELOPMENT OF THE CASTLE

The outward mark of feudalism was the castle, [10] where the lord resided and from which he ruled his fief. In its earliest form the castle was simply a wooden blockhouse placed on a mound and surrounded by a stockade.

About the beginning of the twelfth century the n.o.bles began to build in stone, which would better resist fire and the a.s.saults of besiegers. A stone castle consisted at first of a single tower, square or round, with thick walls, few windows, and often with only one room to each story. [11]

As engineering skill increased, several towers were built and were then connected by outer and inner walls. The castle thus became a group of fortifications, which might cover a wide area.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLAN OF CHaTEAU GAILLARD The plan is intended to represent that of a typical castle, as the plan of Kirkstall Abbey represents that of a typical monastery.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: PIERREFONDS A castle near Paris built about 1400 A.D. by a brother of the king of France. It was dismantled in 1632 A.D., but was carefully restored in the nineteenth century by order of Napoleon III. The exterior faithfully reproduces the appearance of a medieval fortress.]