mestic insurrection and the repulsion of foreign at' tack.
Though such was the feudal system in its definite con- stitution, it did not, of course, begin in this closely ar- ticulated and rigorous form. It assumes much of this aspect even in the Lombard occupancy of Northern It- aly in the 6tli century ; and its general outline may be imperfectly distinguished in the Ostrogothic kingdom of Theodoric (Sartorius, Pevples (Vltalie sous les Goths, V, Gl). But it had a simpler commencement, and both expanded and modified itself with the changing neces- sities of successive generations. It is in its rudiment- ary types, however, that its essential principles, and its singular adaptation to urgent contemporary needs, can be best detected. Inattention to its humbler be- ginnings has occasioned numerous controversies with regard to its origin, and rendered the information ac- cessible on the subject often perplexed, contradictory, and uninstructive.
The vital germ of feudalism is contained in the act of homage — homaffium, hominium, homin^iffium, hominat- icinn, hominiscum, etc. — the solemn formula by which a dependent professed himself ^Ae man and Jailhful ad- herent of a superior, originally of his own selection, and always theoretically so {'■'■ Integram et perfectam in se coHtinet fidelitatem," Lihri Feiidoruin ii, vii). The liegeman knelt down, placed his hands between the hands of his intended chief, and took upon himself the obligation of a.hso\.y\tQ Jiddify in certain prescribed re- lations, so long as his superior performed the corre- sponding duties of protection and support. The con- tract was sealed witli a kiss, and confirmed with the sanctions of religion (Galbert, Vie de Charles-le-Bon, de Fkmdres, ch. xii ; Guizot, il/m. />0Mr servir, etc., viii, 339-40). The profession oi fidelity was ultimately ex- pressed bj' the following declaration in the presence of the baronial court: '■' Devmio homo vester de tene- mento quod de vohis t?neo, et fidem vobis portabo contra omnes f/enles, salra fide (lebita Domino Rrgi et hceredihus Sim'' (Bracton, ii, xsxv, 8; Libb. Feud, ii, x). With this declaration should certainly be compared the state- ment of Procopius in regard to the ancient usage un- der the Roman empire {De Bella Vandal, ii, xviii, vol. i, p. 491).
Homage, then, was the pledge of true and loyal service to a superior— liege faith and liege obedience — given in consideration of defence and maintenance promised by the baron (jnan, par excellence " baronem inr/enuum," a free man. Lex Salic, xxxi ; see Du Cange, Gloss. Med. et Inf. Latin, tit. Baro, who omits in his classical authorities for the word, Petron. Satyr, liii). One man voluntarilj' became the man of another, and that other became the chief, leader, adviser, patron, and protector of his homager. The vassal originally had, and long retained, the right of formally renouncing the reciprocal obligations contracted by the process of diffidatio, or defiance. By carrying this relation of perfect trust and faithful "dependence through all gra- dations of society till it reached the head of the tribe or nation, the whole feudal hieraixhy was constructed, and all the members of the associated body were linked together in strict military union and subordination.
The principal oliject oV this close correlation of the constituents of society was to maintain the population in a constant state of preparation for war, "with its captains over tens, and its captains over fifties, and its captains over liundreds, and its captains over thou- sands." For this purpose the lord granted to his liege- man a definite quantity of land, to be held on condition of rendering a definite amount of service in the wars and other affairs of his chief. In this way, every man within the feudal circle was professed the fditfiful fol- lower of some lord — except the chief lord of all — the su- zerain ; and every ])iecc of land was held i7ifee of some feudal superior. Hence arose the doctrine that the eminent domain of the whole realm belonged to the king, and that all honor, authority, and ownership of
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548
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the soil descended from liim. Hence, too, the maxim of tlie Englisli law, nulla terra sine domino- — no estate in land witlioiit its lord. But these deductions were not drawn by the companions of Atauljili tlie Msigoth, of Clovis the Frank, or of Alboin the Lombard.
The principle of homage and the principle of the military tenure of land are not necessarily, though they are usually connected. Thej' have existed sep- arately, but they coalesced in the Middle Ages, and engendered b}- their conjunction what is so familiar under the name of the Feudal System.
^V'hen societ}' was disintegrated by internal discord, niiser\-, and both civil and foreign war ; ■when it was constantly assailed by new hordes of barbarians ; when life and property, the fruits of industry' and tranquil- lit}-, were continually imperilled b\' the hazards of the times, the weakness of the government, and the exac- tions of imperial officials; when there was no longer any Jiiitk betweeu man and man, any honesty of deal- ing, any security or protection against violent or in- sidious attacks (all which phenomena characterized the declining age of the AVestern empire and the ensuing centuries, Lactant. Div. Inst, vii, xv ; Salvian. Be Gu- bernat. Dei, iv, v-vi, et jMsshii), the social ties which bind men together snapped like flax in the fire, and the social organism rotted into incoherent atoms, which were totally deprived of old mutual attractions, and of capacitj' for continued combination in the ancient forms. In order that men might live together — and together they must live in order to live at all in such times — it was necessary to provide mutual support against aggression, and to establish entire fidelity at least between individual men, so that conjoint resist- ance might be obtained by reliance on reciprocal sup- port. These wants were satisiied by the feudal rela- tion, which, commencing with the elements of society, J'eunited them, separately man to man, under pledges of mutual trust, fidelity, and dependence. It provided also for the defence of the soil and the fruits of the soil, nearly the sole productions of such disordered times, by resisting any attack upon the community or its members (Salvian. Ihid. v, viii). F'eudalism thus supplied the means of reconstructing societj' from its very foundations, and of restoring coherence and some degree of security to distracted and dissociated popula- tions. Of course, the scheme was cradled in weakness and imperfection, and grew, through manii- changes of feature and fluctuations of fortune, into perfect sjm- metry of form. Of course, long and anxious genera- tions were required to permit the confluence and full development of arrangements at first local and ob- scure. And of course, too, the scheme expanded and became more systematic among an intrusive band of foreign warriors, settled in the midst of a larger and more intelligent ])opulation, and menaced from with- out by new intruders, and it developed itself still fur- ther and more ]iredominanth' as new necessities, new temptations, and new opportunities arose.