THE LIBRARY
OF
THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA
LOS ANGELES
PROM THE LIBRARY
O1
ELI SOBEL
HISTORY OF THE REIGN
CHARLES THE FIFTH
THE
HISTORY OF THE REIGN
OF THE
EMPEROR
CHARLES THE FIFTH
BY
WILLIAM ROBERTSON, D.D.
WITH
AN ACCOUNT OF THE EMPEROR'S LIFE AFTER HIS
ABDICATION
BY WILLIAM H. PRESCOTT
VOLUME I.
PHILADELPHIA:
J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY.
Copyright, 185*.
BY WILLIAM H. PRESCOTT.
Copyright, 1874,
BY J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO.
Copyright, 1884,
BY WILLIAM G. PRESCOTT.
Copyright, 1902,
BY JOHN FOSTER KIRK
CMM the Fifth- Vol. I.
SRLF
URL
vA
ADVERTISEMENT.
THE life of Charles the Fifth subsequently to his
abdication is disposed of by Dr. Robertson in some
six or seven pages. It did not, in truth, come strictly
within the author's plan, which proposed only a his-
tory of the reign of the emperor. But, unfortunately,
these few pages contain many inaccuracies, and, among
others, a very erroneous view of the interest which
Charles, in his retirement, took in the concerns of the
government. Yet it would be unjust to impute these
inaccuracies to want of care in the historian, since he
had no access to such authentic sources of information
as would have enabled him to correct them. Such in-
formation was to be derived from documents in the
archives of Simancas, consisting, among other things,
of the original correspondence of the emperor and his
household, and showing conclusively that the monarch,
instead of remaining dead to the world in his retreat,
took not merely an interest, but a decided part, in the
(iii)
jv ADVERTISEMENT.
management of affairs. But in Robertson's day Si-
mancas was closed against the native as well as the
foreigner ; and it is not until within a few years that
the scholar has been permitted to enter its dusty re-
cesses and draw thence materials to illustrate the
national history. It is particularly rich in materials
for the illustration of Charles the Fifth's life after his
abdication. Availing themselves of the opportunities
thus afforded, several eminent writers, both in Eng-
land and on the Continent, have bestowed much pains
in investigating a passage of history hitherto so little
understood. The results of their labors they have
given to the world in a series of elaborate works,
which, however varying in details, all exhibit Charles's
character and conduct in his retirement in a very
different point of view from that in which it has been
usual to regard them. It was the knowledge of this
fact which led the publishers of the present edition of
Robertson's " Charles the Fifth" to request me to pre-
pare such an account of his monastic life as might
place before the reader the results of the recent re-
searches in Simancas, and that in a more concise form
— as better suited to the purpose for which it was de-
signed— than had been adopted by preceding writers.
AD VER TISEMENT. V
I was the more willing to undertake the task, that my
previous studies had made me familiar with the sub-
ject, and that I was possessed of a large body of
authentic documents relating to it, copied from the
originals in Simancas. These documents, indeed,
form the basis of a chapter on the monastic life of
Charles at the close of the first Book of the History
of Philip the Second, — written, I may add, in the
summer of 1851, more than a year previous to the
publication of Mr. Stirling's admirable work, which
led the way in the series of brilliant productions re-
lating to the cloister life of Charles.
In complying with the request of the publishers, I
have made the authentic records which I had received
from Simancas the foundation of my narrative, — freely
availing myself, at the same time, of the labors of my
predecessors, especially those of Mr. Stirling and M.
Mignet, wherever they have thrown light on the path
from sources not within my reach.
In the performance of the task I have been in-
sensibly led into a much greater length than I had
originally intended, or than, I fear, will be altogether
palatable to those who have become already familiar
with the narrative in the writings of those who have
i*
vi AD VER TISEMENT.
preceded me. To such readers I cannot, indeed,
flatter myself that I have given any information of
importance beyond what they may have acquired from
these more extended and elaborate works. But by
far the larger part of readers in our community have
probably had no access to these works ; and I may ex-
press the hope that I have executed the task in such a
manner as to satisfy any curiosity which, after perusing
the narrative of the illustrious Scottish historian, they
may naturally feel respecting the closing scenes in the
life of the great emperor.
WILLIAM H. PRESCOTT.
BOSTON, November 10, 1856.
TO
THE KING.
SIR,—
I PRESUME to lay before your Majesty the history
of a period which, if the abilities of the writer were
equal to the dignity of the subject, would not be un-
worthy the attention of a monarch who is no less a
judge than a patron of literary merit.
History claims it as her prerogative to offer instruc-
tion to kings, as well as to their people. What reflec-
tions the reign of the Emperor Charles the Fifth may
suggest to your Majesty, it becomes not me to conjec-
ture. But your subjects cannot observe the various
calamities which that monarch's ambition to be dis-
tinguished as a conqueror brought upon his domin-
ions, without recollecting the felicity of their own
times, and looking up with gratitude to their sove-
reign, who, during the fervor of youth, and amidst the
(Yii)
viii DEDICA TION.
career of victory, possessed such self-command, and
maturity of judgment, as to set bounds to his own
triumphs, and prefer the blessings of peace to the
splendor of military glory.
Posterity will not only celebrate the wisdom of
your Majesty's choice, but will enumerate the many
virtues which render your reign conspicuous for a
sacred regard to all the duties incumbent on the
sovereign of a free people.
It is our happiness to feel the influence of these
virtues, and to live under the dominion of a prince
who delights more in promoting the public welfare
than in receiving the just praise of his royal benefi-
cence.
I am, Sir,
Your Majesty's most faithful subject,
And dutiful servant,
WILLIAM ROBERTSON.
PREFACE.
No period in the history of one's own country can
be considered as altogether uninteresting. Such trans-
actions as tend to illustrate the progress of its consti-
tution, laws, or manners merit the utmost attention.
Even remote and minute events are objects of a curi-
osity, which being natural to the human mind, the
gratification of it is attended with pleasure.
But with respect to the history of foreign states, we
must set other bounds to our desire of information.
The universal progress of science during the last two
centuries, the art of printing, and other obvious
causes, have filled Europe with such a multiplicity of
histories, and with such vast collections of historical
materials, that the term of human life is too short for
the study or even the perusal of them. It is necessary,
then, not only for those who are called to conduct the
affairs of nations, but for such as inquire and reason
concerning them, to remain satisfied with a general
knowledge of distant events, and to confine their study
of history in detail chiefly to that period in which, the
i* (ix)
X PREFACE.
several states of Europe having become intimately con-
nected, the operations of one power are so felt by all
as to influence their councils and to regulate their
measures.
Some boundary, then, ought to be fixed, in order to
separate these periods. An era should be pointed out,
prior to which each country, little connected with
those around it, may trace its own history apart ; after
which, the transactions of every considerable nation
in Europe become interesting and instructive to all.
With this intention I undertook to write the History
of the Emperor Charles the Fifth. It was during his
administration that the powers of Europe were formed
into one great political system, in which each took .a
station, wherein it has since remained with less varia-
tion than could have been expected after the shocks
occasioned by so many internal revolutions and so
many foreign wars. The great events which happened
then have not hitherto spent their force. The political
principles and maxims then established still continue
to operate. The ideas concerning the balance of
power then introduced, or rendered general, still in-
fluence the councils of nations.
The age of Charles the Fifth may therefore be con-
sidered as the period at which the political state of
Europe began to assume a new form. I have endeav-
ored to render my account of it an introduction to the
PREFACE. xi
history of Europe subsequent to his reign. While his
numerous biographers describe his personal qualities
and actions, while the historians of different countries
relate occurrences the consequences of which were
local or transient, it hath been my purpose to record
only those great transactions in his reign, the effects
of which were universal or continue to be permanent.
As my readers could derive little instruction from
such a history of the reign of Charles the Fifth with-
out some information concerning the state of Europe
previous to the sixteenth century, my desire of sup-
plying this has produced a preliminary volume,* in
which I have attempted to point out and to explain
the great causes and events to whose operation all the
improvements in the political state of Europe, from
the subversion of the Roman empire to the beginning
of the sixteenth century, must be ascribed. I have
exhibited a view of the progress of society in Europe,
not only with respect to interior government, laws,
and manners, but with respect to the command of the
national force requisite in foreign operations; and I
have described the political constitution of the prin-
cipal states in Europe at the time when Charles the
Fifth began his reign.
* These passages in the text refer to the original edition : the
additional matter incorporated in the present edition has required a
somewhat different arrangement in respect to the division of the
volumes.
xii PREFACE.
In this part of my work I have been led into several
critical disquisitions, which belong more properly to
the province of the lawyer or antiquary than to that
of the historian. These I have placed at the end of
the first volume, under the title of Proofs and Illus-
trations.* Many of my readers will, probably, give
little attention to such researches. To some, they
may perhaps appear the most curious and interesting
part of the work. I have carefully pointed out the
sources from which I have derived information, and
have cited the writers on whose authority I rely with a
minute exactness, which might appear to border upon
ostentation, if it were possible to be vain of having
read books, many of which nothing but the duty of
examining with accuracy whatever I laid before the
public .could have induced me to open. As my
inquiries conducted me often into paths which were
obscure or little frequented, such constant references
to the authors who have been my guides were not only
necessary for authenticating the facts which are the
foundations of my reasonings, but may be useful in
pointing out the way to such as shall hereafter hold
the same course, and in enabling them to carry on
their researches with greater facility and success.
Every intelligent reader will observe one omission
in my work, the reason of which it is necessary to
* See note on p. zi.
PREFACE. xiii
explain. I have given no account of the conquests
of Mexico and Peru, or of the establishment of the
Spanish colonies in the continent and islands of
America. The history of these events I originally
intended to have related at considerable length. But
upon a nearer and more attentive consideration of this
part of my plan, I found that the discovery of the
New World, the state of society among its ancient
inhabitants, their character, manners, and arts, the
genius of the European settlements in its various
provinces, together with the influence of these upon
the systems of policy or commerce in Europe, were
subjects so splendid and important that a superficial
view of them could afford little satisfaction ; and, on
the other hand, to treat of them as extensively as they
merited must produce an episode disproportionate to
the principal work. I have therefore reserved these
for a separate history ; which, if the performance now
offered to the public shall receive its approbation, I
purpose to undertake.
Though, by omitting such considerable but detached
articles in the reign of Charles the Fifth, I have
circumscribed my narration within more narrow limits,
I am yet persuaded, from this view of the intention
and nature of the work which I thought it necessary to
lay before my readers, that the plan must still appear to
them too extensive, and the undertaking too arduous.
Charles. — VOL. I. — B
xiv PREFACE.
I have often felt them to be so. But my conviction of
the utility of such a history prompted me to persevere.
With what success I have executed it, the public must
now judge. I wait, not without solicitude, for its
decision, to which I shall submit with a respectful
silence.
CONTENTS OF VOL. I.
A VIEW OF THE PROGRESS OF
SOCIETY IN EUROPE.
SECTION I.
VIEW OF THE PROGRESS OF SOCIETY IN EUROPE WITH RE-
SPECT TO INTERIOR GOVERNMENT, LAWS, AND MANNERS.
The Effects of the Roman Power on the State of Europe.— The .
Irruption of the Barbarous Nations. — Their Settlements in the
Countries they had conquered. — Decay of the Roman Empire.
— Desolation occasioned by the Barbarians. — Origin of the
present Political System of Europe. — The Feudal System. — Its
Effects upon the Arts, Literature, and Religion. — TheCrusades,
and their Effects upon Society. — Growth of Municipal Insti-
tutions.— Emancipation of the Peasantry. — Beginning of a
regular Administration of Justice. — Trial by Combat. — Ap-
peals.— Ecclesiastical Courts. — Discovery of the Code of Jus-
tinian.— Chivalry. — Revival of Learning. — Influence of Com-
merce.— Italians the First Merchants and Bankers. — Rise of
Trade and Manufactures among the Cities of the Hanseatic
League, — in the Netherlands, — in England . . . 1-89
SECTION II.
VIEW OF THE PROGRESS OF SOCIETY IN EUROPE WITH RE-
SPECT TO THE COMMAND OF THE NATIONAL FORCE REQUI-
SITE IN FOREIGN OPERATIONS.
Improved State of Society at the Beginning of the Fifteenth Cen-
tury.— The Concentration of Resources in European States. —
(xv)
xvi CONTENTS.
The Power of Monarchs ; their Revenues and Armies. — Affairs
of Different States at first entirely Distinct.— Progress of Com-
bination.— Loss of Continental Territory by the English. —
Effects upon the French Monarchy. — Growth of Standing
Armies, and of the Royal Prerogative under Louis XI. — His
Example imitated in England and in Spain. — The Heiress of
Burgundy. — Perfidious Conduct of Louis XI. towards her. —
Her Marriage with Maximilian, Archduke of Austria. — Inva-
sion of Italy by Charles VIII. — The Balance of Power. — CJse of
Infantry in Armies. — League of Cambray against Venice 90-129
SECTION III.
VIEW OF THE POLITICAL CONSTITUTION OF THE PRINCIPAL
STATES IN EUROPE. AT THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE SIX-
TEENTH CENTURY.
Italy at the Beginning of the Sixteenth Century. — The Papal
Power. — Alexander VI. and Julius II. — Defects in Ecclesias-
tical Governments. — Venice ; its Rise and Progress ; its Naval
Power and its Commerce. — Florence. — Naples and Sicily. —
Contest for its Crown. — Duchy of Milan. — Ludovico Sforza. —
Spain ; conquered by the Vandals and by the Moors ; gradually
re-conquered by the Christians. — Marriage of Ferdinand and
Isabella. — The Royal Prerogative. — Constitution of Aragon
and of Castile. — Internal Disorders. — " The Holy Brother-
hood."— France; its Constitution and Government. — The
Power of its Early Kings. — Government becomes purely Mon-
archical, though restrained by the Nobles and the Parliaments.
— The German Empire. — Power of the Nobles and of the
Clergy. — Contests between the Popes and the Emperors. —
Decline of Imperial Authority. — Total Change of Government.
— Maximilian. — The Real Power and Revenues of the Em-
perors, contrasted with their Pretensions. — Complication of
Difficulties. — Origin of the Turkish Empire ; its Character. —
The Janizaries, — Solyman 130-203
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS 305-367
CONTENTS. xvii
HISTORY OF CHARLES V.
BOOK I.
Birth of Charles V. — His Hereditary Dominions. — Philip and
Joanna, his Parents. — Birth of Ferdinand, his Brother. — Death
of Isabella. — Philip's Attempts to obtain the Government of
Castile. — The Regent Ferdinand marries a Niece of the French
King to exclude Philip and his Daughter. — The Castilian No-
bility declare for Philip. — Philip and Joanna proclaimed. —
Death of Philip. — Incapacity of Joanna. — Ferdinand made
Regent. — His Acquisition of Territory. — His Death. — Educa-
tion of Charles V. — Cardinals Ximenes and Adrian. — Charles
acknowledged King. — Ximenes strengthens the Royal Power ;
is opposed by the Nobles. — War in Navarre and in Africa. —
Peace with France. — Charles visits Spain. — His Ingratitude
towards Ximenes. — Death of the Latter. — Discontent of the
Castilians. — Corruption of the King's Flemish Favorites. — Re-
ception of Charles in Aragon. — Death of the Emperor Maxi-
milian.— Charles and Francis I. Competitors for the Empire.
— Views of the other Reigning Potentates. — Assembly of the
Electors. — The Crown offered to Frederic of Saxony. — He
declines in Favor of Charles, who is chosen. — Discontent of
the Spaniards. — Insurrection in Valencia. — The Cortes of Cas-
tile summoned to meet in Galicia. — Charles appoints Regents,
and embarks for the Low Countries .... 369-445
BOOK II.
Rivalry between Charles and Francis I. for the Empire. — They
negotiate with the Pope, the Venetians, and Henry VIII. of
England. — Character of the latter. — Cardinal Wolsey. — Charles
visits England. — Meeting between Henry VIII. and Francis I.
— Coronation of Charles. — Solyman the Magnificent. — The
Diet convoked at Worms. — The Reformation. — Sale of Indul-
gences by Leo X. — Tetzel. — Luther. — Progress of his Opinions.
B*
xviii CONTENTS.
— Is summoned to Rome. — His Appearance before the Legate.
— His Appeals to a General Council. — Luther questions the
Papal Authority. — Reformation in Switzerland. — Excommu-
nication of Luther. — Reformation in Germany. — Causes of the
Progress of the Reformation. — The Corruption in the Roman
Church. — Power and 111 Conduct of the Clergy. — Venality of
the Roman Court. — Effects of the Invention of Printing. — Eras-
mus.— The Diet at Worms. — Edict against Luther. — He is
seized and confined at Wartburg. — His Doctrines condemned
by the University of Paris, and controverted by Henry VIII.
of England. — Henry VIII. favors the Emperor Charles against
Francis I. — Leo X. makes a Treaty with Charles. — Death of
Chievres. — Hostilities in Navarre and in the Low Countries. —
Siege of Mezieres. — Congress at Calais. — League against
France.— Hostilities in Italy.— Death of Leo X. — Defeat of
the French. — Henry VIII. declares War against France. —
Charles visits England. — Conquest of Rhodes by Solyman 446-544
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
VOLUME I.
PAGE
ENTRY OF CHARLES V. INTO ANTWERP . Frontispiece.
Louis XI. AND HIS MINISTER, OLIVIER LE DAIN . 105
MAXIMILIAN RECEIVING A DELEGATION FROM VENICE . 144
AVILA 158
CHARLES V 371
SARAGOSSA 421
LEO X. AT THE BIER OF RAPHAEL 430
LUTHER BEFORE THE DIET OF WORMS . . . . 508
Charles V.— xix.
A VIEW
OF THE
PROGRESS OF SOCIETY IN EUROPE.
FROM THE
SUBVERSION OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE TO THE BE.
GINNING OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY.
(I)
A VIEW
OF THE
PROGRESS OF SOCIETY IN EUROPE,
FROM THE
SUBVERSION OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE TO THE BE-
GINNING OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY.
SECTION I.
VIEW OF THE PROGRESS OF SOCIETY IN EUROPE WITH RE-
SPECT TO INTERIOR GOVERNMENT, LAWS, AND MANNERS.
The Effects of the Roman Power on the State of Europe. — The Irrup-
tion of the Barbarous Nations. — Their Settlements in the Countries
they had conquered. — Decay of the Roman Empire. — Desolation
occasioned by the Barbarians. — Origin of the present Political Sys-
tem of Europe. — The Feudal System. — Its Effects upon the Arts,
Literature, and Religion. — The Crusades, and their Effects upon
Society. — Growth of Municipal Institutions. — Emancipation of the
Peasantry. — Beginning of a regular Administration of Justice. —
Trial by Combat. — Appeals. — Ecclesiastical Courts. — Discovery of
the Code of Justinian. — Chivalry. — Revival of Learning. — Influ-
ence of Commerce. — Italians the first Merchants and Bankers. —
Rise of Trade and Manufactures among the Cities of the Hanse-
atic League, — in the Netherlands, — in England.
Two great revolutions have happened in the political
state and in the manners of the European nations. The
first was occasioned by the progress of the Roman
power; the second by the subversion of it. When
(3)
4 A VIEW Or THE
the spirit of conquest led the armies of Rome beyond
the Alps, they found all the countries which they in-
vaded inhabited by people whom they denominated
barbarians, but who were nevertheless brave and inde-
pendent. These defended their ancient possessions
with obstinate valor. It was by the superiority of their
discipline, rather than that of their courage, that the
Romans gained any advantage over them. A single
battle did not, as among the effeminate inhabitants
of Asia, decide the fate of a state. The vanquished
people resumed their arms with fresh spirit, and their
undisciplined valor, animated by the love of liberty,
supplied the want of conduct as well as of union.
During those long and fierce struggles for dominion
or independence, the countries of Europe were suc-
cessively laid waste, a great part of their inhabitants
perished in the field, many were carried into slavery,
and a feeble remnant, incapable of farther resistance,
submitted to the Roman power.
The Romans, having thus desolated Europe, set them-
selves to civilize it. The form of government which
they established in the conquered provinces, though
severe, was regular, and preserved public tranquillity.
As a consolation for the loss of liberty, they commu-
nicated their arts, sciences, language, and manners to
their new subjects. Europe began to breathe, and to
recover strength after the calamities which it had un-
dergone ; agriculture was ent ouraged ; population in-
creased ; the mined cities were rebuilt ; new towns
were founded ; an appearance of prosperity succeeded,
and repaired in some degree, the havoc of war.
This state, however, was far from being happy or
STATE OF EUROPE. 5
favorable to the improvement of the human mind.
The vanquished nations were disarmed by their con-
querors and overawed by soldiers kept in pay to restrain
them. They were given up as a prey to rapacious gov-
ernors, who plundered them with impunity, and were
drained of their wealth by exorbitant taxes, levied with
so little attention to the situation of the provinces that
the impositions were often increased in proportion to
their inability to support them. They were deprived
of their most enterprising citizens, who resorted to a
distant capital in quest of preferment or of riches ; and
were accustomed in all their actions to look up to a
superior and tamely to receive his commands. Under
so many depressing circumstances, it was hardly possi-
ble that they could retain vigor or generosity of mind.
The martial and independent spirit which had distin-
guished their ancestors became in a great measure ex-
tinct among all the people subjected to the Roman
yoke ; they lost not only the habit but even the capa-
city of deciding for themselves or of acting from the
impulse of their own minds; and the dominion of the
Romans, like that of all great empires, degraded and
debased the human species.1
A society in such a state could not subsist long.
There were defects in the Roman government, even in
its most perfect form, which threatened its dissolution.
Time ripened these original seeds of corruption, and
gave birth to many new disorders. A constitution un-
sound and worn out must have fallen into pieces of
itself, without any external shock. The violent irrup-
tion of the Goths, Vandals, Huns, and other barbarians
1 Note I.
i*
6 A VIEW OF THE
hastened this event, and precipitated the downfall of
the empire. New nations seemed to arise, and to rush
from unknown regions, in order to take vengeance on
the Romans for the calamities which they had inflicted
on mankind. These fierce tribes either inhabited the
various provinces in Germany which had never been
subdued by the Romans, or were scattered over those
vast countries in the north of Europe and northwest of
Asia which are now occupied by the Danes, the Swedes,
the Poles, the subjects of the Russian empire, and the
Tartars. Their condition and transactions previous to
their invasion of the empire are but little known.
Almost all our information with respect to these is
derived from the Romans ; and, as they did not pene-
trate far into countries which were at that time uncul-
tivated and uninviting, the accounts of their original
state given by the Roman historians are extremely im-
perfect. The rude inhabitants themselves, destitute of
science as well as of records, and without leisure or
curiosity to inquire into remote events, retained, per-
haps, some indistinct memory of recent occurrences,
but beyond these all was buried in oblivion or involved
in darkness and in fable.'
The prodigious swarms which poured in upon the
empire from the beginning of the fourth century to
the final extinction of the Roman power have given
rise to an opinion that the countries whence they issued
were crowded with inhabitants ; and various theories
have been formed to account for such an extraordinary
degree of population as hath procured these countries
the appellation of " the storehouse of nations. ' ' But if
•Note II.
STATE OF EUROPE. 7
we consider that the countries possessed by the people
who invaded the empire were of vast extent, that a
great part of these was covered with woods and
marshes, that some of the most considerable of the
barbarous nations subsisted entirely by hunting or
pasturage, in both which states of society large tracts
of land are required for maintaining a few inhabitants,
and that all of them were strangers to the arts and
industry, without which population cannot increase to
any great degree, we must conclude that these coun-
tries could not be so populous in ancient times as
they are in the present, when they still continue to
be less peopled than any other part of Europe or of
Asia.
But the same circumstances that prevented the bar-
barous nations from becoming populous contributed to
inspire, or to strengthen, the martial spirit by which
they were distinguished. Inured by the rigor of their
climate, or the poverty of their soil, to hardships
which rendered their bodies firm and their minds
vigorous, accustomed to a course of life which was a
continual preparation for action, and disdaining every
occupation but that of war or of hunting, they under-
took and prosecuted their military enterprises with an
ardor and impetuosity of which men softened by the
refinements of more polished times can scarcely form
any idea.3
Their first inroads into the empire proceeded rather
from the love of plunder than from the desire of new
settlements. Roused to arms by some enterprising or
popular leader, they sallied out of their forests, broke
3 Note III.
8 A VIEW OF THE
in upon the frontier provinces with irresistible violence,
put all who opposed them to the sword, carried off the
most valuable effects of the inhabitants, dragged along
multitudes of captives in chains, wasted all before them
with fire or sword, and returned in triumph to their
wilds and fastnesses. Their success, together with the
accounts which they gave of the unknown conveniences
and luxuries that abounded in countries better culti-
vated or blessed with a milder climate than their own,
excited new adventurers and exposed the frontier to
new devastations.
When nothing was left to plunder in the adjacent
provinces, ravaged by frequent excursions, they marched
farther from home, and, finding it difficult or dangerous
to return, they began to settle in the countries which
they had subdued. The sudden and short excursions
in quest of booty, which had alarmed and disquieted
the empire, ceased; a more dreadful calamity im-
pended. Great bodies of armed men, with their wives
and children and slaves and flocks, issued forth, like
regular colonies, in quest of new settlements. People
who had no cities, and seldom any fixed habitation,
were so little attached to their native soil that they mi-
grated without reluctance from one place to another.
New adventurers followed them. The lands which they
deserted were occupied by more remote tribes of bar-
barians. These, in their turn, pushed forward into
more fertile countries, and, like a torrent continually
increasing, rolled on, and swept every thing before
them. In less than two centuries from their first irrup-
tion, barbarians of various names and lineage plundered
and took possession of Thrace, Pannonia, Gaul, Spain,
STATE OF EUROPE. g
Africa, and at last of Italy, and Rome itself. The vast
fabric of the Roman power, which it had been the work
of ages to perfect, was in that short period overturned
from the foundation.
Many concurring causes prepared the way for this
great revolution, and insured success to the nations
which invaded the empire. The Roman common-
wealth had conquered the world by the wisdom of its
civil maxims and the rigor of its military discipline.
But under the emperors the former were forgotten or
despised, and the latter was gradually relaxed. The
armies of the empire in the fourth and fifth centuries
bore scarcely any resemblance to those invincible le-
gions which had been victorious wherever they marched.
Instead of freemen who voluntarily took arms from the
love of glory or of their country, provincials and bar-
barians were bribed or forced into service. These were
too feeble, or too proud, to submit to the fatigue of
military duty. They even complained of the weight
of their defensive armor as intolerable, and laid it
aside. Infantry, from which the armies of ancient
Rome derived their vigor and stability, fell into con-
tempt ; the effeminate and undisciplined soldiers of
later times could hardly be brought to venture into the
field but on horseback. These wretched troops, how-
ever, were the only guardians of the empire. The
jealousy of despotism had deprived the people of the
use of arms ; and subjects oppressed and rendered in-
capable of defending themselves had neither spirit nor
inclination to resist their invaders, from whom they
had little to fear, because their condition could hardly
be rendered more unhappy. At the same time that the
A*
10 A VIEW OF THE
martial spirit became extinct, the revenues of the em-
pire gradually diminished. The taste for the luxuries
of the East increased to such a pitch in the imperial
court that great sums were carried into India, from
which, in the channel of commerce, money never re-
turns. By the large subsidies paid to the barbarous
nations, a still greater quantity of specie was withdrawn
from circulation. The frontier provinces, wasted by
frequent incursions, became unable to pay the custom-
ary tribute ; and the wealth of the world, which had
long centred in the capital of the empire,, ceased to
flow thither in the same abundance, or was diverted
into other channels. The limits of the empire con-
tinued to be as extensive as ever, while the spirit requi-
site for its defence declined, and its resources were
exhausted. A vast body, languid and almost unani-
mated, became incapable of any effort to save itself,
and was easily overpowered. The emperors, who had
the absolute direction of this disordered system, sunk
in the softness of Eastern luxury, shut up within the
walls of a palace, ignorant of war, unacquainted with
affairs, and governed entirely by women and eunuchs,
or by ministers equally effeminate, trembled at the
approach of danger, and, under circumstances which
called for the utmost vigor in council as well as in
action, discovered all the impotent irresolution of fear
and of folly.
In every respect the condition of the barbarous na-
tions was the reverse of that of the Romans. Among
the former the martial spirit was in full vigor ; their
leaders were hardy and enterprising ; the arts which
had enervated the Romans were unknown ; and such
STATE OF EUROPE. XI
was the nature of their military institutions that they
brought forces into the field without any trouble, and
supported them at little expense. The mercenary and
effeminate troops stationed on the frontier, astonished
at their fierceness, either fled at their approach or were
routed on the first onset. The feeble expedient to
which the emperors had recourse, of taking large
bodies of the barbarians into pay and of employing
them to repel new invaders, instead of retarding,
hastened the destruction of the empire. These mer-
cenaries soon turned their arms against their masters,
and with greater advantage than ever ; for by serving
in the Roman armies they had acquired all the disci-
pline, or skill in war, which the Romans still retained ;
and upon adding these to their native ferocity they
became altogether irresistible.
But though, from these and many other causes, the
progress and conquests of the nations which overran
the empire became so extremely rapid, they were
accompanied with horrible devastations and an in-
credible destruction of the human species. Civilized
nations, which take arms upon cool reflection, from
motives of policy or prudence, with a view to guard
against some distant danger or to prevent some remote
contingency, carry on their hostilities with so little
rancor or animosity that war among them is disarmed
of half its terrors. Barbarians are strangers to such
refinements. They rush into war with impetuosity and
prosecute it with violence. Their sole object is to
make their enemies feel the weight of their vengeance ;
nor does their rage subside until it be satiated with
inflicting on them every possible calamity. It is with
I2 A VIEW OF THE
such a spirit that the savage tribes in America carry
on their petty wars. It was with the same spirit that
the more powerful and no less fierce barbarians in the
north of Europe and of Asia fell upon the Roman
empire.
Wherever they marched, their route was marked
with blood. They ravaged or destroyed all around
them. They made no distinction between what was
sacred and what was profane. They respected no age,
or sex, or rank. What escaped me fury of the first
inuncation perished in those v hich followed it. The
most fertile and populous provinces were converted
into deserts, in which were scattered the ruins of vil-
lages and cities that afforded shelter to a few miserable
inhabitants whom chance had preserved, or the sword
of .the enemy, wearied with destroying, had spared.
The conquerors who first settled in the countries which
they had wasted were expelled or exterminated by new
invaders, who, coming from regions farther removed
from the civilized parts of the world, were still more
fierce and rapacious. This brought fresh calamities
upon mankind, which did not cease until the North,
by pouring forth successive swarms, was drained of
people and could, no longer furnish instruments of
destruction. Famine and pestilence, which always
march in the train of war when it ravages with such
inconsiderate cruelty, raged in every part of Europe
and completed its sufferings. If a man were called to
fix upon the period in the history of the world during
which the condition of the human race was most ca-
lamitous and afflicted, he would without hesitation name
that which elapsed from the death of Theodosius the
STATE OF EUROPE. 13
Great to the establishment of the Lombards in Italy.4
The contemporary authors who beheld that scene of
desolation labor and are at a loss for expressions to
describe the horror of it. The scourge of God, The
destroyer of nations, are the dreadful epithets by which
they distinguished the most noted of the barbarous
leaders; and they compare the ruin which they had
brought on the world to the havoc occasioned by
earthquakes, conflagrations, or deluges, the most for-
midable and fatal calamities which the imagination of
man can conceive.
But no expressions can convey so perfect an idea of
the destructive progress of the barbarians as that which
must strike an attentive observer when he contemplates
the total change which he will discover in the state of
Europe after it began to recover some degree of tran-
quillity, towards the close of the sixth century. The
Saxons were by that time masters of the southern and
more fertile provinces of Britain ; the Franks, of Gaul ;
the Huns, of Pannonia ; the Goths, of Spain ; the
Goths and Lombards, of Italy and the adjacent prov-
inces. Very faint vestiges of the Roman policy, juris-
prudence, arts, or literature remained. New forms of
government, new laws, new manners, new dresses, new
languages, and new names of men and countries were
everywhere introduced. To make a great or sudden
alteration with respect to any of these, unless where
the ancient inhabitants of a country have been almost
totally exterminated, has proved an undertaking beyond
4 Theodosius died A.D. 395 ; the reign of Alboinus in Lombardy
began A.D. 571 : so that this period was one hundred and seventy-six
years.
Charles. — VOL. I. 2
14 A VIEW OF THE
the power of the greatest conquerors.5 The great change
which the settlement of the barbarous nations occa-
sioned in the state of Europe may, therefore, be con-
sidered as a more decisive proof, than even the testi-
mony of contemporary historians, of the destructive
violence with which these invaders carried on their
conquests, and of the havoc which they had made
from one extremity of this quarter of the globe to the
other.6
In the obscurity of the chaos occasioned by this
general wreck of nations, we must search for the seeds
of order, and endeavor to discover the first rudiments
of the policy and laws now established in Europe. To
this source the historians of its different kingdoms have
attempted, though with less attention and industry than
the importance of the inquiry merits, to trace back the
institutions and customs peculiar to their countrymen.
It is not my province to give a minute detail of the
progress of government and manners in each particular
nation whose transactions are the object of the follow-
ing history. But in order to exhibit a just view of the
state of Europe at the opening of the sixteenth century
it is necessary to look back, and to contemplate the
condition of the Northern nations upon their first set-
tlement in those countries which they occupied. It is
necessary to mark the great steps by which they ad-
vanced from barbarism to refinement, and to point out
those general principles and events which, by their
uniform as well as extensive operation, conducted all
of them to that degree of improvement in policy and
$ Note IV. « Note V.
STATE OF EUROPE. !5
in manners which they had attained at the period when
Charles V. began his reign.
When nations subject to despotic government make
conquests, these serve only to extend the dominion and
the power of their master. But armies composed of
freemen conquer for themselves, not for their leaders.
The people who overturned the Roman empire and
settled in its various provinces were of the latter class.
Not only the different nations that issued from the
north of Europe, which has always been considered
as the seat of liberty, but the Huns and Alans, who
inhabited part of those countries which have been
marked out as the peculiar region of servitude,7 en-
joyed freedom and independence in such a high degree
as seems to be scarcely compatible with a state of social
union or with the subordination necessary to maintain
it. They followed the chieftain who led them forth in
quest of new settlements, not by constraint, but from
choice ; not as soldiers whom he could order to march,
but as volunteers who offered to accompany him.8
They considered their conquests as a common property,
in which all had a title to share, as all had contributed
to acquire them.9 In what manner or by what princi-
ples they divided among them the lands which they
seized, we cannot now determine with any certainty.
There is no nation in Europe whose records reach
back to this remote period ; and there is little informa-
tion to be got from uninstructive and meagre chronicles,
compiled by writers ignorant of the true end and un-
acquainted with the proper objects of history.
7 De 1' Esprit des Loix, liv. xvii. ch. 3.
s Note VI. 9 Note VII.
16 A VIEW OF THE
This new division of property, however, together
with the maxims and manners to which it gave rise,
gradually introduced a species of government formerly
unknown. This singular institution is now distinguished
by the name of the feudal system ; and though the bar-
barous nations which framed it settled in their new
territories at different times, came from different coun-
tries, spoke various languages, and were under the
command of separate leaders, the feudal policy and
laws were established, with little variation, in every
kingdom of Europe. This amazing uniformity hath
induced some authors10 to believe that all these na-
tions, notwithstanding so many apparent circumstances
of distinction, were originally the same people. But it
may be ascribed with greater probability to the similar
state of society and of manners to which they were
accustomed in their native countries, and to the similar
situation in which they found themselves on taking
possession of their new domains.
As the conquerors of Europe had their acquisitions
to maintain, not only against such of the ancient in-
habitants as they had spared, but against the more
formidable inroads of new invaders, self-defence was
their chief care, and seems to have been the chief
object of their first institutions and policy. Instead
of those loose associations which, though they scarcely
diminished their personal independence, had been
sufficient for their security while they remained in
their original countries, they saw the necessity of
uniting in more close confederacy, and of relinquish-
10 Procop. de Bello Vandal., tip. Script. Byz., edit. Ven., vol. i. p.
345-
STATE OF EUROPE. 17
ing some of their private rights in order to attain pub-
lic safety. Every freeman, upon receiving a portion
of the lands which were divided, • bound himself to
appear in arms against the enemies of the community.
This military service was the condition upon which he
received and held his lands; and, as they were ex-
empted from every other burden, that tenure, among
a warlike people, was deemed both easy and honorable.
The king or general who led them to conquest, con-
tinuing still to be the head of the colony, had, of
course, the largest portion allotted to him. Having
thus acquired the means of rewarding past services, as
well as of gaining new adherents, he parcelled out his
lands with this view, binding those on whom they were
bestowed to resort to his standard with a number of
men in proportion to the extent of the territory which
they received, and to bear arms in his defence. His
chief officers imitated the example of the sovereign,
and, in distributing portions of their lands among their
dependants, annexed the same condition to the grant.
Thus a feudal kingdom resembled a military establish-
ment rather than a civil institution. The victorious
army, cantoned out in the country which it had seized,
continued ranged under its proper officers and sub-
ordinate to military command. The names of a soldier
and of a freeman were synonymous." Every proprie-
tor of land, girt with a sword, was ready to march at
the summons of his superior and to take the field
against the common enemy.
But though the feudal policy seems to be so admirably
calculated for defence against the assaults of any foreign
11 Du Cange, Glossar.. voc. Miles.
2*
,g A VIEW OF THE
power, its provisions for the interior order and tran-
quillity of society were extremely defective. The prin-
ciples of disorder and corruption are discernible in that
constitution under its best and most perfect form. They
soon unfolded themselves, and, spreading with rapidity
through every part of the system, produced the most
fatal effects. The bond of political union was ex-
tremely feeble ; the sources of anarchy were innumer-
able. The monarchical and aristocrat! cal parts of the
constitution, having no intermediate power to balance
*them, were perpetually at variance and justling with
each other. The powerful vassals of the crown soon
extorted a confirmation for life of those grants of land
which, being at first purely gratuitous, had been be-
stowed only during pleasure. Not satisfied with this,
they prevailed to have them converted into hereditary
possessions. One step more completed their usurpa-
tions, and rendered them unalienable." With an am-
bition no less enterprising, and more preposterous, they
appropriated to themselves titles of honor, as well as
offices of power or trust. These personal marks of dis-
tinction, which the public admiration bestows on illus-
trious merit, or which the public confidence confers on
extraordinary abilities, were annexed to certain families,
and transmitted like fiefs, from father to son, by hered-
itary right. The crown vassals having thus secured the
possession of their lands and dignities, the nature of
the feudal institutions, which, though founded on sub-
ordination, verged to independence, led them to new
and still more dangerous encroachments on the pre-
rogatives of the sovereign. They obtained the power
«« Note VIII.
STATE OF EUROPE. ig
of supreme jurisdiction, both civil and criminal, within
their own territories ; the right of coining money ;
together with the privilege of carrying on war against
their private enemies in their own name and by their
own authority. The ideas of political subjection were
almost entirely lost, and frequently scarce any appear-
ance of feudal subordination remained. Nobles who
had acquired such enormous power scorned to consider
themselves as subjects. They aspired openly at being
independent ; the bonds which connected the principal
members of the constitution with the crown were dis-
solved. A kingdom considerable in name and in ex-
tent was broken into as many separate principalities as
it contained powerful barons. A thousand causes of
jealousy and discord subsisted among them, and gave
rise to as many wars. Every country in Europe, wasted
or kept in continual alarm during these endless contests,
was filled with castles and places of strength erected for
the security of the inhabitants, not against foreign force,
but against internal hostilities. A universal anarchy,
destructive in a great measure of all the advantages
which men expect to derive from society, prevailed.
The people, the most numerous as well as the most
useful part of the community, were either reduced to a
state of actual servitude, or treated with the same inso-
lence and rigor as if they had been degraded into that
wretched condition.13 The king, stripped of almost
every prerogative, and without authority to enact or to
execute salutary laws, could neither protect the inno-
cent nor punish the guilty. The nobles, superior to
all restraint, harassed each other with perpetual wars,
'3 Note IX.
20 A VIEW Of- THE
oppressed their fellow-subjects, and humbled or insulted
their sovereign. To crown all, time gradually fixed
and rendered venerable this pernicious system, which
violence had established.
Such was the state of Europe with respect to the in-
terior administration of government from the seventh
to the eleventh century. All the external operations
of its various states during this period were, of course,
extremely feeble. A kingdom dismembered, and torn
with dissension, without any common interest to rouse
or any common head to conduct its force, was incapa-
ble of acting with vigor. Almost all the wars in Europe
during the ages which I have mentioned were trifling,
indecisive, and productive of no considerable event.
They resembled the short incursions of pirates or ban-
ditti, rather than the steady operations of a regular
army. Every baron, at the head of his vassals, carried
on some petty enterprise to which he was prompted by
his own ambition or revenge. The state itself, destitute
of union, either remained altogether inactive, or, if it
attempted to make any effort, that served only to dis-
cover its impotence. The superior genius of Charle-
magne, it is true, united all these disjointed and dis-
cordant members, and formed them again into one
body, restored to government that degree of activity
which distinguishes his reign and renders the trans-
actions of it objects not only of attention, but of admi-
ration, to more enlightened times. But this state of
union and vigor, not being natural to the feudal gov-
ernment, was of short duration. Immediately upon
his death, the spirit which animated and sustained the
vast system which he had established being withdrawn,
STATE OF EUROPE. 21
it broke into pieces. All the calamities which flow
from anarchy and discord, returning with additional
force, afflicted the different kingdoms into which his
empire was split. From that time to the eleventh cen-
tury, a succession of uninteresting events, a series of
wars the motives as well as the consequences of which
were unimportant, fill and deform the annals of all the
nations in Europe.
To these pernicious effects of the feudal anarchy may
be added its fatal influence on the character and im-
provement of the human mind. If men do not enjoy
the protection of regular government, together with
the expectation of personal security, which naturally
flows from it, they never attempt to make progress in
science, nor aim at attaining refinement in taste or in
manners. That period of turbulence, oppression, and
rapine which I have described was ill suited to favor
improvement in any of these. In less than a century
after the barbarous nations settled in their new con-
quests, almost all the effects of the knowledge and
civility which the Romans had spread through Europe
disappeared. Not only the arts of elegance, which
minister to luxury and are supported by it, but many
of the useful arts, without which life can scarcely be
considered as comfortable, were neglected or lost.
Literature, science, taste, were words little in use during
the ages which we are contemplating ; or, if they occur
at any time, eminence in them is ascribed to persons
and productions so contemptible that it appears their
true import was little understood. Persons of the
highest rank and in the most eminent stations could
not read or write. Many of the clergy did not under-
22 A VIEW OF THE
stand the breviary which they were obliged daily to
recite; some of them could scarcely read it.1* The
memory of past transactions was in a great degree lost,
or preserved in annals filled with trifling events or
legendary tales. Even the codes of laws published by
the several nations which established themselves in the
different countries of Europe fell into disuse, while in
their place customs vague and capricious were substi-
tuted. The human mind, neglected, uncultivated, and
depressed, continued in the most profound ignorance.
Europe, during four centuries, produced few authors
who merit to be read, either on account of the elegance
of their composition or the justness and novelty of
their sentiments. There are few inventions useful or
ornamental to society of which that long period can
boast.
Even the Christian religion, though its precepts are
delivered, and its institutions are fixed in Scripture,
with a precision which should have exempted them
from being misinterpreted or corrupted, degenerated,
during those ages of darkness, into an illiberal super-
stition. The barbarous nations, when converted to
Christianity, changed the object, not the spirit, of
their religious worship. They endeavored to con-
ciliate the favor of the true God by means not unlike
to those which they had employed in order to appease
their false deities. Instead of aspiring to sanctity and
virtue, which alone can render men acceptable to the
great Author of order and of excellence, they imagined
that they satisfied every obligation of duty by a scru-
pulous observance of external ceremonies.15 Religion,
u Note X. *t Note XI.
STATE OF EUROPE, 23
according to their conceptions of it, comprehended
nothing else ; and the rites by which they persuaded
themselves that they could gain the favor of Heaven
were of such a nature as might have been expected
from the rude ideas of the ages which devised and in-
troduced them. They were either so unmeaning as to
be altogether unworthy of the Being to whose honor
they were consecrated, or so absurd as to be a disgrace
to reason and humanity.16 Charlemagne in France,
and Alfred the Great in England, endeavored to dispel
this darkness, and gave their subjects a short glimpse
of light and knowledge. But the ignorance of the age
was too powerful for their efforts and institutions. The
darkness returned, and settled over Europe more thick
and heavy than before.
As the inhabitants of Europe during these centuries
were strangers to the arts which embellish a polished
age, they were destitute of the virtues which abound
among people who continue in a simple state. Force
of mind, a sense of personal dignity, gallantry in en-
terprise, invincible perseverance in execution, contempt
of danger and of death, are the characteristic virtues
of uncivilized nations. But these are all the offspring
of equality and independence, both which the feudal
institutions had destroyed. The spirit of domination
corrupted the nobles, the yoke of servitude depressed
the people, the generous sentiments inspired by a sense
of equality were extinguished, and hardly any thing
remained to be a check on ferocity and violence.
Human society is in its most corrupted state at that
period when men have lost their original independence
16 Note XII.
24 A VIEW OF THE
and simplicity of manners, but have not attained that
degree of refinement which introduces a sense of de-
corum and of propriety in conduct, as a restraint on
those passions which lead to heinous crimes. Accord-
ingly, a greater number of those atrocious actions
which fill the mind of man with astonishment and hor-
ror occur in the history of the centuries under review
than in that of any period of the same extent in the
annals of Europe. If we open the history of Gregory
of Tours, or of any contemporary author, we meet
with a series of deeds of cruelty, perfidy, and revenge
so wild and enormous as almost to exceed belief.
But, according to the observation of an elegant and
profound historian,'7 there is an ultimate point of de-
pression, as well as of exaltation, from which human
affairs naturally return in a contrary progress, and be-
yond which they never pass either in their advance-
ment or decline. When defects either in the form
or in the administration of government occasion such
disorders in society as are excessive and intolerable, it
becomes the common interest to discover and to apply
such remedies as will most effectually remove them.
Slight inconveniences may be long overlooked or en-
dured ; but when abuses grow to a certain pitch the
society must go to ruin or must attempt to reform
them. The disorders in the feudal system, together
with the corruption of taste and manners consequent
upon these, which had gone on increasing during a
long course of years, seemed to have attained their
utmost point of excess towards the close of the eleventh
century. From that era we may date the return of
'7 Hume's History of England, vol. ii. p. 441.
STATE OF EUROPE. 25
government and manners in a contrary direction, and
can trace a succession of causes and events which con-
tributed, some with a nearer and more conspicuous,
others with a more remote and less perceptible influ-
ence, to abolish confusion and barbarism, and to intro-
duce order, regularity, and refinement.
In pointing out and explaining these causes and
events, it is not necessary to observe the order of time
with a chronological accuracy : it is of more impor-
tance to keep in view their mutual connection and
dependence, and to show how the operation of one
event or one cause prepared the way for another and
augmented its influence. We have hitherto been con-
templating the progress of that darkness which spread
over Europe, from its first approach, to the period of
greatest obscuration : a more pleasant exercise begins
here ; to observe the first dawnings of returning light,
to mark the various accessions by which it gradually
increased and advanced towards the full splendor of
day.
I. The crusades, or expeditions in order to rescue
the Holy Land out of the hands of infidels, seemed to
be the first event that roused Europe from the lethargy
in which it had been long sunk, and that tended to in-
troduce any considerable change in government or in
manners. It is natural to the human mind to view
those places which have been distinguished by being
the residence of any illustrious personage, or the scene
of any great transaction, with some degree of delight
and veneration. To this principle must be ascribed
the superstitious devotion with which Christians, from
the earliest ages of the Church, were accustomed to
Charles. — VOL. I. — B 3
*6 * VIEW OF THE
visit that country which the Almighty had selected as
the inheritance of his favorite people, and in which
the Son of God had accomplished the redemption of
mankind. As this distant pilgrimage could not be
performed without considerable expense, fatigue, and
danger, it appeared the more meritorious, and came to
be considered as an expiation for almost every crime.
An opinion which spread with rapidity over Europe
about the close of the tenth and beginning of the
eleventh century, and which gained universal credit,
wonderfully augmented the number of credulous pil-
grims, and increased the ardor with which they under-
took this useless voyage. The thousand years mentioned
by St. John l8 were supposed to be accomplished, and
the end of the world to be at hand. A general con-
sternation seized mankind ; many relinquished their
possessions, and, abandoning their friends and families,
hurried with precipitation to the Holy Land, where
they imagined that Christ would quickly appear to
judge the world." While Palestine continued subject
to the Caliphs, they had encouraged the resort of pil-
grims to Jerusalem, and considered this as a beneficial
species of commerce, which brought into their domin-
ions gold and silver and carried out of them but relics
and consecrated trinkets. But the Turks having con-
quered Syria about the middle of the eleventh century,
pilgrims were exposed to outrages of every kind from
18 Rev. xx. 2, 3. 4.
•9 Chronic. Will. Godclli, ap. Bouquet. Recueil des Historicns de
France, torn. x. p. 262. — Vita Abonis, ibid., p. 332. — Chronic. S. I'an-
talconis, ap. Eccard. Corp. Scrip. Medii j*£vi. vol. i. p. 909. — Anna*
lista Saxo. ibid., p. 576.
STATE OF EUROPE. 27
these fierce barbarians.20 This change, happening pre-
cisely at the juncture when the panic terror which I
have mentioned rendered pilgrimages most frequent,
filled Europe with alarm and indignation. Every per-
son who returned from Palestine related the dangers
which he had encountered in visiting the holy city,
and described with exaggeration the cruelty and vexa-
tions of the Turks.
When the minds of men were thus prepared, the
zeal of a fanatical monk, who conceived the idea of
leading all the forces of Christendom against the in-
fidels, and of driving them out of the Holy Land by
violence, was sufficient to give a beginning to that wild
enterprise. Peter the Hermit, for that was the name
of this martial apostle, ran from province to province
with a crucifix in his hand, exciting princes and people
to this holy war, and wherever he came kindled the
same enthusiastic ardor for it with which he himself
was animated. The Council of Placentia, where up-
wards of thirty thousand persons were assembled, pro-
nounced the scheme to have been suggested by the
immediate inspiration of Heaven. In the Council of
Clermont, still more numerous, as soon as the measure
was proposed, all cried out with one voice, "It is the
will of God." Persons of all ranks catched the con-
tagion ; not only the gallant nobles of that age, with
their martial followers, whom we may suppose apt to
be allured by the boldness of a romantic enterprise,
but men in the more humble and pacific stations of
life, ecclesiastics of every order, and even women and
20 Jo. Dan. Schoepflini de sacris Gallorum in Orientem Expedi-
tionibus, p. 4, Argent., 1726, 410.
28 A VIEW OF THE
children, engaged with emulation in an undertaking
which was deemed sacred and meritorious. If we
may believe the concurring testimony of contemporary
authors, six millions of persons assumed the cross,21
which was the badge that distinguished such as devoted
themselves to this holy warfare. All Europe, says the
princess Anna Comnena, torn up from the foundation,
seemed ready to precipitate itself in one united body
upon Asia." Nor did the fumes of this enthusiastic
zeal evaporate at once ; the frenzy was as lasting as it
was extravagant. During two centuries Europe seems
to have had no object but to recover, or keep posses-
sion of, the Holy Land ; and through that period vast
armies continued to march thither.*3
The first efforts of valor, animated by enthusiasm,
were irresistible : part of the lesser Asia, all Syria, and
Palestine, were wrested from the infidels; the banner
of the cross was displayed on Mount Sion ; Constanti-
nople, the capital of the Christian empire in the East,
was afterwards seized by a body of those adventurers
who had taken arms against the Mahometans ; and an
earl of Flanders and his descendants kept possession
Of the imperial throne during half a century. But
though the first impression of the crusaders was so
unexpected that they made their conquests with great
ease, they found infinite difficulty in preserving them.
Establishments so distant from Europe, surrounded by
warlike nations animated with fanatical zeal scarcely
" Fulcherius Carnotensis, ap. Bongarsii Gcsta Dei per Francos,
vol. i. p. 387, edit. Han., 1611.
" Alexias; lib. x., ap. Byz. Script., vol. xi. p. 324.
« Note XI 1 1.
STATE OF EUROPE. 29
inferior to that of the crusaders themselves, were per-
petually in danger of being overturned. Before the
expiration of the thirteenth century, the Christians
were driven out of all their Asiatic possessions, in ac-
quiring of which incredible numbers of men had per-
ished and immense sums of money had been wasted.
The only common enterprise in which the European
nations ever engaged, and which they all undertook
with equal ardor, remains a singular monument of
human folly.
But from these expeditions, extravagant as they were,
beneficial consequences followed which had neither
been foreseen nor expected. In their progress towards
the Holy Land the followers of the cross marched
through countries better cultivated and more civilized
than their own. Their first rendezvous was commonly
in Italy, in which Venice, Genoa, Pisa, and other
cities had begun to apply themselves to commerce,
and had made considerable advances towards wealth
as well as refinement. They embarked there, and,
landing in Dalmatia, pursued their route by land to
Constantinople. Though the military spirit had been
long extinct in the Eastern empire, and a despotism of
the worst species had annihilated almost every public
virtue, yet Constantinople, having never felt the de-
structive rage of the barbarous nations, was the greatest
as well as the most beautiful city in Europe, and the
only one in which there remained any image of the
ancient elegance in manners and arts. The naval
power of the Eastern empire was considerable. Manu-
factures of the most curious fabric were carried on in
its dominions. Constantinople was the chief mart in
3*
3o A VIEW OF THE
Europe for the commodities of the East Indies. Al-
though the Saracens and Turks had torn from the em-
pire many of its richest provinces and had reduced it
within very narrow bounds, yet great wealth flowed
into the capital from these various sources, which not
only cherished such a taste for magnificence, but kept
alive such a relish for the sciences, as appears consid-
erable when compared with what was known in other
parts of Europe. Even in Asia, the Europeans who
had assumed the cross found the remains of the knowl-
edge and arts which the example and encouragement
of the Caliphs had diffused through their empire. Al-
though the attention of the historians of the crusades
was fixed on other objects than the state of society
and manners among the nations which they invaded,
although most of them had neither taste nor discern-
ment enough to describe these, they relate, however,
such signal acts of humanity and generosity in the
conduct of Saladin, as well as some other leaders of
the Mahometans, as give us a very high idea of their
manners. It was not possible for the crusaders to
travel through so many countries, and to behold their
various customs and institutions, without acquiring in-
formation and improvement. Their views enlarged ;
their prejudices wore off; new ideas crowded into their
minds; and they must have been sensible, on many
occasions, of the rusticity of their own manners when
compared with those of a more polished people. These
impressions were not so slight as to be effaced upon
their return to their native countries. A close inter-
course subsisted between the East and West during two
centuries ; new armies were continually marching from
STATE OF EUROPE. 3!
Europe to Asia, while former adventurers returned
home, and imported many of the customs to which
they had been familiarized by a long residence abroad.
Accordingly, we discover, soon after the commence-
ment of the crusades, greater splendor in the courts
of princes, greater pomp in public ceremonies, a more
refined taste in pleasure and amusements, together with
a more romantic spirit of enterprise, spreading gradu-
ally over Europe ; and to these wild expeditions, the
effect of superstition or folly, we owe the first gleams
of light which tended to dispel barbarism and igno-
rance.
But these beneficial consequences of the crusades
took place slowly; their influence upon the state of
property, and consequently of power, in the different
kingdoms of Europe, was more immediate, as well as
discernible. The nobles who assumed the cross and
bound themselves to march to the Holy Land soon
perceived that great sums were necessary towards de-
fraying the expense of such a distant expedition and
enabling them to appear with suitable dignity at the
head of their vassals. But the genius of the feudal
system was averse to the imposition of extraordinary
taxes ; and subjects in that age were unaccustomed to
pay them. No expedient remained for levying the
sums requisite, but the sale of their possessions. As
men were inflamed with romantic expectations of the
splendid conquests which they hoped to make in Asia,
and possessed with such zeal for recovering the Holy
Land as swallowed up every other passion, they relin-
quished their ancient inheritances without any reluc-
tance, and for prices far below their value, that they
3 2 A VIEW OF THE
might sally forth as adventurers in quest of new settle-
ments in unknown countries. The monarchs of the
great kingdoms in the West, none of whom had en-
gaged in the first crusade, eagerly seized this oppor-
tunity of annexing considerable territories to their
crowns at small expense.*4 Besides this, several great
barons who perished in the holy war having left no
heirs, their fiefs reverted of course to their respective
sovereigns ; and by these accessions of property, as
well as power taken from the one scale and thrown
into the other, the regal authority rose in proportion
as that of the aristocracy declined. The absence, too,
of many potent vassals, accustomed to control and
give law to their sovereigns, afforded them an oppor-
tunity of extending their prerogative, and of acquiring
a degree of weight in the constitution which they did
not formerly possess. To these circumstances we may
add that, as all who assumed the cross were taken
under the immediate protection of the Church, and its
heaviest anathemas were denounced against such as
should disquiet or annoy those who had devoted them-
selves to this service, the private quarrels and hostili-
ties which banished tranquillity from a feudal kingdom
were suspended or extinguished ; a more general and
steady administration of justice began to be intro-
duced, and some advances were made towards the
establishment of regular government in the several
kingdoms of Europe.*5
The commercial effects of the crusades were not less
•« Wilhelm. Malmsbur. Guibert. Abbas, ap. Bongars., vol. i. p. 481.
•» Du Cange, Glossar., voc. Cruet signalus. — Guib. Abbas, ap.
Bongars., vol. i. pp. 480, 482.— Sec also N'ote XIV.
STATE OF EUROPE.
33
considerable than those which I have already mentioned.
The first armies under the standard of the cross, which
Peter the Hermit and Godfrey of Bouillon led through
Germany and Hungary to Constantinople, suffered so
much by the length of the march, as well as by the
fierceness of the barbarous people who inhabited those
countries, that it deterred others from taking the same
route ; and, rather than encounter so many dangers,
they chose to go by sea. Venice, Genoa, and Pisa fur-
nished the transports on which they embarked. The
sum which these cities received merely for freight from
such numerous armies was immense.26 This, however,
was but a small part of what they gained by the expe-
ditions to the Holy Land : the crusaders contracted
with them for military stores and provisions ; their
fleets kept on the coast as the armies advanced by
land, and, supplying them with whatever was wanting,
engrossed all the profits of a branch of commerce
which in every age has been extremely lucrative. The
success which attended the arms of the crusaders was
productive of advantages still more permanent. There
are charters yet extant, containing grants to the Vene-
tians. Pisans. and Genoese, of the most extensive im-
munities in the several settlements which the Christians
made in Asia. All the commodities which they imported
or exported are thereby exempted from every imposi-
tion ; the property of entire suburbs in some of the
maritime towns, and of large streets in others, is vested
in them ; and all questions arising among persons set-
tled within their precincts or who traded under their
protection are appointed to be tried by their own laws
26 Muratori, Antiquit. Italic. Medii ^Evi, vol. ii. p. 905.
B*
34
A VIEW OF THE
and by judges of their own appointment.*7 When the
crusaders seized Constantinople and placed one of
their own leaders on the imperial throne, the Italian
states were likewise gainers by that event. The Vene-
tians, who had planned the enterprise and took a con-
siderable part in carrying it into execution, did not
neglect to secure to themselves the chief "advantages
redounding from its success. They made themselves
masters of part of the ancient Peloponnesus in Greece,
together with some of the most fertile islands in the
Archipelago. Many valuable branches of the com-
merce which formerly centred in Constantinople were
transferred to Venice, Genoa,' or Pisa. Thus a suc-
cession of events occasioned by the holy war opened
various sources from which wealth flowed in such abun-
dance into these cities* as enabled them, in concurrence
with another institution, which shall be immediately
mentioned, to secure their own liberty and independ-
ence.
II. The institution to which I alluded was the form-
ing of cities into communities, corporations, or bodies
politic, and granting them the privilege of municipal
jurisdiction, which contributed more perhaps than any
other cause to introduce regular government, police,
and arts, and to diffuse them over Europe. The feudal
government had degenerated into a system of oppres-
sion. The usurpations of the nobles were become un-
bounded and intolerable ; they had reduced the great
body of the people into a state of actual servitude : the
•7 Muratori, Antiquit. Italic. Mcdii &x\, vol. ii. p. 906, etc.
«• Villchnrdouin, Histoire de Constant, sous 1'Empereurs Francois,
p. 105, etc.
STATE OF EUROPE.
35
condition of those dignified with the name of freemen
was often little preferable to that of the' other. Nor
was such oppression the portion of those alone who
dwelt in the country and were employed in culti-
vating the estate of their master. Cities and villages
found it necessary to hold of some great lord, on
whom they might depend for protection and become
no less subject to his arbitrary jurisdiction. The
inhabitants were deprived of those rights which, in
social life, are deemed most natural and inalienable.
They could not dispose of the effects which their own
industry had acquired, either by a latter will, or by
any deed executed during their life.29 They had no
right to appoint guardians for their children during
their minority. They were not permitted to marry
without purchasing the consent of the lord on whom
they depended.30 If once they had commenced a law-
suit, they durst not terminate it by an accommodation,
because that would have deprived the lord, in whose
court they pleaded, of the perquisites due to him on
passing eentence.31 Services of various kinds, no less
disgraceful than oppressive, were exacted from them
without mercy or moderation. The spirit of industry
was checked in some cities by absurd regulations,
and in others by unreasonable exactions; nor would
the narrow and oppressive maxims of a military aris-
"9 Dacherii Spicileg., torn. xi. pp. 374, 375, edit, in 410. — Ordon-
nances des Rois de France, torn. iii. p. 204, no. 2, 6.
3° Ordonnances des Rois de France, torn. i. p. 22, torn. iii. p. 203,
no. i. — Murat., Antiq. Ital., vol. iv. p. 20. — Dacher., Spicil., vol. ix.
pp. 325, 341.
y- Dacher., Spicil., vol. ix. p. 182.
36 A VIEW OF THE
tocracy have permitted it ever to rise to any degree
of height or vigor.*1
But as soon as the cities of Italy began to turn their
attention towards commerce, and to conceive some
idea of the advantages which they might derive from
it, they became impatient to shake off the yoke of their
insolent lords, and to establish among themselves such
a free and equal government as would render property
secure and industry flourishing. The German em-
perors, especially those of the Franconian and Suabian
lines, as the seat of their government was far distant
from Italy, possessed a feeble and imperfect jurisdic-
tion in that country. Their perpetual quarrels, either
with the popes or with their own turbulent vassals,
diverted their attention from the interior police of Italy
and gave constant employment to their arms. These
circumstances encouraged the inhabitants of some of
the Italian cities, towards the beginning of the elev-
enth century, to assume new privileges, to unite together
more closely, and to form themselves into bodies politic
under the government of laws established by common
consent.33 The rights which many cities acquired by
bold or fortunate usurpations, others purchased from the
emperors, who deemed themselves gainers when they
received large sums for immunities which they were
no longer able to withhold ; and some cities obtained
them gratuitously, from the generosity or facility of the
princes on whom they depended. The great increase
of wealth which the crusades brought into Italy occa-
3» M. I'Abbe" Mably, Observations sur 1'Histoire de France, torn, ii
pp. a. 96.
33 Murat, Antiq. Ital., vol. iv. p. 5.
STATE OF EUROPE. 37
sioned a new kind of fermentation and activity in the
minds of the people, and excited such a general passion
for liberty and independence that before the conclusion
of the last crusade all the considerable cities in that
country had either purchased or had extorted large
immunities from the emperors.34
This innovation was not long known in Italy before
it made its way into France. Louis le Gros, in order
to create some power that might counterbalance those
potent vassals who controlled or gave law to the crown,
first adopted the plan of conferring new privileges on
the towns situated within its own domain. These privi-
leges were called charters of community, by which he
enfranchised the inhabitants, abolished all marks of
servitude, and formed them into corporations or bodies
politic, to be governed by a council and magistrates of
their own nomination. These magistrates had the right
of administering justice within their own precincts, of
levying taxes, of embodying and training to arms the
militia of the town, which took the field when required
by the sovereign, under the command of officers ap-
pointed by the community. The great barons imitated
the example of their monarch, and granted like immu-
nities to the towns within their territories. They had
wasted such great sums in their expeditions to the Holy
Land that they were eager to lay hold on this new ex-
pedient for raising money, by the sale of those charters
of liberty. Though the institution of communities was
as repugnant to their maxims of policy as it was adverse
to their power, they disregarded remote consequences
in order to obtain present relief. In less than two
34 Note XV.
Charles. — VOL. I. 4
38 A VIEW OF THE
centuries servitude was abolished in most of the towns
in France, and they became free corporations, instead
of dependent villages without jurisdiction or privileges.35
Much about the same period the great cities in Ger-
many began to acquire like immunities, and laid the
foundation of their present liberty and independence.36
The practice spread quickly over Europe, and was
adopted in Spain, England, Scotland, and all the other
feudal kingdoms.37
The good effects of this new institution were immedi-
ately felt, and its influence on government as well as man-
ners was no less extensive than salutary. A great body
of the people was released from servitude, and from all
the arbitrary and grievous impositions to which that
wretched condition had subjected them. Towns, upon
acquiring the right of community, became so many
little republics, governed by known and equal laws.
Liberty was deemed such an essential and characteristic
part in their constitution that if any slave took refuge
in one of them, and resided there during a year with-
out being claimed, he was instantly declared a freeman
and admitted as a member of the community.38
As one part of the people owed their liberty to the
erection of communities, another was indebted to them
for their security. Such had been the state of Europe
during several centuries that self-preservation obliged
every man to court the patronage of some powerful
baron, and in times of danger his castle was the place
to which all resorted for safety. But towns surrounded
X Note XVI. 36 Note XVII. 37 Note XVIII
3* Statut. Humbert! Bellojoci. Dachcr., Spicil.. vol. ix. pp. 182, 185.
— Charta Comit. Forens., ibid., p. 193.
STATE OF EUROPE.
39
with walls, whose inhabitants were regularly trained to
arms, and bound by interest, as well as by the most
solemn engagements, reciprocally to defend each other,
afforded a more commodious and secure retreat. The
nobles began to be considered as of less importance
when they ceased to be the sole guardians to whom
the people could look up for protection against vio-
lence.
If the nobility suffered some diminution of their
credit and power by the privileges granted to the cities,
the crown acquired an increase of both. As there were
no regular troops kept on foot in any of the feudal
kingdoms, the monarch could bring no army into the
field but what was composed of soldiers furnished by
the crown vassals, always jealous of the regal authority ;
nor had he any funds for carrying on the public service
but such as they granted him with a very sparing hand.
But when the members of communities were permitted
to bear arms, and were trained to the use of them, this
in some degree supplied the first defect, and gave the
crown the command of a body of men independent
of its great vassals. The attachment of the cities to
their sovereigns, whom they respected as the first authors
of their liberties, and whom they were obliged to court
as the protectors of their immunities against the domi-
neering spirit of the nobles, contributed somewhat
towards removing the second evil, as, on many occa-
sions, it procured the crown supplies of money, which
added new force to government.39
The acquisition of liberty made such a happy change
» Ordon. des Rois de France, torn. i. pp. 602, 785 ; torn. ii. pp. 318,
422.
40 A VIEW OF THE
in the condition of all the members of communities as
roused them from that inaction into which they had
been sunk by the wretchedness of their former state.
The spirit of industry revived. Commerce became an
object of attention, and began to flourish. Population
increased. Independence was established ; and wealth
flowed into cities which had long been the seat of pov-
erty and oppression. Wealth was accompanied by its
usual attendants, ostentation and luxury; and though
the former was formal and cumbersome, and the latter
inelegant, they led gradually to greater refinement in
manners and in the habits of life. Together with this
improvement in manners, a more regular species of
government and police was introduced. As cities
grew to be more populous, and the occasions of inter-
course among men increased, statutes and regulations
multiplied of course, and all became sensible that their
common safety depended on observing them with
exactness and on punishing such as violated them with
promptitude and rigor. Laws and subordination, as
well as polished manners, taking their rise in cities,
diffused themselves insensibly through the rest of the
society.
III. The inhabitants of cities, having obtained per-
sonal freedom and municipal jurisdiction, soon acquired
civil liberty and political power. It was a fundamental
principle in the feudal system of policy that no free-
man could be subjected to new laws or taxes unless by
his own consent. In consequence of this, the vassals
of every baron were called to his court, in which they
established, by mutual consent, such regulations as
they deemed most beneficial to their small society, and
STATE OF EUROPE. 41
granted their superior such supplies of money as were
proportioned to their abilities or to his wants. The
barons themselves, conformably to the same maxim,
were admitted into the supreme assembly of the nation,
and concurred with the sovereign in enacting laws or
in imposing taxes. As the superior lord, according to
the original plan of feudal policy, retained the direct
property of those lands which he granted in temporary
possession to his vassals, the law, even after fiefs be-
came hereditary, still supposed this original practice to
subsist. The great council of each nation, whether
distinguished by the name of a parliament, a diet, the
cortes, or the states-general, was composed entirely of
such barons and dignified ecclesiastics as held imme-
diately of the crown. Towns, whether situated within
the royal domain or on the lands of a subject, de-
pended originally for protection on the lord of whom
they held. They had no legal name, no political ex-
istence, which could entitle them to be admitted into
the legislative assembly, or could give them any author-
ity there. But as soon as they were enfranchised, and
formed into bodies corporate, they became legal and
independent members of the constitution, and acquired
all the rights essential to freemen. Among these, the
most valuable was the privilege of a decisive voice in
enacting public laws and granting national subsidies.
It was natural for cities, accustomed to a form of
municipal government according to which no regula-
tion could be established within the community, and
no money could be raised, but by their own consent,
to claim this privilege. The wealth, the power, and
consideration which they acquired on recovering their
42 A VIEW OF THE
liberty added weight to their claim ; and favorable
events happened, or fortunate conjunctures occurred,
in the different kingdoms of Europe, which facilitated
their obtaining possession of this important right. In
England, one of the first countries in which the rep-
resentatives of boroughs were admitted into the great
council of the nation, the barons who took arms
against Henry III. summoned them to attend parlia-
ment, in order to add greater popularity to their party
and to strengthen the barrier against the encroachment
of regal power. In France, Philip the Fair, a monarch
no less sagacious than enterprising, considered them
as instruments which might be employed with equal
advantage to extend the royal prerogative, to counter-
balance the exorbitant power of the nobles, and to
facilitate the imposition of new taxes. With these
views, he introduced the deputies of such towns as
were formed into communities into the states-general
of the nation.40 In the empire, the wealth and immu-
nities of the imperial cities placed them on a level
with the most considerable members of the Germanic
body. Conscious of their own power and dignity, they
pretended to the privilege of forming a separate bench
in the diet, and made good their pretensions.41 [1293.]
But in what way soever the representatives of cities
first gained a place in the legislature, that event had
great influence on the form and genius of government.
It tempered the rigor of aristocratical oppression with
a proper mixture of popular liberty ; it secured to the
*> Pasquier, Recherches de la France, ap. 81, edit. Par., 1633.
«* Pfeffel, Abr£g< de I'Hist&irc ct Droit d'Allemagne. pp. 408. 451.
STATE OF EUROPE.
43
great body of the people, who had formerly no repre-
sentatives, active and powerful guardians of their rights
and privileges; it established an intermediate power
between the king and the nobles, to which each had
recourse alternately, and which at some times opposed
the usurpations of the former, on other occasions
checked the encroachments of the latter. As soon as
the representatives of communities gained any degree
of credit and influence in the legislature, the spirit of
laws became different from what it had formerly been ;
it flowed from new principles ; it was directed towards
new objects ; equality, order, the public good, and the
redress of grievances, were phrases and ideas brought
into use, and which grew to be familiar in the statutes
and jurisprudence of the European nations. Almost
all the efforts in favor of liberty in every country of
Europe have been made by this new power in the legis-
lature. In proportion as it rose to consideration and
influence, the severity of the aristocratical spirit de-
creased ; and the privileges of the people became grad-
ually more extensive, as the ancient and exorbitant
jurisdiction of the nobles was abridged.42
IV. The inhabitants of towns having been declared
free by the charters of communities, that part of the
people which resided in the country and was employed
in agriculture began to recover liberty by enfranchise-
ment. During the rigor of feudal government, as hath
been already observed, the great body of the lower
people was reduced to servitude. They were slaves
fixed to the soil which they cultivated, and together
with it were transferred from one proprietor to an-
*» Note XIX.
44
A VIEW OF THE
other, by sale or by conveyance. The spirit of feudal
policy did not favor the enfranchisement of that order
of men. It was an established maxim that no vassal
could legally diminish the value of a fief, to the detri-
ment of the lord from whom he had received it. In
consequence of this, manumission by the authority of
the immediate master was not valid ; and, unless it was
confirmed by the superior lord of whom he held, slaves
belonging to the fief did not acquire a complete right
to their liberty. Thus it became necessary to ascend
through all the gradations of feudal holding to the
king, the lord paramount.43 A form of procedure so
tedious and troublesome discouraged the practice of
manumission. Domestic or personal slaves often ob-
tained liberty from the humanity or beneficence of
their masters, to whom they belonged in absolute
property. The condition of slaves fixed to the soil
was much more unalterable.
But the freedom and independence which one part
of the people had obtained by the institution of com-
munities inspired the other with the most ardent desire
of acquiring the same privileges ; and their superiors,
sensible of the various advantages which they had
derived from their former concessions to their de-
pendants, were less unwilling to gratify them by the
grant of new immunities. The enfranchisement of
slaves became more frequent ; and the monarchs of
France, prompted by necessity no less than by their
inclination to reduce the power of the nobles, endeav-
ored to render it general. Louis X. and Philip the
« Establishments dc St. Louis, liv. ii. ch. 34. — Ordon.. torn. i. p.
283, note (a).
STATE OF EUROPE. 45
Long issued ordinances declaring " that as all men
were by nature free born, and as their kingdom was
called the kingdom of Franks, they determined that it
should be so in reality as well as in name : therefore
they appointed that enfranchisements should be granted
throughout the whole kingdom, upon just and reason-
able conditions. ' ' ** These edicts were carried into
immediate execution within the royal domain. The
example of their sovereigns, together with the expecta-
tion of considerable sums which they might raise by
this expedient, led many of the nobles to set their
dependants at liberty; and servitude was gradually
abolished in almost every province of the kingdom. <*
In Italy, the establishment of republican government
in their great cities, the genius and maxims of which
were extremely different from those of the feudal
policy, together with the ideas of equality, which the
progress of commerce had rendered familiar, gradually
introduced the practice of enfranchising the ancient
predial slaves. In some provinces of Germany, the
persons who had been subject to this species of bond-
age were released ; in others, the rigor of their state
was mitigated. In England, as the spirit of liberty
gained ground, the very name and idea of personal
servitude, without any formal interposition of the
legislature to prohibit it, was totally banished.
The effects of such a remarkable change in the con-
dition of so great a part of the people could not fail
of being considerable and extensive. The husband-
man, master of his own industry, and secure of reaping
for himself the fruits of his labor, became the farmer
<4 Ordon., torn. i. pp. 583, 653. <s Note XX.
46 A VIEW OF THE
of the same fields where he had formerly been compelled
to toil for the benefit of another. The odious names
of master and of slave, the most mortifying and de-
pressing of all distinctions to human nature, were abol-
ished. New prospects opened, and new incitements to
ingenuity and enterprise presented themselves, to those
who were emancipated. The expectation of bettering
their fortune, as well as that of raising themselves to a
more honorable condition, concurred in calling forth
their activity and genius ; and a numerous class of
men, who formerly had no political existence and were
employed merely as instruments of labor, became use-
ful citizens, and contributed towards augmenting the
force or riches of the society which adopted them as
members.
V. The various expedients which were employed in
order to introduce a more regular, equal, and vigorous
administration of justice contributed greatly towards
the improvement of society. What were the particular
modes of dispensing justice, in their several countries,
among the various barbarous nations which overran the
Roman empire and took possession of its different
provinces, cannot now be determined with certainty.
We may conclude, from the form of government estab-
lished among them, as well as from their ideas concern-
ing the nature of society, that the authority of the
magistrate was extremely limited, and the independence
of individuals proportionally great. History and rec-
ords, as far as these reach back, justify this conclusion,
and represent the ideas and exercise of justice in all
the countries of Europe as little different from those
which must take place in the most simple state of civil
STATE OF EUROPE. 47
life. To maintain the order and tranquillity of society
by the regular execution of known laws ; to inflict ven-
geance on crimes destructive of the peace and safety
of individuals, by a prosecution carried on in the name
and by the authority of the community ; to consider
the punishment of criminals as a public example to
deter others from violating the laws, — were objects of
government little understood in theory, and less re-
garded in practice. The magistrate could hardly be
said to hold the sword of justice ; it was left in the
hands of private persons. Resentment was almost the
sole motive for prosecuting crimes ; and to gratify that
passion was considered as the chief end in punishing
them. He who suffered the wrong was the only person
who had a right to pursue the aggressor and to exact
or to remit the punishment. From a system of judi-
cial procedure so crude and defective that it seems to
be scarcely compatible with the subsistence of civil
society, disorder and anarchy flowed. Superstition
concurred with this ignorance concerning the nature
of government, in obstructing the administration of
justice, or in rendering it capricious and unequal. To
provide remedies for these evils, so as to give a more
regular course to justice, was, during several centuries,
one great object of political wisdom. The regulations
for this purpose may be reduced to three general heads :
to explain these, and to point out the manner in which
they operated, is an important article in the history of
society among the nations of Europe.
i. The first considerable step towards establishing
an equal administration of justice was the abolishment
of the right which individuals claimed of waging war
48 A VIEW OF THE
with each other in their own name and by their own
authority. To repel injuries, and to revenge wrongs,
is no less natural to man than to cultivate friendship ;
and while society remains in its most simple state, the
former is considered as a personal right, no less un-
alienable than the latter. Nor do men in this situation
deem that they have a title to redress their own wrongs
alone : they are touched with the injuries done to those
with whom they are connected or in whose honor they
are interested, and are no less prompt to avenge them.
The savage, how imperfectly soever he may compre-
hend the principles of political union, feels warmly
the sentiments of social affection and the obligations
arising from the ties of blood. On the appearance
of an injury or affront offered to his family or tribe, he
kindles into rage, and pursues the authors of it with
the keenest resentment. He considers it as cowardly
to expect redress from any arm but his own, and as
infamous to give up to another the right of determining
what reparation he should accept, or with what ven-
geance he should rest satisfied.
The maxims and practice of all uncivilized nations
with respect to the prosecution and punishment of
offenders, particularly those of the ancient Germans,
and other barbarians who invaded the Roman empire,
are perfectly conformable to these ideas.46 While they
retained their native simplicity of manners, and con-
tinued to be divided into small tribes or societies, the
defects in this imperfect system of criminal jurispru-
dence (if it merits that name) were less sensibly felt.
When they came to settle in the extensive provinces
* Tacit, de Mor. German., cap. 21.— Veil. Paterc., lib. ii. c. 118.
STATE OF EUROPE.
49
which they had conquered, and to form themselves into
great monarchies, when new objects of ambition pre-
senting themselves increased both the number and the
violence of their dissensions, they ought to have adopted
new maxims concerning the redress of injuries, and to
have regulated by general and equal laws that which
they formerly left to be directed by the caprice of
private passion. But fierce and haughty chieftains, ac-
customed to avenge themselves on such as had injured
them, did not think of relinquishing a right which they
considered as a privilege of their order and a mark of
their independence. Laws enforced by the authority
of princes and magistrates who possessed little power
commanded no great degree of reverence. The admin-
istration of justice among rude, illiterate people was
not so accurate, or decisive, or uniform, as to induce
men to submit implicitly to its determinations. Every
offended baron buckled on his armor and sought re-
dress at the head of his vassals. His adversary met
him in like hostile array. Neither of them appealed
to impotent laws which could afford them no protec-
tion ; neither of them would submit points, in which
their honor and their passions were warmly interested,
to the slow determination of a judicial inquiry. Both
trusted to their swords for the decision of the contest.
The kindred and dependants of the aggressor, as well
as the defender, were involved in the quarrel. They
had not even the liberty of remaining neutral. Such
as refused to act in concert with the party to which
they belonged were not only exposed to infamy, but
subjected to legal penalties.
The different kingdoms of Europe were torn and
Charles.— VOL. I c 5
50 A VIEW OF THE
afflicted, during several centuries, by intestine wars,
excited by private animosities, and carried on with all
the rage natural to men of fierce manners and of violent
passions. The estate of every baron was a kind of
independent territory, disjoined from those around it,
and the hostilities between them seldom ceased. The
evil became so inveterate and deep-rooted that the
form and laws of private war were ascertained, and
regulations concerning it made a part in the system of
jurisprudence,47 in the same manner as if this practice
had been founded in some natural right of humanity,
or in the original constitution of civil society.
So great was the disorder, and such the calamities,
which these perpetual hostilities occasioned, that vari-
ous efforts were made to wrest from the nobles this per-
nicious privilege. It was the interest of every sovereign
to abolish a practice which almost annihilated his au-
thority. Charlemagne prohibited it by an express law,
as an invention of the Devil to destroy the order and
happiness of society;48 but the reign of one monarch,
however vigorous and active, was too short to extirpate
a custom so firmly established. Instead of enforcing
this prohibition, his feeble successors durst venture on
nothing more than to apply palliatives. They declared
it unlawful for any person to commence war until he
had sent a formal defiance to the kindred and depend-
ants of his adversary ; they ordained that, after the
commission of the trespass or crime which gave rise to
a private war, forty days must elapse before the person
«7 Bcaumanoir, Coustutncs de Beauvoisis. ch. 59, et les notes de
Thaumassi^re. p. 447.
4s Capitul. A.D. 801, edit. Baluz., vol. i. p. 371.
STATE OF EUROPE.' 5!
injured should attack the vassals of his adversary ; they
enjoined all persons to suspend their private animosi-
ties and to cease from hostilities when the king was
engaged in any war against the enemies of the nation.
The Church co-operated with the civil magistrate, and
interposed its authority, in order to extirpate a practice
so repugnant to the spirit of Christianity. Various
councils issued decrees prohibiting all private wars,
and denounced the heaviest anathemas against such as
should disturb the tranquillity of society by claiming or
exercising that barbarous right. The aid of religion
was called in to combat and subdue the ferocity of the
times. The Almighty was said to have manifested, by
visions and revelations to different persons, his dis-
approbation of that spirit of revenge which armed one
part of his creatures against the other. Men were re-
quired, in the name of God, to sheathe their swords,
and to remember the sacred ties which united them as
Christians and as members of the same society. But
this junction of civil and ecclesiastical authority, though
strengthened by every thing most apt to alarm and to
overawe the credulous spirit of those ages, produced no
other effect than some temporary suspensions of hostili-
ties, and a cessation from war on certain days and sea-
sons consecrated to the more solemn acts of devotion.
The nobles continued to assert this dangerous privilege ;
they refused to obey some of the laws calculated to
annul or circumscribe it; they eluded others; they
petitioned, they remonstrated, they struggled for the
right of private war, as the highest and most honor-
able distinction of their order. Even so late as the
fourteenth century we find the nobles in several prov-
5 2 A VIEW OF THE
inces of France contending for their ancient method
of terminating their differences by the sword, in prefer-
ence to that of submitting them to the decision of any
judge. The final abolition of this practice in that
kingdom, and the other countries in which it prevailed,
is not to be ascribed so much to the force of statutes
and decrees, as to the gradual increase of the royal
authority, and to the imperceptible progress of juster
sentiments concerning government, order, and public1
security.49
2. The prohibition of the form of trial by judicial
combat was another considerable step towards the
introduction of such regular government as secured
public order and private tranquillity. As the right of
private war left many of the quarrels among individuals
to be decided, like those between nations, by arms, the
form of trial by judicial combat, which was established
in every country of Europe, banished equity from courts
of justice, and rendered chance or force the arbiter of
their determinations. In civilized nations, all trans-
actions of any importance are concluded in writing.
The exhibition of the deed or instrument is full evi-
dence of the fact, and ascertains with precision what
each party has stipulated to perform. But among a rude
people, when the arts of reading and writing were such
uncommon attainments that to be master of either en-
titled a person to the appellation of a clerk or learned
man, scarcely any thing was committed to writing but
treaties between princes, their grants and charters to
their subjects, or such transactions between private
parties as were of extraordinary consequence or had
« Note XXI.
STATE OF EUROPE. 53
an extensive effect. The greater part of affairs in
common life and business was carried on by verbal
contracts or promises. This, in many civil questions,
not only made it difficult to bring proof sufficient to
establish any claim, but encouraged falsehood and
fraud, by rendering them extremely easy. Even in
criminal cases, where a particular fact must be ascer-
tained or an accusation must be disproved, the nature
and effect of legal evidence were little understood by
barbarous nations. To define with accuracy that spe-
cies of evidence which a court had reason to expect,
to determine when it ought to insist on positive proof
and when it should be satisfied with a proof from cir-
cumstances, to compare the testimony of discordant
witnesses, and to fix the degree of credit due to each,
were discussions too intricate and subtile for the juris-
prudence of ignorant ages. In order to avoid encum-
bering themselves with these, a more simple form of
procedure was introduced into courts as well civil as
criminal. In all cases where the notoriety of the fact
did not furnish the clearest and most direct evidence,
the person accused, or he against whom an action was
brought, was called legally, or offered voluntarily, to
purge himself by oath ; and upon his declaring his inno-
cence he was instantly acquitted.50 This absurd prac-
tice effectually screened guilt and fraud from detection
and punishment, by rendering the temptation to per-
jury so powerful that it was not easy to resist it. The
pernicious effects of it were sensibly felt ; and, in order
to guard against them, the laws ordained that oaths
s° Leg. Burgund., tit. 8 et 45. — Leg. Aleman., tit. 89. — Leg. Baiwar.,
tit. 8, § 5, 2, etc.
5*
54 A VIEW OF *THE
should be administered with great solemnity, and ac-
companied with every circumstance which could inspire
religious reverence or superstitious terror.51 This, how-
ever, proved a feeble remedy : these ceremonious rites
became familiar, and their impression on the imagina-
tion gradually diminished ; men who could venture to
disregard truth were not apt to startle at the solemni-
ties of an oath. Their observation of this put legis-
lators upon devising a new expedient for rendering the
purgation by oath more certain and satisfactory. They
required the person accused to appear with a certain
number of freemen, his neighbors or relations, who
corroborated the oath which he took, by swearing that
they believed all that he had uttered to be tme. These
were called compurgators, and their number varied
according to the importance of the subject in dispute,
or the nature of the crime with which a person was
charged.5* In some cases the concurrence of no less
than three hundred of these auxiliary witnesses was
requisite to acquit the person accused.53 But even this
device was found to be ineffectual. It was a point of
honor with every man in Europe, during several ages,
not to desert the chief on whom he depended, and to
stand by those with whom the ties of blood connected
him. Whoever then was bold enough to violate the
laws was sure of devoted adherents, willing to abet and
eager to serve him in whatever manner he required.
5> Du Cange, Glossar., voc. Jurameittmm, vol. iii. p. 1607. edit.
Benedict.
v Du Cange, ibid., vol. iii. p. 1599.
S3 Spelman, Glossar.. voc. Assatk. — Gregor. Turon.. Hist., lib. viil
c. 9.
STATE OF EUROPE.
55
The formality of calling compurgators proved an
apparent, not a real, security against falsehood and
perjury ; and the sentences of courts, while they con-
tinued to refer every point in question to the oath of
the defendant, became so flagrantly iniquitous as to
excite universal indignation against this method of
procedure.54
Sensible of these defects, but strangers to the man-
ner of correcting them or of introducing a more proper
form, our ancestors, as an infallible method of discov-
ering truth and of guarding against deception, appealed
to Heaven, and referred every point in dispute to be
determined, as they imagined, by the decisions of
unerring wisdom and impartial justice. The person
accused, in order to prove his innocence, submitted to
trial, in certain cases, either by plunging his arm in
boiling water, or by lifting a red-hot iron with his
naked hand, or by walking barefoot over burning
ploughshares, or by other experiments equally perilous
and formidable. On other occasions he challenged
his accuser to fight him in single combat. All these
various forms of trial were conducted with many devout
ceremonies ; the ministers of religion were employed ;
the Almighty was called upon to interpose for the
manifestation of guilt and for the protection of inno-
cence ; and whoever escaped unhurt or came off victo-
rious was pronounced to be acquitted by the judgment
of God*
Among all the whimsical and absurd institutions
which owe their existence to the weakness of human
54 Leg. Longobard., lib. ii. tit. 55, g 34.
ss Murat., Dissertatio de Judiciis Dei, Antiquit. Ital., vol. iii. p. 612.
56 A VIEW OF THE
reason, this, which submitted questions that affected
the property, the reputation, and the lives of men to
the determination of chance or of bodily strength and
address, appears to be the most extravagant and pre-
posterous. There were circumstances, however, which
led the nations of Europe to consider this equivocal
mode of deciding any point in contest as a direct
appeal to Heaven and a certain method of discovering
its will. As men are unable to comprehend the man-
ner in which the Almighty carries on the government
of the universe, by equal, fixed, and general laws,
they are apt to imagine that in every case which their
passions or interest render important in their own eyes
the Supreme Ruler of all ought visibly to display his
power in vindicating innocence and punishing guih.
It requires no inconsiderable degree of science and
philosophy to correct this popular error. But the sen-
timents prevalent in Europe during the Dark Ages,
instead of correcting, strengthened it. Religion, for
several centuries, consisted chiefly in believing the
legendary history of those saints whose names crowd
and disgrace the Romish calendar. The fabulous tales
concerning their miracles had been declared authentic
by the bulls of popes and the decrees of councils ; they
made the great subjects of the instructions which the
clergy offered to the people, and were received by
them with implicit credulity and admiration. By
attending to these, men were accustomed to believe
that the established laws of nature might be violated
on the most frivolous occasions, and were taught to
look rather for particular and extraordinary acts of
power under the divine administration than to con-
STATE OF EUROPE.
57
template the regular progress and execution of a gen-
eral plan. One superstition prepared the way for
another ; and whoever believed that the Supreme
Being had interposed miraculously on those trivial
occasions mentioned in legends could not but expect
his intervention in matters of greater importance, when
solemnly referred to his decision.
With this superstitious opinion the martial spirit of
Europe, during the Middle Ages, concurred in estab-
lishing the mode of trial by judicial combat. To be
ready to maintain with his sword whatever his lips had
uttered was the first maxim of honor with every gentle-
man. To assert their own rights by force of arms, to
inflict vengeance on those who had injured or affronted
them, were the distinction and pride of high-spirited
nobles. The form of trial by combat, coinciding with
this maxim, flattered and gratified these passions. Every
man was the guardian of his own honor and of his own
life ; the justice of his cause, as well as his future repu-
tation, depended on his own courage and prowess.
This mode of decision was considered, accordingly, as
one of the happiest efforts of wise policy ; and as soon
as it was introduced, all the forms of trial, by fire or
water, and other superstitious experiments, fell into
disuse, or were employed only in controversies between
persons of inferior rank. As it was the privilege of a
gentleman to claim the trial by combat, it was quickly
authorized over all Europe, and received in every
country with equal satisfaction. Not only questions
concerning uncertain or contested facts, but general
and abstract points in law, were determined by the
issue of a combat ; and the latter was deemed a method
c*
s 8 A VIE W OF THE
of discovering truth more liberal, as well as more satis-
factory, than that by investigation and argument. Not
only might parties whose minds were exasperated by
the eagerness and the hostility of opposition defy their
antagonist and require him to make good his charge or
to prove his innocence with his sword, but witnesses
who had no interest in the issue of the question,
though called to declare the truth by laws which
ought to have afforded them protection, were equally
exposed to the danger of a challenge, and equally
bound to assert the veracity of their evidence by dint
of arms. To complete the absurdities of this military
jurisprudence, even the character of a judge was not
sacred from its violence. Any one of the parties
might interrupt a judge when about to deliver his
opinion ; might accuse him of iniquity and corruption
in the most reproachful terms, and, throwing down his
gauntlet, might challenge him to defend his, integrity
in the field ; nor could he, without infamy, refuse to
accept the defiance, or decline to enter the lists against
such an adversary.
Thus the form of trial by combat, like other abuses,
spread gradually, and extended to all persons, and
almost to all cases. Ecclesiastics, women, minors,
superannuated and infirm persons, who could not with
decency or justice be compelled to take arms or to
maintain their own cause, were obliged to produce
champions, who offered from affection, or were en-
gaged by rewards, to fight their battles. The solemni-
ties of a judicial combat were such as were natural in
an action which was considered both as a formal appeal
to God and as the final decision of questions of the
STATE OF EUROPE. 59
highest moment. Every circumstance relating to them
was regulated by the edicts of princes, and explained
in the comments of lawyers, with a minute and even
superstitious accuracy. Skill in these laws and rights
was frequently the only science of which warlike nobles
boasted, or which they were ambitious to attain.56
By this barbarous custom, the natural course of pro-
ceeding, both in civil and criminal questions, was
entirely perverted. Force usurped the place of equity
in courts of judicature, and justice was banished from •
her proper mansion. Discernment, learning, integrity,
were qualities less necessary to a judge than bodily
strength and dexterity in the use of arms. Daring
courage and superior vigor or address were of more
moment towards securing the favorable issue of a suit
than the equity of a cause or the clearness of the
evidence. Men, of course, applied themselves to cul-
tivate the talents which they found to be of greatest
utility. As strength of body and address in arms were
no less requisite in those lists which they were obliged
to enter in defence of their private rights, than in the
field of battle, where they met the enemies of their
country, it became the great object of education, as
well as the chief employment of life, to acquire these
martial accomplishments. The administration of jus-
tice, instead of accustoming men to listen to the voice
of equity or to reverence the decisions of law, added
to the ferocity of their manners, and taught them to
consider force as the great arbiter of right and wrong.
s6 See a curious discourse concerning the laws of judicial combat,
by Thomas of Woodstock, duke of Gloucester, uncle to Richard II.,
in Spelman's Glossar., voc. Campus.
60 A VIEW OF THE
These pernicious effects of the trial by combat were
so obvious that they did not altogether escape the view
of the unobserving age in which it was introduced. The
clergy, from the beginning, remonstrated against it, as
repugnant to the spirit of Christianity and subversive
of justice and order.57 But the maxims and passions
which favored it had taken such hold of the minds of
men that they disregarded admonitions and censures
which on other occasions would have struck them with
terror. The evil was too great and inveterate to yield
to that remedy, and, continuing to increase, the civil
power at length found it necessary to interpose. Con-
scious, however, of their own limited authority, mon-
archs proceeded with caution, and their first attempts
to restrain or to set any bounds to this practice were
extremely feeble. One of the earliest restrictions of
this practice which occurs in the history of Europe is
that of Henry I. of England. It extended no farther
than to prohibit the trial by combat in questions con-
cerning property of small value.58 Louis VII. of France
imitated his example, and issued an edict to the same
effect.59 St. Louis, whose ideas as a legislator were far
superior to those of his age, endeavored to introduce a
more perfect jurisprudence, and to substitute the trial
by evidence in place of that by combat ; but his regu-
lations with respect to this were confined to his own
domains ; for the great vassals of the crown possessed
such independent authority, and were so fondly attached
to the ancient practice, that he had not power to venture
sr Du Cange, Glossar., voc. Duellitm, vol. ii. p. 1675.
s* Brusscl. Usage des Fiefs, vol. ii. p. 962.
» Ordon., torn. i. p. 16.
STATE OF EUROPE. 6l
to extend it to the whole kingdom. Some barons vol-
untarily adopted his regulations. The spirit of courts
of justice became averse to the mode of decision by
combat, and discouraged it on every occasion. The
nobles, nevertheless, thought it so honorable to depend
for the security of their lives and fortunes on their own
courage alone, and contended with so much vehemence
for the preservation of this favorite privilege of their
order, that the successors of St. Louis, unable to oppose
and afraid of offending such powerful subjects, were
obliged not only to tolerate but to authorize the practice
which he had attempted to abolish.60 In other countries
of Europe, efforts equally zealous were employed to
maintain the established custom, and similar conces-
sions were extorted from their respective sovereigns.
It continued, however, to be an object of policy with
every monarch of abilities or vigor, to explode the
trial by combat ; and various edicts were issued for this
purpose. But the observation which was made con-
cerning the right of private war is equally applicable
to the mode of trial under review. No custom, how
absurd soever it may be, if it has subsisted long, or
derived its source from the manners and prejudices of
the age in which it prevails, was ever abolished by the
bare promulgation of laws and statutes. The senti-
ments of the people must change, or some new power
sufficient to counteract the prevalent custom must be
introduced. Such a change accordingly took place
in Europe, as science gradually increased and society
advanced towards more perfect order. In proportion
as the prerogative of princes extended and came to
60 Ordon., torn. i. pp. 328, 390, 435.
Charles.— VOL. I. 6
62 A VIEW OF THE
acquire new force, a power interested in suppressing
every practice favorable to the independence of the
nobles was introduced. The struggle, nevertheless,
subsisted for several centuries : sometimes the new
regulations and ideas seemed to gain ground; some-
times ancient habits recurred ; and though, upon the
whole, the trial by combat went more and more into
disuse, yet instances of it occur as late as the sixteenth
century, in the history both of France and of England.
In proportion as it declined, the regular administration
of justice was restored, the proceedings of courts were
directed by known laws, the study of these became an
object of attention to judges, and the people of Europe
advanced fast towards civility when this great cause of
the ferocity of their manners was removed.6'
3. By authorizing the right of appeal from the courts
of the barons to those of the king, and subjecting the
decisions of the former to the review of the latter, a
new step, not less considerable than those which I have
already mentioned, was taken towards establishing the
regular, consistent, and vigorous administration of jus-
tice. Among all the encroachments of the feudal nobles
on the prerogative of their monarchs* their usurping
the administration of justice with supreme authority,
both in civil and criminal causes, within the precincts
of their own estates, was the most singular. In other
nations, subjects have contended with their sovereigns,
and have endeavored to extend their own power and
privileges ; but in the history of their struggles and
pretensions we discover nothing similar to this right
which the feudal barons claimed and obtained. It must
*Note XXII.
STATE OF EUROPE. 63
have been something peculiar in their genius and man-
ners that suggested this idea and prompted them to
insist on such a claim. Among the rude people who
conquered the various provinces of the Roman empire
and established new kingdoms there, the passion of
resentment, too impetuous to bear control, was per-
mitted to remain almost unrestrained by the authority
of laws. The person offended, as has been observed,
retained not only the right of prosecuting but of pun-
ishing his adversary. To him it belonged to inflict
such vengeance as satiated his rage, or to accept of such
satisfaction as appeased it. But while fierce barbarians
continued to be the sole judges in their own cause,
their enmities were implacable and immortal : they set
no bounds either to the degree of their vengeance or
to the duration of their resentment. The excesses
which this occasioned proved so destructive of peace
and order in society as to render it necessary to devise
some remedy. At first recourse was had to arbitrators,
who by persuasion or entreaty prevailed on the party
offended to accept of a fine or composition from the
aggressor and to drop all farther prosecution. But, as
submission to persons who had no legal or magisterial
authority was altogether voluntary, it became necessary
to establish judges, with power sufficient to enforce
their own decisions. The leader whom they were
accustomed to follow and to obey, whose courage they
respected and in whose integrity they placed confi-
dence, was the person to whom a martial people natu-
rally committed this important prerogative. Every
chieftain was the commander of his tribe in war, and
their judge in peace. Every baron led his vassals to
64 A VIEW OF THE
the field, and administered justice to them in his hall.
The high-spirited dependants would not have recog-
nized any other authority or have submitted to any
other jurisdiction. But in times of turbulence and
violence the exercise of this new function was attended
not only with trouble, but with danger. No person
could assume the character of a judge if he did not
possess power sufficient to protect the one party from
the violence of private revenge and to compel the
other to accept of such reparation as he enjoined. In
consideration of the extraordinary efforts which this
office required, judges, besides the fine which they ap-
pointed to be paid as a compensation to the person or
family who had been injured, levied an additional sum
as a recompense for their own labor; and in all the
feudal kingdoms the latter was not only as precisely
ascertained, but as regularly exacted, as the former.
Thus, by the natural operation of circumstances pecu-
liar to the manners or political state of the feudal nations,
separate and territorial jurisdictions came not only to
be established in every kingdom, but were established
in such a way that the interest of the barons concurred
with their ambition in maintaining and extending them.
It was not merely a point of honor with the feudal nobles
to dispense justice to their vassals, but from the exercise
of that power arose one capital branch of their revenue,
and the emoluments of their courts were frequently the
main support of their dignity. It was with infinite
zeal that they asserted and defended this high privilege
of their order. By this institution, however, every
kingdom in Europe was split into as many separate
principalities as it contained powerful barons. Their
STATE OF EUROPE. 65
vassals, whether in peace or in war, were hardly sensible
of an authority but that of their immediate superior lord.
They felt themselves subject to no other command. They
were amenable to no other jurisdiction. The ties which
linked together these smaller confederacies became close
and firm ; the bonds of public union relaxed, or were dis-
solved. The nobles strained their invention in devising
regulations which tended to ascertain and perpetuate this
distinction. In order to guard against any appearance
of subordination in their courts to those of the crown,
they frequently constrained their monarchs to prohibit
the royal judges from entering their territories or from
claiming any jurisdiction there ; and if, either through
mistake or from the spirit of encroachment, any royal
judge ventured to extend his authority to the vassals of
a baron, they might plead their right of exemption, and
the lord of whom they held could not only rescue them
out of his hands, but was entitled to legal reparation for
the injury and affront offered to him. The jurisdiction
of the royal judges scarcely reached beyond the narrow
limits of the king's demesnes. Instead of a regular
gradation of courts, all acknowledging the authority of
the same general laws and looking up to these as the
guides of their decisions, there were in every feudal
kingdom a number of independent tribunals, the pro-
ceedings of which were directed by local customs and
contradictory forms. The collision of jurisdiction
among these different courts often retarded the execu-
tion of justice : the variety and caprice of their modes
of procedure must have forever kept the administration
of it from attaining any degree of uniformity or per-
fection.
6*
66 A VIEW OF THE
All the monarchs of Europe perceived these encroach-
ments on their jurisdiction, and bore them with im-
patience. But the usurpations of the nobles were so
firmly established, and the danger of endeavoring to
overturn them by open force was so manifest, that kings
were obliged to remain satisfied with attempts to under-
mine them. Various expedients were employed for
this purpose, each of which merits attention, as they
mark the progress of law and equity in the several
kingdoms of Europe. At first, princes endeavored to
circumscribe the jurisdiction of the barons, by con-
tending that they ought to take cognizance only of
smaller offences, reserving those of greater moment,
under the appellation of pleas of the crown and royal
causes, to be tried in the king's courts. This, however,
affected only the barons of inferior note ; the more
powerful nobles scorned such a distinction, and not
only claimed unlimited jurisdiction, but obliged their
sovereigns to grant them charters conveying or recog-
nizing this privilege in the most ample form. The
attempt, nevertheless, was productive of some good
consequences, and paved the way for more. It turned
the attention of men towards a jurisdiction distinct
from that of the baron whose vassals they were; it
accustomed them to the pretensions of superiority
which the crown claimed over territorial judges, and
taught them, when oppressed by their own superior
lord, to look up to their sovereign as their protector.
This facilitated the introduction of appeals, by which
princes brought the decisions of the barons' courts
under the review of the royal judges. While trial by
combat subsisted in full vigor, no point decided accord-
STATE OF EUROPE. 67
ing to that mode could be brought under the review of
another court. It had been referred to the judgment
of God ; the issue of battle had declared his will ; and
it would have been impious to have called in question
the equity of the divine decision. But as soon as that
barbarous custom began to fall into disuse, princes en-
couraged the vassals of the barons to sue for redress
by appealing to the royal courts. The progress of this
practice, however, was slow and gradual. The first
instances of appeals were on account of the delay or
the refusal of justice in the barons' court ; and, as these
were countenanced by the ideas of subordination in
the feudal constitution, the nobles allowed them to be
introduced without much opposition. But when these
were followed by appeals on account of the injustice or
iniquity of the sentence, the nobles then began to be
sensible that if this innovation became general the
shadow of power alone would remain in their hands,
and all real authority and jurisdiction would centre in
those courts which possessed the right of review. They
instantly took the alarm, remonstrated against the en-
croachment, and contended boldly for their ancient
privileges. But the monarchs in the different king-
doms of Europe pursued their plan with steadiness and
prudence. Though forced to suspend their operations
on some occasions, and seemingly to yield when any
formidable confederacy of their vassals united against
them, they resumed their measures 'as soon as they ob-
served the nobles to be remiss or feeble, and pushed
them with vigor. They appointed the royal courts,
which originally were ambulatory and irregular with
respect to their times of meeting, to be held in a fixed
68 A VIEW OF THE
place and at stated seasons. They were solicitous to
name judges of more distinguished abilities than such
as usually presided in the courts of barons. They
added dignity to their character and splendor to their
assemblies. They labored to render their forms regu-
lar and their decrees consistent. Such judicatories
became, of course, the objects of public confidence as
well as veneration. The people, relinquishing the tri-
bunals of their lords, were eager to bring every subject
of contest under the more equal and discerning eye of
those whom their sovereign had chosen to give judg-
ment in his name. Thus kings became once more the
heads of the community, and the dispensers of justice
to their subjects. The barons, in some kingdoms,
ceased to exercise their right of jurisdiction, because
it sunk into contempt ; in others it was circumscribed
by such regulations as rendered it innocent, or it was
entirely abolished by express statutes. Thus the ad-
ministration of justice, taking its rise from one source
and following one direction, held its course in every
state with more uniformity and with greater force.6*
VI. The forms and maxims of the canon law, which
were become universally respectable, from their au-
thority in the spiritual courts, contributed not a little
towards those improvements in jurisprudence which I
have enumerated. If we consider the canon law po-
litically, and view it either as a system framed on
purpose to assist fhe clergy in usurping powers and
jurisdiction no less repugnant to the nature of their
function than inconsistent with the order of govern-
ment, or as the chief instrument in establishing the
«« Note XXIII.
STATE OF EUROPE.
69
dominion of the popes, which shook the throne and
endangered the liberties of every kingdom in Europe,
we must pronounce it one of the most formidable
engines ever formed against the happiness of civil
society. But if we contemplate it merely as a code of
laws respecting the rights and property of individuals,
and attend only to the civil effects of its decisions
concerning these, it will appear in a different and a
much more favorable lig;ht. In ages of ignorance and
credulity the ministers of religion are the objects of
superstitious veneration. When the barbarians who
overran the Roman empire first embraced the Chris-
tian faith, they found the clergy in possession of con-
siderable power; and they naturally transferred to
those new guides the profound submission and rever-
ence which they were accustomed to yield to the
priests qf that religion which they had forsaken. They
deemed their persons to be equally sacred with their
function, and would have considered it as impious to
subject them to the profane jurisdiction of the laity.
The clergy were not blind to these advantages which
the weakness of mankind afforded them. They estab-
lished courts, in which every question relating to their
own character, their function, or their property, was
tried. They pleaded and obtained an almost total
exemption from the authority of civil judges. Upon
different pretexts, and by a multiplicity of artifices,
they communicated this privilege to so many persons,
and extended their jurisdiction to such a variety of
cases, that the greater part of those affairs which give
rise to contest and litigation was drawn under the
cognizance of the spiritual courts.
j0 A VIEW OF THE
But, in order to dispose the laity to suffer these
usurpations without murmur or opposition, it was
necessary to convince them that the administration of
justice would be rendered more perfect by the estab-
lishment of this new jurisdiction. This was not a
difficult undertaking at that period, when ecclesiastics
carried on their encroachments with the greatest suc-
cess. That scanty portion of science which served to
guide men in the ages of darkness was almost entirely
engrossed by the clergy. They alone were accustomed
to read, to inquire, and to reason. Whatever knowl-
edge of ancient jurisprudence had been preserved,
either by tradition, or in such books as had escaped
the destructive rage of barbarians, was possessed by
them. Upon the maxims of that excellent system they
founded a code of laws consonant to the great princi-
ples of equity. Being directed by fixed and known
rules, the forms of their courts were ascertained, and
their decisions became uniform and consistent. Nor
did they want authority sufficient to enforce their
sentences. Excommunication and other ecclesiastical
censures were punishments more formidable than any
that civil judges could inflict in support of their
decrees.
It is not surprising, then, that ecclesiastical juris-
prudence should become such an object of admiration
and respect that exemption from civil jurisdiction was
courted as a privilege and conferred as a reward. It is
not surprising that, even to a rude people, the maxims
of the canon law should appear more equal and just
than those of the ill-digested jurisprudence which di-
rected all proceedings in civil courts. According to
STATE OF EUROPE. 71
the latter, the differences between contending barons
were terminated, as in a state of nature, by the sword ;
according to the former, every matter was subjected to
the decision of laws. The one, by permitting judicial
combats, left chance and force to be arbiters of right
or wrong, of truth or falsehood; the other passed
judgment with respect to these by the maxims of
equity and the testimony of witnesses. Any error or
iniquity in a sentence pronounced by a baron to whom
feudal jurisdiction belonged was irremediable, because
originally it was subject to the review of no superior
tribunal ; the ecclesiastical law established a regular
gradation of courts, through all which a cause might
be carried by appeal, until it was determined by that
authority which was held to be supreme in the Church.
Thus the genius and principles of the canon law pre-
pared men for approving those three great alterations
in the feudal jurisprudence which I have mentioned.
But it was not with respect to these points alone that
the canon law suggested improvements beneficial to
society. Many of the regulations now deemed the bar-
riers of personal security or the safeguards of private
property are contrary to the spirit and repugnant to
the maxims of the civil jurisprudence known in Europe
during several centuries, and were borrowed from the
rules and practice of the ecclesiastical courts. By
observing the wisdom and equity of the decisions in
these courts, men began to perceive the necessity either
of deserting the martial tribunals of the barons, or of
attempting to reform them.63
VII. The revival of the knowledge and study of the
63 Note XXIV.
72 A VIEW OF THE
Roman law co-operated with the causes which I have
mentioned in introducing more just and liberal ideas
concerning the nature of government and the adminis-
tration of justice. Among the calamities which the
devastations of the barbarians who broke in upon the
empire brought upon mankind, one of the greatest was
their overturning the system of Roman jurisprudence,
the noblest monument of the wisdom of that great
people, formed to subdue and to govern the world.
The laws and regulations of a civilized community
were repugnant to the manners and ideas of these
fierce invaders. They had respect to objects of which
a rude people had no conception, and were adapted to
a state of society with which they were entirely un-
acquainted. For this reason, wherever they settled,
the Roman jurisprudence soon sunk into oblivion, and
lay buried for some centuries under the load of those
institutions which the inhabitants of Europe dignified
with the name of laws. But towards the middle of the
twelfth century a copy of Justinian's Pandects was acci-
dentally discovered in Italy. By that time the state
of society was so far advanced, and the ideas of men
so much enlarged and improved by the occurrences of
several centuries during which they had continued in
political union, that they were struck with admiration
of a system which their ancestors could not compre-
hend. Though they had not hitherto attained such a
degree of refinement as to acquire from the ancients a
relish for true philosophy or speculative science, though
they were still insensible in a great degree to the beauty
and elegance of classical composition, they were suffi-
ciently qualified to judge with respect to the merit of
STATE OF EUROPE, 73
their system of laws, in which all the points most
interesting to mankind were settled with discernment,
precision, and equity. All men of letters studied this
new science with eagerness ; and within a few years
after the discovery of the Pandects, professors of civil
law were appointed, who taught it publicly in most
countries of Europe.
The effects of having such an excellent model to
study and to imitate were immediately perceived.
Men, as soon as they were acquainted with fixed and
general laws, perceived the advantage of them, and
became impatient to ascertain the principles and forms
by which judges should regulate their decisions. Such
was the ardor with which they carried on an under-
taking of so great importance to society that before
the close of the twelfth century the feudal law was re-
duced into a regular system ; the code of canon law
was enlarged and methodized ; and the loose, uncertain
customs of different provinces or kingdoms were col-
lected and arranged with an order and accuracy acquired
from the knowledge of Roman jurisprudence. In some
countries of Europe the Roman law was adopted as
subsidiary to their own municipal law, and all cases to
which the latter did not extend were decided according
to the principles of the former. In others, the maxims
as well as forms of Roman jurisprudence mingled im-
perceptibly with the laws of the country, and had a
powerful, though less sensible, influence in improving
and perfecting them.64
These various improvements in the system of juris-
prudence and administration of justice occasioned a
64 Note XXV.
Charles. — VOL. I. — D 7
74
A VIEW OF THE
change in manners, of great importance and of exten-
sive effect. They gave rise to a distinction of profes-
sions ; they obliged men to cultivate different talents,
and to aim at different accomplishments, in order to
qualify themselves for the various departments and
functions which became necessary in society.65 Among
uncivilized nations there is but one profession honor-
able, that of arms. All the ingenuity and vigor of the
human mind are exerted in acquiring military skill or
address. The functions of peace are few and simple,
and require no particular course of education or of
study as a preparation for discharging them. This was
the state of Europe during several centuries. Every
gentleman, bosn a soldier, scorned any other occupa-
tion ; he was taught no science but that of war ; even
his exercises and pastimes were feats of martial prowess.
Nor did the judicial character, which persons of noble
birth were alone entitled to assume, demand any de-
gree of knowledge beyond that which such untutored
soldiers possessed. To recollect a few traditionary
customs which time had confirmed and rendered re-
spectable, to mark out the lists of battle with due for-
mality, to observe the issue of the combat, and to pro-
nounce whether it had been conducted according to the
laws of arms, included every thing that a baron, who
acted as a judge, found it necessary to understand.
But when the forms of legal proceedings were fixed,
when the rules of decision were committed to writing
and collected into a body, law became a science, the
knowledge of which required a regular course of study,
*5 Dr. Fergusson's Essay on the History of Civil Society, part iv.
sect. i.
STATE OF EUROPE.
75
together with long attention to the practice of courts.
Martial and illiterate nobles had neither leisure nor in-
clination to undertake a task so laborious, as well as so
foreign from all the occupations which they deemed
entertaining, or suitable to their rank. They gradually
relinquished their places in courts of justice, where their
ignorance exposed them to contempt. They became
weary of attending to the discussion of cases which
grew too intricate for them to comprehend. Not only
the judicial determination of points which were the
subject of controversy, but the conduct of all legal
business and transactions, was committed to persons
trained by previous study and application to the knowl-
edge of law. An order of men to whom their fellow-
citizens had daily recourse for advice, and to whom
they looked up for decision in their most important
concerns, naturally acquired consideration and influ-
ence in society. They were advanced to honors which
had been considered hitherto as the peculiar rewards
of military virtue. They were intrusted with offices
of the highest dignity and most extensive power. Thus
another profession than that of arms came to be intro-
duced among the laity, and was reputed honorable.
The functions of civil life were attended to. The
talents requisite for discharging them were cultivated.
A new road was opened to wealth and eminence. The
arts and virtues of peace were placed in their proper
rank and received their due recompense.66
VIII. While improvements so important with respect
to the state of society and the administration of justice
gradually made progress in Europe, sentiments more
* Note XXVI.
76 A VIEW OF THE
liberal and generous had begun to animate the nobles.
These were inspired by the spirit of chivalry, which,
though considered, commonly, as a wild institution,
the effect of caprice and the source of extravagance,
arose naturally from the state of society at that period,
and had a very serious influence in refining the manners
of the European nations. The feudal state was a state
of almost perpetual war, rapine, and anarchy, during
which the weak and unarmed were exposed to insults
or injuries. The power of the sovereign was too limited
to prevent these wrongs, and the administration of
justice too feeble to redress them. The most effectual
protection against violence and oppression was often
found to be that which the valor and generosity of
private persons afforded. The same spirit of enter-
prise which had prompted so many gentlemen to take
arms in defence of the oppressed, pilgrims in Palestine
incited others to declare themselves the patrons and
avengers of injured innocence at home. When the
final reduction of the Holy Land under the dominion
of infidels put an end to these foreign expeditions, the
latter was the only employment left for the activity and
courage of adventurers. To check the insolence of
overgrown oppressors, to rescue the helpless from cap-
tivity, to protect or to avenge women, orphans, and
ecclesiastics, who could not bear arms in their own
defence, to redress wrongs, and to remove grievances,
were deemed acts of the highest prowess and merit.
Valor, humanity, courtesy, justice, honor, were the
characteristic qualities of chivalry. To these was added
religion, which mingled itself with every passion and
institution during the Middle Ages, and, by infusing a
STATE OF EUROPE. 77
large proportion of enthusiastic zeal, gave them such
force as carried them to romantic excess. Men were
trained to knighthood by a long previous discipline ;
they were admitted into the order by solemnities no
less devout than pompous ; every person of noble birth
courted that honor ; it was deemed a distinction supe-
rior to royalty ; and monarchs were proud to receive it
from the hands of private gentlemen.
This singular institution, in which valor, gallantry,
and religion were so strangely blended, was wonder-
fully adapted to the taste and genius of martial nobles ;
and its effects were soon visible in their manners. War
was carried on with less ferocity, when humanity came
to be deemed the ornament of knighthood no less than
courage. More gentle and polished manners were in-
troduced, when courtesy was recommended as the most
amiable of knightly virtues. Violence and oppression
decreased, when it was reckoned meritorious to check
and to punish them. A scrupulous adherence to truth,
with the most religious attention to fulfil every engage-
ment, became the distinguishing characteristic of a
gentleman, because chivalry was regarded as the school
of honor and inculcated the most delicate sensibility
with respect to those points. The admiration of these
qualities, together with the high distinctions and pre-
rogatives conferred on knighthood in every part of
Europe, inspired persons of noble birth on some occa-
sions with a species of military fanaticism, and led
them to extravagant enterprises. But they deeply im-
printed on their minds the principles of generosity and
honor. These were strengthened by every thing that
can affect the senses or touch the heart. The wild
7*
78 A VIEW OF THE
exploits of those romantic knights who sallied forth in
quest of adventures are well known, and have been
treated with proper ridicule. The political and per-
manent effects of the spirit of chivalry have been less
observed. Perhaps the humanity which accompanies
all the operations of war, the refinements of gallantry,
and the point of honor, the three chief circumstances
which distinguish modern from ancient manners, may
be ascribed in a great measure to this institution, which
has appeared whimsical to superficial observers, but by
its effects has proved of great benefit to mankind. The
sentiments which chivalry inspired had a wonderful
influence on manners and conduct during the twelfth,
thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries. They
were so deeply rooted that they continued to operate
after the vigor and reputation of the institution itself
began to decline. Some considerable transactions
recorded in the following history resemble the adven-
turous exploits of chivalry rather than the well-regu-
lated operations of sound policy. Some of the most
eminent personages whose characters will be deline-
ated were strongly tinctured with this romantic spirit.
Francis I. was ambitious to distinguish himself by all
the qualities of an accomplished knight, and endeavored
to imitate the enterprising genius of chivalry in war, as
well as its pomp and courtesy during peace. The fame
which the French monarch acquired by these splendid
actions so far dazzled his more temperate rival that he
departed on some occasions from his usual prudence
and moderation, and emulated Francis in deeds of
prowess or of gallantry.*7
«7 Note XX VI I.
STATE OF EUROPE.
79
IX. The progress of science and the cultivation of
literature had considerable effect in changing the
manners of the European nations and introducing that
civility and refinement by which they are now distin-
guished. At the time when their empire was over-
turned, the Romans, though they had lost that correct
taste which has rendered the productions of their an-
cestors standards of excellence and models of imitation
for succeeding ages, still preserved their love of letters
and cultivated the arts with great ardor. But rude
barbarians were so far from being struck with any
admiration of these unknown accomplishments that
they despised them. They were not arrived at that
state of society when those faculties of the human
mind which have beauty and elegance for their objects
begin to unfold themselves. They were strangers to
most of those wants and desires which are the parents
of ingenious invention ; and, as they did not compre-
hend either the merit or utility of the Roman arts,
they destroyed the monuments of them, with an in-
dustry not inferior to that which their posterity have
since studied to preserve or to recover them. The
convulsions occasioned by the settlement of so many
unpolished tribes in the empire, the frequent as well as
violent revolutions in every kingdom which they estab-
lished, together with the interior defects in the form
of government which they introduced, banished secu-
rity and leisure, prevented the growth of taste or the
culture of science, and kept Europe, during several
centuries, in that state of ignorance which has been
already described. But the events and institutions
which I have enumerated produced great alterations
go A VIEW OF THE
in society. As soon as their operation, in restoring
liberty and independence to one part of the commu-
nity, began to be felt, as soon as they began to com-
municate to all the members of society some taste of
the advantages arising from commerce, from public
order, and from personal security, the human mind
became conscious of powers which it did not formerly
perceive, and fond of occupations or pursuits of which
it was formerly incapable. Towards the beginning of
the twelfth century we discern the first symptoms of
its awakening from that lethargy in which it had been
long sunk, and observe it turning with curiosity and
attention towards new objects.
The first literary efforts, however, of the European
nations in the Middle Ages were extremely ill directed.
Among nations, as well as individuals, the powers of
imagination attain some degree of vigor before the
intellectual faculties are much exercised in speculative
or abstract disquisition. Men are poets before they are
philosophers; they feel with sensibility, and describe
with force, when they have made but little progress in
investigation or reasoning. The age of Homer and of
Hesiod long preceded that of Thales or of Socrates.
But, unhappily for literature, our ancestors, deviating
from this course which nature points out, plunged at
once into the depths of abstruse and metaphysical in-
quiry. They had been converted to the Christian faith
soon after they settled in their new conquests. But
they did not receive it pure ; the presumption of men
had added to the simple and instructive doctrines of
Christianity the theories of a vain philosophy, that
attempted to penetrate into mysteries and to decide
STATE OF EUROPE. 8 1
questions which the limited faculties of the human mind
are unable to comprehend or to resolve. These over-
curious speculations were incorporated with the system
of religion, and came to be considered as the most es-
sential part of it. As soon, then, as curiosity prompted
men to inquire and to reason, these were the subjects
which first presented themselves and engaged their
attention. The scholastic theology, with its infinite
train of bold disquisitions, and subtile distinctions
concerning points which are not the object of human
reason, was the first production of the spirit of inquiry
after it began to resume some degree of activity and
vigor in Europe. It was not, however, this circum-
stance alone that gave such a strong turn to the minds
of men, when they began again to exercise talents
which they had so long neglected. Most of the
persons who attempted to revive literature in the
twelfth and thirteenth centuries had received instruc-
tion or derived their principles of science from the
Greeks in the Eastern empire, or from the Arabians in
Spain and Africa. Both these people, acute and in-
quisitive to excess, had corrupted those sciences which
they cultivated. The former rendered theology a
system of speculative refinement or of endless contro-
versy ; the latter communicated to philosophy a spirit
of metaphysical and frivolous subtlety. Misled by
these guides, the persons who first applied to science
were involved in a maze of intricate inquiries. Instead
of allowing their fancy to take its natural range, and
to produce such works of invention as might have
improved their taste and refined their sentiments, —
instead of cultivating those arts which embellish human
D*
82 A VIE W OF THE
life and render it comfortable, — they were fettered by
authority, they were led astray by example, and wasted
the whole force of their genius in speculations as un-
availing as they were difficult.
But, fruitless and ill directed as these speculations
were, their novelty roused and their boldness interested
the human mind. The ardor with which men pursued
these uninviting studies was astonishing. Genuine
philosophy was never cultivated, in any enlightened
age, with more zeal. Schools, upon the model of those
instituted by Charlemagne, were opened in every ca-
thedral, and almost in every monastery of note. Col-
leges and universities were erected and formed into
communities or corporations, governed by their own
laws and invested with separate and extensive jurisdic-
tion over their own members. A regular course of
studies was planned; privileges of great value were
conferred on masters and scholars; academical titles
and honors of various kinds were invented as a recom-
pense for both. Nor was it in the schools alone that
superiority in science led to reputation and authority :
it became an object of respect in life, and advanced
such as acquired it to a rank of no inconsiderable emi-
nence. Allured by all these advantages, an incredible
number of students resorted to those new seats of
learning, and crowded with eagerness into that new
path which was open to fame and distinction.
But, how considerable soever these first efforts may
appear, there was one circumstance which prevented
the effects of them from being as extensive as they
naturally ought to have been. All the languages in
Europe, during the period under review, were bar-
STATE OF EUROPE. 83
barous ; they were destitute of elegance, of force, and
even of perspicuity. No attempt had been hitherto
made to improve or to polish them. The Latin tongue
was consecrated by the Church to religion ; custom,
with authority scarcely less sacred, had appropriated it
to literature. All the sciences cultivated in the twelfth
and thirteenth centuries were taught in Latin ; all books
with respect to them were written in that language. It
would have been deemed a degradation of any impor-
tant subject to have treated of it in a modern language.
This confined science within a very narrow circle ; the
learned alone were admitted into the temple of knowl-
edge ; the gate was shut against all others, who were
suffered to remain involved in their former darkness
and ignorance.
But though science was thus prevented, during sev-
eral ages, from diffusing itself through society, and its
influence was much circumscribed, the progress which
it made may be mentioned, nevertheless, among the
great causes which contributed to introduce a change
of manners into Europe. The ardent though ill-judged
spirit of inquiry which I have described occasioned a
fermentation of mind that put ingenuity and invention
in motion and gave them vigor. It led men to a new
employment of their faculties, which they found to be
agreeable as well as interesting. It accustomed them
to exercises and occupations which tended to soften
their manners, and to give them some relish for the
gentle virtues peculiar to people among whom science
has been cultivated with success.68
X. The progress of commerce had considerable
« Note XXVIII.
84 A VIEW OF THE
influence in polishing the manners of the European
nations, and in establishing among them order, equal
laws, and humanity. The wants of men in the original
and most simple state of society are so few, and their
desires so limited, that they rest contented with the
natural productions of their climate and soil, or with
what they can add to these by their own rude industry.
They have no superfluities to dispose of, and few ne-
cessities that demand a supply. Every little commu-
nity, subsisting on its own domestic stock and satisfied
with it, is either little acquainted with the states around
it, or at variance with them. Society and manners
must be considerably improved, and many provisions
must be made for public order and personal security,
before a liberal intercourse can take place between
different nations. We find, accordingly, that the first
effect of the settlement of the barbarians in the empire
was to divide those nations which the Roman power
had united. Europe was broken into many separate
communities. The intercourse between these divided
states ceased almost entirely during several centuries.
Navigation was dangerous in seas infested by pirates ;
nor could strangers trust to a friendly reception in the
ports of uncivilized nations. Even between distant
parts of the same kingdom the communication was rare
and difficult. The lawless rapine of banditti, together
with the avowed exactions of the nobles, scarcely less
formidable and oppressive, rendered a journey of any
length a perilous enterprise. Fixed to the spot in
which they resided, the greater part of the inhabitants
of Europe lost, in a great measure, the knowledge of
remote regions, and were unacquainted with their
STATE OF EUROPE. 85
names, their situations, their climates, and their com-
modities.69
Various causes, however, contributed to revive the
spirit of commerce, and to renew, in some degree, the
intercourse between different nations. The Italians,
by their connection with Constantinople and other
cities of the Greek empire, had preserved in their own
country considerable relish for the precious commodi-
ties and curious manufactures of the East. They com-
municated some knowledge of these to the countries
contiguous to Italy. But this commerce being ex-
tremely limited, the intercourse which it occasioned
between different nations was not considerable. The
crusades, by leading multitudes from every corner of
Europe into Asia, opened a more extensive communi-
cation between the East and West, which subsisted for
two centuries ; and though the object of these expedi-
tions was conquest, and not commerce, though the
issue of them proved as unfortunate as the motives for
undertaking them were wild and enthusiastic, their
commercial effects, as hath been shown, were both
beneficial and permanent. During the continuance of
the crusades, the great cities in Italy, and in other
countries of Europe, acquired liberty, and together
with it such privileges as rendered them respectable
and independent communities. Thus, in every state
there was formed a new order of citizens, to whom
commerce presented itself as their proper object and
opened to them a certain path to wealth and con-
sideration. Soon after the close of the holy war, the
mariner's compass was invented, which, by rendering
69 Note XXIX.
Charles.— VOL. I. 8
86 A VIEW OF THE
navigation more secure, encouraged it to become more
adventurous, facilitated the communication between re-
mote nations, and brought them nearer to each other.
The Italian states, during the same period, estab-
lished a regular commerce with the East in the ports
of Egypt, and drew from thence all the rich products
of the Indies. They introduced into their own terri-
tories manufactures of various kinds, and carried them
on with great ingenuity and vigor. They attempted
new arts, and transplanted from warmer climates, to
which they had been hitherto deemed peculiar, several
natural productions which now furnish the materials
of a lucrative and extended commerce. All these
commodities, whether imported from Asia or produced
by their own skill, they disposed of to great advantage
among the other people of Europe, who began to ac-
quire some taste for an elegance in living unknown to
their ancestors, or despised by them. During the
twelfth and thirteenth centuries the commerce of Eu-
rope was almost entirely in the hands of the Italians,
more commonly known in those ages by the name of
Lombards. Companies or societies of Lombard mer-
chants settled in every different kingdom. They were
taken under the immediate protection of the several
governments. They enjoyed extensive privileges and
immunities. The operation of the ancient barbarous
laws concerning strangers was suspended with respect
to them. They became the carriers, the manufacturers,
and the bankers of all Europe.
While the Italians, in the South of Europe, were
cultivating trade with such industry and success, the
commercial spirit awakened in the North towards the
STATE OF EUROPE. 87
middle of the thirteenth century. As the nations
around the Baltic were at that time extremely barba-
rous, and infested that sea with their piracies, the
cities of Lubec and Hamburg, soon after they began
to open some trade with these people, found it neces-
sary to enter into a league of mutual defence. They
derived such advantages from this union that other
towns acceded to their confederacy, and in a short
time eighty of the most considerable cities scattered
through those extensive countries which stretch from
the bottom of the Baltic to Cologne on the Rhine
joined in the famous Hanseatic league, which became
so formidable that its alliance was courted and its
enmity was dreaded by the greatest monarchs. The
members of this powerful association formed the first
systematic plan of commerce known in the Middle
Ages, and conducted it by common laws enacted in
their general assemblies. They supplied the rest of
Europe with naval stores, and pitched on different
towns, the most eminent of which was at Bruges in
Flanders, where they established staples in which their
commerce was regularly carried on. Thither the Lom-
bards brought the productions of India, together with
the manufactures of Italy, and exchanged them for the
more bulky btft not less useful commodities of the
North. The Hanseatic merchants disposed of the car-
goes which they received from the Lombards in the
ports of the Baltic, or carried them up the great rivers
into the interior parts of Germany.
This regular intercourse opened between the nations
in the North and South of Europe made them sensible
of their mutual wants, and created such new and in-
88 A VIEW OF THE
creasing demands for commodities of every kind that it
excited among the inhabitants of the Netherlands a
more vigorous spirit in carrying on the two great
manufactures of wool and flax, which seem to have
been considerable in that country as early as the age
of Charlemagne. As Bruges became the centre of
communication between the Lombard and Hanseatic
merchants, the Flemings traded with both in that city
to such extent, as well as advantage, as spread among
them a general habit of industry, which long rendered
Flanders and the adjacent provinces the most opulent,
the most populous, and best cultivated countries in
Europe.
Struck with the flourishing state of these provinces,
of which he discerned the true cause, Edward III. of
England endeavored to excite a spirit of industry
among his own subjects, who, blind to the advantages
of their situation, and ignorant of the source from
which opulence was destined to flow into their country,
were so little attentive to their commercial interests as
hardly to attempt those manufactures, the materials of
which they furnished to foreigners. By alluring Flem-
ish artisans to settle in his dominions, as well as by
many wise laws for the encouragement and regulation
of trade, Edward gave a beginning to the woollen
manufactures of England, and first turned the active
and enterprising genius of his people towards those
arts which have raised the English to the highest rank
among commercial nations.
This increase of commerce and of intercourse be-
tween nations, how inconsiderable soever it may appear
in respect of their rapid and extensive progress during
STATE OF EUROPE. 89
the last and present age, seems wonderfully great when
we compare it with the state of both in Europe pre-
vious to the twelfth century. It did not fail of pro-
ducing great effects. Commerce tends to wear off those
prejudices which maintain distinction and animosity
between nations. It softens and polishes the manners
of men. It unites them by one of the strongest of all
ties, the desire of supplying their mutual wants. It
disposes them to peace, by establishing in every state
an order of citizens bound by their interests to be the
guardians of public tranquillity. As soon as the com-
mercial spirit acquires vigor and begins to gain an
ascendant in any society, we discover a new genius in
its policy, its alliances, its wars, and its negotiations.
Conspicuous proofs of this occur in the history of the
Italian states, of the Hanseatic league, and the cities
of the Netherlands during the period under review. In
proportion as commerce made its way into the differ-
ent countries of Europe, they successively turned their
attention to those objects and adopted those manners
which occupy and distinguish polished nations.70
7° Note XXX.
SECTION II.
VIEW OF THE PROGRESS OF SOCIETY IN EUROPE WITH
RESPECT TO THE COMMAND OF THE NATIONAL FORCE
REQUISITE IN FOREIGN OPERATIONS.
Improved State of Society at the Beginning of the Fifteenth Cen-
tury.— The Concentration of Resources in European States. — The
Power of Monarchs; their Revenues and Armies. — Affairs of Dif-
ferent States at first entirely distinct. — Progress of Combination. —
Loss of Continental Territory by the English. — Effects upon the
French Monarchy. — Growth of Standing Armies, and of the Royal
Prerogative under Louis XI. — His Example imitated in England
and in Spain. — The Heiress of Burgundy. — Perfidious Conduct of
Louis XI. towards her. — Her Marriage with Maximilian, Archduke
of Austria. — Invasion of Italy by Charles VIII. — The Balance of
Power. — Use of Infantry in Armies. — League of Cambray against
Venice.
SUCH are the events and1 institutions which, by their
powerful operation, contributed gradually to introduce
regular government and polished manners in the various
nations of Europe. When we survey the state of society,
or the character of individuals, at the opening of the
fifteenth century, and then turn back to view the con-
dition of both at the time when the barbarous tribes
which overturned the Roman power completed their
settlement in their new conquests, the progress which
mankind had made towards order and refinement will
appear immense.
Government, however, was still far from having
attained that state in which extensive monarchies act
(90)
A VIEW OF THE STATE OF EUROPE. 9i
with the united vigor of the whole community, or carry
on great undertakings with perseverance and success.
Small tribes or communities, even in their rudest state,
may operate in concert and exert their utmost force.
They are excited to act, not by the distant objects or
the refined speculations which interest or affect men in
polished societies, but by their present feelings. The
insults of an enemy kindle resentment ; the success of
a rival tribe awakens emulation : these passions com-
municate from breast to breast, and all the members
of the community, with united ardor, rush into the
field in order to gratify their revenge or to acquire
distinction. But in widely-extended states, such as
the great kingdoms of Europe at the beginning of the
fifteenth century, where there is little intercourse be-
tween the distant members of the community, and
where every great enterprise requires previous concert
and long preparation, nothing can rouse and call forth
their united strength but the absolute command of a
despot or the1 powerful influence of regular policy. Of
the former, the vast empires in the East are an ex-
ample : the irresistible mandate of the sovereign reaches
the most remote provinces of his dominions, and com-
pels whatever number of his subjects he is pleased to
summon to follow his standard. The kingdoms of
Europe, in the present age, are an instance of the lat-
ter : the prince, by the less violent but no less effectual
operation of laws and a well-regulated government, is
enabled to avail himself of the whole force of his state,
and to employ it in enterprises which require strenuous
and persevering efforts.
But at the opening of the fifteenth century the po-
92 A VIEW OF THE
litical constitution in all the kingdoms of Europe was
very different from either of these states of govern-
ment. The several monarchs, though they had some-
what enlarged the boundaries of prerogative by success-
ful encroachments on the immunities and privileges of
the nobility, were possessed of an authority extremely
limited. The laws and interior police of kingdoms,
though much improved by the various events and regu-
lations which I have enumerated, were still feeble and
imperfect. In every country, a numerous body of
nobles, who continued to be formidable notwithstand-
ing the various expedients employed to depress them,
watched all the motions of their sovereign with a jeal-
ous attention which set bounds to his ambition, and
either prevented his forming schemes of extensive en-
terprise, or obstructed the execution of them.
The ordinary revenues of every prince were so ex-
tremely small as to be inadequate to any great under-
taking. He depended for extraordinary supplies on the
good will of his subjects, who granted them often with
a reluctant, and always with a sparing, hand.
As the revenues of princes were inconsiderable, the
armies which they could bring into the field were unfit
for long and effectual service. Instead of being able
to employ troops trained to skill in arms, and to mili-
tary subordination, by regular discipline, monarchs
were obliged to depend on such forces as their vassals
conducted to their standard in consequence of their
military tenures. These, as they were bound to remain
under arms only for a short time, could not march far
from their usual place of residence, and, being more
attached to the lord of whom they held than to the
STATE OF EUROPE. 93
sovereign whom they served, were often as much dis-
posed to counteract as to forward his schemes. Nor
were they, even if they had been more subject to the
command of the monarch, proper instruments to carry
into execution any great and arduous enterprise. The
strength of an army, formed either for conquest or
defence, lies in infantry. To the stability and disci-
pline of their legions, consisting chiefly of infantry,
the Romans, during the times of the republic, were
indebted for their victories ; and when their descend-
ants, forgetting the institutions which had led them to
universal dominion, so far altered their military system
as to place their principal confidence in a numerous
cavalry, the undisciplined impetuosity of the barbarous
nations, who fought mostly on foot, was sufficient, as I
have already observed, to overcome them. These na-
tions, soon after they settled in their new conquests,
uninstructed by the fatal error of the Romans, relin-
quished the customs of their ancestors, and converted
the chief force of their armies into cavalry. Among
the Romans this change was occasioned by the effemi-
nacy of their troops, who could not endure the fatigues
of service which their more virtuous and hardy ances-
tors had sustained with ease. Among the people who
established the new monarchies into which Europe was
divided, this innovation in military discipline seems to
have flowed from the pride of the nobles, who, scorn-
ing to mingle with persons of inferior rank, aimed at
being distinguished from them in the field as well as
during peace. The institution of chivalry, and the fre-
quency of tournaments, in which knights, in complete
armor, entered the lists on horseback with extraordi-
94 *
nary splendor, displaying amazing address, force, and
valor, brought cavalry into still greater esteem. The
fondness for that service increased to such a degree
that during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries the
armies of Europe were composed almost entirely of
cavalry. No gentleman would appear in the field but
on horseback. To serve in any other manner he would
have deemed derogatory to his rank. The cavalry, by
way of distinction, was called the battle, and on it alone
depended the fate of every action. The infantry,
collected from the dregs and refuse of the people, ill
armed and worse disciplined, was almost of no account.
As these circumstances rendered the operations of
particular kingdoms less considerable and less vigorous,
so they long kept the princes of Europe from giving
such attention to the schemes and transactions of their
neighbors as might lead them to form any regular sys-
tem of public security. They were, of consequence,
prevented from uniting in confederacy, or from acting
with concert, in order to establish such a distribution
and balance of power as should hinder any state from
rising to a superiority which might endanger the general
liberty and independence. During several centuries,
the nations of Europe appear to have considered them-
selves as separate societies, scarcely connected together
by any common interest, and little concerned in each
other's affairs or operations. An extensive commerce
did not afford them an opportunity of observing and
penetrating into the schemes of every different state.
They had not ambassadors residing constantly in every
court, to watch and give early intelligence of all its
motions. The expectation of remote advantages, or
STATE OF EUROPE.
95
the prospect of distant and contingent evils, was not
sufficient to excite nations to take arms. Such only as
were within the sphere of immediate danger, and un-
avoidably exposed to injury or insult, thought them-
selves interested in any contest or bound to take pre-
cautions for their own safety.
Whoever records the transactions of any of the more
considerable European states during the two last cen-
turies must write the history of Europe. Its various
kingdoms, throughout that period, have been formed
into one great system, so closely united that, each hold-
ing a determinate station, the operations of one are so
felt by all as to influence their counsels and regulate
their measures. But previous to the fifteenth century,
unless when vicinity of territory rendered the occasions
of discord frequent and unavoidable, or when national
emulation fomented or embittered the spirit of hostility,
the affairs of different countries are seldom interwoven
with each other. In each kingdom of Europe great
events and revolutions happened, which the other powers
beheld with almost the same indifference as if they had
been uninterested spectators, to whom the effect of
these transactions could never extend.
During the violent struggles between France and
England, and notwithstanding the alarming progress
which was made towards rendering one prince the
master of both these kingdoms, hardly one measure
which can be considered as the result of a sagacious
and prudent policy was formed in order to guard against
an event so fatal to Europe. The dukes of Burgundy
and Bretagne, whom their situation would not permit
to remain neutral, engaged, it is true, in the contest;
96 A VIEW OF THE
but in taking their part they seem rather to have fol-
lowed the impulse of their passions than to have been
guided by any just discernment of the danger which
threatened themselves and the tranquillity of Europe.
The other princes, seemingly unaffected by the alter-
nate successes of the contending parties, left them to
decide the quarrel by themselves, or interposed only
by feeble and ineffectual negotiations.
Notwithstanding the perpetual hostilities in which the
various kingdoms of Spain were engaged during several
centuries, and the successive occurrences which visibly
tended to unite that part of the continent into one great
monarchy, the princes of Europe hardly took any step
from which we may conclude that they gave a proper
attention to that important event. They permitted
a power to arise imperceptibly, and to acquire strength
there, which soon became formidable to all its neighbors.
Amidst the violent convulsions with which the spirit
of domination in the see of Rome, and the turbulent
ambition of the German nobles, agitated the empire,
neither the authority of the popes, seconded by all
their artifices and intrigues, nor the solicitations of the
emperors, could induce any of the powerful monarchs
in Europe to engage in their quarrel, or to avail them-
selves of many favorable opportunities of interposing
with effect and advantage.
This amazing inactivity during transactions so inter-
esting is not to be imputed to any incapacity of dis-
cerning their political consequences. The power of
judging with sagacity, and of acting with vigor, is the
portion of men of every age. The monarchs who
reigned in the different kingdoms of Europe, during
STATE OF EUROPE. 97
several centuries, were not blind to their particular in-
terest, negligent of the public safety, or strangers to
the method of securing both. If they did not adopt
that salutary system which teaches modern politicians
to take the alarm at the prospect of distant dangers,
which prompts them to check the first encroachments
of any formidable power, and which renders each state
the guardian, in some degree, of the rights and inde-
pendence of all its neighbors, this was owing entirely
to such imperfections and disorders in the civil govern-
ment of each country as made it impossible for sove-
reigns to act suitably to those ideas which the posture of
affairs and their own observation must have suggested.
But during the course of the fifteenth century various
events happened which, by giving princes more entire
command of the force in their respective dominions,
rendered their operations more vigorous and extensive.
In consequence of this, the affairs of different king-
doms becoming more frequently as well as more inti-
mately connected, they were gradually accustomed to
act in concert and confederacy, and were insensibly
prepared for forming a system of policy in order to
establish or to preserve such a balance of power as was
most consistent with the general security. It was during
the reign of Charles V. that the ideas on which this
system is founded first came to be fully understood. It
was then that the maxims by which it has been uni-
formly maintained since that era were universally
adopted. On this account, a view of the causes and
events which contributed to establish a plan of policy
more salutary and extensive than any that has taken
place in the conduct of human affairs is not only a
Charles. — VOL. I. — E 9
98 * VIEW OF THE
necessary introduction to the following work, but is a
capital object in the history of Europe.
The first event that occasioned any considerable
alteration in the arrangement of affairs in Europe was
the annexation of the extensive territories which Eng-
land possessed on the continent to the crown of France.
While the English were masters of several of the most
fertile and opulent provinces in France, and a great
part of its most martial inhabitants was bound to follow
their standard, an English monarch considered himself
rather as the rival than as the vassal of the sovereign
of whom he held. The kings of France, circumscribed
and thwarted in their schemes and operations by an
adversary no less jealous than formidable, durst not
enter upon any enterprise of importance or of difficulty.
The English were always at hand, ready to oppose them.
They disputed even their right to their crown, and,
being able to penetrate with ease into the heart of the
kingdom, could arm against them those very hands
which ought to have been employed in their defence.
Timid counsels and feeble efforts were natural to mon-
archs in such a situation. France, dismembered and
overawed, could not attain its proper station in the
system of Europe. But the death of Henry V. of
England, happily for France, and not unfortunately for
his own country, delivered the French from the calam-
ity of having a foreign master seated on their throne.
The weakness of a long minority, the dissensions in the
English court, together with the unsteady and languid
conduct which these occasioned, afforded the French a
favorable opportunity of recovering the territories which
they had lost. The native valor of the French nobility,
STATE OF EUROPE.
99
heightened to an enthusiastic confidence by a supposed
interposition of Heaven in their behalf, conducted in
the field by skilful leaders, and directed in the cabinet
by a prudent monarch, was exerted with such vigor and
success, during this favorable juncture, as not only
wrested from the English their new conquests, but
stripped them of their ancient possessions in France,
and reduced them within the narrow precincts of Calais
and its petty territory.
As soon as so many considerable provinces were
reunited to their dominions, the kings of France, con-
scious of this acquisition of strength, began to form
bolder schemes of interior policy as well as of foreign
operations. They immediately became formidable to
their neighbors, who began to fix their attention on
their measures and motions, the importance of which
they fully perceived. From this era, France, possessed
of the advantages which it derives from the situation
and contiguity of its territories, as well as from the
number and valor of its people, rose to new influence
in Europe, and was the first power in a condition to give
alarm to the jealousy or fears of the states around it.
Nor was France indebted for this increase of impor-
tance merely to the reunion of the provinces which
had been torn from it. A circumstance attended the
recovery of these which, though less considerable and
less observed, contributed not a little to give additional
vigor and decision to all the efforts of that monarchy.
During the obstinate struggles between France and
England, all the defects of the military system under
the feudal government were sensibly felt. A war of /
long continuance languished, when carried on by
I00 A VIEW OF THE
troops bound and accustomed to keep the field only
for a short time. Armies composed chiefly of heavy-
armed cavalry were unfit either for the defence or the
attack of the many towns and castles which it became
necessary to guard or to reduce. In order to obtain
such permanent and effective force as became requisite
during these lengthened contests, the kings of France
took into their pay considerable bands of mercenary
soldiers, levied sometimes among their own subjects,
and sometimes in foreign countries. But, as the feudal
policy provided no sufficient fund for such extraor-
dinary service, these adventurers were dismissed at the
close of every campaign, or upon any prospect of
accommodation ; and, having been little accustomed
to the restraints of discipline, they frequently turned
their arms against the country which they had been
hired to defend, and desolated it with cruelty not
inferior to that of its foreign enemies.
A body of troops kept constantly on foot, and regu-
larly trained to military subordination, would have
supplied what was wanting in the feudal constitution,
and have furnished princes with the means of executing
enterprises to which they were then unequal. Such
an establishment, however, was so repugnant to the
genius of feudal policy, and so incompatible with the
privileges and pretensions of the nobility, that during
several centuries no monarch was either so bold or so
powerful as to venture on any step towards introducing
it. At last, Charles VII., availing himself of the repu-
tation which he had acquired by his successes against
the English, and taking advantage of the impres-
sions of terror which such a formidable enemy had left
STATE OF EUROPE. 101
upon the minds of his subjects, executed that which his
predecessors durst not attempt. Under pretence of
having always ready a force sufficient to defend the
kingdom against any sudden invasion of the English,
he, at the time when he disbanded his other troops,
retained under arms a body of nine thousand cavalry
and of sixteen thousand infantry. He appropriated
funds for the regular payment of these ; he stationed
them in different places of the kingdom, according to
his pleasure, and appointed the officers who commanded
and disciplined them. The prime nobility courted
this service, in which they were taught to depend on
their sovereign, to execute his orders, and to look up
to him as the judge and rewarder of their merit. The
feudal militia, composed of the vassals whom the nobles
could call out to follow their standard, as it was in no de-
gree comparable to a body of soldiers regularly trained
to war, sunk gradually in reputation. The strength of
an army was no longer estimated solely by the num-
ber of cavalry which served in it. From the time that
gunpowder was invented, and the use of cannon in
the field became general, horsemen cased in complete
armor lost all the advantages which gave them the
pre-eminence over other soldiers. The helmet, the
shield, and the breastplate, which resisted the arrow
or the spear, no longer afforded them security against
these new instruments of destruction. The service of
infantry rose again into esteem, and victories were
gained, and conquests made, chiefly by their efforts.
The nobles and their military tenants, though some-
times summoned to the field, according to ancient
form, were considered as an encumbrance upon the
9*
I02 A VIEW OF THE
troops with which they acted, and were viewed with
contempt by soldiers accustomed to the vigorous and
steady operations of regular service.
Thus the regulations of Charles VII., by establishing
the first standing army known in Europe, occasioned
an important revolution in its affairs and policy. By
taking from the nobles the sole direction of the national
military force, which had raised them to such high
authority and importance, a deep wound was given to
the feudal aristocracy, in that part where its power
seemed to be most complete.
France, by forming this body of regular troops, at a
time when there was hardly a squadron or company
kept in constant pay in any other part of Europe,
acquired such advantages over its neighbors, either in
attack or defence, that self-preservation made it neces-
sary for them to imitate its example. Mercenary
troops were introduced into all the considerable king-
doms on the continent. They gradually became the
only military force that was employed or trusted. It
has lorig been the chief object of policy to increase
and to support them. It has long been the great aim
of princes and ministers to discredit and to annihilate
all other means of national activity or defence.
As the kings of France got the start of other powers
in establishing a military force in their dominions,
which enabled them to carry on foreign operations
with more vigor and to greater extent, so they were
the first who effectually broke the feudal aristocracy
and humbled the great vassals of the crown, who by
their exorbitant power had long circumscribed the
royal prerogative within very narrow limits and had
STATE OF EUROPE.
103
rendered all the efforts of the monarchs of Europe
inconsiderable. Many things concurred to undermine,
gradually, the power of the feudal aristocracy in France.
The wealth and property of the nobility were greatly
impaired during the long wars which the kingdom was
obliged to maintain with the English. The extraor-
dinary zeal with which they exerted themselves in
defence of their country against its ancient enemies
exhausted entirely the fortunes of some great families.
As almost every province in the kingdom was in its
turn the seat of war, the lands of others were exposed
to the depredations of the enemy, were ravaged by the
mercenary troops which their sovereigns hired occa-
sionally but could not pay, or were desolated with rage
still more destructive by the peasants, in different
insurrections. At the same time, the necessities of gov-
ernment having forced their kings upon the desperate
expedient of making great and sudden alterations in
the current coin of the kingdom, the fines, quit-rents,
and other payments fixed by ancient custom sunk much
in value, and the revenues of a fief were reduced far
below the sum which it had once yielded. During
their contests with the English, in which a generous
nobility courted every station where danger appeared
or honor could be gained, many families of note be-
came extinct, and their fiefs were reunited to the crown.
Other fiefs, in a long course of years, fell to female
heirs, and were divided among them, were diminished
by profuse donations to the Church, or were broken
and split by the succession of remote collateral heirs.1
Encouraged by these manifest symptoms of decline
1 Boulainvilliers, Histoire du Gouvernement de France, Lettre xii.
104
A VIEW OF THE
in that body which he wished to depress, Charles VII.,
during the first interval of peace with England, made
several efforts towards establishing the regal prerogative
on the ruins of the aristocracy. But his obligations to
the nobles were so many, as well as recent, and their
services in recovering the kingdom so splendid, as
rendered it necessary for him to proceed with modera-
tion and caution. Such, however, was the authority
which the crown had acquired by the progress of its
arms against the English, and so much was the power
of the nobility diminished, that, without any opposi-
tion, he soon made innovations of great consequence
in the constitution. He not only established that
formidable body of regular troops which has been
mentioned, but he was the first monarch of France
who by his royal edict, without the concurrence of the
states-general of the kingdom, levied an extraordinary
subsidy on his people. He prevailed likewise with his
subjects to render several taxes perpetual which had
formerly been imposed occasionally and exacted during
a short time. By means of all these innovations he
acquired such an increase of power, and extended his
prerogative so far beyond its ancient limits, that, from
being the most dependent prince who had ever sat
upon the throne of France, he came to possess, during
the latter years of his reign, a degree of authority
which none of his predecessors had enjoyed for several
ages.1
That plan of humbling the nobility which Charles
« Histoirc de France par Velly ct Villaret, torn. xv. pp. 331. etc.,
389 ; lorn. xvi. p. 324. — Variations de la Monarchic Franchise, torn.
iii. p. 162.
LOUIS XI. AND HIS MINISTER, OLIVIER LE DAIN.
STATE OF EUROPE. 105
began to execute, his son Louis XL carried on with a
bolder spirit and with greater success. Louis was
formed by nature to be a tyrant; and at whatever
period he had been ^called to ascend the throne, his
reign must have abounded with schemes to oppress his
people and to render his own power absolute. Subtle,
unfeeling, cruel, a stranger to every principle of integ-
rity, and regardless of decency, he scorned all the re-
straints which a sense of honor or the desire of lame
imposes even upon ambitious men. Sagacious, at the
same time, to discern what he deemed his true interest,
and influenced by that alone, he was capable of pursu-
ing it with a persevering industry, and of adhering to
it with a systematic spirit, from which no object could
divert and no danger could deter him.
The maxims of his administration were as profound
as they were fatal to the privileges of the nobility. He
filled all the departments of government with new men,
and often with persons whom he called from the lowest
as well as the most despised functions in life and raised
at pleasure to stations of great power or trust. These
were his only confidants, whom he consulted in form-
ing his plans, and to whom he committed the execution
of them ; while the nobles, accustomed to be the com-
panions, the favorites, and the ministers of their sove-
reigns, were treated with such studied and mortifying
neglect that, if they would not submit to follow a court
in which they appeared without any shadow of their
ancient power, they were obliged to retire to their
castles, where they remained unemployed and forgotten.
Not satisfied with having rendered the nobles of less
consideration by taking out of their hands the sole
E*
106 A VIEW OF THE
direction of affairs, Ixmis added insult to neglect, and,
by violating their most valuable privileges, endeavored
to degrade the order and to reduce the members of it
to the same level with other subjects. Persons of the
highest rank among them, if so bold as to oppose his
schemes or so unfortunate as to awaken the jealousy of
his capricious temper, were persecuted with rigor from
which all who belonged to the order of nobility had
hitherto been exempt ; they were tried by judges who
had no right to take cognizance of their actions, and
were subjected to torture, or condemned to an igno-
minious death, without regard to their birth or condi-
tion. The people, accustomed to see the blood of the
most illustrious personages shed by the hands of the
common executioner, to behold them shut up in dun-
geons and carried about in cages of iron, began to view
the nobility with less reverence than formerly, and
looked up with terror to the royal authority, which
seemed to have humbled or annihilated every other
power in the kingdom.
At the same time, Louis, being afraid that oppression
might rouse the nobles, whom the rigor of his govern-
ment had intimidated, or that self-preservation might
at last teach them to unite, dexterously scattered among
them the seeds of discord, and industriously fomented
those ancient animosities between the great families,
which the spirit of jealousy and emulation natural to
the feudal government had originally kindled and still
kept alive. To accomplish this, all the arts of in-
trigue, all the mysteries and refinements of his fraudu-
lent policy, were employed, and with such success that,
at a juncture which required the most strenuous efforts
STATE OF EUROPE. 107
as well as the most perfect union, the nobles never
acted, except during one short sally of resentment at
the beginning of his reign, either with vigor or in
concert.
As he stripped the nobility of their privileges, he
added'to the power and prerogative of the crown. In
order to have at command such a body of soldiers as
might be sufficient to crush any force that his disaffected
subjects could draw together, he not only kept on foot
the regular troops which his father had raised, but, be-
sides augmenting their number considerably, he took
into his pay six thousand Swiss, at that time the best
disciplined and most formidable infantry in Europe.3
From the jealousy natural to tyrants, he confided in
these foreign mercenaries, as the most devoted instru-
ments of oppression, and the most faithful guardians
of the power which he had usurped. That they
might be ready to act on the shortest warning, he,
during the latter years of his reign, kept a considerable
body of them encamped in one place.4
Great funds were requisite, not only to defray the
expense of this additional establishment, but to supply
the sums employed in the various enterprises which the
restless activity of his genius prompted him to under-
take. But the prerogative that his father had assumed
of levying taxes without the concurrence of the states-
general, which he was careful not only to retain, but
to extend, enabled him to provide in some measure for
the increasing charges of government.
3 Mem. de Comines, torn. i. p. 367. — Dan., Hist.-de la Milice Frau-
9oise, torn. i. p. 182.
4 Mem. de Comines, torn. i. p. 381.
io8 A VIEW OF THE
What his prerogative, enlarged as it was, could not
furnish, his address procured. He was the first mon-
arch in Europe who discovered the method of man-
aging those great assemblies in which the feudal policy
had vested the power of granting subsidies and of im-
posing taxes. He first taught other princes the. fatal
art of beginning their attack on public liberty by cor-
rupting the source from which it should flow. By
exerting all his power and address in influencing the
election of representatives, by bribing or overawing
the members, and by various changes which he artfully
made in the form of their deliberations, Louis acquired
such entire direction of these assemblies that, from
being the vigilant guardians of the privileges and
property of the people, he rendered them tamely sub-
servient towards promoting the most odious measures
of his reign.5 As no power remained to set bounds to
his exactions, he not only continued all the taxes im-
posed by his father, but he made great additions to
them, which amounted to a sum that appeared astonish-
ing to his contemporaries.*
Nor was it the power alone or wealth of the crown
that Louis increased : he extended its territories by
acquisitions of various kinds. He got possession of
Roussillon by purchase ; Provence was conveyed to him
by the will of Charles de Anjou ; and upon the death
of Charles the Bold he seized with a strong hand Bur-
t M&n. de Comines, torn. i. p. 136. — Chronique Scandaleuse, ibid.,
torn. ii. p. 71.
6 Mem. de Comines. torn. i. p. 334. — Charles VII. levied taxes to the
amount of 1,800,000 francs ; Louis XI. raised 4,700,000. The former
had in pay 9000 cavalry and 16,000 infantry. The latter augmented
the cavalry to 15,000, and the infantry to 35,000. Ibid., torn. i. p. 384.
STATE OF EUROPE.
109
gundy and Artois, which had belonged to that prince.
Thus, during the course of a single reign France was
formed into one compact kingdom, and the steady,
unrelenting policy of Louis XI. not only subdued the
haughty spirit of the feudal nobles, but established a
species of government scarcely less absolute or less
terrible than Eastern despotism.
But, fatal as his administration was to the liberties
of his subjects, the authority which he acquired, the
resources of which he became master, and his freedom
from restraint in concerting his plans as well as in
executing them, rendered his reign active and enter-
prising. Louis negotiated in all the courts of Europe ;
he observed the motions of all his neighbors ; he en-
gaged, either as principal or as an auxiliary, in every
great transaction ; his resolutions were prompt, his
operations vigorous ; and upon every emergence he
could call forth into action the whole force of his
kingdom. From the era of his reign, the kings of
France, no longer fettered and circumscribed at home
by a jealous nobility, have exerted themselves more
abroad, have formed more extensive schemes of foreign
conquests, and have carried on war with a spirit and
vigor long unknown in Europe.
The example which Louis set was too inviting not
to be imitated by other princes. Henry VII., as soon
as he was seated on the throne of England, formed the
plan of enlarging his own prerogative by breaking the
power of the nobility. The circumstances under which
he undertook to execute it were less favorable than
those which induced Charles VII. to make the same
attempt ; and the spirit with which he conducted it was
Charles. — VOL. I. 10
HO A VIEW OF THE
very different from that of Louis XI. Charles, by the
success of his arms against the English, by the merit
of having expelled them out of so many provinces,
had established himself 'so firmly in the confidence
of his people as , encouraged him to make bold en-
croachments on the ancient constitution. The daring
genius of Louis broke through every barrier, and en-
deavored to surmount or to remove every obstacle
that stood in his way. But Henry held the sceptre
by a disputed title ; a popular faction was ready every
moment to take arms against him ; and after long civil
wars, during which the nobility -had often displayed
their power in creating and deposing kings, he felt
that the regal authority had been so much relaxed, and
that he had entered into possession of a prerogative so
much abridged, as rendered it necessary to carry on
his measures deliberately and without any violent ex-
ertion. He endeavored to undermine that formidable
structure which he durst not attack by open force.
His schemes, though cautious and slow in their opera-
tion, were well concerted, and productive in the end
of great effects. By his laws permitting the barons to
break the entails of their estates and expose them to
sale ; by his regulations to prevent the nobility from
keeping in their sen-ice those numerous bands of re-
tainers, which rendered them formidable and turbu-
lent; by favoring the rising power of the commons;
by encouraging population, agriculture, and commerce;
by securing to his subjects, during a long reign, the
enjoyment of the blessings which flow from the arts
of peace ; by accustoming them to an administration
of government under which the laws were executed
STATE OF EUROPE. XIX
with steadiness and vigor, — he made imperceptibly
considerable alterations in the English constitution,
and transmitted to his successor authority so extensive
as rendered him one of the most absolute monarchs in
Europe and capable of the greatest and most vigorous
efforts.
In Spain, the union of all its crowns by the mar-
riage of Ferdinand and Isabella, the glory that they
acquired by the conquest of Granada, which brought
the odious dominion of the Moors to a period, the
command of the great armies which it had been neces-
sary to keep long on foot in order to accomplish this,
the wisdom and steadiness of their administration, and
the address with which they availed themselves of every
incident that occurred to humble the nobility and to
extend their own prerogative, conspired in raising
these monarchs to such eminence and authority as
none of their predecessors had ever enjoyed. Though
several causes, which shall be explained in another
place, prevented their attaining the same powers with
the kings of France and England, and preserved the
feudal constitution longer entire in Spain, their great
abilities supplied the defects of their prerogative, and
improved with such dexterity all the advantages which
they possessed that Ferdinand carried on his foreign
operations, which were very extensive, with extraordi-
nary vigor and effect.
While these princes were thus enlarging the bound-
aries of prerogative, and taking such steps towards
rendering their kingdoms capable of acting with union
and force, events occurred which called them forth to
exert the new powers which they had acquired. These
I12 A VIEW OF THE
engaged them in such a series of enterprises and nego-
tiations that the affairs of all the considerable nations
in Europe came to be insensibly interwoven with each
other, and a great political system was gradually
formed, which grew to be an object of universal
attention.
The first event which merits notice, on account of
its influence in producing this change in the state of
Europe, was the marriage of the daughter of Charles
the Bold, the sole heiress of the house of Burgundy.
For some years before her father's death she had been
considered as the apparent successor to his territories,
and Charles had made proposals of marrying her to
several different princes, with a view of alluring them,
by that offer, to favor the schemes which his restless
ambition was continually forming.
This rendered the alliance with her an object of
general attention ; and all the advantages of acquiring
possession of her territories, the most opulent at that
time, and the best cultivated, of any on this side of the
Alps, were perfectly understood. As soon, then, as
the untimely death of Charles opened the succession,
the eyes of all the princes in Europe were turned to-
wards Mary, and they felt themselves deeply interested
in the choice which she was about to make of the per-
son on whom she would bestow that rich inheritance.
Louis XL, from whose kingdom several of the prov-
inces which she possessed had been dismembered, and
whose dominions stretched along the frontier of her
territories, had every inducement to court her alliance.
He had, likewise, a good title to expect the favorable
reception of any reasonable proposition he should
STATE OF EUROPE. 1 13
make with respect to the disposal of a princess who
was the vassal of his crown and descended from the
royal blood of France. There were only two proposi-
tions, however, which he could make with propriety.
The one was the marriage of the dauphin, the other
that of the count of Angouleme, a prince of the blood,
with the heiress of Burgundy. By the former, he would
have annexed all her territories to his crown, and have
rendered France at once the most respectable monarchy
in Europe. But the great disparity of age between the
two parties, Mary being twenty and the dauphin only
eight years old, the avowed resolution of the Flemings
not to choose a master possessed of such power as
might enable him to form schemes dangerous to their
liberties, together with their dread of falling under
the odious and oppressive government of Louis, were
obstacles in the way of executing this plan which it
was vain to think of surmounting. By the latter, the
accomplishment of which might have been attained
with ease, Mary having discovered some inclination to
a match with the count of Angouleme,7 Louis would
have prevented the dominions of the house of Bur-
gundy from being conveyed to a rival power, and in
return for such a splendid establishment for the count
of Angouleme he must have obtained, or would have
extorted from him, concessions highly beneficial to the
crown of France. But Louis had been accustomed so
long to the intricacies of a crooked and insidious
policy that he could not be satisfied with what was
obvious and simple, and was so fond of artifice and
refinement that he came to consider these rather as an
7 Mem. de Comines, torn. i. p. 358.
10*
II4 A VIEW OF THE
ultimate object than merely as the means of conducting
affairs. From this principle, no less than from his
unwillingness to aggrandize any of his own subjects,
or from his desire of oppressing the house of Burgundy,
which he hated, he neglected the course which a prince
less able and artful would have taken, and followed
one more suited to his own genius.
He proposed to render himself, by force of arms,
master of those provinces which Mary held ot the
crown of France, and even to push his conquests into
her other territories while he amused her with insist-
ing continually on the impracticable match with the
dauphin. In prosecuting this plan he displayed won-
derful talents and industry, and exhibited such scenes
of treachery, falsehood, and cruelty as are amazing
even in the history of Louis XI. Immediately upon
the death of Charles he put his troops in motion and
advanced towards the Netherlands. He corrupted the
leading men in the provinces of Burgundy and Artois,
and seduced them to desert their sovereign. He got
admission into some of the frontier towns by bribing
the governors ; the gates of others were opened to him
in consequence of his intrigues with the inhabitants.
He negotiated with Mary ; and, in order to render her
odious to her subjects, he betrayed to them her most
important secrets. He carried on a private correspond-
ence with the two ministers whom she chiefly trusted,
and then communicated the letters which he had re-
ceived from them to the states of Flanders, who, enraged
at their perfidy, brought them immediately to trial,
tortured them with extreme cruelty, and, unmoved by
the tears and entreaties of their sovereign, who knew
STATE OF EUROPE. 115
and approved of all that the ministers had done, they
beheaded them in her presence.8
While Louis, by his conduct, unworthy of a great
monarch, was securing the possession of Burgundy,
Artois, and the towns on the Somme, the states of
Flanders carried on a negotiation with the emperor
Frederic III., and concluded a treaty of marriage
between their sovereign and his son Maximilian, arch-
duke of Austria. The illustrious birth of that prince,
as well as the high dignity of which he had the pros-
pect, rendered the alliance honorable for Mary, while,
from the distance of his hereditary territories and the
scantiness of his revenues, his power was so inconsid-
erable as did not excite the jealousy or fear of the
Flemings. [1477.]
Thus Louis, by the caprice of his temper and the
excess of his refinements, put the house of Austria in
possession of this noble inheritance. By this acquisi-
tion the foundation of the future grandeur of Charles
V. was laid, and he became master of those territories
which enabled him to carry on his most formidable and
decisive operations against France. Thus, too, the
same monarch who first united the interior force of
France, and established it on such a footing as to render
it formidable to the rest of Europe, contributed, far
contrary to his intention, to raise up a rival power,
which during two centuries has thwarted the measures,
opposed the arms, and checked the progress of his
successors.
The next event of consequence in the fifteenth cen-
tury was the expedition of Charles VIII. into Italy.
8 Mem. de Cpmines, liv. v. chap. 15, p. 309, etc.
n6 A VIEW OF THE
This occasioned revolutions no less memorable ; pro-
duced alterations, both in the military and political
system, which were more immediately perceived ; roused
the states of Europe to bolder efforts, and blended their
affairs and interests more closely together. The mild
administration of Charles, a weak but generous prince,
seems to have revived the spirit and genius of the
French nation, which the rigid despotism of Louis XL,
his father, had depressed and almost extinguished. The
ardor for military service, natural to the French nobility,
returned, and their young monarch was impatient to
distinguish his reign by some splendid enterprise.
While he was uncertain towards what quarter he should
turn his arms, the solicitations and intrigues of an
Italian politician, no less infamous on account of his
crimes than eminent for his abilities, determined his
choice. Ludovico Sforza, having formed the design
of deposing his nephew, the duke of Milan, and of
placing himself on the ducal throne, was so much afraid
of a combination of the Italian powers to oppose this
measure and to support the injured prince, with whom
most of them were connected by blood or alliance,
that he saw the necessity of securing the aid of some
able protector. The king of France was the person to
whom he applied ; and, without disclosing his own in-
tentions, he labored to prevail with him to march into
Italy at the head of a powerful army, in order to seize
the crown of Naples, to which Charles had preten-
sions as heir of the house of Anjou. The right to that
kingdom, claimed by the Angevin family, had been
conveyed to Louis XL by Charles of Anjou, count
of Maine and Provence. But that sagacious monarch,
STATE OF EUROPE. 117
though he took immediate possession of those territories
of which Charles was really master, totally disregarded
his ideal title to a kingdom over which another prince
reigned in tranquillity, and uniformly declined in-
volving himself in the labyrinth of Italian politics.
His son, more adventurous, or more inconsiderate, em-
barked eagerly in this enterprise, and, contemning all
the remonstrances of his most experienced counsellors,
prepared to carry it on with the utmost vigor. [1494.]
The power which Charles possessed was so great that
he reckoned himself equal to this arduous undertaking.
His father had transmitted to him such an ample pre-
rogative as gave him the entire command of his king-
dom. He himself had added considerably to the
extent of his dominions by his prudent marriage with
the heiress of Bretagne, which rendered him master of
that province, the last of the great fiefs that remained
to be annexed to the crown. He soon assembled forces
which he thought sufficient ; and so impatient was he
to enter on his career as a conqueror that, sacrificing
what was real for what was chimerical, he restored
Roussillon to Ferdinand and gave up part of his father's
acquisitions in Artois to Maximilian, with a view of
inducing these princes not to molest France while he
was carrying on his operations in Italy.
But so different were the efforts of the states of Eu-
rope in the fifteenth century from those which we shall
behold in the course of this history, that the army with
which Charles undertook this great enterprise did not
exceed twenty thousand men. The train of artillery,
however, the ammunition, and warlike stores of every
kind provided for its use, were so considerable as to
n8 A VIEW OF THE
bear some resemblance to the immense apparatus of
modern war.9
When the French entered Italy, they met with no-
thing able to resist them. The Italian powers, having
remained during a long period undisturbed by the
invasion of any foreign enemy, had formed a system
with respect to their affairs, both in peace and war,
peculiar to themselves. In order to adjust the interests
and balance the power of the different states into which
Italy was divided, they were engaged in perpetual and
endless negotiations with each other, which they con-
ducted with all the subtlety of a refining and deceitful
policy. Their contests in the field, when they had
recourse to arms, were decided in mock battles, by
innocent and bloodless victories. Upon the first ap-
pearance of the danger which now impended, they
had recourse to the arts which they had studied, and
employed their utmost skill in intrigue in order to
avert it. But, this proving ineffectual, their bands of
effeminate mercenaries, the only military force that
remained in the country, being fit only for the parade
of service, were terrified at the aspect of real war and
shrunk at its approach. The impetuosity of the French
valor appeared to them irresistible. Florence, Pisa, and
Rome opened their gates as the French army advanced.
The prospect of this dreadful invasion struck one king
of Naples with such panic terror that he died (if we
may believe historians") of the fright. Another abdi-
cated his throne from the same pusillanimous spirit. A
third fled out of his dominions as soon as the enemy
appeared on the Neapolitan frontiers. Charles, after
9 Miz^ray, Hist., torn. ii. p. 777.
STATE OF EUROPE.
119
marching thither from the bottom of the Alps with as
much rapidity and almost as little opposition as if he
had been on a progress through his own dominions,
took quiet possession of the throne of Naples, and
intimidated or gave law to every power in Italy.
Such was the conclusion of an expedition that must
be considered as the first great exertion of those new
powers which the princes of Europe had acquired and
now began to exercise. Its effects were no less con-
siderable than its success had been astonishing. The
Italians, unable to resist the impression of the enemy
who broke in upon them, permitted him to hold on his
course undisturbed. They quickly perceived that no
single power which they could rouse to action was an
equal match for a monarch who ruled over such exten-
sive territories and was at the head of such a martial
people, but that a confederacy might accomplish what
the separate members of it durst not attempt. To this
expedient, the only one that remained to deliver or
to preserve them from the yoke, they had recourse.
While Charles inconsiderately wasted his time at Na-
ples in festivals and triumphs on account of his past
successes, or was fondly dreaming of future conquests
in the East, to the empire of which he now aspired,
they formed against him a powerful combination of
almost all the Italian states, supported by the emperor
Maximilian, and Ferdinand, king of Aragon. The
union of so many powers, who suspended or forgot
all their particular animosities that they might act in
concert against an enemy who had become formidable
to them all, awakened Charles from his thoughtless
security. He saw now no prospect of safety but in
120 A VIEW OF THE
returning to France. An army of thirty thousand
men, assembled by the allies, was ready to obstruct his
march ; and though the French, with a daring courage
which more than countervailed their inferiority in
number, broke through that great body and gained a
victory which opened to their monarch a safe passage
into his own territories, he was stripped of all his
conquests in Italy in as short a time as it had taken to
acquire them ; and the political system in that country
resumed the same appearance as before his invasion.
The sudden and decisive effect of this confederacy
seems to have instructed the princes and statesmen of
Italy as much as the eruption of the French had dis-
concerted and alarmed them. They had extended, on
this occasion, to the affairs of Europe, the maxims of
that political science which had hitherto been applied
only to regulate the operations of the petty states in
their own country. They had discovered the method
of preventing any monarch from rising to such a degree
of power as was inconsistent with the general liberty,
and had manifested the importance of attending to that
great secret in modern policy, the preservation of a
proper distribution of power among all the members
of the system into which the states of Europe are
formed. During all the wars of which Italy from that
time was the theatre, and amidst the hostile operations
which the imprudence of Louis XII. and the ambition
of Ferdinand of Aragon carried on in that country,
with little interruption, from the close of the fifteenth
century to that period at which the subsequent history
commences, the maintaining a proper balance of power
between the contending parties became the great object
STATE OF EUROPE. I2I
of attention to the statesmen of Italy. Nor was the
idea confined to them. Self-preservation taught other
powers to adopt it. It grew to be fashionable and uni-
versal. From this era we can trace the progress of that
intercourse between nations which has linked the powers
of Europe so closely together, and can discern the oper-
ations of that provident policy which during peace
guards against remote and contingent dangers, and in
war has prevented rapid and destructive conquests.
This was not the only effect of the operations which
the great powers of Europe carried on in Italy. They
contributed to render general such a change as the
French had begun to make in the state of their troops,
and obliged all the princes who appeared on this new
theatre of action to put the military force of their
kingdoms on an establishment similar to that of France.
When the seat of war came to be remote from the
countries which maintained the contest, the service
of the feudal vassals ceased to be of any use, and the
necessity of employing soldiers regularly trained to
arms and kept in constant pay came at once to be
evident. When Charles VIII. marched into Italy, his
cavalry was entirely composed of those companies of
gendarmes embodied by Charles VII. and continued by
Louis XL ; his infantry consisted partly of Swiss, hired
of the Cantons, and partly of Gascons, armed and dis-
ciplined after the Swiss model. To these Louis XII.
added a body of Germans, well known in the wars of
Italy by the name of the black bands. But neither of
these monarchs made any account of the feudal militia,
or ever had recourse to that military force which they
might have commanded in virtue of the ancient institu-
Charles. — VOL. I.— F it
122 A VIEW OF THE
tions in their kingdom. Maximilian and Ferdinand,
as soon as they began to act in Italy, employed similar
instruments, and trusted the execution of their plans
entirely to mercenary troops.
This innovation in the military system was quickly
followed by another, which the custom of employing
Swiss in the Italian wars was the occasion of intro-
ducing. The arms and discipline of the Swiss were
different from those of other European nations. During
their long and violent struggles in defence of their
liberties against the house of Austria, whose armies,
like those of other considerable princes, consisted
chiefly of heavy-armed cavalry, the Swiss found that
their poverty, and the small number of gentlemen
residing in their country, at that time barren and ill
cultivated, put it out of their power to bring into the
field any body of horse capable of facing the enemy.
Necessity compelled them to place all their confidence
in infantry ; and, in order to render it capable of with-
standing the shock of cavalry, they gave the soldiers
breastplates and helmets as defensive armor, together
with long spears, halberds, and heavy swords as weapons
of offence. They formed them into large battalions,
ranged in deep and close array, so that they could
present on every side a formidable front to the enemy.10
The men-at-arms could make no impression on the
solid strength of such a body. It repulsed the Aus-
trians in all their attempts to conquer Switzerland. It
broke the Burgundian gendarmerie, which was scarcely
inferior to that of France, either in number or reputa-
tion ; and when first called to act in Italy, it bore down,
*° Machiavel's Art of War. b. ii. chap. ii. p. 451.
STATE OF EUROPE.
123
by its irresistible force, every enemy that attempted to
oppose it. These repeated proofs of the decisive effect
of infantry, exhibited on such conspicuous occasions,
restored that service to reputation, and gradually re-
established the opinion, which had been long exploded,
of its superior importance in the operations of war. But,
the glory which the Swiss had acquired having inspired
them with such high ideas of their own prowess and
consequence as frequently rendered them mutinous
and insolent, the princes who employed them became
weary of depending on the caprice of foreign mer-
cenaries, and began to turn their attention towards the
improvement of their national infantry.
The German powers, having . the command of men
whom nature has endowed with that steady courage
and persevering strength which form them to be sol-
diers, soon modelled their troops in such a manner that
they vied with the Swiss both in discipline and valor.
The French monarchs, though more slowly and
with greater difficulty, accustomed the impetuous spirit
of their people to subordination and discipline, and
were at such pains to render their national infantry
respectable that as early as the reign of Louis XII.
several gentlemen of high rank had so far abandoned
their ancient ideas as to condescend to enter into that
service."
The Spaniards, whose situation made it difficult to
employ any other than their national troops in the
southern parts of Italy, which was the chief scene of
their operations in that country, not only adopted the
Swiss discipline, but improved upon it, by mingling a
" Brantome, torn. x. p. 18. — Mem. de Fleuranges, p. 143.
124
A VIEW OF THE
proper number of soldiers, armed with heavy muskets,
in their battalions, and thus formed that famous body
of infantry which during a century and a half was the
admiration and terror of all Europe. The Italian states
gradually diminished the number of their cavalry, and,
in imitation of their more powerful neighbors, brought
the strength of their armies to consist in foot-soldiers.
From this period the nations of Europe have carried
on war with forces more adapted to every species of
service, more capable of acting in ever)' country, and
better fitted both for making conquests and for pre-
serving them.
As their efforts in Italy led the people of Europe to
these improvements in the art of war, they gave them
likewise the first idea of the expense with which it is
accompanied when extensive or of long continuance,
and accustomed every nation to the burden of such
impositions as are necessary for supporting it. While
the feudal policy subsisted in full vigor, while armies
were composed of military vassals called forth to attack
some neighboring power and to perform in a short
campaign the services which they owed to their sove-
reign, the expense of war was extremely moderate. A
small subsidy enabled a prince to begin and to finish
his greatest military operations. But when Italy be-
came the theatre on which the powers of Europe con-
tended for superiority, the preparations requisite for
such a distant expedition, the pay of armies kept con-
stantly on foot, their subsistence in a foreign country,
the sieges to be undertaken, and the towns to be
defended, swelled the charges of war immensely, and,
by creating demands unknown in less active times,
STATE OF EUROPE. I25
multiplied taxes in every kingdom. The progress of
ambition, however, was so rapid, and princes extended
their operations so fast, that it was impossible at first
to establish funds proportional to the increase of
expense which these occasioned. When Charles VIII.
invaded Naples, the sums requisite for carrying on that
enterprise so far exceeded those which France had
been accustomed to contribute for the support of gov-
ernment that before he reached the frontiers of Italy
his treasury was exhausted, and the domestic resources
of which his extensive prerogative gave him the com-
mand were at an end. As he durst not venture to lay
any imposition on his people, oppressed already with
the weight of unusual burdens, the only expedient that
remained was to borrow of the Genoese as much money
as might enable him to continue his march. But he
could not obtain a sufficient sum without consenting to
pay annually the exorbitant interest of forty-two livres
for every hundred that he received.12 We may observe
the same disproportion between the efforts and revenues
of other princes, his contemporaries. From this period
taxes went on increasing ; and during the reign of
Charles V. such sums were levied in every state as
would have appeared enormous at the close of the
fifteenth century, and gradually prepared the way for
the still more exorbitant exactions of modern times.
The last transaction, previous to the reign of Charles
V., that merits attention on account of its influence
upon the state of Europe, is the league of Cambray.
To humble the republic of Venice and to divide its
territories was the object of all the powers who united
12 Memoires de Comines, lib. vii. c. 5, p. 440.
II*
126 A VIEW OF THE
in this confederacy. The civil constitution of Venice,
established on a firm basis, had suffered no considerable
alteration for several centuries ; during which the senate
conducted its affairs by maxims of policy no less pru-
dent than vigorous, and adhered to these with a uni-
form, consistent spirit which gave that commonwealth
great advantage over other states, whose views and
measures changed as often as the form of their govern-
ment, or the persons who administered it. By these
unintermitted exertions of wisdom and valor the Vene-
tians enlarged the dominions of their commonwealth
until it became the most considerable power in Italy,
while their extensive commerce, the useful and curious
manufactures which they carried on, together with the
large share which they had acquired of the lucrative
commerce with the East, rendered Venice the most
opulent state in Europe.
The power of the Venetians was the object of terror
to their Italian neighbors. Their wealth was viewed
with envy by the greatest monarchs, who could not vie
with many of their private citizens in the magnificence
of their buildings, in the richness of their dress and
furniture, or in splendor and elegance of living. 13 Julius
II., whose ambition was superior, and his abilities equal,
to those of any pontiff who ever sat on the papal throne,
conceived the idea of this league against the Venetians,
and endeavored, by applying to those passions which I
have mentioned, to persuade other princes to join it.
By working upon the fears of the Italian powers, and
upon the avarice of several monarchs beyond the Alps,
he induced them, in concurrence with other causes,
*3 Hcliani Oratio, apud Goldastum, in Polit. Imperial., p. 980.
STATE OF EUROPE,
127
which it is not my province to explain, to form one of
the most powerful confederacies that Europe had ever
beheld, against those haughty republicans.
The emperor, the king of France, the king of Aragon,
and the pope, were principals in the league of Cambray,
to which almost all the princes of Italy acceded, the
least considerable of them hoping for some share in
the spoils of a state which they deemed to be now
devoted to destruction. The Venetians might have
diverted this storm, or have broken its force ; but,
with a presumptuous rashness to which there is nothing
similar in the course of their history, they waited its
approach. The impetuous valor of the French rendered
ineffectual all their precautions for the safety of the
republic ; and the fatal battle of Ghiarraddada entirely
ruined the army on which they relied for defence.
Julius seized all the towns which they held in the
ecclesiastical territories. Ferdinand re-annexed the
towns of which they had got possession on the coast
of Calabria to his Neapolitan dominions. Maximilian,
at the head of a powerful army, advanced towards
Venice on the one side. The French pushed their
conquests on the other. The Venetians, surrounded
by so many enemies, and left without one ally, sunk
from the height of presumption to the depths of de-
spair, abandoned all their territories on the continent,
and shut themselves up in their capital, as their last
refuge and the only place which they hoped to preserve.
This rapid success, however, proved fatal to the con-
federacy. The members of it, whose union continued
while they were engaged in seizing their prey, began to
feel their ancient jealousies and animosities revive as
I28 A VIEW OF THE
soon as they had a prospect of dividing it. When the
Venetians observed these symptoms of distrust and alien-
ation, a ray of hope broke in upon them : the spirit
natural to their counsels returned ; they resumed such
wisdom and firmness as made some atonement for their
former imprudence and dejection ; they recovered part
of the territory which they had lost ; they appeased the
pope and Ferdinand by well-timed concessions in their
favor ; and at length dissolved the confederacy which
had brought their commonwealth to the brink of ruin.
Julius, elated with beholding the effects of a league
which he himself had planned, and imagining that
nothing was too arduous for him to undertake, conceived
the idea of expelling every foreign power out of Italy,
and bent all the force of his mind towards executing a
scheme so well suited to his enterprising genius. He
directed his first attack against the French, who, on
many accounts, were more odious to the Italians than
any of the foreigners who had acquired dominion in
their country. By his activity and address, he pre-
vailed on most of the powers who had joined in the
league of Cambray to turn their arms against the king
of France, their former ally, and engaged Henry VIII.,
who had lately ascended the throne of England, to
favor their operations by invading France. Louis XII.
resisted all the efforts of this formidable and unexpected
confederacy with undaunted fortitude. Hostilities were
carried on, during several campaigns, in Italy, on the
frontiers of Spain, and in Picardy, with alternate suc-
cess. Exhausted, at length, by the variety as well as
extent of his operations, unable to withstand a con-
federacy which brought against him superior force,
STATE OF EUROPE.
129
conducted with wisdom and acting with perseverance,
Louis found it necessary to conclude separate treaties
of peace with his enemies ; and the war terminated
with the loss of every thing which the French had
acquired in Italy, except the castle of Milan and a few
inconsiderable towns in that duchy.
The various negotiations carried on during this busy
period, and the different combinations formed among
powers hitherto little connected with each other, greatly
increased that intercourse among the nations of Europe
which I have mentioned as one effect of the events in
the fifteenth century ; while the greatness of the objects
at which different nations aimed, the distant expedi-
tions which they undertook, as well as the length and
obstinacy of the contest in which they engaged, obliged
them to exert themselves with a vigor and perseverance
unknown in the preceding ages.
Those active scenes which the following history will
exhibit, as well as the variety and importance of those
transactions which distinguish the period to which it
extends, are not to be ascribed solely to the ambition,
to the abilities, or to the rivalship of Charles V. and
of Francis I. The kingdoms of Europe had arrived at
such a degree of improvement in the internal adminis-
tration of government, and princes had acquired such
command of the' national force which was to be exerted
in foreign wars, that they were in a condition to enlarge
the sphere of their operations, to multiply their claims
and pretensions, and to increase the vigor of their
efforts. Accordingly, the sixteenth century opened
with the certain prospect of its abounding in great
and interesting events.
F*
SECTION III.
VIEW OF THE POLITICAL CONSTITUTION OF THE PRIN-
CIPAL STATES IN EUROPE AT THE COMMENCEMENT
OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY.
Italy at the Beginning of the Sixteenth Century. — The Papal Power.
— Alexander VI. and Julius II. — Defects in Ecclesiastical Govern-
ments.— Venice : its Rise and Progress ; its Naval Power and its
Commerce.— ^Florence. — Naples and Sicily. — Contest for its Crown.
— Duchy of Milan. — Ludovico Sforza. — Spain ; conquered by the
Vandals and by the Moors ; gradually re-conquered by the Chris-
tians.— Marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella. — The Royal Preroga-
tive.— Constitution of Aragon and of Castile. — Internal Disorders.
— "The Holy Brotherhood." — France; its Constitution and Gov-
ernment.— The Power of its Early Kings. — Government becomes
purely Monarchical, though restrained by the Nobles and the
Parliaments. — The German Empire. — Power of the Nobles and of
the Clergy. — Contests between the Popes and the Emperors. —
Decline of Imperial Authority. — Total Change of Government. —
Maximilian. — The real Power and Revenues of the Emperors,
contrasted with their Pretensions. — Complication of Difficulties. —
Origin of the Turkish Empire ; its Character. — The Janizaries. —
Solyman.
HAVING thus enumerated the principal causes and
events the influence of which was felt in every part of
Europe, and contributed either to improve internal
order and police in its various states, or to enlarge the
sphere of their activity, by giving them more entire
command of the force with which foreign operations
are carried on, nothing farther seems requisite for pre-
paring my readers to enter, with full information, upon
(130)
A VIEW OF THE STATE OF EUROPE. I3i
perusing the history of Charles V., but to give a view
of the political constitution and form of civil govern-
ment in each of the nations which acted any consider-
able part during that period. For as the institutions
and events which I have endeavored to illustrate formed
the people of Europe to resemble each other, and con-
ducted them from barbarism to refinement in the same
path and by nearly equal steps, there were other cir-
cumstances which occasioned a difference in their
political establishments, and gave rise to those peculiar
modes of government which have produced such variety
in the character and genius of nations.
It is no less necessary to become acquainted with the
latter than to have contemplated the former. Without
a distinct knowledge of the peculiar form and genius of
civil government in each state, a great part of its trans-
actions must appear altogether mysterious and inexpli-
cable. The historians of particular countries, as they
seldom extended their views farther than to the amuse-
ment or instruction of their fellow-citizens, by whom
they might presume that all their domestic customs
and institutions were perfectly understood, have often
neglected to descend into such details with respect to
these as are sufficient to convey to foreigners full light
and information concerning the occurrences which they
relate. But a history which comprehends the transac-
tions of so many different countries would be extremely
imperfect without a previous survey of the constitution
and political state of each. It is from his knowledge of
these that the reader must draw those principles which
will enable him to judge with discernment and to decide
with certainty concerning the conduct of nations.
132 A VIEW OF THE
X
A minute detail, however, of the peculiar forms and
regulations in every country would lead to deductions
of immeasurable length. To sketch out the great lines
which distinguish and characterize each government is
all that the nature of my present work will admit of,
and all that is necessary to illustrate the events which
it records.
At the opening of the sixteenth century the political
aspect of Italy was extremely different from that of any
other part of Europe. Instead of those extensive mon-
archies which occupied the rest of the continent, that
delightful country was parcelled out among many small
states, each of which possessed sovereign and inde-
pendent jurisdiction. The only monarchy in Italy was
that of Naples. The dominion of the popes was of
a peculiar species, to which there is nothing similar
either in ancient or modern times. In Venice, Flor-
ence, and Genoa, a republican form of government was
established. Milan was subject to sovereigns, who had
assumed no higher title than that of dukes.
The pope was the first of these powers in dignity,
and not the least considerable by the extent of his
territories. In the primitive church, the jurisdiction
of bishops was equal and co-ordinate. They derived,
perhaps, some degree of consideration from the dignity
of the see in which they presided. They possessed,
however, no real authority or pre-eminence but what
they acquired by superior abilities or superior sanctity.
As Rome had so long been the seat of empire and the
capital of the world, its bishops were on that account
entitled to respect ; they received it ; but during several
ages they received, and even claimed, nothing more.
STATE OF EUROPE. 133
From these humble beginnings they advanced with such
adventurous and well-directed ambition that they es-
tablished a spiritual dominion over the minds and sen-
timents of men, to which all Europe submitted with
implicit obedience. Their claim of universal jurisdic-
tion, as heads of the Church, and their pretensions to
infallibility in their decisions, as successors of St. Peter,
are as chimerical as they are repugnant to the genius
of the Christian religion. But on these foundations
the superstition and credulity of mankind enabled them
to erect an amazing superstructure. In all ecclesiastical
controversies their decisions were received as the in-
fallible oracles of truth. Nor was the plenitude of
their power confined solely to what was spiritual : they
dethroned monarchs, disposed of crowns, absolved sub-
jects from the obedience due to their sovereigns, and
laid kingdoms under interdicts. There was not a state
in Europe which had not been disquieted by their am-
bition ; there was not a throne which they had not
shaken, nor a prince who did not tremble at their
power.
Nothing was wanting to render this empire absolute,
and to establish it on the ruins of all civil authority,
but that the popes should have possessed such a degree
of temporal power as was sufficient to second and
enforce their spiritual decrees. Happily for mankind,
at the time when their spiritual jurisdiction was most
extensive and most revered, their secular dominion was
extremely limited. They were powerful pontiffs, for-
midable at a distance ; but they were petty princes,
without any considerable domestic force. They had
early endeavored, indeed, to acquire territory by arts
Charles. — VOL. I. 12
'34
A VIE W OF THE
similar to those which they had employed in extending
their spiritual jurisdiction. Under pretence of a dona-
tion from Constanti ne, and of another from Charle-
magne or his father Pepin, they attempted to take pos-
session of some towns adjacent to Rome. But these
donations were fictitious and availed them little. The
benefactions for which they were indebted to the credu-
lity of the Norman adventurers who conquered Naples,
and to the superstition of the Countess Matilda, were
real, and added ample domains to the holy see.
But the power of the popes did not increase in pro-
portion to the extent of territory which they had
acquired. In the dominions annexed to the holy see,
as well as in those subject to other princes in Italy, the
sovereign of a state was far from having the command
of a force which it contained. During the turbulence
and confusion of the Middle Ages, the powerful nobility
or leaders of popular factions in Italy had seized the
government of different towns ; and, after strengthen-
ing their fortifications and taking a body of mercenaries
into pay, they aspired at independence. The territory
which the Church had gained was filled with petty lords
of this kind, who left the pope hardly the shadow of
dominion.
As these usurpations almost annihilated the papal
power in the greater part of the towns subject to the
Church, the Roman barons frequently disputed the
authority of the popes, even in Rome itself. In the
twelfth century an opinion began to be propagated,
"That as the function of ecclesiastics was purely
spiritual, they ought to possess no property, and to
claim no temporal jurisdiction, but, according to the
STATE OF EUROPE.
135
laudable example of their predecessors in the primitive
church, should subsist wholly upon their tithes, or upon
the voluntary oblations of the people." ' This doctrine
being addressed to men who had beheld the scandalous
manner in which the avarice and ambition of the clergy
had prompted them to contend for wealth and to exer-
cise power, they listened to it with fond attention.
The Roman barons, who had felt most sensibly the
rigor of ecclesiastical oppression, adopted these senti-
ments with such ardor that they set themselves instantly
to shake off the yoke. They endeavored to restore
some image of their ancient liberty, by reviving the
institution of the Roman senate, in which they vested
supreme authority ; committing the executive power
sometimes to one chief senator, sometimes to two, and
sometimes to a magistrate dignified with the name of
The Patrician. The popes exerted them with vigor, in
order to check this dangerous encroachment on their
jurisdiction. One of them, finding all his endeavors
ineffectual, was so much mortified that extreme grief
cut short his days. Another, having ventured to attack
the senators at the head of some armed men, was mor-
tally wounded in the fray.2 During a considerable
period, the power of the popes, before which the
greatest monarchs in Europe trembled, was circum-
scribed within such narrow limits in their own capital
that they durst hardly exert any act of authority with-
out the permission and concurrence of the senate.
Encroachments were made upon the papal sove-
1 Otto Frisingensis de Gestis Frider. Imp., lib. ii. cap. 10.
2 Otto Frising., Chron., lib. vii. cap. 27, 31. — Id. de Gest. Frid., lib.
i. c. 27. — Muratori, Annali d'ltalia, vol. ix. pp. 398-404.
136 A VIEW OF THE
reignty, not only by the usurpations of the Roman
nobility, but by the mutinous spirit of the people.
During seventy years of the fourteenth century the
popes fixed their residence in Avignon. The inhabit-
ants of Rome, accustomed to consider themselves as
the descendants of the people who had conquered the
world and had given laws to it, were too high-spirited
to submit with patience to the delegated authority of
those persons to whom the popes committed the gov-
ernment of the city. On many occasions they opposed
the execution of the papal mandates, and on the
slightest appearance of innovation or oppression they
were ready to take arms in defence of their own immu-
nities. Towards the middle of the fourteenth century,
being instigated by Nicholas Rienzo, a man of low
birth and a seditious spirit, but of popular eloquence
and an enterprising ambition, they drove all the nobility
out of the city, established a democratical form of gov-
ernment, elected Rienzo tribune of the people, and
invested him with extensive authority. But though the
frantic proceedings of the tribune soon overturned this
new system, though the government of Rome was
reinstated in its ancient form, yet every fresh attack
contributed to weaken the papal jurisdiction ; and the
turbulence of the people concurred with the spirit of
independence among the nobility in circumscribing it
more and more.3 Gregory VII. and other domineering
pontiffs accomplished those great things which rendered
3 Histoire Florentine de Giov. Villani. liv. xii. c. 89. 104, ap. Murat.,
Script. Rcrum It.nl., vol. xiii. — Vita di Cola di Ricnzo. ap. Mural.,
Antiq. Ital., vol. iii. p. 399, etc. — Hist, de Nic. Rienzy, par M. de
Boisprcaux. p. 91. etc.
STATE OF EUROPE. 137
them so formidable to the emperors with whom they
contended, not by the force of their arms or by the
extent of their power, but by the dread of their spiritual
censures and by the effect of their intrigues, which ex-
cited rivals and called forth enemies against every
prince whom they wished to depress or to destroy.
Many attempts were made by the popes, not only to
humble those usurpers who lorded it over the cities in
the ecclesiastical state, but to break the turbulent spirit
of the Roman people. These were long unsuccessful.
But at last Alexander VI., with a policy no less artful
than flagitious, subdued or extirpated most of the great
Roman barons, and rendered the popes masters of their
own dominions. The enterprising ambition of Julius
II. added conquests of no inconsiderable value to the
patrimony of St. Peter. Thus the popes, by degrees,
became powerful temporal princes. Their territories,
in the age of Charles V., were of greater extent than at
present ; their country seems to have been better cul-
tivated, as well as more populous ; and, as they drew
large contributions from every part of Europe, their
revenues far exceeded those of the neighboring powers,
and rendered them capable of more sudden and vigor-
ous efforts.
The genius of the papal government, however, was
better adapted to the exercise of spiritual dominion
than of temporal power. With respect to the former,
all its maxims were steady and invariable ; every new
pontiff adopted the plan of his predecessor. By educa-
tion and habit, ecclesiastics were so formed that the
character of the individual was sunk in that of the
profession, and the passions of the man were sacrificed
12*
138 A VIEW OF THE
to the interest and honor of the order. The hands
which held the reins of administration might change,
but the spirit which conducted them was always the
same. While the measures of other governments fluctu-
ated, and the objects at which they aimed varied, the
Church kept one end in view ; and to this unrelaxing
constancy of pursuit it was indebted for its success in
the boldest attempts ever made by human ambition.
But in their civil administration the popes followed
no such uniform or consistent plan. There, as in other
governments, the character, the passions, and the in-
terest of the person who had the supreme direction
of affairs occasioned a variation both in objects and
measures. As few prelates reached the summit of
ecclesiastical dignity until they were far advanced in
life, a change of masters was more frequent in the
papal dominions than in other states, and the political
system was, of course, less stable and permanent.
Every pope was eager to make the most of the short
period, during which he had the prospect of enjoying
power, in order to aggrandize his own family and to
attain his private ends ; and it was often the first busi-
ness of his successor to undo all that he had done, and
to overturn what he had established.
As ecclesiastics were trained to pacific arts, and early
initiated in the mysteries of that policy by which the
court of Rome extended or supported its spiritual
dominion, the popes, in the conduct of their temporal
affairs, were apt to follow the same maxims, and in all
their measures were more ready to employ the refine-
ments of intrigue than the force of arms. It was in
the papal court that address and subtlety in negotiation
STATE OF EUROPE. J39
became a science; and during the sixteenth century
Rome was considered as the school in which it might
be best acquired.
As the decorum of their ecclesiastical character pre-
vented the popes from placing themselves at the head
of their armies or from taking the command in person
of the military force in their dominions, they were
afraid to arm their subjects ; and in all their operations,
whether offensive or defensive, they trusted entirely to
mercenary troops.
As their power and dominions could not descend to
their posterity, the popes were less solicitous than other
princes to form or to encourage schemes of public
utility and improvement. Their tenure was only for a
short life ; present advantage was what they chiefly
studied ; to squeeze and to amass, rather than to ame-
liorate, was their object. They erected, perhaps, some
work of ostentation, to remain as a monument of their
pontificate ; they found it necessary, at some times, to
establish useful institutions, in order to soothe and
silence the turbulent populace of Rome; but plans
of general benefit of their subjects, framed with a view
to futurity, were rarely objects of attention in the papal
policy. The patrimony of St. Peter was worse gov-
erned than any part of Europe ; and though a generous
pontiff might suspend for a little, or counteract, the
effects of those vices which are peculiar to the admin-
istration of ecclesiastics, the disease not only remained
without remedy, but has gone on increasing from age
to age ; and the decline of the state has kept pace with
its progress.
One circumstance farther, concerning the papal gov-
1 40 A VIE IV OF THE
ernment, is so singular as to merit attention. As the
spiritual supremacy and temporal power were united in
one person, and uniformly aided each other in their
operations, they became so blended together that it
was difficult to separate them, even in imagination.
The potentates who found it necessary to oppose the
measures which the popes pursued as temporal princes
could not easily divest themselves of the reverence
which they imagined to be due to them as heads of
the Church and vicars of Jesus Christ. It was with
reluctance that they could be brought to a rupture
with the head of the Church ; they were unwilling to
push their operations against him to extremity; they
listened eagerly to the first overtures of accommoda-
tion, and were anxious to procure it almost upon any
terms. Their consciousness of this encouraged the
enterprising pontiffs who filled the papal throne about
the beginning of the sixteenth century to engage in
schemes seemingly the most extravagant. They trusted
that, if their temporal power was not sufficient to carry
them through with success, the respect paid to their
spiritual dignity would enable them to extricate them-
selves with facility and with honor.4 But when popes
« The manner in which Louis XII. of France undertook and carried
on war against Julius II. remarkably illustrates this observation. Louis
solemnly consulted the clergy of France whether it was lawful to take
arms against a pope who had wantonly kindled war in Europe, and
whom neither the faith of treaties, nor gratitude for favors received,
nor the decorum of his character, could restrain from the most violent
actions to which the lust of power prompts ambitious princes. Though
his clergy authorized the war, yet Anne of Bretagne, his queen, enter-
tained scruples with regard to the lawfulness of it. The king himself,
from some superstition of the same kind, carried it on faintly, and,
upon every fresh advantage, renewed his propositions of peace.
STATE OF EUROPE. I4I
came to take part more frequently in the contests
among princes, and to engage as principals or auxili-
aries in every war kindled in Europe, this veneration
for their sacred character began to abate ; and striking
instances will occur in the following history of its
being almost totally extinct.
Of all the Italian powers, the republic of Venice,
next to the papal see, was most connected with the
rest of Europe. The rise of that commonwealth during
the inroads of the Huns in the fifth century, the sin-
gular situation of its capital in the small isles of the
Adriatic gulf, and the more singular form of its civil
constitution, are generally known. If we view the
Venetian government as calculated for the order of
nobles alone, its institutions may be pronounced ex-
cellent ; the deliberative, legislative, and executive
powers are so admirably distributed and adjusted that
it must be regarded as a perfect model of political
wisdom. But if we consider it as formed for a numer-
ous body of people subject to its jurisdiction, it will
appear a rigid and partial aristocracy, which lodges
all power in the hands of a few members of the com-
munity, while it degrades and oppresses the rest.
The spirit of government in a commonwealth of this
(Mezeray, Hist, de France, fol. edit., 1685, torn. i. p. 852.) I shall
produce another proof of this reverence for the papal character, still
more striking. Guicciardini, the most sagacious, perhaps, of all
modern historians, and the boldest in painting the vices and ambition
of the popes, represents the death of Migliau, a Spanish officer who
was killed during the siege of Naples, as a punishment inflicted on
him by Heaven on account of his having opposed the setting of
Clement VII. at liberty. Guicciardini, Istoria d'ltalia, Genev., 1645,
vol. ii. lib. 18, p. 467.
1 42 A VIEW OF THE
species was, of course, timid and jealous. The Vene-
tian nobles distrusted their own subjects, and were
afraid of allowing them the use of arms. They encour-
aged among them arts of industry and commerce, they
employed them in manufactures and in navigation, but
never admitted them into the troops which the state
kept in its pay. The military force of the republic
consisted entirely of foreign mercenaries. The com-
mand of these was never trusted to noble Venetians,
lest they should acquire such influence over the army
as might endanger the public liberty, or become accus-
tomed to the exercise of such power as would make
them unwilling to return to the condition of private
citizens. A soldier of fortune was placed at the head
of the armies of the commonwealth ; and to obtain that
honor was the great object of the Italian eondottieri, or
leaders of bands, who in the fifteenth and sixteenth
centuries made a trade of war and raised and hired out
soldiers to different states. But the same suspicious
policy which induced the Venetians to employ these
adventurers prevented their placing entire confidence
in them. Two noblemen, appointed by the senate,
accompanied their army when it took the field, with
the appellation of proveditori, and, like the field depu-
ties of the Dutch republic in latter times, observed all
the motions of the general and checked and controlled
him in all his operations.
A commonwealth with such civil and military insti-
tutions was not formed to make conquests. While its
subjects were disarmed, and its nobles excluded from
military command, it carried on its warlike enterprises
with great disadvantage. This ought to have taught
STATE OF EUROPE.
'43
the Venetians to rest satisfied with making self-preser-
vation, and the enjoyment of domestic security, the
objects of their policy. But republics are apt to be
seduced by the spirit of ambition, as well as kings.
When the Venetians so far forgot the interior defects
in their government as to aim at extensive conquests,
the fatal blow which they received in the war excited
by the league of Cambray convinced them of the im-
prudence and danger of making violent efforts in
opposition to the genius and tendency of their con-
stitution.
It is not, however, by its military, but by its naval
and commercial power that the importance of the
Venetian commonwealth must be estimated. The lat-
ter constituted the real force and nerves of the state.
The jealousy of government did not extend to this de-
partment. Nothing was apprehended from this quarter
that could prove formidable to liberty. The senate
encouraged the nobles to trade, and to serve on board
the fleet. They became merchants and admirals.
They increased the wealth of their country by their
industry. They added to its dominions by the valor
with which they conducted its naval armaments.
Commerce was an inexhaustible- source of opulence
to the Venetians. All the nations in Europe depended
upon them, not only for the commodities of the East,
but for various manufactures fabricated by them alone,
or finished with a dexterity and elegance unknown in
other countries. From this extensive commerce the
state derived such immense supplies as concealed those
vices in its constitution which I have mentioned, and
enabled it to keep on foot such armies as were not only
144
A VIEW OF THE
an over-match for the force which any of its neighbors
could bring into the field, but were sufficient to con-
tend, for some time, with the powerful monarchs be-
yond the Alps. During its struggles with the princes
united against it by the league at Cambray, the re-
public levied sums which even in the present age would
be deemed considerable ; and while the king of France
paid the exorbitant interest which I have mentioned
for the money advanced to him, and the emperor,
eager to borrow, but destitute of credit, was known by
the name of Maximilian the Moneyless, the Venetians
raised whatever sums they pleased, at the moderate
premium of five in the hundred.5
The constitution of Florence was perfectly the re-
verse of the Venetian. It partook as much of demo-
cratical turbulence and licentiousness, as the other of
aristocratical rigor. Florence, however, was a com-
mercial, not a military democracy. The nature of its
institutions was favorable to commerce, and the genius
of the people was turned towards it. The vast wealth
which the family of Medici had acquired by trade,
together with the magnificence, the generosity, and
the virtue of the first Cosmo, gave him such an as-
cendant over the affections as well as the counsels
of his countrymen that though the forms of popular
government were preserved, though the various de-
partments of administration were filled by magistrates
distinguished by the ancient names and elected in the
usual manner, he was in reality the head of the com-
monwealth, and in the station of a private citizen he
5 Hist, dc la Ligue faitc \ Cambray. par M. 1'Abb* du Bos, liv. v.—
Sandi, Storia civile Veneziana, liv. viii. c. 16, p. 891, etc.
STATE OF EUROPE. • 145
possessed supreme authority. Cosmo transmitted a
considerable degree of this power to his descendants ;
and during a greater part of the fifteenth century the
political state of Florence was extremely singular. The
appearance of republican government subsisted, the
people were passionately attached to it, and on some
occasions contended warmly for their privileges ; and
yet they permitted a single family to assume the direc-
tion of their affairs, almost as absolutely as if it had
been formally invested with sovereign power. The
jealousy of the Medici concurred with the commercial
spirit of the Florentines in putting the military force
of the republic upon the same footing with that of the
other Italian states. The troops which the Florentines
employed in their wars consisted almost entirely of
mercenary soldiers, furnished by the condottieri, or
leaders of bands, whom they took into their pay.
In the kingdom of Naples, to which the sovereignty
of the island of Sicily was annexed, the feudal govern-
ment was established in the same form and with the
same defects as in the other nations of Europe. The
frequent and violent revolutions which happened in
that monarchy had considerably increased these defects,
and rendered them more intolerable. The succession
to the crown of Naples had been so often interrupted
or altered, and so many princes of foreign blood had at
different periods obtained possession of the throne, that
the Neapolitan nobility had lost in a great measure that
attachment to the family of their sovereigns, as well as
that reverence for their persons, which in other feudal
kingdoms contributed to set some bounds to the en-
croachments of the barons upon the royal prerogative
Charles.— VOL. I. — G 13
146 A VIEW OF THE
and power. At the same time, the different pretenders
to the crown being obliged to court the barons who
adhered to them and on whose support they depended
for the success of their claims, they augmented their
privileges by liberal concessions and connived at their
boldest usurpations. Even when seated on the throne,
it was dangerous for a prince who held his sceptre by
a disputed title to venture on any step towards ex-
tending his own power or circumscribing that of the
nobles.
From all these causes, the kingdom of Naples was
the most turbulent of any in Europe, and the authority
of its monarchs the least extensive. Though Ferdinand
I., who began his reign in the year 1468, attempted to
break the power of the aristocracy, though his son
Alphonso, that he might crush it at once by cutting off
the leaders of greatest reputation and influence among
the Neapolitan barons, ventured to commit one of the
most perfidious and cruel actions recorded in history,
the order of nobles was nevertheless more exasperated
than humbled by their measures.6 The resentment
which these outrages excited was so violent, and the
power of the malecontent nobles was still so formida-
ble, that to these may be ascribed, in a great degree,
the ease and rapidity with which Charles VIII. con-
quered the kingdom of Naples.7
The event that gave rise to the violent contests con-
cerning the succession to the crown of Naples and
Sicily, which brought so many calamities upon these
kingdoms, happened in the thirteenth century. Upon
6 Giannone, book xxviii. chap, a, vol. ii. p. 410, etc.
i Id., ibid., p. 414.
STATE OF EUROPE.
'47
the death of the emperor Frederic II., Manfred, his
natural son, aspiring to the Neapolitan throne, murdered
his brother, the emperor Conrad (if we may believe
contemporary historians), and by that crime obtained
possession of it.8 The popes, from their implacable
enmity to the house of Swabia, not only refused to
recognize Manfred's title, but endeavored to excite
against him some rival capable of wresting the sceptre
out of his hand. Charles, count of Anjou, the brother
of St. Louis, king of France, undertook this; and he
received from the popes the investiture of the kingdom
of Naples and Sicily as a fief held of the holy see.
The count of Anjou' s efforts were crowned with suc-
cess ; Manfred fell in battle ; and he took possession
of the vacant throne. But soon after, Charles sullied
the glory which he had acquired by the injustice and
cruelty with which he put to death, by the hands of
the executioner, Conradin, the last prince of the house
of Swabia, and the rightful heir of the Neapolitan
crown. That gallant young prince asserted his title,
to the last, with a courage worthy of a better fate. On
the scaffold, he declared Peter, at that time prince, and
soon after king, of Aragon, who had married Manfred's
only daughter, his heir ; and, throwing his glove among
the people, he entreated that it might be carried to
Peter, as the symbol by which he conveyed all his
rights to him.9 The desire of avenging the insult
offered to royalty by the death of Conradin concurred
with his own ambition in prompting Peter to take arms
in support of the title which he had acquired. From
8 Struv., Corp. Hist. Germ., i. 481. — Giannone, book xviii. ch. 5.
9 Giannone, book xix. ch. 4, g 2.
,48 A VIEW OF THE
that period during almost two centuries the houses of
Aragon and Anjou contended for the crown of Naples.
Amidst a succession of revolutions more rapid, as well
as of crimes more atrocious, than what occur in the
history of almost any other kingdom, monarchs some-
times of the Aragonese line and sometimes of the An-
gevin were seated on the throne. At length the princes
of the house of Aragon obtained such firm possession
of this long-disputed inheritance that they transmitted
it quietly to a bastard branch of their family.10 [1434.]
The race of the Angevin kings, however, was not
extinct, nor had they relinquished their title to the
Neapolitan crown. The count of Maine and Provence,
the heir of this family, conveyed all his rights and pre-
tensions to Louis XI. and to his successors. Charles
VIII., as I have already related, crossed the Alps at the
head of a powerful army in order to prosecute his claim
with a degree of vigor far superior to that which the
princes from whom he derived it had been capable of
exerting. The rapid progress of his arms in Italy, as
well as the short time during which he enjoyed the
fruits of his success, have already been mentioned, and
are well known. Frederic, the heir of the illegitimate
branch of the Aragonese family, soon recovered the
throne of which Charles had dispossessed him. Ixmis
XII. and Ferdinand of Aragon united against this
prince, whom both, though for different reasons, con-
sidered as a usurper and agreed to divide his dominions
between them. Frederic, unable to resist the com-
bined monarchs, each of whom was far his superior in
power, resigned his sceptre. Louis and Ferdinand,
*° Giannonc, book xxvi. ch. a.
STATE OF EUROPE, 149
though they had concurred in making the conquest,
differed about the division of it, and from allies became
enemies. But Gonsalvo de Cordova, partly by the ex-
ertion of such military talents as gave him a just title
to the appellation of the great captain, which the Span-
ish historians have bestowed upon him, and partly by
such shameless and frequent violations of the most
solemn engagements as leave an indelible stain on his
memory, stripped the French of all that they possessed
in the Neapolitan dominions, and secured the peace-
able possession of them to his master. These, together
with his other kingdoms, Ferdinand transmitted to his
grandson, Charles V., whose right to possess them, if
not altogether uncontrovertible, seems at least to be as
well founded as that which the kings of France set up
in opposition to it."
There is nothing in the political constitution or
interior government of the duchy of Milan so re-
markable as to require a particular explanation. But
as the right of succession to that fertile province was
the cause or the pretext of almost all the wars car-
ried on in Italy during the reign of Charles V., it is
necessary to trace these disputes to their source, and
to inquire into the pretensions of the various com-
petitors.
During the long and fierce contests excited in Italy
by the violence of the Guelf and Ghibelline factions,
the family of Visconti rose to great eminence among
their fellow-citizens of Milan. As the Visconti had
adhered uniformly to the Ghibelline or imperial in-
11 Droits des Rois de France au Royaume de Sicile. — Memoires de
Comines, edit, de Fresnoy, torn. iv. part ii. p. 5.
13*
'5°
A VIEW OF THE
terest, they, by way of recompense, received from one
emperor the dignity of perpetual vicars of the empire
in Italy ;" they were created, by another, dukes of
Milan ; and, together with that title, the possession of
the city and its territories was bestowed upon them
as an hereditary fief.11 John, king of France, among
other expedients for raising money which the calami-
ties of his reign obliged him to employ, condescended
to give one of his daughters in marriage to John
Galeazzo Visconti, the first duke of Milan, from whom
he had received considerable sums. Valentine Vis-
conti, one of the children of this marriage, married
her cousin, Louis, duke of Orleans, the only brother of
Charles VI. In their marriage-contract, which the
pope confirmed, it was stipulated that upon failure of
heirs male in the family of Visconti the duchy of Milan
should descend to the posterity of Valentine and the
duke of Orleans. That event took place. In the year
1447, Philip Maria, the last prince of the ducal family
of Visconti, died. Various competitors claimed the
succession. Charles, duke of Orleans, pleaded his
right to it founded on the marriage-contract of his
mother, Valentine Visconti. Alfonso, king of Naples,
claimed it in consequence of a will made by Philip
Maria in his favor. The emperor contended that upon
the extinction of male issue in the family of Visconti
the fief returned to the superior lord and ought to be
re-annexed to the empire. The people of Milan,
smitten with the love of liberty which in that age pre-
vailed among the Italian states, declared against the
" Petrarch.. Epist., ap. Struv., Corp.. i. 625.
«3 Leibnit., Cod. Jur. Gent. Diplom., vol. i. p. 257.
STATE OF EUROPE. !SI
dominion of any master, and established a republican
form of government.
But during the struggle among so many competitors,
the prize for which they contended was seized by one
from whom none of them apprehended any danger.
Francis Sforza, the natural son of Jacomuzzo Sforza,
whom his courage and abilities had elevated from the
rank of a peasant to be one of the most eminent and
powerful of the Italian condottieri, having succeeded
his father in the command of the adventurers who fol-
lowed his standard, had married a natural daughter of
the last duke of Milan. Upon this shadow of a title
Francis founded his pretensions to the duchy, which
he supported with such talents and valor as placed him
at last on the ducal throne. The virtues, as well as
abilities, with which he governed, inducing his subjects
to forget the defects in his title, he transmitted his do-
minions quietly to his son ; from whom they descended
to his grandson. He was murdered by his grand-uncle
Ludovico, surnamed the Moor, who took possession of
the duchy ; and his right to it was confirmed by the
investiture of the emperor Maximilian, in the year
I494-'4
Louis XL, who took pleasure in depressing the
princes of the blood, and who admired the political
abilities of Francis Sforza, would not permit the duke
of Orleans to take any step in prosecution of his right
to the duchy of Milan. Ludovico the Moor kept up
such a close connection with Charles VIII. that during
the greater part of his reign the claim of the family of
** Ripalm., Hist. Mediol., lib. vi. p. 654, ap. Struv., Corp., 1.930.—
Du Mont, Corps. Diplom., torn. iii. p. ii. 333, ibid.
'5*
A VIEIV OF THE
Orleans continued to lie dormant. But when the crown
of France devolved on Louis XII., duke of Orleans,
he instantly asserted the rights o'f his family with the
ardor which it was natural to expect, and marched at
the head of a powerful army to support them. Ludo-
vico Sforza, incapable of contending with such a rival,
was stripped of all his dominions in the space of a few
days. The king, clad in the ducal robes, entered
Milan in triumph; and soon after, Ludovico, having
been betrayed by the Swiss in his pay, was sent a
prisoner into France, and shut up in the castle of
Loches, where he lay unpitied during the remainder
of his days. In consequence of one of the singular
revolutions which occur so frequently in the history of
the Milanese, his son, Maximilian Sforza, was placed
on the ducal throne, of which he kept possession dur-
ing the reign of Louis XII. But his successor, Francis
I., was too high-spirited and enterprising tamely to
relinquish his title. As soon as he was seated upon the
throne, he prepared to invade the Milanese; and his
right of succession to it appears, from this detail, to
have been more natural and more just than that of any
other competitor. [1512.]
It is unnecessary to enter into any detail with re-
spect to the form of government in Genoa, Parma,
Modena, and the other inferior states of Italy. Their
names, indeed, will often occur in the following his-
tory. But the power of these states themselves was so
inconsiderable that their fate depended little upon
their own efforts ; and the frequent revolutions which
they underwent were brought about rather by the
operations of the princes who attacked or defended
STATE OF EUROPE.
153
them than by any thing peculiar in their internal
constitution.
Of the great kingdoms on this side of the Alps,
Spain is one of the most considerable ; and, as it was
the hereditary domain of Charles V., as well as the
chief source of his power and wealth, a distinct knowl-
edge of its political constitution is of capital impor-
tance towards understanding the transactions of his
reign.
The Vandals and Goths, who overturned the Roman
power in Spain, established a form of government in
that country, and introduced customs and laws, per-
fectly similar to those which were established in the
rest of Europe by the other victorious tribes which
acquired settlements there. For some time, society
advanced, among the new inhabitants of Spain, by the
same steps, and seemed to hold the same course, as in
other European nations. To this progress a sudden
stop was put by the invasion of the Saracens or Moors
from Africa. The Goths could not withstand the
efforts of their enthusiastic valor, which subdued the
greatest part of Spain with the same impetuous rapidity
that distinguishes all the operations of their arms. The
conquerors introduced into the country in which they
settled the Mahometan religion, the Arabic language,
the manners of the East, together with that taste for
the arts and that love of elegance and splendor which
the Caliphs had begun to cultivate among their sub-
jects. [712.]
Such Gothic nobles as disdained to submit to the
Moorish yoke fled for refuge to the inaccessible moun-
tains of Asturias. There they comforted themselves
IS4 * VIEW OF THE
with enjoying the exercise of the Christian religion
and with maintaining the authority of their ancient
laws. Being joined by many of the boldest and most
warlike among their countrymen, they sallied out upon
the adjacent settlements of the Moors in small parties ;
but, venturing only upon short excursions at first, they
were satisfied with plunder and revenge, without think-
ing of conquest. By degrees their strength increased,
their views enlarged, a regular government was estab-
lished among them, and they began to aim at extend-
ing their territories. While they pushed on their
attacks with the unremitting ardor excited by zeal for
religion, by the desire of vengeance, and by the hope
of rescuing their country from oppression, while they
conducted their operations with the courage natural to
men who had no other occupation but war, and who
were strangers to all the arts which corrupt or enfeeble
the mind, the Moors gradually lost many of the advan-
tages to which they had been indebted for their first
success. They threw off all dependence on the Ca-
liphs ; IS they neglected to preserve a close connection
with their countrymen in Africa ; their empire in Spain
was split into many small kingdoms ; the arts which
they cultivated, together with the luxury to which these
gave rise, relaxed in some measure the force of their
military institutions and abated the vigor of their war-
like spirit. The Moors, however, continued still to be
a gallant people, and possessed great resources. Ac-
cording to the magnificent style of the Spanish his-
torians, eight centuries of almost uninterrupted war
elapsed, and three thousand seven hundred battles
*s Jos. Sim. Asscmanni, Histor. Ital. Scriptores, vol. iii. p. 135.
STATE OF EUROPE. 155
were fought, before the last of the Moorish kingdoms
in Spain submitted to the Christian arms. [1492.]
As the Christians made their conquests upon the
Mahometans at various periods and under different
leaders, each formed the territory which he had wrested
from the common enemy into an independent state.
Spain was divided into almost as many separate king-
doms as it contained provinces ; in each city of note a
petty monarch established his throne and assumed ail
the ensigns of royalty. In a series of years, however,
by the usual events of intermarriages, or succession, or
conquest, all these inferior principalities were annexed
to the more powerful kingdoms of Castile and of
Aragon. At length, by the fortunate marriage of
Ferdinand and Isabella, the former the hereditary
monarch of Aragon, and the latter raised to the throne
of Castile by the affection of her subjects, all the
Spanish crowns were united, and descended in the
same line. [1481.]
From this period the political constitution of Spain
began to assume a regular and uniform appearance;
the genius of its government may be delineated, and
the progress of its laws and manners may be traced,
with certainty. Notwithstanding the singular revolu-
tion which the invasion of the Moors occasioned in
Spain, and the peculiarity of its fate in being so long
subject to the Mahometan yoke, the customs introduced
by the Vandals and Goths had taken such deep root,
and were so thoroughly incorporated with the frame
of its government, that in every province which the
Christians recovered from the Moors we find the con-
dition of individuals, as well as the political constitu-
I56 A VIEW OF THE
tion, nearly the same as in other nations of Europe.
Lands were held by the same tenure ; justice was
dispensed in the same form ; the same privileges were
claimed by the nobility, and the same power exercised
by the cortes, or general assembly of the kingdom.
Several circumstances contributed to secure this perma-
nence of the feudal institutions in Spain, notwith-
standing the conquests of the Moors, 'which seemed
to have overturned them. Such of the Spaniards as
preserved their independence adhered to their ancient
customs, not only from attachment to them, but out
of antipathy to the Moors, to whose ideas concerning
property and government these customs were totally
repugnant. Even among the Christians who submitted
to the Moorish conquerors and consented to become
their subjects, ancient customs were not entirely abol-
ished. They were permitted to retain their religion,
their laws concerning private property, their forms of
administering justice, and their mode of levying taxes.
The followers of Mahomet are the only enthusiasts who
have united the spirit of toleration with zeal for making
proselytes, and who, at the same time that they took
arms to propagate the doctrine of their prophet, per-
mitted such as would not embrace it to adhere to their
own tenets and to practise their own rites. To this
peculiarity in the genius of the Mahometan religion, as
well as to the desire which the Moors had of reconciling
the Christians to their yoke, it was owing that the ancient
manners and laws in Spain survived the violent shock
of a conquest, and were permitted to subsist notwith-
standing the introduction of a new religion and a new
form of government into that country. It is obvious
STATE OF EUROPE. 157
from all these particulars that the Christians must have
found it extremely easy to re-establish mariners and
government on their ancient foundations in those prov-
inces of Spain which they wrested successively from
the Moors. A considerable part of the people retained
such a fondness for the customs and such a reverence
for the laws of their ancestors that, wishing to see them
completely restored, they were not only willing but
eager to resume the former and to recognize the
authority of the latter.
But though the feudal form of government, with all
the institutions which characterize it, was thus preserved
in Castile and Aragon, as well as in all the kingdoms
which depended on these crowns, there were certain
peculiarities in their political constitutions which dis-
tinguish them from those of any other country in
Europe. The royal prerogative, extremely limited in
every feudal kingdom, was circumscribed in Spain
within such narrow bounds as reduced the power of
the sovereign almost to nothing. The privileges of the
nobility were great in proportion, and extended so far
as to border on absolute independence. The immuni-
ties of the cities were likewise greater than in other
feudal kingdoms ; they possessed considerable influence
in the cortes, and they aspired at obtaining more. Such
a state of society, in which the political machine was so
ill adjusted and the several members of the legislature
so improperly balanced, produced internal disorders in
the kingdoms of Spain, which rose beyond the pitch
of turbulence and anarchy usual under the feudal gov-
ernment. The whole tenor of the Spanish history
confirms the truth of this observation ; and when the
Charles. — VOL. I. 14
l$S A VIEW OF THE
mutinous spirit to which the genius of their policy gave
birth and vigor was no longer restrained and overawed
by the immediate dread of the Moorish arms, it broke
out into more frequent insurrections against the govern-
ment of their princes, as well as more outrageous insults
on their dignity, than occur in the annals of any other
country. These were accompanied at some times with
more liberal sentiments concerning the rights of the
people, at other times with more elevated notions
concerning the privileges of the nobles, than were
common in other nations.
In the principality of Catalonia, which was annexed
to the kingdom of Aragon, the impatience of the people
to obtain a redress of their grievances having prompted
them to take arms against their sovereign, John II.,
they, by a solemn deed, recalled the oath of allegiance
which they had sworn to him, declared him and his
posterity to be unworthy of the throne,'6 and endeav-
ored to establish a republican form of government, in
order to secure the perpetual enjoyment of that liberty
after which they aspired.17 Nearly about the same
period, the indignation of the Castilian nobility against
the weak and flagitious administration of Henry IV.
having led them to combine against him, they arro-
gated, as one of the privileges belonging to their order,
the right of trying and of passing sentence on their
sovereign. That the exercise of this power might be
as public and solemn as the pretension to it was bold,
16 Zurita, Anales de Arag., torn. iv. pp. 113, 115, etc.
*T Ferrera, Hist. d'Espagne. torn. vii. p. 92. — P. Orleans, Revol.
d'Espagne. torn. iii. p. 155. — L. Marinaeus Siculus, De Reb. Hispan.,
apud Schotti Script. Hispan., fol. 429.
STATE OF EUROPE. 159
they summoned all the nobility of their party to meet
at Avila; a spacious theatre was erected in a plain
without the walls of the town ; an image representing
the king was seated on a throne, clad in royal robes,
with a crown on its head, a sceptre in its hand, and
the sword of justice by its side. The accusation against
the king was read, and the sentence of deposition was
pronounced, in presence of a numerous assembly. At
the close of the first article of the charge, the arch-
bishop of Toledo advanced and tore the crown from
the head of the image ; at the close of the second, the
Conde de Placentia snatched the sword of justice from
its side ; at the close of the third, the Conde de
Benevente wrested the sceptre from its hand; at the
close of the last, Don Diego Lopes de Stuniga tumbled
it headlong from the throne. At the same instant,
Don Alfonzo, Henry's brother, was proclaimed king
of Castile and Leon in his stead.18
The most daring leaders of faction would not have
ventured on these measures, nor have conducted them
with such public ceremony, if the sentiments of the
people concerning the royal dignity had not been so
formed by the laws and policy to which they were
accustomed, both in Castile and Catalonia, as prepared
them to approve of such extraordinary proceedings, or
to acquiesce in them.
In Aragon the form of government was monarchical,
but the genius and maxims of it were purely republican.
The kings, who were long elective, retained only the
shadow of power ; the real exercise of it was in the
cortes, or parliament of the kingdom. This supreme
*8 Marian., Hist., lib. xxxiii. c. 9. [1465.]
!6o A VIEW OF THE
assembly was composed of four different arms or mem-
bers : the nobility of the first rank ; the equestrian order,
or nobility of the second class ; the representatives of
the cities and towns, whose right to a place in the
cortes, if we may give credit to the historians of
Aragon, was coeval with the constitution ; the eccle-
siastical order, composed of the dignitaries of the
church, together with the representatives of the inferior
clergy." No law could pass in this assembly without
the assent of every single member who had a right to
vote." Without the permission of the cortes no tax
could be imposed, no war could be declared, no peace
could be concluded, no money could be coined, nor
could any alteration be made in the current specie."
The power of reviewing the proceedings of all inferior
courts, the privilege of inspecting every department of
administration, and the right of redressing all griev-
ances, belonged to the cortes. Nor did those who
conceived themselves to be aggrieved address the cortes
in the humble tone of supplicants and petition for
redress : they demanded it as the birthright of freemen,
and required the guardians of their liberty to decide
with respect to the points which they laid before them."
This sovereign court was held during several centuries
every year ; but, in consequence of a regulation intro-
duced about the beginning of the fourteenth century,
it was convoked from that period only once in two
*» Forma de cclebrar Cortes en Aragon. por Geron. Martel.
90 Martel, ibid., p. a.
" Hicr. Rlanca, Comment. Rer. Aragon.. ap. Schot. Script. Hispan.,
vol. iii. p. 750.
" Martel, Forma de cclebrar, p. a.
STATE OF EUROPE. 161
years. After it was assembled, the king had no right
to prorogue or dissolve it without its own consent ; and
the session continued forty days.23
Not satisfied with having erected such formidable
barriers against the encroachments of the royal pre-
rogative, nor willing to commit the sole guardianship
of their liberties entirely to the vigilance and authority
of an assembly similar to the diets, states-general, and
parliaments in which the other feudal nations have
placed so much confidence, the Aragonese had recourse
to an institution peculiar to themselves, and elected a
justiza, or supreme judge. This magistrate, whose
office bore some resemblance to that of the ephori in
ancient Sparta, acted as the protector of the people
and the controller of the prince. The person of the
justiza was sacred, his power and jurisdiction almost
unbounded. He was the supreme interpreter of the
laws. Not only inferior judges, but the kings them-
selves, were bound to consult him in every doubtful
case and to receive his responses with implicit defer-
ence.24 An appeal lay to him from the royal judges, as
well as from those appointed by the barons within their
respective territories. Even when no appeal was made
to him, he could interpose by his own authority, pro-
hibit the ordinary judge to proceed, take immediate
cognizance of the cause himself, and remove the party
accused to the manifestation, or prison of the state, to
which no person had access but by his permission.
*3 Hier. Blanca, Comment., p. 763.
** Blanca has preserved two responses of the justiza to James II.,
who reigned towards the close of the thirteenth century. Blanca,
p. 748.
14*
*62 A VIE IV OF THE
His power was exerted with no less vigor and effect in
superintending the administration of government than
in regulating the course of justice. It was the preroga-
tive of the justiza to inspect the conduct of the king.
He had a title to review all the royal proclamations and
patents, and to declare whether or not they were agree-
able to law and ought to be carried into execution.
He, by his sole authority, could exclude any of the
king's ministers from the conduct of affairs and call
them to answer for their maladministration. He him-
self was accountable to the cortes only for the manner
in which he discharged the duties of this high office
and performed functions of the greatest importance
that could be committed to a subject.75
It is evident, from a bare enumeration of the privi-
leges of the Aragonese cortes, as well as of the rights
belonging to the justiza, that a very small portion of
power remained in the hands of the king. The Ara-
gonese seem to have been solicitous that their monarchs
should know and feel this state of impotence to which
they were reduced. Even in swearing allegiance to
their sovereign, an act which ought naturally to be
accompanied with professions of submission and re-
spect, they devised an oath in such a form as to remind
him of his dependence on his subjects. "We," said
the justiza to the king in the name of his high-spirited
barons, " who are each of us as good, and who are
altogether more powerful than you, promise obedience
to your government if you maintain our rights and
liberties; but if not, not." Conformably to this oath
they established it as a fundamental article in their
*s Note XXXI.— Hier. Blanca, Comment., pp. 747. 755.
STATE OF EUROPE. 163
constitution that if the king should violate their rights
and privileges it was lawful for the people to disclaim
him as their sovereign, and to elect another, even
though a heathen, in his place.36 The attachment of
the Aragonese to this singular constitution of govern-
ment was extreme, and their respect for it approached
to superstitious veneration.*7 In the preamble to one
of their laws they declare that such was the barrenness
of their country, and the poverty of the inhabitants,
that, if it were not on account of the liberties by which
they were distinguished from other nations, the people
would abandon it and go in quest of a settlement to
some more fruitful region.*8
In Castile there were not such peculiarities in the
form of government as to establish any remarkable
distinction between it and that of the other European
nations. The executive part of government was com-
mitted to the king, but with a prerogative extremely
limited. The legislative authority resided in the cortes,
which was composed of the nobility, the dignified ec-
clesiastics, and the representatives of the cities. The
assembly of the cortes in Castile was very ancient, and
seems to have been almost coeval with the constitution.
The members of the three different orders, who had a
right of suffrage, met in one place and deliberated as
one collective body, the decisions of which were regu-
lated by the sentiments of the majority. The right of
imposing taxes, of enacting laws, and of redressing
grievances belonged to this assembly ; and, in order
to secure the assent of the king to such statutes and
* Hier. Blanca, Comment., p. 720. *7 Note XXXII.
28 Hier. Blanca, Comment., p. 751.
X64 * VIE IV OF THE
regulations as were deemed salutary or beneficial to
the kingdom, it was usual in the cortes to take no step
towards granting money until all business relative to
the public welfare was concluded. The representatives
of cities seem to have obtained a seat very early in the
cortes of Castile, and soon acquired such influence and
credit as were very uncommon at a period when the
splendor and pre-eminence of the nobility had eclipsed
or depressed all other orders of men. The number of
members from cities bore such a proportion to that of
the whole collective body as rendered them extremely
respectable in the cortes. *» The degree of considera-
tion which they possessed in the state may be estimated
by one event. Upon the death of John I. a council
of regency was appointed to govern the kingdom during
the minority of his son. It was composed of an equal
number of noblemen and of deputies chosen by the
cities ; the latter were admitted to the same rank and
invested with the same powers as prelates and grandees
of the first order.30 But though the members of com-
munities in Castile were elevated above the condition
wherein they were placed in other kingdoms of Europe,
though they had attained to such political importance
that even the proud and jealous spirit of the feudal
aristocracy could not exclude them from a considerable
share in government, yet the nobles, notwithstanding
these acquisitions of the commons, continued to assert
the privileges of their order, in opposition to the crown,
in a tone extremely high. There was not any body of
nobility in Europe more distinguished for independence
of spirit, haughtiness of deportment, and bold preten-
•9 Note XXXIII. 3» Marian., Hist., lib. xviii. c. 15.
STATE OF EUROPE. ^5
sions than that of Castile. The history of that mon-
archy affords the most striking examples of the vigilance
with which they observed, and of the vigor with which
they opposed, every measure of their kings that tended
to encroach on their jurisdiction, to diminish their
dignity, or to abridge their power. Even in their or-
dinary intercourse with their monarchs they preserved
such a consciousness of their rank that the nobles of
the first order claimed it as a privilege to be covered
in the royal presence, and approached their sovereigns
rather as equals than as subjects.
The constitutions of the subordinate monarchies
which depended on the crowns of Castile and Aragon
nearly resembled those of the kingdoms to which they
were annexed. In all of them, the dignity and inde-
pendence of the nobles were great, the immunities and
power of the cities were considerable.
An attentive observation of the singular situation of
Spain, as well as the various events which occurred
there from the invasion of the Moors to the union of
its kingdom under Ferdinand and Isabella, will dis-
cover the causes to which all the peculiarities in its
political constitution I have pointed out ought to be
ascribed.
As the provinces of Spain were wrested from the
Mahometans gradually and with difficulty, the nobles
who followed the standard of any eminent leader in
these wars conquered not for him alone, but for them-
selves. They claimed a share in the lands which their
valor had won from the enemy, and their prosperity
and power increased in proportion as the territory of
the prince extended.
1 66 A VIEW OF THE
During their perpetual wars with the Moors, the mon-
archs of the several kingdoms in Spain depended so
much on their nobles that it became necessary to con-
ciliate their good will by successive grants of new honors
and privileges. By the time that any prince could
establish his dominion in a conquered province, the
greater part of the territory was parcelled out by him
among his barons, with such jurisdiction and immuni-
ties as raised them almost to sovereign power.
At the same time, the kingdoms erected in so many
different corners of Spain were of inconsiderable ex-
tent. The petty monarch was but little elevated above
his nobles. They, feeling themselves to be almost his
equals, acted as such, and could not look up to the
kings of such limited domains with the same reverence
that the sovereigns of the great monarchies in Europe
were viewed by their subjects.31
While these circumstances concurred in exalting the
nobility and in depressing the royal authority, there
were other causes which raised the cities in Spain to
consideration and power.
As the open country, during the wars with the Moors,
was perpetually exposed to the excursions of the enemy,
with whom no peace or truce was so permanent as to
prove any lasting security, self-preservation obliged
persons of all ranks to fix their residence in places of
strength. The castles of the barons, which in other
countries afforded a commodious retreat from the
depredations of banditti or from the transient violence
of any interior commotion, were unable to resist an
enemy whose operations were conducted with regular
J« Note XXXIV.
STATE OF EUROPE. 167
and persevering vigor. Cities, in which great numbers
united for their mutual defence, were the only places in
which people could reside with any prospect of safety.
To this was owing the rapid growth of those cities in
Spain of which the Christians recovered possession.
All who fled from the Moorish yoke resorted to them,
as to an asylum ; and in them the greater part of those
who took the field against the Mahometans established
their families.
Several of these cities, during a longer or shorter
course of years, were the capitals of little states, and
enjoyed all the advantages which accelerate the in-
crease of inhabitants in every place that is the seat of
government.
From these concurring causes, the number of cities
in Spain at the beginning of the fifteenth century had
become considerable, and they were peopled far beyond
the proportion which was common in other parts of
Europe, except in Italy and the Low Countries. The
Moors had introduced manufactures into those cities
while under their dominion. The Christians, who, by
intermixture with them, had learned their arts, con-
tinued to cultivate these. Trade, in several of the
Spanish towns, appears to have been carried on with
vigor ; and the spirit of commerce continued to pre-
serve the number of their inhabitants, as the sense of
danger had first induced them to crowd together.
As the Spanish cities were populous, many of the
inhabitants were of a rank superior to those who resided
in towns in other countries of Europe. That cause
which contributed chiefly to their population affected
equally persons of every condition, who flocked thither
!68 A VIEW OF THE
promiscuously, in order to find shelter there, or in
hopes of making a stand against the enemy with greater
advantage than in any other station. The persons
elected as their representatives in the cortes by the
cities, or promoted to offices of trust and dignity in
the government of the community, were often, as will
appear from transactions which I shall hereafter relate,
of such considerable rank in the kingdom as reflected
lustre on their constituents and on the stations wherein
they were placed.
As it was impossible to carry on a continual war
against the Moors without some other military force
than that which the barons were obliged to bring into
the field in consequence of the feudal tenures, it be-
came necessary to have some troops, particularly a
body of light cavalry, in constant pay. It was one
of the privileges of the nobles that their lands were
exempt from the burden of taxes. The charge of sup-
porting the troops requisite for the public safety fell
wholly upon the cities ; and their kings, being obliged
frequently to apply to them for aid, found it necessary
to gain their favor by concessions, which not only
extended their immunities, but added to their wealth
and power.
When the influence of all these circumstances, pecu-
liar to Spain, is added to the general and common
causes which contributed to aggrandize cities in other
countries of Europe, this will fully account for the
extensive privileges which they acquired, as well as for
the extraordinary consideration to which they attained,
in all the Spanish kingdoms.33
» Note XXXV.
STATE OF EUROPE. 169
By these exorbitant privileges of the nobility, and
this unusual power of the cities, in Spain, the royal
prerogative was hemmed in on every side and reduced
within very narrow bounds. Sensible of this, and im-
patient of such restraint, several monarchs endeavored,
at various junctures and by different means, to enlarge
their own jurisdiction. Their power, however, or their
abilities, were so unequal to the undertaking that their
efforts were attended with little success. But when
Ferdinand and Isabella found themselves at the head
of the united kingdoms of Spain and delivered from
the danger and interruption of domestic wars, they
were not only in a condition to resume, but were able
to prosecute with advantage, the schemes for extending
the prerogative which their ancestors had attempted in
vain. Ferdinand's profound sagacity in concerting his
measures, his persevering industry in conducting them,
and his uncommon address in carrying them into ex-
ecution, fitted him admirably for an undertaking which
required all these talents.
As the overgrown power and high pretensions of
the nobility were what the monarchs of Spain felt
most sensibly and bore with the greatest impatience,
the great object of Ferdinand's policy was to reduce
these within more moderate bounds. Under various
pretexts, sometimes by violence, more frequently in
consequence of decrees obtained in the courts of law,
he wrested from the barons a great part of the lands
which had been granted to them by the inconsiderate
bounty of former monarchs, particularly during the
feeble and profuse reign of his predecessor, Henry IV.
He did not give the entire conduct of affairs to persons
Charles. — VOL. I. — H 15
1 7o
A VIEW OF THE
of noble birth, who were accustomed to occupy every
department of importance in peace or in war, as if it
had been a privilege peculiar to their order to be em-
ployed as the sole counsellors and ministers of the
crown. He often transacted business of great conse-
quence without their intervention, and bestowed many
offices of power and trust on new men, devoted to his
interest.33 He introduced a degree of state and dig-
nity into his court which, being little known in Spain
while it remained split into many small kingdoms,
taught the nobles to approach their sovereign with
more ceremony, and gradually rendered him the object
of greater deference and respect.
The annexing the masterships of the three military
orders of St. Jago, Calatrava, and Alcantara to the
crown was another expedient by which Ferdinand
greatly augmented the revenue and power of the kings
of Spain. These orders were instituted, in imitation
of those of the Knights Templars and of St. John of
Jerusalem, on purpose to wage perpetual war with the
Mahometans, and to protect the pilgrims who visited
Compostella, or other places of eminent sanctity in
Spain. The zeal and superstition of the ages in which
they were founded prompted persons of every rank to
bestow such liberal donations on those holy warriors that
in a short time they engrossed a considerable share in
the property and wealth of the kingdom. The master-
ships of these orders came to be stations of the greatest
power and opulence to which a Spanish nobleman could
be advanced. These high dignities were in the dis-
posal of the knights of the order, and placed the per-
3) Zurita, Analcs dc Arag., torn. vi. p. aa.
STATE OF EUROPE.
171
sons on whom they conferred them almost on a level
with their sovereign.34 Ferdinand, unwilling that the
nobility, whom he considered as already too formida-
ble, should derive such additional credit and influence
from possessing the government of these wealthy fra-
ternities, was solicitous to wrest it out of their hands
and to vest it in the crown. His measures for accom-
plishing this were wisely planned and executed with
vigor. 3s By address, by promises, and by threats, he
prevailed on the knights of each order to place Isabella
and him at the head of it. Innocent VIII. and Alex-
ander VI. gave this election the sanction of papal
authority;36 and subsequent pontiffs rendered the an-
nexation of these masterships to the crown perpetual.
While Ferdinand by this measure diminished the
power and influence of the nobility and added new
lustre or authority to the crown, he was taking other
important steps with a view to the same object. The
sovereign jurisdiction which the feudal barons exer-
cised within their own territories was the pride and
distinction of their order. To have invaded openly a
privilege which they prized so highly, and in defence
of which they would have run so eagerly to arms, was
a measure too daring for a prince of Ferdinand's cau-
tious temper. He took advantage, however, of an
opportunity which the state of his kingdoms and the
spirit of his people presented him, in order to under-
3* Note XXXVI.
35 Marian., Hist., lib. xxv. c. 5.
3* Zurita, Anales, torn. v. p. 22. — ^Elii Anton. Nebrissensis Rerum
a Ferdinand, et Elizab. gestarum decades ii., apud Schot. Script.
Hispan., i. 860.
172
A VIEW OF THE
mine what he durst not assault. The incessant depre-
ciations of the Moors, the want of discipline among the
troops which were employed to oppose them, the fre-
quent civil wars between the crown and the nobility,
as well as the undiscerning rage with which the barons
carried on their private wars with each other, filled all
the provinces of Spain with disorder. Rapine, out-
rage, and murder became so common as not only to
interrupt commerce, but in a great measure to suspend
all intercourse between one place and another. That
security and protection which men expect from enter-
ing into civil society ceased in a great degree. Internal
order and police, while the feudal institutions remained
in vigor, were so little objects of attention, and the
administration of justice was so extremely feeble, that
it would have been vain to have expected relief from
the established laws or the ordinary judges. But the
evil became so intolerable, and the inhabitants of cities,
who were the chief sufferers, grew so impatient of this
anarchy, that self-preservation forced them to have re-
course to an extraordinary remedy. About the middle
of the thirteenth century, the cities in the kingdom
of Aragon, and, after their example, those in Castile,
formed themselves into an association distinguished by
the name of the holy brotherhood. They exacted a
certain contribution from each of the associated towns ;
they levied a considerable body of troops, in order to
protect travellers and to pursue criminals; they ap-
pointed judges, who opened their courts in various
parts of the kingdom. Whoever was guilty of murder,
robbery, or of any act that violated the public peace,
and was seized by the troops of the brotherhood, was
STATE OF EUROPE. 173
carried before judges of their nomination, who, without
paying any regard to the exclusive and sovereign juris-
diction which the lord of the place might claim, tried
and condemned the criminals. By the establishment
of this fraternity the prompt and impartial adminis-
tration of justice was restored, and, together with it,
internal tranquillity and order began to return. The
nobles alone murmured at this salutary institution.
They complained of it as an encroachment on one of
their most valuable privileges. They remonstrated
against it in a high tone, and, on some occasions,
refused to grant any aid to the crown unless it were
abolished. Ferdinand, however, was sensible not only
of the good effects of the holy brotherhood with respect
to the police of his kingdoms, but perceived its tend-
ency to abridge, and at length to annihilate, the terri-
torial jurisdiction of the nobility. He countenanced
it on every occasion. He supported it with the whole
force of royal authority ; and, besides the expedients
employed by him in common with the other monarchs
of Europe, he availed himself of this institution, which
was peculiar to his kingdom, in order to limit and
abolish that independent jurisdiction of the nobility,
which was no less inconsistent with the authority of
the prince than with the order of society.37
But though Ferdinand by these measures considerably
enlarged the boundaries of his prerogative, and acquired
a degree of influence and power far beyond what any
of his predecessors had enjoyed, yet the limitations of
the royal authority, as well as the barriers against its
encroachments, continued to be many and strong. The
» Note XXXVII.
is*
'74
A VIEW OF THE
spirit of liberty was vigorous among the people of
Spain ; the spirit of independence was high among the
nobility ; and though the love of glory, peculiar to the
Spaniards in every period of their history, prompted
them to support Ferdinand with zeal in his foreign
operations, and to afford him such aid as enabled him
not only to undertake but to execute great enterprises,
he reigned over his subjects with a jurisdiction less
extensive than that of any of the great monarchs in
Europe. It will appear from many passages in the
following history that during a considerable part of the
reign of his successor Charles V. the prerogative of the
Spanish crown was equally circumscribed.
The ancient government and laws in France so nearly
resembled those of the other feudal kingdoms that such
a detail with respect to them as was necessary, in order
to convey some idea of the nature and effects of the
peculiar institutions which took place in Spain, would
be superfluous. In the view which I have exhibited of
the means by which the French monarchs acquired such
a full command of the national force of their kingdom
as enabled them to engage in extensive schemes of
foreign operation, I have already pointed out the great
steps by which they advanced towards a more ample
possession of political power and a more uncontrolled
exercise of their royal prerogative. All that now
remains is to take notice of such particulars in the
constitution of France as serve either to distinguish it
from that of other countries, or tend to throw any light
on the transactions of that period to which the follow-
ing History extends.
Under the French monarchs of the first race, the
STATE OF EUROPE. 175
royal prerogative was very inconsiderable. The general
assemblies of the nation, which met annually at stated
seasons, extended their authority to every department
of government. The power of electing kings, of
enacting laws, of redressing grievances, of conferring
donations on the prince, of passing judgment in the
last resort, with respect to every person and to every
cause, resided in this great convention of the nation.
Under the second race of kings, notwithstanding the
power and splendor which the conquests of Charlemagne
added to the crown, the general assemblies of the nation
continued to possess extensive authority. The right of
determining which of the royal family should be placed
on the throne was vested in them. The princes, ele-
vated to that dignity by their suffrage, were accustomed
regularly to call and to consult them with respect to
every affair of importance to the state, and without
their consent no law was passed and no new tax was
levied.
But by the time that Hugh Capet, the father of the
third race of kings, took possession of the throne
of France, such changes had happened in the political
state of the kingdom as considerably affected the power
and jurisdiction of the general assembly of the nation.
The royal authority, in the hands of the degenerate
posterity of Charlemagne, had dwindled into insignifi-
cance and contempt. Every considerable proprietor
of land had formed his territory into a barony almost
independent of the sovereign. The dukes or governors
of provinces, the counts or governors of towns and small
districts, and the great officers of the crown, had ren-
dered these dignities, which originally were granted
J76 A VIE IV OF THE
only during pleasure or for life, hereditary in their
families. Each of these had usurped all the rights
which hitherto had been deemed the distinctions of
royalty, particularly the privileges of dispensing justice
within their own domains, of coining money, and of
waging war. Every district was governed by local
customs, acknowledged a distinct lord, and pursued a
separate interest. The formality of doing homage to
their sovereign was almost the only act of subjection
which those haughty barons would perform ; and that
bound them no farther than they were willing to
acknowledge its obligation.38
In a kingdom broken into so many independent
baronies, hardly any common principle of union re-
mained ; and the general assembly, in its deliberations,
could scarcely consider the nation as forming one body,
or establish common regulations to be of equal force in
every part. Within the immediate domains of the crown
the king might publish laws, and they were obeyed, be-
cause there he was acknowledged as the only lord. But
if he had aimed at rendering these laws general, that
would have alarmed the barons as an encroachment
upon the independence of their jurisdiction. The
barons, when met in the great national convention,
avoided with no less care the enacting of general laws
to be observed in every part of the kingdom, because
the execution of them must have been vested in the
king, and would have enlarged that paramount power
which was the object of their jealousy. Thus, under
the descendants of Hugh Capet the states-general (for
that was the name by which the supreme assembly of
* Note XXXVIII.
STATE OF EUROPE. 177
the French nation came then to be distinguished) lost
their legislative authority, or at least entirely relin-
quished the exercise of it. From that period the
jurisdiction of the states-general extended no farther
than to the imposition of new taxes, the determination
of questions with respect to the right of succession to
the crown, the settling of the regency when the pre-
ceding monarch had not fixed it by his will, and the
presenting remonstrances enumerating the grievances
of which the nation wished to obtain redress.
As during several centuries the monarchs of Europe
seldom demanded extraordinary subsidies of their sub-
jects, and the other events which required the inter-
position of the states rarely occurred, their meetings
in France were not frequent. They were summoned
occasionally by their kings, when compelled by their
wants or by their fears to have recourse to the great
convention of their people ; but they did not, like the
diet in Germany, the cortes in Spain, or the parliament
in England, form an essential member of the constitu-
tion, the regular exertion of whose powers was requisite
to give vigor and order to government.
When the states of France ceased to exercise legis-
lative authority, the kings began to assume it. They
ventured at first on acts of legislation with great reserve,
and after taking every precaution that could prevent
their subjects from being alarmed at the exercise of a
new power. They did not at once issue their ordi-
nances in a tone of authority and command. They
treated with their subjects ; they pointed out what was
best, and allured them to comply with it. By degrees,
however, as the prerogative of the crown extended, and
H*
178 A VIEW OF THE
as the supreme jurisdiction of the royal courts came
to be established, the kings of France assumed more
openly the style and authority of lawgivers ; and before
the beginning of the fifteenth century the complete
legislative power was vested in the crown.39
Having secured this important acquisition, the steps
which led to the right of imposing taxes were rendered
few and easy. The people, accustomed to see their
sovereigns issue ordinances, by their sole authority,
which regulated points of the greatest consequence
with respect to the property of their subjects, were not
alarmed when they were required by the royal edicts
to contribute certain sums towards supplying the exigen-
cies of government and carrying forward the measures
of the nation. When Charles VII. and Louis XL first
ventured to exercise this new power, in the manner in
which I have already described, the gradual increase
of the royal authority had so imperceptibly prepared
the minds of the people of France for this innovation
that it excited no commotion in the kingdom, and
seems scarcely to have given rise to any murmur or
complaint.
When the kings of France had thus engrossed every
power which can be exerted in government, — when the
right of making laws, of levying money, of keeping an
army of mercenaries in constant pay, of declaring war,
and of concluding peace, centred in the crown, — the
constitution of the kingdom, which under the first race
of kings was nearly democratical, which under the
second race became an aristocracy, terminated under
the third race in a pure monarchy. Every thing that
» Note XXXIX.
STATE OF EUROPE. 179
tended to preserve the appearance or revive the memory
of the ancient mixed government seems from that period
to have been industriously avoided. During the long
and active reign of Francis I., the variety as well as
extent of whose operations obliged him to lay many
heavy impositions on his subjects, the states-general of
France were not once assembled, nor were the people
once allowed to exert the power of taxing themselves,
which, according to the original ideas of feudal govern-
ment, was a right essential to every freeman.
Two things, however, remained which moderated the
exercise of the regal prerogative and restrained it within
such bounds as preserved the constitution of France
from degenerating into mere despotism. The rights
and privileges claimed by the nobility must be con-
sidered as one barrier against the absolute dominion of
the crown. Though the nobles of France had lost that
political power which was vested in their order as a
body, they still retained the personal rights and pre-
eminence which they derived from their rank. They
preserved a consciousness of elevation above other
classes of citizens; an exemption from burdens to
which persons of inferior condition were subject ; a
contempt of the occupations in which they were en-
gaged ; the privilege of assuming ensigns that indicated
their own dignity ; a right to be treated with a certain
degree of deference during peace ; and a claim to
various distinctions when in the field. Many of these
pretensions were not founded on the words of statutes,
or derived from positive laws : they were defined and
ascertained by the maxims of honor, a title more deli-
cate, but no less sacred. These rights, established and
l8o A VIEW OF THE
protected by a principle equally vigilant in guarding
and intrepid in defending them, are to the sovereign
himself objects of respect and veneration. Wherever
they stand in its way, the royal prerogative is bounded.
The violence of a despot may exterminate such an
order of men ; but as long as it subsists, and its ideas
of personal distinction remain entire, the power of the
prince has limits.*0
As in France the body of nobility was very numerous,
and the individuals of which it was composed retained
a high sense of their own pre-eminence, to this we
may ascribe in a great measure the mode of exercising
the royal prerogative which peculiarly distinguishes the
government of that kingdom. An intermediate order
was placed between the monarch and his other subjects,
and in every act of authority it became necessary to
attend to its privileges, and not only to guard against
any real violation of them, but to avoid any suspicion
of supposing it to be possible that they might be vio-
lated. Thus a species of government was established
in France unknown in the ancient world, that of a
monarchy in which the power of the sovereign, though
unconfined by any legal or constitutional restraint, has
certain bounds set to it by the ideas which one class of
his subjects entertain concerning their own dignity.
The jurisdiction of the parliaments in France, par-
ticularly that of Paris, was the other barrier which
served to confine the exercise of the royal prerogative
within certain limits. The parliament of Paris was
originally the court of the kings of France, to which
«° DC 1' Esprit des Loix, liv. ii. c. 4. — Dr. Ferguson's Essay on the
History of Civil Society, part i. sect. 10.
STATE OF EUROPE. 181
they committed the supreme administration of justice
within their own domains, as well as the power of
deciding with respect to all cases brought before it by
appeals from the courts of the barons. When, in con-
sequence of events and regulations which have been
mentioned formerly, the time and place of its meeting
were fixed, — when not only the form of its procedure,
but the principles on which it decided, were rendered
regular and consistent, — when every cause of impoi-
tance was finally determined there, and when the
people became accustomed to resort thither as to the
supreme temple of justice, — the parliament of Paris
rose to high estimation in the kingdom, its members
acquired dignity, and its decrees were submitted to
with deference. Nor was this the only source of the
power and influence which the parliament obtained.
The kings of France, when they first began to assume
the legislative power, in order to reconcile the minds
of their people to this new exertion of prerogative,
produced their edicts and ordinances in the parliament
of Paris, that they might be approved of and registered
there before they were published and declared to be of
authority in the kingdom. During the intervals between
the meetings of the states-general of the kingdom, or
during those reigns in which the states-general were not
assembled, the monarchs of France were accustomed to
consult the parliament of Paris with respect to the most
arduous affairs of government, and frequently regu-
lated their conduct by its advice, in declaring war, in
concluding peace, and in other transactions of public
concern. Thus there was erected in the kingdom a
tribunal which became the great depository of the laws,
Charles. — VOL. I. 16
1 8a A VIEW OF THE
and, by the uniform tenor of its decrees, established
principles of justice and forms of proceeding which
were considered as so sacred that even the sovereign
power of the monarch durst not venture to disregard
or to violate them. The members of this illustrious
body, though they neither possess legislative authority
nor can be considered as the representatives of the
people, have availed themselves of the reputation and
influence which they had acquired among their country-
men, in order to make a stand, to the utmost of their
ability, against every unprecedented and exorbitant
exertion of the prerogative. In every period of the
French history they have merited the praise of being
the virtuous but feeble guardians of the rights and
privileges of the nation.*1
After taking this view of the political state of France,
I proceed to consider that of the German empire, from
which Charles V. derived his title of highest dignity.
In explaining the constitution of this great and com-
plex body at the beginning of the sixteenth century, I
shall avoid entering into such a detail as would in-
volve my readers in that inextricable labyrinth which
is formed by the multiplicity of its tribunals, the number
of its members, their interfering rights, and by the
endless discussions or refinements of the public lawyers
of Germany with respect to all these.
The empire of Charlemagne was a structure erected
in so short a time that it could not be permanent.
Under his immediate successor it began to totter, and
soon after fell to pieces. The crown of Germany was
separated from that of France, and the descendants of
«• Note XL.
STATE OF EUROPE, ^3
Charlemagne established two great monarchies so situ-
ated as to give rise to a perpetual rivalship and enmity
between them. But the princes of the race of Charle-
magne who were placed on the imperial throne were
not altogether so degenerate as those of the same family
who reigned in France. In the hands of the former
the royal authority retained some vigor, and the nobles
of Germany, though possessed of extensive privileges
as well as ample territories, did not so early attain in-
dependence. The great offices of the crown continued
to be at the disposal of the sovereign, and during a
long period fiefs remained in their original state, with-
out becoming hereditary and perpetual in the families
of the persons to whom they had been granted.
At length the German branch of the family of
Charlemagne became extinct, and his feeble descend-
ants who reigned in France had sunk into such con-
tempt that the Germans, without looking towards them,
exercised the right inherent in a free people, and in the
general assembly of the nation elected Conrad, count
of Franconia, emperor. After him Henry of Saxony,
and his descendants, the three Othos, were placed, in
succession, on the imperial throne, by the suffrages
of their countrymen. The extensive territories of the
Saxon emperors, their eminent abilities and enterpris-
ing genius, not only added new vigor to the imperial
dignity, but raised it to higher power and pre-eminence.
Otho the Great marched at the head of a numerous
army into Italy, and, after the example of Charle-
magne, gave law to that country. Every power there
recognized his authority. He created popes, and de-
posed them, by his sovereign mandate. He annexed
!84 A VIEW OF THE
the kingdom of Italy to the German empire. Elated
with his success, he assumed the title of Caesar Augus-
tus.43 A prince born in the heart of Germany pre-
tended to be the successor of the emperors of ancient
Rome, and claimed a right to the same power and
prerogative. [952.]
But while the emperors, by means of these new
titles and new dominions, gradually acquired additional
authority and splendor, the nobility of Germany had
gone on at the same time extending their privileges
and jurisdiction. The situation of affairs was favor-
able to their attempts. The vigor which Charlemagne
had given to government quickly relaxed. The in-
capacity of some of his successors was such as would
have encouraged vassals less enterprising than the
nobles of that age to have claimed new rights and to
have assumed new powers. The civil wars in which
other emperors were engaged obliged them to pay per-
petual court to their subjects, on whose support they
depended, and not only to connive at their usurpations,
but to permit and even to authorize them. Fiefs gradu-
ally became hereditary. They were transmitted not
only in the direct but also in the -collateral line. The
investiture of them was demanded not only by male
but by female heirs. Every baron began to exercise
sovereign jurisdiction within his own domains ; and
the dukes and counts of Germany took wide steps
towards rendering their territories distinct and inde-
pendent states.43 The Saxon emperors observed their
progress and were aware of its tendency. But, as they
«» Annalista Saxo, etc., ap. Struv.. Corp., vol. i. p. 246.
41 Pfeffel, Abrcge, pp. lao. 153.— Lib. Feudor., tit. i.
STATE OF EUROPE. 185
could not hope to humble vassals already grown too
potent, unless they had turned their whole force as well
as attention to that enterprise, and as they were ex-
tremely intent on their expeditions into Italy, which
they could not undertake without the concurrence of
their nobles, they were solicitous not to alarm them by
any direct attack on their privileges and jurisdictions.
They aimed, however, at undermining their power.
With this view, they inconsiderately bestowed addi-
tional territories and accumulated new honors on the
clergy, in hopes that this order might serve as a coun-
terpoise to that of the nobility in any future struggle.44
The unhappy effects of this fatal error in policy were
quickly felt. Under the emperors of the Franconian
and Swabian lines, whom the Germans, by their volun-
tary election, placed on the imperial throne, a new
face of things appeared, and a scene was exhibited in
Germany which astonished all Christendom at that
time, and in the present age appears almost incredible.
The popes, hitherto dependent on the emperors and
indebted for power as well as dignity to their benefi-
cence and protection, began to claim a superior juris-
diction, and, in virtue of authority which they pre-
tended to derive from heaven, tried, condemned,
excommunicated, and deposed their former masters.
Nor is this to be considered merely as a frantic sally
of passion in a pontiff intoxicated with high ideas
concerning the extent of priestly domination and the
plenitude of papal authority. Gregory VII. was able
as well as daring. His presumption and violence were
accompanied with political discernment and sagacity.
44 Pfeffel, Abrege, p. 154.
16*
1 86 A VIEW OF THE
He had observed that the princes and nobles of Ger-
many had acquired such considerable territories and
such extensive jurisdiction as rendered them not only
formidable to the emperors, but disposed them to favor
any attempt to circumscribe their power. He foresaw
that the ecclesiastics of Germany, raised almost to a
level with its princes, were ready to support any per-
son who would stand forth as the protector of their
privileges and independence. With both of these
Gregory negotiated, and had secured many devoted
adherents among them before he ventured to enter the
lists against the head of the empire.
He began his rupture with Henry IV. upon a pretext
that was popular and plausible. He complained of
the venality and corruption with which the emperor
had granted the investiture of benefices to ecclesiastics.
He contended that this right belonged to him as the
head of the Church; he required Henry to confine
himself within the bounds of his civil jurisdiction, and
to abstain for the future from such sacrilegious encroach-
ments on the spiritual dominion. All the censures of
the Church were denounced against Henry because he
refused to relinquish those powers which his predeces-
sors had uniformly exercised. The most considerable
of the German princes and ecclesiastics were excited
to take arms against him. His mother, his wife, his
sons, were wrought upon to disregard all the ties of
blood as well as of duty, and to join the party of his
enemies.45 Such were the successful arts with which the
court of Rome inflamed the superstitious zeal and con-
ducted the factious spirit of the Germans and Italians,
«s Annal. German., ap. Struv., vol. i. p. 325.
STATE OF EUROPE. jgy
that an emperor distinguished not only for many
virtues, but possessed of considerable talents, was at
length obliged to appear as a supplicant at the gate
of the castle in which the pope resided, and to stand
there three days, barefooted, in the depth of winter,
imploring a pardon, which at length he obtained with
difficulty.46 [1077.]
This act of humiliation degraded the imperial dig-
nity. Nor was the depression momentary only. The
contest between Gregory and Henry gave rise to the
two great factions of the Guelfs and Ghibellines, — the
former of which, supporting the pretensions of the
popes, and the latter, defending the rights of the em-
peror, kept Germany and Italy in perpetual agitation
during three centuries. A regular system for humbling
the emperors and circumscribing their power was
formed, and adhered to uniformly throughout that
period. The popes, the free states in Italy, the no-
bility and ecclesiastics of Germany, were all interested
in its success ; and, notwithstanding the return of some
short intervals of vigor under the administration of a
few able emperors, the imperial authority continued
to decline. During the anarchy of the long interreg-
num subsequent to the death of William of Holland,
it dwindled down almost to nothing. Rodulph of
Hapsburg, the founder of the house of Austria, and
who first opened the way to its future grandeur, was at
length elected emperor, not that he might re-establish
and extend the imperial authority, but because his
territories and influence were so inconsiderable as to
excite no jealousy in the German princes, who were will-
46 Note XLI.
r88 -* VIEW OF THE
ing to preserve the forms of a constitution the power
and vigor of which they had destroyed. Several of
his successors were placed on the imperial throne
from the same motive, and almost every remaining
prerogative was wrested out of the hands of feeble
princes unable to exercise or to defend them.
During this period of turbulence and confusion the
constitution of the Germanic body underwent a total
change. The ancient names of courts and magistrates,
together with the original forms and appearance of
policy, were preserved ; but such new privileges and
jurisdiction were assumed, and so many various rights
established, that the same species of government no
longer subsisted. The princes, the great nobility, the
dignified ecclesiastics, the free cities, had taken advan-
tage of the interregnum which I have mentioned to
establish or to extend their usurpations. They claimed
and exercised the right of governing their respective
territories with full sovereignty. They acknowledged
no superior with respect to any point relative to the
interior administration and police of their domains.
They enacted laws, imposed taxes, coined money,
declared war, concluded peace, and exerted every
prerogative peculiar to independent states. The ideas
of order and political union which had originally
formed the various provinces of Germany into one
body were almost entirely lost ; and the society must
have dissolved, if the forms of feudal subordination
had not preserved such an appearance of connection
or dependence among the various members of the com-
munity as preserved it from falling to pieces.
This bond of union, however, was extremely feeble;
STATE OF E UK OPE. ^9
and hardly any principle remained in the German
constitution of sufficient force to maintain public order
or even to ascertain personal security. From the
accession of Rodulph of Hapsburg to the reign of
Maximilian, the immediate predecessor of Charles V.,
the empire felt every calamity which a state must
endure when the authority of government is so much
relaxed as to have lost its proper degree of vigor. The
causes of dissension among that vast number of mem-
bers which composed the Germanic body were infinite
and unavoidable. These gave rise to perpetual private
wars, which were carried on with all the violence that
usually accompanies resentment when unrestrained by
superior authority. Rapine, outrage, exactions, became
universal. Commerce was interrupted, industry sus-
pended, and every part of Germany resembled a coun-
try which an enemy had plundered and left desolate.47
The variety of expedients employed with a view to
restore order and tranquillity prove that the grievances
occasioned by this state of anarchy had grown intoler-
able. Arbiters were appointed to terminate the differ-
ences among the several states. The cities united in a
league the object of which was to check the rapine and
extortions of the nobility. The nobility formed con-
federacies on purpose to maintain tranquillity among
their own order. Germany was divided into several
circles, in each of which a provincial and partial juris-
diction was established, to supply the place of a public
and common tribunal.48
47 See above, pp. 48-50 and Note XXI. — Datt., de Pace Publica
Imper., p. 25, no. 53, p. 28, no. 26, p. 35, no. n.
4s Datt., passim. — Struv., Corp. Hist., i. 510, etc.
190 A VIEW OF THE
But all these remedies were so ineffectual that they
served only to demonstrate the violence of that anarchy
which prevailed, and the insufficiency of the means
employed to correct it. At length Maximilian re-
established public order in the empire, by instituting
the Imperial Chamber, a tribunal composed of judges
named partly by the emperor, partly by the several
states, and vested with authority to decide finally
concerning all differences among the members of the
Germanic body. A few years after, by giving a new
form to the Aulic Council, which takes cognizance of
all feudal causes and such as belong to the emperor's
immediate jurisdiction, he restored some degree of
vigor to the imperial authority. [1512.]
But, notwithstanding the salutary effects of these
regulations and improvements, the political constitu-
tion of the German empire, at the commencement of
the period of which I propose to write the history, was
of a species so peculiar as not to resemble perfectly
any form of government known either in the ancient
or modern world. It was a complex body, formed by
the association of several states, each of which pos-
sessed sovereign and independent jurisdiction within
its own territories. Of all the members which com-
posed this united body the emperor was the head. In
his name all decrees and regulations with respect to
points of common concern were issued, and to him the
power of carrying them into execution was committed.
But this appearance of monarchical power in the em-
peror was more than counterbalanced by the influence
of the princes and states of the empire in every act of
administration. No law extending to the whole body
STATE OF EUROPE. Igl
could pass, no resolution that affected the general
interest could be taken, without the approbation of the
diet of the empire. In this assembly every sovereign
prince and state of the Germanic body had a right to
be present, to deliberate, and to vote. The decrees,
or recesses, of the diet were the laws of the empire,
which the emperor was bound to ratify and enforce.
Under this aspect, the constitution of the empire
appears a regular confederacy, similar to the Achaean
league in ancient Greece, or to that of the United
Provinces, and of the Swiss Cantons, in modern times.
But, if viewed in another light, striking peculiarities
in its political state present themselves. The Ger-
manic body was not formed by the union of members
altogether distinct and independent. All the princes
and states joined in this association were originally
subject to the emperors and acknowledged them as
sovereigns. Besides this, they originally held their
lands as imperial fiefs, and in consequence of this
tenure owed the emperor all those services which feudal
vassals are bound to perform to their liege lord. But
though this political subjection was entirely at an end,
and the influence of the feudal relation much dimin-
ished, the ancient forms and institutions, introduced
while the emperors governed Germany with authority
not inferior to that which the other monarchs of Europe
possessed, still remained. Thus an opposition was
established between the genius of the government and
the forms of administration in the German empire.
The former considered the emperor only as the head
of a confederacy, the members of which, by their vol-
untary choice, have raised him to that dignity; the
I92 A VIEW OF THE
latter seemed to imply that he is really invested with
sovereign power. ' By this circumstance such principles
of hostility and discord were interwoven into the frame
of the Germanic body as affected each of its members,
rendering their interior union incomplete and their
external efforts feeble and irregular. The pernicious
influence of this defect, inherent in the constitution of
the empire, is so considerable that without attending
to it we cannot fully comprehend many transactions in
the reign of Charles V. or form just ideas concerning
the genius of the German government.
The emperors of Germany at the beginning of the
sixteenth century were distinguished by the most
pompous titles, and by such ensigns of dignity as
intimated their authority to be superior to that of all
other monarchs. The greatest princes of the empire
attended and served them, on some occasions, as the
officers of their household. They exercised preroga-
tives which no other sovereign ever claimed. They
retained pretensions to all the extensive powers which
their predecessors had enjoyed in any former age.
But, at the same time, instead of possessing that ample
domain which had belonged to the ancient emperors
of Germany and which stretched from Basil to Co-
logne, along both banks of the Rhine,49 they were
stripped of all territorial property, and had not a
single city, a single castle, a single foot of land,
that belonged to them as heads of the empire. As
their domain was alienated, their stated revenues were
reduced almost to nothing ; and the extraordinary aids
which on a few occasions they obtained were granted
« Pfeffel, Abre"ge\ etc., p. 241.
STATE OF EUROPE.
'93
sparingly and paid with reluctance. The princes and
states of the empire, though they seemed to recognize
the imperial authority, were subjects only in name,
each of them possessing a complete municipal jurisdic-
tion within the precincts of his own territories.
From this ill-compacted frame of government effects
that were unavoidable resulted. The emperors, dazzled
with the splendor of their titles and the external signs
of vast authority, were apt to imagine themselves to be
the real sovereigns of Germany, and were led to aim
continually at recovering the exercise of those powers
which the forms of the constitution seemed to vest in
them, and which their predecessors, Charlemagne and
the Othos, had actually enjoyed. The princes and
states, aware of the nature as well as the extent of
these pretensions, were perpetually on their guard in
order to watch all the motions of the imperial court
and to circumscribe its power within limits still more
narrow. The emperors, in support of their claims,
appealed to ancient forms and institutions which the
states held to be obsolete. The states founded their
rights on recent practice and modern privileges, which
the emperors considered as usurpations.
This jealousy of the imperial authority, together with
the opposition between it and the rights of the states,
increased considerably from the time that the emperors
were elected, not by the collective body of German
nobles, but by a few princes of chief dignity. During
a long period all the members of the Germanic body
had a right to assemble and to make choice of the
person whom they appointed to be their head. But
amidst the violence and anarchy which prevailed for
Charles. — VOL. I. — I 17
194
A VIEW OF THE
several centuries in the empire, seven princes who
possessed the most extensive territories, and who had
obtained an hereditary title to the great offices of the
state, acquired the exclusive privilege of nominating
the emperor. This right was confirmed to them by
the Golden Bull ; the mode of exercising it was ascer-
tained, and they were dignified with the appellation
of electors. The nobility and free cities, being thus
stripped of a privilege which they had once enjoyed,
were less connected with a prince towards whose eleva-
tion they had not contributed by their suffrages, and
came to be more apprehensive of his authority. The
electors, by their extensive power and the distinguish-
ing privileges which they possessed, became formidable
to the emperors with whom they were placed almost on
a level in several acts of jurisdiction. Thus the intro-
duction of the electoral college into the empire, and
the authority which it acquired, instead of diminishing,
contributed to strengthen, the principles of hostility
and discord in the Germanic constitution.
These were farther augmented by the various and
repugnant forms of civil policy in the several states
which composed the Germanic body. It is no easy
matter to render the union of independent states
perfect and entire, even when the genius and forms of
their respective governments happen to be altogether
similar. But in the German empire, which was a
confederacy of princes, of ecclesiastics, and of free
cities, it was impossible that they could incorporate
thoroughly. The free cities were small republics, in
which the maxims and spirit peculiar to that species
of government prevailed. The princes and nobles, to
STATE OF EUROrE.
'95
whom supreme jurisdiction belonged, possessed a sort
of monarchical power within their own territories, and
the forms of their interior administration nearly resem-
bled those of the great feudal kingdoms. The interests,
the ideas, the objects of states so differently constituted
cannot be the same. Nor could their common delibera-
tions be carried on with the same spirit, while the love
of liberty and attention to commerce were the reigning
principles in the cities, while the desire of power and
ardor for military glory were the governing passions of
the princes and nobility.
The secular and ecclesiastical members of the empire
were as little fitted for union as the free cities and the
nobility. Considerable territories had been granted to
several of the German bishoprics and abbeys, and some
of the highest offices in the empire, having been annexed
to them inalienably, were held by the ecclesiastics raised
to these dignities. The younger sons of noblemen of
the second order, who had devoted themselves to the
Church, were commonly promoted to these stations of
eminence and power ; and it was no small mortification
to the princes and great nobility to see persons raised
from an inferior rank to the same level with them-
selves, or even exalted to superior dignity. The educa-
tion of these churchmen, the genius of their profession,
and their connection with the court of Rome, ren-
dered their character as well as their interest different
from those of the other members of the Germanic
body with whom they were called to act in concert.
Thus another source of jealousy and variance was
opened which ought not to be overlooked when we are
searching into the nature of the German constitution.
,96 A VIEW OF THE
To all these causes of dissension may be added one
more, arising from the unequal distribution of power
and wealth among the states of the empire. The
electors, and other nobles of the highest rank, not only
possessed sovereign jurisdiction, but governed such
extensive, populous, and rich countries as rendered
them great princes. Many of the other members,
though they enjoyed all the rights of sovereignty,
ruled over such petty domains that their real power
bore no proportion to this high prerogative. A well-
compacted and vigorous confederacy could not be
formed of such dissimilar states. The weaker were
jealous, timid, and unable either to assert or to defend
their just privileges. The more powerful were apt to
assume and to become oppressive. The electors and
emperors, by turns, endeavored to extend their own
authority by encroaching on those feeble members of
the Germanic body, who sometimes defended their
rights with much spirit, but more frequently, being
overawed or corrupted, they tamely surrendered their
privileges, or meanly favored the designs formed against
them.'0
After contemplating all these principles of disunion
and opposition in the constitution of the German em-
pire, it will be easy to account for the want of concord
and uniformity conspicuous in its councils and proceed-
ings. That slow, dilatory, distrustful, and irresolute
spirit which characterizes all its deliberations will ap-
pear natural in a body the junction of whose members
was so incomplete, the different parts of which were
held together by such feeble ties and set at variance by
*> Note XLII.
STATE OF EUROPE.
197
such powerful motives. But the empire of Germany,
nevertheless, comprehended countries of such great
extent, and was inhabited by such a martial and
hardy race of men, that when the abilities of an em-
peror, or zeal for any common cause, could rouse this
unwieldy body to put forth its strength, it acted with
almost irresistible force. In the following history we
shall find that as the measures on which Charles V. was
most intent were often thwarted or rendered abortive
by the spirit of jealousy and division peculiar to the
Germanic constitution, so it was by the influence which
he acquired over the princes of the empire, and by
engaging them to co-operate with him, that he was
enabled to make some of the greatest efforts which
distinguish his reign.
The Turkish history is so blended, during the reign
of Charles V., with that of the great nations in Europe,
and the Ottoman Porte interposed so often, and with
such decisive influence, in the wars and negotiations of
the Christian princes, that some previous account of
the state of government in that great empire is no less
necessary for the information of my readers than those
views of the constitution of other kingdoms which I
have already exhibited to them.
It has been the fate of the southern and more fertile
parts of Asia, at different periods, to be conquered by
that warlike and hardy race of men who inhabit the
vast country known to the ancients by the name of
Scythia and among the moderns by that of Tartary.
One tribe of these people, called Turks or Turcomans,
extended its conquests, under various leaders, and
during several centuries, from the shore of the Caspian
17*
I98 A VIEW OF THE
Sea to the Straits of the Dardanelles. Towards the
middle of the fifteenth century these formidable con-
querors took Constantinople by storm and established
the seat of their government in that imperial city.
Greece, Moldavia, Wallachia, and the other provinces
of the ancient kingdoms of Thrace and Macedonia,
together with part of Hungary, were subjected to their
power.
But though the seat of the Turkish government was
fixed in Europe, and the sultans obtained possession of
such extensive dominions in that quarter of the globe,
the genius of their policy continued to be purely Asiatic,
and may be properly termed a despotism, in contradis-
tinction to those monarchical and republican forms of
government which we have been hitherto contemplating.
The supreme power was vested in sultans of the Ottoman
race, that blood being deemed so sacred that no other
was thought worthy of the throne. From this elevation
these sovereigns could look down and behold all their
subjects reduced to the same level before them. The
maxims of Turkish policy do not authorize any of those
institutions which in other countries limit the exercise
or moderate the rigor of monarchical power : they admit
neither of any great court with constitutional and per-
manent jurisdiction to interpose both in enacting laws
and in superintending the execution of them, nor of a
body of hereditary nobles whose sense of their own
pre-eminence, whose consciousness of what is due to
their rank and character, whose jealousy of their priv-
ileges, circumscribe the authority of the prince, and
serve not only as a barrier against the excesses of his
caprice, but stand as an intermediate order between
STATE OF EUROPE.
199
him and the people. Under the Turkish government
the political condition of every subject is equal. To
• be employed in the service of the sultan is the only
circumstance that confers distinction. Even this dis-
tinction is rather official than personal, and so closely
annexed to the station in which any individual serves
that it is scarcely communicated to the persons of
those who are placed in them. The highest dignity
in the empire does not give any rank or pre-eminence
to the family of him who enjoys it. As every man
before he is raised to any station of authority must go
through the preparatory discipline of a long and ser-
vile obedience,5' the moment he is deprived of power
he and his posterity return to the same condition with
other subjects and sink back into obscurity. It is the
distinguishing and odious characteristic of Eastern
despotism that it annihilates all other ranks of men
in order to exalt the monarch ; that it leaves nothing
to the former, while it gives every thing to the latter ;
that it endeavors to fix in the minds of those who are
subject to it the idea of no relation between men but
that of a master and of a slave, the former destined to
command and to punish, the latter formed to tremble
and obey.5*
But, as there are circumstances which frequently
obstruct or defeat the salutary effects of the best-
regulated governments, there are others which con-
tribute to mitigate the evils of the most defective
forms of policy. There can, indeed, be no constitu-
tional restraints upon the will of a prince in a despotic
5' State of the Turkish Empire, by Rycaut, p. 25.
* Note XLIII.
200 A VIEW OF THE
government ; but there may be such as are accidental.
Absolute as the Turkish sultans are, they feel themselves
circumscribed both by religion, the principle on which
their authority is founded,53 and by the army, the instru-
ment which they must employ in order to maintain it.
Wherever religion interposes, the will of the sovereign
must submit to its decrees. When the Koran hath
prescribed any religious rite, hath enjoined any moral
duty, or hath confirmed by its sanction any political
maxim, the command of the sultan cannot overturn
that which a higher authority hath established. The
chief restriction, however, on the will of the sultans is
imposed by the military power. An armed force must
surround the throne of every despot, to maintain his
authority and to execute his commands. As the Turks
extended their empire over nations which they did
not exterminate, but reduced to subjection, they found
it necessary to render their military establishment nu-
merous and formidable. Amruth, their third sultan,
in order to form a body of troops devoted to his
will, that might serve as the immediate guards of his
person and dignity, commanded his officers to seize
annually, as the imperial property, the fifth part of the
youth taken in war. These, after being instructed in
the Mahometan religion, inured to obedience by severe
discipline, and trained to warlike exercises, were formed
into a body distinguished by the name of janizaries, or
new soldiers. Every sentiment which enthusiasm can
inspire, every mark of distinction that the favor of the
prince could confer, were employed in order to animate
this body with martial ardor and with a consciousness
S3 Kycaut. p. 8.
STATE OF EUROPE. 2OI
of its own pre-eminence.54 The janizaries soon became
the chief strength and pride of the Ottoman armies,
and, by their number as well as reputation, were distin-
guished above all the troops whose duty it was to attend
on the person of the sultan.55 [1362.]
Thus, as the supreme power in every society is pos-
sessed by those who have arms in their hands, this for-
midable body of soldiers, destined to be the instruments
of enlarging the sultan's authority, acquired at the
same time the means of controlling it. The janizaries
in Constantinople, like the praetorian bands in ancient
Rome, quickly perceived all the advantages which they
derived from being stationed in the capital, from their
union under one standard, and from being masters of
the person of the prince. The sultans became no less
sensible of their influence and importance. The capi-
culy, or soldiery of the Porte, was the only power in
the empire that a sultan or his vizier had reason to
dread. To preserve the fidelity and attachment of the
janizaries was the great art of government and the
principal object of attention in the policy of the Otto-
man court. Under a monarch whose abilities and
vigor of mind fit him for command, they are obse-
quious instruments, — execute whatever he enjoins, and
render his power irresistible. Under feeble princes,
or such as are unfortunate, they become turbulent and
mutinous, — assume the tone of masters, degrade and
exalt sultans at pleasure, and teach those to tremble,
on whose nod, at other times, life and death depend.
From Mahomet II. , who took Constantinople, to
54 Prince Cantemir's History of the Othman Empire, p. 87.
ss Note XLIV.
I*
202 A VIEW OF THE
Solyman the Magnificent, who began his reign a few
months after Charles V. was placed on the imperial
throne of Germany, a succession of illustrious princes
ruled over the Turkish empire. By their great abili-
ties they kept their subjects of every order, military
as well as civil, submissive to government, and had
the absolute command of whatever force their vast
empire was able to exert. Solyman, in particular,
who is known to the Christians chiefly as a con-
queror, but is celebrated in the Turkish annals as
the great lawgiver who established order and police
in their empire, governed during his long reign with
no less authority than wisdom. He divided his do-
minions into several districts ; he appointed the num-
ber of soldiers which each should furnish ; he appro-
priated a certain proportion of the land in every
province for their maintenance ; he regulated with a
minute accuracy every thing relative to their discipline,
their arms, and the nature of their sen-ice. He put
the finances of the empire into an orderly train of
administration ; and, though the taxes in the Turkish
dominions, as well as in the other despotic monarchies
of the East, are far from being considerable, he sup-
plied that defect by an attentive and severe economy.
Nor was it only under such sultans as Solyman,
whose talents were no less adapted to preserve internal
order than to conduct the operations of war, that the
Turkish empire engaged with advantage in its contests
with the Christian states. The long succession of
able princes which I have mentioned had given such
vigor and firmness to the Ottoman government that it
seems to have attained during the sixteenth century
STATE OF EUROPE. 203
the highest degree of perfection of which its constitu-
tion was capable. Whereas the great monarchies in
Christendom were still far from that state which could
enable them to act with a full exertion of their force.
Besides this, the Turkish troops in that age possessed
every advantage which arises from superiority in mili-
tary discipline. At the time when Solyman began his
reign, the janizaries had been embodied near a cen-
tury and a half, and during that long period the
severity of their military discipline had in no degree
relaxed. The other soldiers, drawn from the provinces
of the empire, had been kept almost continually under
arms, in the various wars which the sultans had carried
on, with hardly an interval of peace. Against troops
thus trained and accustomed to service the forces of
the Christian powers took the field with great disad-
vantage. The most intelligent as well as impartial
authors of the sixteenth century acknowledge and
lament the superior attainments of the Turks in the
military art.36 The success which almost uniformly
attended their arms, in all their wars, demonstrates the
justness of this observation. The Christian armies
did not acquire that superiority over the Turks which
they now possess until the long establishment of stand-
ing forces had improved military discipline among the
former, and until various causes and events, which it
is not in my province to explain, had corrupted or
abolished their ancient warlike institutions among the
latter.
56 Note XLV.
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
NOTE I.— Sect. I. p. 5.
THE consternation of the Britons, when invaded by the Picts
nnd Caledonians, after the Roman legions were called out of the
island, may give some idea of the degree of debasement to which
the human mind was reduced by long servitude under the Romans.
In their supplicatory letter to Aetius, which they call the Groans
of Britain, " We know not (say they) which way to turn us. The
barbarians drive us to the sea, and the sea forces us back on the
barbarians ; between which we have only the choice of two deaths,
either to be swallowed up by the waves, or to be slain by the sword."
(Histor. Gildse, ap. Gale, Hist. Britan. Script., p. 6.) One can
hardly believe this dastardly race to be descendants of that gallant
people who repulsed Caesar and defended their liberty so long
against the Roman arms.
NOTE II. — Sect. I. p. 6.
The barbarous nations were not only illiterate, but regarded
literature with contempt. They found the inhabitants of all the
provinces of the empire sunk in effeminacy and averse to war.
Such a character was the object of scorn to a high-spirited and
gallant race of men. " When we would brand an enemy," says
Luitprandus, " with the most disgraceful and contumelious appella-
tion, we call him a Roman ; hoc solo, id est Romani nomine,
quicquid ignobilitatis, quicquid timiditatis, quicquid avaritiae, quic-
quid luxuriae, quicquid mendacii, immo quicquid vitiorum est
comprehendentes." (Luitprandi Legatio, apud Murat., Scriptor.
Italic., vol. ii. pars i. p. 481. ) This degeneracy of manners, illite-
Charles. — VOL. I. 18 (205)
206 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
rate barbarians imputed to their lote of learning. Even after they
settled in the countries which they had conquered, they would not
permit their children to be instructed in any science. " For (said
they) instruction in the sciences tends to corrupt, enervate, and
depress the mind ; and he who has been accustomed to tremble
under the rod of a pedagogue will never look on a sword or a
spear with an undaunted eye." (Procop., de Bello Gothor., lib. i.
p. 4, ap. Script. Byz., edit. Venet., vol. i. ) A considerable num-
ber of years elapsed before nations so rude and so unwilling to
learn could produce historians capable of recording their transac-
tions or of describing their manners and institutions. By that time
the memory of their ancient condition was in a great measure lost,
and few monuments remained to guide their first writers to any
certain knowledge of it. If one expects to receive any satisfac-
tory account of the manners and laws of the Goths, Lombards, or
Franks during their residence in those countries where they were
originally seated, from Jornandes, Paulus Warnefridus, or Gregory
of Tours, the earliest and most authentic historians of these people,
he will be miserably disappointed. Whatever imperfect knowledge
has been conveyed to us of their ancient state we owe not to their
own writers, but to the Greek and Roman historians.
NOTE III. — Sect. I. p. 7.
A circumstance related by Priscus, in his history of the embassy
to Attila, king of the Huns, gives a striking view of the enthusiastic
passion for war which prevailed among the barbarous nations.
When the entertainment to which that fierce conqueror admitted
the Roman ambassadors was ended, two Scythians advanced
towards Attila and recited a poem in which they celebrated his
victories and military virtues. All the Huns fixed their eyes with
attention on the bards. Some seemed to be delighted with the
verses ; others, remembering their own battles and exploits, exulted
with joy ; while such as were become feeble through age burst out
into tears, bewailing the decay of their vigor, and the state of
inactivity in which they were now obliged to remain. Excerpta
ex Historia Prisci Rhetoris, ap. Byz. Hist. Script., vol. i. p. 45.
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
207
NOTE IV. — Sect. I. p. 14.
A remarkable confirmation of both parts of this reasoning
occurs in the history of England. The Saxons carried on the
conquest of that country with the same destructive spirit which
distinguished the other barbarous nations. The ancient inhabit-
ants of Britain were either exterminated, br forced to take shelter
among the mountains of Wales, or reduced to servitude. The
Saxon government, laws, manners, and language were of conse-
quence introduced into Britain, and were so perfectly established
that all memory of the institutions previous to their conquest of the
country was in a great measure lost. The very reverse of this
happened in a subsequent revolution. A single victory placed
William the Norman on the throne of England. The Saxon
inhabitants, though oppressed, were not exterminated. William
employed the utmost efforts of his power and policy to make his
new subjects conform in every thing to the Norman standard, but
without success. The Saxons, though vanquished, were far more
numerous than their conquerors ; when the two races began to
incorporate, the Saxon laws and manners gradually gained ground.
The Norman institutions became unpopular and odious ; many of
them fell into disuse ; and in the English constitution and language
at this day many essential parts are manifestly of Saxon, not of
Norman extraction.
NOTE V. — Sect. I. p. 14.
Procopius, the historian, declines, from a principle of benevo-
lence, to give any particular detail of the cruelties of the Goths ;
" lest," says he, " I should transmit a monument and example of
inhumanity to succeeding ages." (Proc., de BelloGoth., lib. iii.
cap. 10, ap. Byz. Script., vol. i. p. 126.) But as the change which
I have pointed out as a consequence of the settlement of the bar-
barous nations in the countries formerly subject to the Roman
empire could not have taken place if the greater part of the
ancient inhabitants had not been extirpated, an event of such
importance and influence merits a more particular illustration.
This will justify me for exhibiting some part of that melancholy
2o8 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS,
spectacle over which humanity prompted Procopius to draw n
veil. I shall not, however, disgust my readers by a minute narra-
tion, but rest satisfied with collecting some instances of the devasta-
tions made by two of the many nations which settled in the empire.
The Vandals were the first of the barbarians who invaded Spain.
It was one of the richest and most populous of the Roman prov-
inces : the inhabitants had been distinguished for courage, and
had defended their liberty against the arms of Rome with greater
obstinacy and during a longer course of years than any nation in
Europe. But so entirely were they enervated by their subjection
to the Romans that the Vandals, who entered the kingdom A.D.
409, completed the conquest of it with such rapidity that in the
year 411 these barbarians divided it among them by casting lots.
The desolation occasioned by their invasion is thus described by
Idatius, an eye-witness: "The barbarians wasted every thing
with hostile cruelty. The pestilence was no less destructive. A
dreadful famine raged to such a degree that the living were con-
strained to feed on the dead bodies of their fellow-citizens ; and
all these terrible plagues desolated at once the unhappy kingdoms."
(IdatiiChron., ap. Biblioth. Patrum, vol. vii. p. 1233, edit. Lugd.,
1677. ) The Goths having attacked the Vandals in their new settle-
ments, a fierce war ensued ; the country was plundered by both
parties ; the cities which had escaped from destruction in the first
invasion of the Vandals were now laid in ashes, and the inhabit-
ants exposed to suffer every thing that the wanton cruelty of
barbarians could inflict. Idatius describes these scenes of inhu-
manity, ibid., p. 1235, b. 1236, c. f. A similar account of their
devastations is given by Isidorus Hispalensis and other contempo-
rary writers. (Isid., Chron., ap. Grot., Hist. Goth., 732.) From
Spain the Vandals passed over into Africa, A.D. 428. Africa was,
next to Egypt, the most fertile of the Roman provinces. It was
one of the granaries of the empire, and is called by an ancient
writer the soul of the commonwealth. Though the army with
which the Vandals invaded it did not exceed thirty thousand
fighting-men, they became absolute masters of the province in less
than two years. A contemporary author gives a dreadful account
of the havoc which they made: "They found a province well
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS,
209
cultivated, and enjoying plenty, the beauty of the whole earth.
They carried their destructive arms into every corner of it ; they
dispeopled it by their devastations, exterminating every thing with
fire and sword. They did not even spare the vines and fruit-trees,
that those to whom caves and inaccessible mountains had afforded
a retreat might find no nourishment of any kind. Their hostile
rage could not be satiated, and there was no place exempted from
the effects of it. They tortured their prisoners with the most
exquisite cruelty, that they might force from them a discovery of
their hidden treasures. The more they discovered, the more they
expected, and the more implacable they became. Neither the
infirmities of age nor of sex, neither the dignity of nobility nor
the sanctity of the sacerdotal office, could mitigate their fury ; but
the more illustrious their prisoners were, the more barbarously
they insulted them. The public buildings which resisted the
violence of the flames they levelled with the ground. They left
many cities without an inhabitant. When they approached any
fortified place which their undisciplined army could not reduce,
they gathered together a multitude of prisoners, and, putting them
to the sword, left their bodies unburied, that the stench of the
carcasses might oblige the garrison to abandon it." (Victor Viten-
sis de Persecutione Africana, ap. Bibl. Patrum, vol. viii. p. 666. )
St. Augustin, an African, who survived the conquest of his country
by the Vandals some years, gives a similar description of their
cruelties. (Opera, vol. x. p. 372, edit. 1616. ) About a hundred
years after the settlement of the Vandals in Africa, Belisarius
attacked and dispossessed them. Procopius, a contemporary his-
torian, describes the devastation which that war occasioned.
" Africa," says he, " was so entirely dispeopled that one might
travel several days in it without meeting one man ; and it is no
exaggeration to say that in the course of the war five millions of
persons perished." (Proc., Hist. Arcana.'cap. 1 8, ap. Byz. Script.,
vol. i. p. 315.) 1 have dwelt longer upon the calamities of this
province, because they are described not only by contemporary
authors, but by eye-witnesses. The present state of Africa con-
firms their testimony. Many of the most flourishing and populous
cities with which it was filled were so entirely ruined that no ves- '
1 8*
210 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
tiges remain to point out where they were situated. That fertile
territory, which sustained the Roman empire, still lies in a great
measure uncultivated ; and that province, which Victor, in his
barbarous Latin, called speciositas totius terra Jlorentis, is now the
retreat of pirates and banditti.
While the Vandals laid waste a great part of the empire, the
Huns desolated the remainder. Of all the barbarous tribes they
were the fiercest and most formidable. Ammianus Marcellinus,
a contemporary author, and one of the best of the later historians,
gives an account of their policy and manners, which nearly
resemble those of the Scythians described by the ancients, and
of the Tartars known to the moderns. Some parts of their char-
acter, and several of their customs, are not unlike those of the
savages in North America. Their passion for war was extreme.
"As in polished societies (says Ammianus) ease and tranquillity
are courted, they delight in war and dangers. He who falls in
battle is reckoned happy. They who die of old age or of disease
are deemed infamous. They boast with the utmost exultation of
the number of enemies whom they have slain, and, as the most
glorious of all ornaments, they fasten the scalps of those who have
fallen by their hands to the trappings of their horses." ( Ammian.
Marc., lib. xxxi. p. 477, edit. Gronov., Lugd., 1693.) Their
incursions into the empire began in the fourth century ; and the
Romans, though no strangers, by that time, to the effects of bar-
batous rage, were astonished at the cruelty of their devastations.
Thrace, Pannonia, and Illyricum were the countries which they
first laid desolate. As they had at first no intention of settling in
Europe, they made only inroads of short continuance into the
empire ; but these were frequent ; and Procopius computes that
in each of these, at a medium, two hundred thousand persons
perished, or were carried off as slaves. (Procop., Hist. Arcan.,
ap. By z. Script., vol. i. p. 316.) Thrace, the best-cultivated province
in that quarter of the empire, was converted into a desert ; and
when Priscus accompanied the ambassadors sent to Attila there
were no inhabitants in some of the cities, but a few miserable
people who had taken shelter among the ruins of the churches ;
-and the fields were covered with the bones of those who had
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 2II
fallen by the sword. (Priscus, ap. Byz. Script., vol. i. p. 34.)
Attila became king of the Huns, A.D. 434. He is one of the
greatest and most enterprising conquerors mentioned in history.
He extended his empire over all the vast countries comprehended
under the general names of Scythia and Germany in the ancient
division of the world. While he was carrying on his wars against
the barbarous nations, he kept the Roman empire under perpetual
apprehensions, and extorted enormous subsidies from the timid
and effeminate monarchs who governed it. In the year 451 he
entered Gaul, at the head of an army composed of all the various
nations which he had subdued. It was more numerous than any
with which the barbarians had hitherto invaded the empire. The
devastations which he committed were horrible. Not only the
open country, but the most flourishing cities, were desolated. The
extent and cruelty of his devastations are described by Salvianus
de Gubernat. Dei, edit. Baluz., Par., 1669, p. 139, etc., and by
Idatius, ubi supra, p. 1235. Aetius put a stop to his progress in
that country by the famous battle of Chalons, in which ( if we may
believe the historians of that age) three hundred thousand persons
perished. (Idat., ibid. ; Jornandes de Rebus Geticis, ap. Grot.,
Hist. Gothor., p. 671, Amst., 1665.) But the next year he re-
solved to attack the centre of the empire, and, marching into
Italy, wasted it with rage inflamed by the sense of his late dis-
grace. What Italy suffered by the Huns exceeded all the calami-
ties which the preceding incursions of the barbarians had brought
upon it. Conringius has collected several passages from the an-
cient historians which prove that the devastations committed by
the Vandals and Huns in the countries situated on the banks of
the Rhine were no less cruel and fatal to the human race. (Ex-
ercitatio de Urbibus Germanise, Opera, vol. i. p. 488.) It is end-
less, it is shocking, to follow these destroyers of mankind through
so many scenes of horror, and to contemplate the havoc which
they made of the human species.
But the state in which Italy appears to have been during sev-
eral ages after the barbarous nations settled in it is the most de-
cisive proof of the cruelty as well as extent of their devastations.
Whenever any country is thinly inhabited, trees and shrubs spring
2T2 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
up in the uncultivated fields, and, spreading by degrees, form
large forests ; by the overflowing of rivers and the stagnating of
waters, other pans of it are converted into lakes and marshes.
Ancient Italy, which the Romans rendered the seat of elegance
and luxury, was cultivated to the highest pitch. But so effectually
did the devastations of the barbarians destroy all the effects of
Roman industry and cultivation that in the eighth century a con-
siderable part of Italy appears to have been covered with forests
and marshes of great extent. Muratori enters into a minute
detail concerning the situation and limits of several of these, and
proves by the most authentic evidence that great tracts of terri-
tory in all the different provinces of Italy were either overrun
with wood or laid under water. Nor did these occupy parts of
the country naturally barren or of little value, but were spread
over districts which ancient writers represent as extremely fertile
and which at present are highly cultivated. (Muratori, Antiqui-
tates Italicae Medii /Evi, dissert, xxi., vol. ii. pp. 149, 153, etc.)
A strong proof of this occurs in a description of the city of
Modena, by an author of the tenth century. (Mui.it., Script.
Rerum Italic., vol. iii. pars ii. p. 691.) The state of desolation
in other countries of Europe seems to have been the same. In
many of the most early charters now extant, the lands granted to
monasteries or to private persons are distinguished into such as
are cultivated or inhabited, and such as were tremi, desolate. In
many instances lands are granted to persons because they had taken
them from the desert, ab frenio, and had cultivated and planted
them with inhabitants. This appears from a charter of Charle-
magne, published by Eckhart, de Rebus Franciae Oriental is, vol. ii.
p. 864, and from many charters of his successors quoted by Du
Cange, voc. Eremus. Wherever a right of property in land can
be thus acquired, it is evident that the country must be extremely
desolate and thinly peopled. The first settlers in America ob-
tained possession of land by such a title. Whoever was able to
clear and to cultivate a field was recognized as the proprietor. His
industry merited such a recompense. The grants in the charters
which I have mentioned flow from a similar principle, and there
must have been some resemblance in the state of the countries.
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 213
Muratori adds that during the eighth and ninth centuries Italy
was greatly infested by wolves and other wild beasts ; another
mark of its being destitute of inhabitants. (Murat., Antiq., vol.
ii. p. 163.) Thus Italy, the pride of the ancient world for its
fertility and cultivation, was reduced to the state of a country
newly peopled and lately rendered habitable.
1 am sensible not only that some of these descriptions of the
devastations, which I have quoted, may be exaggerated, but that
the barbarous tribes, in making their settlements, did not proceed
invariably in the same manner. Some of them seemed to be
bent on exterminating the ancient inhabitants ; others were more
disposed to incorporate with them. It is not my province either
to inquire into the causes which occasioned this variety in the
conduct of the conquerors, or to describe the state of those coun-
tries where the ancient inhabitants were treated most mildly. The
facts which I have produced are sufficient to justify the account
which I have given in the text, and to prove that the destruction
cf the human species, occasioned by the hostile invasions of the
Northern nations and their subsequent settlements, was much
greater than many authors seem to imagine.
NOTE VI. — Sect. I. p. 15.
1 have observed, Note II., that our only certain information
concerning the ancient state of the barbarous nations must be de-
riveil from the Greek and Roman writers. Happily, an account
of the institutions and customs of one people, to which those of
all the rest seem to have been in a great measure similar, has been
transmitted to us by two authors, the most capable, perhaps, that
ever wrote, of observing them with profound discernment and of
describing them with propriety and force. The reader must per-
ceive that Caesar and Tacitus are the authors whom I have in
view. The former gives a short account of the ancient Germans
in a few chapters of the sixth book of his Commentaries ; the
latter wrote a treatise expressly on that subject. These are the
most precious and instnictive monuments of antiquity to the
present inhabitants of Europe. From them we learn, —
214
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
I. That the state of society among the ancient Germans was
of the rudest and most simple form. They subsisted entirely by
hunting or by pasturage. (Cses., lib. vi. c. 21.) They neglected
agriculture, and lived chiefly on milk, cheese, and flesh. (Ibid.,
c. 22.) Tacitus agrees with hint in most of these points. (De
Morib. Germ., c. 14, 15, 23.) The Goths were equally negligent
of agriculture. (Prise. Rhet., ap. Byz. Script., v. i. p. 31, 13. )
Society was in the same state among the Huns, who disdained to
cultivate the earth or to touch a plough. (Amm Marcel., lib.
xxxi. p. 475. ) The same manners took place among the Alans.
(Ibid., p. 477-) While society remains in this simple state, men
by uniting together scarcely relinquish any portion of their natural
independence. Accordingly, we are informed, 2. That the au-
thority of civil government was extremely limited among the Ger-
mans. During times of peace they had no common or fixed
magistrate, but the chief men of every district dispensed justice
and accommodated differences. (Caes., ibid., c. 23. ) Their kings
had not absolute or unbounded power ; their authority consisted
rather in the privilege of advising than in the power of command-
ing. Matters of small consequence were determined by the chief
men; affairs of importance, by the whole community. (Tacit.,
c. 7, II.) The Huns, in like manner, deliberated in common
concerning every business of moment to the society, and were not
subject to the rigor of regal authority. (Amm. Marcel., lib. xxxi.
P- 474-) 3- Every individual among the ancient Germans was
left at liberty to choose whether he would take part in any military
enterprise which was proposed ; there seems to have been no obli-
gation to engage in it imposed on him by public authority. " When
any of the chief men proposes an expedition, such as approve of
the cause and of the leader rise up and declare their intention of
following him ; after coming under this engagement, those who
do not fulfil it are considered as deserters and traitors, and are
looked upon as infamous." (Cues., ibid., c. 23. ) Tacitus plainly
points at the same custom, though in terms more obscure. (Tacit.,
c. 1 1. ) 4. As every individual was so independent, and master in
so great a degree of his own actions, it became, of consequence,
the great object of every person among the Germans, who aimed
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 215
at being a leader, to gain adherents and attach them to his person
and interest. These adherents Caesar calls ambacti and clientes,
i. e., retainers or clients ; Tacitus, comites, or companions. The
chief distinction and power of the leaders consisted in being
attended by a numerous band of chosen youth. This was their
pride as well as ornament during peace, and their defence in war.
The leaders gained or preserved the favor of these retainers by
presents of armor and of horses, or by the profuse though in-
elegant hospitality with which they entertained them. (Tacit., c.
14, 15.) 5. Another consequence of the personal liberty and in-
dependence which the Germans retained, even after they united
in society, was their circumscribing the criminal jurisdiction of
the magistrate within very narrow limits, and their not only claim-
ing, but exercising, almost all the rights of private resentment and
revenge. Their magistrates had not the power either of impris-
oning or of inflicting any corporal punishment on a free man.
(Tacit., c. 7.) Every person was obliged to avenge the wrongs
which his parents or friends had sustained. Their enmities were
hereditary, but not irreconcilable. Even murder was compensated
by paying a certain number of cattle. (Tacit., c. 21.) A part of
the fine went to the king, or state, a part to the person who had
been injured, or to his kindred. (Ibid., c. 12.)
Those particulars concerning the institutions and manners of
the Germans, though well known to every person conversant in
ancient literature, I have thought proper to arrange in this order,
and to lay before such of my readers as may be less acquainted
with these facts, both because they confirm the account which I
have given of the state of the barbarous nations, and because they
tend to illustrate all the observations I shall have occasion to make
concerning the various changes in their government and customs.
The laws and customs introduced by the barbarous nations into
their new settlements are the best commentary on the writings of
Caesar and Tacitus ; and their observations are the best key to a
perfect knowledge of these laws and customs.
One circumstance with respect to the testimonies of Caesar and
Tacitus concerning the Germans merits attention. Caesar wrote
his brief account of their manners more than a hundred years
216 PROOFS AXD ILLUSTRATIONS.
before Tacitus composed his Treatise de Moribns Gennanorum.
A hundred years make a considerable period in the progress of
national manners, especially if during that time those people who
are rude and unpolished have had much communication with
more civilized states. This was the case with the Germans.
Their intercourse with the Romans began when Caesar crossed
the Rhine, and increased greatly during the interval between that
event and the time when Tacitus flourished. We may accordingly
observe that the manners of the Germans in his time, which Caesar
describes, were less improved than those of the same people as
delineated by Tacitus. Besides this, it is remarkable that there
\\as a considerable difference in the state of society among the
different tribes of Germans. The Suiones were so much improved
that they began to be corrupted. (Tacit., c. 44.) The Fenni were
so barbarous that it is wonderful how they were able to subsist.
(Ibid., c. 46.) Whoever undertakes to describe the manners of
the Germans, or to found any political theory upon the state of
society among them, ought carefully to attend to both these
circumstances.
Before I quit this subject, it may not be improper to observe
that, though successive alterations in their institutions, together
with the gradual progress of refinement, have made an entire
change in the manners of the various people who conquered the
Roman empire, there is still one race of men nearly in the same
political situation with theirs when they first settled in their new
conquests ; I mean the various tribes and nations of savages in
North America. It cannot, then, be considered either as a digres-
sion, or as an improper indulgence of curiosity, to inquire whether
this similarity in their political state has occasioned any resemblance
between their character and manners. If the likeness turns out to
be striking, it is a stronger proof that a just account has been given
of the ancient inhabitants of Europe than the testimony even of
Ciesar or of Tacitus.
I. The Americans subsist chiefly by hunting and fishing. Some
tribes neglect agriculture entirely. Among those who cultivate
some small spot near their huts, that, together with all works of
labor, is performed by the women. (P. Charlevoix, Journal histo-
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 217
rique d'un Voyage de 1' Amerique, 410, Par. , 1 744, p. 334. ) In such
a state of society, the common wants of men being few and their
mutual dependence upon each other small, their union is extremely
imperfect and feeble, and they continue to enjoy their natural lib-
erty almost unimpaired. It is the first idea of an American that
every man is born free and independent, and that no power on
earth hath any right to diminish or circumscribe his natural liberty.
There is hardly any appearance of subordination, either in civil or
domestic government. Every one does what he pleases. A father
and mother live with their children like persons whom chance has
brought together and whom no common bond unites. Their manner
of educating their children is suitable to this principle. They never
chastise or punish them, even during their infancy. As they ad-
vance in years, they continue to be entirely masters of their own
actions, and seem not to be conscious of being responsible for any
part of their conduct. (Ibid., pp. 272, 273.) 2. The power of
their civil magistrates is extremely limited. Among most of their
tribes, the sachem, or chief, is elective. A council of old men is
chosen to assist him, without whose advice he determines no affair
of importance. The sachems neither possess nor claim any great
degree of authority. They propose and entreat, rather than com-
mand. The obedience of their people is altogether voluntary.
(Ibid., pp. 266, 268. ) 3. The savages of America engage in their
military enterprises, not from constraint, but choice. When war is
resolved, a chief arises and offers himself to be the leader. Such
as are willing (for they compel no person) stand up one after
another and sing their war-song. But if, after this, any of these
should refuse to follow the leader to whom they have engaged,
his life would be in danger, and he would be considered as the
most infamous of men. (Ibid., pp. 217, 218.) 4. Such as engage
to follow any leader expect to be treated by him with great atten-
tion and respect ; and he is obliged to make them presents of
considerable value. (Ibid., p. 218.) 5. Among the Americans,
the magistrate has scarcely any criminal jurisdiction. (Ibid., p.
272.) Upon receiving any injury, the person or family offended
may inflict what punishment they please on the person who was
the author of it. (Ibid., p. 274.) Their resentment and desire
Charles. — VOL. I.— K 19
2t8 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
of vengeance are excessive and implacable. Time can neither
extinguish nor abate it. It is the chief inheritance parents leave
to their children ; it is transmitted from generation to generation,
until an occasion be found of satisfying it. (Ibid., p. 309. ) Some-
times, however, the offended party is appeased. A compensation
is paid for a murder that has been committed. The relations of
the deceased receive it ; and it consists most commonly of a captive
taken in war, who, being substituted in place of the person who
was murdered, assumes his name and is adopted into his family.
(Ibid., p. 274.) The resemblance holds in many other particulars.
It is sufficient for my purpose to have pointed out the similarity of
those great features which distinguish and characterize both people.
Bochart, and other philologists of the last century, who, with more
erudition than science, endeavored to trace the migrations of various
nations, and who were apt upon the slightest appearance of resem-
blance to find an affinity between nations far removed from each
other, and to conclude that they were descended from the same
ancestors, would hardly have failed, on viewing such an amazing
similarity, to pronounce with confidence " that the Germans and
Americans must be the same people." But a philosopher will
satisfy himself with observing " that the characters of nations
depend on the state of society in which they live, and on the
political institutions established among them ; and that the human
mind, whenever it is placed in the same situation, will, in ages the
most distant and in countries the most remote, assume the same
form and be distinguished by the same manners."
I have pushed the comparison between the Germans and
Americans no further than was necessary for the illustration of
my subject. I do not pretend that the state of society in the two
countries was perfectly similar in every respect. Many of the
German tribes were more civilized than the Americans. Some of
them were not unacquainted with agriculture; almost all of them
had flocks of tame cattle, and depended upon them for the chief
part of their subsistence. Most of the American tribes subsist by
hunting, and are in a ruder and more simple state than the ancient
Germans. The resemblance, however, between their condition is
greater, perhaps, than any that history affords an opportunity of
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
219
observing between any two races of uncivilized people ; and this
has produced a surprising similarity of manners.
NOTE VII.— Sect. I. p. 15.
The booty gained by an army belonged to the army. The king
himself had no part of it but what he acquired by lot. A remark-
able instance of this occurs in the history of the Franks. The
army of Clovis, the founder of the French monarchy, having
plundered a church, carried off, among other sacred utensils, a
vase of extraordinary size and beauty. The bishop sent deputies
to Clovis, beseeching him to restore the vase, that it might be
again employed in the sacred services to which it had been con-
secrated. Clovis desired the deputies to follow him to Soissons,
as the booty was to be divided in that place, and promised that if
the lot should give him the disposal of the vase he would grant
what the bishop desired. When he came to Soissons, and all the
booty was placed in one great heap in the middle of the army,
Clovis entreated that before making the division they would give
him that vase over and above his share. All appeared willing to
gratify the king and to comply with his request, when a fierce and
haughty soldier lifted up his battle-axe, and, striking the vase with
the utmost violence, cried out, with a loud voice, " You shall
receive nothing here but that to which the lot gives you a right."
Gregor. Turon., Histor. Francorum, lib. ii. c. 27, p. 70, Par., 1610.
NOTE VIII.— Sect. I. p. 18.
The history of the establishment and progress of the feudal
system is an interesting object to all the nations of Europe. In
some countries their jurisprudence and laws are still in a great
measure feudal. In others, many forms and practices established
by custom, or founded on statutes, took their rise from the feudal
law, and cannot be understood without attending to the ideas pe-
culiar to it. Several authors of the highest reputation for genius
and erudition have endeavored to illustrate this subject, but still
many parts of it are obscure. I shall endeavor to trace with
precision the progress and variation of ideas concerning property
220 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
in land among the barbarous nations, and shall attempt to point
out the causes which introduced these changes, as well as the
effects which followed upon them. Property in land seems to
have gone through four successive changes among the people
who settled in the various provinces of the Roman empire.
I. While the barbarous nations remained in their original
countries, their property in land was only temporary, and they
had no certain limits to their possessions. After feeding their
flocks in one district, they removed with them, and with their
wives and families, to another, and abandoned that likewise in a
short time. They were not, in consequence of this imperfect
species of property, brought under any positive or formal obliga-
tion to serve the community ; all their services were purely vol-
untary. Every individual WHS at liberty to choose how far he
would contribute towards carrying on any military enterprise. If
he followed a leader in any expedition, it was from attachment,
not from a sense of obligation. The clearest proof of this has
been produced in Note VI. While property continued in this
state, we can discover nothing that bears any resemblance to a
feudal tenure, or to the subordination and military service which
the feudal system introduced.
II. Upon settling in the countries which they had subdued, the
victorious troops divided the conquered lands. Whatever portion
of them fell to a soldier, he seized as the recompense due to his
valor, as a settlement acquired by his own sword. He took pos-
session of it as a freeman in full property. He enjoyed it during
his own life, and could dispose of it at pleasure, or transmit it as
an inheritance to his children. Thus property in land became
fixed. It was at the same time allodial ; i.e., the possessor had
the entire right of property and dominion ; he held of no sove-
reign or superior lord to whom he was bound to do homage and
perform service. But as these new proprietors were in some
danger (as has been observed in the text) of being disturbed by
the remainder of the ancient inhabitants, and in still greater
danger of being attacked by successive colonies of barbarians as
fierce and rapacious as themselves, they saw the necessity of com-
ing under obligations to defend the community more explicit than
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 22l
those to which they had been subject in their original habitations.
On this account, immediately upon their fixing in their new settle-
ments, every freeman became bound to take arms in defence of the
community, and, if he refused or neglected so to do, was liable to
a considerable penalty. I do not mean that any contract of this
kind was formally concluded or mutually ratihed by any legal
solemnity. It was established by tacit consent, like the other
compacts which hold society together. The mutual security and
preservation made it the interest of all to recognize its authority
and to enforce the observation of it. We can trace back this new
obligation on the proprietors of land to a very early period in the
history of the Franks. Chilperic, who began his reign A.D. 562,
exacted a fine, bannos jussit exigi, from certain persons who had
refused to accompany him in an expedition. (Gregor. Turon., lib.
v. c. 26, p. 211.) Childebert, who began his reign A.D. 5 7 6, pro-
ceeded in the same manner against others who had been guilty of
a like crime. ( Ibid. , lib. vii. c. 42, p. 342. ) Such a fine could not
have been exacted while property continued in its first state and
military service was entirely voluntary. Charlemagne ordained
that every freeman who possessed five mansi, i.e., sixty acres, of
land, in property, should march in person against the enemy.
(Capitul., A.D. 807. ) Louisle Debonnaire, A.D. 815, grantedlands
to certain Spaniards who fled from the Saracens, and allowed
them to settle in his territories, on condition that they should
serve in the army like other freemen. (Capitul., vol. i. p. 500.)
By land possessed in property, which is mentioned in the law of
Charlemagne, we are to understand, according to the style of that
age, allodial land ; alodes and proprietas, alodum and proprium,
being words perfectly synonymous. ( Du Cange, voce AloJis. ) The
clearest proof of the distinction between allodial and beneficiary
possession is contained in two charters published by Muratori, by
which it appears that a person might possess one part of his estate
as allodial, which he could dispose of at pleasure, the other as
a benefidum, of which he had only the usufruct, the property
returning to the superior lord on his demise. (Antiq. Ital. Medii
JEvi, vol. i. pp. 559, 565. ) The same distinction is pointed out in
a capitulare of Charlemagne, A.D. 812, edit. Baluz., vol. i. p. 491.
19*
222 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
Count Everard, who married a daughter of Louis le Debonnaire,
in the curious testament by which he disposes of his vast estate
among his children, distinguishes between what he possessed
prof>rietate and what he held btneficio ; and it appears that the
greater part was allodial, A.D. 837. Aub. Mind Opera Diplo-
mat ica, Lovan., 1723, vol. i. p. 19.
In the same manner liber homo is commonly opposed to rassus
or vassaHus ; the former denotes an allodial proprietor, the latter
one who held of a superior. These free men were under an
obligation to serve the state ; and this duty was considered as so
sacred that freemen were prohibited from entering into holy
orders unless they had obtained the consent of the sovereign.
The reason given for this in the statute is remarkable : " For we
are informed that some do so not so much out of devotion as in
order to avoid that military service which they are bound to per
form." (Capital., lib. i. g 114.) If upon being summoned into
the field any freeman refused to obey, a full hercbannuni, i.e., a fine
of sixty crowns, was to be exacted from him according to the law
of the Franks. (Capit. Car. Magn., ap. Leg. Longob.,lib. i. tit.
14, 2 13, p. 539. ) This expression, according to the law of the
Franks, seems to imply that both the obligation to serve, and the
penalty on those who disregarded it, were coeval with the laws
made by the Franks at their first settlement in Gaul. This fine
was levied with such rigor " that if any person convicted of this
crime was insolvent he was reduced to servitude, and continued
in that state until such time as his labor should amount to the
value of the herebannum." (Ibid.) The emperor Lotharius
rendered the penalty still more severe; and if any person pos-
sessing such an extent of property as made it incumbent on him
to take the field in person refused to obey the summons, all his
goods were declared to be forfeited, and he himself might be
punished with banishment. Murat., Script. Ital., vol. i. pars ii.
P. '53-
III. Property in land having thus become fixed, and subject to
military service, another change was introduced, though slowly
and step by step. We learn from Tacitus that the chief men
among the Germans endeavored to attach to their persons and
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 223
interests certain adherents whom he calls comites. These fought
under their standard and followed them in all their enterprises.
The same custom continued among them in their new settlements,
and those attached or devoted followers were called Jideles, antrus-
tiones, homines in truste dominica, leudes. Tacitus informs us that
the rank of a comes was deemed honorable. (De Morib. Germ.,
c. 13. ) The composition, which is the standard by which we must
judge of the rank and condition of persons in the Middle Ages,
paid for the murder of one in truste dominica, was triple to that
paid for the murder of a freeman. (Leg. Salicor., tit. 44, \\
I et 2.) While the Germans remained in their own country, they
courted the favor of these comites by presents of arms and horses,
and by hospitality. ( See Note VI . ) As long as they had no fixed
property in land, these were the only gifts that they could bestow,
and the only reward which their followers desired. But upon
their settling in the countries which they conquered, and when the
value of property came to be understood among them, instead of
those slight presents, the kings and chieftains bestowed a more
substantial recompense in land on their adherents. These grants
were called beneficiat because they were gratuitous donations ;
and honoreSy because they were regarded as marks of distinction.
What were the services originally exacted in return for these
benefida cannot be determined with absolute precision ; because
there are no records so ancient. When allodial possessions were
first rendered feudal, they were not at once subjected to all the
feudal services. The transition here, as in all other changes of
importance, was gradual. As the great object of a feudal vassal
was to obtain protection, when allodial proprietors first consented
to become vassals of any powerful leader they continued to retain
as much of their ancient independence as was consistent with that
new relation. The homage which they did to their superior, of
whom they chose to hold, was called homagium plannm, and
bound them to nothing more than fidelity, but without any obliga-
tion either of military service or attendance in the courts of their
superior. Of this homagium planum some traces, though ob?cure,
may still be discovered. (Brussel, torn. i. p. 97.) Among the
ancient writs published by D. D. de Vic and Vaisette, Hist, de
224 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
I^angued., are a great many which they call homagia. They seem
to be an intermediate step between the homagium planum men-
tioned by Brussel, and the engagement to perform complete feudal
service. The one party promises protection and grants certain
castles or lands ; the other engages to defend the person of the
grantor, and to assist him likewise in defending his property as
often as he shall be summoned to do so. But these engagements
are accompanied with none of the feudal formalities, and no men-
tion is made of any of the other feudal services. They appear
rather to be a mutual contract between equals than the engagement
of a vassal to perform services to a superior lord. (Preuves de
1'Hist. de Lang., torn. ii. p. 173, et passim.) As soon as men
were accustomed to these, the other feudal services were gradually
introduced. M. de Montesquieu considers these beneficia as fiefs,
which originally subjected those who held them to military sen-ice.
(L'Esprit des Loix, 1. xxx. c. 3 et 16. ) M. 1'Abbe" de Mably con-
tends that such as held these were at first subjected to no other
service than what was incumbent on every freeman. (Observa-
tions sur 1 Histoire de France, i. 356. ) But upon comparing their
proofs and reasonings and conjectures it seems to be evident that as
every freeman, in consequence of his allodial property, was bound
to serve the community under a severe penalty, no good reason can
be assigned for conferring these beneficia if they did not subject
such as received them to some new obligation. \Vhy should a
king have stripped himself of his domain, if he had not expected
that by parcelling it out he might acquire a right to services to
which lie had formerly no title ? We may then warrantably con-
clude, " That as allodial property subjected those who possessed
it to serve the community, so beneficia subjected such as held them
to personal service and fidelity to him from whom they received
these lands." These beneficia were granted originally only during
pleasure. No circumstance relating to the customs of the Middle
Ages is better ascertained than this ; and innumerable proofs of it
might be added to those produced in L'Esprit des Loix, 1. xxx. c.
1 6, and by I)u Cange, vocc. Beneficium et feudum.
IV. But the possession of benefices did not continue long in
this state. A precarious tenure during pleasure was not sufficient
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
225
to satisfy such as held lands, and by various means they gradually
obtained a confirmation of their benefices during life. (Feudor.,
lib. i. tit. i. ) Du Cange produces several quotations from ancient
charters and chronicles in proof of this. (Gloss., voc. Benefi-
cium. ) After1 this it was easy to obtain or extort charters render-
ing benefida hereditary, first in the direct line, then in the col-
lateral, and at last in the female line. Leg. Longob., lib. iii.
tit. 8 ; Du Cange, voc. Bcnefidum.
It is no easy matter to fix the precise time when each of these
changes took place. *M. 1'Abbe Mably. conjectures, with some
probability, that Charles Martel first introduced the practice of
granting benefida for life. (Observat., torn. i. pp. 103, 160. ) And
that Louis le Debonnaire was among the first who rendered them
hereditary, is evident from the authorities to which he refers.
(Ibid., 429. ) Mabillon, however, has published a placitum of
Louis le Debonnaire, A.D. 860, by which it appears that he still
continued to grant some benefida only during life. (De Re
Diplomatica, lib. vi. p. 353.) In the year 889, Odo, king of
France, granted lands to " Ricabodo, fideli suo, jure beneficiario
et fructuario," during his own life ; and if he should die, and a
son were born to him, that right was to continue during the life
of his son. (Mabillon, ut supra, p. 556.) This was an interme-
diate step between fiefs merely during life and fiefs hereditary to
perpetuity. While benefida continued under their first form, and
were held only during pleasure, he who granted them not only
exercised the dominium, or prerogative of superior lord, but he
retained the property, giving his vassal only the usufruct. But
under the latter form, when they became hereditary, although
feudal lawyers continued to define a benefidum agreeably to its
original nature, the property was in effect taken out of the hands
of the superior lords and lodged in those of the vassal. As soon
as the reciprocal advantages of the feudal mode of tenure came
to be understood by superiors as well as vassals, that species of
holding became so agreeable to both that not only lands, but casual
rents, such as the profits of a toll, the fare paid at ferries, etc., the
salaries or perquisites of offices, and even pensions themselves,
were granted and held as fiefs ; and military service was promised
226 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
and exacted on account of these. (Morice, Mem. pour servir de
Preuves & 1'Hist. de Bretagne, torn. ii. pp. 78, 690 ; Hrussel, torn,
i p. 41.) How absurd soever it may seem to grant or to hold
such precarious and casual property as a fief, there are instances
of feudal tenures still more singular. The profits'arising from the
masses said at an altar were properly an ecclesiastical revenue,
belonging to the clergy of the church or monastery which per-
formed that duty ; but these were sometimes seized by the power-
ful barons. In order to ascertain their right to them, they held
them as fiefs of the Church, and parcelled them out in the same
manner as other property to their sub-vassals. (Bouquet, Recueil
des Hist., vol. x. pp. 238, 480.) The same spirit of encroach-
ment which rendered fiefs hereditary led the nobles to extort from
their sovereigns hereditary grants of offices. Many of the great
offices of the crown became hereditary in most of the kingdoms
in Europe ; and so conscious were monarchs of this spirit of
usurpation among the nobility, and so solicitous to guard against
it, that on some occasions they obliged the persons whom they
promoted to any office of dignity to grant an obligation that
neither they nor their heirs should claim it as belonging to them
by hereditary right. A remarkable instance of this is produced,
Mem. de 1'Acad. des Inscrip., torn. xxx. p. 595. Another occurs
in the Thesaur. Anecdot., published by Martene et Durand, vol.
i. p. 873. This revolution in property occasioned a change corre-
sponding to it in political government ; the great vassals of the
crown, as they acquired such extensive possessions, usurped a pro-
portional degree of power, depressed the jurisdiction of the crown,
and trampled on the privileges of the people. It is on account
of this connection that it becomes an object of importance in his-
tory to trace the progress of feudal property ; for upon discovering
in what state property was at any particular period we may deter-
mine with precision what was the degree of power possessed by
the king or by the nobility at that juncture.
One circumstance more, with respect to the changes which
property underwent, deserves attention. I have shown that when
the various tribes of barbarians divided their conquests in the
fifth and sixth centuries the property which they acquired was
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
227
allodial ; but in several parts of Europe property had become
almost entirely feudal by the beginning of the tenth century. The
former species of property seems to be so much better and more
desirable than the latter that such a change appears surprising,
especially when we are informed that allodial property was fre-
quently converted into feudal by a voluntary deed of the posses-
sor. The motives which determined them to a choice so repug-
nant to the ideas of modern times concerning property have been
investigated and explained by M. de Montesquieu, with his usual
discernment and accuracy, lib. xxxi. c. 8. The most considerable
is that of which we have a hint in Lambertus Ardensis, an ancient
writer quoted by Du Cange, voce Alodis. In those times of an-
archy and disorder which became general in Europe after the
death of Charlemagne, when there was scarcely any union among
the different members of the community, and individuals were
exposed, single and undefended by government, to rapine and
oppression, it became necessary for every man to have a powerful
protector, under whose banner he might range himself and obtain
security against enemies whom singly he could not oppose. For
this reason he relinquished his allodial independence, and sub-
jected himself to the feudal services, that he might find safety
under the patronage of some respectable superior. In some parts
of Europe this change from allodial to feudal property became so
general that he who possessed land had no longer any liberty of
choice left : he was obliged to recognize some liege-lord and to
hold of him. Thus, Beaumanoir informs us that in the counties
of Clermont and Beauvois, if the lord or count discovered any
land within his jurisdiction for which no service was performed
and which paid to him no taxes or customs, he might instantly
seize it as his own ; for, says he, according to our custom, no man
can hold allodial property. (Coust., chap. 24, p. 123.) Upon the
same principle is founded a maxim which has at length become
general in the law of France, Nulle terre sans seigneur. In other
provinces of France allodial property seems to have remained
longer unalienated and to have been more highly valued. A
great number of charters, containing grants or sales or exchanges
of allodial lands in the province of Languedoc, are published
228 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
in Hist. gener. de Langued., par D. D. de Vic et Vaisette, torn. ii.
During the ninth, tenth, and great part of the eleventh century
the property in that province seems to have been entirely allodial ;
and scarcely any mention of feudal tenures occurs in the deeds
of that country. The state of property during these centuries
seems to have been perfectly similar in Catalonia and the country
of Roussillon, as appears from the original charters published in
the Appendix to Petr. de la Marca's treatise de Marca sive Limite
Hispanico. Allodial property seems to have continued in the Low
Countries to a period still later. During the eleventh, twelfth,
and thirteenth centuries this species of property appears to have
been of considerable extent. (Minei Opera Diplom., vol. i. pp.
34» 74» 75. 83» 8'7» 296t 842» 847f 578-) Some vestiges of allo-
dial property appear there as late as the fourteenth century.
(Ibid., p. 218. ) Several facts which prove that allodial property
subsisted in different parts of Europe long after the introduction
of feudal tenures, and which tend to illustrate the distinction
between these two different species of possession, are produced by
M. Houard, Anciennes Loix des Francois, conservees dans les
Coutumes Angloises, vol. i. p. 192, etc. The notions of men with
respect to property vary according to the diversity of their under-
standings and the caprice of their passions. At the same time
that some persons were fond of relinquishing allodial property in
order to hold it by feudal tenure, others seem to have been
solicitous to convert their fiefs into allodial property. An instance
of tliis occurs in a charter of Louis le Debonnaire, published by
Eckhard, Commentarii de Rebus Franciae Orientalis, vol. ii. p.
885. Another occurs in the year 1299 (Reliquiae MSS. omnis
/Evi, by Ludwig, vol. i. p. 209); and even one as late as the
year 1337 (ibid., vol. vii. p. 40). The same thing took place in
the Ix>w Countries. Minei Oper., i. 52.
In tracing these various revolutions of property I have hitherto
chiefly confined myself to what happened in France, because the
ancient monuments of that nation have either been more carefully
preserved, or have been more clearly illustrated, than those of any
people in Europe.
In Italy the same revolutions happened in property and sue-
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
229
ceeded each other in the same order. There is some ground,
however, for conjecturing that allodial property continued longer
in estimation among the Italians than among the French. It
appears that many of the charters granted by the emperors in the
ninth century conveyed an allodial right to land. (Mural., Antiq.
Med. ^vi, vol. i. p. 575, etc.) But in the eleventh century we
find some examples of persons who resigned their allodial prop-
erty and received it back as a feudal tenure. (Ibid., p. 610, etc. )
Muratori observes that the word feudum, which came to be sub-
stituted in place of beneficium, does not occur in any authentic
charter previous to the eleventh century. ( Ibid. , p. 594. ) A charter
of King Robert of France, A.D. 1 008, is the earliest deed in
which I have met with the word feudum. (Bouquet, Recueil des
Historiens des Gaules et de la France, torn. x. p. S93r b. ) This
word occurs, indeed, in an edict, A.D. 790, published by Brussel,
vol. i. p. 77. But the authenticity of that deed has been called
in question, and perhaps the frequent use of the word feudum in
it is an additional reason for doing so. The account which I
have given of the nature both of allodial and feudal possessions
receives some confirmation from the etymology of the words
themselves. Alode or allodium is compounded of the German
particle an and lot, i.e., land obtained by lot. (Wachteri Glossar.
Germanicum, voc. Allodium, p. 35.) It appears from the authori-
ties produced by him, and by Du Cange, voc. Sors, that the North-
ern nations divided the lands which they had conquered in this
manner. Feodum is compounded of od, possession or estate, and
feo, wages, pay ; intimating that it was stipendiary and granted
as a recompense for service. Wachterus, ibid., voc. Feodum, p.
441.
The progress of the feudal system among the Germans was
perfectly similar to that which we have traced in France. But
as the emperors of Germany, especially after the imperial crown
passed from the descendants of Charlemagne to the house of
Saxony, were far superior to the contemporary monarchs of France
in abilities, the imperial vassals did not aspire so early to inde-
pendence, nor did they so soon obtain the privilege of possessing
their benefices by hereditary right. According to the compilers
Charles. — VOL. I. 20
230
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
of the Libri Feudorum, Conrad II., or the Salic, was the first
emperor who rendered fiefs hereditary. (Lib. i. tit i.) Conrad
began his reign A.D. 1024. Ludovicus Pius, under whose reign
grants of hereditary fiefs were frequent in France, succeeded his
father A.D. 814. Not only was this innovation so much later in
being introduced among the vassals of the German emperors, but
even after Conrad had established it the law continued favorable
to the ancient practice ; and unless the charter of the vassal bore
expressly that the fief descended to his heirs, it was presumed to
be granted only during life. (Lib. Feud., ibid.) Even after the
alteration made by Conrad, it was not uncommon in Germany to
grant fiefs only for life. A charter of this kind occurs as late as
the year 1376. (Charta, ap. Boehmer., Princip. Jur. Feud., p. 361.)
The transmission of fiefs to collateral and female heirs took place
very slowly among the Germans. There is extant a charter, A.D.
1201, conveying the right of succession to females; but it is
granted as an extraordinary mark of favor and in reward of
uncommon services. (Boehmer., ibid., p. 365.) In Germany, as
well as in France and Italy, a considerable part of the lands
continued to be allodial long after the feudal mode of tenure was
introduced. It appears from the Codex Diplomaticus Monasterii
Buch that a great part of the lands in the marquisate of Misnia
was still allodial as late as the thirteenth century. (No. 31, 36, 37,
46, etc., ap. Scriptores Hist. German., cura Schoetgenii et Krey-
sigii, Altenb., 1755, vol. ii. p. 183, etc.) Allodial property seems
to have been common in another district of the same province
during the same period. Reliquiae Diplomatics SaiicUmonial.,
Beutiz., No. 17, 36, 58, ibid, 374, etc.
NOTE IX.— Sect. I. p. 19.
As I shall have occasion, in another note, to represent the con-
dition of that part of the people who dwelt in cities, I will confine
myself in this to consider the state of the inhabitants of the country.
The persons employed in cultivating the ground during the ages
under review may be divided into three classes: — I. Servi, or
slaves. This seems to have been the most numerous class, and
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
231
consisted either of captives taken in war, or of persons the
property in. whom was acquired in some one of the various
methods enumerated by Du Cange, voc. Servus, vol. vi. p. 447.
The wretched condition of this numerous race of men will^ appear
from several circumstances. I. Their masters had absolute do-
minion over their persons. They had the power of punishing
their slaves capitally, without the intervention of any judge. This
dangerous right they possessed not only in the more early periods
when their manners were fierce, but it continued as late as the
twelfth century. (Joach. Potgiesserus de Statu Servorum, Lem-
gov., 1736, 410, lib. ii. cap. I, §§ 4, 10, 13, 24.) Even after this
jurisdiction of masters came to be restrained, the life of a slave
was deemed to be of so little value that a very slight compensation
atoned for taking it away. (Idem, lib. iii. c. 6.) If masters had
power over the lives of their slaves, it is evident that almost no
bounds would be set to the rigor of the punishments which they
might inflict upon them. The codes of ancient laws prescribed
punishments for the crimes of slaves different from those which
were inflicted on freemen. The latter paid only a fine or com-
pensation ; the former were subjected to corporal punishments.
The cruelty of these was, in many instances, excessive. Slaves
might be put to the rack on very slight occasions. The laws with
respect to these points are to be found in Potgiesserus, lib. iii. c. 7»
§ 2, and are shocking to humanity. 2. If the dominion of masters
over the lives and persons of their slaves was thus extensive, it
was no less so over their actions and property. They were not
originally permitted to marry. Male and female slaves were
allowed, and even encouraged, to cohabit together. But this
union was not considered as a mnrriage : it was called conluber-
nium, not nuptia or matrimonium. (Potgiess., lib. ii. c. 2, § I.)
This notion was so much established that, during several centuries
after the barbarous nations embraced the Christian religion, slaves
who lived as husband and wife were not joined together by any
religious ceremony, and did not receive the nuptial benediction
from a priest. (Ibid., §§ 10, II.) When this conjunction between
slaves came to be considered as a lawful marriage, they were not
permitted to marry without the consent of their master, and such as
23 2 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
ventured to do so without obtaining that were punished with great
severity, and sometimes were put to death. (Potgiess., ibid., § 12,
etc.; Gregor. Turon., Hist., lib. v. c. 3.) When the manners of
the European nations became more gentle, and their ideas more
liberal, slaves who married without their master's consent were
subjected only to a fine. (Potgiess., ibid., § 20; Du Cange, Gloss,
voc. Forismaritagium. ) 3. All the children of slaves were in the
same condition with their parents, and became the property of the
master. (Du Cange, Gloss., voc. Sfrvus, vol. vi. p. 450 ; Mural.,
Antiq. Ital., vol. i. p. 766. ) 4. Slaves were so entirely the property
of their masters that they could sell them at pleasure. While do-
mestic slavery continued, property in a slave was sold in the same
manner with that which a person had in any other movable.
Afterwards slaves became adscrifti glebtt, and were conveyed by
sale together with the farm or estate to which they belonged.
Potgiesserus has collected the laws and charters which illustrate
this well-known circumstance in the condition of slaves. (Lib. ii.
c. 4. ) 5. Slaves had a tide to nothing but subsistence and clothes
from their master ; all the profits of their labor accrued to him.
If a master, from indulgence, gave his slaves any ptculium, or
fixed allowance for their subsistence, they had no right of property
in what they saved out of that. All that they accumulated be-
longed to their master. (Potgiess., lib. ii. c. 10; Murat., Antiq.
Ital., vol. i. p. 768; Du Cange, voc. Strvus, vol. vi. p. 451.)
Conformably to the same principle, all the effects of slaves be-
longed to their masters at their death, and they could not dispose
of them by testament. (Potgiess., lib. ii. c. II.) 6. Slaves were
distinguished from freemen by a peculiar dress. Among all the
barbarous nations, long hair was a mark of dignity and of free-
dom ; slaves were, for that reason, obliged to shave their heads ;
and by this distinction, how indifferent soever it maybe in its own
nature, they were reminded every moment of the inferiority of
their condition. (Potgiess., lib. iii. c. 4.) For the same reason,
it was enacted in the laws of almost all the nations of Europe that
no slave should be admitted to give evidence against a freeman in
a court of justice. Du Cange, voc. Sfrvus, vol. vi. p. 451 ; Pot-
giess., lib. iii. c. 3.
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
233
II. Villani. They were likewise adscripti glebce or vilUe, from
which they derived their name, and were transferable along with
it. (Du Cange, voc. Vi/Ianus.) But in this they differed from
slaves, that they paid a fixed rent to their master for the land
which they cultivated, and, after paying that, all the fruits of their
labor and industry belonged to themselves in property. This
distinction is marked by Pierre de Fontain's Conseil. Vie de St.
Louis par Joinville, p. 119, edit, de Du Cange. Several cases
decided agreeably to this principle are mentioned by Murat, ibid.,
P- 773-
III. The last class of persons employed in agriculture were
freemen. These are distinguished by various names among the
writers of the Middle Ages, arimanni, conditionales, originarii,
Iributales, etc. These seem to have been persons who possessed
some small allodial property of their own, and, besides that, culti-
vated some farm belonging to their more wealthy neighbors, for
which they paid a fixed rent, and bound themselves likewise to
perform several small services in prato vel in messe, in aratura
vel in vtnea, such as ploughing a certain quantity of their land-
lord's ground, assisting him in harvest and vintage work, etc. The
clearest proof of this may be found in Muratori, vol. i. p. 712, and
in Du Cange, under the respective words above mentioned. I
have not been able to discover whether these arimanni, etc., were
removable at pleasure, or held their farms by lease for a certain
number of years. The former, if we may judge from the genius
and maxims of the age, seems to be the most probable. These
persons, however, were considered as freemen in the most honor-
able sense of the word : they enjoyed all the privileges of that
condition, and were even called to serve in war ; an honor to
which no slave was admitted. (Murat., Antiq. , vol. i. p. 743>
vol. ii. p. 446. ) This account of the condition of these three
different classes of persons will enable the reader to apprehend the
full force of an argument which I shall produce in confirmation
of what I have said in the text concerning the wretched state of
the people during the Middle Ages. Notwithstanding the immense
difference between the first of these classes and the third, such was
the spirit of tyranny which prevailed among the great proprietors
20*
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
of lands, and so various their opportunities of oppressing those
who were settled on their estates, and of rendering their condition
intolerable, that many freemen, in despair, renounced their liberty
and voluntarily surrendered themselves as slaves to their powerful
masters. This they did in order that their masters might become
more immediately interested to afford them protection, together
with the means of subsisting themselves and their families. The
forms of such a surrender, or obnoxiatio, as it was then called,
are preserved by Marculfus, lib. ii. c. 28, and by the anonymous
author published by M. Bignon together with the collection of
formula compiled by Marculfus, c. 16. In both, the reason given
for the obnoxiatio is the wretched and indigent condition of the
person who gives up his liberty. It was still more common for
freemen to surrender their liberty to bishops or abbots, that they
might partake of the security which the vassals and slaves of
churches and monasteries enjoyed, in consequence of the super-
stitious veneration paid to the saint under whose immediate pro-
tection they were supposed to be taken. ( Un Cange, voc. Oblatust
vol. iv. p. 1286. ) That condition must have been miserable indeed
which could induce a freeman voluntarily to renounce his liberty
and to give up himself as a slave to the disposal of another. The
number of slaves in every nation of. Europe was immense. The
greater part of the inferior class of people in France were reduced
to this state at the commencement of the third race of kings.
(L'Esprit des Loix, liv. xxx. c. n.) The same was the case in
England. (Brady, Pref. to Gen. Hist. ) Many curious facts with
respect to the ancient state of villains or slaves in England are
published in Observations on the Statutes, chiefly the more ancient,
3d edit., p. 269, etc.
NOTE X.— Sect. I. p. 22.
Innumerable proofs of this might be produced. Many charters,
granted by persons of the highest rank, are preserved, from which
it appears that they could not subscribe their name. It was usual
for persons who could not write to make the sign of the cross in
confirmation of a charter. Several of these remain where kings
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
235
and persons of great eminence affix signum crucis manu prapria
pro ignoratione literarum. (Du Cange, voc. Crux, vol. iii. p. 1191.)
From this is derived the phrase of signing instead of subscribing
a paper. In the ninth century, Herbaud, Comes Palatii, though
supreme judge of the empire by virtue of his office, could not
subscribe his name. (Nouveau Trait6 de Diplomatique, par deux
Benedictins, 4*0, torn. ii. p. 422. ) As late as the fourteenth cen-
tury, Du Guesclin, constable of France, the greatest man in the
state, and one of the greatest men of his age, could neither read
nor write. (Ste. Palaye, Memoires sur 1'ancienne Chevalerie, tit.
ii. p. 82. ) Nor was this ignorance confined to laymen : the
greater part of the clergy was not many degrees superior to them
in science. Many dignified ecclesiastics could not subscribe the
canons of those councils in which they sat as members. (Nouv.
Traite de Diplom. , torn. ii. p. 424.) One of the questions ap-
pointed by the canons to be put to persons who were candidates
for orders was this : " Whether they could read the gospels and
epistles, and explain the sense of them, at least literally?" (Regino
Prumiensis, ap. Bruck., Hist. Philos., v. iii. p. 631.) Alfred the
Great complained that from the Humber to the Thames there was
not a priest who understood the liturgy in his mother-tongue or
who could translate the easiest piece of Latin, and that from the
Thames to the sea the ecclesiastics were still more ignorant.
(Asserus de Rebus gestis Alfredi, ap. Camdeni Anglica, etc., p.
25. ) The ignorance of the clergy is quaintly described by an
author of the Dark Ages : " Potius dediti guise quam glossae ; .
potius colligunt libras quam legunt libros ; libentius intuentur
Martham quam Marcum ; malunt legere in Salmone quam in
Solomone." (Alanus de Art. Predicat. , ap. Lebeuf, Dissert., torn,
ii. p. 21.) To the obvious causes of such universal ignorance,
arising from the state of government and manners, from the sev-
enth to the eleventh century, we may add the scarcity of books
during that period, and the difficulty of rendering them more
common. The Romans wrote their books either on parchment or
en paper made of the Egyptian papyrus. The latter, being the
cheapest, was of course the most commonly used. But after the
Saracens conquered Egypt, in the seventh century, the communi-
236 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
cation b? tween that country and the people settled in Italy or in
other parts of Europe was almost entirely broken off, and the
papyrus was no longer in use among them. They were obliged,
on that account, to write all their hooks upon parchment, and, as
the price of that was high, books became extremely rare and of
great value. We may judge of the scarcity of the materials for
writing them from one circumstance. There still remain several
manuscripts of the eighth, ninth, and following centuries, written
on parchment from which some former writing had been erased
in order to substitute a new composition in its place. In this
manner it is probable that several works of the ancients perished.
A book of Livy or of Tacitus might be erased to make room for
the legendary tale of a saint or the superstitious prayers of a
missal. (Murat., Antiq. Ital., vol. iii. p. 833. ) P. de Montfaucon
affirms that the greater part of the manuscripts on parchment
which he has seen, those of an ancient date excepted, are written
on parchment from which some former treatise had been erased.
(Mem. de 1'Acad. des Inscript., torn. ix. p. 325.) As the want
of materials for writing is one reason why so many of the works
of the ancients have perished, it accounts likewise for the small
number of manuscripts of any kind previous to the eleventh cen-
tury, when they began to multiply, from a cause which shall be
mentioned. (Hist, litter, de France, torn. vi. p. 6.) Many cir-
cumstances prove the scarcity of books during these ages. Private
persons seldom possessed any books whatever. Even monasteries
of considerable note had only one missal. (Murat., Antiq., vol.
ix. p. 789. ) Lupus, abbot of Ferrieres, in a letter to the pope,
A.D. 855, beseeches him to lend him a copy of Cicero de Oratore
and Quintilian's Institutions ; " for," says he, " although we have
parts of those books, there is no complete copy of them in all
France." (Murat, Antiq., vol. iii. p. 835. ) The price of books
became so high that persons of a moderate fortune could not
afford to purchase them. The countess of Anjou paid for a copy
of the Homilies of Haimon, .bishop of Halberstadt, two hundred
sheep, five quarters of wheat, and the same quantity of rye and
millet. (Histoire litteraire de France, par des Religieux Bene-
diction, tow. vii. p. 3.) Even so late as the year 1471, when
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
237
Louis XI. borrowed the works of Rasis, the Arabian physician,
from the faculty of medicine in Paris, he not only deposited in
pledge a considerable quantity of plate, but was obliged to procure
a nobleman to join with him as surety in a deed, binding himself,
under a great forfeiture, to restore it. (Gabr. Naude, AddiL a
1'Histoire de Louys XI. par Comines, edit, de Fresnoy, torn. iv.
p. 281.) Many curious circumstances with respect to the extrava-
gant price of books in the Middle Ages are collected by that in-
dustrious compiler, to whom I refer such of my readers as deem
this small branch of literary history an object of curiosity. When
any person made a present of a book to a church or monastery,
in which were the only libraries during several ages, it was deemed
a donative of such value that he offered it on the altar pro reniedio
anima SUIT, in order to obtain the forgiveness of his sins. (Murat.,
vol. iii. p. 836 ; Hist, litter, de France, torn. vi. p. 6 ; Nouv. Trait,
de Diplomat., par deux Benedictins, 4to, torn. i. p. 481.) In the
eleventh century the art of making paper, in the manner now be-
come universal, was invented ; by means of that, not only the
number of manuscripts increased, but the study of the sciences
was wonderfully facilitated. (Murat., ib., p. 871. ) The invention
of the art of making paper, and the invention of the art of print-
ing, are two considerable events in literary history. It is remark-
able that the former preceded the first dawning of letters and
improvement in knowledge towards the close of the eleventh
century ; the latter ushered in the light which spread over Europe
at the era of the Reformation.
NOTE XI. — Sect. I. p. 22.
All the religious maxims and practices of the Dark Ages are a
proof of this. I shall produce one remarkable testimony in con-
firmation of it, from an author canonized by the Church of Rome,
St. Eloy, or Egidius, bishop of Noyon, in the seventh century.
" He is a good Christian who comes frequently to church ; who
presents the oblation which is offered to God upon the altar ; who
doth not taste the fruits of his own industry until he has conse-
crated a part of them to God ; who, when the holy festivals
238 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
approach, lives chastely even with his own wife during several
days, that with a safe conscience he may draw near the altar of
God ; and who, in the last place, can repeat the Creed and the
Lord's Prayer. Redeem then your souls from <U-st ruction while
you have the means in your power : offer presents and tithes to
churchmen ; come more frequently to church ; humbly implore
the patronage of the saints ; for, if you observe these things, you
may come with security in the day of retribution to the tribunal
of the Eternal Judge, and say, ' Give to us, O Lord, for we have
given unto thee.' " (Dacherii Spicilegium Vet. Script., vol. ii.
p. 94.) The learned and judicious translator of Dr. Mosheim's
Ecclesiastical History, to one of whose additional notes I am
indebted for my knowledge of this passage, subjoins a very proper
reflection : "We see here a large and ample description of a good
Christian, in which there is not the least mention of the love of
God, resignation to his will, obedience to his laws, or of justice;
benevolence, and charity towards men." Mosh., Eccles. Hist.,
vol. i. p. 324.
NOTE XII.— Sect. I. p. 23.
That infallibility in all its determinations, to which the Church
of Rome pretends, has been attended with one unhappy conse-
quence. As it is impossible to relinquish any opinion or to alter
any practice which has been established by authority that cannot
err, all its institutions and ceremonies must be immutable and
everlasting, and the Church must continue to observe in enlight-
ened times those rites which were introduced during the ages of
darkness and credulity. What delighted and edified the latter
must disgust and shock the former. Many of the rites observed
in the Romish Church appear manifestly to have been introduced
by a superstition of the lowest and most illiberal species. Many
of them were borrowed, with little variation, from the religious
ceremonies established among the ancient heathens. Some were
so ridiculous that, if every age did not furnish instances of the
fascinating influence of superstition, as well as of the whimsical
forms which it assumes, it must appear incredible that they should
have been ever received or tolerated. In several churches of
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
239
France they celebrated a festival in commemoration of the Virgin
Mary's Flight into Egypt. It was called the Feast of the Ass. A
young girl, richly dressed, with a child in her arms, was set upon
an ass superbly caparisoned. The ass was led to the altar in
solemn procession. High mass was said with great pomp. The
ass was taught to kneel at proper places ; a hymn no less childish
than impious was sung in his praise ; and, when the ceremony
was ended, the priest, instead of the usual words with which he
dismissed the people, brayed three times like an ass, and the
people, instead of the usual response, "We bless the Lord,"
brayed three times in the same manner. ( Du Cange, voc. Festum,
vol. iii. p. 424. ) This ridiculous ceremony was not, like the fes-
tival of fools, and some other pageants of those ages, a mere
farcical entertainment exhibited in a church, and mingled, as was
then the custom, with an imitation of some religious rites : it was
an act of devotion, performed by the ministers of religion and by
the authority of the Church. However, as this practice did not
prevail universally in the Catholic Church, its absurdity con-
tributed at last to abolish it.
NOTE XIIL— Sect. I. p. 28.
As there is no event in the history of mankind more singular
than that of the crusades, every circumstance that tends to explain
or to give any rational account of this extraordinary frenzy of the
human mind is interesting. I have asserted in the text that the
minds of men were prepared gradually for the amazing effort
which they made in consequence of the exhortations of Peter the
Hermit, by several occurrences previous to his time. A more
particular detail of this curious and obscure part of history may
perhaps appear to some of my readers to be of importance. That
the end of the world was expected about the close of the tenth
and beginning of the eleventh century, and that this occasioned a
general alarm, is evident from the authors to whom I have re-
ferred in the text. This belief was so universal and so strong
that it mingled itself with civil transactions. Many charters in
the latter part of the tenth century begin in this manner : " Appro-
240
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
pinquante mundi termino," etc. As the end of the world is now
at hand, and by various calamities and judgments the signs of its
approach are now manifest (Hist, de Langued., par D. D. de
Vic et Vaisette, torn. ii. ; Preuves, pp. 86, 89, 90, 117, 158, etc.)
One effect of this opinion was that a great number of pilgrims
resorted to Jerusalem, with a resolution to die there, or to wait
the coming of the Lord ; kings, earls, marquises, bishops, and
even a great number of women, besides persons of an inferior
rank, flocked to the Holy Land. (Glaber. Rodulph., Hist., apud
Bouquet, Recueil, torn. x. pp. 50, 52.) Another historian men-
tions a vast cavalcade of pilgrims who accompanied the count of
Angouleme to Jerusalem in the year 1026. (Chronic. Ademari,
ibid., p. 162.) Upon their return, these pilgrims filled Europe
with lamentable accounts of the state of Christians in the Holy
Land. ( VVillerm. Tyr., Hist., ap. Gest. Dei per Franc., vol. ii. p.
636 ; Guibert. Abbat., Hist., ibid., vol. i. p. 476.) Besides this,
it was usual for many of the Christian inhabitants of Jerusalem,
as well as of other cities in the East, to travel as mendicants
through Europe, and, by describing the wretched condition of the
professors of the Christian faith under the dominion of infidels, to
extort charity, and to excite zealous persons to make some attempt
in order to deliver them from oppression. (Baldrici Archiepiscopi
Histor., ap. Gesta Dei, etc., vol. i. p. 86. ) In the year 986, Ger-
bert, archbishop of Ravenna, afterwards Pope Silvester II., ad-
dressed a letter to all Christians in the name of the church of
Jerusalem. It is eloquent and pathetic, and contains a formal
exhortation to take arms against the pagan oppressors in order to
rescue the holy city from their yoke. (Gerberti Epistolse, ap. Bou-
quet, Recueil, torn. x. p. 426.) In consequence of this spirited call,
some subjects of the republic of Pisa equipped a fleet and invaded
the territories of the Mahometans in Syria. (Murat., Script. Rer.
Italic., vol. iii. p. 400.) The alarm was taken in the East, and an
opinion prevailed, A.D. 1010, that all the forces of Christendom
were to unite in order to drive the Mahometans out of Palestine.
(Chron. Ademari, ap. Bouquet, torn. x. p. 152.) It is evident
from all these particulars that the ideas which led the crusaders
to undertake their wild enterprise did not arise, according to the
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
241
description of many authors, from a sudden fit of frantic enthu-
siasm, but were gradually formed ; so that the universal concourse
to the standard of the cross, when erected by Urban II., will
appear less surprising.
If the various circumstances which I have enumerated in this
note, as well as in the history, are sufficient to account for the
ardor with which such vast numbers engaged in such a dangerous
undertaking, the extensive privileges and immunities granted to
the persons who assumed the cross serve to account for the long
continuance of this spirit in Europe. I. They were exempted
from prosecutions on account of debt during the time of their
being engaged in this holy service. (Du Cange, voc. Cruets
Privilegium, vol. ii. p. 1194.) 2. They were exempted from
paying interest for the money which they had borrowed in order
to fit them for this sacred warfare. (Ibid.) 3. They were ex-
empted either entirely, or at least during a certain time, from the
payment of taxes. (Ibid. ; Ordonnances des Rois de France, torn.
i- P- 33-) 4- They might alienate their lands without the consent
of the superior lord of whom they, held. (Ibid.) 5. Their per-
sons and effects were taken under the protection of St. Peter, and
the anathemas of the Church were denounced against all who
should molest them, or carry on any quarrel or hostility against
them, during their absence on account of the holy war. (Du
Cange, ibid.; Guibertus Abbas, ap. Bongars., vol. i. pp. 480, 482.)
6. They enjoyed all the privileges of ecclesiastics, and were not
bound to plead in any civil court, but were declared subject to the
spiritual jurisdiction alone. (Du Cange, ibid.; Ordon. des Rois,
torn. i. pp. 34, 174. ) 7. They obtained a plenary remission of all
their sins, and the gates of heaven were set open to them, without
requiring any other proof of their penitence but their engaging in
this expedition ; and thus by gratifying their favorite passion, the
love of war, they secured to themselves immunities which were
not usually obtained but by paying large sums of money or by
undergoing painful penances. ( Guibertus Abbas, p. 480. ) When
we behold the civil and ecclesiastical powers vying with each
other and straining their invention in order to devise expedients
for encouraging and adding strength to the spirit of superstition,
Charles. — VOL. I. — L 21
242 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
t
can we be surprised that it should become so general as to render
it infamous, and a mark of cowardice, to decline engaging in the
holy war? (Willerm. Tyriensis, ap. Bongars., vol. ii. p. 641.)
The histories of the crusades written by modern authors, who are
apt to substitute the ideas and maxims of their own age in the
place of those which influenced the persons whose actions they
attempt to relate, convey a very imperfect notion of the spirit at
that time predominant in Europe. The original historians, who
were animated themselves with the same passions which possessed
their contemporaries, exhibit to us a more striking picture of the
times and manners which they describe. The enthusiastic rapture
with which they account for the effects of the pope's discourse in
the Council of Clermont, the exultation with which they mention
the numbers who devoted themselves to this holy warfare, the
confidence with which they express their reliance on the divine
protection, the ecstasy of joy with which they describe their
taking possession of the holy city, will enable us to conceive in
some degree the extravagance of that zeal which agitated the
minds of men with such violence, and will suggest as many
singular reflections to a philosopher as any occurrence in the
history of mankind. It is unnecessary to select the particular
passages in the several historians which confirm this observation.
But, lest those authors may be suspected of adorning their narra-
tive with any exaggerated description, I shall appeal to one of the
leaders who conducted the enterprise. There is extant a letter
from Stephen, the earl of Chartres and Blois, to Adela his wife, in
which he gives her an account of the progress of the crusaders.
He describes the crusaders as the chosen army of Christ, as the
servants and soldiers of God, as men who marched under the
immediate protection of the Almighty, being conducted by his
hand to victory and conquest. He speaks of the Turks as ac-
cursed, sacrilegious, and devoted by Heaven to destruction ; and
when he mentions the soldiers in the Christian army who had
died or were killed, he is confident that their souls were admitted
directly into the joys of Paradise. Dacherii Spicilegium, vol. iv.
p. 257.
The expense of conducting numerous bodies of men from Europe
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 243
to Asia must have been excessive, and the difficulty of raising
the necessary sums must have been proportionally great, during
ages when the public revenues in every nation of Europe were
extremely small. Some account is preserved of the expedients
employed by Humbert II., Dauphin of Vienne, in order to levy
the money requisite towards equipping him for the crusade, A.D.
1346. These I shall mention, as they tend to show the consider-
able influence which the crusades had both on the state of property
and of civil government. I. He exposed to sale part of his do-
mains ; and, as the price was destined for such a sacred service,
he obtained the consent of the French king, of whom these lands
were held, ratifying the alienation. (Hist, de Dauphine, torn. i.
pp. 332, 335. ) 2. He issued a proclamation in which he promised
to grant new privileges to the nobles, as well as new immunities
to the cities and towns in his territories, in consideration of certain
sums which they were instantly to pay on that account. (Ibid.,
torn. ii. p. 512-) Many of the charters of community, which I
shall mention in another note, were obtained in this manner.
3. He exacted a contribution towards defraying the charges of the
expedition from all his subjects, whether ecclesiastics or laymen,
who did not accompany him in person to the East. (Ibid., torn.
i. p. 335. ) 4. He appropriated a considerable part of his usual
revenues for the support of the troops to be employed in this
service. (Ibid., torn. ii. p. 518. ) 5. He exacted considerable sums,
not only of the Jews settled in his dominions, but also of the
Lombards and other bankers who had fixed their residence there.
( Ibid. , torn. i. p. 338, torn. ii. p. 528. ) Notwithstanding the variety
of these resources, the dauphin was involved in such expense by
this expedition that on his return he was obliged to make new
demands on his subjects and to pillage the Jews by fresh exactions.
(Ibid., torn. i. pp. 344, 347. ) When the Count de Foix engaged in
the first crusade, he raised the money necessary for defraying the
expenses of that expedition by alienating part of his territories.
(Hist, de Langued., par D. D. de Vic et Vaisette, torn. ii. p. 287. )
In like manner Baldwin, count of Hainault, mortgaged or sold a
considerable portion of his dominions to the bishop of Liege, A.D.
1096. (Du Mont, Corps Diplomatique, torn. i. p. 59. ) At a later
244
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
period, Baldwin, count of Namur, sold part of his estate to a
monastery, when he intended to assume the cross, A. n. 1239.
Minei Oper., i. p. 313.
NOTE XIV.— Sect. I. p. 32.
The usual method of forming an opinion concerning the com-
parative state of manners in two different nations is by attending
to the facts which historians relate concerning each of them.
Various passages might be selected from the Byzantine historians,
describing the splendor and magnificence of the Greek empire.
P. de Montfaucon has produced from the writings of St. Chrys-
ostom a very full account of the elegance and luxury of the Greeks
in his age. That father, in his sermons, enters into such minute
details concerning the manners and customs of his contemporaries
as appear strange in discourses from the pulpit. P. de Montfaucon
has collected these descriptions and ranged them under different
heads. The court of the more early Greek emperors seems to
have resembled those of Eastern monarchs, both in magnificence
and in corruption of manners. The emperors in the eleventh
century, though inferior in power, did not yield to them in
ostentation and splendor. (Memoires de 1'Acad. des Inscript.,
torn. xx. p. 197.) But we may decide concerning the comparative
state of manners in the Eastern empire, and among the nations
in the West of Europe, by another method, which if not more
certain is at least more striking. As Constantinople was the place
of rendezvous for all the armies of the crusaders, this brought
together the people of the East and West as to one great interview.
There are extant several contemporary authors, both among the
Greeks and Latins, who were witnesses of this singular congress
of people formerly strangers in a great measure to each other.
They describe with simplicity and candor the impression which
that new spectacle made upon their own minds. This may be
considered as the most lively and just picture of the real character
and manners of each people. When the Greeks speak of the
Franks, they describe them as barbarians, fierce, illiterate, im-
petuous, and savage. They assume a tone of superiority, as a more
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 245
polished people, acquainted with the arts both of government and
of elegance, of which the other was ignorant. It is thus Anna
Comnena describes the manners of the Latins (Alexias, pp. 224,
23l> 237> aP- ltyz- Script., vol. ix. ). She always views them with
contempt as a rude people, the very mention of whose names was
sufficient to contaminate the beauty and elegance of history
(p. 229). Nicetas Choniatas inveighs against them with still more
violence, and gives an account of their ferocity and devastations
in terms not unlike those which preceding historians had employed
in describing the incursions of the Goths and Vandals. (Nicet.
Chon., ap. Byz. Script., vol. iii. p. 302, etc.) hut, on the other
hand, the Latin historians were struck with astonishment at the
magnificence, wealth, and elegance which they discovered in th£
Eastern empire. "Oh, what a vast city is Constantinople," ex-
claims Fulcherius Carnotensis when he first beheld it, "and how
beautiful ! How many monasteries are there in it, and how many
palaces built with wonderful art ! How many manufactures are
there in the city amazing to behold ! It would be astonishing to
relate how it abounds with all good things, with gold, silver, and
stuffs of various kinds ; for every hour ships arrive in its port
laden with all things necessary for the use of man." (Fulcher.,
ap. Bongars., vol. i. p. 386.) Willermus, archbishop of Tyre, the
most intelligent historian of the crusades, seems to be fond, on
every occasion, of describing the elegance and splendor of the
court of Constantinople, and adds that what he and his countrymen
observed there exceeded any idea which they could have formed
of it, " nostrarum enim rerum modum et dignitatem excedunt."
(Willerm. Tyr., ap. Bong., vol. ii. pp. 657, 664.) Benjamin the
Jew, of Tudela in Navarre, who began his travels A.D. 1173, ap-
pears to have been equally astonished at the magnificence of that
city, and gives a description of its splendor in terms of high
admiration. (Benj. Tudel., ap. Les Voyages faits dans les I26,
I3e, etc. Siecles, par Bergeron, p. 10, etc.) Guntherus, a French
monk, who wrqte a history of the conquest of Constantinople by
the crusaders in the thirteenth century, speaks of the magnificence
of that city in the same tone of admiration : " Structuram autem
aedificiorum in corpore civitatis, in ecclesiis videlicet, et turribus,
21*
246 Pit OOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
et in domibus magnatorum, vix ullus vel describere potest, vel
credere describenti, nisi qui ea oculata fide cognoverit." (Hist.
Constantinop., ap. Canisii Lectiones Antiquas, fol., Antw., 1725,
vol. iv. p. 14. ) Geoffrey de Villehardouin, a nobleman of high
rank, and accustomed to all the magnificence then known in the
West, describes in similar terms the astonishment and admiration
of such of his fellow-soldiers as beheld Constantinople for the first
time. " They could not have believed," says he,." that there was
a city so beautiful and so rich in the whole world. When they
viewed its high walls, its lofty towers, its rich palaces, its superb
churches, all appeared so great that they could have formed no
conception of this sovereign city unless they had seen it with their
own eyes." (Histoire de la Conquete de Constantinople, p. 49. )
From these undisguised representations of their own feelings it is
evident that to the Greeks the crusaders appeared to be a race of
rude, unpolished barbarians ; whereas the latter, how much soever
they might contemn the unwarlike character of the former, could
not help regarding them as far superior to themselves in elegance
and arts. That the state of government and manners was much
more improved in Italy than in the other countries of Europe is
evident not only from the facts recorded in history, but it appears
that the more intelligent leaders of the crusaders were struck with
the difference. Jacobus de Vitriaco, a French historian of the holy
war, makes an elaborate panegyric on the character and manners
of the Italians. He views them as a more polished people, and
particularly celebrates them for their love of liberty, and civil
wisdom : " in consiliis circumspect!, in re sua publica procuranda
diligentes et studios! ; sibi in posterum providentes ; aliis subjici
renuentes ; ante omnia libertatem sibi defendentes ; sub uno quern
eligunt capitaneo, communitati suae jura et institute dictantes et
similiter observantes." Histor. Hierosol., ap. Gesta Dei per Fran-
cos, vol. ii. p. 10891
NOTE XV.— Sect I. p. 37.
The different steps taken by the cities of Italy in order to ex-
tend their power and dominions are remarkable. As soon as their
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 247
liberties were established and they began to feel their own impor-
tance, they endeavored to render themselves masters of the terri-
tory round their walls. Under the Romans, when cities enjoyed
municipal privileges and jurisdiction, the circumjacent lands be-
longed to each town and were the property of the community.
But, as it was not the genius of the feudal policy to encourage
cities or to show any regard for their possessions and immunities,
these lands had been seized and shared among the conquerors.
The barons to whom they were granted erected their castles almost
at the gates of the city, and exercised their jurisdiction there.
Under pretence of recovering their ancient property, many of the
cities in Italy attacked these troublesome neighbors, and, dispos-
sessing them, annexed their territories to the communities, and
made thereby a considerable addition to their power. Several
instances of this occur in the eleventh and beginning of the
twelfth centuries. (Murat, Antiq. Ital., vol. iv. p. 159, etc.)
Their ambition increasing together with their power, the cities
afterwards attacked several barons situated at a greater distance
from their walls, and obliged them to engage that they would
become members of their community ; that they would take the
oath of fidelity to their magistrates ; that they would subject their
lands to all burdens and taxes imposed by common consent ; that
they would defend the community against all its enemies ; and
that they would reside within the city during a certain specified
time in each year. (Murat., ibid., p. 163.) This subjection of
the nobility to the municipal government established in cities be-
came almost universal, and was often extremely grievous to persons
accustomed to consider themselves as independent. Otto Frisin-
gensis thus describes the state of Italy under Frederic I. : "The
cities so much affect liberty, and are so solicitous to avoid the in-
solence of power, that almost all of them have thrown off every
other authority and are governed by their own magistrates. In-
somuch that all that country is now filled with free cities, most
of which have compelled their bishops to reside within their walls,
and there is scarcely any nobleman, how great soever his power
may be, who is not subject to the laws and government of some
city." (De Gestis Frider. I. Imp., lib. ii. c. 13, p. 453.) In an-
248 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
other place he observes of the marquis of Montfermt that he was
almost the only Italian baron who had preserved his independence
and had not become subject to the laws of any city. (See also
Muratori, Antichita Estensi, vol. i. pp. 411,412.) That state into
which some of the nobles were compelled to enter, others em-
braced from choice. They observed the high degree of security,
as well as of credit and estimation, which the growing wealth and
dominion of the great communities procured to all the members
of them. They were desirous to partake of these and to put them-
selves under such powerful protection. With this view they vol-
untarily became citizens of the towns to which their lands were
most contiguous, and, abandoning their ancient castles, took up
their residence in the cities, at least during part of the year.
Several deeds are still extant by which some of the most illus-
trious families in Italy are associated as citizens of different cities.
(Murat., ibid., p. 165, etc.) A charter by which Atto de Macerata
is admitted as a citizen of Osima, A.D. 1198, in the Marcha di
Ancona, is still extant In this he stipulates that he will acknowl-
edge himself to be a burgess of that community ; that he will to
the utmost of his power promote its honor and welfare ; that he
will obey its magistrates ; that he will enter into no league with
its enemies ; that he will reside in the town during two months in
every year, or for a longer time, if required by the magistrates.
The community, on the other hand, take him, his family, and
friends, under their protection, and engage to defend him against
every enemy. (Fr. Ant. Zacharias, Anecdota Medii JEvi, Aug.
Taur., 1755, fol., p. 66.) This privilege was deemed so important
that not only laymen, but ecclesiastics of the highest rank, con-
descended to be adopted as members of the great communities, in
hopes of enjoying the safety and dignity which that condition con-
ferred. (Murat., ibid., p. 179.) Before the institution of com-
munities, persons of noble birth had no other residence but their
castles. They kept their petty courts there ; and the cities were
deserted, having hardly any inhabitants but slaves or persons of
low condition. But, in consequence of the practice which I have
mentioned, cities not only became more populous, but were filled
with inhabitants of better rank, and a custom which still subsists
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
249
in Italy was then introduced, that all families of distinction reside
more constantly in the great towns than is usual in other parts of
Europe. As cities acquired new consideration and dignity by the
accession of such citizens, they became more solicitous to preserve
their liberty and independence. The emperors, as sovereigns, had
anciently a palace in almost every great city of Italy : when they
visited that country, they were accustomed to reside in these
palaces, and the troops which accompanied them were quartered
in the houses of the citizens. This the citizens deemed both
ignominious and dangerous. They could not help considering it
as receiving a master and an enemy within their walls. They
labored, therefore, to get free of this subjection. Some cities pre-
vailed on the emperors to engage that they would never enter
their gates, but take up their residence without the walls. (Chart.
Hen. IV., Murat., ibid., p. 24.) Others obtained the imperial
license to pull down the palace situated within their liberties, on
condition that they built another in the suburbs for the occasional
reception of the emperor. (Chart. Hen. IV., Murat., ibid., p. 25. )
These various encroachments of the Italian cities alarmed the
emperors, and put them on schemes for re-establishing the imperial
jurisdiction over them on its ancient footing. Frederic Barbarossa
engaged in this enterprise with great ardor. The free cities of
Italy joined together in a general league, and stood on their de-
fence ; and after a long contest, carried on with alternate success,
a solemn treaty of peace was concluded at Constance, A.D. 1183,
by which all the privileges and immunities granted by former
emperors to the principal cities in Italy were confirmed and rati-
fied. (Murat., Dissert. XLVIII.) This treaty of Constance was
considered as such an important article in the jurisprudence of
the Middle Ages that it is usually published together with the
Libri Feudorum at the end of the Corpus Juris Civilis. The
treaty secured privileges of great importance to the confederate
cities, and though it reserved a considerable degree of authority
and jurisdiction to the empire, yet the cities persevered with such
vigor in their efforts in order to extend their immunities, and the
conjunctures in which they made them were so favorable, that
before the conclusion of the thirteenth century most of the great
L*
250
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
cities in Italy had shaken off all marks of subjection to the em-
pire and were become independent sovereign republics. It is not
requisite that I should trace the various steps by which they ad-
vanced to this high degree of power, so fatal to the empire and
so beneficial to the cause of liberty in Italy. Muratori, with his
usual industry, has collected many original papers which illustrate
this curious and little known part of history. Murat., Antiq. Ital.,
Dissert. L. See also Jo. Bapt. Villanovte Hist. Laudis Pompeii
sive I, oili, in Graev. Thes. Antiquit. Ital., vol. iii. p. 888.
NOTE XVI.— Sect. I. p. 38.
Long before the institution of communities in France, charters
of immunity or franchise were granted to some towns and villages
by the lords on whom they depended. But these are very differ-
ent from such as became common in the twelfth and thirteenth
centuries. They did not erect these towns into corporations ; they
did not establish a municipal government ; they did not grant them
the privilege of bearing arms. They contained nothing more than
a manumission of the inhabitants from the yoke of servitude ; an
exemption from certain services which were oppressive and igno-
minious ; and the establishment of a fixed tax or rent which the
citizens were to pay to their lord in place of impositions which he
could formerly lay upon them at pleasure. Two charters of this
kind to two villages in the county of Roussillon, one in A.D. 974,
the other in A.D. 1025, are still extant. (Petr. de Marca, Afarea,
sive Limes Hispanicus, App., pp. 909, 1038.) Such concessions,
it is probable, were not unknown in other parts of Europe, and
may be considered as a step towards the more extensive privileges
conferred by Louis leGros on the towns within his domains. The
communities in France never aspired to the same independence
with those in Italy. They acquired new privileges and immuni-
ties, but the right of sovereignty remained entire to the king or
baron within whose territories the respective cities were situated
and from whom they received the charter of their freedom. A
great number of these charters, granted both by the kings of
France and by their great vassals, are published by M. d'Achery
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
251
in his Spicilegium, and many are found in the collection of the
Ordonnances des Rois de France. These convey a very striking
representation of the wretched condition of cities previous to the
institution of communities, when they were subject to the judges
appointed by the superior lords of whom they held, and who had
scarcely any other law but their will. Each concession in these
charters must be considered as a grant of some new privileges
which the people did not formerly enjoy, and each regulation as
a method of redressing some grievance under which the inhabit-
ants of cities formerly labored. The charters of communities
contain likewise the first expedients employed for the introduc-
tion of equal laws and regular government. On both these ac-
counts they merit particular attention, and therefore, instead of
referring my readers to the many bulky volumes in which they
are scattered, I shall give them a view of some of the most im-
portant articles in these charters, ranged under two general heads.
I. Such as respect personal safety. II. Such as respect the security
of property.
I. During that state of turbulence and disorder which the cor-
ruption of the feudal government introduced into Europe, personal
safety was the first and great object of every individual ; and, as
the great military barons alone were able to give sufficient protec-
tion to their vassals, this was one great source of their power and
authority. But by the institution of communities effectual pro-
vision was made for the safety of individuals, independent of the
nobles. For, I. The fundamental article in every charter was
that all the members of the community bound themselves by oath
to assist, defend, and stand by each other against all aggressors, and
that they should not suffer any person to injure, distress, or molest
any of their fellow-citizens. (D'Acher., Spicil., x. 642, xi. 341,
etc. ) 2. Whoever resided in any town which was made free was
obliged, under a severe penalty, to accede to the community and
to take part in the mutual defence of its members. (D'Acher.,
Spicil., xi. 344.) 3. The communities had the privilege of carry-
ing arms ; of making war on their private enemies ; and of
executing by military force any sentence which their magistrates
pronounced. (D'Acher., Spicil., x. 643, 644, xi. 343.) 4. The
252 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
practice of making satisfaction by a pecuniary compensation for
murder, assault, or other acts of violence, most inconsistent with
the order of society and the safety of individuals, was abol-
ished ; and such as committed these crimes were punished capitally,
or with rigor adequate to their guilt. (D'Ach., xi. 362; Mira-i
Opera Diplomatica, i. 292.) 5. No member of a community was
bound to justify or defend himself by battle or combat ; but if he
was charged with any crime he could be convicted only by the
evidence of witnesses and the regular course of legal proceedings.
(Miracus, ibid. ; D'Ach., xi. 375, 349; Ordon., torn. iii. p. 265.)
6. If any man suspected himself to be in danger from the malice
or enmity of another, upon his making oath to that effect before
a magistrate the person suspected was bound under a severe penalty
to give security for his peaceable behavior. (D'Ach., xi. 346.)
This is the same species of security which is still known in Scot-
land under the name of law burrows. In France it was first
introduced among the inhabitants of communities, and, having
been found to contribute considerably towards personal safety, it
was extended to all the other members of the society. Etablisse-
mens de St. Louis, liv. i. cap. 28, ap. Du Cange, Vie de St. Louis,
p. 15.
II. The provisions in the charters of communities concerning
the security of property are not less considerable than those
respecting personal safety. By the ancient law of France, no
person could be arrested or confined in prison on account of any
private debt. (Ordon. des Rois de France, torn. i. pp. 72, 80.)
If any person was arrested upon any pretext but his having been
guilty of a capital crime, it was lawful to rescue him out of the
hands of the officers who had seized him. (Ordon., torn. iii. p.
17.) Freedom from arrest on account of debt seems likewise to
have been enjoyed in other countries. (Gudenus, Sylloge Diplom.,
473. ) In society, while it remained in its rudest and most simple
form, debt seems to have been considered as an obligation merely
personal. Men had made some progress towards refinement
before creditors acquired a right of seizing the property of their
debtors in order to recover payment. The expedients for this
purpose were all introduced originally in communities, and we
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
253
can trace the gradual progress of them. I. The simplest and
most obvious species of security was that the person who sold any
commodity should receive a pledge from him who bought it, which
he restored upon receiving payment. Of this custom there are
vestiges in several charters of community. (D'Ach., ix. 185, xi.
377.) 2. When no pledge was given, and the debtor became
refractory or insolvent, the creditor was allowed to seize his effects
with a strong hand and by his private authority : the citizens of
Paris are warranted by the royal mandate, "ut ubicumque, et
quocumque modo poterunt, tantum capiant, unde pecuniam sibi
debitam integre et plenari£ habeant, et inde sibi invicem adjutores
existant." (Ordon., etc., torn. i. p. 6. ) This rude practice, suit-
able only to the violence of that which has been called a state of
nature, was tolerated longer than one can conceive to be possible
in any society where laws and order were at all known. The
ordinance authorizing it was issued A.D. 1134; and that which
corrects the law, and prohibits creditors from seizing the effects of
their debtors unless by a warrant from a magistrate and under his
inspection, was not published until the year 1351. (Ordon., torn,
ii. p. 438. ) It is probable, however, that men were taught, by
observing the disorders which the former mode of proceeding
occasioned, to correct it in practice long before a remedy was
provided by a law to that effect. Every discerning reader will
apply this observation to many other customs and practices which
I have mentioned. New customs are not always to be ascribed to
the laws which authorize them. Those statutes only give a legal
sanction to such things as the experience of mankind has pre-
viously found to be proper and beneficial. 3. As soon as the
interposition of the magistrate became requisite, regular provision
was made for attaching or distraining the movable effects of a
debtor ; and if his movables were not sufficient to discharge the
debt, his immovable property, or estate in land, was liable to the
same distress, and was sold for the benefit of his creditor. ( D'Ach.,
ix. 184, 185, xi. 348, 380.) As this regulation afforded the most
complete security to the creditor, it was considered as so severe
that humanity pointed out several limitations in the execution of
it. Creditors were prohibited from seizing the wearing-apparel of
Charles. — VOL. I. 22
254
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS,
their debtors, their beds, the door of their house, their instruments
of husbandry, etc. (D'Ach., ix. 184, xi. 377.) Upon the same
principles, when the power of distraining effects became more
general, the horse and arms of a gentleman could not be seized.
(D'Ach., ix. 185.) As hunting was the favorite amusement of
martial nobles, the emperor Ludovicus Pius prohibited the seizing
of a hawk on account of any composition or debt. (Capital., lib.
iv. § 21.) But, if the debtor had no other movables, even these
privileged articles might be seized. 4. In order to render the
security of property complete within a community, every persou
who was admitted a member of it was obliged to buy or build a
house, or to purchase lands within its precincts, or at least to
bring into the town a considerable portion of his movables, per
qua justiciari fosst't, si quid fortl in turn quereltt evenerit.
(D'Ach., xi. 326 ; Ordon., torn. i. p. 367 ; LibertatesS. Georgii de
Esperanchia, Hist, de Dauphine, torn. i. p. 26.) 5. That security
might be as perfect as possible, in some towns the members of the
community seem to have been bound for each other. (D'Ach.,
x. 644.) 6. AH questions with respect to property were tried
within the community, by magistrates and judges whom the citi-
zens elected or appointed. Their decisions were more equal and
fixed than the sentences which depended on the capricious and
arbitrary will of a baron, who thought himself superior to all
laws. (D'Ach., x. 644, 646, xi. 344, et passim ; Ordon., torn. iii.
p. 204. ) 7. No member of a community could be burdened by
any arbitrary tax ; for the superior lord, who granted the charter
of community, accepted of a fixed census or duty in lieu of all
demands. (Ordon., torn. iii. p. 204; Libertates de Calma, Hist,
de Dauphine, torn. i. p. 19 ; Libertates S. Georgii de Esperanchia,
ibid. , p. 26. ) Nor could the members of a community be dis-
tressed by an unequal imposition of the sum to be levied on the
community. Regulations are inserted in the charters of some
communities concerning the method of determining the quota of
any tax to be levied on each inhabitant. (D'Ach.,xi. 350, 365.)
St. Louis published an ordinance concerning this matter, which
extended to all the communities. (Ordon., torn. i. p. 186.) These
regulations are extremely favorable to liberty, as they vest the
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
255
power of proportioning the taxes in a certain number of citizens
chosen out of each parish, who were bound by solemn oath to
decide according to justice. That the more perfect security of
property was one great object of those who instituted communities,
we learn not only from the nature of the thing, but from the ex-
press words of several charters, of which I shall only mention that
granted by Alienor, queen of England and duchess of Guienne,
to the community of Poitiers, " ut sua propria melius defendere
possint, et magis integre custodire." (Du Cange, voc. Communia,
vol. ii. p. 863. ) Such are some of the capital regulations estab-
lished in communities during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
These may be considered as the first expedients for the re-estab-
lishment of law and order, and contributed greatly to introduce
regular government among all the members of society. As soon
as communities were instituted, high sentiments of liberty began
to manifest themselves. When Humbert, lord of Beaujeu, upon
granting a charter of community to the town of Belleville, exacted
of the inhabitants an oath of fidelity to himself and successors,
they stipulated, on their part, that he should swear to maintain
their franchises and liberties ; and, for their greater security, they
obliged him to bring twenty gentlemen to take the same oath and
to be bound together with him. (D' Ach., ix. 183. ) In the same
manner, the lord of Moriens in Dauphine produced a certain
number of persons as his sureties for the observation of the articles
contained in the charter of community to that town. These were
bound to surrender themselves prisoners to the inhabitants of
Moriens if their liege-lord should violate any of their franchises,
and they promised to remain in custody until he should grant the
members of the community redress. (Hist, de Dauphine, torn. i.
p. 17.) If the mayor or chief magistrate of a town did any
injury to a citizen, he was obliged to give security for his appear-
ance in judgment, in the same manner as a private person, and,
if cast, was liable to the same penalty. ( D' Ach. , ix. , 1 83. ) These
are ideas of equality uncommon in the feudal times. Communities
were so favorable to freedom that they were distinguished by the
name of libertates, (Du Cange, vol. ii. p. 863.) They were at
first extremely odious to the nobles, who foresaw what a check
256 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
they must prove to their power and domination. Guibert, abbot
of Nogent, calls them execrable inventions, by which, contrary to
law and justice, slaves withdrew themselves from that obedience
which they owed to their masters. (Du Cange, ibid., p. 862.)
The zeal with which some of the nobles and powerful ecclesiastics
opposed the establishment of communities and endeavored to
circumscribe their privileges was extraordinary. A striking in-
stance of this occurs in the contests between the archbishop of
Rheims and the inhabitants of that community. It was the chief
business of every archbishop, during a considerable time, to abridge
the rights and jurisdiction of the community ; and the great object
of the citizens, especially when the see was vacant, to maintain, to
recover, and to extend their own jurisdiction. Histoire civile et
politique de la Ville de Reims, par M. Anquetil, torn. i. p. 287, etc.
The observations which I have made concerning the low state
of cities, and the condition of their inhabitants, are confirmed by
innumerable passages in the historians and laws of the Middle
Ages. It is not improbable, however, that some cities of the first
order were in a better state and enjoyed a superior degree of
liberty. Under the Roman government the municipal government
established in cities was extremely favorable to liberty. The juris-
diction of the senate in each corporation, and the privileges of the
citizens, were both extensive. There is reason to believe that
some of the greater cities, which escaped the destructive rage of
the barbarous nations, still retained their ancient form of govern-
ment, at least in a great measure. They were governed by a
council of citizens, and by magistrates whom they themselves
elected. Very strong presumptions in favor of this opinion are
produced by M. l'Abb6 de Bos, Hist. crit. de la Mon. Franc.,
torn. i. p. 18, etc., torn. ii. p. 524, edit. 1742. It appears from
some of the charters of community to cities, granted in the twelfth
and thirteenth centuries, that these only confirm the privileges
possessed by the inhabitants previous to the establishment of the
community. (D'Acher., Spicileg., vol. xi. p. 345. ) Other cities
claimed their privileges, as having possessed them without inter-
ruption from the times of the Romans. (Hist. crit. de la Mon.
Franc., torn. ii. p. 333.) But the number of cities which enjoyed
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
257
such immunities was so small as hardly in any degree to diminish
the force of my conclusions in the text.
NOTE XVII.— Sect. I. p. 38.
Having given a full account of the establishment, as well as
effects, of communities in Italy and France, it will be necessary
to inquire with some attention into the progress of cities and of
municipal government in Germany. The ancient Germans had
no cities. Even in their hamlets or villages they did not build
their houses contiguous to each other. (Tacit., de Mor. Germ.,
cap. 1 6. ) They considered it as a badge of servitude to be
obliged to dwell in a city surrounded with walls. When one of
their tribes had shaken off the Roman yoke, their countrymen
required of them, as an evidence of their having recovered liberty,
to demolish the walls of a town which the Romans had built in
their country. Even the fiercest animals, said they, lose their
spirit and courage when they are confined. (Tacit., Histor., lib.
iv. c. 64. ) The Romans built several cities of note on the banks
of the Rhine. But in all the vast countries from that river to the
coasts of the Baltic there was hardly one city previous to the ninth
century of the Christian era. (Conringius, Exercitatio de Urbibus
Germanise, Oper., vol. i. §§ 25, 27, 31, etc.) Heineccius differs
from Conringius with respect to this. But, even after allowing to
his arguments and authorities their utmost force, they prove only
that there were a few places in those extensive regions on which
some historians have bestowed the name of towns. (Elem. Jur.
German. , lib. i. § 102. ) Under Charlemagne and the emperors
of his family, as the political state of Germany began to improve,
several cities were founded, and men became accustomed to asso-
ciate and to live together in one place. Charlemagne founded
two archbishoprics and nine bishoprics in the most considerable
towns of Germany. (Aub. Miraei Opera Diplomatica, vol. i. p.
1 6.) His successors increased the number of these ; and as
bishops fixed their residence in the chief town of their diocese,
and performed religious functions there, that induced many people
to settle in them. (Conring., ibid., § 48.) But Henry, surnamed
22*
258 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
the Fowler, who began his reign A.D. 920, must be considered as
the great founder of cities in Germany. The empire was at that
time infested by the incursions of the Hungarians and other bar-
barous people. In order to oppose them, Henry encouraged his
subjects to settle in cities, which he surrounded with walls
strengthened by towers. He enjoined or persuaded a certain
proportion of the nobility to fix their residence in the towns, and
thus rendered the condition of citizens more honorable than it
had been formerly. (Wittikindus, Annul., lib. i., ap. Conring., §
82. ) From this period the number of cities continued to increase,
and they became more populous and more wealthy. But cities in
Germany were still destitute of municipal liberty or jurisdiction.
Such of them as were situated in the imperial demesnes were
subject to the emperors. Their comilcs, missi, and other judges
presided in them and dispensed justice. Towns situated on the
estate of a baron were part of his fief, and he or his officers exer-
cised a similar jurisdiction in them. (Conring., ibid., §§ 73, 74;
Heinec., Elem. Jur. Germ., lib. i. § 104.) The Germans bor-
rowed the institution of communities from the Italians. (Knip-
schildius, Tractatus Politico- Histor. Jurid. de Civitatum Imperia-
lium Juribus, vol. i. lib. i. cap. 5, no. 23. ) Frederic Barbarossa was
the first emperor who, from the same political consideration that
influenced Louis le Gros, multiplied communities in order to
abridge the power of the nobles. (Pfeffel, Abrege de 1'Histoire
et du Droit publique d'Allemagne, 410, p. 297.) From the reign
of Henry the Fowler to the time when the German cities acquired
full possession of their immunities, various circumstances con-
tributed to their increase. The establishment of bishoprics (al-
ready mentioned), and the building of cathedrals, naturally in-
duced many people to settle near the chief place of worship. It
became the custom to hold councils and courts of judicature of
every kind, ecclesiastical as well as civil, in cities. In the eleventh
century many slaves were enfranchised, the greater part of whom
settled in cities. Several mines were discovered and wrought in
different provinces, which drew together such a concourse of
people as gave rise to several cities and increased the number of
inhabitants in others. (Conring., § 105. ) The cities began in the
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS, 259
thirteenth century to form leagues for their mutual defence, and
for repressing the disorders occasioned by the private wars among
the barons, as well as by their exactions. This rendered the con-
dition of the inhabitants of cities more secure than that of any
other order of men, and allured many to become members of
their communities. (Conring., § 94.) There were inhabitants
of three different ranks in the towns of Germany : the nobles, or
families; the citizens, or liberi ; and the artisans, who were
slaves, or homines proprii. (Knipschild., lib. ii. cap. 29, no. 13.)
Henry V., who began his reign A.D. 1106, enfranchised the slaves
who were artisans or inhabitants in several towns, and gave them
the rank of citizens or liberi. (Pfeffel, p. 254 ; Knipsch., lib. ii.
c. 29, nos. 113, 119.) Though the cities in Germany did not
acquire liberty so early as those in France, they extended their
privileges much farther. All the imperial and free cities, the
number of which is considerable, acquired the full right of being
immediate ; by which term, in the German jurisprudence, we are
to understand that they are subject to the empire alone, and pos-
sess within their own precincts all the rights of complete and
independent sovereignty. The various privileges of the imperial
cities, the great guardians of the Germanic liberties, are enumer-
ated by Knipschildius, lib. ii. The most important articles are
generally known, and it would be improper to enter into any dis-
quisition concerning minute particulars.
NOTE XVIII.— Sect. I. p. 38.
The Spanish historians are almost entirely silent concerning the
origin and progress of communities in that kingdom ; so that I
cannot fix with any degree of certainty the time and manner of
their first introduction there. It appears, however, from Mariana,
vol. ii. p. 221, fol., Hagse, 1736, that in the year 1350 eighteen
cities had obtained a seat in the cortes of Castile. From the
account which will be given of their constitution and pretensions,
Sect. III. of this volume, it will appear that their privileges and
form of government were the same with those of the other feudal
corporations ; and this, as well as the perfect similarity of polit-
26o PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
ical institutions and transactions in all the feudal kingdoms, may
lead us to conclude that communities were introduced there in
the same manner and probably al>out the same time as in the
other nations of Europe. In Aragon, as I shall have occasion to
observe in a subsequent note, cities seem early to have acquired
extensive immunities, together with a share in the legislature. In
the year niS the citizens of Saragossa had not only attained po-
litical liberty, but they were declared to be of equal rank with the
nobles of the second class ; and many other immunities, unknown
to persons in their rank of life in other parts of Europe, were
conferred upon them. (Zurita, Anales de Aragon, torn. i. p. 44.)
In England, the establishment of communities or corporations
was posterior to the Conquest. The practice was borrowed from
France, and the privileges granted by the crown were perfectly
similar to those which I have enumerated. But, as this part of
history is well known to most of my readers, I shall, without
entering into any critical or minute discussion, refer them to
authors who have fully illustrated this interesting point in the
English history. (Brady's Treatise of Boroughs; Madox, Firma
Burgi, cap. i. sect, ix.; Hume's History of England, vol. i.. Ap-
pend, i. and ii. ) It is not improbable that some of the towns in
England were formed into corporations under the Saxon kings,
and that the charters granted by the kings of the Norman race
were not charters of enfranchisement from a state of slavery, but
a confirmation of privileges which they already enjoyed. (See
Lord Lyttelton's History of Henry II., vol. ii. p. 317.) The
English cities, however, were very inconsiderable in the twelfth
century. A clear proof of this occurs in the history to which I
last referred. Fitzstephen, a contemporary author, gives a de-
scription of the city of London in the reign of Henry 1 1., and the
terms in which he speaks of its trade, its wealth, and the splendoi
of its inhabitants would suggest no inadequate idea of its state at
present, when it is the greatest and most opulent city of Europe.
But all ideas of grandeur and magnificence are merely compara-
tive ; and every description of them in general terms is very apt
to deceive. It appears from Peter of Blois, archdeacon of Loo*
don, who flourished in the same reign, and who had good oppor*
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 26l
tunity of being well informed, that this city, of which Fitzstephen
gives such & pompous account, contained no more than forty
thousand inhabitants. (Ibid., pp. 315* 3'^-) The other cities
were small in proportion, and were not in a condition to extort
any extensive privileges. That the constitution of the boroughs
in Scotland, in many circumstances, resembled that of the towns
in France and England, is manifest from the Leges Burgorum
annexed to the Regiam Majestatem.
NOTE XIX.— Sect. I. p. 43.
Soon after the introduction of the third estate into th,e national
council, the spjrit of liberty which that excited in France began to
produce conspicuous effects. In several provinces of France the
nobility and communities formed associations whereby they bound
themselves to defend their rights and privileges against the for-
midable and arbitrary proceedings of the king. The Count de"
Boulainvilliers has preserved a copy of one of these associations,
dated in the year 1314, twelve years after the admission of the
deputies from towns into the states-general. (Histoire de 1'ancien
Gouvernement de la France, torn. ii. p. 94.) The vigor with
which the people asserted and prepared to maintain their rights
obliged their sovereigns to respect them. Six years after this
association, Philip the Long issued a writ of summons to the
community of Narbonne, in the following terms : " Philip, by the
grace, etc., to our well-beloved, etc. As we desire with all our
heart, and above all other things, to govern our kingdom and
people in peace and tranquillity, by the help of God, and to
reform our said kingdom in so far as it stands in need thereof, for
the public good and for the benefit of our subjects, who in times
past have been aggrieved and oppressed in divers manners by the
malice of sundry persons, as we have learned by common report,
as well as by the information of good men worthy of credit, and
we having determined in our council which we have called to
meet in our good city, etc. , to give redress to the utmost of our
power, by all ways and means possible, according to reason and
justice, and willing that this should be done with solemnity and
262 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
deliberation by the advice of the prelates, barons, and good towns
of our realm, and particularly of you, and that it should be trans-
acted agreeably to the will of God and for the good of our people,
therefore we command," etc. (Mably, Observat. , vol. Hi., App., p.
386. ) I shall allow these to be only the formal words of a public
and legal style ; but the ideas are singular, and much more liberal
and enlarged than one could expect in that age. A popular mon-
arch of Great Britain could hardly address himself to parliament
in terms more favorable to public liberty. There occurs in the
history of France a striking instance of the progress which the
principles of liberty had made in that kingdom, and of the
influence which the deputies of towns had acquired in the states-
general. During the calamities in which the war .with England
and the captivity of King John had involved France, the states-
general made a bold effort to extend their own privileges and
jurisdiction. The regulations established by the states held A.D.
1355, concerning the mode of levying taxes, the administration of
which they vested not in the crown, but in commissioners appointed
by the states ; concerning the coining of money ; concerning the
redress of the grievance of purveyance ; concerning the regular
administration of justice, — are much more suitable to the genius
of a republican government than that of a feudal monarchy. This
curious statute is published, Ordon., torn. iii. p. 19. Such as have
not an opportunity to consult that large collection will find an
abridgment of it in Hist, de France par Villaret, torn. ix. p. 130,
or in Histoire de Boulainv., torn. ii. p. 213. The French historians
represent the bishop of Laon, and Marcel, provost of the mer-
chants of Paris, who had the chief direction of this assembly, as
seditious tribunes, violent, interested, ambitious, and aiming at
innovations subversive of the constitution and government of their
country. That may have been the case ; but these men possessed
the confidence of the people ; and the measures which they pro-
posed as the most popular and acceptable, as well as most likely
to increase their own influence, plainly prove that the spirit of
liberty had spread wonderfully, and that the ideas which then
prevailed in France concerning government were extremely liberal.
The states-general held at Paris A.D. 1355 consisted of about eight
PA' OOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 263
hundred members, and above one-half of these were deputies
from towns. (M. Secousse, Pref. aOrdon., torn. iii. p. 48.) It
appears that in all the different assemblies of the states held during
the reign of John the representatives of towns had great influence,
and in every respect the third state was considered as co-ordinate
and equal to either of the other two. (Ibid. , passim. ) These spirited
efforts were made in France long before the House of Commons
in England acquired any considerable influence in the legislature.
As the feudal system was carried to its utmost height in France
sooner than in England, so it began to decline sooner in the
former than in the latter kingdom. In England, almost all at-
tempts to establish or to extend the liberty of the people have
been successful ; in France, they have proved unfortunate. What
were the accidental events or political causes which occasioned
this difference it is not my present business to inquire.
NOTE XX. — Sect. I. p. 45.
In a former Note [No. VIII.] I have inquired into the condition
of that part of the people which was employed in agriculture, and
have represented the various hardships and calamities of their situ-
ation. When charters of liberty or manumission were granted to
such persons, they contained four concessions corresponding to the
four capital grievances to which men in a state of servitude are sub-
ject. I. The right of disposing of their persons by sale or grant
was relinquished. 2. Power was given to them of conveying their
property and effects by will or any other legal deed. Or if they
happened to die intestate, it was provided that their property should
go to their lawful heirs, in the same manner as the property of
other persons. 3. The services and taxes which they owed to
their superior or liege-lord, which were formerly arbitrary and
imposed at pleasure, are precisely ascertained. 4. They are
allowed the privilege of marrying according to their own inclina-
tion : formerly they could contract no marriage without their lord's
permission, and with no person but one of his slaves. All these
particulars are found united in the charter granted " Habitatoribus
Montis Britonis," A.D. 1376. "(Hist, de Dauphine, torn. i. p. 8l.)
264 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
Many circumstances concurred with those which I have mentioned
in the text in procuring them deliverance from that wretched state.
The gentle spirit of the Christian religion, the doctrines which it
teaches concerning the original equality of mankind, its tenets
with respect to the divine government and the impartial eye with
which the Almighty regards men of every condition and admits
them to a participation of his benefits, are all inconsistent with
servitude. But in this, as in many other instances, considerations
of interest and the maxims of false policy led men to a conduct
inconsistent with their principles. They were so sensible, how-
ever, of this inconsistency, that to set their fellow-Christians at
liberty from servitude was deemed an act of piety highly merito-
rious and acceptable to Heaven. The humane spirit of the Chris-
tian religion struggled long with the maxims and manners of the
world, and contributed more than any other circumstance to in-
troduce the practice of manumission. When Pope Gregory the
Great, who flourished towards the end of the sixth century, granted
liberty to some of his slaves, he gives this reason for it : " Cum
Redemptor noster, totius conditor naturae, ad hoc propitiatus
humanam carnem voluerit assumere, ut divinitatis sure gratia,
dirempto (quo tenebamur captivi) vinculo, pristinae nos restitueret
libertati ; salubriter agitur, si homines, quos ab initio liberos
nature protulit, et jus gentium jugo substituit scrvitutis, in ea, qua
natifuerant,manumittentisbeneficio, libertati reddantur." (Gregor.
Magn., ap. Potgiess., lib. iv. c. I, ? 3. ) Several laws or charters
founded on reasons similar to this are produced by the same
author. Accordingly, a great part of the charters of manumission,
previous to the reign of Louis X., are granted "pro amore Dei,
pro remedio animre, et pro mercede animae." (Mural., Antiq.
Ital., vol. i. pp. 849, 850; Du Cange, voc. Afanumissio.) The
formality of manumission was executed in a church, as a religious
solemnity. The person to be set free was led round the great
altar with a torch in his hand, he took hold of the horns of the
altar, and there the solemn words conferring liberty were pro-
nounced. (Du Cange, ibid., vol. iv. p. 467.) I shall transcribe
a part of a charter of manumission granted A.D. 1056, both as it
contains a full account of the ceremonies used in this form of
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 265
manumission, and as a specimen of the imperfect knowledge of
the Latin tongue in that barbarous age. It is granted by Willa,
the widow of Hugo, the duke and marquis, in favor of Clariza,
one of her slaves. " Et ideo nos Domine Wille inclite cometisse —
libera et absolve te Cleriza filia Uberto — pro timore omnipotentis
Dei, et remedio luminarie anime bone memorie quondam supra
scripto Domini Ugo gloriossissimo, ut quando ilium Dominus de
hac vita migrare jusserit, pars iniqua non abeat potestatem ullam,
sed anguelus Domini nostri Jesu Christi colocare dignitur ilium
inter sanctos dilectos suos ; et beatus Petrus princips apostolorum,
qui habed potestatem omnium animarum ligandi et absolvendi, ut
ipsi absolvat animae ejus de peccatis sui, aperiad ilium janua para-
disi ; pro eadem vero rationi, in mano mite te, Benzo presbiter, ut
vadat tecum in ecclesia sancti Bartholomaei apostoli ; traad de
tribus vicibus circa altare ipsius ecclesiae cum caereo apprehensum
in manibus tuis et manibus suis ; deinde exile ambulate in via
quadrubio, ubi quatuor vie se dividuntur. Statimque pro remedio
luminarie anime bone memorie quondam supra scripto Domini
Ugo et ipsi presbiter Benzo fecit omnia, et dixit, Ecce quatuor vie,
ite et ambulate in quacunque partem tibi placuerit, tarn sic supra
scripta Cleriza, qua nosque tui heredes, qui ab ac hora in antea
nati, vel procreati fuerit utriusque sexus," etc. (Murat., ibid., p.
853. ) Many other charters might have been selected which in
point of grammar or style are in no wise superior to this. Manu-
mission was frequently granted on death-bed or by latter will. As
the minds of men are at that time awakened to sentiments of
humanity and piety, these deeds proceeded from religious motives,
and were granted pro redemptione anima, in order to obtain ac-
ceptance with God. ( Du Cange, ubi supra, p. 470, et voc. Servus,
vol. vi. p. 451.) Another method of obtaining liberty was by
entering into holy orders, or taking the vow in a monastery. This
was permitted for some time ; but so many slaves escaped, by this
means, out of the hands of their masters, that the practice was
afterwards restrained, and at last prohibited, by the laws of almost
all the nations of Europe. (Murat., ibid., p. 842. ) Conformably
to the same principles, princes, on the birth of a son, or upon any
other agreeable event, appointed a certain number of slaves to be
Charles. — VOL. I. — M 23
266 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
enfranchised, as a testimony of their gratitude to God for that
benefit. (Marculfi Form., lib. i. cap. 39.) There are several
forms of manumission published by Marculfus, and all of them
are founded on religious considerations, in order to procure the
favor of God or to obtain the forgiveness of their sins. (Lib. ii.
c. 23, 33, 34, edit. Baluz. ) The same observation holds with
respect to the other collections of Formulae annexed to Marculfus.
As sentiments of religion induced some to grant liberty to their
fellow-Christians who groaned under the yoke of servitude, so
mistaken ideas concerning devotion led others to relinquish their
liberty. When a person conceived an extraordinary respect for
the saint who was the patron of any church or monastery in which
he was accustomed to attend religious worship, it was not unusual,
among men possessed with an excess of superstitious reverence, to
give up themselves and their posterity to be the slaves of the saint.
(Mabillon, De Re Diplomat., lib. vi. p. 632. ) The oblatit or vol-
untary slaves of churches or monasteries, were very numerous, and
may be divided into three different classes. The first were such
as put themselves and effects under the protection of a particular
church or monastery, binding themselves to defend its privileges
and property against every aggressor. These were prompted to
do so not merely by devotion, but in order to obtain that security
which arose from the protection of the Church. They were rather
vassals than slaves, and sometimes persons of noble birth found it
prudent to secure the protection of the Church in this manner.
Persons of the second class bound themselves to pay an annual
lax or quit-rent out of their estates to a church or monastery.
Besides this, they sometimes engaged to perform certain services.
They were called eensitales. The last class consisted of such as
actually renounced their liberty and became slaves in the strict
and proper sense of the word. These were called tuiniittriales,
and enslaved their bodies, as some of the charters bear, that they
might procure the liberty of their souls. ( Potgiesscrus, De Statu
Servorum, lib. i. c. I, §§ 6, 7.) How zealous the clergy were to
encourage the opinions which led to this practice, will appear from
a clause in a charter by which one gives up himself as a slave to
• monastery : " Cum sit omni carnali ingenuitate generosius extre-
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 267
mum quodcumque Dei servitium, scilicet quod terrena nobilitas
multos plerumque vitiorum servos facit, servitus vero Christi nobiles
virtutibus reddit, nemo autem sani capitis virtutibus vitia compara-
verit, claret pro certo eum esse generosiorem, qui se Dei servitio
prsebuerit proniorem. Quod ego Ragnaldus intelligens," etc.
Another charter is expressed in the following words : " Eligens
magis esse servus Dei quam libertus sseculi, firmiter credens et
sciens, quod servire Deo, regnare est, summaque ingenuitas sit in
qua servitus comparabatur Christi," etc. (Du Cange, voc. O hiatus,
vol. iv. pp. 1286, 1287.) Great, however, as the power of religion
was, it does not appear that the enfranchisement of slaves was a
frequent practice while the feudal system preserved its vigor. On
the contrary, there were laws which set bounds to it, as detrimental
to society. (Potgiess., lib. iv. c. 2, § 6.) The inferior order of
men owed the recovery of their liberty to the decline of that
aristocratical policy which lodged the most extensive power in the
hands of a few members of the society and depressed all the rest.
When Louis X. issued his ordinance, several slaves had been so
long accustomed to servitude, and their minds were so much de-
based by that unhappy situation, that they refused to accept of the
liberty which was offered them. (D'Ach., Spicil.,vol. xi. p. 387.)
Long after the reign of Louis X. several of the French nobility
continued to assert their ancient dominion over their slaves. It
appears from an ordinance of the famous Bertrand de Guesclin,
constable of France, that the custom of enfranchising them was
considered as a pernicious innovation. (Morice, Mem. pour servir
de Preuves a 1'Hist. de Bret., torn. ii. p. 100. ) In some instances,
when the prsedial slaves were declared to be freemen, they were
still bound to perform certain services to their ancient masters, and
were kept in a state different from other subjects, being restricted
either from purchasing land or becoming members of a community
within the precincts of the manor to which they formerly belonged.
(Martene et Durand, Thesaur. Anecdot., vol. i. p. 914.) This,
however, seems not to have been common. There is no general
law for the manumission of slaves in the Statute-book of England,
similar to that which has been quoted from the Ordonnances of the
kings of France. Though the genius of the English constitution
268 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
seems early to have favored personal liberty, personal servitude,
nevertheless, continued long in England in some particular places.
In the year 1514 we find a charter of Henry VIII. enfranchising
two slaves belonging to one of his manors. (Rym., Feeder., vol.
xiii. p. 470. ) As late as the year 1574* there is a commission from
Queen Elizabeth with respect to the manumission of certain bond-
men belonging to her. Kymer, in Observat. on the Statutes, etc.,
p. 251.
NOTE XXI.— Sect I. p. 52.
There is no custom in the Middle Ages more singular than that
of private war. It is a right of so great importance, and prevailed
so universally, that the regulations concerning it occupy a consid-
erable place in the system of laws during the Middle Ages. M. de
Montesquieu, who has unravelled so many intricate points in feudal
jurisprudence and thrown light on so many customs formerly ob-
scure and unintelligible, was not led by his subject to consider this.
I shall therefore give a more minute account of the customs and
regulations which directed a practice so contrary to the present ideas
of civilized nations concerning government and order. I. Among
the ancient Germans, as well as other nations in a similar state of
society, the right of avenging injuries was a private and personal
right exercised by force of arms, without any reference to an
umpire or any appeal to a magistrate for decision. The clear-
est proofs of this were produced, Note VI. 2. This practice sub-
sisted among the barbarous nations after their settlement in the
provinces of the empire which they conquered ; and as the causes
of dissension among them multiplied, their family feuds and private
wars became more frequent. Proofs of this occur in their early
historians (Greg. Turon., Hist., lib. vii. c. 2, lib. viii. c. 1 8, lib.
x. c. 27), and likewise in the codes of their laws. It was not only
allowable for the relations to avenge the injuries of their family,
but it was incumbent on them. Thus, by the laws of the Angli
and Werini, " ad quemcunque hereditas terra pervenerit, ad ilium
vestis bcllica, id est lorica et ultio proximi, et solatio leudis, debet
pertinere" (tit. vi. \ 5, ap. Lindenbr., Leg. Saliq., tit. 63 ; Leg.
Longob., lib. ii. tit 14, \ 10). 3. None but gentlemen, or persons
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 269
of noble birth, had the right of private war. All disputes between
slaves, villani, the inhabitants of towns, and freemen of inferior
condition, were decided in the courts of justice. All disputes
between gentlemen and persons of inferior rank were terminated
in the same manner. The right of private war supposed nobility of
birth and equality of rank in both the contending parties. (Beau-
manoir, Coustumes de Beauv., ch. lix. p. 300; Ordon. des Rois
de France, torn. ii. p. 395, \ xvii. p. 508, § xv., etc.) The dignified
ecclesiastics likewise claimed and exercised the right of private
war ; but, as it was not altogether decent for them to prosecute
quarrels in person, advocati or vidames were chosen by the several
monasteries or bishoprics. These were commonly men of high
rank and reputation, who became the protectors of the churches
and convents by which they were elected ; espoused their quarrels,
and fought their battles ; " arm is omnia quae erant ecclesiae viriliter
defendebant, et vigilanter protegebant. ' ' ( Brussel, Usage des Fiefs,
torn. i. p. 144 ; Du Cange, voc. Advocatus.) On many occasions
the martial ideas to which ecclesiastics of noble birth were accus-
tomed made them forget the pacific spirit of their profession, and
led them into the field in person at the head of their vassals :
" flamma, ferro, caede, possessiones ecclesiarum praelati defende-
bant." (Guido Abbas, ap. Du Cange, ibid., p. 179.) 4. It was
not every injury or trespass that gave a gentleman a title to make
war upon his adversary. Atrocious acts of violence, insults, and
affronts, publicly committed, were legal and permitted motives for
taking arms against the authors of them. Such crimes as are now
punished capitally in civilized nations at that time justified private
hostilities. (Beauman., ch. lix.; Du Cange, Dissert. XXIX., sur
Joinville, p. 331.) But though the avenging of injuries was the
only motive that could legally authorize a private war, yet disputes
concerning civil property often gave rise to hostilities and were
terminated by the sword. (Du Cange, Dissert., p. 332.) 5. All
persons present when any quarrel arose or any act of violence was
committed were included in the war which it occasioned ; for it
was supposed to be impossible for any man in such a situation to
remain neuter, without taking side with one or other of the con-
tending parties. (Beauman., p. 300. ) 6. All the kindred of the two
23*
270
PROOiS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
principals in the war \vere included in it, and obliged to espouse
the quarrel of the chieftain with whom they were connected.
(Du Cange, ibid., p. 332. ) This was founded on the maxim of the
ancient Germans, " suscipere tarn inimicitias seu patris, seu pro-
pinqui, quam amicitias, nccesseest ;" a maxim natural to all rude
nations, among which the form of society, and political union,
strengthen such a sentiment. This obligation was enforced by
legal authority. If a person refused to take part in the quarrel of
his kinsman and to aid him against his adversary, he was deemed
to have renounced all the rights and privileges of kindredship,
and became incapable of succeeding to any of his relations, or of
deriving any benefit from any civil right or property belonging to
them. (Du Cange, Dissert., p. 333. ) The method of ascertaining
the degree of affinity which obliged a person to take part in the
quarrel of a kinsman was curious. While the Church prohibited
the marriage of persons within the seventh degree of affinity, the
vengeance of private war extended as far as this absurd prohibition,
and all who had such a remote connection with any of the prin-
cipals were involved in the calamities of war. But when the
Church relaxed somewhat of its rigor, and did not extend its
prohibition of marrying beyond the fourth degree of affinity, the
same restriction took place in the conduct of private war. (Beau-
man., p. 303 ; Du Cange, Dissert., p. 333. ) 7. A private war could
not be carried on between two full brothers, because both have the
same common kindred, and consequently neither had any persons
bound to stand by him against the other in the contest ; but two
brothers of the half-blood might wage war, because each of them
has a distinct kindred. (Beauman., p. 299.) 3. The vassals of
each principal in any private war were involved in the contest,
because, by the feudal maxims, they were bound to take arms in
defence of the chieftain of whom they held, and to assist him in
every quarrel. As soon, therefore, as feudal tenures were intro-
duced, and this artificial connection was established between
vassals and the baron of whom they held, vassals came to be
considered as in the same state with relations. (Beauman., p. 303. )
9. Private wars were very frequent for several centuries. Nothing
contributed more to increase those disorders in government or to
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
271
encourage such ferocity of manners as reduced the nations of
Europe to that wretched state which distinguished the period of
history which I am reviewing. Nothing was such an obstacle to
the introduction of a regular administration of justice. Nothing
could more effectually discourage industry or retard the progress
and cultivation of the arts of peace. Private wars were carried on
with all the destructive rage which is to be dreaded from violent
resentment when armed with force and authorized by law. It
appears from the statutes prohibiting or restraining the exercise of
private hostilities that the invasion of the most barbarous enemy
could not be more desolating to a country, or more fatal to its
inhabitants, than those intestine-wars. (Ordon., torn. i. p. 701,
torn. ii. pp. 39S» 408, 5°7> etc.) The contemporary historians
describe the excesses committed in prosecution of these quarrels
in such terms as excite astonishment and horror. I shall mention
only one passage from the History of the Holy War, by Guibert,
abbot of Nogent : " Erat eo tempore, maximis ad invicem hostili-
tatibus, totius Francorum regni facta turbatio ; crebra ubique latro-
cinia, viarum obsessio ; audiebantur passim, immo fiebant incendia
infinita ; nullis praeter sola et indomita cupiditate existentibus
causis, extruebantur prselia ; et ut brevi totum claudam, quicquid
obtutibus cupidorum subjacebat, nusquam attendendo cujus esset,
praedae patebat." Gesta Dei per Francos, vol. i. p. 482.
Having thus collected the chief regulations which custom had
established concerning the right and exercise of private war, I
shall enumerate, in chronological order, the various expedients
employed to abolish or restrain this fatal custom. I. The first
expedient employed by the civil magistrate, in order to set some
bounds to the violence of private revenge, was the fixing by law
the fine or composition to be paid for each different crime. The
injured person was originally the sole judge concerning the na-
ture of the wrong which he had suffered, the degree of vengeance
which he should exact, as well as the species of atonement or
reparation with which he might rest satisfied. Resentment be-
came, of course, as implacable as it was fierce. It was often a
point of honor not to forgive, nor to be reconciled. This made
it necessary to fix those compositions which make so great a figure
272 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
in the laws of barbarous nations. The nature of crimes and
offences was estimated by the magistrate, and the sum due to the
person offended was ascertained with a minute, and often a whim-
sical, accuracy. Rotharis, the legislator of the Lombards, who
reigned about the middle of the seventh century, discovers his
intention both in ascertaining the composition to be paid by the
offender and in increasing its value : it is, says he, that the enmity
may be extinguished, the prosecution may cease, and peace may
be restored. (Leg. Longob., lib. i. tit. 7, \ 10. ) 2. About the
beginning of the ninth century, Charlemagne struck at the root
of the evil, and enacted " That when any person had been guilty
of a crime, or had committed an outrage, he should immediately
submit to the penance which the Church imposed, and offer to
pay the composition which the law prescribed ; and if the injured
person or his kindred should refuse to accept of this, and pre-
sume to avenge themselves by force of arms, their lands and
properties should be forfeited." (Capitul., A.D. 802, edit. Baluz.,
vol. i. p. 371.) 3. But in this, as well as in other regulations, the
genius of Charlemagne advanced before the spirit of his age.
The ideas of his contemporaries concerning regular government
were too imperfect, and their manners too fierce, to submit to this
law. Private wars, with all the calamities which they occasioned,
became more frequent than ever after the death of that great
monarch. His successors were unable to restrain them. The
Church found it necessary to interpose. The most early of these
interpositions now extant is towards the end of the tenth century.
In the year 990, several bishops in the south of France assembled,
and published various regulations in order to set some bounds to
the violence and frequency of private wars : if any person within
their dioceses should venture to transgress, they ordained that he
should be excluded from all Christian privileges during his life,
and be denied Christian burial after his death. (Du Mont, Corps
Diplomatique, torn. i. p. 41.) These, however, were only partial
remedies ; and therefore a council was held at Limoges, A.D. 094.
The bodies of the saints, according to the custom of those ages,
were carried thither ; and by these sacred relics men were ex-
horted to lay down their arms, to extinguish their animosities.
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
273
and to swear that they would not, for the future, violate the public
peace by their private hostilities. (Bouquet, Recueil des Histor.,
vol. x. pp. 49, 147.) Several other councils issued decrees to the
same effect. ( Du Cange, Dissert. , 343. ) 4. But the authority of
councils, how venerable soever in those ages, was not sufficient
to abolish a custom which flattered the pride of the nobles and
gratified their favorite passions. The evil grew so intolerable that
it became necessary to employ supernatural means for suppressing
it. A bishop of Aquitaine, A.D. 1032, pretended that an angel
had appeared to him and brought him a writing from Heaven,
enjoining men to cease from their hostilities and to be reconciled
to each other. It was during a season of public calamity that he
published this revelation. The minds of men were disposed to
receive pious impressions, and willing to perform anything in
order to avert the wrath of Heaven. A general peace and cessa-
tion from hostilities took place, and continued for seven years ;
and a resolution was formed that no man should, in times to
come, attack or molest his adversaries during the seasons set
apart for celebrating the great festivals of the Church, or from the
evening of Thursday in each week to the morning of Monday in
the week ensuing, the intervening days being considered particu-
larly holy, our Lord's passion having happened on one of these
days, and his resurrection on another. A change in the disposi-
tions of men so sudden, and which produced a resolution so
unexpected, was considered as miraculous ; and the respite from
hostilities which followed upon it was called the truce of God.
(Glaber. Rodulphus, Histor., lib. v., ap. Bouquet, vol. x. p. 59-)
This, from being a regulation or concert in one kingdom, became
a general law in Christendom, was confirmed by the authority of
several popes, and the violators were subjected to the penalty of
excommunication. (Corpus Jur. Canon. Decretal., lib. i. tit. 34,
c. I ; Du Cange, Glossar., voc. Treuga.) An act of the council
of Toulujes in Roussillon, A.D. 1041, containing all the stipula-
tions required by the truce of God, is published by Dom de Vic
et Dom Vaisette, Hist, de Languedoc, torn. ii. , Preuves, p. 206.
A cessation from hostilities during three complete days in every
week allowed such a considerable space for the passions of the
M*
274
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
antagonists to cool, and for the people to enjoy a respite from the
calamities of war, as well as to take measures for their own secu-
rity, that if this truce of God had been exactly observed it must
have gone far towards putting an end to private wars. This,
however, seems not to have been the case : the nobles, disregard-
ing the truce, prosecuted their quarrels without interruption, as
formerly. "Qua nimirum tempestate, universae provincize adeo
devastationis cuntinune importunitate inquietantur, ut ne ipsa, pro
observatione divinae pacis, professa sacramenta custodiantur."
(Abbas Uspurgensis, apud Datt., de Pace Imperil Publica, p. 13,
no. 35. ) The violent spirit of the nobility could not be restrained
by any engagements. The complaints of this were frequent ; and
bishops, in order to compel them to renew their vows and prom-
ises of ceasing from their private wars, were obliged to enjoin
their clergy to suspend the performance of divine service and the
exercise of any religious function within the parishes of such as
were refractory and obstinate. (Hist, de Langued., par D. D. de
Vic et Vaisette, torn, ii., Preuves, p. 118. ) 5. The people, eager
to obtain relief from their sufferings, called in a second time rev-
elation to their aid. Towards the end of the twelfth century, a
carpenter in Guienne gave out that Jesus Christ, together with the
blessed Virgin, had appeared to him, and, having commanded him
to exhort mankind to peace, had given him, as a proof of his
mission, an image of the Virgin holding her Son in her arms,
with this inscription, Lamb of God, -who takest away the sins of
the world, give us peace. This low fanatic addressed himself to
an ignorant age, prone to credit what was marvellous. He was
received as an inspired messenger of God. Many prelates and
barons assembled at Puy and took an oath not only to make peace
with all their enemies, but to attack such as refused to lay down
their arms and to be reconciled to their enemies. They formed
an association for this purpose, and assumed the honorable name
of the brotherhood of God. (Robertus de Monte Michaele, ap.
M. de Lauriere, Pref., torn, i., Ordon., p. 29. ) But the influence
of this superstitious terror or devotion was not of long continu-
ance. 6. The civil magistrate was obliged to exert his authority
in order to check a custom which threatened a dissolution of
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS,
275
government. Philip Augustus, as some imagine, or St. Louis, as
is more probable, published an ordinance, A.D. 1245, prohibiting
any person to commence hostilities against the friends and vassals
of his adversary until forty days after the commission of the crime
or offence which gave rise to the quarrel : declaring that if any
man presumed to transgress this statute he should be considered
as guilty of a breach of the public peace and be tried and pun-
ished by the judge ordinary as a traitor. (Ordon., torn. i. p. 56.)
This was called the royal truce, and afforded time for the violence
of resentment to subside, as well as leisure for the good offices of
such as were willing to compose the difference. The happy effects
of this regulation seem to have been considerable, if we may
judge from the solicitude of succeeding monarchs to enforce it.
7. In order to restrain the exercise of private war still farther,
Philip the Fair, towards the close of the same century, A.D. 1296,
published an ordinance commanding all private hostilities to cease
while he was engaged in war against the enemies of the state.
(Ordon., torn. i. pp. 328, 390.) This regulation, which seems to
be almost essential to the existence and preservation of society,
was often renewed by his successors, and, being enforced by the
regal authority, proved a considerable check to the destructive
contests of the nobles. Both these regulations, introduced first in
France, were adopted by the other nations of Europe. 8. The
evil, however, was so inveterate that it did not yield to all these
remedies. No sooner was public peace established in any king-
dom than the barons renewed their private hostilities. They not
only struggled to maintain this pernicious right, but to secure the
exercise of it without any restraint. Upon the death of Philip
the Fair, the nobles of different provinces in France formed asso-
ciations, and presented remonstrances to his successor demanding
the repeal of several laws by which he had abridged the privileges
of their order. Among these the right of private war is always
mentioned as one of the most valuable ; and they claim that the
restraint imposed by the truce of God, the royal truce, as well as
that arising from the ordinance of the year 1296, should be taken
off. In some instances the two sons of Philip, who mounted the
throne successively, eluded their demands ; in others they were
2f6 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
obliged to make concessions. (Ordon., tom. i. pp. 551, 557, 561,
573. ) The ordinances to which I here refer are of such length
that I cannot insert them ; but they are extremely curious, and
may be peculiarly instructive to an English reader, as they throw
considerable light on that period of English history in which the
attempts to circumscribe the regal prerogative were carried on,
not by the people struggling for liberty, but by the nobles contend-
ing for power. It is not necessary to produce any evidence of the
continuance and frequency of private wars under the successors
of Philip the Fair. 9. A practice somewhat similar to the royal
truce was introduced in order to strengthen and extend it. Bonds
of assurance, or mutual security, were demanded from the parties
at variance, by which they obliged themselves to abstain from all
hostilities, either during a time mentioned in the bond, or forever,
and became subject to heavy penalties if they violated this obli-
gation. These bonds were sometimes granted voluntarily, but
more frequently exacted by the authority of the civil magistrate.
Upon a petition from the party who felt himself weakest, the
magistrate summoned his adversary to appear in court and obliged
him to give him a bond of assurance. If, after that, he committed
any further hostilities, he became subject to all the penalties of
treason. This restraint on private war was known in the age of
St. Louis. (Establissements, liv. i. c. 28.) It was frequent in
Bretagne ; and, what is very remarkable, such bonds of assurance
were given mutually between vassals and the lord of whom they
held. Oliver de Clisson grants one to the duke of Bretagne, his
sovereign. (Morice, Mem. pour servir de Preuves a 1'Hist. de
Bret., tom. i. p. 846, tom. ii. p. 371.) Many examples of bonds
of assurance in other provinces of France are collected by Brus-
sel (tom. ii. p. 856). The nobles of Burgundy remonstrated
against this practice, and obtained exemption from it as an en-
croachment on the privileges of their order. (Ordon., tom. i. p.
558. ) This mode of security was first introduced into cities, and,
the good effects of it having been felt there, was extended to the
nobles. (See Note XVI.) 10. The calamities occasioned by
private wars became at some times so intolerable that the nobles
entered into voluntary associations, binding themselves to refer all
277
matters in dispute, whether concerning civil property or points of
honor, to the determination of the majority of the associates.
(Morice, Mem. pour servir de Preuves a PHist. de Bret., torn. ii.
p. 728. ) II. But, all these expedients proving ineffectual, Charles
VI., A.D. 1413, issued an ordinance expressly prohibiting private
wars on any pretext whatsoever, with power to the judge ordinary
to compel all persons to comply with this injunction, and to punish
such as should prove refractory or disobedient, by imprisoning
their persons, seizing their goods, and appointing the officers of
justice, manageurs et gasleurs, to live at free quarters on their
estate. If those who were disobedient to this edict could not be
personally arrested, he appointed their friends and vassals to be
seized, and detained until they gave surety for keeping the peace ;
and he abolished all laws, customs, or privileges which might be
pleaded in opposition to this ordinance. (Ordon., torn. x. p. 138.)
How slow is the progress of reason and of civil order ! Regula-
tions which to us appear so equitable, obvious, and simple required
the efforts of civil and ecclesiastical authority, during several cen-
turies, to introduce and establish them. Even posterior to this
period, Louis XI. was obliged to abolish private wars in Dauphine
by a particular edict, A.D. 1451. Du Cange, Dissert., p. 348.
This note would swell to a disproportionate bulk if I should
attempt to inquire with the same minute attention into the progress
of this pernicious custom in the other countries of Europe. In
England the ideas of the Saxons concerning personal revenge,
the right of private wars, and the composition due to the party
offended, seem to have been much the same with those which pre-
vailed on the Continent. The law of Ina de vindicantibus, in the
eighth century (Lamb., p. 3); those of Edmund in the tenth cen-
tury, de homicidio (Lamb., p. 72), and de inimicitiis (p. 76); and
those of Edward the Confessor, in the eleventh century, de tetn-
poribus et diebus pacis, or Treuga Dei ( Lamb. , p. 1 26) , are perfectly
similar to the ordonnances of the French kings their contempora-
ries. The laws of Edward, de pace regis, are still more explicit
than those of the P'rench monarchs, and, by several provisions in
them, discover that a more perfect police was established in Eng-
land at that period. (Lombard, p. 128, fol. vers.) Even after the
Charles. — VOL. I. 24
278 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRA TWNS.
Conquest, private wars, and the regulations for preventing them,
were not altogether unknown, as appears from Madox, Formu-
lare Anglicanum, No. CXLV., and from the extracts from Domes-
day Book published by Gale, Scriptores Hist Britan., pp. 759,
777. The well-known clause in the form of an English indict-
ment, which, as an aggravation of the criminal's guilt, mentions
his having assaulted a person who was in the peace of God and
of the king, seems to be borrowed from the Treuga or I'ax Dei,
and the Pax Regis, which I have explained. But after the Con-
quest the mention of private wars among the nobility occurs more
rarely in the English history than in that of any other European
nation, and no laws concerning them are to be found in the body
of their statutes. Such a change in their own manners, and such
a variation from those of their neighbors, is remarkable. Is it to
be ascribed to the extraordinary power that William the Norman
acquired by right of conquest and transmitted to his successors,
which rendered the execution of justice more vigorous and de-
cisive, and the jurisdiction of the king's court more extensive,
than under the monarchs on the Continent? Or was it owing to
the settlement of the Normans in England, who, having never
adopted the practice of private war in their own country, abolished
it in the kingdom which they conquered ? It is asserted in an or-
dinance of John, king of France, that in all times past persons of
every rank in Normandy have been prohibited to wage private
war, and the practice has been deemed unlawful. (Ordon., torn.
ii. p. 407. ) If this fact were certain, it would go far towards ex-
plaining the peculiarity which I have mentioned. But, as there
are some English acts of parliament which, according to the re-
mark of the learned author of the Observations on the Statutes,
chiffty the more Ancient, recite falsehoods, it may be added that
this is not peculiar to the laws of that country. Notwithstanding
the positive assertion contained in this public law of France,
there is good reason for considering it as a statute which recites
a falsehood. This, however, is not the place for discussing that
point. It is an inquiry not unworthy the curiosity of an English
antiquary.
In Castile the pernicious practice of private war prevailed, and
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
279
was authorized by the customs and law of the kingdom. (Leges
Tauri, tit. 76, cum commentario Anton. Gomezii, p. 551.) As the
Castilian nobles were no less turbulent than powerful, their quarrels
and hostilities involved their country in many calamities. In-
numerable proofs of this occur in Mariana. In Aragon the right
of private revenge was likewise authorized bylaw, exercised in its
full extent, and accompanied with the same unhappy consequences.
(Hieron. Blanca, Comment, de Rebus Arag., ap. Schotti Hispan.
illustrat., vol. iii. p. 733; Lex Jacobi I., A.D. 1247 ; Fueros y
Observancias del Reyno de Aragon, lib. ix. p. 182.) Several
confederacies between the kings of Aragon and their nobles for
the restoring of peace, founded on the truce of God, are still
extant. (Petr. de Marca, Marca, sive Limes Hispanic., App.,
1303, 1388, 1428.) As early as the year 1165 we find a combina-
tion of the king and court of Aragon in order to abolish the right
of private war and to punish those who presumed to claim that
privilege. (Anales de Aragon, por Zurita, vol. i. p. 73.) But the
evil was so inveterate that, as late as A.D. 1519, Charles V. was
obliged to publish a law enforcing all former regulations tending
to suppress this practice. Fueros y Observancias, lib. ix. 183, b.
The Lombards, and other Northern nations who settled in Italy,
introduced the same maxims concerning the right of revenge into
that country, and these were followed by the same effects. As the
progress of the evil was perfectly similar to what happened in
France, the expedients employed to check its career, or to extir-
pate it finally, resembled those which I have enumerated. Murat.,
Antiq. Ital., vol. ii. p. 306', etc.
In Germany the disorders and calamities occasioned by the
right of private war were greater and more intolerable than in
any other country of Europe. The imperial authority was so
much shaken and enfeebled by the violence of the civil wars
excited by the contests between the popes and the emperors of the
Franconian and Suabian lines that not only the nobility but the
cities acquired almost independent power ajid scorned all subordi-
nation and obedience to the laws. The frequency of these _/azV/<?,
or private wars, is often mentioned in the German annals, and the
fatal effects of them are most pathetically described, Datt., de Pace
28o PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
Imper. Pub., lib. i. cap. 5, no. 30, et passim. The Germans early
adopted the Treuga Dei, which was first established in France.
This, however, proved but a temporary and ineffectual remedy.
The disorders multiplied so fast and grew to be so enormous that
they threatened the dissolution of society, and compelled the Ger-
mans to have recourse to the only remedy of the evil, namely, an
absolute prohibition of private wars. The emperor William pub-
lished his edict to this purpose, A.D. 1255, an hundred and sixty
years previous to the ordinance of Charles VI. in France. (Datt.,
lib. i. cap. 4, no. 20.) But neither he nor his successors had
authority to secure the observance of it. This gave rise to a
practice in Germany which conveys to us a striking idea both of
the intolerable calamities occasioned by private wars, and of the
feebleness of government during the twelfth and thirteenth centu-
ries. The cities and nobles entered into alliances and associations,
by which ihey bound themselves to maintain the public peace and
to make war on such as should violate it. This was the origin of
the league of the Rhine, of Suabia, and of many smaller con-
federacies distinguished by various names. The rise, progress,
and beneficial effects of these associations are traced by Datt with
great accuracy. Whatever degree of public peace or of regular
administration was preserved in the empire from the beginning
of the twelfth century to the close of the fifteenth, Germany owes
to these leagues. During that period, political order, respect for
the laws, together with the equal administration of justice, made
considerable progress in Germany. But the final and perpetual
abolition of the right of private war was not accomplished until
A.D. 1495* The imperial authority was by that time more firmly
established, the ideas of men with respect to government and
subordination were become more just. That barbarous and per-
nicious privilege of waging private war, which the nobles had so
long possessed, was declared to be incompatible with the happiness
and existence of society. In order to terminate any differences
which might arise am»ng the various members of the Germanic
body, the Imperial Chamber was instituted with supreme jurisdic-
tion, to judge without appeal in every question brought before it.
That court has subsisted since that period, forming a very respect-
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 28l
able tribunal of essential importance in the German constitution.
Datt., lib. iii., iv., v.; Pfeffel, Abrege de 1'Histoire du Droit, etc.,
p. 556.
NOTE XXII.— Sect. I. p. 62.
It would be tedious and of little use to enumerate the various
modes of appealing to the justice of God which superstition intro-
duced during the ages of ignorance. I shall mention only one,
because we have an account of it in a placitum, or trial, in the
presence of Charlemagne, from which we may learn the imperfect
manner in which justice was administered even during his reign.
In the year 775 a contest arose between the bishop of Paris and
the abbot of St. Denys concerning the property of a small abbey.
Each of them exhibited deeds and records in order to prove the
right to be in them. Instead of trying the authenticity or consid-
ering the import of these, the point was referred to the judicium
crucis. Each produced a person who, during the celebration of
mass, stood before the cross with his arms expanded ; and he
whose representative first became weary and altered his posture
lost the cause. The person employed by the bishop on this occa-
sion had less strength or less spirit than his adversary, and the
question was decided in favor of the abbot. (Mabillon, de Re
Diplomat., lib. vi. p. 498.) If a prince so enlightened as Charle-
magne countenanced such an absurd mode of decision, it is no
wonder that other monarchs should tolerate it so long. M. de
Montesquieu has treated of the trial by judicial combat at con-
siderable length. The two talents which distinguish that illustrious
author, industry in tracing all the circumstances of ancient and
obscure institutions, and sagacity in penetrating into the causes
and principles which contributed to establish them, are equally
conspicuous in his observations on this subject. To these I refer
the reader, as they contain most of the principles by which I have
endeavored to explain this- practice. (De 1' Esprit des Loix., liv.
xxviii.) It seems to be probable, from the remarks of M. de
Montesquieu, as well as from the facts produced by Muratori (torn,
iii. Dissert. XXXVIII. ), that appeals to the justice of God by the
experiments with fire and water, etc., were frequent among the
24*
282 PROOFS AXD ILLUSTRATIONS.
people who settled in the different provinces of the Roman empire,
before they had recourse to the judicial combat, and yet the
judicial combat seems to have been the most ancient mode of
terminating any controversy among the barbarous nations in their
original settlements. This is evident from Velleius Paterculus
(lib. ii. c. 118), who informs us that all questions which were
decided among the Romans by legal trial were terminated among
the Germans by arms. The same thing appears in the ancient
laws and customs of the Swedes, quoted by Jo. O. Stiernhdok de
Jure Sueonum et Gothorum vetusto, 4(0, Holmise, 1682, lib. i. c. 7*
It is probable that when the various tribes which invaded the
empire were converted to Christianity their ancient custom of
allowing judicial combats appeared so glaringly repugnant to the
precepts of religion that for some time it was abolished, and by
degrees several circumstances which I have mentioned led them
to resume it.
It seems likewise to be probable, from a law quoted by Stiern-
hdok in the treatise which I have mentioned, that the judicial
combat was originally permitted in order to determine points
respecting the personal character or reputation of individuals, and
was afterwards extended not only to criminal cases, but to ques-
tions concerning property. The words of the law are, "If any
man shall say to another these reproachful words, ' You are not a
man equal to other men,' or, ' You have not the heart of a man,'
and the other shall reply, ' I am a man as good as you,' let them
meet on the highway. If he who first gave offence appear, and
the person offended absent himself, let the latter be deemed a
worse man even than he was called ; let him not be admitted to
give evidence in judgment either for man or woman, and let him
not have the privilege of making a testament. If he who gave
the offence be absent, and only the person offended appear, let
him call upon the other thrice with a loud voice, and make a
mark upon the earth, and then let him who absented himself be
deemed infamous, because he uttered words which he durst not
support. If both shall appear properly armed, and the person
offended shall fall in the combat, let a half compensation be paid
for his death. But if the person who gave the offence shall fall,
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 283
let it be imputed to his own rashness. The petulance of his
tongue hath been fatal to him. Let him lie in the field without
any compensation being demanded for his death." (Lex Up-
landica, ap. Stiern., p. 76.) Martial people were extremely deli-
cate with respect to every thing that affected their reputation as
soldiers. By the law of the Salians, if any man called another a
hare, or accused him of having left his shield in the field of
battle, he was ordained to pay a large fine. (Leg. Sal., tit. xxxii.
§§ 4, 6. ) By the law of the Lombards, if any one called another
arga, i.e., a good-for-nothing fellow, he might immediately chal-
lenge him to combat. (Leg. Longob., lib. i. tit. v. \ i. ) By the
law of the Salians, if one called another cenitus, a term of re-
proach equivalent to arga, he was bound to pay a very high fine.
(Tit. xxxii. g I.) Paulus Diaconus relates the violent impression
which this reproachful expression made upon one of his country-
men, and the fatal effects with which it was attended. (De
Gestis Longobard., liv. vi. c. 34.) Thus the ideas concerning the
point of honor, which we are apt to consider as a modern refine-
ment, as well as the practice of duelling, to which it gave rise,
are derived from the notions of our ancestors while in a state of
society very little improved.
As M. de Montesquieu's view of this subject did not lead him
to consider every circumstance relative to judicial combats, I shall
mention some particular facts necessary for the illustration of what
I have said with respect to them. A remarkable instance occurs
of the decision of an abstract point of law by combat. A ques-
tion arose in the tenth century concerning the right of representa-
tion, which was not then fixed, though now universally established
in every part of Europe. " It was a matter of doubt and dis-
pute," saith the historian, " whether the sons of a son ought to be
reckoned among the children of the family, and succeed equally
with their uncles, if their father happen to die while their grand-
father was alive. An assembly was called to deliberate on this
point, and it was the general opinion that it ought to be remitted
to the examination and decision of judges. But the emperor, fol-
lowing a better course, and desirous of dealing honorably with his
people and nobles, appointed the matter to be decided by battle
284 PKOOFS AXD ILLUSTRATIONS.
between two champions. He who appeared in behalf of the right
of children to represent their deceased father was victorious ; and
it was established, by a perpetual decree, that they should here-
after share in the inheritance together with their uncles." (\\itti-
kindus Corbiensis, lib. Annal., ap. M. de Lauriere, Pref. Ordon.,
vol. i. p. xxxiii. ) If we can suppose the caprice of folly to lead
men to any action more extravagant than this of settling a point
in law by combat, it must be that of referring the truth or false-
hood of a religious opinion to be decided in the same manner.
To the disgrace of human reason, it has been capable even of this
extravagance. A question was agitated in Spain in the eleventh
century, whether the Musarabic liturgy and ritual which had been
used in the churches of Spain, or that approved of by the see of
Rome, which differed in many particulars from the other, con-
tained the form of worship most acceptable to the Deity. The
Spaniards contended zealously for the ritual of their ancestors.
The popes urged them to receive that to which they had given their
infallible sanction. A violent con test* arose. The nobles pro-
posed to decide the controversy by the sword. The king approved
of this method of decision. Two knights in complete armor
entered the lists. John Ruys de Matanca, the champion of the
Musarabic liturgy, was victorious. But the queen and archbishop
of Toledo, who favored the other form, insisted on having the
matter submitted to another trial, and had interest enough to
prevail in a request, inconsistent with the laws of combat, which
being considered as an appeal to God, the decision ought to have
been acquiesced in as final. A great fire was kindled. A copy
of each liturgy was cast into the flames. It was agreed that the
book which stood this proof and remained untouched should be
received in all the churches of Spain. The Musarabic liturgy
triumphed likewise in this trial, and, if we may believe Roderigo
de Toledo, remained unhurt by the fire when the other was
reduced to ashes. The queen and archbishop had power or art
sufficient to elude this decision also, and the use of the Musarabic
form of devotion was permitted only in certain churches, — a
determination no less extraordinary than the whole transaction.
(Roder. de Toledo, quoted by P. Orleans, Hist, des Revolutions
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 285
d'Espagne, torn. i. p. 417 ; Mariana, lib. i. c. 18, vol. i. p. 378.)
A remarkable proof of the general use of trial by combat, and of
the predilection for that mode of decision, occurs in the laws of the
Lombards. It was a custom in the Middle Ages that any person
might signify publicly the law to which he chose to be subjected ;
and by the prescriptions of that law he was obliged to regulate his
transactions, without being bound to comply with any practice
authorized by other codes of law. Persons who had subjected
themselves to the Roman law, and adhered to the ancient juris-
prudence, as far as any knowledge of it was retained in those
ages of ignorance, were exempted from paying any regard to the
forms of proceedings established by the laws of the Burgundians,
Lombards, and other barbarous people. But the emperor Otho,
in direct contradiction to this received maxim, ordained "That
all persons, under whatever law they lived, even although it were
the Roman law, should be bound to conform to the edicts con-
cerning the trial by combat." (Leg. Longob., lib. ii. tit. 55, §
38. ) While the trial by judicial combat subsisted, proof by char-
ters, contracts, or other deeds became ineffectual ; and even this
species of written evidence, calculated to render the proceedings
of courts certain and decisive, was eluded. When a charter or
other instrument was produced by one of the parties, his oppo-
nent might challenge it, affirm that it was false and forged, and
offer to prove this by combat. (Leg. Longob., ibid., § 34. ) It is
true that, among the reasons enumerated by Beaumanoir on ac-
count of which judges might refuse to permit a trial by combat,
one is, " If the point in contest can be clearly proved or ascer-
tained by other evidence." (Coust. de Beauv., ch. 63, p. 323.)
But that regulation removed the evil only a single step. For the
party who suspected that a witness was about to depose in a man-
ner unfavorable to his cause might accuse him of being suborned,
give him the lie, and challenge him to combat : if the witness
was vanquished in battle, no other evidence could be admitted,
and the party by whom he was summoned to appear lost his cause.
(Leg. Baivar., tit. 16, § 2 ; Leg. Burgund., tit. 45 ; Beauman.,ch.
61, p. 315-) The reason given for obliging a witness to accept
of a defiance, and to defend himself by combat, is remarkable,
286 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
and contains the same idea which is still the foundation of what
is called the point of honor : " for it is just that if anyone affirms
that he perfectly knows the truth of any thing, and offers to give
oath upon it, he should not hesitate to maintain the veracity of las
affirmation in combat." Leg. Burgund., tit. 45.
That the trial by judicial combat was established in every
country of Europe is a fact well known, and requires no proof.
That this mode of decision was frequent appears not only from
the codes of ancient laws which established it, but from the ear-
liest writers concerning the practice of law in the different nations
of Europe. They treat of this custom at great length ; they enu-
merate the regulations concerning it with minute accuracy and
explain them with much solicitude. It made a capital and ex-
tensive article in jurisprudence. There is not any one subject in
their system of law which Beaumanoir, Defontaines, or the com-
pilers of the Assises de Jerusalem seem to have considered as of
greater importance ; and none upon which they have bestowed
so much attention. The same observation will hold with respect
to the early authors of other nations. It appears from Madox
that trials of this kind were so frequent in England that fines paid
on these occasions made no inconsiderable branch of the king's
revenue. (Hist, of the Excheq., vol. i. p. 349.) A very curious
account of a judicial combat between Messire Robert de Beau-
manoir and Messire Pierre Tournemine, in presence of the duke
of Bretagne, A.D. 1385, is published by Morice (Mem. pour servir
de Preuves a I* Hist, de Bretagne, torn. ii. p. 498.) All the for-
malities observed in such extraordinary proceedings are there
described more minutely than in any ancient monument which I
have had an opportunity of considering. Tournemine was accused
by Beaumanoir of having murdered his brother. The former was
vanquished, but was saved from being hanged upon the spot by
the generous intercession of his antagonist. A good account of
the origin of the laws concerning judicial combat is published in
the History of Pavia, by Bernardo Sacci, lib. ix. c. 8, in Graev.
Thes. Antiquit. Ital., vol. iii. p. 743.
This mode of trial was so acceptable that ecclesiastics, notwith-
standing the prohibitions of the Church, were constrained not only
PKOOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 287
to connive at the practice, but to authorize it. A remarkable in-
stance of this is produced by Pasquier, Recherches, lib. iv. ch. i.
p. 350. The abbot Wittikindus, whose words I have produced
in this note, considered the determination of a point in law by
combat as the best and most honorable mode of decision. In the
year 978 a judicial combat was fought in the presence of the
emperor. The archbishop Aldebert advised him to terminate a
contest which had arisen between two noblemen of his court by
this mode of decision. The vanquished combatant, though a
person of high rank, was beheaded on the spot. (Chronic. Dit-
mari, Episc. Mersb., apud Bouquet, Recueil des Hist., torn. x. p.
121. ) Questions concerning the property of churches and monas-
teries were decided by combat. In the year 961 a controversy
concerning the church of St. Medard, whether it belonged to the
abbey of Beaulieu or not, was terminated by judicial combat.
(Bouquet, Recueil des Hist., torn. ix. p. 729 ; ibid., p. 612, etc. )
The emperor Henry I. declares that this law, authorizing the
practice of judicial combats, was enacted with consent and ap-
plause of many faithful bishops. (Ibid., p. 2JI.) So remarkably
did the martial ideas of those ages prevail over the genius and
maxims of the canon law, which in other instances was in the
highest credit and authority with ecclesiastics. A judicial combat
was appointed in Spain, by Charles V., A.D. 1522. The com-
batants fought in the emperor's presence, and the battle was con-
ducted with all the rites prescribed by the ancient laws of chivalry.
The whole transaction is described at great length by Pontus
Heuterus, Rer. Austriac. , lib. viii. c. 17, p. 205.
The last instance which occurs in the history of France of a
judicial combat authorized by the magistrate was the famous one
between M. Jarnac and M. de la Chaistaignerie, A.D. 1547. A
trial by combat was appointed in England, A.D. I571* under the
inspection of the judges in the Court of Common Pleas ; and
though it was not carried to the same extremity with the former,
Queen Elizabeth having interposed her authority and enjoined the
parties to compound the matter, yet, in order to preserve their
honor, the lists were marked out, and all the forms previous to
the combat were observed with much ceremony. (Spelm., Gloss.,
288 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
voc. Campus, p. 103.) In the year 1631 a judicial combat was
appointed between Donald Lord Rea and David Ramsay, Esq.,
by the authority of the lord high constable and earl marshal of
England ; but that quarrel likewise terminated without bloodshed,
being accommodated by Charles I. Another instance occurs
seven years later. Rushworth, in Observations on the Statutes,
etc., p. 266.
NOTE XXIII.— Sect. I. p. 68.
The text contains the great outlines which mark the course of
private and public jurisdiction in the several nations of Europe.
I shall here follow more minutely the various steps of this pro-
gress, as the matter is curious and important enough to merit this
attention. The payment of a fine by way of satisfaction to the
person or family injured was the first device of a rude people in
order to check the career of private resentment, and to extin-
guish those faida, or deadly feuds, which were prosecuted among
them with the utmost violence. This custom may be traced back
to the ancient Germans (Tacit., de Morib. Germ., c. 21), and pre-
vailed among other uncivilized nations. Many examples of this
are collected by the ingenious and learned author of Historical
Law Tracts (vol. i. p. 41). These fines were ascertained and
levied in three different manners. At first they were settled by
voluntary agreement between the parties at variance. When their
rage began to subside, and they felt the bad effects of their con-
tinuing in enmity, they came to terms of concord, and the satis-
faction made was called a tomposilion, implying that it was fixed
by mutual consent (De 1' Esprit des Loix, liv. xxx. c. 19.) It is
apparent from some of the more ancient codes of laws that at the
time when these were compiled matters still remained in that
simple state. In certain cases the person who had committed an
offence was left exposed to the resentment of those whom he had
injured, until he should recover their favor, " quoquo modo potu-
erit." (Leg. Krision., tit. II, § I.) The next mode of levying
these fine* was by the sentence of arbiters. An arbiter is called
in the Rcgiam Majestatcm amicabilis compositor (lib. xi. c. 4, §
10. • He could estimate the degree of offence with more impar-
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 289
tiality than the parties interested, and determine with greater
equity what satisfaction ought to be demanded. It is difficult to
bring an authentic proof of a custom previous to the records
preserved in any nation of Europe. But one of the Formulae
Andegavenses compiled in the sixth century seems to allude to a
transattion carried on, not by the authority of a judge, but by
the mediation of arbiters chosen by mutual consent. (Bouquet,
Recueil des Histor., torn. iv. p. 5°6-) But, as an arbiter wanted
authority to enforce his decisions, judges were appointed with
compulsive power to oblige both parties to acquiesce in their de-
cisions. Previous to this last step, the expedient of paying com-
positions was an imperfect remedy against the pernicious effects
of private resentment. As soon as this important change was in-
troduced, the magistrate, putting himself in place of the person
injured, ascertained the composition with which he ought to rest
satisfied. Every possible injury that could occur in the intercourse
of civil society was considered, and estimated, and the composi-
tions due to the person aggrieved were fixed with such minute
attention as discovers, in most cases, amazing discernment and
delicacy, in some instances unaccountable caprice. Besides the
composition payable to the private party, a certain sum, called a
fredum, was paid to the king or state, as Tacitus expresses it, or
to thejiscus, in the language of the barbarous laws. Some authors,
blending the refined ideas of modern policy with their reasonings
concerning ancient transactions, have imagined that the fredum
was a compensation due to the community on account of the vio-
lation of the public peace. But it is manifestly nothing more than
the price paid to the magistrate for the protection which he afforded
against the violence of resentment. The enacting of this was a
considerable step towards improvement in criminal jurisprudence.
In some of the more ancient codes of laws the freda are altogether
omitted, or so seldom mentioned that it is evident they were but
little known. In the latter codes the/return is as precisely speci-
fied as the composkion. In common cases it was equal to the
third part of the composition. (Capitul., vol. i. p. 52. ) In some
extraordinary cases, where it was more difficult to protect the
person who had committed violence, the fredum was augmented.
Charles. — VOL. I. — N 25
290
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
(Capitul., vol. i. p. 515. ) These freda made a considerable branch
in the revenues of the barons ; and in whatever district territorial
jurisdiction was granted, the royal judges were prohibited from
levying any freda. In explaining the nature of \hefredum, I have
followed in a great measure the opinion of M. de Montesquieu,
though I know that several learned antiquaries have taken the
word in a different sense. (De 1' Esprit des Loix, liv. xxx. c. 20,
etc.) The great object of judges was to compel the one party to
give, and the other to accept, the satisfaction prescribed. They
multiplied regulations to this purpose, and enforced them by griev-
ous penalties. (Leg- Longob., lib. i. tit. 9, § 34 ; Ibid., tit. 37,
$$ I, 2 ; Capitul., vol. i. p. 371, \ 22. ) The person who received
a composition was obliged to cease from all further hostility, and
to confirm his reconciliation with the adverse party by an oath.
(Leg. Longob., lib. i. tit. 9, § 8.) As an additional and more
permanent evidence of reconciliation, he was required to grant a
bond of security to the person from whom he received a com-
position, absolving him from all further prosecution. Marculfus,
and the other collectors of ancient writs, have preserved several
different forms of such bonds. (Marc., lib. xi. g 1 8 ; Append., $
23 ; Form. Sirmondicae, § 39. ) The letters of Slanes, known in
the law of Scotland, are perfectly similar to these bonds of security.
J5y the letters of Shines, the heirs and relations of a person who
had been murdered bound themselves, in consideration of an as-
sythment, or composition paid to them, to forgive, " pass over, and
forever forget, and in oblivion inter, all rancor, malice, revenge,
prejudice, grudge, and resentment that they have or may conceive
against the aggressor or his posterity, for the crime which he had
committed, and discharge him of all action, civil or criminal,
against him or his estate, for now and ever." (System of Stiles,
by Dallas of St. Martin's, p. 862.) In the ancient form of letters
of Slanes, the private party not only forgives and forgets, but par-
dons and grants remission of the crime. This practice Dallas,
reasoning according to the principles of his own age, considers as
an encroachment on the rights of sovereignty, as none, says he,
could pardon a criminal but the king. (Ibid.) But in early and
rude times the prosecution, the punishment, and the pardon of
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
291
criminals were all deeds of the private person who was injured.
Madox has published two writs, one in the reign of Edward I.,
the other in the reign of Edward III., by which private persons
grant a release or pardon of all trespasses, felonies, robberies, and
murders committed. (Formul. Anglican., no. 702, 705.) In the
last of these instruments, some regard seems to be paid to the
rights of the sovereign, for the pardon is granted en quant que en
nous est. Even after the authority of the magistrate was inter-
posed in punishing crimes, the punishment of criminals is long
considered chiefly as a gratification to the resentment of the
persons who have been injured. In Persia a murderer is still
delivered to the relations of the person whom he has slain,
who put him to death with their own hands. If they refuse
to accept of a sum of money as a compensation, the sovereign,
absolute as he is, cannot pardon the murderer. (Voyages de
Chardin, iii. 417, edit. 1735, 410; Voyages de Tavernier, liv. v.
c. 5, IO. ) Among the Arabians, though one of the first polished
people in the East, the same custom still subsists. (Description
de 1' Arabic, par M. Niebuhr, p. 28.) By a law in the kingdom
of Aragon as late as the year 1564, the punishment of one con-
demned to death cannot be mitigated but by consent of the parties
who have been injured. Fueros y Observancias del Reyno de
Aragon, p. 204, 6.
If, after all the engagements to cease from enmity which I have
mentioned, any person renewed hostilities, and was guilty of any
violence, either towards the person from whom he had received
a composition, or towards his relations and heirs, this was deemed
a most heinous crime, and punished with extraordinary rigor. It
was an act of direct rebellion against the authority of the magis-
trate, and was repressed by the interposition of all his power.
(Leg. Longob., lib. i. tit. 9, \ 8, p. 34 ; Capit., vol. i. p. 371, § 22.)
Thus the avenging of injuries was taken out of private hands, a
legal composition was established, and peace and amity were
restored under the inspection and by the authority of a judge. It
is evident that at the time when the barbarians settled in the prov-
inces of the Roman empire they had fixed judges established
among them with compulsive authority. Persons vested with this
292
PKOOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
character arc mentioned by the earliest historians. (Du Cange,
voc. Judices. ) The right of territorial jurisdiction was not alto-
gether an usurpation of the feudal barons, or an invasion of the
prerogative of the sovereign. There is good reason to believe
that the powerful leaders who seized different districts of the
countries which they conquered, and kept possession of them as
allodial property, assumed from the beginning the right of jurisdic-
tion, and exercised it within their own territories. This jurisdiction
was supreme, and extended to all causes. The clearest proofs of
this are produced by M. Bouquet, Le Droit publique de France
eclairci, etc., torn. i. p. 206, etc. The privilege of judging his
own vassals appears to have been originally a right inherent in
every baron who held a fief. As far back as the archives of
nations can conduct us with any certainty, we find the jurisdiction
and fief united. One of the earliest charters to a layman which I
have met with is that of Ludovicus Pius, A.D. 814 ; and it contains
the right of territorial jurisdiction in the most express and extensive
terms. (Capitul., vol. ii. p. 1405.) There are many charters to
churches and monasteries of a more early date, containing grants
of similar jurisdiction, and prohibiting any royal judge to enter
the territories of those churches or monasteries or to perform any
act of judicial authority there. (Bouquet, Recueil des Hist., torn,
iv. pp. 628, 631, 633, torn. v. pp. 703, 710, 752, 762.) Muratori
has published many very ancient charters containing the same
immunities. (Antiq. Ital., Dissert. LXX. ) In most of these
deeds the royal judge is prohibited from exacting the freda due
to the possessor of territorial jurisdiction, which shows that they
constituted a valuable part of the revenue of each superior lord at
that juncture. The expense of obtaining a sentence in a court
of justice during the Middle Ages was so considerable that this
circumstance alone was sufficient to render men unwilling to
decide any contest in judicial form. It appears from a charter in
the thirteenth century that the baron who had the right of justice
received the fifth part of the value of ever)1 subject the property
of which was tried and determined in his court. If after the
commencement of a lawsuit the parties terminated the contest in
an amicable manner, or by arbitration, they were nevertheless
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
293
bound to pay the fifth part of the subject contested to the court
before which the suit had been brought. (Hist, de Dauphine,
Geneve, 1722, torn. i. p. 22.) Similar to this is a regulation in
the charter of liberty granted to the town of Friburg, A.D. 1120.
If two of the citizens shall quarrel, and if one of them shall
complain to the superior lord or to his judge, and after com-
mencing the suit shall be privately reconciled to his adversary,
the judge, if he does not approve of this reconciliation, may
compel him to go on with his lawsuit, and all who were present
at the reconciliation shall forfeit the favor of the superior lord.
HistoriaZaringo-Badensis, Auctor. Jo. Dan. Schoepflinus, Carolsr.,
1765, 410, vol. v. p. 55.
What was the extent of that jurisdiction which those who held
fiefs possessed originally we cannot now determine with certainty.
It is evident that during the disorders which prevailed in every
kingdom of Europe the great vassals took advantage of the feeble-
ness of their monarchs and enlarged their jurisdictions to the
utmost. As early as the tenth century the more powerful barons
had usurped the right of deciding all causes, whether civil or
criminal. They had acquired the high justice as well as the low,
(Establ. de St. Louis, liv. i. c. 24, 25.) Their sentences were
final, and there lay no appeal from them to any superior court.
Several striking instances of this are collected by Brussel (Traite
des Fiefs, liv. iii. c. II, 12, 13). Not satisfied with this, the more
potent barons got their territories created into regalities, with
almost every royal prerogative and jurisdiction. Instances of
these were frequent in France. (Bruss., ibid.) In Scotland,
where the power of the feudal nobles became exorbitant, they
were very numerous. (Historical Law Tracts, vol. i. tract vi.)
Even in England, though the authority of the Norman kings
circumscribed the jurisdiction of the barons within more narrow
limits than in any other feudal kingdom, several counties palatine
were erected, into which the king's judges could not enter, and
no writ could come in the king's name until it received the seal
of the county palatine. (Spelman, Gloss., voc. Comites Palatini;
Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England, vol. iii. p.
78. ) These lords of regalities had a right to claim or rescue their
25*
294
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
vassals from the king's judges, if they assumed any jurisdiction
over them. (Brussel, ubi supra.) In the law of Scotland, this
privilege was termed the right of repledging ; and the frequency
of it not only interrupted the course of justice, but gave rise to
great disorders in the exercise of it. (Hist. Law Tracts, ibid.)
The jurisdiction of the counties palatine seems to have been pro-
ductive of like inconveniences in England.
The remedies provided by princes against the bad effects of
these usurpations of the nobles, or inconsiderate grants of the
crown, were various and gradually applied. Under Charlemagne
and his immediate descendants, the regal prerogative still retained
great vigor, and the ducts, comites, and missi dominici, the former
of whom were ordinary and fixed judges, the latter extraordinary
and itinerant judges, in the different provinces of their extensive
dominions, exercised a jurisdiction co-ordinate with the barons in
some cases, and superior to them in others. ( Du Cange, voc. Dux,
Comites, et Missi; Murat., Antiq., Dissert. VIII. et IX.) But under
the feeble race of monarchs who succeeded them, the authority of
the royal judges declined, and the barons acquired that unlimited
jurisdiction which has been described. Louis VI. of France
attempted to revive the function of the missi dominici, under the
title of juges des exempts, but the barons were become too power-
ful to bear such an encroachment on their jurisdiction, and he was
obliged to desist from employing them. ( Hainault, Abrcge Chron.,
torn. ii. p. 730. ) His successor (as has been observed) had recourse
to expedients less alarming. The appeal de default de droit, or on
account of the refusal of justice, was the first which was attended
with any considerable effect. According to the maxims of feudal
law, if a baron had not as many vassals as enabled him to try by
their peers the parties who offered to plead in his court, or if he de-
layed or refused to proceed in the trial, the cause might be carried,
by appeal, to the court of the superior lord of whom the baron
held, and tried there. ( De I1 Esprit des Loix, liv. xxviii. c. 28 ; Du
Cange, voc. Defectus Justitia. ) The number of peers or assessors
in the courts of barons was frequently very considerable. It
appears from a criminal trial in the court of the Viscount de
Lautrec, A.D. 1299, that upwards of two hundred persons were
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
295
present, and assisted in the trial, and voted in passing judgment.
(Hist, de Langued., parD.D. de Vicet Vaisette, torn, iv., Preuves,
p. 1 14. ) But, as the right of jurisdiction had been usurped by
many inconsiderable barons, they were often unable to hold courts.
This gave frequent occasion to such appeals, and rendered the
practice familiar. By degrees, such appeals began to be made
from the courts of the more powerful barons ; and it is evident
from a decision recorded by Brussel that the royal judges were
willing to give countenance to any pretext for them. (Traite des
Fiefs, torn. i. pp. 235, 261.) This species of appeal had less effect
in abridging the jurisdiction of the nobles than the appeal on ac-
count of the injustice of the sentence. When the feudal monarchs
were powerful and their judges possessed extensive authority, such
appeals seem to have been frequent. (Capitul., vol. i. pp. 175,
I So. ) And they were made in a manner suitable to the rudeness
of a simple age. The persons aggrieved resorted to the palace of
their sovereign and with outcries and loud noise called to him for
redress. (Capitul., lib. iii. c. 59 ; Chronic. Lawterbergiense, ap.
Mencken., Script. German., vol. ii. p. 284, b. ) In the kingdom
of Aragon, the appeals to the justiza, or supreme judge, were
taken in such a form as supposed the appellant to be in immediate
danger of death or of some violent outrage : he rushed into the
presence of the judge, crying with a loud voice, Avi, Avi, Fuersa,
Puerto., thus imploring (as it were) the instant interposition of that
supreme judge in order to save him. (Hier. Blanca, Comment, de
Rebus Aragon., ap. Script. Hispanic., Pistorii, vol. iii. p. 753-) The
abolition of the trial by combat facilitated the revival of appeals of
this kind. The effects of the subordination which appeals estab-
lished, in introducing attention, equity, and consistency of decision
into courts of judicature, were soon conspicuous ; and almost all
causes of importance were carried to be finally determined in the
king's courts. (Brussel, torn. i. p. 252.) Various circumstances
which contributed towards the introduction and frequency of such
appeals are enumerated De 1' Esprit des Loix, liv. xxviii. c. 27.
Nothing, however, was of such effect as the attention which mon-
archs gave to the constitution and dignity of their courts of justice.
It was the ancient custom for the feudal monarchs to preside
296 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
themselves in their courts, and to administer justice in person.
(Marculf., lib. i. § 25 ; Murat., Dissert. XXXI.) Charlemagne,
whilst he was dressing, used to call parties into his presence, and,
having heard and considered the subject of litigation, gave judg-
ment concerning it. (Eginhartus, Vita Caroli Magni, cited by
Madox, Hist, of Exchequer, vol. i. p. 91.) This trial and decision
'of causes by the sovereigns themselves could not fail of rendering
their courts respectable. St. Louis, who encouraged to the utmost
the practice of appeals, revived this ancient custom, and adminis-
tered justice in person with all the ancient simplicity. " I have
often seen the saint," says Joinville, "sit under the shade of an
oak in the wood of Vincennes, when all who had any complaint
freely approached him. At other times he gave orders to spread
a carpet in a garden, and, seating himself upon it, heard the causes
that were brought before him." (Hist, de St. Louis, p. 13, edit.
1761.) Princes of inferior rank, who possessed the right of
justice, sometimes dispensed it in person, and presided in their
tribunals. Two instances of this occur with respect to the
dauphins of Vienne. (Hist, de Dauphine, torn. i. p. 18, torn. ii.
p. 257. ) But as kings and princes could not decide every cause
in person, nor bring them all to be determined in the same court,
they appointed baillis, with a right of jurisdiction, in different
districts of their kingdom. These possessed powers somewhat
similar to those of the ancient comitcs. It was towards the end
of the twelfth century and beginning of the thirteenth that this
office was first instituted in France. (Brussel, liv. ii. c. 35.)
When the king had a court established in different quarters of his
dominions, this invited his subjects to have recourse to it It was
the private interest of the baillis, as well as an object of public
policy, to extend their jurisdiction. They took advantage of every
defect in the rights of the barons, and of every error in their
proceedings, to remove causes out of their courts and to bring
them under their own cognizance. There was a distinction in the
feudal law, and an extremely ancient one, between the high justice
and the low. (Capitul. 3, A.M. 812, § 4, A D. 815, § 3 ; Kstabl.
de St. I .mil-,, liv. i. c. 40.) Many barons possessed the latter
jurisdiction who had no title to the former. The former included
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 297
tb= right of trying crimes of every kind, even the highest ; the
latter was confined to petty trespasses. This furnished endless
pretexts for obstructing, restraining, and reviewing the proceedings
in the baron courts. (Ordon., ii. 457, § 25 ; 458, \ 29. ) A regu-
lation of greater importance succeeded the institution of baillis.
The king's supreme court or parliament was rendered fixed as to
the place and constant as to the time of its meetings. In France,
as well as in the other feudal kingdoms, the king's court of justice
was originally ambulatory, followed the person of the monarch,
and was held only during some of the great festivals. Philip
Augustus, A.D. 1305, rendered it stationary at Paris, and continued
its terms during the greater part of the year. (Pasquier, Re-
cherches, liv. ii. c. 2 et 3, etc. ; Ordon., torn. i. p. 366, § 62.) He
and his successors vested extensive powers in that court ; they
granted the members of it several privileges and distinctions
which it would be tedious to enumerate. (Pasquier, ibid. ; Velly,
Hist, de France, torn. vii. p. 307.) Persons eminent for integrity
and skill in law were appointed judges there. (Ibid.) By degrees
the final decision of all causes of importance was brought into the
parliament of Paris, and the other parliaments which administered
justice in the king's name, in different provinces of the kingdom.
This jurisdiction, however, the parliament of Paris acquired very
slowly, and the great vassals of the crown made violent efforts in
order to obstruct the attempts of that parliament to extend its
authority. Towards the close of the thirteenth century, Philip the
Fair was obliged to prohibit his parliament from taking cognizance
of certain appeals brought into it from the courts of the count of
Bretagne, and to recognize and respect his right of supreme and
final jurisdiction. (Memoires pour servirde Preuves a 1'Histoire
de Bretagne, par Morice, torn. i. pp. 1037, 1074.) Charles VI., at
the end of the following century, was obliged to confirm the rights
of the dukes of Bretagne in still more ample form. (Ibid., torn,
ii. pp. 580, 581.) So violent was the opposition of the barons
to this right of appeal, which they considered as fatal to their
privileges and power, that the authors of the Encycfapidie have
mentioned several instances in which barons put to death or
mutilated such persons as ventured to appeal from the sentences
N*
298 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
pronounced in their courts to the parliament of Paris (torn, xii.,
art. Parlement, p. 25).
The progress of jurisdiction in the other feudal kingdoms was
in a great measure similar to that which we have traced in France.
In' England the territorial jurisdiction of the barons was both an-
cient and extensive. ( Leg. Edw. Conf. , no. 5 and 9. ) After the
Norman conquest it became more strictly feudal ; and it is evident
from facts recorded in the English history, as well as from the in-
stitution of counties palatine, which I have already mentioned,
that the usurpations of the nobles in England were not less bold
or extensive than those of their contemporaries on the continent
The same expedients were employed to circumscribe or abolish
those dangerous jurisdictions. William the Conqueror established
a constant court in the hall of his palace ; from which the four
courts now intrusted with the administration of justice in England
took their rise. Henry II. divided his kingdom into six circuits,
and sent itinerant judges to hold their courts in them at stated
seasons. ( Hlackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England,
vol. iii. p. 57. ) Justices of the peace were appointed in every
county by subsequent monarchs, to whose jurisdiction the people
gradually had recourse in many civil causes. The privileges of
the counties palatine were gradually limited ; with respect to some
points they were abolished, and the administration of justice was
brought into the king's courts, or before judges of his appoint-
ment. The several steps taken for this purpose are enumerated in
Dalrymple's History of Feudal Property, chap. vii.
In Scotland the usurpations of the nobility were more exorbi-
tant than in any other feudal kingdom. The progress of their
encroachments, and the methods taken by the crown to limit or
abolish their territorial and independent jurisdictions, both which
I had occasion to consider ttnd explain in a former work, differed
very little from those of which I have now given the detail. His-
tory of Scotland, vol. i. p. 37.
I should perplex myself and my readers in the labyrinth of
German jurisprudence if I were to attempt to delineate the pro-
gress of jurisdiction in the empire with a minute accuracy. It is
sufficient to observe that the authority which the aulic council and
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS,
299
imperial chamber now possess took its rise from the same desire
of redressing the abuses of territorial jurisdiction, and was ac-
quired in the same manner that the royal courts attained influence
in other countries of Europe. All the important facts with respect
to both these particulars may be found in Phil. Datt. de Pace
Publica Imperii, lib. iv. The capital articles are pointed out in
Pfeffel, Abreg6 de 1'Histoire du Droit publique d'Allemagne, pp.
556, 581 ; and in Traite du Droit publique de 1' Empire, par M.
le Coq de Villeray. The two last treatises are of great authority,
having been composed under the eye of M. Schoepflin of Stras-
burg, one of the ablest public lawyers in Germany.
NOTE XXIV.— Sect. I. p. 71.
It is not easy to fix with precision the period at which ecclesi-
astics first began to claim exemption from the civil jurisdiction.
It is certain that during the early and purest ages of the Church
they pretended to no such immunity. The authority of the civil
magistrate extended to all persons and to all causes. This fact
has not only been clearly established by Protestant authors, but is
admitted by many Roman Catholics of eminence, and particularly
by the writers in defence of the liberties of the Gallican Church.
There are several original papers published by Muratori, which
show that in the ninth and tenth centuries causes of the greatest
importance relating to ecclesiastics were still determined by civil
judges. (Antiq. Ital., vol. v. Dissert. LXX.) Proofs of this are
produced likewise by M. Houard (Anciennes Lois des Francois,
etc., vol. i. p. 209.) Ecclesiastics did not shake off all at once
their subjection to civil courts. This privilege, like their other
usurpations, was acquired slowly, and step by step. This exemp-
tion seems at first to have been merely an act of complaisance,
flowing from veneration for their character. Thus, from a charter
of Charlemagne in favor of the church of Mans, A.D. 796, to
which M. 1'Abbe de Foy refers in his Notice de Diplornes, torn.
i. p. 20 1, that monarch directs his judges, if any difference
should arise between the administrators of the revenues of that
church and any person whatever, not to summon the adniinis-
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
trators to appear in " mallo publico," but first of all to meet with
them, and to endeavor to accommodate the difference in an ami-
cable manner. This indulgence was in process of time improved
into a legal exemption ; which was founded on the same super-
stitious respect of the laity for the clerical character and function.
A remarkable instance of this occurs in a charter of Frederic
Barbarossa, A.D. 1 172, to the monastery of Altenburg. He grants
them "judicium non tantum sanguinolentis plagae, sed vita- et
mortis;" he prohibits any of the royal judges from disturbing
their jurisdiction ; and the reason which he gives for this ample
concession is, "nam quorum, ex Dei gratia, ratione divini minis-
terii onus leve est, et jugum suave ; nos penitus nolumus illos
oppressionis contumelia, vel manu laica, fatigari." Mencken,
Script. Rer. Germ., vol. iii. p. 1067.
It is not necessary for illustrating what is contained in the text,
that I should describe the manner in which the code of the canon
law was compiled, or show that the doctrines in it most favorable
to the power of the clergy are founded on ignorance or supported
by fraud and forgery. The render will find a full account of these
in Gerard, van Mastricht, Historia Juris Ecclesiastici, and in
Science du Gouvernement, par M. Real, torn. vii. c. I et 3, \\ 2,
3, etc. The history of the progress and extent of ecclesiastical
jurisdiction, with an account of the arts which the clergy em-
ployed in order to draw causes of every kind into the spiritual
courts, is no less curious, and would throw great light upon many
of the customs and institutions of the Dark Ages ; but it is like-
wise foreign from the present subject. Du Cange, in his Glossary,
voc. Curia Christianitatis, has collected most of the causes with
respect to which the clergy arrogated an exclusive jurisdiction,
and refers to the authors, or original papers, which confirm his
observations. Giannone, in his Civil History of Naples, lib. xix.
5 3, has ranged these under proper heads, and scrutinires the
pretensions of the Church with his usual boldness and discern-
ment. M. Fleury observes that the clergy multiplied the pretexts
for extending the authority of the spiritual courts with so much
boldness that it was soon in their power to withdraw almost every
person and every cause from the jurisdiction of the civil magis-
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
301
trate. (Hist. Eccles., torn, xix., Disc. Prelim., 16.) But, how ill
founded soever the jurisdiction of the clergy may have been, or
whatever might be the abuses to which their manner of exercising
it gave rise, the principles and forms of their jurisprudence were
far more perfect than that which was known in the civil courts.
It seems to be certain that ecclesiastics never submitted, during
any period in the Middle Ages, to the laws contained in the codes
of the barbarous nations, but were governed entirely by the Roman
law. They regulated all their transactions by such of its maxims
as were preserved by tradition or were contained in the Theodo-
sian Code and other books extant among them. This we learn
from a custom which prevailed universally in those ages. Every
person was permitted to choose, among the various codes of laws
then in force, that to which he was willing to conform. In any
transaction of importance, it was usual for the persons contracting
to mention the law to which they submitted, that it might be
known how any controversy that should arise between them was
to be decided. Innumerable proofs of this occur in the charters
of the Middle Ages. But the clergy considered it as such a
valuable privilege of their order to be governed by the Roman
law, that when any person entered into holy orders it was usual
for him to renounce the code of laws to which he had been for-
merly subject, and to declare that he now submitted to the Roman
law. " Constat me Johannem clericum, filium quondam Verandi,
qui professus sum, ex natione mea, lege vivere Longobardorum,
sed tamen, pro honore ecclesiastico, lege nunc videor vivere Ro-
inana." (Charta, A.D. 1072. ) " Farulf us presbyter qui professus
sum, more sacerdotii mei, lege vivere Romana." Charta, A.D.
1075 ; Muratori, Antichita Estensi, vol. i. p. 78. See likewise
Houard, Anciennes Loix des Fra^ois, etc., vol. i. p. 203.
The code of the canon law began to be compiled early in the
ninth century. (Mem. de 1' Acad. des Inscript., torn, xviii. p. 346,
etc. ) It was above two centuries after that before any collection
was made of those customs which were the rule of judgments in
the courts of the barons. Spiritual judges decided, of course,
according to written and known laws : lay judges, left without
any fixed guide, were directed by loose traditionary customs. But,
Charles. — VOL. I. 26
302
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
besides this general advantage of the canon law, its forms and
principles were more consonant to reason, and more favorable to
the equitable decision of every point in controversy, than those
which prevailed in lay courts. It appears from Notes XXI. and
XXIII., concerning private wars and the trial by combat, that the
whole spirit of ecclesiastical jurisprudence was adverse to those
sanguinary customs, which were destructive of justice ; and the
whole force of ecclesiastical authority was exerted to abolish
them, and to substitute trials by law and evidence in their room.
Almost all the forms in lay courts which contribute to establish
and continue to preserve order in judicial proceedings are bor-
rowed from the canon law. (Fleury, Instit. du Droit Canon.,
part iii. c. 6, p. 52. ) St. Louis, in his Establissemens, confirms
many of his new regulations concerning property and the admin-
istration of justice by the authority of the canon law, from which
he borrowed them. Thus, for instance, the first hint of attaching
movables for the recovery of a debt was taken from the canon
law. (Estab., liv. ii. c. 21 et 40.) And likewise the ctssio
bonorum, by a person who was insolvent. (Ibid.) In the same
manner, he established new regulations with respect to the effects
of persons dying intestate (liv. i. c. 89). These and many other
salutary regulations the canonists had borrowed from the Roman
law. Many other examples might be produced of more perfect
jurisprudence in the canon law than was known in lay courts.
For that reason it was deemed a high privilege to be subject to
ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Among the many immunities by which
men were allured to engage in the dangerous expeditions for the
recovery of the Holy Land, one of the most considerable was
the declaring such as took the cross to be subject only to the
spiritual courts, and to the rules of decision observed in them.
See Note XIII., and Du Cange, voc. Crucis Privilegia.
NOTE XXV.— Sect. I. p. 73.
The rapidity with which the knowledge and study of the Roman
law spread over Kurope is amazing. The copy of the Pandects
was found at Amalli, A.D. 1137. Irnerius opened a college of
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
3°3
civil law at Bologna a few years after. (Giann., Hist., book xi.
c. 2.) It began to be taught as a part of academical learning in
different parts of France before the middle of the century. Vac-
carius gave lectures on the civil law at Oxford as early as the year
1147. A regular system of feudal law, formed plainly in imita-
tion of the Roman code, was composed by two Milanese lawyers
about the year 1150. Gratiau published the code of canon law,
with large additions and emendations, about the same time. The
earliest collection of those customs which served as the rules of
decision in the courts of justice is the Assises de Jerusalem. They
were compiled, as the preamble informs us, in the year 1099, and
are called "Jus Consuetudinarium quo regebatur Regnum Orien-
tale." (Willerm. Tyr., lib.'xix. c. 2. ) But peculiar circumstances
gave occasion to this early compilation. The victorious crusaders
settled as a colony in a foreign country, and adventurers from all
the different nations of Europe composed this new society. It
was necessary on that account to ascertain the laws and customs
which were to regulate the transactions of business and the ad-
ministration of justice among them. But in no country of Europe
was there, at that time, any collection of customs, nor had any
attempt been made to render law fixed. The first undertaking of
that kind was by Glanville, lord chief justice of England, in his
Tractatus de Legibus et Consuetudinibus Anglise, composed about
the year 1181. The Regiam Majestatem in Scotland, ascribed to
David I., seems to be an imitation, and a servile one, of Glanville.
Several Scottish antiquaries, under the influence of that pious cre-
dulity which disposes men to assent without hesitation to whatever
they deem for the honor of their native country, contend zealously
that the Regiam Majestatem is a production prior to the treatise of
Glanville, and have brought themselves to believe that a nation
in a superior state of improvement borrowed its laws and institu-
tions from one considerably less advanced in its political progress.
The internal evidence (were it my province to examine it) by
which this theory might be refuted is, in my opinion, decisive.
The external circumstances which have seduced Scottish authors
into this mistake have been explained with so much precision and
candor by Sir David Dalrymple, in his examination of some of
304 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
the arguments for the high antiquity of the Regiam Majestatem
(Edin., 1769, 4to), that it is to be hoped the controversy will not
be again revived. Pierre de Fontaines, who tells us that he was
the first who had attempted such a work in France, composed his
Conseil, which contains an account of the customs of the country
of Vermandois in the reign of St. Louis, which began A.D. 1226.
Beaumanoir, the author of the Coustumes de Beauvoisis, lived
about the same time. The Establissemens of St. Louis, contain-
ing a large collection of the customs which prevailed within the
royal domains, were published by the authority of that monarch.
As soon as men became acquainted with the advantages of having
written customs and laws to which they could have recourse on
every occasion, the practice of collecting them became common.
Charles VII. of France, by an ordinance A.D. 1453, appointed the
customary laws in every province of France to be collected and
arranged. Velly et Villaret, Histoire, torn. xvi. p. 113.
His successor, Louis XL, renewed the injunction. But this
salutary undertaking hath never been fully executed, and the
jurisprudence of the French nation remains more obscure and
uncertain than it would have been if these prudent regulations of
their monarch* had taken effect. A mode of judicial determina-
tion was established in the Middle Ages, which affords the clear-
est proof that judges, while they had no other rule to direct their
decrees but unwritten and traditionary customs, were often at a
loss how to find out the facts and principles according to which
they were bound to decide. They were obliged, in dubious cases,
to call a certain number of old men, and to lay the case before
them, that they might inform them what was the practice or cus-
tom with regard to the point This was called enqueste par tonrbe.
( L)u Cange, voc. Turba. ) The effects of the revival of the Roman
jurisprudence have been explained by M. de Montesquieu (liv.
xxviii. c. 42), and by Mr. Hume (Hist, of England, vol. ii. p.
441). I have adopted many of their ideas. Who can pretend
to review any subject which such writers have considered, with-
out receiving from them light and information ? At the same
time, I am convinced that the knowledge of the Roman law was
not so entirely lost in Europe during the Middle Ages as is
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
3°5
commonly believed. My subject does not require me to examine
this point. Many striking facts with regard to it are collected by
Donato Antonio d'Asti, Dell' Uso e Autorita della Ragione civile
nelle Provincie dell' Imperio Occidentale, Nap., 1751, 2vols. 8vo.
That the civil law is intimately connected with the municipal
jurisprudence in several countries of Europe is a fact so well
known that it needs no illustration. Even in England, where the
common law is supposed to form a system perfectly distinct from
the Roman code, and although such as apply in that country to
the study of the common law boast of this distinction with some
degree of affectation, it is evident that many of the ideas and
maxims of the civil law are incorporated into the English juris-
prudence. This is well illustrated by the ingenious and learned
author of Observations on the Statutes, chiefly the more Ancient,
3d edit, p. 76, etc.
NOTE XXVI.— Sect. I. p. 75.
The whole history of the Middle Ages makes it evident that
war was the sole profession of gentlemen, and almost the only
object attended to in their education. Even after some change in
manners began to take place, and the civil arts of life had acquired
some reputation, the ancient ideas with respect to the accomplish-
ments necessary for a person of noble birth continued long in
force. In the Memoires de Fleuranges, p. 9, etc., we have an
account of the youthful exercises and occupations of Francis I.,
and they were altogether martial and athletic. That father of
letters owed his relish for them, not to education, but to his own
good sense and good taste. The manners of the superior order
of ecclesiastics during the Middle Ages furnish the strongest proof
that, in some instances, the distinction of professions was not com-
pletely ascertained in Europe. The functions and character of the
clergy are obviously very different from those of laymen ; and
among the inferior orders of churchmen this constituted a distinct
character separate from that of other citizens. But the dignified
ecclesiastics, who were frequently of noble birth, were above such
a distinction ; they retained the idea of what belonged to them as
26*
306 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
gentlemen, and, in spite of the decrees of popes or the canons of
councils, they bore arms, led their vassals to the field, and fought
at their head in battle. Among them the priesthood was scarcely
a separate profession ; the military accomplishments which they
thought essential to them as gentlemen were cultivated ; the theo-
logical science and pacific virtues suitable to their spiritual func-
tion were neglected and despised.
As soon as the science of law became a laborious study, and
the practice of it a separate profession, such persons as rose to
eminence in it obtained honors which had formerly been appro-
priated to soldiers. Knighthood was the most illustrious mark
of distinction during several ages, and conferred privileges to
which rank or birth alone was not entitled. To this high dignity
persons eminent for their knowledge of law were advanced, and
were thereby placed on a level with those whom their military
talents had rendered conspicuous. Miles justitia, mites iiteratus,
became common titles. Matthew Paris mentions such knights as
early as A.I). 1251. If a judge attained a certain rank in the
courts of justice, that alone gave him a right to the honor of
knighthood. (Pasquier, Recherches, liv. xi. c. 16, p. 130; Dis-
sertations historiques sur la Chevalerie, par Honore de Sainte-
Marie, p. 164, etc. ) A profession that led to offices which ennobled
the persons who held them grew into credit, and the people of
Europe became accustomed to see men rise to eminence by civil
as well as military talents.
NOTE XXVII.— Sect. I. p. 78.
The chief intention of these notes was to bring at once under
the view of my readers such facts and circumstances as tend to
illustrate or confirm what is contained in that part of the history
to which they refer. When these lay scattered in many different
authors, and were taken from books not generally known, or
which many of my readers might find it disagreeable to consult, I
thought it would be of advantage to collect them together. Hut
when every thing necessary for the proof or illustration of my
narrative or reasoning may be found in any one book which is
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
3°7
generally known, or deserves to be so, I shall satisfy myself with
referring to it. This is the case with respect to chivalry. Almost
every fact which I have mentioned in the text, together with
many other curious and instructive particulars concerning this
singular institution, may be found in Memoires sur 1'ancienne
Chevalerie consideree comme une Establissement politique et
militaire, par M. de la Curne de Ste. Palaye.
NOTE XXVIII.— Sect. I. p. 83.
The subject of my inquiries does not call me to write a history
of the progress of science. The facts and observations which I
have produced are sufficient to illustrate the effects of its progress
upon manners and the state of society. While science was alto-
gether extinct in the western parts of Europe, it was cultivated
in Constantinople and other parts of the Grecian empire. But
the subtile genius of the Greeks turned almost entirely to theo-
logical disputation. The Latins borrowed that spirit from them,
and many of the controversies which still occupy and divide theo-
logians took their rise among the Greeks, from whom the other
Europeans derived a considerable part of their knowledge. (See
the testimony of ^Eneas Silvius, ap. Conringium de Antiq. Acade-
micis, p. 43; Histoire litteraire de France, torn. vii. p. 113, etc.,
torn. ix. p. 151, etc.) Soon after the empire of the Caliphs was
established in the East, some illustrious princes arose among
them, who encouraged science. But when the Arabians turned
their attention to the literature cultivated by the ancient Greeks
and Romans, the chaste and correct taste of their works of genius
appeared frigid and unanimated to a people of a more warm
imagination. Though they could not admire the poets and his-
torians of Greece or of Rome, they were sensible to the merit of
their philosophers. The operations of the intellect are more fixed
and uniform than those of the fancy or taste. Truth makes an
impression nearly the same in every place ; the ideas of what is
beautiful, elegant, or sublime vary in different climates. The
Arabians, though they neglected Homer, translated the most
eminent of the Greek philosophers into their own language, and,
308 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS,
guided by their precepts and discoveries, applied themselves with
great ardor to the study of geometry, astronomy, medicine, dia-
lectics, and metaphysics. In the three former they made con-
siderable and useful improvements, which have contributed not a
little to advance those sciences to that high degree of perfection
which they have attained. In the two latter they chose Aristotle
for their guide, and, refining on the subtle and distinguishing
spirit which characterizes his philosophy, they rendered it in a
great degree frivolous and unintelligible. The schools established
in the East for teaching and cultivating these sciences were in
high reputation. They communicated their love of science to
their countrymen, who conquered Africa and Spain ; and the
schools instituted there were little inferior in fame to those in
the East. Many of the persons who distinguished themselves by
their proficiency in science during the twelfth and thirteenth cen-
turies were educated among the Arabians. Bruckerus collects
many instances of this (Histor. Philos., vol. iii. p. 681, etc.) Al-
most all the men eminent for science during several centuries, if
they did not resort in person to the schools in Africa and Spain,
were instructed in the philosophy of the Arabians. The first
knowledge of the Aristotelian philosophy in the Middle Ages was
acquired by translations of Aristotle's works out of the Arabic.
The Arabian commentators were deemed the most skilful and
authentic guides in the study of his system. (Conring., Antiq.
Acad., Diss. III. p. 95, etc. ; Supplem., p. 241, etc. ; Murat.,
Antiquit. Ital., vol. iii. p. 932, etc.) From them the schoolmen
derived the genius and principles of their philosophy, which
contributed so much to retard the progress of true science.
The establishment of colleges or universities is a remarkable
era in literary history. The schools in cathedrals and monasteries
confined themselves chiefly to the teaching of grammar. There
were only one or two masters employed in that office. But in
colleges, professors were appointed to teach all the different parts
of science. The course or order of education was fixed. The
time that ought to be allotted to the study of each science was
ascertained. A regular form of trying the proficiency of students
was prescribed ; and academical titles and honors were conferred
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
3°9
on such as acquitted themselves with approbation. A good account
of the origin and nature of these is given by Seb. Bacmeisterus,
Antiquitates Rostochienses, sive Historia Urbis et Academiae Ros-
toch. ap. Monumenta inedita Rer. Germ., per E. J. de Westphalen,
vol. iii. p. 781, Lips., 1743. The first obscure mention of these
academical degrees in the University of Paris (from which the
other universities in Europe have borrowed most of their customs
and institutions) occurs A.D. 1215. (Crevier, Hist, de 1'Univ. de
Paris, torn. i. p. 296, etc.) They were completely established A.D.
1231. (Ibid., 248.) It is unnecessary to enumerate the several
privileges to which bachelors, masters, and doctors were entitled.
One circumstance is sufficient to demonstrate the high degree of
estimation in which they were held. Doctors in the different
faculties contended with knights for precedence, and the dispute
was terminated in many instances by advancing the former to
the dignity of knighthood, the high prerogatives of which I have
mentioned. It was even asserted that a doctor had a right to
that title without creation. Bartolus taught " doctorem actualiter
regentem in jure civili per decennium effici militem ipso facto."
(Honore de Ste. Marie, Dissert., p. 165.) This was called "che-
valerie de lectures," and the persons advanced to that dignity,
"milites clerici." These new establishments for education, to-
gether with the extraordinary honors conferred on learned men,
greatly increased the number of scholars. In the year 1262 there
were ten thousand students in the University of Bologna ; and it
appears from the history of that university that law was the only
science taught in it at that time. In the year 1340 there were
thirty thousand in the University of Oxford. (Speed's Chron.,
ap. Anderson's Chronol. Deduction of Commerce, vol. i. p. 172.)
In the same century, ten thousand persons voted in a question
agitated in the University of Paris ; and, as graduates alone were
admitted to that privilege, the number of students must have been
very great. (Velly, Hist, de France, torn. xi. p. 147.) There
were indeed few universities in Europe at that time ; but such a
number of students may nevertheless be produced as a proof of
the extraordinary ardor with which men applied to the study of
science in those ages ; it shows, likewise, that they already began
3io
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
to consider other professions beside that of a soldier as honorable
and useful.
NOTE XXIX.— Sect. I. p. 85.
The great variety of subjects which I have endeavored to illus-
trate, and the extent of this upon which I now enter, will justify
my adopting the words of M. de Montesquieu when he begins to
treat of commerce. "The subject which follows would require
to be discussed more at large ; but the nature of this work does
not permit it. I wish to glide on a tranquil stream ; but I am
hurried along by a torrent."
Many proofs occur in history of the little intercourse between
nations during the Middle Ages. Towards the close of the tenth
century, Count Bouchard, intending to found a monastery at St.
Maur des Fosses, near Paris, applied to an abbot of Clugny, in
Burgundy, famous for his sanctity, entreating him to conduct the
monks thither. The language in which he addressed that holy
man is singular : he tells him that he had undertaken the labor of
such a great journey ; that he was fatigued with the length of it,
therefore hoped to obtain his request, and that his journey into
such a distant country should not be in vain. The answer of the
abbot is still more extraordinary. He refused to comply with his
desire, as it would be extremely fatiguing to go along with him
into a strange and unknown region. ( Vita Burchardi venerabilis
Comitis, ap. Bouquet, Rec. des Hist., vol. x. p. 351.) Even so
late as the beginning of the twelfth century, the monks of Ferrieres,
in the diocese of Sens, did not know that there was such a city as
Tournay in Flanders ; and the monks of St. Martin of Tournay
were equally unacquainted with the situation of Ferrieres. A
transaction in which they were both concerned made it necessary
for them to have some intercourse. The mutual interest of both
monasteries prompted each to find out the situation of the other.
After a long search, which is particularly described, the discovery
was made by accident. ( Herimannus Abbas, De Restauratione St.
Martini Tornacensis, ap. Dacher. Spicil., vol. xii. p. 400.) The
ignorance of the Middle Ages with respect to the situation and
geography of remote countries was still more remarkable. The
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 3n
most ancient geographical chart which now remains as a monu-
ment of the state of that science in Europe during the Middle
Ages is found in a manuscript of the Chronique de St. Denys.
There the three parts of the earth then known are so represented
that Jerusalem is placed in the middle of the globe, and Alexan-
dria appears to be as near to it as Nazareth. (M6m. de 1'Acad.
des Belles-Lettres, torn. xvi. p. 185. ) There seem to have been
no inns or houses of entertainment for the reception of travellers
during the Middle Ages. (Murat.,Antiq. Ital., vol. iii. p. 581, etc.)
This is a proof of the little intercourse which took place between
different nations. Among people whose manners are simple, and
who are seldom visited by strangers, hospitality is a virtue of the
first rank. This duty of hospitality was so necessary in that state
of society which took place during the Middle Ages that it was
not considered as one of those virtues which men may practise or
not, according to the temper of their minds and the generosity of
their hearts. Hospitality was enforced by statutes, and such as
neglected this duty were liable to punishment. " Quicunque hos-
piti venienti lectum aut focum negaverit, trium solidorum inlatione
mulctetur." (Leg. Burgund. , tit. xxxviii. \ i.) " Si quis homini
aliquo pergenti in itinere mansionem vetaverit, sexaginta solidos
componat in publico." (Capitul., lib. vi. § 82. ) This increase of
the penalty, at a period so long after that in whicli the laws of the
Burgundians were published, and when the state of society was
much improved, is very remarkable. Other laws of the same
purport are collected by Jo. Fred. Polac., Systema Jurisprud. Ger-
manicae, Lips., 1733, p. 75. The laws of the Slavi were more
rigorous than any that he mentions : they ordained that the
movables of an inhospitable person should be confiscated, and
his house burnt. They were even so solicitous for the entertain-
ment of strangers that they permitted the landlord to steal for the
support of his guest. " Quod noctu furatus fueris, eras appone
hospitibus." (Rerum Mecleburgicar., lib. viii. a Mat. Jo. Beehr.,
Lips., 1751, p. 50. ) In consequence of these laws, or ofcthe state
of society which made it proper to enact them, hospitality abounded
while the intercourse among'men was inconsiderable, and secured
the stranger a kind reception under every roof where he chose to
3i2 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
take shelter. This, too, proves clearly that the intercourse among
men was rare ; for as soon as this became frequent, what was a
pleasure became a burden, and the entertaining of travellers was
converted into a branch of commerce.
But the laws of the Middle Ages afford a proof still more con-
vincing of the small intercourse between different nations. The
genius of the feudal system, as well as the spirit of jealousy which
always accompanies ignorance, concurred in discouraging strangers
from settling in any new country. If a person removed from one
province in a kingdom to another, he was bound within a year
and a day to acknowledge himself the vassal of the baron in whose
estate he settled ; if he neglected to do so, he became liable to a
penalty ; and if at his death he neglected to leave a certain legacy
to the baron within whose territory he had resided, all his goods
were confiscated. The hardships imposed on foreigners settling
in a country were still more intolerable. In more early times the
superior lord of any territory in which a foreigner settled might
seize his person and reduce him to servitude. Very striking in-
stances of this occur in the history of the Middle Ages. The
cruel depredations of the Normans in the ninth century obliged
many inhabitants of the maritime provinces of France to fly into
the interior parts of the kingdom. But, instead of being received
with that humanity to which their wretched condition entitled
them, they were reduced to a state of servitude. Both the civil
and ecclesiastical powers found it necessary to interpose in order
to put a stop to this barbarous practice. ( Potgiesser. , de Statu
Server., lib. i. c. I, § 16. ) In other countries the laws permitted
the inhabitants of the maritime provinces to reduce such as were
shipwrecked on their coast to servitude. (Ibid., J 17. ) This bar-
barous custom prevailed in many countries of Europe. The prac-
tice of seizing the goods of persons who had been shipwrecked,
and of confiscating them as the property of the lord on whose
manor they were thrown, seems to have been universal. (De
Westphalen, Monum. inedita Ker. Germ., vol. iv. p. 907, etc.,
and Du Cange, voc. Laganum; Beehr., Rer. Mecleb., lib. viii.
p. 512.) Among the ancient Welsh three sorts of persons, a
madman, a stranger, and a leper, might be killed with impunity.
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
313
(Leges Hoel Dda, quoted in Observat. on the Statutes, chiefly the
more Ancient, p. 22.) M. de Lauriere produces several ancient
deeds which prove that in different provinces of France strangers
became the slaves of th.e lord on whose lands they settled. (Glos-
saire du Droit Francois, art. Aubaine, p. 92. ) Beaumanoir says,
"That there are several places in France in which, if a stranger
fixes his residence for a year and a day, he becomes the slave of
the lord of the manor." (Coust. de Beauv. , ch. 45, p. 254. ) As
a practice so contrary to humanity could not subsist long, the
superior lords found it necessary to rest satisfied, instead of en-
slaving aliens, with levying certain annual taxes upon them, or
imposing upon them some extraordinary duties or services. But
when any stranger died, he could not convey his effects by will ;
and all his real as well as personal estate fell to the king, or to
the lord of the barony, to the exclusion of his natural heirs.
This is termed in France droit d" aubaine. (Pref. de Lauriere,
Ordon., torn. i. p. 15 ; Brussel, torn. ii. p. 944; Du Cange, voc.
Albani ; Pasquier, Recherches, p. 367.) This practice of con-
fiscating the effects of strangers upon their death was very ancient.
It is mentioned, though very obscurely, in a law of Charlemagne,
A.D. 813, Capitul. Baluz., p. 507, § 5. Not only persons who
were born in a foreign country were subject to the " droit d'au-
baine," but in some countries such as removed from one diocese
to another, or from the lands of one baron to another. (Brussel,
vol. ii. pp. 947, 949. ) It is hardly possible to conceive any law
more unfavorable to the intercourse between nations. Something
similar to it, however, may be found in the ancient laws of every
kingdom in Europe. With respect to Maly, see Murat., Ant., vol.
ii. p. 14. As nations advanced in improvement, this practice was
gradually abolished. It is no small disgrace to the French juris-
prudence that this barbarous, inhospitable custom should have so
long remained among a people so highly civilized.
The confusion and outrage which abounded under a feeble
form of government, incapable of framing or executing salutary
laws, rendered the communication between the different provinces
of the same kingdom extremely dangerous. It appears from a
letter of Lupus, abbot of Ferrieres, in the ninth century, that the
Charles. — VOL. I. — o 27
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
highways were so much infested by banditti that it was necessary
for travellers to form themselves into companies or caravans, that
they might be safe from the assaults of robbers. (Bouquet,
Recueil des Hist., vol. vii. p. 515.) The numerous regulations
published by Charles the Bald in the same century discover the
frequency of these disorders ; and such acts of violence were
become so common that by many they were hardly considered as
criminal. For this reason the inferior judges, called "centenarii,"
were required to take an oath that they would neither commit any
robbery themselves, nor protect such as were guilty of that crime.
(Capital., edit. Baluz. , vol. ii. pp. 63, 68.) The historians of the
ninth and tenth centuries give pathetic descriptions of these dis-
orders. Some remarkable passages to this purpose are collected
by Mat. Jo. Beehr., Rer. Mecleb., lib. viii. p. 603. They became
so frequent and audacious that the authority of the civil magis-
trate was unable to repress them. The ecclesiastical jurisdiction
was called in to aid it. Councils were held with great solemnity,
the bodies of the saints were brought thither, and, in presence of
their ^sacred relics, anathemas were denounced against robbers
and other violators of the public peace. (Bouquet, Recueil des
Hist., torn. x. pp. 360, 431, 536.) One of these forms of excom-
munication, issued A.D. 988, is still preserved, and is so singular,
and composed with eloquence of such a peculiar kind, that it will
not perhaps be deemed unworthy of a place here. After the usual
introduction, and mentioning the outrage which gave occasion to
the anathema, it runs thus : " Obtenebrescant oculi vestri, qui
concupiverunt ; art-scant manus, quae rapuerunt ; debilitentur
omnia membra, quae adjuverunt. Semper laboretis, nee requiem
inveniatis, frnctuque vestri lahoris privemini. Formidetis, et
paveatis, a facie persequentis et non persequentis hostis, ut tabe-
scendo deficiatis. Sit portio vestra cum Juda traditore Domini,
in terra mortis et tenebrarum ; donee corda vestra ad satisfactio-
nem plenam convertantur. — Ne cessent a vobis hae maledictiones,
scelerum vestrorum persecutrices, quamdiu permanebitis in pec-
cato pervasion is. Amen, Fiat, Fiat." Bouquet, ibid., p. 517.
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
NOTE XXX.— Sect. I. p.
315
With respect to the progress of commerce, which I have de-
scribed, p. 84, etc., it may be observed that the Italian states carried
on some commerce with the cities of the Greek empire as early
as the age of Charlemagne, and imported into their own country
the rich commodities of the East. (Murat., Antiq. Ital., vol. ii.
p. 882. ) In the tenth century the Venetians had opened a trade
with Alexandria in Egypt. (Ibid.) The inhabitants of Amalfi
and Pisa had likewise extended their trade to the same ports.
(Murat., ib., pp. 884, 885.) The effects of the crusades in increas-
ing the wealth and commerce of the Italian states, and particularly
that which they carried on with the East, I have explained, p. 33
of this volume. They not only imported the Indian commodities
from the East, but established manufactures of curious fabric in
their own country. Some of these are enumerated by Muratori
in his Dissertations concerning the arts and the weaving of the
Middle Ages. (Antiq. Ital., vol. ii. pp. 349, 399.) They made
great progress particularly in the manufacture of silk, which had
long been peculiar to the eastern provinces of Asia. Silk stuffs
were of such high price in ancient Rome that only a few persons
of the first rank were able to purchase them. Under Aurelian,
A.D. 270, a pound of silk was equal in value to a pound of gold.
" Absit ut auro fila pensentur. Libra enim auri tune libra serici
fuit." (Vopiscus, in Aureliano. ) Justinian, in the sixth century,
introduced the art of rearing silk-worms into Greece, which ren-
dered the commodity somewhat more plentiful, though still it was
of such great value as to remain an article of luxury or magnifi-
cence, reserved only for persons of the first order, or for public
solemnities. Roger I., king of Sicily, about the year 1130, car-
ried off a number of artificers in the silk-trade from Athens, and,
settling them in Palermo, introduced the culture of silk into his
kingdom, from which it was communicated to other parts of
Italy. (Giannon., Hist/ of Naples, b. xi. c. 7.) This seems to
have rendered silk so common that about the middle of the four-
teenth century a thousand citizens of Genoa appeared in one pro-
cession clad in silk robes. Sugar is likewise a production of the
3x6 PROOFS A\D ILLUSTRATIONS.
East. Some plants of the sugar-cane were brought from Asia ;
and the first attempt to cultivate them in Sicily was made about
the middle of the twelfth century. From thence they were trans-
planted into the southern provinces of Spain. From Spain they
were carried to the Canary and Madeira Isles, and at length into
the. New World. Ludovico Guicciardini, in enumerating the
goods imported into Antwerp about the year 1500, mentions the
sugar which they received from Spain and Portugal as a consider-
able article. He describes that sugar as the product of the Madeira
and Canary Islands. (Descritt de' Paesi Bassi, pp. 180, 181.)
The sugar-cane was introduced into the West Indies before that
time ; but the cultivation of it was not so improved or so exten-
sive as to furnish an article of much consequence in commerce.
In the Middle Ages, though sugar was not raised in such quanti-
ties or employed for so many purposes as to become one of the
common necessaries of life, it appears to have been a considerable
article in the commerce of the Italian states.
These various commodities with which the Italians furnished
the other nations of Europe procured them a favorable reception
in every kingdom. They were established in France in the
thirteenth century with most extensive immunities. They not
only obtained every indulgence favorable to their commerce, but
personal rights and privileges were granted to them which the
natives of the kingdom did not enjoy. (Ordon., torn. iv. p.
668. ) By a special proviso they were exempted from the droit
d'dubaine. (Ibid., p. 670. ) As the Lombards (a name frequently
given to all Italian merchants in many parts of Europe) engrossed
the trade of every kingdom in which they settled, they became
masters of its cash. Money, of course, was in their hands not
only a sign of the value of other commodities, but became an
object of commerce itself. They dealt largely as bankers. In an
ordinance, A. n. 1 295, we find them styled mercatorts and campsores.
They carried on this as well as other branches of their commerce
with somewhat of that rapacious spirit which is natural to monopo-
lizers who are not restrained by the competition of rival traders.
An absurd opinion which prevailed in the Middle Ages was, how-
ever, in some measure the cause of their exorbitant demands, and
J'A'OOfS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
317
may be pleaded in apology for them. Trade cannot be carried on
with advantage unless the persons who lend a sum of money are
allowed a certain premium for the use of it, as a compensation for
the risk which they run in permitting another to traffic with their
stock. This premium is fixed by law in all commercial countries,
and is called the legal interest of money. But the fathers of the
Church had preposterously applied the prohibitions of usury in
Scripture to the payment of legal interest, and condemned it as a
sin. The schoolmen, misled by Aristotle, whose sentiments they
followed implicitly and without examination, adopted the same
error, and enforced it. ( Blackstone' s Commentaries on the Laws
of England, vol. ii. p. 455. ) Thus the Lombards found them-
selves engaged in a traffic which was everywhere deemed criminal
and odious. They were liable to punishment if detected. They
were not satisfied, therefore, with that moderate premium which
they might have claimed if their trade had been open and author-
ized by law. They exacted a sum proportional to the danger and
infamy of a discovery. Accordingly, we find that it was usual for
them to demand twenty per cent, for the use of money in the
thirteenth century. (Murat., Antiq. Ital., vol. i. p. 893. ) About
the beginning of that century the countess of Flanders was obliged
to borrow money in order to pay her husband's ransom. She
procured the sum requisite either from Italian merchants or from
Jews. The lowest interest which she paid to them was above
twenty per cent., and some of them exacted near thirty. (Martene
and Durand., Thesaur. Anecdotorum, vol. i. p. 886.) In the
fourteenth century, A.D. 1311, Philip IV. fixed the interest which
might be legally exacted in the fairs of Champagne at twenty per
cent. (Ordon., torn. i. p. 484.) The interest of money in Aragon
was somewhat lower. James I., A.D. 1242, fixed it by law at
eighteen per cent. (Petr. de Marca, Marca, sive Limes Hispan.,
App., 1433. ) As late as the year 1490, it appears that the interest
of money in Placentia was at the rate of forty per cent. This is
the more extraordinary because at that time the commerce of the
Italian states was become considerable. (Memorie storiche de
Piacenza, torn. viii. p. 104, Piac., 1760.) It appears from Lud.
Guicciardini that Charles V. had fixed the rate of interest in his
27*
3i8 PKOOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
dominions in the Low Countries at twelve per cent., and at the
time when he wrote, about the year 15601 it was not uncommon to
exact more than that sum. He complains of this as exorbitant,
and points out its bad effects both on agriculture and commerce.
( Descritt. de' Paesi Bassi, p. 172. ) This high interest of money is
alone a proof that the profits on commerce were exorbitant, and
that it was not carried on to great extent. The Lombards were
likewise established in England in the thirteenth century, and a con-
siderable street in the city of London still bears their name. They
enjoyed great privileges, and carried on an extensive commerce,
particularly as bankers. (See Anderson's Chronol. Deduction,
vol. i. pp. 137, 160, 204, 231, where the statutes or other authori-
ties which confirm this are quoted.) Hut the chief mart for Italian
commodities was at Bruges. Navigation was then so imperfect
that to sail from any port in the Baltic and to return again was a
voyage too great to be performed in one summer. For that reason,
a magazine or storehouse, half-way between the commercial cities
in the North and those in Italy, l>ecame necessary. Bruges was
pitched upon as the most convenient station. That choice intro-
duced vast wealth into the Low Countries. Bruges was at once
the staple for English wool, for the woollen and linen manufactures
of the Netherlands, for the naval stores and other bulky com-
modities of the North, and for the Indian commodities as well as
domestic productions imported by the Italian states. The extent
of its commerce in Indian goods with Venice alone appears from
one fact. In the year 1318 five Venetian galeasses laden with
Indian commodities arrived at Bruges in order to dispose of their
cargoes at the fair. These galeasses were vessels of very con-
siderable burden. (L. Guic., Descritt. de' Paesi Bassi, p. 174.)
Bruges was the greatest emporium in all Europe. Many proofs
of this occur in the historians and records of the thirteenth and
fourteenth centuries. But, instead of multiplying quotations, I
shall refer my readers to Anderson, vol. i. pp. 12, 137, 213, 246,
etc. The nature of this work prevents me from entering into any
more minute detail, but there are some detached facts which give
a high idea of the wealth both of the Flemish and Italian com-
mercial states. The duke of Brabant contracted his daughter to
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 319
the Black Prince, son of Edward III. of England, A.D. 1339, and
gave her a portion which we may reckon to be of equal value with
three hundred thousand pounds of our present money. (Rymer's
Fcedera, vol. v. p. 113.) John Galeazzo Visconti, duke of Milan,
concluded a treaty of marriage between his daughter and Lionel,
duke of Clarence, Edward's third son, A.D. 1367, and granted her
a portion equal to two hundred thousand pounds of our present
money. (Rymer's Foedera, vol. vi. p. 547.) These exorbitant
sums, so far exceeding what was then granted by the most power-
ful monarchs, and which appear extraordinary even in the present
age, when the wealth of Europe is so much increased, must have
arisen from the riches which flowed into those countries from their
extensive and lucrative commerce. The first source of wealth
to the towns situated on the Baltic Sea seems to have been the
herring-fishery, — the shoals of herrings frequenting at that time the
coasts of Sweden and Denmark in the same manner as they now
resort to the British coasts. The effects of this fishery are thus
described by an author of the thirteenth century. The Danes,
says he, who were formerly clad in the poor garb of sailors, are
now clothed in scarlet, purple, and fine linen. For they abound
with wealth flowing from their annual fishery on the coast of
Schonen ; so that all nations resort to them, bringing their gold,
silver, and precious commodities, that they may purchase herrings,
which the Divine bounty bestows upon them. Arnoldus Lubecen-
sis, ap. Conring. , de Urbib. German., \ 87.
The Hanseatic League is the most powerful commercial confed-
eracy known in history. Its origin towards the close of the twelfth
century, and the objects of its union, are described by Knipschildt,
Tractatus Historico-Politico-Juridicus de Juribus Civitat. Imper.,
lib. i. cap. 4. Anderson has mentioned the chief facts with respect
to their commercial progress, the extent of the privileges which
they obtained in different countries, their successful wars with
several morlarchs, as well as the spirit and zeal with which they
contended for those liberties and rights without which it is
impossible to carry on commerce to advantage. The vigorous
efforts of a society of merchants attentive only to commercial
objects could not fail of diffusing new and more liberal ideas
320
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
concerning justice and order in every country of Europe where
they settled.
In England the progress of commerce was extremely slow ; and
the causes of this are obvious. During the Saxon Heptarchy,
England, split into many petty kingdoms, which were perpetually
at variance with each other, exposed to the fierce incursions of the
Danes and other Northern pirates, and sunk in barbarity and
ignorance, was in no condition to cultivate commerce or to pursue
any system of useful and salutary policy. When a better prospect
began to open, by the union of the kingdom under one monarch,
the Norman conquest took place. This occasioned such a violent
shock, as well as such a sudden and total revolution of property,
that the nation did not recover from it during several reigns. By
the time that the constitution began to acquire some stability, and
the English had so incorporated with their conquerors as to become
one people, the nation engaged with no less ardor than imprudence
in support of the pretensions of their sovereigns to the crown of
France, and long wasted its vigor and genius in its wild efforts to
conquer that kingdom. When, by ill success and repeated disap-
pointments, a period was at last put to this fatal frenzy, and the
nation, beginning to enjoy some repose, had leisure to breathe and
to gather new strength, the destructive wars between the houses
of York and Lancaster broke out, and involved the kingdom in
the worst of all calamities. Thus, besides the common obstruction*
of commerce occasioned by the nature of the feudal government
and the state of manners during the Middle Ages, its progress in
England was retarded by peculiar causes. Such a succession of
events adverse to the commercial spirit was sufficient to have
checked its growth although every other circumstance had favored
it. The English were accordingly one of the last nations in Eu-
rope who availed themselves of those commercial advantages
which were natural or peculiar to their country. Before the reign
of Edward III., all the wool of England, except a small quantity
wrought into coarse cloths for home consumption, was sold to
the Flemings or Iximbards and manufactured by them. Though
Edward, A.D. 1326, began to allure some of the Flemish weavers
to settle in England, it was long before the English were capable
J'A'OOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
321
of fabricating cloth for foreign markets, and the export of un-
wrought wool still continued to be the chief article of their
commerce. (Anderson, passim.) All foreign commodities were
brought into England by the Lombards or Hanseatic merchants.
The English ports were frequented by ships both from the North
and South of Europe, and they tamely allowed foreigners to reap
all the profits arising from the supply of their wants. The first
commercial treaty of England on record is that with Haquin, king
of Norway, A.D. 1217. (Anders., vol. i. p. 108. ) But the English
did not venture to trade in their own ships to the Baltic until the
beginning of the fourteenth century. (Ibid., p. 151.) It was after
the middle of the fifteenth before they sent any ship into the
Mediterranean. (Ibid., p. 177.) Nor was it long before this
period that their .vessels began to visit the ports of Spain or
Portugal. But though I have pointed out the slow progress of the
English commerce as a fact little attended to, and yet meriting
consideration, the concourse of foreigners to the ports of England,
together with the communication among all the different countries
in Europe, which went on increasing from the beginning of the
twelfth century, is sufficient to justify all the observations and
reasonings in the text concerning the influence of commerce on
the state of manners and of society.
NOTE XXXI.— Sect. III. p. 162.
I have not been able to discover the precise manner in which
the justiza was appointed. Among the claims of the junta or union
formed against James I., A.D. 1264, this was one : that the king
should not nominate any person to be justiza without the consent
or approbation of the ricos hombrcs, or nobles. (Zurita, Anales
de Aragon, vol. i. p. 180. ) But the king, in his answer to their
remonstrance, asserts " that it was established by immemorial
practice, and was conformable to the laws of the kingdom, that
the king, in virtue of his royal prerogative, should name the
justiza." (Zurita, ibid., 181 ; Blanca, 656.) From another pas-
sage in Zurita, it appears that while the Aragonese enjoyed the
privilege of the union, i.e., the power of confederating against
o*
322
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
their sovereign as often as they conceived that he had violated
any of their rights and immunities, the justiza was not only
nominated by the king, but held his office during the king's
pleasure. Nor was this practice attended with any bad effects, as
the privilege of the union was a sufficient and effectual .check to
any abuse of the royal prerogative. But when the privilege of
the union was abolished as dangerous to the order and peace of
society, it was agreed that the justiza should continue in office
during life. Several kings, however, attempted to remove justizas
who were obnoxious to them, and they sometimes succeeded in
the attempt. In order to guard against this encroachment, which
would have destroyed the intention of the institution and have
rendered the justiza the dependant and tool of the crown, instead
of the guardian of the people, a law was enacted in the cortes,
A.D. 1442, ordaining that the justiza' should continue in office
during life, and should not be removed from it unless by the
authority of the cortes. (Fueros y Observancias del Reyno de
Aragon, lib. i. p. 22. ) By former laws, the person of the justiza
had been declared sacred, and he was responsible only to the
cortes. (Ibid., p. 15, b.) Zurita and Blanca, who both published
their histories while the justiza of Aragon retained the full exer-
cise of his privileges and jurisdiction, have neglected to explain
several circumstances with regard to the office of that respectable
magistrate, because they addressed their works to their country-
men, who were well acquainted with every particular concerning
the functions of a judge to whom they looked up as to the guard-
ian of their liberties. It is vain to consult the later historians of
Spain about any point with respect to which the excellent his-
torians whom I have named are silent. The ancient constitution
of their country was overturned, and despotism established on
the ruin of its liberties, when the writers of this and the preceding
century composed their histories, and on that account they had
little curiosity to know the nature of those institutions to which
their ancestors owed the enjoyment of freedom, or they were
afraid to describe them with much accuracy. The spirit with
which Mariana, his continuator Miniana, and Ferreras, write their
histories, is very different from that of the two historians of Aragon
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
323
from whom I have taken my account of the constitution of that
kingdom.
Two circumstances concerning the justiza, besides those which
I have mentioned in the text, are worthy of observation. I. None
of the ricos hombres, or noblemen of the first order, could be
appointed justiza. He was taken out of the second class of
cavalleros, who seem to have been nearly of the same condition
or rank with gentlemen or commoners in Great Britain. (Fueros
y Observancias del Reyno, etc., lib. i. p. 21, b. ) The reason was,
by the laws of Aragon the ricos hombres were not subject to
capital punishment ; but, as it was necessary for the security of
liberty that the justiza should be accountable for the manner in
which he executed the high trust reposed in him, it was a power-
ful restraint upon him to know that he was liable to be punished
capitally. (Blanca, pp. 657, 75^ » Zurita, torn. ii. p. 229 ; Fueros
y Observancias, lib. ix. pp. 182, b, 183.) It appears, too, from
many passages in Zurita that the justiza was appointed to check
the domineering and oppressive spirit of the nobles, as well as to
set bounds to the power of the monarch, and therefore he was
chosen from an order of citizens equally interested in opposing
both.
2. A magistrate possessed of such vast powers as the justiza
might have exercised them in a manner pernicious to the state
if he himself had been subject to no control. A constitutional
remedy was on that account provided against this danger. Seven-
teen persons were chosen by lot in each meeting of the cortes.
These formed a tribunal called the court of inquisition into the
office of justiza. This court met at three stated terms in each
year. Every person had liberty of complaining to it of any
iniquity or neglect of duty in the justiza, or in the inferior judges
who acted in his name. The justiza and his deputies were' called
to answer for their conduct. The members of the court passed
sentence by ballot. They might punish by degradation, confisca-
tion of goods, or even with death. The law which erected this
court and regulated the form of its procedure was enacted A.D.
1461. (Zurita, Anales, iv. 102 ; Blanca, Comment. Rer. Aragon.,
770.) Previous to this period, inquiry was made into the conduct
324
PKOOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
of the justiza, though not with the same formality. He was,
from the first institution of the office, subject to the review of the
cortes. The constant dread of such an impartial and severe
inquiry into his behavior was a powerful motive to the vigilant
and faithful discharge of his duty. A remarkable instance of the
authority of the justiza when opposed to that of the king occurs
in the year 1386. By the constitution of Aragon, the eldest son
or heir-apparent of the crown possessed considerable power and
jurisdiction in the kingdom. (Fueros y Observancias del Reyno
de Aragon, lib. i. p. 16. ) Peter IV., instigated by a second wife,
attempted to deprive his son of this, and enjoined his subjects to
yield him no obedience. The prince immediately applied to the
justiza, "the safeguard and defence," says Zurita, "against all
violence and oppression." The justiza granted him the _/irt/ia de
derecho, the effect of which was that upon his giving surety to
appear in judgment he could not be deprived of any immunity or
privilege which he possessed, but in consequence of a legal trial
before the justiza and of a sentence pronounced by him. This
was published throughout the kingdom, and, notwithstanding the
proclamation in contradiction to this which had been issued by
the king, the prince continued in ihe exercise of all his rights,
and his authority was universally recognized. Zurita, Anales de
Aragon, torn. ii. p. 385.
NOTE XXXIL— Sect. III. p. 163.
I have been induced, by the concurring testimony of many
respectable authors, to mention this as the constitutional form
of the oath of allegiance which the Aragonese took to their sove-
reigns. I must acknowledge, however, that I have not found this
singular oath in any Spanish author whom I have had an oppor-
tunity of consulting. It is mentioned neither by Zurita, nor
Blanca, nor Argensola, nor Sayas, who were all historiographers
appointed by the cortes of Aragon to record the transactions of
the kingdom. All these writers possess a merit which is very
rare among historians. They are extremely accurate in tracing
the progress of the laws and constitution of their country. Their
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
325
silence with respect to this creates some suspicion concerning the
genuineness of the oath. But as it is mentioned by so many
authors, who produce the ancient Spanish words in which it is
expressed, it is probable that they have taken it from some writer
of credit whose works have not fallen into my hands. The spirit
of the oath is perfectly agreeable to the genius of the Aragonese
constitution. Since the publication of the first edition, the learned
M. Totze, Professor of History at Batzow, in the duchy of Meck-
lenburg, has been so good as to point out to me a Spanish author
of great authority who has published the words of this oath. It
is Antonio Perez, a native of Aragon, secretary to Philip II. The
words of the oath are, " Nos que valemos tanto como vos, os
hazemos nuestro rey y senor, con tal que nos guardeys nuestros
fueros y libertades, y si No, No." Las Obras y Relaciones de
Ant. Perez, 8vo, por Juan de la Planche, 1631, p. 143.
The privilege of union which I have mentioned in the preceding
note and alluded to in the text is indeed one of the most singular
which could take place in a regular government, and the oath that
I have quoted expresses nothing more than this constitutional
privilege entitled the Aragonese to perform. If the king or his
ministers violated any of the laws or immunities of the Aragonese,
and did not grant immediate redress in consequence of their repre-
sentations and remonstrances, the nobles of the first rank, or ricos
hombres de natura, y de mesnada, the equestrian order, or the
nobility of the second class, called hidalgos y infanciones, together
with the magistrates of cities, might, either in the cortes or in a
voluntary assembly, join in union, and, binding themselves by
mutual oaths and the exchange of hostages to be faithful to each
other, they might require the king, in the name and by the au-
thority of this body corporate, to grant them redress. If the king
refused to comply with their request, or took arms in order to
oppose them, they might, in virtue of the privilege of union, in-
stantly withdraw their allegiance from the king, refuse to acknowl-
edge him as their sovereign, and proceed to elect another monarch ;
nor did they incur any guilt or become liable to any prosecution
on that account. (Blanca, Com. Rer. Arag., 661, 669.) This
union did not resemble the confederacies in other feudal king-
Charles.— VOL. I. 28
326 PKOOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
doms. It was a constitutional association, in which legal privi-
leges were vested, which issued its mandates under a common
seal, and proceeded in all its operations by regular and ascertained
forms. This dangerous right was not only claimed, but exercised.
In the year 1287 the Aragonese formed a union in opposition to
Alfonso III., and obliged that king not only to comply with their
demands, but to ratify a privilege so fatal to the power of the
crown. (Zurita, Anales, torn. i. p. 322.) In the year 1347 a
union was formed against Peter IV. with equal success, and a new
ratification of the privilege was extorted. (Zurita, torn. ii. p. 202. )
But soon after, the king having defeated the leaders of the union
in battle, the privilege of union was finally abrogated in the cortes,
and all the laws or records which contained any confirmation of
it were cancelled or destroyed. The king, in presence of the
cortes, called for the act whereby he had ratified the union, and,
having wounded his hand with his poniard, he held it above the
record. "That privilege," says he, " which has been so fatal to
the kingdom, and so injurious to royalty, should be effaced with
the blood of a king." (Zurita, torn. ii. p. 229.) The law abolish-
ing the union is published, Fueros y Observancias, lib. ix. p.
178. From that period the justiza became the constitutional
guardian of public liberty, and his power and jurisdiction occa-
sioned none of those violent convulsions which the tumultuary
privilege of the union was apt to produce. The constitution of
Aragon, however, still remained extremely free. One source of
this liberty arose from the early admission of the representatives
of cities into the cortes. It seems probable from Zurita that bur-
gesses were constituent members of the cortes from its first insti-
tution. He mentions a meeting of cortes, A.D. 1133, in which
the procuradores de las ciudades y villas were present. (Tom. i.
p. 51.) This is the constitutional language in which their pres-
ence is declared in the cortes, after the journals of that court were
regularly kept It is probable that an historian so accurate as
Zurita would not have used these words if he had not taken them
from some authentic record. It was more than a century after
this period before the representatives of cities formed a constituent
part in the supreme assemblies of the other European nations.
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
3 = 7
The free spirit of the Aragonese government is conspicuous in
many particulars. The cortes not only opposed the attempts of
their kings to increase their revenue or to extend their prerogative,
but they claimed rights and exercised powers which will appear
extraordinary even in a country accustomed to the enjoyment of
liberty. In the year 1286 the cortes claimed the privilege of
naming the members of the king's council and the officers of his
household, and they seem to have obtained it for some time.
(Zurita, torn. i. pp. 303, 307.) It was the privilege of the cortes
to name the officers who commanded the troops raised by their
authority. This seems to be evident from a passage in Zurita.
When the cortes, in the year 1503, raised a body of troops to be
employed in Italy, it passed an act empowering the king to name
the officers who should command them (Zurita, torn. v. p. 274) ;
which plainly implies that without this warrant it did not belong
to him in virtue of his prerogative. In the Fueros y Observancias
del Reyno de Aragon, two general declarations of the rights and
privileges of the Aragonese are published, — the one in the reign
of Pedro I., A.D. 1283, and the other in that of James II., A.D.
1325. They are of such a length that I cannot insert them ; but
it is evident from these that not only the privileges of the nobility,
but the rights of the people, personal as well as political, were at
that period more extensive and better understood than in any
kingdom in Europe. (Lib. i. pp. 7, 9.) The oath by which the
king bound himself to observe those rights and liberties of the
people was very solemn. (Ibid., p. 14, b, and p. 15.) The cortes
of Aragon discovered not only the jealousy and vigilance which
are peculiar to free states, in guarding the essential parts of the
constitution, but they were scrupulously attentive to observe the
most minute forms and ceremonies to which they were accus-
tomed. According to the established laws and customs of
Aragon, no foreigner had liberty to enter the hall in which the
cortes assembled. Ferdinand, in the year 1481, appointed his
queen, Isabella, regent of the kingdom while he was absent
during the course of the campaign. The law required that a
regent should take the oath of fidelity in presence of the cortes ;
but, as Isabella was a foreigner, before she could be admitted the
328 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS,
cortes thought it necessary to pass an act authorizing the Serjeant,
porter to open the door of the hall and to allow her to enter :
"so attentive were they," says Zurita, " to observe their laws and
forms, even such as may seem the most minute." Tom. iv. p. 313.
The Aragonese were no less solicitous to secure the personal
rights of individuals than to maintain the freedom of the consti-
tution ; and the spirit of their statutes with respect to both was
equally liberal. Two facts relative to this matter merit observation.
By an express statute in the year 1335 it was declared to be unlaw-
ful to put any native Aragonese to the torture. If he could not be
convicted by the testimony of witnesses, he was instantly absolved.
(Zurita, torn. ii. p. 66.) Zurita records the regulation with the
satisfaction natural to an historian when he contemplates the
humanity of his countrymen. He compares the laws of Aragon
to those of Rome, as both exempted citizens and freemen from
such ignominious and cruel treatment and had recourse to it only
in the trial of slaves. Zurita had reason to bestow such an en-
comium on the laws of his country. Torture was at that time
permitted by the laws of every other nation in Europe. Even
in England, from which the mild spirit of legislation has long
banished it, torture was not at that time unknown. Observations
on the Statutes, chiefly the more Ancient, etc., p. 66.
The other fact shows that the same spirit which influenced the
legislature prevailed among the people. In the year 1485 the
religious zeal of Ferdinand and Isabella prompted them to intro-
duce the Inquisition into Aragon. Though the Aragonese were no
less superstitiously attached than the other Spaniards to the Roman
Catholic faith, and no less desirous to root out the seeds of error
and of heresy which the Jews and Moors had scattered, yet they
took arms against the inquisitors, murdered the chief inquisitor,
and long opposed the establishment of that tribunal. The reason
which they gave for their conduct was that the mode of trial in
the Inquisition was inconsistent with liberty. The criminal was
not confronted with the witnesses, he was not acquainted with
what they deposed against him, he was subjected to torture, and
the goods of persons condemned were confiscated. Zurita, Anales,
torn. iv. p. 341.
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
3*9
The form of government in the kingdom of Valencia and prin-
cipality of Catalonia, which were annexed to the crown of Aragon,
was likewise extremely favorable to liberty. The Valencians en-
joyed the privilege of union in the same manner with the Ara-
gonese. But they had no magistrate resembling the justiza. The
Catalonians were no less jealous of their liberties than the two
other nations, and no less bold in asserting them. But it is not
necessary for illustrating the following history to enter into any
further detail concerning the peculiarities in the constitution of
these kingdoms.
NOTE XXXIII.— Sect. III. p. 164.
1 have searched in vain among the historians of Castile for such
information as might enable me to trace the progress of laws and
government in Castile, or to explain the nature of the constitution
with the same degree of accuracy wherewith I have described
the political state of Aragon. It is manifest, not only from the
historians of Castile, but from its ancient laws, particularly the
Fuero Juzgo, that its monarchs were originally elective. (Leyes,
2, 5> 8. ) They were chosen by the bishops, the nobility, and the
people. (Ibid.) It appears from the same venerable code of
laws that the prerogative of the Castilian monarchs was extremely
limited. Villaldiego, in his commentary on the Fuero Juzgo, pro-
duces many facts and authorities in confirmation of both these
particulars. Dr. Geddes, who was well acquainted with Spanish
literature, complains that he could find no author who gave a
distinct account of the cortes or supreme assembly of the nation,
or who described the manner in which it was held, or mentioned
. the precise number of members who had a right to sit in it. He
produces, however, from Gil Gonzales d'Avila, who published a
history of Henry II., the writ of summons to the town of Abula,
requiring it to choose representatives to appear in the cortes
which he called to meet A.D. 1390. From this we learn that
prelates, dukes, marquises, the masters of the three military
orders, condes, and ricos hombres, were required to attend. These
composed the bodies of ecclesiastics and nobles, which formed
28*
330
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
two members of the legislature. The cities which sent members
to that meeting of the cortes were forty-eight. The number of
representatives ( for the cities had right to choose more or fewer
according to their respective dignity) amounted to a hundred and
twenty-five. (Geddes, Miscellaneous Tracts, vol. i. p. 331.) Zu-
rita, having occasion to mention the cortes which Ferdinand held
at Toro, A.D. 1505, in order to secure for himself the government
of Castile after the death of Isabella, records, with his usual accu-
racy, the names of the members present, and of the cities which
they represented. From that list it appears that only eighteen
cities had deputies in this assembly. ( Anales de Aragon, torn,
vi. p. 3. ) What was the occasion of this great difference in the
number of cities represented in these two meetings of the cortes,
I am unable to explain. .
NOTE XXXIV.— Sect. III. p. 166.
A great part of the territory in Spain was engrossed by the
nobility. L. Marinaeus Siculus, who composed his treatise De
Rebus Hispanix during the reign of Charles V., gives a catalogue
of the Spanish nobility, together with the yearly rent of their
estates. According to his account, which he affirms was as accu-
rate as the nature of the subject would admit, the sum total of the
annual revenue of their lands amounted to one million four hun-
dred and eighty-two thousand ducats. If we make allowance for
the great difference in the value of money in the fifteenth century
from that which it now bears, and consider that the catalogue of
Marinrcus includes only the titulados, or nobility whose families
were distinguished by some honorary title, their wealth must
appear very great. (L. Marinaeus, ap. Schott., Script. Hispan.,
vol. i. p. 323. ) The commons of Castile, in their contests with
the crown, which I shall hereafter relate, complain of the exten-
sive property of the nobility as extremely pernicious to the king-
dom. In one of their manifestoes they assert that from Valladolid
to St. Jago in Galicia, which was a hundred lengues, the crown
did not possess more than three villages. All the rest belonged
to the nobility, and could be subjected to no public burden.
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
33'
(Sandoval, Vida del Emperador Carlos V., vol. i. p. 422.) It
appears from the testimony of authors quoted by Kovadilla that
these extensive possessions were bestowed upon the ricos hombres,
hidalgos, and cavalleros by the kings of Castile in reward for the
assistance which they had received from them in expelling the
Moors. They likewise obtained by the same means a consider-
able influence in the cities, many of which anciently depended
upon the nobility. Politica para Corregidores, Amb., 1750, fol.,
vol. i. pp. 440, 442.
NOTE XXXV.— Sect. III. p. 168.
I have been able to discover nothing certain, as I observed,
Note XVIII., with respect to the origin of communities or free
cities in Spain. It is probable that as soon as the considerable
towns were recovered from the Moors the inhabitants who fixed
their residence in them, being persons of distinction and credit,
had all the privilege of municipal government and jurisdiction
conferred upon them. Many striking proofs occur of the splendor,
wealth, and power of the Spanish cities. Hieronymus Paulus
wrote a description of Barcelona in the year 1491, and compares
the dimensions of the town to that of Naples, and the elegance
of its buildings, the variety of its manufactures, and the extent
of its commerce, to Florence. (Hieron. Paulus, ap. Schott.,
Script. Hisp., vol. ii. p. 844.) Marinaeus describes Toledo as a
large and populous city. A great number of its inhabitants were
persons of quality and of illustrious rank. Its commerce was
great. It carried on with great activity and success the manufac-
tures of silk and wool ; and the number of inhabitants employed
in these two branches of trade amounted nearly to ten thousand.
(Marin., ubi supra, p. 308.) " I know no city," says he, " that I
would prefer to Valladolid for elegance and splendor." (Ibid.,
p. 312.) We may form some estimate of its populousness from
the following circumstances. The citizens having taken arms in
the year 1516 in order to oppose a measure concerted by Cardinal
Ximenes, they mustered in the city, and in the territory which
belonged to it, thirty thousand fighting-men. (Sandoval, Vida del
33*
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
Emper. Carlos V., torn. i. p. 81.) The manufactures carried on in
the towns of Spain were not intended merely for home consump-
tion ; they were exported to foreign countries, and their commerce
was a considerable source of wealth -to the inhabitants. The
maritime laws of Barcelona are the foundation of mercantile
jurisprudence in modern times, as the Leges Rhodix were
among the ancients. All the commercial states in Italy adopted
these laws and regulated their trade according to them. (Sandi,
Storia civile Veneziana, vol. ii. p. 865.) It appears from several
ordinances of the kings of France that the merchants of Aragon
and Castile were received on the same footing and admitted to the
same privileges with those of Italy. (Ordonnances des Roys, etc.,
torn. ii. p. 135, torn. iii. pp. 166, 504, 635.) Cities in such a
flourishing state became a respectable part of the society, and
were entitled to a considerable share in the legislature. The
magistrates of Barcelona aspired to the highest honor a Spanish
subject can enjoy, that of being covered in the presence of their
sovereign, and of being treated as grandees of the kingdom.
Origen de la Dignidad de Grande de Castilla, por Don Alonso
Carillo, Madrid, 1657, p. 18.
NOTE XXXVI.— Sect. III. p. 171.
The military order of St. Jago, the most honorable and opulent
of the three Spanish orders, was instituted about the year 1 1 70.
The bull of confirmation by Alexander III. is dated A.n. 1176.
At that time a considerable part of Spain still remained under
subjection to the Moors, and the whole country was much exposed
to depredations not only of the enemy, but of banditti. It is no
wonder, then, that an institution the object of which was to
oppose the enemies of the Christian faith, and to restrain and
punish those who disturbed the public peace, should be extremely
popular and meet with general encouragement. The wealth and
power of the order became so great that, according to one his-
torian, the Grand Master of St. Jago was the person in Spain of
greatest power and dignity next to the king. (/El. Anton. Ne-
brissensis, ap. Schott., Script. Hisp., i. 812.) Another historian
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
333
observes that the order possessed everything in Castile that a king
would most desire to obtain. (Zurita, Anales, v. 22. ) The knights
took the vows of obedience, of poverty, and of conjugal chastity.
By the former they were bound implicitly to obey the commands
of their grand master. The order could bring into the field a
thousand men-at-arms. (JEl. Ant. Nebriss., p. 813.) If, as we
have reason to believe, these men-at-arms were accompanied as
was usual at that age, this was a formidable body of cavalry.
There belonged to this order eighty-four commanderies, and two
hundred priories and other benefices. (Dissertations sur la Cheva-
lerie, par Hon. de Ste. Marie, p. 262. ) It is obvious how formi-
dable to his sovereign the command of these troops, the adminis-
tration of such revenues, and the disposal of so many offices must
have rendered a subject. The other two orders, though inferior
to that of St. Jago in power and wealth, were nevertheless very
considerable fraternities. When the conquest of Granada deprived
the knights of St. Jago of those enemies against whom their zeal
was originally directed, superstition found out a new object in
defence of which they engaged to employ their courage. To their
usual oath they added the following clause : " We do swear to
believe, to maintain, and to contend in public and private, that
the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, our Lady, was conceived
without the stain of original sin." This addition was made about
the middle of the seventeenth century. (Honore de Ste. Marie,
Dissertations, etc., p. 263.) Nor is such a singular engagement
peculiar to the order of St. Jago. The members of the second
military order in Spain, that of Calatrava, equally zealous to
employ their prowess in defence of the honors of the Blessed
Virgin, have likewise professed themselves her true knights.
Their vow, conceived in terms more theologically accurate than
that of St. Jago, may afford some amusement to an English
reader. " I vow to God, to the grand master, and to you who
here represent his person, that now, and forever, I will maintain
and contend that the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, our Lady, was
conceived without original sin, and never incurred the pollution
of it ; but that in the moment of her happy conception, and of
the union of her soul with her body, the Divine grace prevented
334
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
and preserved her from original guilt, by the merits of the passion
and death of Christ, our Redeemer, her future Son, foreseen in the
Divine counsel, by which she was truly redeemed, and by a more
noble kind of redemption than any of the children of Adam. In
the belief of this truth, and in maintaining the honor of the most
Holy Virgin, through the strength of Almighty God, I will live
and will die." (Definiciones de la Orden de Calatrava, conforme
al Capitulo General en 1652, fol., Madr., 1748, p. 153. ) Though
the Church of Rome hath prudently avoided to give its sanction
to the doctrine of the immaculate conception, and the two great
monastic orders of St. Dominic and St. Francis have espoused
opposite opinions concerning it, the Spaniards are such ardent
champions for the honor of the Virgin that when the present
king of Spain instituted a new military order in the year 1771, in
commemoration of the birth of his grandson, he put it under the
immediate protection of the most Holy Mary in the mystery of her
immaculate conception. (Constituciones de la real y distinguida
Orden Espaftola de Carlos III., p. 7. ) To undertake the defence
of the Virgin Mary's honor had such a resemblance to that
species of refined gallantry which was the original object of chiv-
alry, that the zeal with which the military orders hound them-
selves, by a solemn vow, to defend it, was worthy of a true knight
in those ages when the spirit of the institution subsisted in full
vigor. But in the present age it must excite some surprise to see
the institution of an illustrious order connected with a doctrine so
extravagant and destitute of any foundation in Scripture.
NOTE XXXVII.— Sect. III. p. 173.
I have frequently had occasion to take notice of the defects in
police during the Middle Ages, occasioned by the feebleness of
government and the want of proper subordination among the dif-
ferent ranks of men. I have observed in a former note that this
greatly interrupted the intercourse between nations, and even
between different places in the same kingdom. The descriptions
which the Spanish historians give of the frequency of rapine,
murder, and every act of violence, in all the provinces of Spain,
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 335
are amazing, and present to us the idea of a society but little
removed from the disorder and turbulence of that which has been
called a state of nature. (Zurita, Anales de Arag., i. 175 ; JE\.
Ant. Nebrissensis, Rer. a Ferdin. Gestar. Hist., ap. Schottum, ii.
849. ) Though the excess of these disorders rendered the insti-
tution of the ianta hermandad necessary, great care was taken at
first to avoid giving any offence or alarm to the nobility. The
jurisdiction of the judges of the hermandad was expressly con-
fined to crimes which violated the public peace. All other offences
were left to the cognizance of the ordinary judges. If a person
was guilty of the most notorious perjury, in any trial before a
judge of the hermandad, he could not punish him, but was
obliged to remit the case to the ordinary judge of the place.
(Commentaria in Regias Hispan. Constitut., per Alph. de Aze-
vedo, pars v. p. 223, etc., fol., Duaci, 1612.) Notwithstanding
these restrictions, the barons were early sensible how much the
establishment of the hermandad would encroach on their jurisdic-
tion. In Castile some opposition was made to the institution ;
but Ferdinand had the address to obtain the consent of the con-
stable to the introduction of the hermandad into that part of the
kingdom where his estate lay ; and by that means, as well as the
popularity of the institution, he surmounted every obstacle that
stood in its way. (JEl. Ant. Nebrissen., 851.) In Aragon the
nobles combined against it with great spirit ; and Ferdinand,
though he supported it with vigor, was obliged to make some
concessions in order to reconcile them. (Zurita, Anales de Arag.,
iv. 356.) The power and revenue of the hermandad in Castile
seem to have been very great. Ferdinand, when preparing for
the war against the Moors of Granada, required of the hermandad
to furnish him sixteen thousand beasts of burden, together with
eight thousand men to conduct them, and he obtained what he
demanded. (JEA. Ant. Nebriss., 881. ) The hermandad has been
found to be of so much use in preserving peace and restraining
or detecting crimes that it is still continued in Spain ; but, as it is
no longer necessary either for moderating the power of the nobility
or extending that of the crown, the vigor and authority of the
institution diminish gradually.
336 PKOOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
NOTE XXXVIII.— Sect. III. p. 176.
Nothing is more common among antiquaries, and there is not
a more copious source of error, than to decide concerning the in-
stitutions and manners of past ages by the forms and ideas which
prevail in their own times. The French lawyers in the seven-
teenth and eighteenth centuries, having found their sovereigns in
possession of absolute power, seem to think it a duty incumbent
on them to maintain that such unbounded authority belonged to
the crown in every period of their monarchy. " The government
of France," says M. de Real, very gravely, " is purely monarchical
at this day, as it was from the beginning. Our kings were abso-
lute originally, as they are at present." (Science du Gouverne-
iiu-nt, torn. ii. p. 31.) It is impossible, however, to conceive two
states of civil society more unlike to each other than that of the
French nation under Clovis and that under Louis XV. It is evi-
dent from the codes of laws of the various tribes which settled in
Gaul and the countries adjacent to it, as well as from the history
of Gregory of Tours, and other early annalists, that among all
these people the form of government was extremely rude and
simple, and that they had scarcely begun to acquire the first rudi-
ments of that order and police which are necessary in extensive
societies. The king or leader had the command of soldiers or
companions, who followed his standard from choice, not by con-
straint. I have produced the clearest evidence of this, Note VI.
An event related by Gregory of Tours, lib. iv. c. 14, affords the
most striking proof of the dependence of the early French kings
on the sentiments and inclination of their people. Clotaire I.
having marched at the head of his army, in the year 553, against
the Saxons, that people, intimidated at his approach, sued for
peace, and offered to pay a large sum to the offended monarch.
Clotaire was willing to close with what they proposed. But his
army insisted to be led forth to battle. The king employed all
his eloquence to persuade them to accept of what the Saxons were
ready to pay. The Saxons, in order to soothe them, increased
their original offer. The king renewed his solicitations; but the
army, enraged, rushed upon the king, tore his tent in pieces.
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
337
dragged him out of it, and would have slain him on the spot, if
he had not consented to lead them instantly against the enemy.
If the early monarchsof France possessed such limited authority,
even while at the head of their army, their prerogative during
peace will be found to be still more confined. They ascended the
throne not by any hereditary right, but in consequence of the
election of their subjects. In order to avoid an unnecessary num-
ber of quotations, I refer my readers to Hottomanni Franco-Gallia,
cap. vi. p. 47, edit. 1573, where they will find the fullest proof of
this from Gregory of Tours, Amoinus, and the most authentic his-
torians of the Merovingian kings. The effect of this election was
not to invest them with absolute power. Whatever related to the
general welfare of the nation was submitted to public deliberation,
and determined by the suffrage of the people, in the annual assem-
blies called " les champs de Mars" and "les champs de Mai."
These assemblies were called champs, because, according to the
custom of all the barbarous nations, they were held in the open
air, in some plain capable of containing the vast number of per-
sons who had a right to be present. ( Jo. Jac. Sorberus de Comitiis
Veterum Germanorum, vol. i. § 19, etc. ) They were denominated
Champs de Mars and de Mai, from the months in which they were
held. Every freeman seems to have had a right to be present in
these assemblies. (Sorberus, ibid., § 133, etc. ) The ancient annals
of the Franks describe the persons who were present in the as-
sembly held A.D. 788, in these words : " In placito Ingelheimensi
conveniunt pontifices, majores, minores, sacerdotes, reguli, duces,
comites, prtefecti, cives, oppidani." (Apud Sorber., § 304.)
There every thing that concerned the happiness of their country,
says an ancient historian, every thing that could be of benefit to
the Franks, was considered and enjoined. (Fredegarius, ap. Du
Cange, Glossar., voc. Campus Afar/it.) Chlotharius II. describes
the business and acknowledges the authority of these assemblies.
" They are called," says he, " that whatever relates to the common
safety may be considered and resolved by common deliberation ;
and whatever they determine, to that I will conform." (Amoinus
de Gest. Franc., lib. iv. c. i., ap. Bouquet, Recueil, iii. 116.) The
statutory clauses or words of legislative authority in the decrees
Charles. — VOL. I.— P 29
338
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
issued in these assemblies run not in the name of the king alone.
" We have treated," says Childebert, in a decree, A.D. 532, in the
assembly of March, " together with our nobles, concerning some
affairs, and we now publish the conclusion, that it may come to the
knowledge of all." (Childeb. Decret., ap. Bouquet, Recueil des
Histor., torn. iv. p. 3.) " We have agreed together with our vas-
sals." (Ibid., §2.) "It is agreed in the assembly in which we
are all united." (Ibid., § 4.) The Salic laws, the most venerable
monument of French jurisprudence, were enacted in the same
manner. " Dictaverunt Salicam legem proceres ipsius gentis, qui
tune temporis apud earn erant rectores. Sunt autem electi de
pluribus viri quatuor — qui per tres Mallos convenientes, omnes
oausarum engines solicite discurrendo, tractantes de singulis,
judicium decreverunt hoc modo." (Praef. Leg. Salic., ap. Bou-
quet., ibid., p. 122.) " Hoc decretum est apud regem et principes
ejus, et apud cunctum populum christianum, qui intra regnum Mer-
wingorumconsistunt." ( Ibid., p. 124. ) Nay, even in their charters
the kings of the first race are careful to specify that they were
granted with the consent of their vassals. " Ego Childebertus,
rex, una cum consensu et voluntate Francorum," etc., A.D. 558.
(Bouquet, ibid., 622. ) " Chlotharius III. una cum patribus nos-
tris, episcopis, optimatibus, cceterisque palatii nostri ministris," A.D.
664. (Ibid., 648.) " De consensu fidelium nostrorum." (Mably,
Observ., torn. i. p. 239.) The historians likewise describe the
functions of the king in the national assemblies in such terms as
imply that his authority there was extremely small, and that every
thing depended on the court itself. " Ipse rex," says the author
of Annales Francorum, speaking of the Field of March, " sede-
bat in sella regia, circumstante exercitu, praccipiebatque is, die
ill- 1, quicquid a Francis decretum erat." Bouquet, Recueil, torn,
ii. p. 647.
That the general assemblies exercised supreme jurisdiction over
all persons and with respect to all causes is so evident as to stand
in need of no proof. The trial of Brunehaut, A.D. 613, how un-
just soever the sentence against her may be, as related by Krede-
garius (Chron., cap. 42, Bouquet, ibid., 430), is in itself sufficient
proof of this. The notorious violence and iniquity of the sen-
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
339
tence serve to demonstrate the extent of jurisdiction which this
assembly possessed, as a prince so sanguinary as Clothaire II.
thought the sanction of its authority would be sufficient to justify
his rigorous treatment of the mother and grandmother of so many
kings.
With respect to conferring donatives on the prince, we may
observe that among nations whose manners and political institu-
tions are simple, the public, as well as individuals, having few
wants, they are little acquainted with taxes, and free uncivilized
tribes disdain to submit to any stated imposition. This was
remarkably the case of the Germans, and of all the various people
that issued from that country. Tacitus pronounces two tribes not
to be of German origin, because they submitted to pay taxes.
(De Morib. Germ., c. 43.) And, speaking of another tribe ac-
cording to the ideas prevalent in Germany, he says, " They were
not degraded by the imposition of taxes. ' ' ( Ibid. , c. 29. ) Upon the
settlement of the Franks in Gaul we may conclude that, while
elated with the consciousness of victory, they would not renounce
the high-spirited ideas of their ancestors or voluntarily submit to
a burden which they regarded as a badge of servitude. The evi-
dence of the earliest records and historians justifies this conclusion.
M. de Montesquieu, in the twelfth and subsequent chapters of the
thirteenth book of L'Esprit des Loix, and M. de Mably, Observa-
tions sur 1'Histoire de France, torn. i. p. 247, have investigated this
fact with great attention, and have proved clearly that the property
of freemen among the Franks was not subject to any stated tax ;
that the state required nothing from persons of this rank but mili-
tary service at their own expense and that they should entertain
the king in their houses when he was upon any progress through
his dominions, or his officers when sent on any public employ-
ment, furnishing them with carriages and horses. Monarchs
subsisted almost entirely upon the revenues of their own domains,
and upon the perquisites arising from the administration of justice,
together with a few small fines and forfeitures exacted from such
as had been guilty of certain trespasses. It is foreign from my
subject to enumerate these. The reader may find them in Observa-
tions de M. de Mably, vol. i. p. 267.
340
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
When any extraordinary aid was granted by freemen to their
sovereign it was purely voluntary. In the annual assembly of
March or May it was the custom to make the king a present of
money, of horses or arms, or of some other thing of value. This
was an ancient custom, and derived from their ancestors the
Germans. " Mos est civitatibus, ultro ac viritim conferre principi-
bus, vel armentorum, vel frugum, quod pro honore acceptum, etiam
necessitatibus subvenit." (Tacit., de Mor. Germ., c. 15.) These
gifts, if we may form a judgment concerning them from the general
terms in which they are mentioned by the ancient historians, were
considerable, and made no small part of the royal revenue. Many
passages to this purpose are produced by M. Du Cange, Dissert.
IV. sur Joinville, p. 153. Sometimes a conquered people specified
the gift which they bound themselves to pay annually, and it was
exacted as a debt if they failed. (Anales Metenses, ap. Du Cange,
ibid., p. 155.) It is probable that the first step towards taxation
was to ascertain the value of these gifts, which were originally
gratuitous, and to compel the people to pay the sum at which
they were rated. Still, however, some memory of their original
was preserved, and the aids granted to monarchs in all the king-
doms of Europe were termed benevolences or free gifts.
The kings of the second race in France were raised to the
throne by the election of the people. " Pepinus rex pius," says
an author who wrote a few years after the transaction which he
records, " per authoritatem papce, et unctionem sancti chrismatis
et electionem omnium Francorum in regni solio sublimatus est."
(Clausula de Pepini Consecratione, ap. Bouq., Recueil des Histor.,
torn. v. p. 9. ) At the same time, as the chief men of the nation
had transferred the crown from one family to another, an oath
was exacted of them that they should maintain on the throne the
family which they had now promoted : " ut nunquam de alterius
lumbis regem in aevo praesumant eligere." (Ibid., p. 10. ) This
oath the nation faithfully observed during a considerable space of
time. The posterity of Pepin kept possession of the throne ; but
with respect to the manner of dividing their dominions among
their children, princes were obliged to consult the general assem-
bly of the nation. Thus, Pepin himself, A.D. 768, appointed his
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
341
two sons, Charles and Carlomannus, to reign as joint sovereigns ;
but he did this " una cum consensu Francorum et procerum suorum
seu et episcoporum," before whom he laid the matter in their
general assembly. (Conventus apud Sanctum Dionysium, Capitu-
lar., vol. i. p. 187.) This destination the French confirmed in a
subsequent assembly, which was called upon the death of Pepin ;
for, as Eginhart relates, they not only appointed them kings, but
by their authority they regulated the limits of their respective
territories. (Vita Car. Magni, ap. Bouquet, Recueil, torn. v. p. 90.)
In the same manner, it was by the authority of the supreme assem-
blies that any dispute which arose among the descendants of the
royal family was determined. Charlemagne recognizes this im-
portant part of their jurisdiction, and confirms it, in his charter
concerning the partition of his dominions ; for he appoints that,
in case of any uncertainty with respect to the right of the several
competitors, he whom the people choose shall succeed to the
crown. Capitular., vol. i. p. 442.
Under the second race of kings, the assemblies of the nation,
distinguished by the name of conventus, malli, placita, were regu-
larly assembled once a year at least, and frequently twice in the
year. One of the most valuable monuments of the history of
France is the treatise of Hincmarus, archbishop of Rheims, De
Ordine Palatii. He died A.D. 882, only sixty-eight years after
Charlemagne, and he relates in that short discourse the facts
which were communicated to him by Adalhardus, a minister and
confidant of Charlemagne. From him we learn that this great
monarch never failed to hold the general assembly of his subjects
every year. " In quo placito generalitas universorum majorum
tarn clericorum quam laicorum conveniebat. " (Hincm., Oper.,
edit. Sirmondi, vol. ii. c. 29, p. 211.) In these assemblies matters
which related to the general safety and state of the kingdom were
always discussed before they entered upon any private or less
important business. (Ibid., c. 33, p. 213.) His immediate suc-
cessors imitated his example, and transacted no affair of importance
without the advice of their great council.
Under the second race of kings the genius of the French gov-
ernment continued to be in a good measure democratical. The
29*
342
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
nobles, the dignified ecclesiastics, and the great officers of the
crown were not the only members of the national council ; the
people, or the whole body of freemen, either in person or by their
representatives, had a right to be present in it. Hincmarus, in
describing the manner of holding the general assemblies, says
that if the weather was favorable they met in the open air ; but if
otherwise, they had different apartments allotted to them ; so that
the dignified clergy were separated from the laity, and the " comites
vel hujusmodi principes sibimet honorificahiliter a caetera multitu-
dinesegregarentur." ( Ibid., c. 35, p. 114.) Agobardus, archbishop
of Lyons, thus describes a national council in the year 833, wherein
he was present: " Qui ubique conventus extitit ex reverendissimis
episcopis, et magnincentissimis viris illustribus, collegio quoque
abbatum et comitum, promiscuzcque aetatis et dignitatis populo."
The cictcra multitude of Hincmarus is the same with the fopultu
of Agobardus, and both describe the inferior order of freemen,
the same who were afterwards known in France by the name of
the third estate, and in England by the name of commons. The
people, as well as the members of higher dignity, were admitted
to a share of the legislative power. Thus, by a law, A.D. 803, it
is ordained " That the question shall be put to the people with
respect to every new law, and if they shall agree to it they shall
confirm it by their signature." (Capit., vol. i. p. 394.) There are
two capitularia which convey to us a full idea of the part which
the people took in the administration of government. When they
felt the weight of any grievance, they had a right to petition the
sovereign for redress. One of these petitions, in which they desire
that ecclesiastics might be exempted from bearing arms and from
serving in person against the enemy, is still extant. It is addressed
to Charlemagne, A.D. 803, and expressed in such terms as could
have been used only by men conscious of liberty and of the exten-
sive privileges which they possessed. They conclude with requiring
him to grant their demand if he wished that they should any longer
continue faithful subjects to him. That great monarch, instead
of being offended or surprised at the boldness of their petition,
received it in a most gracious manner, and signified his willing-
ness to comply with it. But, sensible that he himself did not
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
343
possess legislative authority, he promises to lay the matter before
the next general assembly, that such things as were of common
concern to all might be there considered and established by com-
mon consent. (Capital., torn. i. pp. 405—409.) As the people
by their petitions brought matters to be proposed in the general
assembly, we learn from another capitulare the form in which
they were approved there and enacted as laws. The propositions
were read aloud, and then the people were required to declare
whether they assented to them or not. They signified their
assent by crying three times, " We are satisfied ; " and then the
capitulare was confirmed by the subscription of the monarch,
the clergy, and the chief men of the laity. (Capitul., torn. i. p.
627, A.D. 822.) It seems probable from a capitulare of Carolus
Calvus, A.D. 851, that the sovereign could not refuse his assent to
what was proposed and established by his subjects in the general
assembly. (Tit. ix. \ 6 ; Capitul., vol. ii. p. 47. ) It is unnecessary
to multiply quotations concerning the legislative power of the
national assembly of France under the second race, or concerning
its right to determine with regard to peace and war. The uniform
style of the Capitularia is an abundant confirmation of the former.
The reader who desires any further information with respect to the
latter may consult Les Origines ou 1'ancien Gouvernement de la
France, etc., torn. iii. p. 87, etc. What has been said with respect
to the admission of the people or their representatives into the
supreme assembly merits attention, not only in tracing the progress
of the French government, but on account of the light which it
throws upon a similar question agitated in England concerning the
time when the commons became part of the legislative body in
that kingdom.
NOTE XXXIX.— Sect. III. p. 178.
That important change which the constitution of France under-
went when the legislative power was transferred from the great
council of the nation to the king has been explained by the French
antiquaries with less care than they bestow in illustrating other
events in their history. For that reason I have endeavored with
greater attention to trace the steps which led to this memorable
344
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
revolution. I shall here add some particulars which tend to throw
additional light upon it. The Leges Salica*, the Leges Burgun-
dioiunn, and other codes published by the several tribes which
settled in Gaul were general laws extending to every person, to
every province and district where the authority of those tribes was
acknowledged. But they seem to have become obsolete ; and the
reason of their falling into disuse is very obvious. Almost the
whole property of the nation was allodial when these laws were
framed. But when the feudal institutions became general, and
gave rise to an infinite variety of questions peculiar to that species
of tenure, the ancient codes were of no use in deciding with re-
gard to these, because they could not contain regulations applica-
ble to cases which did not exist at the time when they were com-
piled. This considerable change in the nature of property made
it necessary to publish the new regulations contained in the capi-
lularia. Many of these, as is evident from the perusal of them,
were public laws extending to the whole French nation, in the
general assembly of which they were enacted. The weakness of
the greater part of the monarchs of the second race, and the dis-
order into which the nation was thrown by the depredations of
the Normans, encouraged the barons to usurp an independent
power formerly unknown in France. The nature and extent
of that jurisdiction which they assumed I have formerly con-
sidered. The political union of the kingdom was at an end, its
ancient constitution was dissolved, and only a feudal relation sub-
sisted between the king and his vassals. The regal jurisdiction
extended no further than the domains of the crown. Under the
last kings of the second race these were reduced almost to nothing.
Under the first kings of the third race they comprehended little
more than the patrimonial estate of Hugh Capet, which he an-
nexed to the crown. Even with this accession they continued
to be of small extent. ( Velly, Hist, de France, torn. iii. p. 32.)
Many of the most considerable provinces in France did not at Hrst
acknowledge Hugh Capet as a lawful monarch. There are still
extant several charters, granted during the first years of his reign,
with this remarkable clause in the form of dating the charter :
"Deo regnante, rege expcctanle, rcgnaute Domino nostro Jesu
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
345
Christo Francis autem contra jus regnum usurpante Ugone rege."
(Bouquet, Recueil, torn. x. p. 544.) A monarch whose title was
thus openly disputed was not in a condition to assert the royal
jurisdiction or to limit that of the barons.
All these circumstances rendered it easy for the barons to usurp
the rights of royalty within their own territories. The Capitularia
became no less obsolete than the ancient laws ; local customs were
everywhere introduced, and became the sole rule by which all
civil transactions were conducted and all causes were tried. The
wonderful ignorance which became general in France during the
ninth and tenth centuries contributed to the introduction of cus-
tomary law. Few persons, except ecclesiastics, could read ; and
as it was not in the power of such illiterate persons to have re-
course to written laws, either as their guide in business or their
rule in administering justice, the customary law, the knowledge
of which was preserved by tradition, universally prevailed.
During this period the general assembly of the nation seems
not to have been called, nor to have once exerted its legislative
authority. Local customs regulated and decided ever)1 thing. A
striking proof of this occurs in tracing the progress of the French
jurisprudence. The last of the Capitularia collected by M. Baluze
was issued in the year 921, by Charles the Simple. A hundred
and thirty years elapsed from that period to the publication of the
first ordinance of the kings of the third race, contained in the
great collection of M. Lauriere, and the first ordinance which
appears to be an act of legislation extending to the whole king-
dom is that of Philip Augustus, A.D. 1190. (Ordon., torn. i. pp.
I, 18.) During that long period of two hundred and sixty-nine
years all transactions were directed by local customs, and no ad-
dition was made to the statutory law of France. The ordinances
previous to the reign of Philip Augustus contain regulations the
authority of which did not extend beyond the king's domains.
Various instances occur of the caution with which the kings of
France ventured at first to exercise legislative authority. M.
1'Abbe de Mably produces an ordinance of Philip Augustus, A.D.
1206, concerning the Jews, who in that age were in some measure
the property of the lord in whose territories they resided. But it
346 PROOFS AXD ILLUSTRATIONS.
is rather a treaty of the king with the countess of Champagne and
the Compte de Dampierre, than an act of royal power ; and the
regulations in it seem to be established not so much by his authority
as by their consent. (Observat. sur 1'Hist. de France, ii. p. 355.)
In the same manner an ordinance of Louis VIII. concerning the
Jews, A.D. 1223, is a contract between the king and his nobles
with respect to their manner of treating that unhappy race of men.
(Ordon., torn. i. p. 47. ) The Establissemens of St. Louis, though
well adapted to serve as general laws to the whole kingdom, were
not published as such, but only as a complete code of customary
law, to be of authority within the king's domains. The wisdom,
the equity, and the order conspicuous in that code of St. Louis
procured it a favorable reception throughout the kingdom. The
veneration due to the virtues and good intentions of its author
contributed not a little to reconcile the nation to that legislative
authority which the king began to assume. Soon after the reign
of St. Louis, the idea of the king's possessing supreme legislative
power became common. " If," says Beaumanoir, " the king makes
any establishment specially for his own domain, the barons may
nevertheless adhere to their ancient customs ; but if the establish-
ment be general it shall be current throughout the whole king-
dom, and we ought to believe that such establishments are made
with mature deliberation, and for the general good." (Const, de
Beauvoisis, c. 48, p. 265. ) Though the kings of the third race
did not call the general assembly of the nation during the long
period from Hugh Capet to Philip the Fair, yet they seem to have
consulted the bishops and barons who happened to be present in
their court, with respect to any new law which they published.
Examples of this occur, Ordon., torn. i. p. 3 et 5. This practice
seems to have continued as late as the reign of St. Louis, when the
legislative authority of the crown was well established. (Ordon.,
torn. i. p. 58, A.D. 1246. ) This attention paid to the barons facili-
tated the kings' acquiring such full possession of the legislative
power as enabled them afterwards to exercise it without observing
that formality.
The assemblies distinguished by the name of the states-general
first called A.D. 1302, and were held occasionally from that
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATJONS. 347
period to the year 1614, since which time they have not been sum-
moned. These were very different from the ancient assemblies
of the French nation under the kings of the first and second race.
There is no point with respect to which the French antiquaries
are more generally agreed than in maintaining that the states-
general had no suffrage in the passing of laws and possessed no
proper legislative jurisdiction. The whole tenor of the French
history confirms this opinion. The form of proceeding in the
states-general was this. The king addressed himself, at opening
the meeting, to the whole body assembled in one place, and laid
before them the affairs on account of which he had summoned
them. Then the deputies of each of the three orders, of nobles,
of clergy, and of the third estate, met apart, and prepared their
cahier, or memorial, containing their answer to the propositions
which had been made to them, together with the representations
which they thought proper to lay before the king. These answers
and representations were considered by the king in his council,
and generally gave rise to an ordinance. These ordinances were
not addressed to the three estates in common. Sometimes the
king addressed an ordinance to each of the estates in particular.
Sometimes he mentioned the assembly of the three estates. Some-
times mention is made only of the assembly of that estate to which
the ordinance is addressed. Sometimes no mention at all is made
of the assembly of estates, which suggested the propriety of en-
acting the law. Preface au torn. iii. des. Ordon., p. xx.
Thus the states-general had only the privilege of advising and
remonstrating ; the legislative authority resided in the king alone.
NOTE XL.— Sect. III. p. 182.
If the parliament of Paris be considered only as the supreme
court of justice, every thing relative to its origin and jurisdiction
i is clear and obvious. It is the ancient court of the king's palace,
new-modelled, rendered stationary, and invested with an extensive
and ascertained jurisdiction. The power of this court while em-
ployed in this part of its functions is not the object of present
consideration. The pretensions of the parliament to control the
348 PKOOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
exercise of the legislative authority, and its claim of a right to
inteqx>se with respect to public affairs and the political adminis-
tration of the kingdom, lead to inquiries attended with great
difficulty. As the officers and members of the parliament of Paris
were anciently nominated by the king, were paid by him, and on
several occasions were removed by him at pleasure (Chronic,
scnndaleuse de Louis XI. chez les Mem. de Comines, torn. ii. p.
51, edit, de M. Lenglet de Fresnoy), they cannot be considered
as representatives of the people, nor could they claim any share
in the legislative power as acting in their name. We must there-
fore search for some other source of this high privilege. I. The
parliament was originally composed of the most eminent persons
in the kingdom. The peers of France, ecclesiastics of the highest
order, and noblemen of illustrious birth, were members of it, to
whom were added some clerks and councillors learned in the
laws. (Pasquier, Recherches, p. 44, etc., Encyclopedic, torn, xii.,
art, Parlement, pp. 3, 5. ) A court thus constituted was properly
a committee of the states-general of the kingdom, and was com-
posed of those barons and _fideles whom the kings of France were
accustomed to consult with regard to every act of jurisdiction or
legislative authority. It was natural, therefore, during the inter-
vals between the meetings of the states-general, or during those
periods when that assembly was not called, to consult the parlia-
ment, to lay matters of public concern before it, and to obtain its
approbation and concurrence, before any ordinance was published,
to which the people were required to conform. 2. Under the
second race of kings, every new law was reduced into proper
form by the chancellor of the kingdom, was proposed by him to
the people, and, when enacted, was committed to him to be kept
among the public records, that he might give authentic copies of
it to all who should demand them. (Hincm., de Ord. Palat., c.
16 ; Capitul. Car. Calv., tit. xiv. § II, tit. xxxiii. ) The chancellor
presided in the parliament of Paris at its first institution. (Ency-
clopedic, torn, iii., art. Chaneeiier, p. 88.) It was, therefore, natu-
ral for the king to continue to employ him in his ancient functions
of framing, taking into his custody, and publishing the ordinances
which were issued. To an ancient copy of the Capitularia ol
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
349
Charlemagne the following words are subjoined: "Anno tertio
clementissimi domini nostri Caroli Augusti, sub ipso anno, haec
facta Capitula sunt, et consignata Stephano comiti, ut haec mani-
festa faceret Parisiis mallo publico, et ilia legere faceret coram
scabineis, quod ita et fecit, et omnes in uno consenserunt, quod
ipsi voluissent observare usque in posterum, etiam omnes scabinei,
episcopi, abbates, comites, manu propria subter signaverunt."
(Bouquet, Recueil, torn. v. p. 663.) Mallus signifies not only the
public assembly of the nation, but the court of justice held by the
comes, or missus dominicus. Scabinei were the judges, or the
assessors of the judges, in that court. Here, then, seems to be a
very early instance not only of laws being published in a court of
justice, but of their being verified or confirmed by the subscription
of the judges. If this was the common practice, it naturally in-
troduced the verifying of edicts in the parliament of Paris. But
this conjecture I propose with that diffidence which I have felt in
all my reasonings concerning the laws and institutions of foreign
nations. 3. This supreme court of justice in France was dignified
with the appellation of parliament, the name by which the general
assembly of the nation was distinguished towards the close of the
second race of kings ; and men, both in reasoning and in con-
duct, were wonderfully influenced by the similarity of names. The
preserving the ancient names of the magistrates established while
the republican government subsisted in Rome enabled Augustus
and his successors to assume new powers with less observation
and greater, ease. The bestowing the same name in France upon
two courts which were extremely different contributed not a little
to confound their jurisdictions and functions.
All these circumstances concurred in leading the kings of
France to avail themselves of the parliament of Paris as the
instrument of reconciling the people to the exercise of legislative
authority by the crown. The French, accustomed to see all new
laws examined and authorized before they were published, did
not sufficiently distinguish between the effect of performing this
in the national assembly or in a court appointed by the king.
But as that court was composed of respectable members, and who
were well skilled in the laws of their country, when any new
Charles. — VOL. I. 30
350
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
edict received its sanction, that was sufficient to dispose the people
to submit to it.
When the practice of verifying and registering the royal edicts
in the parliament of Paris became common, the parliament con-
tended that this was necessary in order to give them legal author-
ity. It was established as a fundamental maxim in French juris-
prudence that no law could be published in any other manner ;
that without this formality no edict or ordinance could have any
effect ; that the people were not bound to obey it, and ought not
to consider it as an edict or ordinance, until it was verified in the
supreme court after free deliberation. (Roche-flavin des Parle-
mens de France, 4to, Gen., 1621, p. 921.) The parliament, at
different times, hath, with great fortitude and integrity, opposed
the will of their sovereigns, and, notwithstanding their repeated
and peremptory requisitions and commands, hath refused to verify
and publish such edicts as it conceived to be oppressive to the
people or subversive of the constitution of the kingdom. Roche-
flavin reckons that between the year 1562 and the year 1589 the
parliament refused to verify more than a hundred edicts of the
kings. (Ibid., 925.) Many instancesof the spirit and constancy
with which the parliaments of France opposed pernicious laws
and asserted their own privileges are enumerated by Limnxus in
his Notitiae Regni Francia-, lib. i. c. 9, p. 224.
But the power of the parliament to maintain and defend this
privilege bore no proportion to its importance, or to the courage
with which the members asserted it. When any monarch was
determined that an edict should be carried into execution, and
found the parliament inflexibly resolved not to verify or publish
it, he could easily supply this defect by the plenitude of his regal
power. He repaired to the parliament in person, he took jwsses-
sion of his seat of justice, and commanded the edict to be read,
verified, registered, and published in his presence. Then, accord-
ing to another maxim of French law, the king himself being
present, neither the parliament nor any magistrate whatever can
exercise any authority or perform any function. " Adveniente
principe, cessatmagistratus." (Roche-flavin, ibid., pp. 928, 929;
Encyclopedic, torn, ix., art. Lit. de Justice, p. 581. ) Roche-flavin
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
351
mentions several instances of kings who actually exerted this
prerogative, so fatal to the residue of the rights and liberties
transmitted to the French by their ancestors. Pasquier produces
some instances of the same kind. (Rech., p. 6l.) Limnaeus
enumerates many other instances ; but the length to which this
note has swelled prevents me from inserting them at length,
though they tend greatly to illustrate this important article in the
French history (p. 245). Thus, by an exertion of prerogative
which, though violent, seems to be constitutional, and is justified
by innumerable precedents, all the efforts of the parliament to limit
and control the king's legislative authority are rendered ineffectual.
I have not attempted to explain the constitution or jurisdiction
of any parliament in France but that of Paris. All of them are
formed upon the model of that most ancient and respectable
tribunal, and all my observations concerning it will apply with
full force to them.
NOTE XLI.— Sect. III. p. 187.
The humiliating posture in which a great emperor implored
absolution is an event so singular that the words in which Gregory
himself describes it merit a place here, and convey a striking
picture of the arrogance of that pontiff: "Per triduum, ante
portam castrf, deposito omni regio cultu, miserabiliter, utpote
discalceatus, et laneis indutus, persistens, non prius cum multo
fletu apostolicce miserationis auxihum et consolationem implorari
destitit, quam omnes qui ibi aderant, et ad quos rumor ille per-
venit, ad tantam pietatem, et compassionis misericordiam movit,
ut pro eo inultis precibus et lacrymis intercedentes, omnes quidem
insolitam nostrae mentis duritiem mirarentur ; nonnulli vero in
nobis non apostolicse sedis gravitatem, sed quasi tyrannicse feritatis
crudelitatem esse clamarunt." Epist. Gregor., ap. Memorie della
Contessa Matilda da Fran. Mar. Fiorentini, Lucca, 1756, vol. i.
p. 174.
NOTE XLII.— Sect. III. p. 196.
As I have endeavored in the history to trace the various steps in
the progress of the constitution of the empire, and to explain the
35*
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
peculiarities in its policy very fully, it is not necessary to add much
by way of illustration. \Yhat appears to be of any importance I
shall range under distinct heads.
I . With respect to the power, jurisdiction, and revenue of the
emperors. A very just idea of these may be formed by attending
to the view which Pfeffel gives of the rights of the emperors at
two different periods. The first at the close of the Saxon race,
A.D. 1024. These, according to his enumeration, were the right
of conferring all the great ecclesiastical benefices in Germany ; of
receiving the revenues of them during a vacancy ; of mortmain, or
of succeeding to the effects of ecclesiastics who died intestate.
The right of confirming or of annulling the elections of the popes.
The right of assembling councils, and of appointing them to decide
concerning the affairs of the Church. The right of conferring the
title of king upon their vassals. The right of granting vacant fiefs.
The right of receiving the revenues of the empire, whether arising
from the imperial domains, from imposts and tolls, from gold or
silver mines, from the taxes paid by the Jews, or from forfeitures.
The right of governing Italy as its proper sovereigns. The right
of erecting free cities and of establishing fairs in them. The right
of assembling the diets of the empire and of fixing the time of
their duration. The right of coining money, and of conferring
that privilege on the states of the empire. The right of adminis-
tering both high and low justice within the territories of the
different states. (Abrege, p. 160. ) The other period is at the
extinction of the emperors of the families of Luxemburg and
Bavaria, A.D. 1437. According to the same author, the imperial
prerogatives at that time were the right of conferring all dignities
and titles, except the privilege of being a state of the empire.
The right of preces primaria, or of appointing once during their
reign a dignitary in each chapter or religious house. The right
of granting dispensations with respect to the age of majority.
The right of erecting cities and of conferring the privilege of
coining money. The right of calling the meetings of the diet and
of presiding in them. (Abrege, etc., p. 507.) It were easy to
show that Mr. Pfeffel is well founded in all these assertions, and
confirm them by the testimony of the most respectable authors.
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
353
In the one period the emperors appear as mighty sovereigns with
extensive prerogatives ; in the other, as the heads of a confederacy
with very limited powers.
The revenues of the emperors decreased still more than their
authority. The early emperors, and particularly those of the
Saxon line, besides their great patrimonial or hereditary territories,
possessed an extensive domain both in Italy and Germany, which
belonged to them as emperors. Italy belonged to the emperors as
their proper kingdom, and the revenues which they drew from it
were very considerable. The first alienations of the imperial
revenue were made in that country. The Italian cities, having
acquired wealth, and aspiring at independence, purchased their
liberty from different emperors, as I have observed, Note XV.
The sums which they paid, and the emperors with whom they
concluded these bargains, are mentioned by Casp. Klockius de
^rario, Norimb., 1671, p. 85, etc. Charles IV. and his son
Wenceslaus dissipated all that remained of the Italian branch of
the domain. The German domain lay chiefly upon the banks of
the Rhine, and was under the government of the counts palatine.
It is not easy to mark out the boundaries or to estimate the value
of this ancient domain, which has been so long incorporated with
the territories of different princes. Some hints with respect to it
may be found in the glossary of Speidelius, which he has en-
titled Speculum Juridico-Philologico-Politico-Historicum Observa-
tionum, etc., Norimb., 1673, vol. i. pp. 679, 1045. A more full
account of it is given by Klockius de yErario, p. 84. Besides
this, the emperors possessed considerable districts of land lying
intermixed with the estates of the dukes and barons. They were
accustomed to visit these frequently, and drew from their vassals
in each what was sufficient to support their court during the time
of their residence among them. (Annalistse, ap. Struv., torn. i. p.
6 1 1.) A great part of these detached possessions was seized by
the nobles during the long interregnum, or during the wars oc-
casioned by the contests between the emperors and the court of
Rome. At the same time that such encroachments were made on
the fixed or territorial property of the emperors, they were robbed
almost entirely of their casual revenues, the princes and barons
30*
354
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
appropriating to themselves taxes and duties of every kind, which
had usually been paid to them. (Pfeffel, Abrege, p. 374.) The
profuse and inconsiderate ambition of Charles IV. squandered
whatever remained of the imperial revenues after so many de-
falcations. He, in the year 1376, in order to prevail with the
electors to choose his son Wenceslaus king of the Romans,
promised each of them a hundred thousand crowns. But being
unable to pay so large a sum, and eager to secure the election to
his son, he alienated to the three ecclesiastical electors, and to the
count palatine, such countries as still belonged to the imperial
domain on the banks of the Rhine, and likewise made over to
them all the taxes and tolls then levied by the emperors in that
district. Trithemius, and the author of the Chronicle of Magde-
burg, enumerate the territories and taxes which were thus alien-
ated, and represent this as the last and fatal blow to the imperial
authority. (Struv., Corp., vol. i. p. 437.) From that period the
shreds of the ancient revenues possessed by the emperors have
been so inconsiderable that, in the opinion of Speidelius, all that
they yield would be so far from defraying the expense of sup-
porting their household that they would not pay the charge of
maintaining the posts established in the empire. (Speidelii
Speculum, etc., vol. i. p. 680.) These funds, inconsiderable as
they were, continued to decrease. Granvelle, the minister of
Charles V., asserted in the year 1546, in presence of several of the
German princes, that his master drew no money at all from the
empire. (Sleid., Historyof the Reformation, Lond., 1689, p. 372. )
The same is the case at present. (Traite du Droit publique de
1' Empire, par M. le Coq de Villeray, p. 55.) From the reign of
Charles IV., whom Maximilian called the "pest of the empire,"
the emperors have depended entirely on their hereditary dominions
as the chief and almost the only source of their power, and even
of their subsistence.
2. The ancient mode of electing the emperors, and the various
changes which it underwent, require some illustration. The im-
perial crown was originally attained by election, as well as those
of most monarchies in Europe. An opinion long prevailed among
the antiquaries and public lawyers of Germany that the right of
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
355
choosing the emperors was vested in the archbishops of Mentz,
Cologne, and Treves, the king of Bohemia, the duke of Saxony,
the marquis of Brandenburg, and the count palatine of the Rhine,
by an edict of Otho III., confirmed by Gregory V. about the year
996. But the whole tenor of history contradicts this opinion. It
appears that from the earliest period in the history of Germany the
person who was to reign over all was elected by the suffrage of all.
Thus, Conrad I. was elected by all the people of the Franks, say
some annalists ; by all the princes and chief men, say others ;
by all the nations, say others. (See their words, Struv., Corp.,
p. 211; Conringius de German. Imper. Repub. Acroamata Sex.,
Ebroduni, 1654, p. 103. ) In the year 1024, posterior to the sup-
posed regulations of Otho III., Conrad II. was elected by all the
chief men, and his election was approved and confirmed by the
people. (Struv., Corp., p. 284. ) At the election of Lotharius II.,
A.D. 1125, sixty thousand persons of all ranks were present. He
was named by the chief men, and their nomination was approved
by the people. (Struv., Corp., p. 357-) The first author who
mentions the seven electors is Martinus Polonus, who flourished
in the reign of Frederic II., which ended A.D. 1250. We find
that in all the ancient elections to which I have referred the
princes of the greatest power and authority were allowed by their
countrymen to name the person whom they wished to appoint
emperor, and the people approved or disapproved of their nomi-
nation. This privilege of voting first is called by the German
lawyers the right of prcetaxation. (Pfeffel, Abr6g6, p. 316.) This
was the first origin of the exclusive right which the electors
acquired. The electors possessed the most extensive territories
of any princes in the empire ; all the great offices of the state
were in their hands by hereditary right ; as soon as they obtained
or engrossed so much influence in the election as to be allowed
the right of pnetaxation, it was vain to oppose their will, and it
even became unnecessary for the inferior ecclesiastics and barons
to attend, when they had no other function but that of confirming
the deed of these more powerful princes by their assent. During
times of turbulence, the subordinate members of the Germanic
body could not resort to the place of election without a retinue of
356 PROOFS AXD ILLUSTRATIONS.
armed vassals, the expense of which they were obliged to defray
out of their own revenues ; and, finding their attendance to be
unnecessary, they were unwilling to waste them to no purpose.
The rights of the seven electors were supported by all the de-
scendants and allies of their powerful families, who shared in the
splendor and influence which they enjoyed by this distinguishing
privilege. (Pfeflel, Abrege, p. 376.) The seven electors were
considered as the representatives of all the orders which composed
the highest class of German nobility. There were three arch-
bishops, chancellors of the three great districts into which the
empire was anciently divided, one king, one duke, one marquis,
and one count. All these circumstances contributed to render the
introduction of this considerable innovation into the constitution
of the Germanic body extremely easy. Every thing of importance
relating to this branch of the political state of the empire is well
illustrated by Onuphrius Panvanius, an Augustinian monk of
Verona, who lived in the reign of Charles V. His treatise, if we
make some allowance for that partiality which he expresses in
favor of the powers which the popes claimed in the empire, has
the merit of being one of the first works in which a controverted
point in history is examined with critical precision and with a
proper attention to that evidence which is derived from records
or the testimony of contemporary historians. It is inserted by
Goldastus in his Politics Imperialia, p. 2.
As the electors have engrossed the sole right of choosing the
emperors, they have assumed likewise that of deposing them.
This high power the electors have not only presumed to claim, but
have ventured, in more than one instance, to exercise. In the year
1 298 a part of the electors deposed Adolphus of Nassau and sub-
stituted Albert of Austria in his place. The reasons on which
they found their sentence show that this deed flowed from factious,
not from public-spirited, motives. (Struv., Corp., vol. i. p. 540.)
In the first year of the fifteenth century the electors deposed
\Vcnceslaus and placed the imperial crown on the head of Rupert,
elector palatine. The act of deposition is still extant. (Goldasti
Constit., vol. i. p. 379.) It is pronounced in the name and by the
authority of the electors, and confirmed by several prelates and
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
357
barons of the empire, who were present. These exertions of the
electoral power demonstrate that the imperial authority was sunk
very low.
The other privileges of the electors, and the rights of the elec-
toral college, are explained by the writers on the public law in
Germany.
3. With respect to the diets, or general assemblies of the em-
pire, it would be necessary, if my object were to write a particular
history of Germany, to enter into a minute detail concerning the
forms of assembling them, the persons who have a right to be
present, their division into several colleges or benches, the objects
of their deliberation, the mode in which they carry on their
debates or give their suffrages, and the authority of their decrees
or recesses. But, as my only object is to give the outlines of the
constitution of the German empire, it will be sufficient to observe
that originally the diets of the empire were exactly the same with
the assemblies of March and of May, held by the kings of France.
They met at least once a year. Every freeman had a right to be
present. They were assemblies in which a monarch deliberated
with his subjects concerning their common interest. (Arumaeus
de Comitiis Rom. German. Imperii, 410, Jenae, 1660, cap. 7, no.
20, etc. ) But when the princes, dignified ecclesiastics, and barons
acquired territorial and independent jurisdiction, the diet became
an assembly of the separate states, which formed the confederacy
of which the emperor was head. While the constitution of the
empire remained in its primitive form, attendance on the diets
was a duty, like the other services due from feudal subjects to
their sovereign, which the members were bound to perform in
person ; and if any member who had a right to be present in the
diet neglected to attend in person, he not only lost his vote, but
was liable to a heavy penalty. (Arumaeus de Comit., c. 5, no. 40. )
Whereas, from the time that the members of the diet became
independent states, the right of suffrage was annexed to the terri-
tory or dignity, not to the person. The members, if they could
not, or would not, attend in person, might send their deputies, as
princes send ambassadors, and they were entitled to exercise all
the rights belonging to their constituents. (Ibid., no. 42, 46, 49. )
358 PKOOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
By degrees, and upon the same principle of 'considering the diet
as an assembly of independent states, in which each confederate
had the right of suffrage, if any member possessed more than one
of those states or characters which entitle to a seat in the diet, he
was allowed a proportional number of suffrages. ( Pfeffel, Abrfge,
p. 622. ) From the same cause, the imperial cities, as soon as they
became free and acquired supreme and independent jurisdiction
within their own territories, were received as members of the
diet. The powers of the diet extend to every thing relative to
the common concern of the Germanic body or that can interest
or affect it as a confederacy. The diet takes no cognizance of the
interior administration in the different states, unless that happens
to disturb or threaten the general safety.
4. With respect to the imperial chamber, the jurisdiction of
which has been the great source of order and tranquillity in Ger-
many, it is necessary to observe that this court was instituted in
order to put an end to the calamities occasioned by private wars
in Germany. I have already traced the rise and progress of this
practice, and pointed out its pernicious effects as fully as their
extensive influence during the Middle Ages required. In Ger-
many, private wars seem to have been more frequent and produc-
tive of worse consequences than in the other countries of Europe.
There are obvious reasons for this. The nobility of Germany
were extremely numerous, and the causes of their dissension
multiplied in proportion. The territorial jurisdiction which the
German nobles acquired was more complete than that possessed
by their order in other nations. They became, in reality, inde-
pendent powers, and they claimed all the privileges of that char-
acter. The long interregnum from A.D. 1256 to A.D. 1273 accus-
tomed them to an uncontrolled license, and led them to forget
that subordination which is necessary in order to maintain public
tranquillity. At the time when the other monarchs of Europe
began to acquire such an increase of power and revenues as added
new vigor to their government, the authority and revenues of the
emperors continued gradually to decline. The diets of the empire,
which alone had authority to judge between such mighty barons,
and power to enforce its decisions, met very seldom. (Coming.,
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS,
359
Acroamata, p. 234. ) The diets, when they did assemble, were
often composed of several thousand members (Chronic. Constant.,
ap. Struv., Corp., i. 546), and were tumultuary assemblies, ill
qualified to decide concerning any question of right. The session
of the diet continued only two or three days (Pfeffel, Abrege, p.
244) ; so that they had no time to hear or discuss any cause that
was in the smallest degree intricate. Thus Germany was left, in
some measure, without any court of judicature capable of deciding
the contests between its more powerful members, or of repressing
the evils occasioned by their private wars.
All the expedients which were employed in other countries of
Europe in order to restrain this practice, and which I have de-
scribed, Note XXI., were tried in Germany with little effect. The
confederacies of the nobles and of the cities, and the division of
Germany into various circles, which I mentioned in that note,
were found likewise insufficient. As a last remedy, the Germans
had recourse to arbiters, whom they called austrega. The barons
and states in different parts of Germany joined in conventions,
by which they bound themselves to refer all controversies that
might arise between them to the determination of austrega and
to submit to their sentences as final. These arbiters are named
sometimes in the treaty of convention, an instance of which
occurs in Ludewig, Reliquiae Manuscr* omnis ALvi, vol. ii. p. 212 ;
sometimes they were chosen by mutual consent upon occasion of
any contest that arose ; sometimes they were appointed by neutral
persons ; and sometimes the choice was left to be decided by lot.
(Datt., de Pace Publica Imperii, lib. i. cap. 27, no. 60, etc.; Spei-
delius, Speculum, etc., voc. Austrag., p. 95.) Upon the introduc-
tion of this practice, the public tribunals of justice became in a
great measure useless, and were almost entirely deserted.
In order to re-establish the authority of government, Maximilian
I. instituted the imperial chamber at the period which I have
mentioned. This tribunal. consisted originally of a president, who
was always a nobleman of the first order, and of sixteen judges.
The president was appointed by the emperor, and the judges
partly by him and partly by the states, according to forms which
it is unnecessary to describe. A sum was imposed, with their
360 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
own consent, on the states of the empire, for paying the salaries
of the judges and officers in this court. The imperial chamber
was established first at Frankfort-on-the-Main. During the reign
of Charles V. it was removed to Spires, and continued in that
city above a century and a half. It is now fixed at Weular.
This court takes cognizance of all questions concerning civil right
between the states of the empire, and passes judgment in the last
resort, and without appeal. To it belongs likewise the privilege
of judging in criminal causes, which may be considered as con-
nected with the preservation of the public peace. Pfeffel, Abrege,
p. 560.
All causes relating to points of feudal right or jurisdiction,
together with such as respect the territories which hold of the
empire in Italy, belong properly to the jurisdiction of the aulic
council. This tribunal was formed upon the model of the ancient
court of the palace instituted by the emperors of Germany. It
depended not upon the states of the empire, but upon the emperor,
he having the right of appointing at pleasure all the judges of
whom it is composed. Maximilian, in order to procure some com-
pensation for the diminution of his authority by the powers vested
in the imperial chamber, prevailed on the diet, A.I). 1512, to give
its consent to the establishment of the aulic council. Since that
time it has been a great object of policy in the court of Vienna to
extend the jurisdiction and support the authority of the aulic
council and to circumscribe and weaken those of the imperial
chamber. The tedious forms and dilatory proceedings of the im-
perial chamber have furnished the emperors with pretexts for
doing so. " Lites Spine," according to the witticism of a German
lawyer, "spirant, sed nunquam expirant." Such delays are un-
avoidable in a court composed of members named by many differ-
ent states jealous of each other. Whereas the judges of the aulic
council, depending upon one master and being responsible to him
alone, are more vigorous and decisive. Puffendorf, De Statu
Imper. German., cap. v. § 20 ; Pfeffel, Abrege, p. 581.
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 361
NOTE XLIII.— Sect. III. p. 199.
The description which I have given of the Turkish government
is conformable to the accounts of the most intelligent travellers
who have visited, that empire. The Count de Marsigli, in his
treatise concerning the military state of the Turkish empire, ch. vi.,
and the author of Observations on the Religion, Laws, Govern-
ment, and Manners of the Turks, published at London, 1768, vol.
i. p. 81, differ from other writers who have described the political
constitution of that powerful monarchy. As they had opportunity,
during their long residence in Turkey, to observe the order and
justice conspicuous in several departments of administration, they
seem unwilling to admit that it should be denominated a despotism.
But when the form of government in any country is represented
to be despotic, this does not suppose that the power of the mon-
arch is continually exerted in acts of violence, injustice, and
cruelty. Under political constitutions of every species, unless
when some frantic tyrant happens to hold the sceptre, the ordinary
administration of government must be conformable to the princi-
ples of justice, and, if not active in promoting the welfare of the
people, cannot certainly have their destruction for its object. A
state in which the sovereign possesses the absolute command of a
vast military force, together with the disposal of an extensive
revenue, in which the people have no privileges and no part either
immediate or remote in legislation, in which there is no body of
hereditary nobility, jealous of their own rights and distinctions, to
stand as an intermediate order between the prince and the people,
cannot be distinguished by any name but that of a despotism.
The restraints, however, which I have mentioned, arising from the
capiculy and from religion, are powerful. But they are not such
as change the nature or denomination of the government. When
a despotic prince employs an armed force to support his authority,
he commits the supreme power to their hands. The praetorian
bands in Rome dethroned, murdered, and exalted their princes
in the same wanton manner with the soldiery of the Porte at Con-
stantinople. But, notwithstanding this, the Roman emperors have
Charles. — VOL. I.— Q 31
362 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
been considered hy all political writers as possessing despotic
powers.
The author of Observations on the Religion, Laws, Govern-
ment, and Manners of the Turks, in a preface to the second edi-
tion of his work, hath made some remarks on what is contained
in this note and in that part of the text to which* it refers. It is
with diffidence I set my opinion in opposition to that of a person
who has observed the government of the Turks with attention and
has described it with abilities. But, after a careful review of the
subject, to me the Turkish government still appears of such a
species as can be ranged in no class but that to which political
writers have given the name of despotism. There is not in Turkey
any constitutional restraint upon the will of the sovereign, or any
barrier to circumscribe the exercise of his power, but the two
which I have mentioned : one afforded by religion, the principle
upon which the authority of the sultan is founded, the other by
the army, the instrument which he must employ to maintain his
power. The author represents the u/fma, or body of the law, as
an intermediate order between the monarch and the people.
(Pref., p. 30. ) But whatever restraint the authority of the nlemn
may impose upon the sovereign is derived from religion. The
moulahs, out of whom the mufti and other chief officers of the
law must be chosen, are ecclesiastics. It is as interpreters of the
Koran or divine will that they are objects of veneration. The check,
then, which they give to the exercise of arbitrary power is not dif-
ferent from one of those of which I took notice. Indeed, this re-
straint cannot be very considerable. The mufti, who is the head
of the order, as well as every inferior officer of law, is named by
the sultan, and is removable at his pleasure. The strange means
employed by the ultma in 1746 to obtain the dismission of a min-
ister whom they hated is a manifest proof that they possess but
little constitutional authority which can serve as a restraint upon
the will of the sovereign. (Observat., p. 92 of 2d edit.) If the
author's idea be just, it is astonishing that the body of the law
should have no method of remonstrating against the errors of ad-
ministration but by setting fire to the capital.
The author seems to consider the eaficuly, or soldiery of the
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 363
Porte, neither as formidable instruments of the sultan's power nor
as any restraint upon the exercise of it. His reasons for this
opinion are that the number of the capiculy is small in proportion
to the other troops which compose the Turkish armies, and that
in time of peace they are undisciplined. (Pref., 2d edit., p. 23,
etc. ) But the troops stationed in a capital, though their number
be not great, are always masters of the sovereign's person and
power. The praetorian bands bore no proportion to the legionary
troops in the frontier provinces. The soldiery of the Porte are
more numerous, and must possess power of the same kind, and
be equally formidable, sometimes to the sovereign, and oftener to
the people. However much the discipline of the janizaries may
be neglected at present, it certainly was not so in that age to which
alone my description of the Turkish government applies. The
author observes (Pref., p. 29) that the janizaries never deposed
any sultan of themselves, but that some form of law, true or false,
has been observed, and that either the mufti, or some other min-
ister of religion, -has announced to the unhappy prince the law
which renders him unworthy of the throne. (Observ., p. 102.)
This will alwavs happen. In every revolution, though brought
about by military power, the deeds of the soldiery must be con-
firmed and carried into execution with the civil and religious
formalities peculiar to the constitution.
This addition to the note may serve as a further illustration of
my own sentiments, but is not made with an intention of entering
into any controversy with the author of Observations, etc. , to whom
I am indebted for the obliging terms in which he has expressed his
remarks upon what I had advanced. Happy were it for such as
ventured to communicate their opinions to the world, if every
animadversion upon them were conveyed with the same candid
and liberal spirit. In one particular, however, he seems to have
misapprehended what I meant. (Pref., p. 17.) I certainly did
not mention his or Count Marsigli's long residence in Turkey as
a circumstance which should detract from the weight of their
authority. J took notice of it in justice to my readers, that they
might receive my opinion with distrust, as it differed from that of
persons whose means of information were so far superior to mine.
364 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
NOTE XLIV.— Sect. III. p. 201.
The institution, the discipline, nnd privileges of the janiza-
ries are described by all the authors who give any account of the
Turkish government. The manner in which enthusiasm was
employed in order to inspire them with courage is thus related by
Prince Cantemir : " When Amurath I. had formed them into a
body, he sent them to Haji Bektash, a Turkish saint, famous for
his miracles and prophecies, desiring him to bestow on them a
banner, to pray God for their success, and to give them a name.
The saint, when they appeared in his presence, put the sleeve of
his gown upon one of their heads, and said, Let them be called
YfHgickcri, Let their countenance be ever bright, their hands
victorious, their swords keen ; let their spear always hang over
the heads of their enemies, and wherever they go, may they
return with a shining face." (History of the Ottoman Empire,
p. 38. ) The number of janizaries at the first institution of the
txxly was not considerable. Under Solyman, in the year 1521,
they amounted to twelve thousand. Since that time their num-
ber has greatly increased. (Marsigli, Etat, etc., ch. xvi. p. 68.)
Though Solyman possessed such abilities and authority as to re-
strain this formidable body within the bounds of obedience, yet
its tendency to limit the power of the sultans was, even in that
age, foreseen by sagacious observers. Nicolas Daulphinois, who
accompanied M. d' Aramon, ambassador from Henry II. of France
to Solyman, published an account of his travels, in which he
describes and celebrates the discipline of the janizaries, but at the
same time predicts that they would one day become formidable
to their masters, and act the same part at Constantinople as the
pnetorian bands had done at Rome. Collection of Voyages from
the Earl of Oxford's Library, vol. i. p. 599.
NOTE XLV-— Sect. III. p. 203.
Solyman the Magnificent, to whom the Turkish historians have
given the surname of canutii, or institutor of rules, first brought
the finances and military establishment of the Turkish empire into
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 365
a regular form. He divided the military force into the capiculy,
or soldiery of the Porte, which was properly the standing army,
and serrataculy, or soldiers appointed to guard the frontiers. The
chief strength of the latter consisted of those who held timariots
and ziams. These were portions of land granted to certain persons
for life, in much the same manner as the military fiefs among the
nations of Europe, in return for which military service was per-
formed. Solyman, in his Canun-Name, or book of regulations,
fixed with great accuracy the extent of these lands in each prov-
ince of his empire, appointed the precise number of soldiers each
person who held a timariot or a ziam should bring into the field,
and established the pay which they should receive while engaged
in service. Count Marsigli and Sir Paul Rycaut have given extracts
from this book of regulations, and it appears that the ordinary
establishment of the Turkish army exceeded a hundred and fifty
thousand men. When these were added to the soldiery of the
Porte, they formed a military power greatly superior to what any
Christian state could command in the sixteenth century. (Marsigli,
Etat Militaire, etc., p. 136 ; Rycaut's State of the Ottoman Empire,
book iii. ch. ii. ) As Solyman, during his active reign, was engaged
so constantly in war that his troops were always in the field, the
serrataculy became almost equal to the janizaries themselves in
discipline and valor.
It is not surprising, then, that the authors of the sixteenth cen-
tury should represent the Turks as far superior to the Christians
both in the knowledge and in the practice of the art of war.
Guicciardini informs us that the Italians learned the art of fortify-
ing towns from the Turks. (Histor., lib. xv. p. 266.) Busbequius,
who was ambassador from the emperor Ferdinand to Solyman, and
who had opportunity to observe the state both of the Christian and
Turkish armies, published a discourse concerning the best manner
of carrying on war against the Turks, in which he points out at
great length the immense advantages which the infidels possessed
with respect to discipline and military improvements of every kind.
(Busbequii Opera, edit. Elzevir, p. 393, etc.) The testimony of
other authors might be added, if the matter were in any degree
doubtful.
3'*
366
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
Before I conclude these Proofs and Illustrations, I ought to
explain the reason of two omissions in them : one of which it is
necessary to mention on my own account, the other to obviate an
objection to this part of the work.
In all my inquiries and disquisitions concerning the progress of
government, manners, literature, and commerce during the Middle
Ages, as well as in my delineations of the political constitution of
the different states of Europe at the opening of the sixteenth cen-
tury, I have not once mentioned M. de Voltaire, who in his Essai
sur r Histoire ginirale has reviewed the same period and has
treated of all these subjects. This does not proceed from an
inattention to the works of that extraordinary man, whose genius,
no less enterprising than universal, has attempted almost every
different species of literary composition. In many of these he
excels. In all, if he had left religion untouched, he is instructive
and agreeable. But, as he seldom imitates the example of modern
historians in citing the authors from whom they derived their in-
formation, I could not with propriety appeal to his authority in
confirmation of any doubtful or unknown fact. I have often,
however, followed him as my guide in these researches ; and he
has not only pointed out the facts with respect to which it was of
importance to inquire, but the conclusions w.hich it was proper to
draw from them. If he had at the same time mentioned the
books which relate these particulars, a great part of my labor
would have been unnecessary, and many of his readers who now
consider him only as an entertaining and lively writer would find
that he is a learned and well-informed historian.
As to the other omission, every intelligent reader must have
observed that I have not entered, either in the historical part of
this volume or in the Proofs and Illustrations, into the same detail
with respect to the ancient laws and customs of the British king-
doms as concerning those of the other European nations. As the
capital facts with regard to the progress of government and man-
ners in their own country are known to most of my readers, such
a detail appeared to me to be less essential. Such facts and obser-
vations, however, as were necessary towards completing my design
in this part of the work, I have mentioned under the different
PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 367
articles which are the subjects of my disquisitions. The state of
government in all the nations of Europe having been nearly the
same during several ages, nothing can tend more to illustrate the
progress of the English constitution than a careful inquiry into
the laws and customs of the kingdoms on the Continent. This
source of information has been too much neglected by the English
antiquaries and lawyers. Filled with admiration of that happy
constitution now established in Great Britain, they have been more
attentive to its forms and principles than to the condition and
ideas of remote times, which in almost every particular differ from
the present. While engaged in perusing the laws, charters, and
early historians of the Continental kingdoms, I have often been
led to think that an attempt to illustrate the progress of English
jurisprudence and policy by a comparison with those of other
kingdoms in a similar situation would be of great utility, and
might throw much light on some points which are now obscure,
and decide others which have been long controverted.
HISTORY OF THE REIGN
OF THE
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH.
Q* (369)
CHARLES THE FIFTH.
BOOK I.
Birth of Charles V. — His Hereditary Dominions. — Philip and Joanna,
his Parents. — Birth of Ferdinand, his Brother. — Death of Isabella.
— Philip's Attempts to obtain the Government of Castile. — The
Regent Ferdinand marries a Niece of the French King to exclude
Philip and his Daughter. — The Castilian Nobility declare for Philip.
— Philip and Joanna proclaimed. — Death of Philip. — Incapacity of
Joanna. — Ferdinand made Regent. — His Acquisition of Territory.
— His Death. — Education of Charles V. — Cardinals Ximenes and
Adrian. — Charles acknowledged King. — Ximenes strengthens the
Royal Power ; is opposed by the Nobles. — War in Navarre and in
Africa. — Peace with France. — Charles visits Spain. — His Ingrati-
tude towards Ximenes. — Death of the Latter. — Discontent of the
Castilians. — Corruption of the King's Flemish Favorites. — Recep-
tion of Charles in Aragon. — Death of the Emperor Maximilian. —
Charles and Francis I. Competitors for the Empire. — Views of the
other Reigning Potentates. — Assembly of the Electors. — The Crown
offered to Frederic of Saxony. — He declines in favor of Charles,
who is chosen. — Discontent of the Spaniards. — Insurrection in
Valencia. — The Cortes of Castile summoned to meet in Galicia. —
Charles appoints Regents, and embarks for the Low Countries.
CHARLES V. was born at Ghent on the 24th day of
February, in the year 1500. His father, Philip the
Handsome, archduke of Austria, was the son of the
emperor Maximilian, and of Mary, the only child of
Charles the Bold, the last prince of the house of Bur-
gundy. His mother, Joanna, was the second daughter
of Ferdinand, king of Aragon, and of Isabella, queen
of Castile.
(37* )
372
REIGN OF THE
A long train of fortunate events had opened the way
for this young prince to the inheritance of more ex-
tensive dominions than any European monarch since
Charlemagne had possessed. Each of his ancestors
had acquired kingdoms or provinces towards which
their prospect of succession was extremely remote.
The rich possessions of Mary of Burgundy had been
destined for another family, she having been contracted
by her father to the only son of Louis XI. of France ;
but that capricious monarch, indulging his hatred to
her family, chose rather to strip her of part of her ter-
ritories by force than to secure the whole by marriage ;
and by this misconduct, fatal to his posterity, he threw
all the Netherlands and Franche-Comte into the hands
of a rival. Isabella, the daughter of John II. of Cas-
tile, far from having any prospect of that noble inherit-
ance which she transmitted to her grandson, passed
the early part of her life in obscurity and indigence.
But the Castilians, exasperated against her brother,
Henry IV., an ill-advised and vicious prince, publicly
charged him with impotence and his queen with
adultery. Upon his demise, rejecting Joanna, whom
Henry had uniformly, and even on his death-bed,
owned to be his lawful daughter, and whom an as-
sembly of the states had acknowledged to be the heir
of his kingdom, they obliged her to retire into Portu-
gal and placed Isabella on the throne of Castile. Fer-
dinand owed the crown of Aragon to the unexpected
death of his elder brother, and acquired the kingdoms
of Naples and Sicily by violating the faith of treaties
and disregarding the ties of blood. To all these king-
doms Christopher Columbus, by an effort of genius
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH
373
and of intrepidity the boldest and most successful that
is recorded in the annals of mankind, added a new
world, the wealth of which became one considerable
source of the power and grandeur of the Spanish mon-
archs.
Don John, the only son of Ferdinand and Isabella,
and their eldest daughter, the queen of Portugal, being
cut off, without issue, in the flower of youth, all their
hopes centred in Joanna and her posterity. But as
her husband, the archduke, was a stranger to the Span-
iards, it was thought expedient to invite him into Spain,
that by residing among them he might accustom him-
self to their laws and manners ; and it was expected
that the cortes, or assembly of states, whose authority
was then so great in Spain that no title to the crown
was reckoned valid unless it received their sanction,
would acknowledge his right of succession, together
with that of the infanta, his wife. Philip and Joanna,
passing through France in their way to Spain, were
entertained in that kingdom with the utmost magnifi-
cence. The archduke did homage to Louis XII. for
the earldom of Flanders, and took his seat as a peer
of the realm in the parliament of Paris. They were
received in Spain with every mark of honor that the
parental affection of Ferdinand and Isabella, or the re-
spect of their subjects, could devise ; and their title to
the crown was soon after acknowledged by the cortes
of both kingdoms.
But amidst these outward appearances of satisfaction
and joy some secret uneasiness preyed upon the mind
of each of these princes. The stately and reserved
ceremonial of the Spanish court was so burdensome to
Charles. — VOL. I. 32
374
REIGN OF THE
Philip, a prince young, gay, affable, fond of society
and of pleasure, that he soon began to express a desire
of returning to his native country, the manners of
which were more suited to his temper. Ferdinand,
observing the declining health of his queen, with
whose life he knew that his right to the government
of Castile must cease, easily foresaw that a prince of
Philip's disposition, and who already discovered an
extreme impatience to reign, would never consent to
his retaining any degree of authority in that kingdom ;
and the prospect of this diminution of his power
awakened the jealousy of that ambitious monarch.
Isabella beheld with the sentiments natural to a
mother the indifference and neglect with which the
archduke treated her daughter, who was destitute of
those beauties of person as well as those accomplish-
ments of mind which fix the affections of a husband.
Her understanding, always weak, was often disordered.
She doted on Philip with such an excess of childish
and indiscreet fondness as excited disgust rather than
affection. Her jealousy, for which her husband's be-
havior gave her too much cause, was proportioned to
her love, and often broke out in the most extravagant
actions. Isabella, though sensible of her defects, could
not help pitying her condition, which was soon ren-
dered altogether deplorable by the archduke's abrupt
resolution of setting out in the middle of winter for
Flanders and of leaving her in Spain. Isabella en-
treated him not to abandon his wife to grief and melan-
choly, which might prove fatal to her, as she was near
the time of her delivery. Joanna conjured him to put
off his journey for three days only, that she might have
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH.
375
the pleasure of celebrating the festival of Christmas in
his company. Ferdinand, after representing the im-
prudence of his leaving Spain before he had time to
become acquainted with the genius or to gain the
affections of the people who were one day to be his
subjects, besought him at least not to pass through
France, with which kingdom he was then at open
war. Philip, without regarding either the dictates of
humanity or the maxims of prudence, persisted in
his purpose, and on the 22d of December set out for
the Low Countries by the way of France.1
From the moment of his departure, Joanna sunk into
a deep and sullen melancholy,2 and while she was in
that situation bore Ferdinand, her second son, for
whom the power of his brother Charles afterwards
procured the kingdoms of Hungary and Bohemia, and
to whom he at last transmitted the imperial sceptre.
Joanna was the only person in Spain who discovered
no joy at the birth of this prince. Insensible to that,
as well as to every other pleasure, she was wholly occu-
pied with the thoughts of returning to her husband ;
nor did she in any degree recover tranquillity of mind
until she arrived at Brussels next year.3 [1504.]
Philip, in passing through France, had an interview
with Louis XII., and signed a treaty with him, by
which he hoped that all the differences between France
and Spain would have been finally terminated. But
Ferdinand, whose affairs at that time were extremely
prosperous in Italy, where the superior genius of Gon-
1 Petri Martyris Anglerii Epistoloe, 250, 253.
a Ibid., 255.
3 Mariana, lib. 27, c. n, 14. — Flechier, Vie de Ximen£s, i. 191.
376 REIGN OF THE
salvo de Cordova, the great captain, triumphed on every
occasion over the arms of France, did not pay the least
regard to what his son-in-law had concluded, and car-
ried on hostilities with greater ardor than ever.
From -this time Philip seems not to have taken any
part in the affairs of Spain, waiting in quiet till the
death either of Ferdinand or of Isabella should open
the way to one of their thrones. The latter of these
events was not far distant. The untimely death of her
son and eldest daughter had made a deep impression
on the mind of Isabella ; and as she could derive but
little consolation for the losses which she had sustained
either from her daughter Joanna, whose infirmities
daily increased, or from her son-in-law, who no longer
preserved even the appearance of a decent respect
towards that unhappy princess, her spirits and health
began gradually to decline, and, after languishing some
months, she died at Medina del Campo on the 26th of
November, 1504. She was no less eminent for virtue
than for wisdom ; and, whether we consider her be-
havior as a queen, as a wife, or as a mother, she is
justly entitled to the high encomiums bestowed upon
her by the Spanish historians.4
A few weeks before her death, she made her last will,
and, being convinced of Joanna's incapacity to assume
the reins of government into her own hands, and
having no inclination to commit them to Philip, with
whose conduct she was extremely dissatisfied, she ap-
pointed Ferdinand regent or administrator of the affairs
of Castile until her grandson Charles should attain the
age of twenty. She bequeathed to Ferdinand likewise
4 P. Martyr. Ep.. 279.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH.
377
one-half of the revenues which should arise from the
Indies, together with the grand masterships of the three
military orders, — dignities which rendered the person
who possessed them almost independent, and which
Isabella had for that reason annexed to the crown.5
But before she signed a deed so favorable to Ferdinand
she obliged him to swear that he would not, by a second
marriage, or by any other means, endeavor to deprive
Joanna or her posterity of their right of succession to
any of his kingdoms.6
Immediately upon the queen's death, Ferdinand re-
signed the title of king of Castile, and issued orders
to proclaim Joanna and Philip the sovereigns of that
kingdom. But at the same time he assumed the charac-
ter of regent, in consequence of Isabella's testament ;
and not long after, he prevailed on the cortes of Castile
to acknowledge his right to that office. This, however,
he did not procure without difficulty, nor without dis-
covering such symptoms of alienation and disgust among
the Castilians as filled him with great uneasiness. The
union of Castile and Aragon for almost thirty years had
not so entirely extirpated the ancient and hereditary
enmity which subsisted between the natives of these
kingdoms that the Castilian pride could submit without
murmuring to the government of a king of Aragon.
Ferdinand's own character, with which the Castilians
were well acquainted, was far from rendering his au-
thority desirable. Suspicious, discerning, severe, and
parsimonious, he was accustomed to observe the most
s P. Martyr. Ep., 277. — Mariana, Hist., lib. 28, c. II. — Ferreras,
Hist, gener. d'Espagne, torn. viii. p. 263.
6 Mariana, Hist., lib. 28, c. 14.
32*
378
REIGN OF THE
minute actions of his subjects with a jealous attention,
and to reward their highest services with little liber-
ality ; and they were now deprived of Isabella, whose
gentle qualities, and partiality to her Castilian subjects,
often tempered his austerity or rendered it tolerable.
The maxims of his government were especially odious
to the grandees ; for that artful prince, sensible of the
dangerous privileges conferred upon them by the feudal
institutions, had endeavored to curb their exorbitant
power7 by extending the royal jurisdiction, by pro-
tecting their injured vassals, by increasing the immuni-
ties of cities, and by other measures equally prudent
From all these causes a formidable party among the
Castilians united against Ferdinand, and, though the
persons who composed it had not hitherto taken any
public step in opposition to him, he plainly saw that
upon the least encouragement from their new king they
would proceed to the most violent extremities.
There was no less agitation in the Netherlands upon
receiving the accounts of Isabella's death and of Fer-
dinand's having assumed the government of Castile.
Philip was not of a temper tamely to suffer himself to
be supplanted by the ambition of his father-in-law. If
Joanna's infirmities and the nonage of Charles rendered
them incapable of government, he, as a husband, was
the proper guardian of his wife, and, as a father, the
natural tutor of his son. Nor was it sufficient to oppose
to these just rights, and to the inclination of the people
of Castile, the authority of a testament the genuineness
of which was perhaps doubtful, and its contents to him
appeared certainly to be iniquitous. A keener edge
i Mariana, Hist., lib. 28, c. 12.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH. 379
was added to Philip's resentment, and new vigor in-
fused into his councils, by the arrival of Don John
Manuel. He was Ferdinand's ambassador at the im-
perial court, but upon the first notice of Isabella's death
repaired to Brussels, flattering himself that under a
young and liberal prince he might attain to power and
honors which he could never have expected in the
service of an old and frugal master. He had early
paid court to Philip, during his residence in Spain,
with such assiduity as entirely gained his confidence,
and, having been trained to business under Ferdinand,
could oppose his schemes with equal abilities, and with
arts not inferior to those for which that monarch was
distinguished.8
By the advice of Manuel, ambassadors were de-
spatched to require Ferdinand to retire into Aragon,
and to resign the government of Castile to those per-
sons whom Philip should intrust with it until his own
arrival in that kingdom. Such of the Castilian nobles
as had discovered any dissatisfaction with Ferdinand's
administration were encouraged by every method to
oppose it. At the same time a treaty was concluded
with Louis XII. , by which Philip flattered himself that
he had secured the friendship and assistance of that
monarch.
Meanwhile, Ferdinand employed all the arts of ad-
dress and policy in order to retain the power of which
he had got possession. By means of Conchillos, an
Aragonian gentleman, he entered into a private ne-
gotiation with Joanna, and prevailed on that weak
princess to confirm, by her authority, his right to the
8 Zurita, Anales de Aragon, torn. vi. p. 12.
380
KEIGN OF THE
regency. But this intrigue did not escape the pene-
trating eye of Don John Manuel : Joanna's letter of
consent was intercepted, Conchillos was thrown into a
dungeon, she herself confined to an apartment in the
palace, and all her Spanish domestics secluded from her
presence.9
The mortification which the discovery of this intrigue
occasioned to Ferdinand was much increased by his
observing the progress which Philip's emissaries made
in Castile. Some of the nobles retired to their castles ;
others to the towns in which they had influence ; they
formed themselves into confederacies and began to
assemble their vassals. Ferdinand's court was almost
totally deserted, — not a person of distinction but Xime-
nes, archbishop of Toledo, the duke of Alva, and the
marquis of Denia, remaining there ; while the houses
of Philip's ambassadors were daily crowded with noble-
men of the highest rank.
Exasperated at this universal defection, and morti-
fied, perhaps, with seeing all his schemes defeated by
a younger politician, Ferdinand resolved, in defiance
of the law of nature and of decency, to deprive his
daughter and her posterity of the crown of Castile,
rather than renounce the regency of that kingdom.
His plan for accomplishing this was no less bold than
the intention itself was wicked. He demanded in
marriage Joanna, the supposed daughter of Henry IV.,
on the belief of whose illegitimacy Isabella's right to
the crown of Castile was founded ; and by reviving the
claim of this princess, in opposition to which he him-
self had formerly led armies and fought battles, he
» P. Martyr. Ep., 387. — Zurita, Analcs, vi. 14.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH. 381
hoped once more to get possession of the throne of
that kingdom. But Emanuei, king of Portugal, in
whose dominions Joanna resided at that time, having
married one of Ferdinand's daughters by Isabella, re-
fused his consent to that unnatural match ; "and the
unhappy princess herself, having lost all relish for the
objects of ambition by being long immured in a con-
vent, discovered no less aversion to it.10
The resources, however, of Ferdinand's ambition
were not exhausted. Upon meeting with a repulse in
Portugal, he turned towards France, and sought in
marriage Germaine de Foix, a daughter of the viscount
of Narbonne, and of Mary, the sister of Louis XII.
The war which that monarch had carried on against
Ferdinand in Naples had been so unfortunate that he
listened with joy to a proposal which furnished him
with an honorable pretence for concluding peace ; and
though no prince was ever more remarkable than Ferdi-
nand for making all his passions bend to the maxims of
interest or become subservient to the purposes of am-
bition, yet so vehement was his resentment against his
son-in-law that the desire of gratifying it rendered
him regardless of every other consideration. In order
to be revenged of Philip by detaching Louis from his
interest, and in order to gain a chance of excluding
him from his hereditary throne of Aragon and the
dominions annexed to it, he was ready once more to
divide Spain into separate kingdoms, though the union
of these was the great glory of his reign and had been
the chief object of his ambition ; he consented to
10 Sandoval, Hist, of Civil Wars in Castile, Lond., 1655, p. 5. —
Zurita, Anales de Aragon, vi. 213.
3g2 REIGN OF THE
restore the Neapolitan nobles of the French faction
to their possessions and honors, and submitted to the
ridicule of marrying, in an advanced age, a princess
of eighteen."
The conclusion of this match, which deprived Philip
of his only ally and threatened him with the loss of so
many kingdoms, gave him a dreadful alarm, and con-
vinced Don John Manuel that there was now a necessity
of taking other measures with regard to the affairs of
Spain." He accordingly instructed the Flemish am-
bassadors in the court of Spain to testify the strong
desire which their master had of terminating all differ-
ences between him and Ferdinand in an amicable man-
ner, and his willingness to consent to any conditions
that would re-establish the friendship which ought to
subsist between a father and a son-in-law. Ferdinand,
though he had made and broken more treaties than any
prince of any age, was apt to confide so far in the sin-
cerity of other men, or to depend so much upon his
own address and their weakness, as to be always ex-
tremely fond of a negotiation. He listened with eager-
ness to the declarations, and soon concluded a treaty
at Salamanca, in which it was stipulated that the gov-
ernment of Castile should be carried on in the joint
names of Joanna, of Ferdinand, and of Philip, and
that the revenues of the crown, as well as the right of
conferring offices, should be shared between Ferdinand
and Philip by an equal division.13
Nothing, however, was farther from Philip's thoughts
11 P. Martyr. Ep.. 290, 292. — Mariana, lib. 28, c. 16. 17.
» P. Martyr. Ep.. 293.
'J Zurita, Anales de Aragon, vi. 19. — P. Martyr. Ep., 293, 294.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH. 383
than to observe this treaty. His sole intention in pro-
posing it was to amuse Ferdinand and to prevent him
from taking any measures for obstructing his voyage
into Spain. It had that effect. Ferdinand, sagacious
as he was, did not for some time suspect his design ;
and though, when he perceived it, he prevailed on the
king of France not only to remonstrate against the
archduke's journey, but to threaten hostilities if he
should undertake it, — though he solicited the duke of
Gueldres to attack his son-in-law's dominions in the
Low Countries, — Philip and his consort nevertheless
set sail with a numerous fleet and a good body of land-
forces. They were obliged by a violent tempest to
take shelter in England, where Henry VII., in com-
pliance with Ferdinand's solicitations, detained them
upwards of three months :14 at last they were permitted
to depart, and, after a more prosperous voyage, they
arrived in safety at Corunna in Galicia, nor durst Fer-
dinand attempt, as he once intended, to oppose their
landing by force of arms. [1506.]
The Castilian nobles, who had been obliged hitherto
to conceal or to dissemble their sentiments, now de-
clared openly in favor of Philip. From every corner
of the kingdom, persons of the highest rank, with
numerous retinues of their vassals, repaired to their
new sovereign. The treaty of Salamanca was univer-
sally condemned, and all agreed to exclude from the
government of Castile a prince who, by consenting to
disjoin Aragon and Naples from that crown, discovered
so little concern for its true interests. Ferdinand,
meanwhile, -abandoned by almost all the Castilians,
M Ferreras, Hist., viii. 285.
384 REIGN OF THE
disconcerted by their revolt, and uncertain whether he
should peaceably relinquish his power or take arms in
order to maintain it, earnestly solicited an interview with
his son-in-law, who, by the advice of Manuel, studiously
avoided it. Convinced at last, by seeing the number
and zeal of Philip's adherents daily increase, that it
was vain to think of resisting such a torrent, Ferdi-
nand consented, by treaty, to resign the regency of
Castile into the hands of Philip, to retire into his
hereditary dominions of Aragon, and to rest satisfied
with the masterships of the military orders, and that
share of the revenue of the Indies which Isabella had
bequeathed to him. Though an interview between the
princes was no longer necessary, it was agreed to on
both sides from motives of decency. Philip repaired
to the place appointed with a splendid retinue of Cas-
tilian nobles and a considerable body of armed men.
Ferdinand appeared without any pomp, attended by a
few followers mounted on mules, and unarmed. On
that occasion Don John Manuel had the pleasure of
displaying before the monarch whom he had deserted
the extensive influence which he had acquired over
his new master; while Ferdinand suffered, in presence
of his former subjects, the two most cruel mortifica-
tions which an artful and ambitious prince can feel, —
being at once overreached in conduct and stripped of
power.1*
Not long after, he retired into Aragon ; and, hoping
that some favorable accident would soon open the way
to his return into Castile, he took care to protest,
*S Zurita. Anales de Aragon, vi. 64. — Mariana, lib. a8, c. 19, 20. —
P. Martyr. Ep., 304, 305, etc.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH. 385
though with great secrecy, that the treaty concluded
with his son-in-law, being extorted by force, ought to
be deemed void of all obligation.16
Philip took possession of his new authority with a
youthful joy. The unhappy Joanna, from whom he
derived it, remained, during all these contests, under
the dominion of a deep melancholy ; she was seldom
allowed to appear in public ; her father, though he had
often desired it, was refused access to her ; and Philip's
chief object was to prevail on the cortes to declare her
incapable of government, that an undivided power
might be lodged in his hands until his son should attain
to full age. But such was the partial attachment of
the Castilians to their native princess that, though
Manuel had the address to gain some members of the
cortes assembled at Valladolid, and others were willing
to gratify their new sovereign in his first request, the
great body of the representatives refused their consent
to a declaration which they thought so injurious to the
blood of their monarchs.'7 They were unanimous,
however, in acknowledging Joanna and Philip queen
and king of Castile, and their son Charles prince of
Asturias.
This was almost the only memorable event during
Philip's administration. A fever put an end to his life
in the twenty-eighth year of his age, when he had not
enjoyed the regal dignity, which he had been so eager
to obtain, full three months.18
The whole royal authority in Castile ought, of course,
16 Zurita, Anales de Aragon, vi. 68. — Ferreras, Hist., viii. 290.
'? Zurita, Anales de Aragon, vi. 75.
18 Mariana, lib. 28, c. 23. [1506.]
Charles. — VOL. I. — R 33
386 REIGN OF THE
to have devolved upon Joanna. But the shock occa-
sioned by a disaster so unexpected as the death of her
husband completed the disorder of her understanding
and her incapacity for government. During all the
time of Philip's sickness, no entreaty could prevail on
her, though in the sixth month of her pregnancy, to
leave him for a moment. When he expired, however,
she did not shed one tear or utter a single groan. Her
grief was silent and settled. She continued to watch
the dead body with the same tenderness and attention
as if it had been alive," and, though at last she per-
mitted it to be buried, she soon removed it from the
tomb to her own apartment. There it was laid upon a
bed of state, in a splendid dress ; and, having heard
from some monk a legendary tale of a king who revived
after he had been dead fourteen years, she kept her
eyes almost constantly fixed on the body, waiting for
the happy moment of its return to life. Nor was this
capricious affection for her dead husband less tinctured
with jealousy than that which she had borne to him
when alive. She did not permit any of her female
attendants to approach the bed on which his corpse
was laid ; she would not suffer any woman who did
not belong to her family to enter the apartment ; and,
rather than grant that privilege to a midwife, though a
very aged one had been chosen on purpose, she bore
the princess Catharine without any other assistance
than that of her own domestics.90
A woman in such a state of mind was little capable
*9 P. Martyr. Ep.. 316.
* Mariana, Hist., lib. 39, c. 3, 5.— P. Martyr. Ep., 318, 334, 328,
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH. 387
of governing a great kingdom ; and Joanna, who made
it her sole employment to bewail the loss and to pray
for the soul of her husband, would have thought her
attention to public affairs an impious neglect of those
duties which she owed to him. But though she de-
clined assuming the administration herself, yet, by a
strange caprice of jealousy, she refused to commit it
to any other person ; and no entreaty of her subjects
could persuade her to name a regent, or even to sign
such papers as were necessary for the execution of jus-
tice and the security of the kingdom.
The death of Philip threw the Castilians into the
greatest perplexity. It was necessary to appoint a
regent, both on account of Joanna's frenzy and the
infancy of her son ; and as there was not among the
nobles any person so eminently distinguished, either
by superiority in rank or abilities, as to be called by
the public voice to that high office, all naturally turned
their eyes either towards Ferdinand or towards the
emperor Maximilian. The former claimed that dignity
as administrator for his daughter, and by virtue of the
testament of Isabella ; the latter thought himself the
legal guardian of his grandson, whom, on account of
his mother's infirmities, he already considered as king
of Castile. Such of the nobility as had lately been
most active in compelling Ferdinand to resign the
government of the kingdom trembled at the thoughts
of his being restored so soon to his former dignity.
They dreaded the return of a monarch not apt to for-
give, and who to those defects with which they were
already acquainted added that resentment which the
remembrance of their behavior, and reflection upon
388
REIGN OF THE
his own disgrace, must naturally have excited. Though
none of these objections lay against Maximilian, he
was a stranger to the laws and manners of Castile ; he
had not either troops or money to support his preten-
sions, nor could his claim be admitted without a public
declaration of Joanna's incapacity for government, an
indignity to which, notwithstanding the notoriety of
her distemper, the delicacy of the Castilians could not
bear the thoughts of subjecting her.
Don John Manuel, however, and a few of the nobles
who considered themselves most obnoxious to Ferdi-
nand's displeasure, declared for Maximilian, and offered
to support his claim with all their interest. Maximilian,
always enterprising and decisive in council, though
feeble and dilatory in execution, eagerly embraced the
offer. But a series of ineffectual negotiations was the
only consequence of this transaction. The emperor,
as usual, asserted his right in a high strain, promised a
great deal, and performed nothing."
A few days before the death of Philip, Ferdinand
had set out for Naples, that by his own presence he
might put an end with greater decency to the vice-
royalty of the Great Captain, whose important services
and cautious conduct did not screen him from the sus-
picions of his jealous master. Though an account of
his son-in-law's death reached him at Porto-fino, in the
territories of Genoa, he was so solicitous to discover
the secret intrigues which he supposed the Great/ Cap-
tain to have been carrying on, and to establish his own
authority on a firm foundation in the Neapolitan do-
minions by removing him from the supreme command
« Mariana, lib. 29. c. 7. — Zurita. Anales dc Aragon, vi. 93.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH. 389
there, that rather than discontinue his voyage he chose
to leave Castile in a state of anarchy, and even to risk
by this delay his obtaining possession of the govern-
ment of that kingdom."
Nothing but the great abilities and prudent conduct
of his adherents could have prevented the bad effects
of this absence. At the head of these was Ximenes,
archbishop of Toledo, who, though he had been raised
to that dignity by Isabella contrary to the inclination
of Ferdinand, and though he could have no expectation
of enjoying much power under the administration of a
master little disposed to distinguish him by extraordi-
nary marks of attention, was nevertheless so disinter-
ested as to prefer the welfare of his country before his
own grandeur, and to declare that Castile could never
be so happily governed as by a prince whom long
experience had rendered thoroughly acquainted with
its true interest. The zeal of Ximenes to bring over
his countrymen to this opinion induced him to lay
aside somewhat of his usual austerity and haughtiness.
He condescended on this occasion to court the disaf-
fected nobles, and employed address, as well as argu-
ments, to persuade them. Ferdinand seconded his
endeavors with great art ; and by concessions to some
of the grandees, by promises to others, and by letters
full of complaisance to all, he gained many of his most
violent opponents.23 Though many cabals were formed,
and some commotions were excited, yet when Ferdi-
nand, after having settled the affairs of Naples, arrived
in Castile, he entered upon the administration without
92 Zurita, Anales de Aragon, vi. 85.
*3 Ibid., vi. 87, 94, 109.
33*
39°
REIGN OF THE
opposition. The prudence with which he exercised his
authority in that kingdom equalled the good fortune by
which he had recovered it. By a moderate but steady
administration, free from partiality and from resent-
ment, he entirely reconciled the Castilians to his per-
son, and secured to them, during the remainder of his
life, as much domestic tranquillity as was consistent
with the genius of the feudal government, which still
subsisted among them in full vigor.*4
Nor was the preservation of tranquillity in his heredi-
tary kingdoms the only obligation which the Archduke
Charles owed to the wise regency of his grandfather.
It was his good fortune, during that period, to have
very important additions made to the dominions over
which he was to reign. On the coast of Barbary,
Oran, and other conquests of no small value, were
annexed to the crown of Castile by Cardinal Ximenes,
who, with a spirit very uncommon in a monk, led in
person a numerous army against the Moors of that
country, and, with a generosity and magnificence still
more singular, defrayed the whole expense of the expe-
dition out of his own revenues. ** In Europe, Ferdinand,
under pretences no less frivolous than unjust, as well as
by artifices the most shameful and treacherous, expelled
John d'Albret, the lawful sovereign, from the throne of
Navarre, and, seizing that kingdom, extended the limits
of the Spanish monarchy from the Pyrenees on the one
hand to the frontiers of Portugal on the other.86
It was not, however, the desire of aggrandizing the
archduke which influenced Ferdinand in this or in any
** Mariana, lib. 29. c. 10. n Ibid., lib. 29. c. 18.
* Ibid., lib. 30, c. ii, 12, 18, 24.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH.
39'
other of his actions. He was more apt to consider that
young prince as a rival who might one day wrest out of
his hands the government of Castile, than as a grandson
for whose interest he was intrusted with the adminis-
tration. This jealousy soon begot aversion, and even
hatred, the symptoms of which he was at no pains to
conceal. Hence proceeded his immoderate joy when
his young queen was delivered of a son, whose life
would have deprived Charles of the crowns of Aragon,
Naples, Sicily, and Sardinia ; and upon the untimely
death of that prince he discovered, for the same reason,
an excessive solicitude to have other children. This
impatience hastened, in all probability, the accession
of Charles to the crown of Spain. Ferdinand, in
order to procure a blessing of which, from his advanced
age and the intemperance of his youth, he could have
little prospect, had recourse to his physicians, and by
their prescription took one of those potions which are
supposed to add vigor to the constitution, though they
more frequently prove fatal to it. This was its effect
on a frame so feeble and exhausted as that of Ferdi-
nand ; for though he survived a violent disorder which
it at first occasioned, it brought on such an habitual
languor and dejection of mind as rendered him averse
from any serious attention to public affairs, and fond
of frivolous amusements, on which he had not hitherto
bestowed much time.27 Though he now despaired of
having any son of his own, his jealousy of the archduke
did not abate, nor could he help viewing him with that
aversion which princes often bear to their successors. In
»7 Zurita, Anales de Aragon, vi. 347. — P. Martyr. Ep., 531. — Ar-
gensola, Anales de Aragon, lib. i. p. 4.
392
REIGN OF THE
order to gratify this unnatural passion, he made a will
appointing Prince Ferdinand, who, having been born
and educated in Spain, was much beloved by the Span-
iards, to be regent of all his kingdoms until the arrival
of the archduke his brother ; and by the same deed he
settled upon him the grand-mastership of the three
military orders. The former of these grants might
have put it in the power of the young prince to have
disputed the throne with his brother ; the latter would,
in any event, have rendered him almost independent
of him.
Ferdinand retained to the last that jealous love of
power which was so remarkable through his whole life.
Unwilling, even at the approach of death, to admit a
thought of relinquishing any portion of his authority,
he removed continually from place to place, in order
to fly from his distemper, or to forget it. Though his
strength declined every day, none of his attendants
durst mention his condition ; nor would he admit his
father-confessor, who thought such silence criminal
and unchristian, into his presence. At last the danger
became so imminent that it could be no longer con-
cealed. Ferdinand received the intimation with a
decent fortitude ; and, touched, perhaps, with com-
punction at the injustice which he had done his
grandson, or influenced by the honest remonstrances
of Carvajal, Zapara, and Vargas, his most ancient and
faithful councillors, who represented to him that by
investing Prince Ferdinand with the regency he would
infallibly entail a civil war on the two brothers, and by
bestowing on him the grand-mastership of the military
orders would strip the crown of its noblest ornament
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH.
393
and chief strength, he consented to alter his will with
respect to both these particulars. By a new deed he
left Charles the sole heir of all his dominions, and
allotted to Prince Ferdinand, instead of that throne
of which he thought himself almost secure, an incon-
siderable establishment of fifty thousand ducats a
year.38 He died a few hours after signing this will,
on the 23d day of January, 1516.
Charles, to whom such a noble inheritance descended
by his death, was near the full age of sixteen. He had
hitherto resided in the Low Countries, his paternal
dominions. Margaret of Austria, his aunt, and Mar-
garet of York, the sister of Edward IV. of England
and widow of Charles the Bold, two princesses of great
virtue and abilities, had the care of forming his early
youth. Upon the death of his father the Flemings
committed the government of the Low Countries to
his grandfather, the emperor Maximilian, with the
name rather than the authority of regent.29 Maximil-
ian made choice of William de Croy, lord of Chievres,
to superintend the education of the young prince his
grandson.30 That nobleman possessed in an eminent
28 Mariana, Hist., lib. 30, c. ult. — Zurita, Anales de Aragon, vi.
401. — P. Martyr. Ep., 565, 566. — Argensola, Anales de Aragon, lib.
i. p. ii.
29 Pontius Heuterus, Rerum Austriacarum Lib. XV., Lov., 1649,
lib. vii. c. 2, p. 155.
3° The French historians, upon the authority of. M. de Bellay,
Memoires, p. u, have unanimously asserted that, Philip by his last
will having appointed the king of France to have the direction of his
son's education, Louis XII., with a disinterestedness suitable to the
confidence reposed in him, named Chievres for that office. Even the
President Henault has adopted this opinion. (Abrege Chron., A.D.
1507.) Varillas, in his usual manner, pretends to have seen Philip's
R*
394
REIGN OF THE
degree the talents which fitted him for such an im-
portant office, and discharged the duties of it with
great fidelity. Under Chievres, Adrian of Utrecht
acted as preceptor. This preferment, which opened
his way to the highest dignities an ecclesiastic can
testament. (Pract. de 1' Education des Princes, p. 16.) But the
Spanish, German, and Flemish historians concur in contradicting this
assertion of the French authors. It appears from Heuterus, a con-
temporary Flemish historian of great authority, that Louis XII., by
consenting to the marriage of Germaine de Foix with Ferdinand, had
lost much of that confidence which Philip once placed in him ; that
his disgust was increased by the French king's giving in marriage to
the count of Angouleme his eldest daughter, whom he had formerly
betrothed to Charles (Heuter., Rer. Austr., lib. v. p. 151) ; that the
French, a short time before Philip's death, had violated the peace
which subsisted between them and the Flemings, and Philip had
complained of this injury and was ready to resent it. (Heuter., ibid.)
All these circumstances render it improbable that Philip, who made
his will a few days before he died (Heuter., p. 152), should commit
the education of his son to Louis XII. In confirmation of these
plausible conjectures positive testimony can be produced. It appears
from Heuterus that Philip, when he set out for Spain, had intrusted
Chievres both with the care of his son's education and with the gov-
ernment of his dominions in the Low Countries (Heuter., lib. vii. p.
153) ; tnat an attempt was made, soon after Philip's death, to have
the emperor Maximilian appointed regent during the minority of his
grandson, but, this being opposed, Chievres seems to have continued
to discharge both the offices which Philip had committed to him
(Heuter., ibid., 153, 155) ; that in thq beginning of the year 1508 the
Flemings invited Maximilian to accept of the regency, to which he
consented, and appointed his daughter Margaret, together with a
council of Flemings, to exercise the supreme authority when he him-
self should at any time be absent. He likewise named Chievres as
governor, and Adrian of Utrecht as preceptor to his son. (Heuter.,
ibid., 155. 157.) What Heuterus relates with respect to this matter is
confirmed by Moringus, in Vita Adriani apud Analecta Casp. Bur-
manni de Adriano, cap. 10; by Barlandus, Chronic. Brabant., ibid.,
p. 25 ; and by Haraeus, Annul. Brab., vol. ii. p. 520, etc.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH.
395
attain, he owed not to his birth, for that was extremely
mean, nor to his interest, for he was a stranger to the
arts of a court, but to the opinion which his country-
men entertained of his learning. He was indeed no
inconsiderable proficient in those frivolous sciences
which during several centuries assumed the name of
philosophy, and had published a commentary, which
was highly esteemed, upon The Book of Sentences, a
famous treatise of Petrus Lombardus, considered at
that time as the standard system of metaphysical
theology. But, whatever admiration these procured
him in an illiterate age, it was soon found that a man
accustomed to the retirement of a college, unacquainted
with the world, and without any tincture of taste or
elegance, was by no means qualified for rendering
science agreeable to a young prince. Charles, accord-
ingly, discovered an early aversion to learning, and an
excessive fondness for those violent and martial exer-
cises to excel in which was the chief pride, and almost
the only study, of persons of rank in that age.
Chievres encouraged this taste, either from a desire
of gaining his pupil by indulgence, or from too slight
an opinion of the advantages of literary accomplish-
ments.31 He instructed him, however, with great care
in the arts of government ; he made him study the
history not only of his own kingdoms, but of those
with which they were connected ; he accustomed him,
from the time of his assuming the government of
Flanders, in the year. 1515, to attend to business; he
persuaded him to peruse all papers relating to public
3« Jovii Vita Adrian!, p. 91. — Struvii Corpus Hist. Germ., ii. 967.—
P. Heuter., Rer. Austr., lib. vii. c. 3, p. 157.
396 REIGN OF THE
affairs, to be present at the deliberations of his privy-
councillors, and to propose to them himself those
matters concerning which he required their opinion. *
From such an education Charles contracted habits of
gravity and recollection which scarcely suited his time
of life. The first openings of his genius did not indi-
cate that superiority which its maturer age displayed.33
He did not discover in his youth the impetuosity of
spirit which commonly ushers in an active and enter-
prising manhood. Nor did his early obsequiousness to
Chievres and his other favorites promise that capacious
and decisive judgment which afterwards directed the
affairs of one-half of Europe. But his subjects, dazzled
with the external accomplishments of a graceful figure
and manly address, and viewing his character with
that partiality which is always shown to princes during
their youth, entertained sanguine hopes of his adding
lustre to those crowns which descended to him by the
death of Ferdinand.
The kingdoms of Spain, as is evident from the view
which I have given of their political constitution, were
at that time in a situation which required an adminis-
tration no less vigorous than prudent. The feudal in-
stitutions, which had been introduced into all its differ-
ent provinces by the Goths, the Suevi, and the Vandals,
subsisted in great force. The nobles, who were power-
ful and warlike, had long possessed all the exorbitant
privileges which these institutions vested in their order.
The cities in Spain were more numerous and more con-
s' M^moires de Bellay, 8vo. Par., 1573, p. n.— P. Heuter., lib. viiL
c. I. p. 184.
33 P. Martyr. Ep.. 569. 655.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH. 397
siderable than the genius of feudal government, natu-
rally unfavorable to commerce and to regular police,
seemed to admit. The personal rights and political
influence which the inhabitants of these cities had
acquired were extensive. The royal prerogative, cir-
cumscribed by the privileges of the nobility and by the
pretensions of the people, was confined within very
narrow limits. Under such a form of government, the
principles of discord were many, the bond of union
was extremely feeble, and Spain felt not only all the
inconveniences occasioned by the defects in the feudal
system, but was exposed to disorders arising from the
peculiarities in its own constitution.
During the long administration of Ferdinand, no
internal commotion, it is true, had arisen in Spain.
His superior abilities had enabled him to restrain the
turbulence of the nobles and to moderate the jealousy
of the commons. By the wisdom of his domestic
government, by the sagacity with which he conducted
his foreign operations, and by the high opinion that
his subjects entertained of both, he had preserved
among them a degree of tranquillity greater than was
natural to a constitution in which the seeds of discord
and disorder were so copiously mingled. But by the
death of Ferdinand these restraints were at once with-
drawn ; and faction and discontent, from being long
repressed, were ready to break out with fiercer ani-
mosity.
In order to prevent these evils, Ferdinand had in his
last will taken a most prudent precaution, by appoint-
ing Cardinal Ximenes, archbishop of Toledo, to be
sole regent of Castile until the arrival of his grandson
Charles.— VOL. I. 34
398 REIGN OF THE
in Spain. The singular character of this man, and the
extraordinary qualities which marked him out for that
office at such a juncture, merit a particular description.
He was descended of an honorable, not of a wealthy,
family ; and, the circumstances of his parents, as well
as his own inclinations, having determined him to enter
into the Church, he early obtained benefices of great
value and which placed him in the way of the highest
preferment. All these, however, he renounced at once,
and, after undergoing a very severe novitiate, assumed
the habit of St. Francis in a monastery of Observantine
friars, one of the most rigid orders in the Romish
Church. There he soon became eminent for his un-
common austerity of manners, and for those excesses
of superstitious devotion which are the proper charac-
teristics of the monastic life. But, notwithstanding
these extravagances, to which weak and enthusiastic
minds alone are usually prone, his understanding, natu-
rally penetrating and decisive, retained its full vigor,
and acquired him such great authority in his own order
as raised him to be their provincial. His reputation
for sanctity soon procured him the office of father-con-
fessor to Queen Isabella, which he accepted with the
utmost reluctance. He preserved in a court the same
austerity of manners which had distinguished him in
the cloister. He continued to make all his journeys
on foot ; he subsisted only upon alms ; his acts of mor-
tification were as severe as ever, and his penances as
rigorous. Isabella, pleased with her choice, conferred
on him, not long after, the archbishopric of Toledo,
which, next to the papacy, is the richest dignity in the
Church of Rome. This honor he declined with the
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH.
399
firmness which nothing but the authoritative injunction
of the pope was able to overcome. Nor did this height
of promotion change his manners. Though obliged
to display in public that magnificence which became
his station, he himself retained his monastic severity.
Under his pontifical robes he constantly wore the coarse
frock of St. Francis, the rents in which he used to patch
with his own hands. He at no time used linen, but
was commonly clad in hair-cloth. He slept always in
his habit, most frequently on the ground, or on boards,
rarely in a bed. He did not taste any of the delicacies
which appeared at his table, but satisfied himself with
that simple diet which the rule of his order prescribed.34
Notwithstanding these peculiarities, so opposite to the
manners of the world, he possessed a thorough knowl-
edge of its affairs ; and no sooner was he called by his
station, and by the high opinion which Ferdinand and
Isabella entertained of him, to take a principal share in
the administration, than he displayed talents for busi-
ness which rendered the fame of his wisdom equal to
that of his sanctity. His political conduct, remarkable
for the boldness and originality of all his plans, flowed
from his real character and partook both of its virtues
and its defects. His extensive genius suggested to him
schemes vast and magnificent. Conscious of the in-
tegrity of his intentions, he pursued these with unre-
mitting and undaunted firmness. Accustomed from
his early youth to mortify his own passions, he showed
little indulgence toward those of other men. Taught
by his system of religion to check even his most inno-
34 Histoire de 1' Administration du Cardinal Ximen^s, par Mich.
Baudier, 410, 1635, p. 13.
400
KEIGN OF THE
cent desires, he was the enemy of every thing to which
he could affix the name of elegance or pleasure. Though
free from any suspicion of cruelty, he discovered in all
his commerce with the world a severe inflexibility of
mind, and austerity of character, peculiar to the mon-
astic profession, and which can hardly be conceived in
a country where that is unknown.
Such was the man to whom Ferdinand committed
the regency of Castile ; and though Ximenes was then
near fourscore, and perfectly acquainted with the labor
and difficulty of the office, his natural intrepidity of
mind, and zeal for the public good, prompted him to
accept of it without hesitation. Adrian of Utrecht,
who had been sent into Spain a few months before the
death of Ferdinand, produced full powers from the
archduke to assume the name and authority of regent
upon the demise of his grandfather ; but such was the
aversion of the Spaniards to the government of a
stranger, and so unequal the abilities of the two com-
petitors, that Adrian's claim would at once have been
rejected if Ximenes himself, from complaisance to his
new master, had not consented to acknowledge him as
regent and to carry on the government in conjunction
with him. By this, however, Adrian acquired a dig-
nity merely nominal. Ximenes, though he treated him
with great decency, and even respect, retained the
whole power in his own hands.35
The cardinal's first care was to observe the motions
of the infant Don Ferdinand, who, having been flat-
tered with so near a prospect of supreme power, bore
the disappointment of his hopes with greater imjxi-
35 Gomctius de Reb. gcst. Ximcnii, p. 150, fol.. Compl., 1569.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH.
401
tience than a prince at a period of life so early could
have been supposed to feel. Ximenes, under pretence
of providing more effectually for his safety, removed
him from Guadalupe, the place in which he had been
educated, to Madrid, where he fixed the residence of
the court. There he was under the cardinal's own
eye, and his conduct, with that of his domestics, was
watched with the utmost attention.35
The first intelligence he received from the Low
Countries gave greater disquiet to the cardinal, and
convinced him how difficult a task it would be to
conduct the affairs of an inexperienced prince under
the influence of councillors unacquainted with the
laws and manners of Spain. No sooner did the
account of Ferdinand's death reach Brussels than
Charles, by the advice of his Flemish ministers, re-
solved to assume the title of king. By the laws of
Spain, the sole right of the crowns both of Castile and
of Aragon belonged to Joanna ; and, though her infirmi-
ties disqualified her from governing, this incapacity
had not been declared by any public act of the cortes
in either kingdom ; so that the Spaniards considered
this resolution not only as a direct violation of their
privileges, but as an unnatural usurpation in a son on
the prerogatives of a mother, towards whom, in her
present unhappy situation, he manifested a less delicate
regard than her subjects had always expressed.37 The
Flemish court, however, having prevailed both on the
pope and on the emperor to address letters to Charles
3s Minianae Contin. Marianae, lib. i.e. 2. — Baudier, Hist, de Xime-
n&s, p. 118.
37 P. Martyr. Ep., 568.
34*
402
REIGN OF THE
as king of Castile, — the former of whom it was pre-
tended had a right as head of the Church, and the
latter as head of the empire, to confer this title, —
instructions were sent to Ximenes to prevail on the
Spaniards to acknowledge it. Ximenes, though he had
earnestly remonstrated against the measure, as no less
unpopular than unnecessary, resolved to exert all his
authority and credit in carrying it into execution, and
immediately assembled such of the nobles as were then
at court. What Charles required was laid before them ;
and when, instead of complying with his demands,
they began to murmur against such an unprecedented
encroachment on their privileges, and to talk high of
the rights of Joanna and their oath of allegiance to
her, Ximenes hastily interposed, and, with that firm
and decisive tone which was natural to him, told them
that they were not called now to deliberate, but to
obey ; that their sovereign did not apply to them for
advice, but expected submission; and "this day,"
added he, "Charles shall be proclaimed king of Cas-
tile in Madrid ; and the rest of the cities, I doubt not,
will follow its example." On the spot he gave orders
for that purpose ; * and, notwithstanding the novelty
of the practice, and the secret discontents of many
persons of distinction, Charles's title was universally
recognized. In Aragon, where the privileges of the
subject were more extensive, and the abilities as well
as authority of the archbishop of Saragossa, whom
Ferdinand had appointed regent, were far inferior to
those of Ximenes, the same obsequiousness to the will
of Charles did not appear, nor was he acknowledged
* Gomctius. p. 152, etc.— Baudicr, Hist, de Ximcnis. p. lax.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH.
403
there under any other character but that of prince,
until his arrival in Spain.39
Ximenes, though possessed only of delegated power,
which, from his advanced age, he could not expect to
enjoy long, assumed, together with the character of
regent, all the ideas natural to a monarch, and adopted
schemes for extending the regal authority, which he
pursued with as much intrepidity and ardor as if he
himself had been to reap the advantages resulting from
their success. The exorbitant privileges of the Cas-
tilian nobles circumscribed the prerogative of the
prince within very narrow limits. These privileges the
cardinal considered as so many unjust extortions from
the crown, and determined to abridge them. Dan-
gerous as the attempt was, there were circumstances
in his situation which promised him greater success
than any king of Castile could have expected. His
strict and prudent economy of his archiepiscopal rev-
enues furnished him with more ready money than
the crown could at any time command; the sanctity
of his manners, his charity and munificence, ren-
dered him the idol of the people; and the nobles
themselves, not suspecting any danger from him, did
not observe his motions with the same jealous atten-
tion as they would have watched those of one of their
monarchs.
Immediately upon his accession to the regency,
several of the nobles-, fancying that the reins of gov-
ernment would, of consequence, be somewhat relaxed,
began to assemble their vassals, and to prosecute, by
force of arms, private quarrels and pretensions which
39 P. Martyr. Ep., 572.
404 REIGN OF THE
the authority of Ferdinand had obliged them to dis-
semble or to relinquish. But Ximenes, who had taken
into pay a good body of troops, opposed and defeated
all their designs with unexpected vigor and facility;
and, though he did not treat the authors of these
disorders with any cruelty, he forced them to acts of
submission extremely mortifying to the haughty spirit
of Castilian grandees.
But while the cardinal's attacks were confined to
individuals, and every act of rigor was justified by
the appearance of necessity, founded on the forms of
justice and tempered with a mixture of lenity, there
was scarcely room for jealousy or complaint. It was
not so with his next measure, which, by striking at a
privilege essential to the nobility, gave a general alarm
to the whole order. By the feudal constitution, the
military power was lodged in the hands of the nobles,
and men of an inferior condition were called into the
field only as their vassals and to follow their banners.
A king with scanty revenues and a limited prerogative
depended on these potent barons in all his operations.
It was with their forces he attacked his enemies, and
with them he defended his kingdom. While at the
head of troops attached warmly to their own im-
mediate lords and accustomed to obey no other com-
mands, his authority was precarious and his efforts
feeble. From this state Ximenes resolved to deliver
the crown ; and as mercenary standing armies were
unknown under the feudal government, and would
have been odious to a martial and generous people,
he issued a proclamation commanding every city in
Castile to enroll a certain number of its burgesses, in
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH. 405
order that they might be trained to the use of arms on
Sundays and holidays ; he engaged to provide officers
to command them at the public expense, and, as an
encouragement to the private men, promised them an
exemption from all taxes and impositions. The fre-
quent incursions of the Moors, from Africa, and the
necessity of having some force always ready to oppose
them, furnished a plausible pretence for this innova-
tion. The object really in view was to secure the king
a body of troops independent of his barons and which
might serve to counterbalance their power.40 The
nobles were not slow in perceiving what was his inten-
tion, and saw how effectually the scheme which he had
adopted would accomplish his end ; but as a measure
which had the pious appearance of resisting the pro-
gress of the infidels was extremely popular, and as any
opposition to it arising from their order alone would
have been imputed wholly to interested motives, they
endeavored to excite the cities themselves to refuse
obedience and to inveigh against the proclamation as
inconsistent with their charters and privileges. In
consequence of their instigation, Burgos, Valladolid,
and several other cities rose in open mutiny. Some
of the grandees declared themselves their protectors.
Violent remonstrances were presented to the king.
His Flemish councillors were alarmed. Ximenes alone
continued firm and undaunted ; and, partly by terror,
partly by entreaty, by force in some instances, and by
forbearance in others, he prevailed on all the refractory
cities to comply.41 During his administration he con-
4° Minianae Continuatio Marianae, fol., Hag., 1733, p. 3.
4i P. Martyr. Ep., 556, etc. — Gometius, p. 160, etc.
406 REIGN OF THE
tinued to execute his plan with vigor ; but soon after
his death it was entirely dropped.
His success in this scheme for reducing the exorbi-
tant power of the nobility encouraged him to attempt
a diminution of their possessions, which were no less
exorbitant. During thf contests and disorders insepa-
rable from the feudal government, the nobles, ever
attentive to their own interest, and taking advantage
of the weakness or distress of their monarchs, had
seized some parts of the royal demesnes, obtained
grants of others, and, having gradually wrested almost
the whole out of the hands of the prince, had annexed
them to their own estates. The titles by which most
of the grandees held these lands were extremely de-
fective : it was from some successful usurpation which
the crown had been too feeble to dispute, that many
derived their only claim to possession. An inquiry
carried back to the origin of these encroachments,
which were almost coeval with the feudal system, was
impracticable ; and, as it would have stripped every
nobleman in Spain of great part of his lands, it must
have excited a general revolt. Such a step was too
bold even for the enterprising spirit of Ximenes. He
confined himself to the reign of Ferdinand, and, begin-
ning with the pensions granted during that time, refused
to make any farther payment, because all right to them
expired with his life. He then called to account such
as had acquired crown lands under the administration
of that monarch, and at once resumed whatever he had
alienated. The effects of these revocations extended to
many persons of high rank ; for though Ferdinand was
a prince of little generosity, yet he and Isabella having
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH.
407
been raised to the throne of Castile by a powerful fac-
tion of the nobles, they were obliged to reward the zeal
of their adherents with great liberality, and the royal
demesnes were their only fund for that purpose. The
addition made to the revenue of the crown by these
revocations, together with his own frugal economy,
enabled Ximenes not only to discharge all the debts
which Ferdinand had left, and to remit considerable
sums to Flanders, but to pay the officers of his new
militia, and to establish magazines not only more
numerous, but better furnished with artillery, arms,
and warlike stores, than Spain had ever possessed in
any former age.42 The prudent and disinterested ap-
plication of these sums was a full apology to the people
for the rigor with which they were exacted.
The nobles, alarmed at these repeated attacks, began
to think of precautions for the safety of their order.
Many cabals were formed, loud complaints were uttered,
and desperate resolutions taken ; but before they pro-
ceeded to extremities they appointed some of their
number to examine the powers in consequence of which
the cardinal exercised acts of such high authority. The
admiral of Castile, the Duke de Infantado, and the
Conde de Benevento, grandees of the first rank, were
intrusted with this commission. Ximenes received them
with cold civility, and, in answer to their demand,
produced the testament of Ferdinand, by which he was
appointed regent, together with the ratification of that
deed by Charles. To both these they objected ; and
he endeavored to establish their validity. As the con-
versation grew warm, he led them insensibly towards a
v Flechier, Vie de Ximenes, ii. 600.
4o8 REIGN OF THE
balcony, from which they had a view of a large body
of troops under arms, and of a formidable train of
artillery. "Behold," says he, pointing to these, and
raising his voice, " the powers which I have received
from his Catholic majesty. With these I govern Castile ;
and with these I will govern it until the king, your
master and mine, takes possession of his kingdom."43
A declaration so bold and haughty silenced them and
astonished their associates. To take arms against a
man aware of his danger and prepared for his defence
was what despair alone would dictate. All thoughts
of a general confederacy against the cardinal's admin-
istration were laid aside ; and, except for some slight
commotions excited by the private resentment of par-
ticular noblemen, the tranquillity of Castile suffered no
interruption.
It was not only from the opposition of the Spanish
nobility that obstacles arose to the execution cf the
cardinal's schemes ; he had a constant struggle to
maintain with the Flemish ministers, who, presuming
upon their favor with the young king, aimed at direct-
ing the affairs of Spain, as well as those of their own
country. Jealous of the great abilities and independent
spirit of Ximenes, they considered him rather as a rival
who might circumscribe their power than as a minis-
ter who by his prudence and vigor was adding to the
grandeur and authority of their master. Every com-
plaint against his administration was listened to with
pleasure by the courtiers in the Ix>w Countries. Un-
necessary obstructions were thrown by their means in
the way of all his measures ; and though they could not
« Fiddlier, ii. 551.— Ferrera». Hist., viii. 433.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH.
409
either with decency or safety deprive him of the office
of regent, they endeavored to lessen his authority
by dividing it. They soon discovered that Adrian
of Utrecht, already joined with him in office, had
neither genius nor spirit sufficient to give the least
check to his proceedings ; and therefore Charles, by
their advice, added to the commission of regency La
Chau, a Flemish gentleman, and afterwards Amerstorf,
a nobleman of Holland, the former distinguished for
his address, the latter for his firmness. Ximenes,
though no stranger to the malevolent intention of the
Flemish courtiers, received these new associates with
all the external marks of distinction due to the office
with which they were invested ; but when they came
to enter upon business he abated nothing of that air of
superiority with which he had treated Adrian, and still
retained the sole direction of affairs. The Spaniards,
more averse, perhaps, than any other people to the
government of strangers, approved of all his efforts to
preserve his own authority. Even the nobles, influenced
by this national passion and forgetting their jealousies
and discontents, chose rather to see the supreme power
in the hands of one of their countrymen whom they
feared than in those of foreigners, whom they hated.
Ximenes, though engaged in such great schemes of
domestic policy and embarrassed by the artifices and
intrigues of the Flemish ministers, had the burden of
two foreign wars to support. The one was in Navarre,
which was invaded by its unfortunate monarch, John
d'Albret. The death of Ferdinand, the absence of
Charles, the discord and disaffection which reigned
among the Spanish nobles, seemed to present him with
Charles. — VOL. I.— S 35
4io REIGN OF THE
a favorable opportunity of recovering his dominions.
The cardinal's vigilance, however, defeated a measure
so well concerted. As he foresaw the danger to which
that kingdom might be exposed, one of his first acts
of administration was to order thither a considerable
body of troops. While the king was employed with
one part of his army in the siege of St. Jean Pied en
Port, Villalva, an officer of great experience and cour-
age, attacked the other by surprise and cut it to pieces.
The king instantly retreated with precipitation, and an
end was put to the war.44 But as Navarre was filled at
that time with towns and castles slightly fortified and
weakly garrisoned, which, being unable to resist an
enemy, served only to furnish him with places of re-
treat, Ximenes, always bold and decisive in his meas-
ures, ordered every one of these to be dismantled, except
Pampeluna, the fortifications of which he proposed to
render very strong. To this uncommon precaution
Spain owes the possession of Navarre. The French,
since that period, have often entered and have as often
overrun the open country. While they were exposed
to all the inconveniences attending an invading army,
the Spaniards have easily drawn troops from the neigh-
boring provinces to oppose them ; and the French,
having no place of any strength to which they could
retire, have been obliged repeatedly to abandon their
conquest with as much rapidity as they gained it.
The other war, which he carried on in Africa against
the famous adventurer Horuc Barbarossa, who from a
private corsair raised himself, by his singular valor and
address, to be king of Algiers and Tunis, was far from
44 P. Martyr. Ep., 570.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH. 41 1
being equally successful. The ill conduct of the Span-
ish general and the rash valor of his troops presented
Barbarossa with an easy victory. Many perished in the
battle, more in the retreat, and the remainder returned
into Spain covered with infamy. The magnanimity,
however, with which the cardinal bore this disgrace,
the only one he experienced during his administration,
added new lustre to his character.45 Great composure
of temper under a disappointment was not expected
from a man so remarkable for the eagerness and impa-
tience with which he urged on the execution of all his
schemes.
This disaster was soon forgotten ; while the conduct
of the Flemish court proved the cause of constant un-
easiness not only to the cardinal but to the whole Span-
ish nation. All the great qualities of Chievres, the prime
minister and favorite of the young king, were sullied
with an ignoble and sordid avarice. The accession of
his master to the crown of Spain opened a new and
copious source for the gratification of this passion.
During the time of Charles's residence in Flanders the
whole tribe of pretenders to offices or to favor resorted
thither. They soon discovered that without the patron-
age of Chievres it was vain to hope for preferment ;
nor did they want sagacity to find out the proper method
of securing his protection. Great sums of money were
drawn out of Spain. Every thing was venal and dis-
posed of to the highest bidder. After the example of
Chievres, the inferior Flemish ministers engaged in this
traffic, which became as general and avowed as it
was infamous.46 The Spaniards were filled with rage
45 Gometius, lib. vi. p. 179. & Miniana, Contin., lib. i. c. 2.
412
REIGN OF THE
when they beheld offices of great importance to the
welfare of their country set to sale by strangers, uncon-
cerned for its honor or its happiness. Ximenes, dis-
interested in his whole administration, and a stranger,
from his native grandeur of mind, to the passion of
avarice, inveighed with the utmost boldness against
the venality of the Flemings. He represented to the
king, in strong terms, the murmurs and indignation
which their behavior excited among a free and high-
spirited people, and besought him to set out without
loss of time for Spain, that by his presence he might
dissipate the clouds which were gathering all over the
kingdom.47
Charles was fully sensible that he had delayed too
long to take possession of his dominions in Spain.
Powerful obstacles, however, stood in his way and de-
tained him in the Low Countries. The war which the
League of Cambray had kindled in Italy still subsisted ;
though during its course the armies of all the parties
engaged in it had changed their destination and their
objects. France was now in alliance with Venice,
which it had at first combined to destroy. Maximilian
and Ferdinand had for some years carried on hostilities
against France, their original ally, to the valor of
whose troops the confederacy had been indebted in a
great measure for its success. Together with his king-
doms, Ferdinand transmitted this war to his grandson ;
and there was reason to expect that Maximilian, always
fond of new enterprises, would persuade the young
monarch to enter into it with ardor. But the Flem-
ings, who had long possessed an extensive commerce,
«7 P. Martyr. Ep., 576.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH.
413
which during the League of Cambray had grown to a
great height upon the ruins of the Venetian trade,
dreaded a rupture with France; and Chievres, saga-
cious to discern the true interest of his country, and
not warped on this occasion by his love of wealth,
warmly declared for maintaining peace with the French
nation. Francis I., destitute of allies, and solicitous
to secure his late conquests in Italy by a treaty, listened
with joy to the first overtures of accommodation.
Chievres himself conducted the negotiation in the
name of Charles. Gouffier appeared as plenipotentiary
for Francis. Each of them had presided over the edu-
cation of the prince whom he represented. They had
both adopted the same pacific system, and were equally
persuaded that the union of the two monarchs was the
happiest event for themselves, as well as for their king-
doms. In such hands the negotiation did not languish.
A few days after opening their conferences at Noyon,
they concluded a treaty of confederacy and mutual de-
fence between the two monarchs, the chief articles in
which were that Francis should give in marriage to
Charles his eldest daughter, the princess Louise, an
infant of a year old, and, as her dowry, should make
over to him all his claims and pretensions upon the
kingdom of Naples ; that, in consideration of Charles's
being already in possession of Naples, he should, until
the accomplishment of the marriage, pay a hundred
thousand crowns a year to the French king, and the
half of that sum annually as long as the princess had
no children ; that when Charles shall arrive in Spain
the heirs of the king of Navarre may represent to him
their right to that kingdom, and if, after examining
35*
414
REIGN OF THE
their claim, he does not give them satisfaction, Francis
shall be at liberty to assist them with all his forces.48
This alliance not only united Charles and Francis, but
obliged Maximilian, who was unable alone to cope with
the French and Venetians, to enter into a treaty with
those powers, which put a final period to the bloody
and tedious war that the League of Cambray had occa-
sioned. Europe enjoyed a few years of universal tran-
quillity, and was indebted for that blessing to two
princes whose rivalship and ambition kept it in per-
petual discord and agitation during the remainder of
their reigns.
By the treaty of Noyon, Charles secured a safe pas-
sage into Spain. It was not, however, the interest of
his Flemish ministers that he should visit that kingdom
soon. While he resided in Flanders, the revenues of
the Spanish crown were spent there, and they en-
grossed, without any competitors, all the effects of
their monarch's generosity ; their country became the
seat of government, and all favors were dispensed by
them. Of all these advantages they ran the risk of
seeing themselves deprived from the moment that their
sovereign entered Spain. The Spaniards would natu-
rally assume the direction of their own affairs; the
Low Countries would be considered only as a province
of that mighty monarchy ; and they who now dis-
tributed the favors of the prince to others must then
be content to receive them from the hands of strangers.
But what Chievres chiefly wished to avoid was an inter-
view between the king and Ximenes. On the one
hand, the wisdom, the integrity, and the magnanimity
4« Leonard, Rccueil des Trait&, torn, ii: p. 69.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH.
415
of that prelate gave him a wonderful ascendant over
the minds of men ; and it was extremely probable that
these great qualities, added to the reverence due to his
age and office, would command the respect of a young
prince who, capable of noble and generous sentiments
himself, would, in proportion to his admiration of the
cardinal's virtues, lessen his deference towards persons
of another character. Or, on the other hand, if Charles
should allow his Flemish favorites to retain all the in-
fluence over his councils which they at present pos-
sessed, it was easy to foresee that the cardinal would
remonstrate loudly against such an indignity to the
Spanish nation, and vindicate the rights of his country
with the same intrepidity and success with which he
had asserted the prerogatives of the crown. For these
reasons, all his Flemish councillors combined to retard
his departure ; and Charles, unsuspicious, from want
of experience, and fond of his native country, suffered
himself to be unnecessarily detained in the Netherlands
a whole year after signing the treaty of Noyon.
The repeated entreaties of Ximenes, the advice of
his grandfather Maximilian, and the impatient mur-
murs of his Spanish subjects, prevailed on him at last
to embark. He was attended not only by Chievres,
his prime minister, but by a numerous and splendid
train of the Flemish nobles, fond of beholding the
grandeur or of sharing in the bounty of their prince.
After a dangerous voyage, he landed at Villa Viciosa,
in the province of Asturias, and was received with such
loud acclamations of joy as a new monarch, whose
arrival was so ardently desired, had reason to expect.
The Spanish nobility resorted to their sovereign from
4i 6 REIGN OF THE
all parts of the kingdom, and displayed a magnificence
which the Flemings were unable to emulate.49
Ximenes, who considered the presence of the king as
the greatest blessing to his dominions, was advancing
towards the coast as fast as the infirm state of his
health would permit, in order to receive him. During
his regency, and notwithstanding his extreme old age,
he had abated in no degree the rigor or frequency of
his mortifications ; and to these he added such labo-
rious assiduity in business as would have worn out the
most youthful and vigorous constitution. Every day
he employed several hours in devotion ; he celebrated
mass in person ; he even allotted some space for study.
Notwithstanding these occupations, he regularly at-
tended the council ; he received and read all papers
presented to him ; he dictated letters and instructions,
and took under his inspection all business, civil, eccle-
siastical, or military. Every moment of his time was
filled up with some serious employment. The only
amusement in which he indulged himself, by way of
relaxation after business, was to canvass, with a few
friars and other divines, some intricate article in scho-
lastic theology. Wasted by such a course of life, the
infirmities of age daily grew upon him. On his jour-
ney, a violent disorder seized him at Bos Equillos,
attended with uncommon symptoms, which his fol-
lowers considered as the effect of poison,50 but could
not agree whether the crime ought to be imputed to
the hatred of the Spanish nobles or to the malice of
the Flemish courtiers. This accident obliging him to
« P. Martyr. Ep.. 599. 601.
»> Miniana, Con tin., lib. i. c. 3.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH.
417
stop short, he wrote to Charles, and with his usual
boldness advised him to dismiss 'all the strangers in his
train, whose numbers and credit gave offence already
to the Spaniards and would ere long alienate the affec-
tions of the whole people. At the same time, he
earnestly desired to have an interview with the king,
that he might inform him of the state of the nation
and the temper of his subjects. To prevent this, not
only the Flemings but the Spanish grandees employed
all their address, and industriously kept Charles at a
distance from Aranda, the place to which the cardinal
had removed. Through their suggestions, every meas-
ure that he recommended was rejected, the utmost care
was taken to make him feel, and to point out to the
whole nation, that his power was on the decline ; even
in things purely trivial, such a choice was always made
as was deemed most disagreeable to him. Ximenes did
not bear this treatment with his usual fortitude of spirit.
Conscious of his own integrity and merit, he expected
a more grateful return from a prince to whom he deliv-
ered a kingdom more flourishing than it had been in
any former age, together with authority more extensive
and better established than the most illustrious of his
ancestors had ever possessed. He could not therefore,
on many occasions, refrain from giving vent to his
indignation and complaints. He lamented the fate of
his country, and foretold the calamities which it would
suffer from the insolence, the rapaciousness, and igno-
rance of strangers. While his mind was agitated by
these passions, he received a letter from the king, in
which, after a few cold and formal expressions of
regard, he was allowed to retire to his diocese, that,
s*
4i 8 REIGN OF THE
after a life of such continued labor, he might end his
days in tranquillity. ' This message proved fatal to
Ximenes. His haughty mind, it is probable, could
not survive disgrace ; perhaps his generous heart could
not bear the prospect of the misfortunes ready to fall
on his country. Whichsoever of these opinions we
embrace, certain it is that he expired a few hours after
reading the letter.51 The variety, the grandeur, and
the success of his schemes, during a regency of only
twenty months, leave it doubtful whether his sagacity
in council, his prudence in conduct, or his boldness in
execution deserve the greatest praise. His reputation
is still high in Spain, not only for wisdom, but for
sanctity ; and he is the only prime minister mentioned
in history whom his contemporaries reverenced as a
saint,52 and to whom the people under his government
ascribed the power of working miracles.
Soon after the death of Ximenes, Charles made his
public entry, with great pomp, into Valladolid, whither
he had summoned the cortes of Castile. Though he
assumed on all occasions the name of king, that title
had never been acknowledged in the cortes. The
Spaniards considering Joanna as possessed of the sole
right to the crown, and no example of a son's having
enjoyed the title of king during the life of his parents
occurring in their history, the cortes discovered all that
scrupulous respect for ancient forms, and that aversion
to innovation, which are conspicuous in popular assem-
blies. The presence, however, of their prince, the
$» Marsollier, Vie de Ximenes. p. 447.— Gometius, lib. vii. p. 206.
etc. — Baudier. Hist, de Ximenes, ii. p. 208.
v Flechier, Vie dc Ximenes. ii. 746.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH.
419
address, the artifices, and the threats of his ministers,
prevailed on them at last to proclaim him king, in con-
junction with his mother, whose name they appointed
to be placed before that of her son in all public acts.
But when they made this concession they declared
that if at any future period Joanna should recover the
exercise of reason, the whole authority should return
into her hands. At the same time, they voted a free
gift of six hundred thousand ducats, to be paid in
three years, a sum more considerable than had ever
been granted to any former monarch.53
Notwithstanding this obsequiousness of the cortes to
the will of the king, the most violent symptoms of
dissatisfaction with his government began to break out
in the kingdom. Chievres had acquired over the mind
of the young monarch the ascendant not only of a tutor,
but of a parent. Charles seemed to have no sentiments
but those which his minister inspired, and scarcely
uttered a word but what he put into his mouth. He
was constantly surrounded by Flemings ; no person got
access to him without their permission ; nor was any
admitted to audience but in their presence. As he spoke
the Spanish language very imperfectly, his answers were
always extremely short, and often delivered with hesi-
tation. From all these circumstances, many of the
Spaniards were led to believe that he was a prince of a
slow and narrow genius. Some pretended to discover
a strong resemblance between him and his mother,
and began to whisper that his capacity for government
would never be far superior to hers ; and though they
S3 Miniana, Contin., lib. i. c. 3. — P. Martyr. Ep., 608. — Sandoval,
p. 12.
420
REIGN OF THE
who had the best opportunity of judging concerning
his character maintained that, notwithstanding such
unpromising appearances, he possessed a large fund of
knowledge as well as of sagacity,54 yet all agreed in
condemning his partiality towards the Flemings, and
his attachment to his favorites, as unreasonable and
immoderate. Unfortunately for Charles, these favor-
ites were unworthy of his confidence. To amass
wealth seems to have been their only aim ; and, as
they had reason to fear that either their master's good
sense or the indignation of the Spaniards might soon
abridge their power, they hastened to improve the
present opportunity, and their avarice was the more
rapacious because they expected their authority to be
of no long duration. All honors, offices, and benefices
were either engrossed by the Flemings or publicly sold
by them. Chievres, his wife, and Sauvage, whom
Charles, on the death of Ximenes, had imprudently
raised to be chancellor of Castile, vied with each
other in all the refinements of extortion and venality.
Not only the Spanish historians, who, from resentment,
may be suspected of exaggeration, but Peter Martyr
Angleria, an Italian, who resided at that time in the
court of Spain and who was under no temptation to
deceive the persons to whom his letters are addressed,
give a description which is almost incredible of the
insatiable and shameless covetousness of the Flemings.
According to Angleria's calculation, which he asserts
to be extremely moderate, they remitted into the Low
Countries, in the space of ten months, no less a sum
than a million and one hundred thousand ducats. The
54 Sandoval, p. 31. — P. Martyr. Ep.. 655.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH.
421
nomination of William de Croy, Chievres's nephew, a
young man not of canonical age, to the archbishopric
of Toledo, exasperated the Spaniards more than all
these exactions. They considered the elevation of a
stranger to the head of their Church and to the richest
benefice in the kingdom not only as an injury, but as
an insult to the whole nation ; both clergy and laity,
the former from interest, the latter from indignation,
joined in exclaiming against it.55
Charles, leaving Castile thus disgusted with his
administration, set out for Saragossa, the capital of
Aragon, that he might be present in the cortes of that
kingdom. On his way thither he took leave of his
brother Ferdinand, whom he sent into Germany on the
pretence of visiting their grandfather, Maximilian, in
his old age. To this prudent precaution Charles owed
the preservation of his Spanish dominions. During
the violent commotions which arose there soon after
this period, the Spaniards would infallibly have offered
the crown to a prince who was the darling of the whole
nation ; nor did Ferdinand want ambition, or coun-
sellors, that might have prompted him to accept of
the offer. *
The Aragonese had not hitherto acknowledged
Charles as king, nor would they allow the cortes to be
assembled in his name, but in that of the justiza, to
whom during an interregnum this privilege belonged.57
The opposition Charles had to struggle with in the
55 Sandoval, pp. 28-31. — P. Martyr. Ep., 608, 611, 613, 614, 622,
623, 639. — Miniana Contin., lib. i. c. 3, p. 8.
s6 P. Martyr. Ep., 619. — Ferreras, viii. 460.
57 P. Martyr. Ep., 605.
Charles.— VOL. I. 36
422
REIGN OF THE
cortes of Aragon was more violent and obstinate than
that which he had overcome in Castile: after long
delays, however, and with much difficulty, he persuaded
the members to confer on him the title of king, in con-
junction with his mother. At the same time he bound
himself, by that solemn oath which the Aragonese ex-
acted of their kings, never to violate any of their rights
or liberties. When a donative was demanded, the
members were still more intractable; many months
elapsed before they would agree to grant Charles two
hundred thousand ducats, and that sum they appropri-
ated so strictly for paying debts of the crown, which
had long been forgotten, that a very small part of it
came into the king's hands. What had happened in
Castile taught them caution, and determined them
rather to satisfy the claims of their fellow-citizens,
how obsolete soever, than to furnish strangers the
means of enriching themselves with the spoils of their
country.58
During these proceedings of the cortes, ambassadors
arrived at Saragossa from Francis I. and the young
king of Navarre, demanding the restitution of that
kingdom in terms of the treaty of Noyon. But neither
Charles, nor the Castilian nobles whom he consulted
on this occasion, discovered any inclination to part
with this acquisition. A conference held soon after at
Montpellier, in order to bring this matter to an amica-
ble issue, was altogether fruitless : while the French
urged the injustice of the usurpation, the Spaniards
were attentive only to its importance.59
s» P. Martyr. Ep., 615-634.
» Ibid., 605, 633, 640.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH.
423
From Aragon, Charles proceeded to Catalonia, where
he wasted much time, encountered more difficulties,
and gained less money. The Flemings were now be-
come so odious in every province of Spain by their
exactions that the desire of mortifying them and of
disappointing their avarice augmented the jealousy
with which a free people usually conduct their de-
liberations.
The Castilians, who had felt most sensibly the weight
and rigor of the oppressive schemes carried on by the
Flemings, resolved no longer to submit with a lameness
fatal to themselves, and which rendered them the ob-
jects of scorn to their fellow-subjects in the other king-
doms of which the Spanish monarchy was composed.
Segovia, Toledo, Seville, and several other cities of the
first rank, entered into a confederacy for the defence
of their rights and privileges ; and, notwithstanding
the silence of the nobility, who on this occasion dis-
covered neither the public spirit nor the resolution
which became their order, the confederates laid before
the king a full view of the state of the kingdom and
of the maladministration of his favorites. The prefer-
ment of strangers, the exportation of the current coin,
the increase of taxes, were the grievances of which
they chiefly complained ; and of these they demanded
redress with that boldness which is natural to a free
people. These remonstrances, presented at first at
Saragossa, and renewed afterwards at Barcelona, Charles
treated with great neglect. The confederacy, however,
of these cities, at this juncture, was the beginning of
that famous union among the commons of Castile,
which not long after threw the kingdom into such vio-
424
REIGN OF THE
lent convulsions as shook the throne and almost over-
turned the constitution.60
Soon after Charles's arrival at Barcelona he received
the account of an event which interested him much
more than the murmurs of the Castilians or the scruples
of the cortes of Catalonia. This was the death of the
emperor Maximilian, — an occurrence of small impor-
tance in itself, for he was a prince conspicuous neither
for his virtues, nor his power, nor his abilities, but
rendered by its consequences more memorable than
any that had happened during several ages. It broke
that profound and universal peace which then reigned
in the Christian world ; it excited a rivalship between
two princes, which threw all Europe into agitation, and
kindled wars more general and of longer duration than
had hitherto been known in modern times.
The revolutions occasioned by the expedition of the
French king, Charles VIII., into Italy, had inspired
the European princes with new ideas concerning the
importance of the imperial dignity. The claims of
the empire upon some of the Italian states were numer-
ous ; its jurisdiction over others was extensive ; and
though the former had been almost abandoned, and the
latter seldom exercised, under princes of slender abili-
ties and of little influence, it was obvious that in the
hands of an emperor possessed of power or of genius
they might be employed as engines for stretching his
dominion over the greater part of that country. Even
Maximilian, feeble and unsteady as his conduct always
was, had availed himself of the infinite pretensions
of the empire, and had reaped advantage from every
*° P. Martyr. Ep.. 630. — Ferreras, viii. 464.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH. 425
war and every negotiation in Italy during his reign.
These considerations, added to the dignity of the
station, confessedly the first among Christian princes,
and to the rights inherent in the office, which, if ex-
erted with vigor, were far from being inconsiderable,
rendered the imperial crown more than ever an object
of ambition.
Not long before his death, Maximilian had discovered
great solicitude to preserve this dignity in the Austrian
family, and to procure the king of Spain to be chosen
his successor. But he himself having never been
crowned by the pope, a ceremony deemed essential in
that age, was considered only as emperor elect. Though
historians have not attended to that distinction, neither
the Italian nor German chancery bestowed any other
title upon him than that of King of the Romans ; and,
no example occurring in history of any person's being
chosen a successor to a king of the Romans, the Ger-
mans, always tenacious of their forms, and unwilling
to confer upon Charles an office for which their con-
stitution knew no name, obstinately refused to gratify
Maximilian in that point.61
By his death this difficulty was at once removed, and
Charles openly aspired to that dignity which his grand-
father had attempted, without success, to secure for
him. At the same time, Francis L, a powerful rival,
entered the lists against him ; and the attention of all
Europe was fixed upon this competition, no less illus-
trious from the high rank of the candidates than from
61 Guicciardini, lib. xiii. p. 15. — Hist, gener. d'Allemagne, par P.
Barre, torn. viii. part i, p. 1087. — P. Heuter., Rer. Austr., lib. vii. c.
17, p. 179, lib. viii. c. 2, p. 183.
36*
426 REIGN OF THE
the importance of the prize for which they contended.
Each of them urged his pretensions with sanguine
expectations and with no unpromising prospect of
success. Charles considered the imperial crown as
belonging to him of right, from its long continuance
in the Austrian line ; he knew that none of the German
princes possessed power or influence enough to Appear
as his antagonist ; he flattered himself that no consid-
eration would induce the natives of Germany to exalt
any foreign prince to a dignity which during so many
ages had been deemed peculiar to their own nation,
and least of all that they would confer this honor upon
Francis I., the sovereign of a people whose genius and
laws and manners differed so widely from those of the
Germans that it was hardly possible to establish any
cordial union between them ; he trusted not a little to
the effect of Maximilian's negotiations, which, though
they did not attain their ends, had prepared the minds
of the Germans for his elevation to the imperial throne ;
but what he relied on as a chief recommendation was
the fortunate situation of his hereditary dominions in
Germany, which served as a natural barrier to the em-
pire against the encroachments of the Turkish power.
The conquests, the abilities, and the ambition of Sultan
Selim II. had spread over Europe, at that time, a gen-
eral and well-founded alarm. By his victories over the
Mamelukes, and the extirpation of that gallant body of
men, he had not only added Egypt and Syria to his
empire, but had secured to it such a degree of internal
tranquillity that he was ready to turn against Christen-
dom the whole force of his arms, which nothing hitherto
had been able to resist. The most effectual expedient
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH.
427
for stopping the progress of this torrent seemed to be
the election of an emperor possessed of extensive terri-
tories in that country where its first impression would
be felt, and who, besides, could combat this formida-
ble enemy with all the forces of a powerful monarchy
and with all the wealth furnished by the mines of the
New World or the commerce of the Low Countries.
These were the arguments by which Charles publicly
supported his claim; and to men of integrity and
reflection they appeared to be not only plausible, but
convincing. He did not, however, trust the success
of his cause to these alone. Great sums of money were
remitted from Spain ; all the refinements and artifices
of negotiation were employed ; and a considerable body
of troops, kept on foot at that time by the states of the
circle of Suabia, was secretly taken into his pay. The
venal were gained by presents ; the objections of the
more scrupulous were answered or eluded ; some feeble
princes were threatened and overawed.63
On the other hand, Francis supported his claim with
equal eagerness and no less confidence of its being
well founded. His emissaries contended that it was
now high time to convince the princes of the house of
Austria that the imperial crown was elective, and not
hereditary ; that other persons might aspire to an honor
which their arrogance had accustomed them to regard
as the property of their family ; that it required a sov-
ereign of mature judgment and of approved abilities to
hold the reins of government in a country where such
unknown opinions concerning religion had been pub-
61 Guicc., lib. xiii. p. 159. — Sleidan, History of the Reformation,
14. — Struvii, Corp. Hist. German., ii. 971, not. 20.
428 KEIGN OF THE
lished as had thrown the minds of men into an un-
common agitation, which threatened the most violent
effects ; that a young prince, without experience, and
who had hitherto given no specimens of his genius for
command, was no fit match for Selim, a monarch grown
old in the art of war and in course of victory ; whereas
a king who in his early youth had triumphed over the
valor and discipline of the Swiss, till then reckoned
invincible, would be an antagonist not unworthy the
conqueror of the East ; that the fire and impetuosity
of the French cavalry, added to the discipline and
stability of the German infantry, would form an army
so irresistible that instead of waiting the approach of
the Ottoman forces it might carry hostilities into the
heart of their dominions; that the election of Charles
would be inconsistent with a fundamental constitution,
by which the person who holds the crown of Naples is
excluded from aspiring to the imperial dignity ; that
his elevation to that honor would soon kindle a war in
Italy, on account of his pretensions to the duchy of
Milan, the effects of which could not fail of reaching
the empire and might prove fatal to it.63 But while
the French ambassadors enlarged upon these and other
topics of the same kind in all the courts of Germany,
Francis, sensible of the prejudices entertained against
him as a foreigner, unacquainted with the German lan-
guage or manners, endeavored to overcome these, and
to gain the favor of the princes, by immense gifts and
by infinite promises. As the expeditious method of
transmitting money, and the decent mode of conveying
*J Guicc., lib. xiii. p. 160. — Sleid.. p. 16. — Geor. Sabini de Elect.
Car. V. — Historia apud Scardii Script. Rer. German., vol. ii. p. 4.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH.
429
a bribe, by bills of exchange, were then little known,
the French ambassadors travelled with a train of horses
loaded with treasure, an equipage not very honorable
for that prince by whom they were employed, and in-
famous for those to whom they were sent.6*
The other European princes could not remain indif-
ferent spectators of a contest the decision of which
so nearly affected every one of them. Their common
interest ought naturally to have formed a general com-
bination, in order to disappoint both competitors and
to prevent either of them from obtaining such a
pre-eminence in power and dignity as might prove
dangerous to the liberties of Europe. But the ideas
with respect to a proper distribution and balance of
power were so lately introduced into the system of
European policy that they were not hitherto objects
of sufficient attention. The passions of some princes,
the want of foresight in others, and the fear of giving
offence to the candidates, hindered such a salutary
union of the powers of Europe, and rendered them
either totally negligent of the public safety or kept
them from exerting themselves with vigor in its behalf.
The Swiss cantons, though they dreaded the eleva-
tion of either of the contending monarchs, and though
they wished to have seen some prince whose dominions
were less extensive, and whose power was more moder-
ate, seated on the imperial throne, were prompted,
however, by their hatred of the French nation, to give
an open preference to the pretensions of Charles, while
they used their utmost influence to frustrate those of
Francis.65
*4 Memoires du Marechal de Fleuranges, p. 296.
*s Sabinus, p. 6.
430 REIGN OF THE
The Venetians easily discerned that it was the in-
terest of their republic to have both the rivals set
aside ; but their jealousy of the house of Austria, whose
ambition and neighborhood had been fatal to their
grandeur, would not permit them to act up to their
own ideas, and led them hastily to give the sanction
of their approbation to the claim of the French king.
It was equally the interest, and more in the power,
of Henry VIII. of England to prevent either Francis
or Charles from acquiring a dignity which would raise
them so far above other monarchs. But, though Henry
often boasted that he held the balance of Europe in his
hands, he had neither the steady attention, the accurate
discernment, nor the dispassionate temper which that
delicate function required. On this occasion it morti-
fied his vanity so much, to think that he had not en-
tered early into that noble competition which reflected
such honor upon the two antagonists, that he took a
resolution of sending an ambassador into Germany
and of declaring himself a candidate for the imperial
throne. The ambassador, though loaded with caresses
by the German princes and the pope's nuncio, in-
formed his master that he could hope for no success
in a claim which he had been so late in preferring.
Henry, imputing' his disappointment to that circum-
stance alone, and soothed with this ostentatious display
of his own importance, seems to have taken no further
part in the matter, either by contributing to thwart
both his rivals or to promote one of them.66
Leo X., a pontiff no less renowned for his political
abilities than for his love of the arts, was the only
** Mt-inoires de Flcurangcs, 314. — Herbert, History of Henry VIII.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH. 431
prince of the age who observed the motions of the two
contending monarchs with a prudent attention or who
discovered a proper solicitude for the public safety.
The imperial and papal jurisdiction interfered in so
many instances, the complaints of usurpation were so
numerous on both sides, and the territories of the
Church owed their security so little to their own force
and so much to the weakness of the powers around
them, that nothing was so formidable to the court of
Rome as an emperor with extensive dominions or of
enterprising genius. Leo trembled at the prospect of
beholding the imperial crown placed on the head of
the king of Spain and of Naples and the master of the
New World ; nor was he less afraid of seeing a king
of France, who was duke of Milan and lord of Genoa,
exalted to that dignity. He foretold that the election
of either of them would be fatal to the independence
of the holy see, to the peace of Italy, and perhaps to
the liberties of Europe. But to oppose them with any
prospect of success required address and caution in
proportion to the greatness of their power and their
opportunities of taking revenge. Leo was defective in
neither. He secretly exhorted the German princes to
place one of their own number on the imperial throne,
which many of them were capable of filling with
honor. He put them in mind of the constitution by
which the kings of Naples were forever excluded from
that dignity.67 He warmly exhorted the French king
to persist in his claim, not from any desire that he
should gain his end, but, as he foresaw that the Ger-
mans would be more disposed to favor the king of
*? Goldasti Constitutiones Imperiales, Francof., 1763, vol. i. p. 439.
432
A'EIGN OF THE
Spain, he hoped that Francis himself, when he discov-
ered his own chance of success to be desperate, would
be stimulated by resentment and the spirit of rivalship
to concur with all his interest in raising some third
person to the head of the empire; or, on the other
hand, if Francis should make an unexpected progress,
he did not doubt but that Charles would be induced,
by similar motives, to act the same part ; and thus, by
a prudent attention, the mutual jealousy of the" two
rivals might be so dexterously managed as to disappoint
both. But this scheme, the only one which a prince
in Leo's situation could adopt, though concerted with
great wisdom, was executed with little discretion. The
French ambassadors in Germany fed their master with
vain hopes ; the pope's nuncio, being gained by them,
altogether forgot the instructions which he had re-
ceived ; and Francis persevered so long and with such
obstinacy in urging his own pretensions as rendered
all I^o's measures abortive.68
Such were the hopes of the candidates, and the
views of the different princes, when the diet was
opened according to form at Frankfort. The right of
choosing an emperor had long been vested in seven
great princes, distinguished by the name of electors,
the origin of whose office, as well as the nature and
extent of their powers, have already been explained.
These were, at that time, Albert of Brandenburg,
archbishop of Mentz ; Herman Count de Wied, arch-
bishop of Cologne; Richard de Greiffenklau, arch-
bishop of Triers ; Lewis, king of Bohemia ; I^ewis,
count palatine of the Rhine; Frederic, duke of Sax-
68 Guicciar., lib. xiii. 161.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH.
433
ony ; and Joachim I., marquis of Brandenburg. Not-
withstanding the artful arguments produced by the
ambassadors of the two kings in favor of their respect-
ive masters, and in spite of all their solicitations,
intrigues, and presents, the electors did not forget that
maxim on which the liberty of the German constitu-
tion was thought to be founded. Among the members
of the Germanic body, which is a great republic com-
posed of states almost independent, the first principle
of patriotism is to depress and limit the power of the
emperor; and of this idea, so natural under such a
form of government, a German politician seldom loses
sight. No prince of considerable power or extensive
dominions had for some ages been raised to the im-
perial throne. To this prudent precaution many of
the great families in Germany owed the splendor and
independence which they had acquired during that
period. To elect either of the contending monarchs
would have been a gross violation of that salutary
maxim, would have given to the empire a master in-
stead of a head, and would have reduced themselves
from the rank of being almost his equals to the condi-
tion of his subjects.
Full of these ideas, all the electors turned their eyes
towards Frederic, duke of Saxony, a prince of such
eminent virtue and abilities as to be distinguished by
the name of the sage, and with one voice they offered
him the imperial crown. He was not dazzled with
that object, which monarchs so far superior to him in
power courted with such eagerness; and, after de-
liberating upon the matter a short time, he rejected
it with a magnanimity and disinterestedness no less
Charles. — VOL. I. — T 37
434
REIGN OF THE
singular than admirable. "Nothing," he observed,
"could be more impolitic than an obstinate adherence
to a maxim which, though sound and just in many
cases, was not applicable to all. In times of tran-
quillity," said he, "we wish for an emperor who has
not power to invade our liberties; times of danger
demand one who is able to secure our safety. The
Turkish armies, led by a gallant and victorious mon-
arch, are now assembling. They are ready to pour in
upon Germany with a violence unknown in former
ages. New conjunctures call for new expedients. The
imperial sceptre must be committed to some hand
more powerful than mine or that of any other German
prince. We possess neither dominions, nor revenues,
nor authority, which enable us to encounter such a
formidable enemy. Recourse must be had in this
exigency to one of the rival monarchs. Each of them
can bring into the field forces sufficient for our de-
fence. But as the king of Spain is of German extrac-
tion, as he is a member and prince of the empire by
the territories which descend to him from his grand-
father, as his dominions stretch along that frontier
which lies most exposed to the enemy, his claim is
preferable, in my opinion, to that of a stranger to
our language, to our blood, and to our country ; and
therefore I give my vote to confer on him the imperial
crown."
This opinion, dictated by such uncommon gener-
osity and supported by arguments so plausible, made a
deep impression on the electors. The king of Spain's
ambassadors, sensible of the important service which
Frederic had done their master, sent him a consider-
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH.
435
able sum of money, as the first token of that prince's
gratitude. But he who had greatness of mind to refuse
a crown disdained to receive a bribe ; and, upon their
entreating that at least he would permit them to dis-
tribute part of that sum among his attendants, he
replied that he could not prevent them from accepting
what should be offered, but whoever took a single
florin should be dismissed next morning from his
service.69
No prince in Germany could now aspire to a dignity
which Frederic had declined, for reasons applicable to
them all. It remained to make a choice between the
two great competitors. But besides the prejudice in
Charles's favor arising from his birth, as well as the
situation of his German dominions, he owed not a
little to the abilities of the Cardinal de Gurk, and the
zeal of Erard de la Mark, bishop of Liege, two of his
ambassadors, who had conducted their negotiations
*9 P. Daniel, an historian of considerable name, seems to call in
question the truth of this account of Frederic's behavior in refusing
the imperial crown, because it is not mentioned by Georgius Sabinus
in his History of the Election and Coronation of Charles V., torn. iii.
p. 63. But no great stress ought to be laid on an omission in a super-
ficial author, whose treatise, though dignified with the name of History,
contains only such an account of the ceremonial of Charles's election
as is usually published in Germany on like occasions. (Scard. Rer.
Germ. Script., vol. ii. p. i.) The testimony of Erasmus, lib. xiii. epist.
4, and that of Sleidan, p. 18, are express. Seckendorf, in his Com-
mentarius Historicus et Apologeticus de Lutheranismo, p. 121, has
examined this fact with his usual industry, and has established its
truth by the most undoubted evidence. To these testimonies which
he has collected, I may add the decisive one of Cardinal Cajetan, the
pope's legate at Frankfort, in his letter, July 5th, 1519. Epistres des
Princes, &c., recueillies par Ruscelli, traduictes par Belforest, Par.,
1572, p. 60.
436 REIGN OF THE
with more pmdence and address than those intnisted
by the French king. The former, who had long been
the minister and favorite of Maximilian, was well ac-
quainted with the art of managing the Germans ; and
the latter, having been disappointed of a cardinal's hat
by Francis, employed all the malicious ingenuity with
which the desire for revenge inspires an ambitious
mind, in thwarting the measures of that monarch.
The Spanish party among the electors daily gained
ground ; and even the pope's nuncio, being convinced
that it was vain to make any further opposition, endeav-
ored to acquire some merit with the future emperor, by
offering voluntarily, in the name of his master, a dis-
pensation to hold the imperial crown in conjunction
with that of Naples.70
On the 28th of June, five months and ten days after
the death of Maximilian, this important contest, which
had held all Europe in suspense, was decided. Six of
the electors had already declared for the king of Spain ;
and the archbishop of Triers, the only firm adherent to
the French interest, having at last joined his brethren,
Charles was, by the unanimous voice of the electoral
college, raised to the imperial throne.71
But though the electors consented, from various
motives, to promote Charles to that high station, they
discovered at the same time great jealousy of his ex-
traordinary power, and endeavored, with the utmost
solicitude, to provide against his encroaching on the
privileges of the Germanic body. It had long been
7° Frehcri Rer. German. Scriptores, vol. iii. 173, cur. Struvii. Argent.,
1717.— Giannone, Hist, of Naples, ii. 498.
7« Jac. Aug. Thuan., Hist, sui Temporis, edit. Bulkley. lib. i. c. 9.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH.
437
the custom to demand of every new emperor a con-
firmation of these privileges, and to require a promise
that he never would violate them in any instance.
While princes who were formidable neither from extent
of territory nor of genius possessed the imperial throne,
a general and verbal engagement to this purpose was
deemed sufficient security. But, under an emperor so
powerful as Charles, other precautions seemed neces-
sary. A capitulation, or claim of right, was formed, in
which the privileges and immunities of the electors, of
the princes of the empire, of the cities, and of every other
member of the Germanic body, are enumerated. This
capitulation was immediately signed by Charles's am-
bassadors in the name of their master, and he himself,
at his coronation, confirmed it in the most solemn
manner. Since that period, the electors have continued
to prescribe the same conditions to all his successors ;
and the capitulation, or mutual contract between the
emperor and his subjects, is considered in Germany as
a strong barrier against the progress of the imperial
power, and as the great charter of their liberties, to
which they often appeal.72
The important intelligence of his election was con-
veyed in nine days from Frankfort to Barcelona, where
Charles was still detained by the obstinacy of the Cata-
lonian cortes, which had not hitherto brought to an
issue any of the affairs which came before it. He re-
ceived the account with the joy natural to a young and
aspiring mind on an accession of power and dignity
which raised him so far above the other princes of
72 Pfeffel, Abrege de 1'Histoire du Droit publique d'Allemagne, 590.
— Limnei Capitulat. Imp. — Epistres des Princes par Ruscelli, p. 60.
37*
438 REIGN OF THE
Europe. Then it was that those vast prospects which
allured him during his whole administration began to
open, and from this era we may date the formation,
and are able to trace the gradual progress, of a grand
system of enterprising ambition, which renders the
history of his reign so worthy of attention.
A trivial circumstance first discovered the effects of
this great elevation on the mind of Charles. In all the
public writs which he now issued as king of Spain, he
assumed the title of majesty, and required it from his
subjects as a mark of their respect. Before that time,
all the monarchs of Europe were satisfied with the
appellation of highness or grace ; but the vanity of
other courts soon led them to imitate the example of
the Spanish. The epithet of majesty is no longer a
mark of pre-eminence. The most inconsiderable mon-
archs in Europe enjoy it, and the arrogance of the
greater potentates has invented no higher denomina-
tions.73
The Spaniards were far from viewing the promotion
of their king to the imperial throne with the same
satisfaction which he himself felt. To be deprived of
the presence of their sovereign, and to be subjected to
the government of a viceroy and his council, a species
of administration often oppressive and always disagree-
able, were the immediate and necessary consequences
of this new dignity. To see the blood of their coun-
trymen shed in quarrels wherein the nation had no
concern, to behold its treasures wasted in supporting
the splendor of a foreign title, to be plunged in the
73 MinianiE Contin. Mar., p. 13. — Ferrcras. viii. 475. — Memoires
Hist, de la Houssaic, torn. i. p. 53. etc.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH,
439
chaos of Italian and German politics, were effects of
this event almost as unavoidable. From all these con-
siderations, they concluded that nothing could have
happened more pernicious to the Spanish nation ; and
the fortitude and public spirit of their ancestors, who,
in the cortes of Castile, prohibited Alphonso the Wise
from leaving the kingdom in order to receive the im-
perial crown, were often mentioned with the highest
praise, and pronounced to be extremely worthy of
imitation at this juncture.74
But Charles, without regarding the sentiments or
murmurs of his Spanish subjects, accepted of the im-
perial dignity which the count palatine, at the head of
a solemn embassy, offered him in the name of the
electors, and declared his intention of setting out soon
for Germany in order to take possession of it. This
was the more necessary because, according to the
forms of the German constitution, he could not, before
the ceremony of a public coronation, exercise any act
of jurisdiction or authority.75
Their certain knowledge of this resolution augmented
so much the disgust of the Spaniards that a sullen and
refractory spirit prevailed among persons of all ranks.
The pope having granted the king the tenths of all
ecclesiastical benefices in Castile, to assist him in carry-
ing on war with greater vigor against the Turks, a con-
vocation of the clergy unanimously refused to levy that
sum, upon pretence that it ought never to be exacted
but at those times when Christendom was actually in-
vaded by the infidels; and though Leo, in order to
74 Sandoval, i. p. 32. — Minianae Contin., p. 14.
75 Sabinus, P. Barre, viii. 1085.
440
REIGN OF THE
support his authority, laid the kingdom under an in-
terdict, so little regard was paid to a censure which was
universally deemed unjust, that Charles himself applied
to have it taken off. Thus the Spanish clergy, besides
their merit in opposing the usurpations of the pope and
disregarding the influence of the crown, gained the
exemption which they had claimed.7*
The commotions which arose in the kingdom of
Valencia, annexed to the crown of Aragon, were more
formidable, and produced more dangerous and lasting
effects. A seditious monk having by his sermons ex-
cited the citizens of Valencia, the capital city, to take
arms, and to punish certain criminals in a tumultuary
manner, the people, pleased with this exercise of power,
and with such a discovery of their own importance,
not only refused to lay down their arms, but formed
themselves into troops and companies, that they might
be regularly trained to martial exercises. To obtain
some security against the oppression of the grandees
was the motive of this association, and proved a jxwer-
ful bond of union ; for as the aristocratical privileges
and independence were more complete in Valencia
than in any other of the Spanish kingdoms, the nobles,
being scarcely accountable for their conduct to any
superior, treated the people not only as vassals but as
slaves. They were alarmed, however, at the progress
of this unexpected insurrection, as it might encourage
the people to attempt shaking off the yoke altogether ;
but, as they could not repress them without taking arms,
it became necessary to have recourse to the emperor,
and to desire his permission to attack them. At the
7* P. Martyr. Ep.. 462. — Fcrrcras, viii. 473.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH. 441
same time the people made choice of deputies to repre-
sent their grievances and to implore the protection of
their sovereign. Happily for the latter, they arrived at
court when Charles was exasperated to a high degree
against the nobility. As he was eager to visit Germany,
where his presence became every day more necessary,
and as his Flemish courtiers were still more impatient
to return into their native country, that they might
carry thither the spoils which they had amassed in Cas-
tile, it was impossible for him to hold the cortes of
Valencia in person. He had for that reason empow-
ered the Cardinal Adrian to represent him in that
assembly, and in his name to receive their oath of
allegiance, to confirm their privileges with the usual
solemnities, and to demand of them a free gift. But
the Valencian nobles, who considered this measure as
an indignity to their country, which was no less entitled
than his other kingdoms to the honor of their sove-
reign's presence, declared that by the fundamental laws
of the constitution they could neither acknowledge as
king a person who was absent, nor grant him any sub-
sidy; and to this declaration they adhered with a
haughty and inflexible obstinacy. Charles, piqued by
their behavior, decided in favor of the people, and
rashly authorized them to continue in arms. Their
deputies returned in triumph, and were received by
their fellow-citizens as the deliverers of their country.
The insolence of the multitude increasing with their
success, they expelled all the nobles out of the city,
committed the government to magistrates of their own
election, and entered into an association, distinguished
by the name Q{ germanada or brotherhood, which proved
T*
442 REIGN OF THE
the source not only of the wildest disorders, but of
the most fatal calamities, in that kingdom.77
Meanwhile, the kingdom of Castile was agitated with
no less violence. No sooner was the emperor's intention
to leave Spain made known, than several cities of the
first rank resolved to remonstrate against it, and to crave
redress once more of those grievances which they had
formerly laid before him. Charles artfully avoided ad-
mitting their deputies to audience ; and, as he saw from
this circumstance how difficult it would be at this junc-
ture to restrain the mutinous spirit of the greater cities,
he summoned the cortes of Castile to meet at Compos-
tella, a town in Galicia. His only reason for calling that
assembly was the hope of obtaining another donative ;
for, as his treasury had been exhausted in the same
proportion that the riches of his ministers increased,
he could not, without some additional aid, appear in
Germany with splendor suited to the imperial dignity.
To appoint a meeting of the cortes in so remote a
province, and to demand a new subsidy before the
time for paying the former was expired, were innova-
tions of a most dangerous tendency, and among a peo-
ple not only jealous of their liberties, but accustomed
to supply the wants of their sovereigns with a very
frugal hand, excited a universal alarm. The magistrates
of Toledo remonstrated against both these measures in
a very high tone ; the inhabitants of Valladolid, who
expected that the cortes should have been held in that
city, were so enraged that they took arms in a tumultu-
ary manner ; and if Charles, with his foreign coun-
sellors, had not fortunately made their escape during a
n P. Martyr. Ep.. 651. — Ferrcras, viii. 376, 485.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH.
443
violent tempest, they would have massacred all the
Flemings, and have prevented him from continuing his
journey towards Compostella.
Every city through which he passed petitioned against
holding a cortes in Galicia, a point with regard to which
Charles was inflexible. But though the utmost influ-
ence had been exerted by the ministers in order to pro-
cure a choice of representatives favorable to their de-
signs, such was the temper of the nation that at the
opening of the assembly there appeared among many
of the members unusual symptoms of ill-humor, which
threatened a fierce opposition to all the measures of the
court. No representatives were sent by Toledo; for
the lot, according to which, by ancient custom, the
election was determined in that city, having fallen
upon two persons devoted to the Flemish ministers,
their fellow-citizens refused to grant them a commission
in the usual form, and in their stead made choice of
two deputies, whom they empowered to repair to Com-
postella and to protest against the lawfulness of the
cortes assembled there. The representatives of Sala-
manca refused to take the usual oath of fidelity unless
Charles consented to change the place of meeting.
Those of Toro, Madrid, Cordova, and several other
places declared the demand of another donative to be
unprecedented, unconstitutional, and unnecessary. All
the arts, however, which influence popular assemblies,
bribes, promises, threats, and even force, were em-
ployed in order to gain members. The nobles, soothed
by the respectful assiduity with which Chievres and the
other Flemings paid court to them, or instigated by a
mean jealousy of that spirit of independence which
444
REIGN OF THE
they saw rising among the commons, openly favored
the pretensions of the court, or at the utmost did not
oppose them ; and at last, in contempt not only of the
sentiments of the nation, but of the ancient forms of
the constitution, a majority voted to grant the donative
for which the emperor had applied.78 Together with
this grant, the cortes laid before Charles a representa-
tion of those grievances whereof his people complained,
and in their name craved redress ; but he, having ob-
tained from them all that he could expect, paid no
attention to this ill-timed petition, which it was no
longer dangerous to disregard.79
As nothing now retarded his embarkation, he dis-
closed his intention with regard to the regency of
Castile during his absence, which he had hitherto kept
secret, and nominated Cardinal Adrian to that office.
The viceroyalty of Aragon he conferred on Don John
de Lanuza ; that of Valencia on Don Diego de Men-
doza, Conde de Melito. The choice of the two latter
was universally acceptable ; but the advancement of
Adrian, though the only Fleming who had preserved
any reputation among the Spaniards, animated the
Castilians with new hatred against foreigners; and
even the nobles, who had so tamely suffered other in-
roads upon the constitution, felt the indignity offered
to their own order by his promotion, and remonstrated
against it as being illegal. But Charles's desire of
visiting Germany, as well as the impatience of his
ministers to leave Sjiain, were now so much increased
that, without attending to the murmurs of the Castil-
7* P. Martyr. Ep.. 663. — Sandoval, p. 33. etc.
79 Sandoval, p. 84.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH.
445
ians, or even taking time to provide any remedy against
an insurrection in Toledo, which at that time threat-
ened, and afterwards produced, most formidable effects,
he sailed from Corunna on the 22d of May; and by
setting out so abruptly in quest of a new crown he
endangered a more important one of which he was
already in possession.80
80 P. Martyr. Ep., 670. — Sandoval, p. 86.
Charles.— VOL. I. 38
BOOK II.
Rivalry between Charles and Francis I. for the Empire. — They nego-
tiate with the Pope, the Venetians, and Henry VIII. of England. —
Character of the latter. — Cardinal Wolsey. — Charles visits Eng-
land.— Meeting between Henry VIII. and Francis I. — Coronation
of Charles. — Solyman the Magnificent. — The Diet convoked at
Worms. — The Reformation. — Sale of Indulgences by Leo X. —
Tetzel. — Luther. — Progress of his Opinions. — Is summoned to
Rome. — His Appearance before the Legate. — He appeals to a
General Council. — Luther questions the Papal Authority. — Refor-
mation in Switzerland. — Excommunication of Luther. — Reforma-
tion in Germany. — Causes of the Progress of the Reformation. —
The Corruption in the Roman Church. — Power and Ill-Conduct
of the Clergy. — Venality of the Roman Court. — Effects of the
Invention of Printing. — Erasmus. — The Diet at Worms. — Edict
against Luther. — He is seized and confined at Wartburg. — His
Doctrines condemned by the University of Paris, and controverted
by Henry VIII. of England. — Henry VIII. favors the Emperor
Charles against Francis I. — Leo X. makes a Treaty with Charles.
— Death of Chievres. — Hostilities in Navarre and in the Low
Countries. — Siege of Mezieres. — Congress at Calais. — League
against France. — Hostilities in Italy. — Death of Leo X. — Defeat
of the French. — Henry VIII. declares War against France. —
Charles visits England. — Conquest of Rhodes by Solyman.
MANY concurring circumstances not only called
Charles's thoughts towards the affairs of Germany, but
rendered his presence in that country necessary. The
electors grew imj>atient of so long an interregnum ;
his hereditary dominions were disturbed by intestine
(446)
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH.
447
commotions ; and the new opinions concerning religion
made such rapid progress as required the most serious
consideration. But, above all, the motions of the
French king drew his attention, and convinced him
that it was necessary to take measures for his own
defence with no less speed than vigor.
When Charles and Francis entered the lists as candi-
dates for the imperial dignity, they conducted their
rivalship with many professions of regard for each
other, and with repeated declarations that they would
not suffer any tincture of enmity to mingle itself with
this honorable emulation. "We both court the same
mistress," said Francis, with his usual vivacity ; " each
ought to urge his suit with all the address of which he
is master: the most fortunate will prevail, and the
other must rest contented. ' ' ' But though two young
and high-spirited princes, and each of them animated
with the hope of success, might be capable of forming
such a generous resolution, it was soon found that they
promised upon a moderation too refined and disinter-
ested for human nature. The preference given to
Charles in the sight of all Europe mortified Francis
extremely, and inspired him with all the passions
natural to disappointed ambition. To this was owing
the. personal jealousy and rivalship which subsisted
between the two monarchs during their whole reign ;
and the rancor of these, augmented by a real opposi-
tion of interest, which gave rise to many unavoidable
causes of discord, involved them in almost perpetual
hostilities. Charles had paid no regard to the principal
article in the treaty of Noyon, by refusing oftener than
1 Guic., lib. xiii. p. 159.
448 REIGN OF THE
•
once to do justice to John d'Albret, the excluded mon-
arch of Navarre, whom Francis was bound in honor
and prompted by interest to restore to his throne.
The French king had pretensions to the crown of
Naples, of which Ferdinand had deprived his pre-
decessor by a most unjustifiable breach of faith. The
emperor might reclaim the duchy of Milan as a fief of
the empire, which Francis had seized, and still kept in
possession, without having received investiture of it
from the emperor. Charles considered the duchy of
Burgundy as the patrimonial domain of his ancestors,
wrested from them by the unjust policy of Louis XI.,
and observed with the greatest jealousy the strict con-
nections which Francis had formed with the duke of
Gueldres, the hereditary enemy of his family.
When the sources of discord were so many and
various, peace could be of no long continuance, even
between princes the most exempt from ambition or
emulation. But as the shock between two such mighty
antagonists could not fail of being extremely violent,
they both discovered no small solicitude about its con-
sequences, and took time not only to collect and to
ponder their own strength and to compare it with that
of their adversary, but to secure the friendship or
assistance of the other European powers.
The pope had equal reason to dread the two rivals,
and saw that he who prevailed would become absolute
master in Italy. If it had been in his power to engage
them in hostilities without rendering Lombardy the
theatre of war, nothing would have been more agree-
able to him than to see them waste each other's strength
in endless quarrels. But this was impossible. Leo
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH. 449
foresaw that on the first rupture between the two mon-
archs the armies of France and Spain would take the
field in the Milanese ; and while the scene of their
operations was so near, and the subject for which they
contended so interesting to him, he could not long
remain neuter. He was obliged, therefore, to adapt
his plan of conduct to his political situation. He
courted and soothed the emperor and king of France
with equal industry and address. Though warmly
solicited by each of them to espouse his cause, he
assumed all the appearances of entire impartiality,
and attempted to conceal his real sentiments under
that profound dissimulation which seems to have been
affected by most of the Italian politicians in that age.
The views and interests of the Venetians were not
different from those of the pope ; nor were they less
solicitous to prevent Italy from becoming the seat of
war, and their own republic from being involved in the
quarrel. But through all Leo's artifices, and notwith-
standing his high pretensions to a perfect neutrality, it
was visible that he leaned towards the emperor, from
whom he had both more to fear and more to hope than
from Francis ; and it was equally manifest that if it
became necessary to take a side the Venetians would,
from motives of the same nature, declare for the king
of France. No considerable assistance, however, was
to be expected from the Italian states, who were jealous
to an extreme degree of the Transalpine powers, and
careful to preserve the balance even between them,
unless when they were seduced to violate this favorite
maxim of their policy by the certain prospect of some
great advantage to themselves.
450
REIGN OF THE
But the chief attention both of Charles and of
Francis was employed in order to gain the king of
England, from whom each of them expected assistance
more effectual and afforded with less political caution.
Henry VIII. had ascended the throne of that kingdom
in the year 1509, with such circumstances of advantage
as promised a reign of distinguished felicity and splen-
dor. The union in his person of the two contending
titles of York and Lancaster, the alacrity and emula-
tion with which both factions obeyed his commands,
not only enabled him to exert a degree of vigor and
authority in his domestic government which none of his
predecessors could have safely assumed, but permitted
him to take a share in the affairs of the Continent,
from which the attention of the English had long been
diverted by their unhappy intestine divisions. The
great sums of money which his father had amassed
rendered him the most wealthy prince in Europe. The
peace which had subsisted under the cautious adminis-
tration of that monarch had been of sufficient length
to recruit the population of the kingdom after the
desolation of the civil wars, but not so long as to
enervate its spirit ; and the English, ashamed of having
rendered their own country so long a scene of discord
and bloodshed, were eager to display their valor in
some foreign war, and to revive the memory of the
victories gained on the Continent by their ancestors.
Henry's own temper perfectly suited the state of his
kingdom and the disposition of his subjects. Am-
bitious, active, enterprising, and accomplished in all
the martial exercises which in that age formed a chief
part in the education of persons of noble birth and
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH.
451
inspired them with an early love of war, he longed to
engage in action, and to signalize the beginning of his
reign by some remarkable exploit. An opportunity
soon presented itself; and the victory at Guinegate,
together with the successful sieges of Terouenne ana
Tournay, though of little utility to England, reflected
great lustre on its monarch, and confirmed the idea
which foreign princes entertained of his power and con-
sequence. So many concurring causes, added to the
happy situation of his own dominions, which secured
them from foreign invasion, and to the fortunate cir-
cumstance of his being in possession of Calais, which
served not only as a key to France, but opened an easy
passage into the Netherlands, rendered the king of
England the natural guardian of the liberties of Eu-
rope, and the arbiter between the emperor and French
monarch. Henry himself was sensible of this singular
advantage, and convinced that, in order to preserve the
balance even, it was his office to prevent either of the
rivals from acquiring such superiority of power as might
be fatal to the other, or formidable to the rest of Chris-
tendom. But he was destitute of the penetration, and
still more of the temper, which such a delicate function
required. Influenced by caprice, by vanity, by resent-
ment, by affection, he was incapable of forming any
regular and extensive system of policy or of adhering
to it with steadiness. His measures seldom resulted
from attention to the general welfare or from a delib-
erate regard to his own interest, but were dictated by
passions which rendered him blind to both, and pre-
vented his gaining that ascendant in the affairs of
Europe, or from reaping such advantages to himself,
452 REIGN OF THE
as a prince of greater art, though with inferior talents,
might have easily secured.
All the impolitic steps in Henry's administration
must not, however, be imputed to defects in his own
character ; many of them were owing to the violent
passions and insatiable ambition of his prime minister
and favorite, Cardinal Wolsey. This man, from one
of the lowest ranks in life, had risen to a height of
power and dignity to which no English subject ever
arrived, and governed the haughty, presumptuous, and
untractable spirit of Henry with absolute authority.
Great talents, and of very different kinds, fitted him
for the two opposite stations of minister and of favorite.
His profound judgment, his unwearied industry, his
thorough acquaintance with the state of the kingdom,
his extensive knowledge of the views and interest of
foreign courts, qualified him for that uncontrolled
direction of affairs with which he was intrusted. The
elegance of his manners, the gayety of his conversation,
his insinuating address, his love of magnificence, and
his proficiency in those parts of literature of which
Henry was fond, gained him the affection and confi-
dence of the young monarch. Wolsey was far from
employing this vast and almost royal power to pro-
mote either the true interest of the nation or the real
grandeur of his master. Rapacious at the same time,
and profuse, he was insatiable in desiring wealth. Of
boundless ambition, he aspired after new honors with
an eagerness unabated by his former success ; and being
rendered presumptuous by his uncommon elevation, as
well as by the ascendant which he had gained over a
prince who scarcely brooked advice from any other
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH.
453
person, he discovered in his whole demeanor the most
overbearing haughtiness and pride. To these passions
he himself sacrificed every consideration ; and whoever
endeavored to obtain his favor, or that of his master,
found it necessary to soothe and to gratify them.
As all the states of Europe sought Henry's friendship
at that time, all courted his minister with incredible
attention and obsequiousness, and strove, by presents,
by promises, or by flattery, to work upon his avarice,
his ambition, or his pride.2 Francis had, in the year
1518, employed Bonnivet, admiral of France, one of
his most accomplished and artful courtiers, to gain this
haughty prelate. He himself bestowed on him every
mark of respect and confidence. He consulted him
with regard to his most important affairs, and received
his responses with implicit deference. By these arts,
together with the grant of a large pension, Francis
attached the cardinal to his interest, who persuaded his
master to surrender Tournay to France, to conclude a
treaty of marriage between his daughter, the princess
Mary, and the dauphin, and to consent to a personal
interview with the French king.3 From that time the
most familiar intercourse subsisted between the two
courts; Francis, sensible of the great value of Wolsey's
friendship, labored to secure the continuance of it by
every possible expression of regard, bestowing on him,
in all his letters, the honorable appellations of father,
tutor, and governor.
Charles observed the progress of this union with the
utmost jealousy and concern. His near affinity to the
2 Fiddes's Life of Wolsey, 166. — Rymer's Foedera, xiii. 718.
3 Herbert's History of Henry VIII., 30. — Rymer, xiii. 624.
454
REIGN OF THE
king of England gave him some title to his friendship ;
and soon after his accession to the throne of Castile he
had attempted to ingratiate himself with Wolsey, by
settling on him a pension of three thousand livres.
His chief solicitude at present was to prevent the in-
tended interview with Francis, the effects of which
upon two young princes, whose hearts were no less
susceptible of friendship than their manners were capa-
ble of inspiring it, he extremely dreaded. But after
many delays, occasioned by difficulties with respect to
the ceremonial, and by the anxious precautions of both
courts for the safety of their respective sovereigns, the
time and place of meeting were at last fixed. Mes-
sengers had been sent to different courts, inviting all
comers who were gentlemen to enter the lists at tilt
and tournament against the two monarchs and their
knights. Both Francis and Henry loved the splendor
of these spectacles too well, and were too much de-
lighted with the graceful figure which they made on
such occasions, to forego the pleasure or glory which
they expected from such a singular and brilliant assem-
bly. Nor was the cardinal less fond of displaying his
own magnificence in the presence of two courts, and
of discovering to the two nations the extent of his
influence over both their monarchs. Charles, finding
it impossible to prevent the interview, endeavored to
disappoint its effects, and to preoccupy the favor of the
English monarch and his minister by an act of com-
plaisance still more flattering and more uncommon.
Having sailed from Corunna, as has already been re-
lated, he steered his course directly towards England,
and, relying wholly on Henry's generosity for his
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH. 455
own safety, landed at Dover. This unexpected visit
surprised the nation. Wolsey, however, was well ac-
quainted with the emperor's intention. A negotiation,
unknown to the historians of that age, had been carried
on between him and the court of Spain ; this visit had
been concerted; and Charles granted the cardinal,
whom he calls his most dear friend, an additional
pension of seven thousand ducats.4 Henry, who was
then at Canterbury, in his way to France, immediately
despatched Wolsey to Dover in order to welcome the
emperor, and, being highly pleased with an event so
soothing to his vanity, hastened to receive with suitable
respect a guest who had placed in him such unbounded
confidence. Charles, to whom time was precious,
stayed only four days in England; but during that
short space he had the address not only to give Henry
favorable impressions of his character and intentions,
but to detach Wolsey entirely from the interest of the
French king. All the grandeur, the wealth, and the
power which the cardinal possessed did not satisfy his
ambitious mind while there was one step higher to
which an ecclesiastic could ascend. The papal dignity
had for some time been the object of his wishes ; and
Francis, as the most effectual method of securing his
friendship, had promised to favor his pretensions, on
the first vacancy, with all his interest. But as the
emperor's influence in the college of cardinals was
greatly superior to that of the French king, Wolsey
grasped eagerly at the offer which that artful prince
had made him, of exerting it vigorously in his behalf;
and, allured by this prospect, which under the pontifi-
< Rymer, xiii. 714.
456
REIGN OF THE
cate of Leo, still in the prime of his life, was a very
distant one, he entered with warmth into all the empe-
ror's schemes. No treaty, however, was concluded at
that time between the two monarchs; but Henry, in
return for the honor which Charles had done him,
promised to visit him in some place of the Low Coun-
tries immediately after taking leave of the French king.
His interview with that prince was in an open plain
between Guisnes and Ardres, where the two kings and
their attendants displayed their magnificence with such
emulation and profuse expense as procured it the name
of the Field of the Cloth of Gold. Feats of chivalry,
parties of gallantry, together with such exercises and
pastimes as were in that age reckoned manly or ele-
gant, rather than serious business, occupied both courts
during eighteen days that they continued together.5
Whatever impression the engaging manners of Francis,
or the liberal and unsuspicious confidence with which
5 The French and English historians describe the pomp of this
interview, and the various spectacles, with great minuteness. One
circumstance mentioned by the Mar^schal de Fleuranges, who was
present, and which must appear singular in the present age, is com-
monly omitted. " After the tournament," says he, " the French and
English wrestlers made their appearance, and wrestled in presence
of the kings and the ladies ; and as there were many stout wrestlers
there, it afforded excellent pastime ; but as the king of France had
neglected to bring any wrestlers out of Bretagne, the English gained
the prize. After this, the kings of France and England retired to a
tent, where they drank together, and the king of England, seizing
the king of France by the collar, said, ' My brother, I must wrestle
•with you,' and endeavored once or twice to trip up his heels ; but the
king of France, who is a dexterous wrestler, twisted him round, and
threw him on the earth with prodigious violence. The king of Eng-
land wanted to renew the combat, but was prevented." Memoires
de Fleuranges, izmo, Paris, 1753, P- 3*9-
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH. 457
he treated Henry, made on the mind of that monarch,
was soon effaced by Wolsey's artifices, or by an inter-
view he had with the emperor at Gravelines, which
was conducted with less pomp than that near Guisnes,
but with greater attention to what might be of political
utility.
This assiduity with which the two greatest monarchs
in Europe paid court to Henry appeared to him a
plain acknowledgment that he held the balance in his
hands, and convinced him of the justness of the motto
he had chosen, " That whoever he favored would pre-
vail." In this opinion he was confirmed by an offer
which Charles made, of submitting any difference that
might arise between him and Francis to his sole arbi-
tration. Nothing could have the appearance of greater
candor and moderation than the choice of a judge who
was reckoned the common friend of both. But, as the
emperor had now attached Wolsey entirely to his in-
terest, no proposal could be more insidious, nor, as
appeared by the sequel, more fatal to the French
king.6
Charles, notwithstanding his partial fondness for the
Netherlands, the place of his nativity, made no long
stay there, and, after receiving the homage and con-
gratulations of his countrymen, hastened to Aix-la-
Chapelle, the place appointed by the golden bull for
the coronation of the emperor. There, in presence
of an assembly more numerous and splendid than had
appeared on any former occasion, the crown of Charle-
magne was placed on his head, with all the pompous
solemnity which the Germans affect in their public
6 Herbert, 37.
Charles. — VOL. I.— u 39
45 8 REIGN OF THE
ceremonies, and which they deem essential to the dig-
nity of their empire.7
Almost at the same time Solyman the Magnificent,
one of the most accomplished, enterprising, and vic-
torious of the Turkish sultans, a constant and formi-
dable rival to the emperor, ascended the Ottoman
throne. It was the peculiar glory of that period to
produce the most illustrious monarchs who have at any
one time appeared in Europe. Leo, Charles, Francis,
Henry, and Solyman were each of them possessed of
talents that might have rendered any age wherein they
happened to flourish conspicuous. But such a constel-
lation of great princes shed uncommon lustre on the
sixteenth century. In every contest great power, as
well as great abilities, were set in opposition ; the
efforts of valor and conduct on one side, counterbal-
anced by an equal exertion of the same qualities on
the other, not only occasioned such a variety of events
as renders the history of that period interesting, but
served to check the exorbitant progress of any of those
princes, and to prevent their attaining such pre-emi-
nence in power as would have been fatal to the liberty
and happiness of mankind.
The first act of the emperor's administration was to
appoint a diet of the empire to be held at Worms on
the 6th of January, 1521. In his circular letters to
the different princes, he informed them that he had
called this assembly in order to concert with them the
most proper measures for checking the progress of
those new and dangerous opinions which threatened
7 Hartman. Mauri Relalio Coronal. Car. V., ap. Goldast. Polit
Imperial. Franc., 1614, fol., p. 264.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH.
459
to disturb the peace of Germany and to overturn the
religion of their ancestors.
Charles had in view trie opinions which had been
propagated by Luther and his disciples since the year
1517. As these led to that happy reformation in re-
ligion which rescued one part of Europe from the papal
yoke, mitigated its rigor in the other, and produced a
revolution in the sentiments of mankind, the greatest
as well as the most beneficial that has happened since
the publication of Christianity, not only the events
which at first gave birth to such opinions, but the
causes which rendered their progress so rapid and suc-
cessful, deserve to be considered with minute attention.
To overturn a system of religious belief founded
on ancient and deep-rooted prejudices, supported by
power, and defended with no less art than industry,
to establish in its room doctrines of the most contrary
genius and tendency, and to accomplish all this, not
by external violence or the force of arms, are opera-
tions which historians the least prone to credulity and
superstition ascribe to that Divine Providence which
with infinite ease can bring about events which to
human sagacity appear impossible. The interposition
of Heaven in favor of the Christian religion at its first
publication was manifested by miracles and prophecies
wrought and uttered in confirmation of it. Though
none of the Reformers possessed, or pretended to pos-
sess, these supernatural gifts, yet that wonderful prepa-
ration of circumstances which disposed the minds of
men for receiving their doctrines — that singular com-
bination of causes which secured their success, and
enabled men destitute of power and of policy to
460 REIGN OF THE
triumph over those who employed against them extra-
ordinary efforts of both — may be considered as no
slight proof that the same hand which planted the
Christian religion protected the Reformed faith, and
reared it from beginnings extremely feeble to an amaz-
ing degree of vigor and maturity.
It was from causes seemingly fortuitous, and from a
source very inconsiderable, that all the mighty effects
of the Reformation flowed. Leo X., when raised to
the papal throne, found the revenues of the Church
exhausted by the vast projects of his two ambitious
predecessors, Alexander VI. and Julius II. His own
temper, naturally liberal and enterprising, rendered
him incapable of that severe and patient economy
which the situation of his finances required. On the
contrary, his schemes for aggrandizing the family of
Medici, his love of splendor, his taste for pleasure, and
his magnificence in rewarding men of genius, involved
him daily in new expenses, in order to provide a fund
for which, he tried every device that the fertile inven-
tion of priests had fallen upon to drain the credulous
multitude of their wealth. Among others, he had re-
course to a sale of indulgences. According to the doc-
trine of the Romish Church, all the good works of the
saints over and above those which were necessary
towards their own justification are deposited, together
with the infinite merits of Jesus Christ, in one inex-
haustible treasury. The keys of this were committed
to St. Peter, and to his successors the popes, who may
open it at pleasure, and, by transferring a portion of
this superabundant merit to any particular person for a
sum of money, may convey to him either the pardon
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH. 461
of his own sins, or a release for any one in whose hap-
piness he is interested from the pains of purgatory.
Such indulgences were first invented in the eleventh,
century by Urban II. as a recompense for those who
went in person upon the meritorious enterprise of con-
quering the Holy Land. They were afterwards granted
to those who hired a soldier for that purpose, and in
process of time were bestowed on such as gave money
for accomplishing any pious work enjoined by the
pope.8 Julius II. had bestowed indulgences on all who
contributed towards building the church of St. Peter
at Rome ; and, as Leo was carrying on that magnifi-
cent and expensive fabric, his grant was founded on the
same pretence.9
The right of promulgating these indulgences in Ger-
many, together with a share in the profits arising from
the sale of them, was granted to Albert, elector of
Mentz and archbishop of Magdeburg, who, as his chief
agent for retailing them in Saxony, employed Tetzel, a
Dominican friar, of licentious morals, but of an active
spirit, and remarkable for his noisy and popular elo-
quence. He, assisted by the monks of his order, exe-
cuted the commission with great zeal and success, but
with little discretion or decency ; and though, by mag-
nifying excessively the benefit of their indulgences,10
8 History of the Council of Trent, by F. Paul, p. 4.
9 Pallav., Hist. Cone. Trident., p. 4.
10 As the form of these indulgences, and the benefits which they were
supposed to convey, are unknown in Protestant countries, and little
understood, at present, in several places where the Roman Catholic
religion is established, I have, for the information of my readers, trans-
lated the form of absolution used by Tetzel: " May our Lord Jesus
Christ have mercy upon thee, and absolve thee by the merits of his
39*
462 REIGN OF THE
and by disposing of them at a very low price, they
carried on for some time an extensive and lucrative
most holy passion. And I, by his authority, that of his blessed Apos-
tles Peter and Paul, and of the most holy pope, granted and committed
to me in these parts, do absolve thee, first from all ecclesiastical cen-
sures, in whatever manner they have been incurred, and then from all
thy sins, transgressions, and excesses, how enormous soever they may
be, even from such as are reserved for the cognizance of the holy see ;
and as far as the keys of the Holy Church extend, I remit to you all
punishment which you deserve in purgatory on their account, and I
restore you to the holy sacraments of the Church, to the unity of the
faithful, and to that innocence and purity which you possessed at bap-
tism ; so that, when you die, the gates of punishment shall be shut,
and the gates of the paradise of delight shall be opened ; and if you
shall not die at present, this grace shall remain in full force when you
are at the point of death. In the name of the Father, and of the Son.
and of the Holy Ghost." Seckend., Comment., lib. i. p. 14.
The terms in which Tetzel and his associates described the benefits
of indulgences, and the necessity of purchasing them, are so extrava-
gant that they appear to be almost incredible. If any man (said they)
purchase letters of indulgence, his soul may rest secure with respect
to its salvation. The souls confined in purgatory, for whose redemp-
tion indulgences are purchased, as soon as the money tinkles in the
chest, instantly escape from that place of torment and ascend into
heaven. That the efficacy of indulgences was so great that the most
heinous sins, even if one should violate (which was impossible) the
mother of God, would be remitted and expiated by them, and the per-
son be freed both from punishment and guilt. That this was the un-
speakable gift of God, in order to reconcile men to himself. That the
cross erected by the preachers of indulgences was as efficacious as the
cross of Christ itself. Lo ! the heavens are open ; if you enter not
now, when will you enter? For twelve pence you may redeem the
soul of your father out of purgatory ; and are you so ungrateful that
you will 'not rescue your parent from torment ? If you had but one
coat, you ought to strip yourself instantly, and sell it, in order to pur-
chase such benefits, etc. These, and many such extravagant expres-
sions, are selected out of Luther's works by Chemnitius in his Examen
ConciliiTridentini, apud Herm. Von der Hardt., Hist. Liter. Reform.,
pars iv. p. 6. The same author has published several of Tetzel's dis-
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH. 463
traffic among the credulous and the ignorant, the ex-
travagance of their assertions, as well as the irregulari-
ties in their conduct, came at last to give general
offence. The princes and nobles were irritated at
seeing their vassals drained of so much wealth in order
to replenish the treasury of a profuse pontiff. Men of
piety regretted the delusion of the people, who, being
taught to rely for the pardon of their sins on the in-
dulgences which they purchased, did not think it in-
cumbent on them either to study the doctrines taught
by genuine Christianity or to practise the duties which
it enjoins. Even the most unthinking were shocked
at the scandalous behavior of Tetzel and his associates,
who often squandered, in drunkenness, gaming, and
low debauchery, those sums which were piously be-
stowed in hopes of obtaining eternal happiness ; and
all began to wish that some check were given to this
commerce, no less detrimental to society than destruc-
tive to religion.
Such was the favorable juncture, and so disposed
were the minds of his countrymen to listen to his
discourses, when Martin Luther first began to call in
question the efficacy of indulgences, and to declaim
against the vicious lives and false doctrines of the per-
sons employed in promulgating them. Luther was a
native of Eisleben, in Saxony, and, though born of
poor parents, had received a learned education, during
the progress of which he gave many indications of
uncommon vigor and acuteness of genius. His mind
was naturally susceptible of serious sentiments, and
courses, which prove that these expressions were neither singular nor
exaggerated. Ibid., p. 14.
464 REIGN OF THE
tinctured with somewhat of that religious melancholy
which delights in the solitude and devotion of a
monastic life. The death of a companion, killed by
lightning at his side in a violent thunder-storm, made
such an impression on his mind as co-operated with his
natural temper in inducing him to retire into a con-
vent of Augustinian friars, where, without suffering the
entreaties of his parents to divert him from what he
thought his duty to God, he assumed the habit of that
order. • He soon acquired great reputation, not only
for piety, but for his love of knowledge and his un-
wearied application to study. He had been taught the
scholastic philosophy and theology, which were then in
vogue, by very able masters, and wanted not penetra-
tion to comprehend all the niceties and distinctions
with which they abound ; but his understanding, natu-
rally sound, and superior to every thing frivolous, soon
became disgusted with those subtle and uninstructive
sciences, and sought for some more solid foundation of
knowledge and of piety in the Holy Scriptures. Having
found a copy of the Bible, which lay neglected in the
library of his monastery, he abandoned all other pur-
suits, and devoted himself to the study of it with such
eagerness and assiduity as astonished the monks, who
were little accustomed to derive their theological no-
tions from that source. The great progress which he
made in this uncommon course of study augmented so
much the fame both of his sanctity and of his learn-
ing that, Frederic, elector of Saxony, having founded
a university at Wittemberg on the Elbe, the place of
his residence, Luther was chosen first to teach philoso-
phy, and afterwards theology, there, and discharged
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH. 465
both offices in such a manner that he was deemed the
chief ornament of that society.
While Luther was at the height of his reputation and
authority, Tetzel began to publish indulgences in the
neighborhood of Wittemberg, and to ascribe to them
the same imaginary virtues which had in other places
imposed on the credulity of the people. As Saxony
was not more enlightened than the other provinces of
Germany, Tetzel met with prodigious success there.
It was with the utmost concern that Luther beheld the
artifices of those who sold, and the simplicity of those
who bought, indulgences. The opinions of Thomas
Aquinas and the other schoolmen, on which the doc-
trine of indulgences was founded, had already lost
much of their authority with him ; and the Scriptures,
which he began to consider as the great standard of
theological truth, afforded no countenance to a practice
equally subversive of faith and of morals. His warm
and impetuous temper did not suffer him long to con-
ceal such important discoveries, or to continue a silent
spectator of the delusion of his countrymen. From
the pulpit in the great church of Wittemberg he in-
veighed bitterly against the irregularities and vices of
the monks who published indulgences ; he ventured to
examine the doctrines which they taught, and pointed
out to the people the danger of relying for salvation
upon any other means than those appointed by God in
his word. The boldness and novelty of these opinions
drew great attention, and, being recommended by the
authority of Luther's personal character and delivered
with a popular and persuasive eloquence, they made a
deep impression on his hearers. Encouraged by' the
u*
466 REIGN OF THE
favorable reception of his doctrines among the people,
he wrote to Albert, elector of Mentz and archbishop
of Magdeburg, to whose jurisdiction that part of Saxony
was subject, and remonstrated warmly against the false
opinions, as well as wicked lives, of the preachers of
indulgences; but he found that prelate too deeply in-
terested in their success to correct their abuses. His
next attempt was to gain the suffrage of men of learn-
ing. For this purpose he published ninety-five theses,
containing his sentiments with regard to indulgences.
These he proposed, not as points fully established or
of undoubted certainty, but as subjects of inquiry and
disputation ; he appointed a day on which the learned
were invited to impugn them, either in person or by
writing ; to the whole he subjoined solemn protesta-
tions of his high respect for the apostolic see, and of
his implicit submission to its authority. No opponent
appeared at the time prefixed ; the theses spread over
Germany with astonishing rapidity ; they were read
with the greatest eagerness ; and all admired the bold-
ness of the man who had ventured not only to call in
question the plenitude of papal power, but to attack
the Dominicans, armed with all the terrors of inquisi-
torial authority."
The friars of St. Augustine, Luther's own order,
though addicted with no less obsequiousness than the
other monastic fraternities to the papal see, gave no
check to the publication of these uncommon opinions.
Luther had, by his piety and learning, acquired extra-
ordinary authority among his brethren ; he professed
" Lutheri Opera, Jenoe, 1612, vol. i. pnefat. 3. p. a. 66. — Hist, of
Council of Trent, by F. Paul, p. 4.— Seckcnd.. Com. Apol., p. 16.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH. 467
the highest regard for the authority of the pope ; his
professions were at that time sincere ; and as a secret
enmity, excited by interest or emulation, subsists among
all the monastic orders in the Romish Church, the
Augustinians were highly pleased with his invectives
against the Dominicans, and hoped to see them exposed
to the hatred and scorn of the people. Nor was his
sovereign, the elector of Saxony, the wisest prince at
that time in Germany, dissatisfied with this obstruction
which Luther threw in the way of the publication of
indulgences. He secretly encouraged the attempt, and
flattered himself that this dispute among the ecclesias-
tics themselves might give some check to the exactions
of the court of Rome, which the secular princes had
long, though without success, been endeavoring to
oppose.
Many zealous champions immediately arose to defend
opinions on which the wealth and power of the Church
were founded, against Luther's attacks. In opposition
to his theses, Tetzel published counter-theses at Frank-
fort on the Oder ; Eccius, a celebrated divine of Augs-
burg, endeavored to refute Luther's notions; and
Prierias, a Dominican friar, master of the sacred
palace, and inquisitor-general, wrote against him with
all the virulence of a scholastic disputant. But the
manner in which they conducted the controversy did
little service to their cause. Luther attempted to com-
bat indulgences by arguments founded in reason or de-
rived from Scripture ; they produced nothing in support
of them but the sentiments of schoolmen, the conclu-
sions of the canon law, and the decrees of popes."
12 F. Paul, p. 6. — Seckend., p. 40. — Pallavic., p. 8.
468 REIGN OF THE
The decision of judges so partial and interested did not
satisfy the people, who began to call in question the
authority even of these venerable guides, when they
found them standing in direct opposition to the dic-
tates of reason and the determinations of the Divine
law.1*
»3 Seckend., p. 30. — Guicciardini has asserted two things with regard
to the first promulgation of indulgences: — i. That Leo bestowed a
gift of the profits arising from the sale of indulgences in Saxony, and
the adjacent provinces Of Germany, upon his sister Magdalen, the
wife of Francescetto Cibo. (Guic., lib. xiii. 168.) 2. That Arcem-
boldo, a Genoese ecclesiastic, who had been bred a merchant, and
still retained all the activity and address of that profession, was ap-
pointed by her to collect the money which should be raised. F. Paul
has followed him in both these particulars ; and adds that the Augus-
tinians in Saxony had been immemorially employed in preaching in-
dulgences, but that Arcemboldo and his deputies, hoping to gain more
by committing this trust to the Dominicans, had made their bargain
with Tetzel, and that Luther was prompted at first to oppose Tetrel
and his associates by a desire of taking revenge for this injury offered
to his order. (F. Paul, p. 5.) Almost all historians since their time,
Popish as well as Protestant, have, without examination, admitted
these assertions to be true upon their authority. But, notwithstanding
the concurring testimony of two authors so eminent both for exact-
ness and vtracity, we may observe — i. That Felix Contolori. who
searched the pontifical archives for the purpose, could not find this
pretended grant to Leo's sister in any of those registers where it must
necessarily have been recorded. (Pallav., p. 5.) a. That the profits
arising from indulgences in Saxony and the adjacent countries had
been granted, not to Magdalen, but to Albert, archbishop of Mentz,
who had the right of nominating those who published them. (Seek.,
p. 12 ; Luth. Opcr., i., Praef., p. i. ; Pallav., p. 6.) 3. That Arcemboldo
never had concern in the publication of indulgences in Saxony : his
district was Flanders and the Upper and Lower Rhine. (Seek., p. 14 ;
Pallav., p. 6.) 4. That Luther and his adherents never mentioned
this grant of I^eo's to his sister, though a circumstance of which they
could hardly have been ignorant, and which they would have been
careful not to suppress. 5. The publication of indulgences in Ger-
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH. 469
Meanwhile, these novelties in Luther's doctrines,
which interested all Germany, excited little attention
and no alarm in the court of Rome. Leo, fond of
elegant and refined pleasures, intent upon great schemes
of policy, a stranger to theological controversies, and
apt to despise them, regarded with the utmost indiffer-
ence the operations of an obscure friar who, in the
heart of Germany, carried on a scholastic disputation in
a barbarous style. Little did he apprehend, or Luther
himself dream, that the effects of this quarrel would
be so fatal to the papal see. Leo imputed the whole
to monastic enmity and emulation, and seemed inclined
not to interpose in the contest, but to allow the Augus-
tinians and Dominicans to wrangle about the matter
with their usual animosity.
many was not usually committed to the Augustinians. The promul-
gation of them, at three different periods under Julius II., was granted
to the Franciscans ; the Dominicans had been employed in the same
office a short time before the present period. (Pallav., p. 46.) 6. The
promulgation of those indulgences which first excited Luther's indig-
nation was intrusted to the archbishop of Mentz, in conjunction with
the guardian of the Franciscans ; but the latter having declined
accepting of that trust, the sole right became vested in the archbishop.
(Pallav., 6 ; Seek., 16, 17.) 7. Luther was not instigated by his supe-
riors among the Augustinians to attack the Dominicans, their rivals,
or to depreciate indulgences because they were promulgated by them ;
his opposition to their opinions and vices proceeded from more laud-
able motives. (Seek., p. 15, 32 ; Lutheri Opera, i. p. 64, 6.) 8. A
diploma of indulgences is published by Herm. von der Hardt, from
which it appears that the name of the guardian of the Franciscans is
retained together with that of the archbishop, although the former
did not act. The limits of the country to which their commission ex-
tended, namely, the diocese of Mentz, Magdeburg, Halberstadt, and
the territories of the marquis of Brandenburg, are mentioned in that
diploma. Hist. Literaria Reformat., pars iv. p. 14.
Charles.— VOL. I. 40
470
JfEIG.V OF THE
The solicitations, however, of Luther's adversaries,
who were exasperated to a high degree by the boldness
and severity with which he animadverted on their
writings, together with the surprising progress which
his opinions made in different parts of Germany, roused
at last the attention of the court of Rome, and obliged
Leo to take measures for the security of the Church
against an attack that now appeared too serious to be
despised. For this end, he summoned Luther to appear
at Rome, within sixty days, before the auditor of the
chamber and the inquisitor-general, Prierias, who had
written against him, whom he empowered jointly to
examine his doctrines and to decide concerning them.
He wrote, at the same time, to the elector of Saxony,
beseeching him not to protect a man whose heretical
and profane tenets were so shocking to pious ears, and
enjoined the provincial of the Augustinians to check
by his authority the rashness of an arrogant monk,
which brought disgrace upon the order of St. Augus-
tine and gave offence and disturbance to the whole
Church. [1518.]
From the strain of these letters, as well as from the
nomination of a judge so prejudiced and partial as
Prierias, Luther easily saw what sentence he might ex-
pect at Rome. He discovered, for that reason, the
utmost solicitude to have his cause tried in Germany
and before a less suspected tribunal. The professors in
the university of Wittemberg, anxious for the safety of
a man who did so much honor to their society, wrote
to the pope, and, after employing several pretexts to
excuse Luther from appearing at Rome, entreated Leo
to commit the examination of his doctrines to some
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH.
47'
persons of learning and authority in Germany. The
elector requested the same thing of the pope's legate
at the diet of Augsburg; and as Luther himself, who
at that time was so far from having any intention to
disclaim the papal authority that he did not even en-
tertain the smallest suspicion concerning its divine
original, had written to Leo a most submissive letter,
promising an unreserved compliance with his will, the
pope gratified them so far as to empower his legate in
Germany, Cardinal Cajetan, a Dominican, eminent for
scholastic learning, and passionately devoted to the
Roman see, to hear and determine the cause.
Luther, though he had good reason to decline a judge
chosen among his avowed adversaries, did not hesitate
about appearing before Cajetan, and, having obtained
the emperor's safe-conduct, immediately repaired to
Augsburg. The cardinal received him with decent re-
spect, and endeavored at first to gain upon him by
gentle treatment. The cardinal, relying on the superi-
ority of his own talents as a theologian, entered into
a formal dispute with Luther concerning the doctrines
contained in his theses.14 But the weapons which they
employed were so different, Cajetan appealing to papal
decrees and the opinions of schoolmen, and Luther
resting entirely on the authority of Scripture, that the
contest was altogether fruitless. The cardinal relin-
quished the character of a disputant, and, assuming
'4 In the former editions I asserted, upon the authority of Father
Paul, that Cajetan thought it beneath his dignity to enter into any
dispute with Luther; but M. Beausobre, in his Histoire de la Refor-
mation, vol. i. p. I2i, etc., has satisfied me that I was mistaken. See
also Seckend., lib. i. p. 46, etc.
472
REIGN OF THE
that of a judge, enjoined Luther, by virtue of the
apostolic powers with which he was clothed, to retract
the errors which he had uttered with regard to indul-
gences and the nature of faith, and to abstain for the
future from the publication of new and dangerous
opinions. Luther, fully persuaded of the truth of his
own tenets, and confirmed in the belief of them by the
approbation which they had met with among persons
conspicuous both for learning and piety, was surprised
at this abrupt mention of a recantation before any en-
deavors were used to convince him that he was mistaken.
He had flattered himself that in a conference concern-
ing the points in dispute with a prelate of such distin-
guished abilities he should be able to remove many of
those imputations with which the ignorance or malice
of his antagonists had loaded him ; but the high tone
of authority that the cardinal assumed extinguished at
once all hopes of this kind, and cut off every prospect
of advantage from the interview. His native intrepidity
of mind, however, did not desert him. He declared
with the utmost firmness that he could not, with a safe
conscience, renounce opinions which he believed to be
true ; nor should any consideration ever induce him to
do what would be so base in itself and so offensive to
God. At the same time, he continued to express no
less reverence than formerly for the authority of the
apostolic see;'5 he signified his willingness to submit
the whole controversy to certain universities which he
named, and promised neither to write nor to preach
concerning indulgences for the future, provided his
adversaries were likewise enjoined to be silent with
•s Luth.,Opcr., vol. i. p. 164.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH. 473
respect to them.16 All these offers Cajetan disregarded
or rejected, and still insisted peremptorily on a simple
recantation, threatening him with ecclesiastical cen-
sures and forbidding him to appear again in his pres-
ence unless he resolved instantly to comply with what
he had required. This haughty and violent manner
of proceeding, as well as other circumstances, gave
Luther's friends such strong reasons to suspect that even
the imperial safe-conduct would not be able to protect
him from the legate's power and resentment, that they
prevailed on him to withdraw secretly from Augsburg
and to return to his own country. But before his de-
parture, according to a form of which there had been
some examples, he prepared a solemn appeal from the
pope, ill informed at that time concerning his cause, to
the pope when he should receive more full information
with respect to it.17
Cajetan, enraged at Luther's abrupt retreat and at
the publication of his appeal, wrote to the elector of
Saxony, complaining of both, and requiring him, as he
regarded the peace of the Church or the authority of
its head, either to send that seditious monk a prisoner
to Rome, or to banish him out of his territories. It
was not from theological considerations that Frederic
had hitherto countenanced Luther : he seems to have
been much a stranger to controversies of that kind,
and to have been little interested in them. His pro-
tection flowed almost entirely, as hath been already
observed, from political motives, and was afforded with
16 Luth., Oper., vol. i. p. 160.
'/ Sleid., Hist, of Reform., p. 7. — Seckend., p. 45. — Luth., Open,
i. 163.
40*
474
KEIGN OF THE
great secrecy and caution. He had neither heard any
of Luther's discourses nor read any of his books;
and though all Germany resounded with his fame,
he had never once admitted him into his presence.'8
But upon this demand which the cardinal made, it be-
came necessary to throw off somewhat of his former
reserve. He had been at great expense and had
bestowed much attention on founding a new univer-
sity, an object of considerable importance to every
German prince ; and, foreseeing how fatal a blow the
removal of Luther would be to its reputation,1' he,
under various pretexts and with many professions of
esteem for the cardinal, as well as of reverence for ,
the pope, not only declined complying with either of
his requests, but openly discovered great concern for
Luther's safety.90
The inflexible rigor with which Cajetan insisted on
a simple recantation gave great offence to Luther's fol-
lowers in that age, and hath since been censured as
imprudent by several popish writers. But it was im-
possible for the legate to act another part. The judges
before whom Luther had been required to appear at
Rome were so eager to display their zeal against his
errors, that, without waiting for the expiration of sixty
days allowed him in the citation, they had already
condemned him as a heretic." Leo had, in several
of his briefs and letters, stigmatized him as a child of
iniquity and a man given up to a reprobate sense.
«« Seckend., p. 27.— Sleid.. Hist., p. la.
*9 Seckend.. p. 59.
«o Sleid., Hist., p. 10.— Luth.. Oper., i. 172.
» Luther., Oper.. i. 161.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH.
475
Nothing less, therefore, than a recantation could save
the honor of the Church, whose maxim it is never to
abandon the smallest point that it has established, and
which is even precluded, by its pretensions to infalli-
bility, from having it in its power to do so.
Luther's situation at this time was such as would
have filled any other person with the most disquieting
apprehensions. He could not expect that a prince so
prudent and cautious as Frederic would on his account
set at defiance the thunders of the Church, and brave
the papal power, which had crushed some of the most
powerful of the German emperors. He knew what
veneration was paid, in that age, to ecclesiastical de-
cisions ; what terrors ecclesiastical censures carried
along with them, and how easily these might intimi-
date and shake a prince who was rather his protector
from policy than his disciple from conviction. If he
should be obliged to quit Saxony, he had no prospect
of any other asylum, and must stand exposed to what-
ever punishment the rage or bigotry of his enemies
could inflict. Though sensible of his danger, he dis-
covered no symptoms of timidity or remissness, but
continued to vindicate his own conduct and opinions
and to inveigh against those of his adversaries with
more vehemence than ever.22
But as every step taken by the court of Rome, par-
ticularly the irregular sentence by which he had been
so precipitately declared a heretic, convinced Luther
that Leo would soon proceed to the most violent meas-
ures against him, he had recourse to the only expedient
in his power in order to prevent the effect of the papal
23 Seckend., p. 59.
476 REIGN OF THE
censures. He appealed to a general council, which he
affirmed to be the representative of the Catholic Church
and superior in power to the pope, who, being a fal-
lible man, might err,>as St. Peter, the most perfect of
his predecessors, had erred.13
It soon appeared that Luther had not formed rash
conjectures concerning the intentions of the Romish
Church. A bull of a date prior to his appeal was
issued by the pope, in which he magnifies the virtue
and efficacy of indulgences, in terms as extravagant as
any of his predecessors had ventured to use in the
darkest ages ; and, without applying such palliatives or
mentioning such concessions as a more enlightened
period and the disposition in the minds of many men
at that juncture seemed to call for, he required all
Christians to assent to what he delivered as the doc-
trine of the Catholic Church, and subjected those who
should hold or teach any contrary opinion to the
heaviest ecclesiastical censures.
Among Luther's followers, this bull, which they
considered as an unjustifiable effort of the pope in
order to preserve that rich branch of his revenue which
arose from indulgences, produced little effect. But
among the rest of his countrymen, such a clear decision
of the sovereign pontiff against him, and enforced by
such dreadful penalties, must have been attended with
consequences very fatal to his cause, if these had not
been prevented in a great measure by the death of the
emperor Maximilian, whom both his principles and his
interest prompted to support the authority of the holy
see. In consequence of this event, the vicariat of that
»3Slcid., Hist.. 12.— Luth.. Opcr., i. 179.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH,
477
part of Germany which is governed by the Saxon laws
devolved to the elector of Saxony ; and under the
shelter of his friendly administration Luther not only
enjoyed tranquillity, but his opinions were suffered,
during the interregnum which preceded Charles's elec-
tion, to take root in different places and to grow up to
some degree of strength and firmness. At the same
time, as the election of an emperor was a point more
interesting to Leo than a theological controversy,
which he did not understand, and of which he could
not foresee the consequences, he was so extremely
solicitous not to irritate a prince of such considerable
influence in the electoral college as Frederic, that he
discovered a great unwillingness to pronounce the sen-
tence of excommunication against Luther, which his
adversaries continually demanded with the most clam-
orous importunity.
To these political views of the pope, as well as to his
natural aversion from severe measures, was owing the
suspension of any further proceedings against Luther
for eighteen months. Perpetual negotiations, however,
in order to bring the matter to some amicable issue,
were carried on during that space. The manner in
which these were conducted having given Luther many
opportunities of observing the corruption of the court
of Rome, its obstinacy in adhering to established
errors, and its indifference about truth, however clearly
proposed or strongly proved, he began to utter some
doubts with regard to the divine original of the papal
authority. A public disputation was held upon this
important question at Leipsic, between Luther and
Eccius, one of his most learned and formidable antag-
478 REIGN OF THE
onists ; but it was as fruitless and indecisive as such
scholastic combats usually prove. Both parties boasted
of having obtained the victory ; both were confirmed
in their own opinions ; and no progress was made
towards deciding the point in controversy.*4
Nor did the spirit of opposition to the doctrines and
usurpations of the Romish Church break out in Saxony
alone : an attack no less violent, and occasioned by
the same causes, was made upon them about this time
in Switzerland. The Franciscans, being intrusted with
the promulgation of indulgences in that country, ex-
ecuted their commission with the same indiscretion
and rapaciousness which had rendered the Dominicans
so odious in Germany. They proceeded, nevertheless,
with uninterrupted success, until they arrived at Zurich.
There Zuinglius, a man not inferior to Luther himself
in zeal and intrepidity, ventured to oppose them ; and
being animated with a republican boldness, and free
from those restraints which subjection to the will of a
prince imposed on the German Reformer, he advanced
with more daring and rapid steps to overturn the whole
fabric of the established religion. ^ The appearance of
such a vigorous auxiliary, and the progress which he
made, was, at first, matter of great joy to Luther. On
the other, hand, the decrees of the Universities of Co-
logne and Louvain, which pronounced his opinions to
be erroneous, afforded great cause of triumph to his
adversaries.
But the undaunted spirit of Luther acquired addi-
tional fortitude from every instance of opposition ;
«« Luth., Oper., i. 199.
•t Sleid., Hist.. 22.— Seckcnd.. 59.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH. 479
and, pushing on his inquiries and attacks from one
doctrine to another, he began to shake the firmest
foundations on which the wealth or power of the
Church was established. Leo came at last to be con-
vinced that all hopes of reclaiming him by forbearance
were vain ; several prelates of great wisdom exclaimed,
no less than Luther's personal adversaries, against the
pope's unprecedented lenity in permitting an incorrigi-
ble heretic, who during three years had been endeavor-
ing to subvert every thing sacred and venerable, still
to remain within the bosom of the Church ; the dignity
of the papal see rendered the most vigorous proceed-
ings necessary ; the new emperor, it was hoped, would
support its authority ; nor did it seem probable that
the elector of Saxony would so far forget his usual
caution as to set himself in opposition to their united
power. The college of cardinals was often assembled,
in order to prepare the sentence with due deliberation,
and the ablest canonists were consulted how it might
be expressed with unexceptionable formality. At last,
on the 1 5th of June, 1520, the bull, so fatal to the
Church of Rome, was issued. Forty-one propositions,
extracted out of Luther's works, are therein condemned
as heretical, scandalous, and offensive to pious ears ;
all persons are forbidden to read his writings, upon
pain of excommunication ; such as had any of them in
their custody were commanded to commit them to the
flames; he himself, if he did not within sixty days
publicly recant his errors and burn his books, is pro-
nounced an obstinate heretic, is excommunicated, and
delivered unto Satan for the destruction of his flesh ;
and all secular, princes are required, under pain of
48o REIGN OF THE
incurring the same censure, to seize his person, that he
might be punished as his crimes deserved."6
The publication of this bull in Germany excited
various passions in different places. Luther's adver-
saries exulted, as if his party and opinions had been
crushed at once by such a decisive blow. His fol-
lowers, whose reverence for the papal authority daily
diminished, read Leo's anathemas with more indigna-
tion than terror. In some cities the people violently
obstructed the promulgation of the bull ; in others,
the persons who attempted to publish it were insulted,
and the bull itself was torn in pieces and trodden
under foot.*7
This sentence, which he had for some time expected,
did not disconcert or intimidate Luther. After re-
newing his appeal to the general council, he published
remarks upon the bull of excommunication ; and,
being now persuaded that Leo had been guilty both
of impiety and injustice in his proceedings against
him, he boldly declared the pope to be that man of
sin, or Antichrist, whose appearance is foretold in the
New Testament ; he declaimed against his tyranny
and usurpations with greater violence than ever ; he
exhorted all Christian princes to shake off such an
ignominious yoke, and boasted of his own happiness
in being marked out as the object of ecclesiastical
indignation, because he had ventured to assert the
liberty of mankind. Nor did he confine his expres-
sions of contempt for the papal power to words alone :
Leo having, in execution of the bull, appointed Lu-
"* Pallav.. 27. — Luth., Oper., i. 423.
i Seckend., p. 116.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH. 481
ther's books to be burnt at Rome, he, by way of
retaliation, assembled all the professors and students in
the University of Wittemberg, and with great pomp,
in presence of a vast multitude of spectators, cast the
volumes of the canon law, together with the bull of
excommunication, into the flames ; and his example
was imitated in several cities of Germany. The man-
ner in which he justified this action was still more
offensive than the action itself. Having collected from
the canon law some of the most extravagant propo-
sitions with regard to the plenitude and omnipotence
of the papal power, as well as the subordination of all
secular jurisdiction to the authority of the holy see, he
published these with a commentary, pointing out the
impiety of such tenets and their evident tendency to
subvert all civil government.28
Such was the progress which Luther had made, and
such the state of his party, when Charles arrived in
Germany. No secular prince had hitherto embraced
Luther's opinions ; no change in the established forms
of worship had been introduced ; and no encroach-
ments had been made upon the possessions or jurisdic-
tion of the clergy ; neither party had yet proceeded to
action ; and the controversy, though conducted with
great heat and passion on both sides, was still carried
on with its proper weapons, — with theses, disputations,
and replies. A deep impression, however, was made
upon the minds of the people; their reverence for
ancient institutions and doctrines was shaken ; and the
materials were already scattered which kindled into
the combustion that soon spread over all Germany.
28 Luth., Oper., ii. 316.
Charles. — VOL. I. — v 41
482 REIGN OF THE
Students crowded from every province of the empire to
Wittemberg; and under Luther himself, Melancthon,
Carlostadius, and other masters then reckoned eminent,
imbibed opinions which, on their return, they propa-
gated among their countrymen, who listened to them
with that fond attention which truth, when accompanied
with novelty, naturally commands.39
During the course of these transactions the court of
Rome, though under the direction of one of its ablest
pontiffs, neither formed its schemes with that profound
sagacity nor executed them with that steady perse-
verance which had long rendered it the most perfect
model of political wisdom to the rest of Europe. When
Luther began to declaim against indulgences, two differ-
ent methods of treating him lay before the pope, by
adopting one of which the attempt, it is probable,
might have been crushed, and by the other it might
have been rendered innocent. If Luther's first de-
parture from the doctrines of the Church had instantly
drawn upon him the weight of its censures, the dread
of these might have restrained the elector of Saxony
from protecting him, might have deterred the people
from listening to his discourses, or even might have
overawed Luther himself; and his name, like that of
many good men before his time, would now have been
known to the world only for his honest but ill-timed
effort to correct the corruptions of the Romish Church.
On the other hand, if the pope had early testified some
displeasure with the vices and excesses of the friars who
had been employed in publishing indulgences, if he
had forbidden the mentioning of controverted points
»» Scckcnd.. 59.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH. 483
in discourses addressed to the people, if he had enjoined
the disputants on both sides to be silent, if he had been
careful not to risk the credit of the Church by defining
articles which had hitherto been left undetermined,
Luther would probably have stopped short at his first
discoveries: he would not have been forced, in self-
defence, to venture upon new ground, and the whole
controversy might possibly have died away insensibly,
or, being confined entirely to the schools, might have
been carried on with as little detriment to the peace
and unity of the Romish Church as that which the
Franciscans maintained with the Dominicans concern-
ing the immaculate conception, or that between the
Jansenists and Jesuits concerning the operations of
grace. But Leo, by fluctuating between these opposite
systems, and by embracing them alternately, defeated
the effects of both. By an improper exertion of au-
thority, Luther was exasperated, but not restrained.
By a mistaken exercise of lenity, time was given for
his opinions to spread, but no progress was made
towards reconciling him to the Church ; and even the
sentence of excommunication, which at another junc-
ture might have been decisive, was delayed so long
that it became at last scarcely an object of terror.
Such a series of errors in the measures of a court
seldom chargeable with mistaking its own true interest
is not more astonishing than the wisdom which appeared
in Luther's conduct. Though a perfect stranger to the
maxims of worldly wisdom, and incapable, from the
impetuosity of his temper, of observing them, he was
led naturally, by the method in which he made his
discoveries, to carry on his operations in a manner
484 REIGN OF THE
which contributed more to their success than if every
step he took had been prescribed by the most artful
policy. At the time when he set himself to op-
pose Tetzel, he was far from intending that reforma-
tion which he afterwards effected, and would have
trembled with horror at the thoughts of what at last
he gloried in accomplishing. The knowledge of truth
was not poured into his mind all at once by any
special revelation ; he acquired it by industry and
meditation, and his progress, of consequence, was
gradual. The doctrines of popery are so closely con-
nected that the exposing of one error conducted him
naturally to the detection of others ; and all the parts
of that artificial fabric were so united together that the
pulling down of one loosened the foundation of the
rest and rendered it more easy to overturn them. In
confuting the extravagant tenets concerning indul-
gences, he was obliged to inquire into the true cause
of our justification and acceptance with God. The
knowledge of that discovered to him by degrees the
inutility of pilgrimages and penances ; the vanity of
relying on the intercession of saints ; the impiety of
worshipping them ; the abuses of auricular confession ;
and the imaginary existence of purgatory. The detec-
tion of so many errors led him, of course, to consider
the character of the clergy who taught them ; and their
exorbitant wealth, the .severe injunction of celibacy,
together with the intolerable rigor of monastic vows,
appeared to him the great sources of their corruption.
From thence it was but one step to call in question the
divine original of the papal power, which authorized
and supported such a system of errors. As the unavoid-
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH. 485
able result of the whole, he disclaimed the infallibility
of the pope, the decisions of schoolmen, or any other
human authority, and appealed to the word of God as
the only standard of theological truth. To this gradual
progress Luther owed his success. His hearers were
not shocked at first by any proposition too repugnant
to their ancient prejudices or too remote from estab-
lished opinions. They were conducted insensibly from
one doctrine to another. Their faith and conviction
were able to keep pace with his discoveries. To the
same cause was owing the inattention, and even indif-
ference, with which Leo viewed Luther's first proceed-
ings. A direct or violent attack upon the authority of
the Church would at once have drawn upon Luther
the whole weight of its vengeance ; but as this was far
from his thoughts, as he continued long to profess great
respect for the pope, and made repeated offers of sub-
mission to his decisions, there seemed to be no reason
for apprehending that he would prove the author of
any desperate revolt ; and he was suffered to proceed,
step by step, in undermining the constitution of the
Church, until the remedy applied at last came too late
to produce any effect.
But whatever advantages Luther's cause derived,
either from the mistakes of his adversaries or from
his own good conduct, the sudden progress and firm
establishment of his doctrines must not be ascribed to
these alone. The same corruptions in the Church of
Rome which he condemned had been attacked long
before his time. The same opinions whJch he now
propagated had been published in different places, and
were supported by the same arguments. Waldus in
41*
486 REIGN OF THE
the twelfth century, WicklifT in the fourteenth, and
Huss in the fifteenth, had inveighed against the errors
of popery with great boldness, and confuted them with
more ingenuity and learning than could have been
expected in those illiterate ages in which they flour-
ished. But all these premature attempts towards a
reformation proved abortive. Such feeble lights, in-
capable of dispelling the darkness which then covered
the Church, were soon extinguished ; and though the
doctrines of these pious men produced some effects
and left some traces in the countries where they taught,
they were neither extensive nor considerable. Many
powerful causes contributed to facilitate Luther's pro-
gress, which either did not exist, or did not operate
with full force, in their days ; and at that critical and
mature juncture when he appeared, circumstances of
every kind concurred in rendering each step that he
took successful.
The long and scandalous schism which divided the
Church during the latter part of the fourteenth and
the beginning of the fifteenth centuries had a great
effect in diminishing the veneration with which the
world had been accustomed to view the papal dignity.
Two or three contending pontiffs roaming about
Europe at a time, fawning on the princes whom they
wanted to gain, extorting large sums of money from
the countries which acknowledged their authority,
excommunicating their rivals, and cursing those who
adhered to them, discredited their pretensions to in-
fallibility and exposed both their persons and their
office to contempt. The laity, to whom all parties
appealed, came to learn that some right of private
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH. 487
judgment belonged to them, and acquired the exercise
of it so far as to choose, among these infallible guides,
whom they would please to follow. The proceedings
of the councils of Constance and Basil spread this dis-
respect for the Romish see still wider, and, by their
bold exertion of authority in deposing and electing
popes, taught men that there was in the Church a
jurisdiction superior even to the papal power, which
they had long believed to be supreme.
The wound given on that occasion to the papal au-
thority was scarcely healed up when the pontificates of
Alexander VI. and Julius II., both able princes, but
detestable ecclesiastics, raised new scandal in Christen-
dom. The profligate morals of the former in private
life, the fraud, the injustice, and cruelty of his public
administration, place him on a level with those tyrants
whose deeds are the greatest reproach to human nature.
The latter, though a stranger to the odious passions
which prompted his predecessor to commit so many
unnatural crimes, was under the dominion of a restless
and ungovernable ambition, that scorned all considera-
tions of gratitude, of decency, or of justice, when they
obstructed the execution of his schemes. It was hardly
possible to be firmly persuaded that the infallible knowl-
edge of a religion whose chief precepts are purity and
humility was deposited in the breasts of the profligate
Alexander or the overbearing Julius. The opinion
of those who exalted the authority of a council above
that of the pope spread wonderfully under their pon-
tificates; and as the emperor and French kings, who
were alternately engaged in hostilities with those active
pontiffs, permitted and even encouraged their subjects
488 REIGN OF THE
to expose their vices with all the violence of invective
and all the petulance of ridicule, men's ears being
accustomed to these were not shocked with the bold
or ludicrous discourses of Luther and his followers
concerning the papal dignity.
Nor were such excesses confined to the head of the
Church alone. Many of the dignified clergy, secular
as well as regular, being the younger sons of noble
families, who had assumed the ecclesiastical character
for no other reason but that they found in the Church
stations of great dignity and affluence, were accustomed
totally to neglect the duties of their office, and indulged
themselves without reserve in all the vices to which great
wealth and idleness naturally give birth. Though the
inferior clergy were prevented by their poverty from
imitating the expensive luxury of their superiors, yet
gross ignorance and low debauchery rendered them as
contemptible as the others were odious.30 The severe
and unnatural law of celibacy, to which both were
equally subject, occasioned such irregularities that in
several parts of Europe the concubinage of priests was
not only permitted, but enjoined. The employing of
a remedy so contrary to the precepts of the Christian
3° The corrupt state of the Church prior to the Reformation is
acknowledged by an author who was both abundantly able to judge
concerning this matter and who was not over-forward to confess it.
" For some years." says Bellartnine, " before the Lutheran and Cal-
vinistic heresies were published, there was not (as contemporary
authors testify) any severity in ecclesiastical judicatorics, any disci-
pline with regard to morals, any knowledge of sacred literature, any
reverence for divine things : there was not almost any religion remain-
ing." Bcllarminus, Concioxxviii.,Oper., torn. vi. col. 296, edit. Colon.,
1617, apud Gcrdcsii Hist. Evan. Renovati, vol. i. p. 25.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH. 489
religion is the strongest proof that the crimes it was
intended to prevent were both numerous and flagrant.
Long before the sixteenth century, many authors of
great name and authority give such descriptions of the
dissolute morals of the clergy as seem almost incredible
in the present age.31 The voluptuous lives of ecclesias-
tics occasioned great scandal, not only because their
manners were inconsistent witlj their sacred character,
but the laity, being accustomed to see several of them
raised from the lowest stations to the greatest affluence,
did not show the same indulgence to their excesses as
to those of persons possessed of hereditary wealth or
3» Centum Gravamina Nation. German, in Fascicule Rer. expetend,
et fugiendarum, per Ortuinum Gratium, vol. i. p. 361. See innumer-
able passages to the same purpose in the Appendix, or second volume,
published by Edw. Brown. See also Herm. von der Hardt, Hist. Lit.
Reform., pars iii., and the vast collections of Walchius in his four
volumes of Monumenta Medii ^Evi, Getting., 1757. — The authors I
have quoted enumerate the vices of the clergy. When they ventured
upon actions manifestly criminal, we may conclude that they would
be less scrupulous with respect to the decorum of behavior. Accord-
ingly, their neglect of the decent conduct suitable to their profession
seems to have given great offence. In order to illustrate this, I shall
transcribe one passage, because it is not taken from any author whose
professed purpose it was to describe the improper conduct of the
clergy, and who, from prejudice or artifice, may be supposed to
aggravate the charge against them. The emperor Charles IV., in a
letter to the archbishop of Mentz, A.D. 1359, exhorting him to reform
the disorders of the clergy, thus expresses himself: " De Christi patri-
monio, ludos, hastiludia et torneamenta exercent ; habitum militarem
cum prastextis aureis et argenteis gestant, et calceos militares ; comam
et barbam nutriunt, et nihil quod ad vitam et ordinem ecclesiasticum
spectat, ostendunt. Militaribus se duntaxat et secularibus actibus,
vita et moribus, in suae salutis dispendium, et generale populi scanda-
lum, immiscent." Codex Diplomaticus Anecdotorum, per Val. Ferd.
Gudenum, 410, vol. iii. p. 438.
V*
49°
REIGN OF THE
grandeur; and, viewing their condition with more
envy, they censured their crimes with greater severity.
Nothing, therefore, could be more acceptable to Lu-
ther's hearers than the violence with which he exclaimed
against the immoralities of churchmen ; and every per-
son in his audience could, from his own observation,
confirm the truth of his invectives.
The scandal of these grimes was greatly increased by
the facility with which such as committed them obtained
pardon. In all the European kingdoms, the importance
of the civil magistrate, under forms of government ex-
tremely irregular and turbulent, made it necessary to
relax the rigor of justice j and, upon payment of a
certain fine or composition prescribed by law, judges
were accustomed to remit further punishment, even of
the most atrocious crimes. The court of Rome, always
attentive to the means of augmenting its revenues,
imitated this practice, and, by a preposterous accom-
modation of it to religious concerns, granted its pardons
to such transgressors as gave a sum of money in order
to purchase them. As the idea of a composition for
crimes was then familiar, this strange traffic was so far
from shocking mankind, that it soon became general ;
and, in order to prevent any imposition in carrying it
on, the officers of the Roman chancery published a
book containing the precise sum to be exacted for the
pardon of every particular sin. A deacon guilty of
murder was absolved for twenty crowns. A bishop, or
abbot, might assassinate for three hundred livres. Any
ecclesiastic might violate his vows of chastity, even
with the most aggravating circumstances, for the third
part of that sum. Even such shocking crimes as
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH.
491
occur seldom in human life, and perhaps exist only in
the impure imagination of a casuist, were taxed at a
very moderate rate. When a more regular and perfect
mode of dispensing justice came to be introduced into
civil courts, the practice of paying a composition for
crimes went gradually into disuse ; and, mankind
having acquired more accurate notions concerning
religion and morality, the conditions on which the
courts of Rome bestowed its pardons appeared impious,
and were considered as one great source of ecclesiastical
corruption.32
This degeneracy of manners among the clergy might
have been tolerated, perhaps, with greater indulgence,
if their exorbitant riches and power had not enabled
them at the same time to encroach on the rights of
every other order of men. It is the genius of super-
stition, fond of whatever is pompous or grand, to set no
bounds to its liberality towards persons whom it esteems
sacred, and to think its expressions of regard defective
unless it hath raised them to the height of wealth and
authority. Hence flowed the extensive revenues and
jurisdiction possessed by the Church in every country
in Europe, and which were become intolerable to the
laity, from whose undiscerning bounty they were at
first derived.
The burden, however, of ecclesiastical oppression
had fallen with such peculiar weight on the Germans
as rendered them, though naturally exempt from levity
and tenacious of their ancient customs, more inclinable
3* Fascicul. Rer. expet. et fug., i. 355.— J. G. Schelhornii Amcenit.
Literar. Francof., 1725, vol. ii. p. 369. — Diction, de Bayle, artic. Banck
et Tuppius. — Texa Cancel. Romanae, edit. Francof, 1651, passim.
492 REIGN OF THE
than any people in Europe to listen to those who called
on them to assert their liberty. During the long con-
tests between the popes and the emperors concerning
the right of investiture, and the wars which these occa-
sioned, most of the considerable German ecclesiastics
joined the papal faction ; and while engaged in re-
bellion against the head of the empire, they seized
the imperial domains and revenues and usurped the
imperial jurisdiction within their own dioceses. Upon
the re-establishment of tranquillity, they still retained
these usurpations ; as if by the length of an unjust pos-
session they had acquired a legal right to them. The
emperors, too feeble to wrest them out of their hands,
were obliged to grant the clergy fiefs of those ample
territories ; and they enjoyed all the immunities, as well
as honors, which belonged to feudal barons. By means
of these, many bishops and abbots in Germany were
not only ecclesiastics, but princes ; and their character
and manners partook more of the license too frequent
among the latter, than of the sanctity which became
the former.13
The unsettled state of government in Germany, and
the frequent wars to which that country was exposed,
contributed in another manner towards aggrandizing
ecclesiastics. The only property, during those times
of anarchy, which enjoyed security from the oppression
of the great, or the ravages of war, was that which
belonged to the Church. This was owing not only to
the great reverence for the sacred character prevalent in
those ages, but to a superstitious dread of the sentence
of excommunication, which the clergy were ready to
13 F. Paul, History of Ecclesiastical Benefices, p. 107.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH. 493
denounce against all who invaded their possessions.
Many, observing this, made a surrender of their lands
to ecclesiastics, and, consenting to hold them in fee of
the Church, obtained, as its vassals, a degree of safety
which without this device they were unable to procure.
By such an increase of the number of their vassals, the
power of ecclesiastics received a real and permanent
augmentation ; and, as lands held in fee by the limited
tenures common in those ages often returned to the
persons on whom the fief depended, considerable addi-
tions were made in this way to the property of the
clergy.34
The solicitude of the clergy in providing for the
safety of their own persons was still greater than that
which they displayed in securing their possessions;
and their efforts to attain it were still more successful.
As they were consecrated to the priestly office with
much outward solemnity, were distinguished from the
rest of mankind by a peculiar garb and manner of life,
and arrogated to their order many privileges which do
not belong to other Christians, they naturally became
the objects of excessive veneration. As a superstitious
spirit spread, they were regarded as beings of a supe-
rior species to the profane laity, whom it would be
impious to try by the same laws or to subject to the
same punishments. This exemption from civil juris-
diction, granted at first to ecclesiastics as a mark of
respect, they soon claimed as a point of right. This
valuable immunity of the priesthood is asserted not
only in the decrees of popes and councils, but was
34 F. Paul, Hist, of Eccles. Benef., p. 66.— Boulainvilliers, Etat de
France, torn. i. p. 169, Lond., 1737.
Charles. — VOL. I. 42
494
REIGN OF THE
confirmed in the most ample form by many of the
greatest emperors.*5 As long as the clerical character
remained, the person of an ecclesiastic was in some
degree sacred ; and unless he were degraded from his
office the unhallowed hand of the civil judge durst not
touch him. But, as the power of degradation was
lodged in the spiritual courts, the difficulty and ex-
pense of obtaining such a sentence too often secured
absolute impunity to offenders. Many assumed the
clerical character for no other reason than that it
might screen them from the punishment which their
actions deserved.15 The German nobles complained
loudly that these anointed malefactors, as they called
them,37 seldom suffered capitally, even for the most
atrocious crimes ; and their independence of the civil
magistrate is often mentioned in the remonstrances of
the diets, as a privilege equally pernicious to society
and to the morals of the clergy.
While the clergy asserted the privileges of their own
order with so much zeal, they made continual encroach-
ments upon those of the laity. All causes relative to
matrimony, to testaments, to usury, to legitimacy of
birth, as well as those which concerned ecclesiastical
revenues, were thought to be so connected with re-
ligion that they could be tried only in the spiritual
courts. Not satisfied with this ample jurisdiction,
which extended to one-half of the subjects that gave
rise to litigation among men, the clergy, with wonder-
ful industry, and by a thousand inventions, endeavored
» Goldasti Constitut. Imperial.. Francof., 1673, vol. ii. pp. 92, 107.
a6 Rymer's Fcedera, vol. xiii. p. 532.
» Centum Gravam., \ 31.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH. 495
to draw all other causes into their own courts.38 As
they had engrossed almost the whole learning known
in the Dark Ages, the spiritual judges were commonly
so far superior in knowledge and abilities to those em-
ployed in the secular courts that the people at first
favored any stretch that was made to bring their affairs
under the cognizance of a judicature on the decisions
of which they could rely with more perfect confidence
than on those of the civil courts. Thus, the interest
of the Church and the inclination of the people, con-
curring to elude the jurisdiction of the lay-magistrate,
soon reduced it almost to nothing.39 By means of
this, vast power accrued to ecclesiastics, and no incon-
siderable addition was made to their revenue by the
sums paid in those ages to the persons who adminis-
tered justice.
The penalty by which the spiritual courts enforced
their sentences added great weight and terror to their
jurisdiction. The censure of excommunication was
instituted originally for preserving the purity of the
Church ; that obstinate offenders, whose impious tenets
or profane lives were a reproach to Christianity, might
be cut off from the society of the faithful : this, eccle-
siastics did not scruple to convert into an engine for
promoting their own power, and they inflicted it on
the most frivolous occasions. Whoever despised any
of their decisions, even concerning civil matters, im-
mediately incurred this dreadful censure, which not
only excluded them from all the privileges of a Chris-
tian, but deprived them of their rights as men and
# Giannone, History of Naples, book xix. j| 3.
39 Centum Gravam., g 9, 56, 64.
496 REIGN OF THE
citizens;40 and the dread of this rendered even the
most fierce and turbulent spirits obsequious to the
authority of the Church.
Nor did the clergy neglect the proper methods of
preserving the wealth and power which they had ac-
quired with such industry and address. The posses-
sions of the Church, being consecrated to God, were
declared to be unalienable; so that the funds of a
society which was daily gaining and could never lose,
grew to be immense. In Germany, it was computed
that the ecclesiastics had got into their hands more
than one-half of the national property.41 In other
countries the proportion varied ; but the share belong-
ing to the Church was everywhere prodigious. These
vast possessions were not subject to the burdens im-
posed on the lands of the laity. The German clergy
were exempted by law from all taxes ; *• and if, on an
extraordinary emergence, ecclesiastics were pleased to
grant some aid towards supplying the public exigencies,
^this was considered as a free gift flowing from their
own generosity, which the civil magistrate had no title
to demand, far less to exact. In consequence of this
strange solecism in government, the laity in Germany
had the mortification to find themselves loaded with
excessive impositions, because such as possessed the
greatest property were freed from any obligation to
support or defend the state.
Grievous, however, as the exorbitant wealth and
numerous privileges of the clerical order were to the
*> Centum Gravam.. § 34. *« Ibid., g 28.
*" Id., ibid.— Goldasti Const. Imper.. ii. 79. 108.— Pfeffel. Hist, du
Droit Publ.. 350, 374.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH.
497
other members of the Germanic body, they would
have reckoned it some mitigation of the evil if these
had been possessed only by ecclesiastics residing
among themselves, who would have been less apt to
make an improper use of their riches or to exercise
their rights with unbecoming rigor. But the bishops
of Rome having early put in a claim, the boldest that
ever human ambition suggested, of being supreme
and infallible heads of the Christian Church, they, by
their profound policy and unwearied perseverance, by
their address in availing themselves of every circum-
stance which occurred, by taking advantage of the
superstition of some princes, of the necessities of
others, and of the credulity of the people, at length
established their pretensions, in opposition both to the
interest and common sense of mankind. Germany
was the country which these ecclesiastical sovereigns
governed with most absolute authority. They excom-
municated and deposed some of its most illustrious
emperors, and excited their subjects, their ministers,
and even their children, to take arms against them.
Amidst these contests, the popes continually extended
their own immunities, spoiling the secular princes
gradually of their most valuable prerogatives ; and the
German Church felt all the rigor of that oppression
which flows from subjection to foreign dominion and
foreign exactions.
The right of conferring benefices, which the popes
usurped during that period of confusion, was an acqui-
sition of great importance, and exalted the ecclesiastical
power upon the ruins of the temporal. The emperors
and other princes of Germany had long been in pos-
42*
498 REIGN OF TJfE
session of this right, which served to increase both
their authority and their revenue ; but by wresting it
out of their hands the popes were enabled to fill the
empire with their own creatures; they accustomed a
great body of every prince's subjects to depend, not
upon him, but upon the Roman see ; they bestowed
upon strangers the richest benefices in every country,
and drained their wealth to supply the luxury of a
foreign court. Even the patience of the most super-
stitious ages could no longer bear such oppression ;
and so loud and frequent wei*e the complaints and
murmurs of the Germans that the popes, afraid of
irritating them too far, consented, contrary to their
usual practice, to abate somewhat of their pretensions,
and to rest satisfied with the right of nomination to
such benefices as happened to fall vacant during six
months in the year, leaving the disposal of the re-
mainder to the princes and other legal patrons.43
But the court of Rome easily found expedients for
eluding an agreement which put such restraints on its
power. The practice of reserving certain benefices in
every country to the pope's immediate nomination,
which had been long known, and often complained of,
was extended far beyond its ancient bounds. All the
benefices possessed by cardinals or any of the numer-
ous officers in the Roman court, those held by persons
who happened to die at Rome, or within forty miles of
that city on their journey to or from it, such as became
vacant by translation, with many others, were included
in the number of reserved benefices. Julius II. and
4J F. Paul, Hist, of Eccles. Benef., 904.— Gold., Constit. Imper.,
i.408.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH.
499
Leo X., stretching the matter to the utmost, often col-
lated to benefices where the right of reservation had
not been declared, on pretence of having mentally re-
served this privilege to themselves. The right of reser-
vation, however, even with this extension, had certain
limits, as it could be exercised only where the benefice
was actually vacant ; and therefore, in order to render
the exertion of papal power unbounded, expectative
graces, or mandates nominating a person to succeed to
a benefice upon the first vacancy that should happen,
were brought into use. By means of these, Germany
was filled with persons' who were servilely dependent
on the court of Rome, from which they had received
such reversionary grants ; princes were defrauded, in
a great degree, of their prerogatives; the rights of
lay-patrons were preoccupied, and rendered almost
entirely vain.44 •>
The manner in which these extraordinary powers
were exercised rendered them still more odious and in-
tolerable. The avarice and extortion of the court of
Rome were become excessive, almost to a proverb.
The practice of selling benefices was so notorious that
no pains were taken to conceal or to disguise it. Com-
panies of merchants openly purchased the benefices of
different districts in Germany from the pope's minis-
ters, and retailed them at an advanced price.45 Pious
men beheld with deep regret these simoniacal transac-
tions, so unworthy the ministers of a Christian Church ;
** Centum Gravam., g 21. — Fascic. Rer. expet., etc., 334. — Gold.,
Const. Imper., i. 391, 404,405. — F. Paul, Hist, of Eccl. Benef., 167,
199.
<5 Fascic. Rer. expet., i. 359.
500
REIGN OF THE
while politicians complained of the loss sustained by
the exportation of so much wealth in that irreligious
traffic.
The sums, indeed, which the court of Rome drew
by its stated and legal impositions from all the coun-
tries acknowledging its authority were so considerable
that it is not strange that princes, as well as their sub-
jects, murmured at the smallest addition made to them
by unnecessary or illicit means. Every ecclesiastical
person, upon his admission to his benefice, paid anna/s,
or one year's produce of his living, to the pope ; and,
as that tax was exacted with great rigor, its amount was
very great. To this must be added the frequent de-
mands made by the popes of free gifts from the clergy,
together with the extraordinary levies of tenths upon
ecclesiastical benefices, on pretence of expeditions
against the Turks, seldom intended or carried into ex-
ecution ; and, from the whole, the vast proportion of
the revenues of the Church which flowed continually
to Rome may be estimated.
Such were the dissolute manners, the exorbitant
wealth, the enormous power and privileges, of the
clergy before the Reformation ; such the oppressive
rigor of that dominion which the popes had established
over the Christian world ; and such the sentiments con-
cerning them that prevailed in Germany at the begin-
ning of the sixteenth century. Nor has this sketch
been copied from the controversial writers of that age,
who, in the heat of disputation, may be suspected of
having exaggerated the errors or of having misrepre-
sented the conduct of that Church which they labored
to overturn : it is formed upon more authentic evidence,
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH.
5°'
— upon the memorials and remonstrances of the imperial
diets, enumerating the grievances under which the em-
pire groaned, in order to obtain the redress of them.
Dissatisfaction must have arisen to a great height among
the people, when these grave assemblies expressed them-
selves with that degree of acrimony which abounds in
their remonstrances ; and if they demanded the aboli-
tion of these enormities with so much vehemence, the
people, we may be assured, uttered their sentiments and
desires in bolder and more virulent language.
To men thus prepared for shaking off the yoke,
Luther addressed himself with certainty of success.
As they had long felt its weight, and had borne it
with impatience, they listened with joy to the first offer
of procuring them deliverance. Hence proceeded the
fond and eager reception that his doctrines met with,
and the rapidity with which they spread over all the
provinces of Germany. Even the impetuosity and
fierceness of Luther's spirit, his confidence in asserting
his own opinions, and the arrogance as well as con-
tempt wherewith he treated all them who differed from
him, which in ages of greater moderation and refine-
ment have been reckoned defects in the character of
that Reformer, did not appear excessive to his contem-
poraries, whose minds were strongly agitated by those
interesting controversies which he carried on, and who
had themselves endured the rigor of papal tyranny and
seen the corruptions in the Church against which he
exclaimed.
Nor were they offended at that gross scurrility with
which his polemical writings are filled, or at the low
buffoonery which he sometimes introduces into his
502
REIGN OF THE
gravest discourses. No dispute was managed in those
rude times without a large portion of the former ; and
the latter was common, even on the most solemn occa-
sions and in treating the most sacred subjects. So far
were either of these from doing hurt to his cause that
invective and ridicule had some effect, as well as more
laudable arguments, in exposing the errors of popery
and in determining mankind to abandon them.
Besides all these causes of Luther's rapid progress,
arising from the nature of his enterprise and the junc-
ture at which he undertook it, he reaped advantage
from some foreign and adventitious circumstances, the
beneficial influence of which none of his forerunners in
the same course enjoyed. Among these may be reckoned
the invention of the art of printing, about half a century
before his time. By this fortunate discovery, the facility
of acquiring and of propagating knowledge was won-
derfully increased; and Luther's books, which must
othenvise have made their way slowly and with uncer-
tainty into distant countries, spread out at once all
over Europe. Nor were they read only by the rich
and the learned, who alone had access to books before
that invention : they got into the hands of the people,
who, upon this appeal to them as judges, ventured to
examine and to reject many doctrines which they had
formerly been required to believe without being taught
to understand them.
The revival of learning at the same period was a cir-
cumstance extremely friendly to the Reformation. The
study of the ancient Greek and Roman authors, by en-
lightening the human mind with liberal and sound
knowledge, roused it from that profound lethargy in
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH.
5°3
which it had been sunk during several centuries. Man-
kind seem, at that period, to have recovered the powers
of inquiring and of thinking for themselves, faculties
of which they had long lost the use ; and, fond of the
acquisition, they exercised them with great boldness
upon all subjects. They were not now afraid of enter-
ing an uncommon path or of embracing a new opinion.
Novelty appears rather to have been a recommendation
of a doctrine ; and, instead of being startled when the
daring hand of Luther drew aside or tore the veil which
covered and established errors, the genius of the age
applauded and aided the attempt. Luther, though a
stranger to elegance in taste or composition, zealously
promoted the cultivation of ancient literature ; and,
sensible of its being necessary to the right understand-
ing of the Scriptures, he himself had acquired con-
siderable knowledge both in the Hebrew and Greek
tongues. Melancthon, and some other of his disci-
ples, were eminent proficients in the polite arts ; and,
as the same ignorant monks who opposed the intro-
duction of learning into Germany set themselves with
equal fierceness against Luther's opinions, and declared
the good reception of the latter to be the effect of the
progress which the former had made, the cause of
learning and of the Reformation came to be considered
as closely connected with each other, and, in every
country, had the same friends and the same enemies.
This enabled the Reformers to carry on the contest
at first with great superiority. Erudition, industry,
accuracy of sentiment, purity of composition, even wit
and raillery, were almost wholly on their side, and
triumphed with ease over illiterate monks, whose rude
5°4
REIGN OF THE
arguments, expressed in a perplexed and barbarous
style, were found insufficient for the defence of a sys-
tem the errors of which all the art and ingenuity of its
later and more learned advocates have not been able
to palliate.
That bold spirit of inquiry, which the revival of
learning excited in Europe, was so favorable to the
Reformation that Luther was aided in his progress, and
mankind were prepared to embrace his doctrines, by
persons who did not wish success to his undertaking.
The greater part of the ingenious men who applied to
the study of ancient literature towards the close of the
fifteenth century and the beginning of the sixteenth,
though they had no intention, and perhaps no wish,
to overturn the established system of religion, had
discovered the absurdity of many tenets and practices
authorized by the Church, and perceived the futility of
those arguments by which illiterate monks endeavored
to defend them. Their contempt of these advocates for
the received errors led them frequently to expose the
opinions which they supported, and to ridicule their
ignorance with great freedom and severity. By this,
men were prepared for the more serious attacks made
upon them by Luther ; and their reverence both for the
doctrines and persons against whom he inveighed was
considerably abated. This was particularly the case
in Germany. When the first attempts were made to
revive a taste for ancient learning in that country, the
ecclesiastics there, who were still more ignorant than
their brethren on the other side of the Alps, set them-
selves to oppose its progress with more active zeal ; and
the patrons of the new studies, in return, attacked them
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH.
505
with greater violence. In the writings of Reuchlin,
Hutten, and the other revivers of learning in Germany,
the corruptions of the Church of Rome are censured
with an acrimony of style little inferior to that of
Luther himself.46
From the same cause proceeded the frequent stric-
tures of Erasmus upon the errors of the Church, as
well as upon the ignorance and vices of the clergy.
His reputation and authority were so high in Europe
at the beginning of the sixteenth century, and his
works were read with such universal admiration, that
the effect of these deserves to be mentioned as one
of the circumstances which contributed considerably
towards Luther's success. Erasmus, having been des-
tined for the Church and trained up in the knowledge
of ecclesiastical literature, applied himself more to
theological inquiries than any of the revivers of learn-
ing in that age. His acute judgment and extensive
erudition enabled him to discover many errors both in
the doctrine and worship of the Romish Church. Some
of these he confuted with great solidity of reasoning
and force of eloquence. Others he treated as objects
of ridicule, and turned against them that irresistible
torrent of popular and satirical wit of which he had
the command. There was hardly any opinion or prac-
tice of the Romish Church which Luther endeavored
to reform, but what had been previously animadverted
upon by Erasmus and had afforded him subject either of
censure or of raillery. Accordingly, when Luther first
began his attack upon the Church, Erasmus seemed to
& Gerdesius, Hist. Evang. Renov., vol. i. pp. 141, 157. — Seckend.,
lib. i. p. 103. — Von der Hardt, Hist. Literar. Reform., pars ii.
Charles. — VOL. I. — w 43
506 KE/GN OF THE
applaud his conduct ; he courted the friendship of
several of his disciples and patrons, and condemned
the behavior and spirit of his adversaries.47 He con-
curred openly with him in inveighing against the
school divines, as the teachers of a system equally
unedifying and obscure. He joined him in endeav-
oring to turn the attention of men to the study of
the Holy Scriptures as the only standard of religious
truth.48
Various circumstances, however, prevented Erasmus
from holding the same course with Luther. The natural
timidity of his temper, his want of that strength of
mind which alone can prompt a man to assume the
character of a reformer,49 his excessive deference for
persons in high stations, his dread of losing the pen-
sions and other emoluments which their liberality had
conferred upon him, his extreme love of peace, and
hopes of reforming abuses gradually and by gentle
methods, all concurred in determining him not only
to repress and to moderate the zeal with which he had
once been animated against the errors of the Church,50
but to assume the character of a mediator between
*7 Seckend., lib. i. pp. 40, 96.
«* Von der Hardt, Histor. Literar. Reform., parsi. — Gerdes., Hist.
Evang. Renov., i. 147.
«» Erasmus himself is candid enough to acknowledge this. " Luther,"
says he, " has given us many a wholesome doctrine, and many a good
counsel. I wish he had not defeated the effect of them by intolerable
faults. But if he had written every thing in the most unexceptionable
manner. I had no inclination to die for the sake of truth. Every man
hath not the courage requisite to make a martyr ; and I am afraid
that, if I were put to the trial, I should imitate St. Peter." — Epist.
Erasmi, in Jortin's Life of Erasmus, vol. i. p. 373.
!° Jortin's Life of Erasmus, vol. i. p. 258.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH. 507
Luther and his opponents. But though Erasmus soon
began to censure Luther as too daring and impetuous,
and was at last prevailed upon to write against him, he
must nevertheless be considered as his forerunner and
auxiliary in this war upon the Church. He first scat-
tered the seeds which Luther cherished and brought to
maturity. His raillery and oblique censures prepared
the way for Luther's invectives and more direct attacks.
In this light Erasmus appeared to the zealous defenders
of the Romish Church in his own times.5' In this light
he must be considered by every person conversant in
the history of that period.
In this long enumeration of the circumstances which
combined in favoring the progress of Luther's opinions
or in weakening the resistance of his adversaries, I have
avoided entering into any discussion of the theological
doctrines of popery, and have not attempted to show
how repugnant they are to the spirit of Christianity,
and how destitute of any foundation in reason, in the
word of God, or in the practice of the primitive
Church ; leaving those topics entirely to ecclesiastical
historians, to whose province they peculiarly belong.
But when we add the effect of these religious consid-
erations to the influence of political causes, it is obvious
that the united operation of both on the human mind
must have been sudden and irresistible. Though, to
Luther's contemporaries, who were too near, perhaps,
to the scene, or too deeply interested in it, to trace
causes with accuracy or to examine them with coolness,
the rapidity with which his opinions spread appeared
to be so unaccountable that some of them imputed it
5« Von der Hardt, Hist. Literar. Reform., pars i. p. 2.
So8 REIGN OF THE
to a certain uncommon and malignant position of the
stars, which scattered the spirit of giddiness and inno-
vation over the world, p it is evident that the success of
the Reformation was the natural effect of many power-
ful causes prepared by peculiar providence and happily
conspiring to that end. This attempt to investigate
these causes and to throw light on an event so singular
and important will not, perhaps, be deemed an unneces-
sary digression. I return from it to the course of the
history.
The diet of Worms conducted its deliberations with
that slow formality peculiar to such assemblies. Much
time was spent in establishing some regulations with
regard to the internal police of the empire. The
jurisdiction of the imperial chamber was confirmed,
and the forms of its proceeding rendered more fixed
and regular. A council of regency was appointed to
assist Ferdinand in the government of the empire
during any occasional absence of the emperor ; which,
from the extent of the emperor's dominions, as well as
the multiplicity of his affairs, was an event that might
be frequently expected.53 The state of religion was
then taken into consideration. There were not want-
ing some plausible reasons which might have induced
Charles to have declared himself the protector of
Luther's cause, or at least to have connived at its pro-
gress. If he had possessed no other dominions but
those which belonged to him in Germany, and no
other crown besides the imperial, he might have been
s» Jovii Historia, Lut., 1553, fol.. p. 134.
» Pont. Heuter. Rcr. Austr, lib. viii. c. n.jj. 195.— Pfeffcl,
Chronol., p. 598.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH. 509
disposed, perhaps, to favor a man who asserted so
boldly the privileges and immunities for which the
empire had struggled so long with the popes. But the
vast and dangerous schemes which Francis I. was form-
ing against Charles made it necessary for him to regu-
late his conduct by views more extensive than those
which would have suited a German prince; and, it
being of the utmost importance to secure the pope's
friendship, this determined him to treat Luther with
great severity, as the most effectual method of soothing
Leo into a concurrence with his measures. His eager-
ness to accomplish this rendered him not unwilling to
gratify the papal legates in Germany, who insisted
that, without any delay or formal deliberation, the
diet ought to condemn a man whom the pope had
already excommunicated as an incorrigible heretic.
Such an abrupt manner of proceeding, however, being
deemed unprecedented and unjust by the members of
the diet, they made a point of Luther's appearing in
person and declaring whether he adhered or not to
those opinions which had drawn upon him the censures
of the Church.54 Not only the emperor, but all the
princes through whose territories he had to pass,
granted him a safe-conduct ; and Charles wrote to him
at the same time, requiring his immediate attendance
on the diet, and renewing his promises of protection
from any injury or violence.55 Luther did not hesitate
one moment about yielding obedience, and set out for
Worms, attended by the herald who had brought the
emperor's letter and safe-conduct. While on his jour-
ney, many of his friends, whom the fate of Huss under
S4 P. Martyr. Ep., 722. ss Luth., Oper., ii. 411.
43*
REIGN OF THE
similar circumstances, and notwithstanding the same
security of an imperial safe-conduct, filled with solici-
tude, advised and entreated him not to rush wantonly
into the midst of danger. But Luther, superior to such
terrors, silenced them with this reply : "I am lawfully
called," said he, "to appear in that city; and thither
will I go in the name of the Lord, though as many
devils as there are tiles on the houses were there com-
bined against me." *
The reception which he met with at Worms was
such as he might have reckoned a full reward of all his
labors, if vanity and the love of applause had been the
principles by which he was influenced. Greater crowds
assembled to behold him than had appeared at the em-
peror's public entry ; his apartments were daily filled
with princes and personages of the highest rank,57 and
he was treated with all the respect paid to those who
possess the power of directing the understanding and
sentiments of other men, — a homage more sincere, as
well as more flattering, than any which pre-eminence
in birth or condition can command. At his appear-
ance before the diet he behaved with great decency,
and with equal firmness. He readily acknowledged an
excess of vehemence and acrimony in his controversial
writings, but refused to retract his opinions unless he
were convinced of their falsehood, or to consent to
their being tried by any other rule than the word of
God. When neither threats nor entreaties could pre-
vail on him to depart from this resolution, some of the
ecclesiastics proposed to imitate the example of the
s6 Luth.. Opcr.. H. 412.
57 Scckcnd., 156. — Luth., Opcr., ii. 414.
EMPEROR 'CHARLES THE FIFTH, 511
council of Constance, and, by punishing the author
of this pestilent heresy, who was now in their power,
to deliver the Church at once from such an evil. But,
the members of the diet refusing to expose the German
integrity to fresh reproach by a second violation of
public faith, and Charles being no less unwilling to
bring a stain upon the beginning of his administra-
tion by such an ignominious action, Luther was per-
mitted to depart in safety.58 A few days after he left
the city, a severe edict was published, in the em-
peror's name and by authority of the diet, depriving
him, as an obstinate and excommunicated criminal,
of all the privileges which he enjoyed as a subject
of the empire, forbidding any prince to harbor or pro-
tect him, and requiring all to concur in seizing his
person as soon as the term specified in his safe-conduct
was expired.59
But this rigorous decree had no considerable effect ;
the execution of it being prevented, partly by the mul-
tiplicity of occupations which the commotions in Spain,
together with the wars in Italy and the Low Countries,
created to the emperor, and partly by a prudent pre-
caution employed by the elector of Saxony, Luther's
faithful and discerning patron. As Luther, on his
return from Worms, was passing near Altenstein in
Thuringia, a number of horsemen in masks rushed
suddenly out of a wood, where the elector had ap-
pointed them to lie in wait for him, and, surrounding
his company, carried him, after dismissing all his
attendants, to Wartburg, a strong castle not far dis-
58 F. Paul, Hist, of Counc., p. 13. — Seckend., 160.
59 Gold., Const. Imperial., ii. 401.
5i2 REIGN OF THE
tant. There the elector ordered him to be supplied
with every thing necessary or agreeable ; but the place
of his retreat was carefully concealed, until the fury
of the present storm against him began to abate, upon
a change in the political situation in Europe. In this
solitude, where he remained nine months, and which
he frequently called his Patmos, after the name of that
island to which the Apostle John was banished, he
exerted his usual vigor and industry in defence of his
doctrines or in confutation of his adversaries, publish-
ing several treatises, which revived the spirit of his
followers, astonished to a great degree, and disheart-
ened, at the sudden disappearance of their leader.
During his confinement his opinions continued to
gain ground, acquiring the ascendant in almost every
city in Saxony. At this time the Augustinians of
Wittemberg, with the approbation of the university
and the connivance of the elector, ventured upon the
first step towards an alteration in the established forms
of public worship, by abolishing the celebration of
private masses, and by giving the cup as well as the
bread to the laity in administering the sacrament of
the Lord's supper.
Whatever consolation the courage and success of his
disciples, or the progress of his doctrines in his own
country, afforded Luther in his retreat, he there re-
ceived information of two events which considerably
damped his joy, as they seemed to lay insuperable
obstacles in the way of propagating his principles in
the two most powerful kingdoms of Europe. One was
a solemn decree, condemning his opinions, published
by the University of Paris, — the most ancient, and at
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH. 513
that time the most respectable, of the learned societies
in Europe. The other was the answer written to his
book concerning the Babylonish captivity by Henry
VIII. of England. That monarch, having been edu-
cated under the eye of a suspicious father, who, in
order to prevent his attending to business, kept him
occupied in the study of literature, still retained a
greater love of learning, and stronger habits of appli-
cation to it, than are common among princes of so
active a disposition and such violent passions. Being
ambitious of acquiring glory of every kind, as well as
zealously attached to the Romish Church, and highly
exasperated against Luther, who had treated Thomas
Aquinas, his favorite author, with great contempt,
Henry did not think it enough to exert his royal
authority in opposing the opinions of the Reformer,
but resolved likewise to combat them with scholastic
weapons. With this view he published his treatise on
the seven sacraments : which, though forgotten at pres-
ent, as books of controversy always are when the occa-
sion that produced them is past, is not destitute of
polemical ingenuity and acuteness, and was represented
by the flattery of his courtiers to be a work of such
wonderful science and learning as exalted him no less
above other authors in merit than he was distinguished
among them by his rank. The pope, to whom it was
presented with the greatest formality in full consistory,
spoke of it in such terms as if it had been dictated by
immediate inspiration, and, as a testimony of the grati-
tude of the Church for his extraordinary zeal, conferred
on him the title of Defender of the Faith, an appella-
tion which Henry soon forfeited in the opinion of
w*
5*4
REIGN OF THE
those from whom he derived it, and which is still
retained by his successors, though the avowed enemy
of those opinions by contending for which he merited
that honorable distinction. Luther, who was not over-
awed either by the authority of the university or the
dignity of the monarch, soon published his animadver-
sions on both, in a style no less vehement and severe
than he would have used in confuting his meanest an-
tagonist. This indecent boldness, instead of shocking
his contemporaries, was considered by them as a new
proof of his undaunted spirit. A controversy managed
by disputants so illustrious drew universal attention;
and such was the contagion of the spirit of innovation
diffused through Europe in that age, and so powerful
the evidence which accompanied the doctrines of the
Reformers on their first publication, that, in spite both
of the civil and ecclesiastical powers combined against
them, they daily gained converts both in France and
in England.
How desirous soever the emperor might be to put a
stop to Luther's progress, he was often obliged, during
the diet at Worms, to turn his thoughts to matters still
more interesting and which demanded more immediate
attention. A war was ready to break out between him
and the French king in Navarre, in the Ix>w Countries,
and in Italy ; and it required either great address to
avert the danger, or timely and wise precautions to
resist it. Every circumstance, at that juncture, in-
clined Charles to prefer the former measure. Sj>ain
was torn with intestine commotions. In Italy, he had
not hitherto secured the assistance of any one ally. In
the Low Countries, his subjects trembled at the thoughts
EMPEROR QHARLES THE FIFTH. 515
of a nipture with France, the fatal effects of which on
their commerce they had often experienced. From
these considerations, as well as from the solicitude of
Chievres, during his whole administration, to maintain
peace between the two monarchs, proceeded the em-
peror's backwardness to commence hostilities. ' But
Francis and his ministers did not breathe the same
pacific spirit. He easily foresaw that concord could
not long subsist where interest, emulation, and ambi-
tion conspired to dissolve it ; and he possessed several
advantages which flattered him with the hopes of
surprising his rival, and of overpowering him, before
he could put himself in a posture of defence. The
French king's dominions, from their compact situation,
from their subjection to the royal authority, from the
genius of the people, fond of war, and attached to
their sovereign by every tie of duty and affection,
were more capable of a great or sudden effort than the
larger but disunited territories of the emperor, in one
part of which the people were in arms against his
ministers, and in all his prerogative was more limited
than that of his rival.
The only princes in whose power it was to have kept
down, or to have extinguished, this flame on its first
appearance, either neglected to exert themselves or
were active in kindling and spreading it. Henry
VIII., though he affected to assume the name of medi-
ator, and both parties made frequent appeals to him, had
laid aside the impartiality which suited that character.
Wolsey, by his artifices, had estranged himself so en-
tirely from the French king that he secretly fomented
the discord which he. ought to have composed, and
516 REIGN OF 'THE
waited only for some decent pretext to join his arms
to those of the emperor.60
Leo's endeavors to excite discord between the em-
peror and Francis were more avowed, and had greater
influence. Not only his duty as the common father of
Christendom, but his interest as an Italian potentate,
called upon the pope to act as the guardian of the
public tranquillity, and to avoid any measure that
might overturn the system which, after much blood-
shed and many negotiations, was now established in
Italy. Accordingly Leo, who instantly discerned the
propriety of this conduct, had formed a scheme, upon
Charles's promotion to the imperial dignity, of render-
ing himself the umpire between the rivals, by soothing
them alternately, while he entered into no close con-
federacy with either; and a pontiff less ambitious and
enterprising might have saved Europe from many
calamities by adhering to this plan. But this high-
spirited prelate, who was still in the prime of life,
longed passionately to distinguish his pontificate by
some splendid action. He was impatient to wash away
the infamy of having lost Parma and Placentia, the
acquisition of which reflected so much lustre on the
administration of his predecessor, Julius. He beheld
with the indignation natural to Italians in that age the
dominion which the Transalpine, or as they, in imita-
tion of the Roman arrogance, denominated them, the
barbarous nations, had attained in Italy. He flattered
himself that after assisting the one monarch to strip the
other of his possessions in that country he might find
means of driving out the victor in his turn, and acquire
*> Herbert.— Fiddes's Life •( Wolsey, 258.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH.
517
the glory of restoring Italy to the liberty and happiness
which it had enjoyed before the invasion of Charles
VIII., when every state was governed by its native
princes or its own laws, and unacquainted with a
foreign yoke. Extravagant and chimerical as this pro-
ject may seem, it was the favorite object of almost
every Italian eminent for genius or enterprise during
great part of the sixteenth century. They vainly
hoped that by superior skill in the artifices and refine-
ments of negotiation they should be able to baffle the
efforts of nations less polished indeed than themselves,
but much more powerful and warlike. So alluring was
the prospect of this to Leo that, notwithstanding the
gentleness of his disposition and his fondness for the
pleasures of a refined and luxurious ease, he hastened
to disturb the peace of Europe, and to plunge himself
into a dangerous war, with an impetuosity scarcely
inferior to that of the turbulent and martial Julius.6'
It was in Leo's power, however, to choose which of
the monarchs he would take for his confederate against
the other. Both of them courted his friendship ; he
wavered for some time between them, and at first con-
cluded an alliance with Francis. The object of this
treaty was the conquest of Naples, which the confed-
erates agreed to divide between them. The pope, it is
probable, flattered himself that the brisk and active
spirit of Francis, seconded by the same qualities in
his subjects, would get the start of the slow and wary
counsels of the emperor, and that they might overrun
with ease this detached portion of his dominions, ill
provided for defence and always the prey of every
61 Guic., lib. xiv. p. 173.
Charles. — VOL. I. 44
5i8 REIGN OF THE
invader. But whether the French king, by discovering
too openly his suspicion of Leo's sincerity, disappointed
these hopes ; whether the treaty was only an artifice of the
pope's to cover the more serious negotiations which he
was carrying on with Charles ; whether he was enticed
by the prospect of reaping great advantages from a
union with that prince ; or whether he was soothed by
the zeal which Charles had manifested for the honor of
the Church in condemning Luther, — certain it is that
he soon deserted his new ally, and made overtures of
friendship, though with great secrecy, to the emperor.6"
Don John Manuel, the same man who had been the
favorite of Philip, and whose address had disconcerted
all Ferdinand's schemes, having been delivered, upon
the death of that monarch, from the prison to which
he had been confined, was now the imperial ambassador
at Rome, and fully capable of improving this favorable
disposition in the pope to his master's advantage.63 To
him the conduct of this negotiation was entirely com-
mitted; and being carefully concealed from Chievres,
whose aversion to a war with France would have
prompted him to retard or to defeat it, an alliance
between the pope and emperor was quickly concluded.64
The chief articles in this treaty, which proved the
foundation of Charles's grandeur in Italy, were that
the pope and emperor should join their forces to expel
the French out of the Milanese, the possession of which
should be granted to Francis Sforza, a son of Ludovico
fa Guic., lib. xiv. p. 175. — M6m. de Bellay, Par., 1573, p. 24.
*3 Jovii Vita Leonis, lib. iv. p. 89.
«« Guic.. lib. xiv. 181.— Mdm. de Bellay, p. 24.— Du Mont, Corps
Diplora., torn, iv., suppl., p. 96. "•
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH. 5^
the Moor, who had resided at Trent since the time
that his brother Maximilian had been dispossessed of
his dominions by the French king; that Parma and
Placentia should be restored to the Church ; that the
emperor should assist the pope in conquering Ferrara ;
that the annual tribute paid by the kingdom of Naples
to the holy see should be increased ; that the emperor
should take the family of Medici under his protection ;
that he should grant to the cardinal of that name a
pension of ten thousand ducats upon the archbishopric
of Toledo, and should settle lands in the kingdom of
Naples, to the same value, upon Alexander, the natural
son of Lorenzo de' Medici.
The transacting an affair of such moment without his
participation appeared to Chievres so decisive a proof
of his having lost the ascendant which he had hitherto
maintained over the mind of his pupil, that his chagrin
on this account, added to the melancholy with which
he was overwhelmed on taking a view of the many and
unavoidable calamities attending a war against France,
is said to have shortened his days.65 But though this,
perhaps, may be only the conjecture of historians, fond
of attributing every thing that befalls illustrious person-
ages to extraordinary causes, and of ascribing even
their diseases and death to the effect of political passions,
which are more apt to disturb the enjoyment than to
abridge the period of life, it is certain that his death,
at this critical juncture, extinguished all hopes of avoid-
ing a rupture with France.66 This event, too, delivered
Charles from a minister to whose authority he had been
65 Belcarii Comment, de Reb. Gallic., 483.
66 P. Heuter. Rer. Austr., lib. viii. c. n, p. 197.
520
REIGN OF THE
accustomed from his infancy to submit with such im-
plicit deference as checked and depressed his genius
and retained him in a state of pupilage unbecoming his
years as well as his rank. But this restraint being re-
moved, the native powers of his mind were permitted
to unfold themselves, and he began to display such
great talents, both in council and in action, as exceeded
the hopes of his contemporaries,67 and command the
admiration of posterity.
While the pope and emperor were preparing, in con-
sequence of this secret alliance, to attack Milan, hos-
tilities commenced in another quarter. The children
of John d'Albret, king of Navarre, having often de-
manded the restitution of their hereditary dominions,
in terms of the treaty of Noyon, and Charles having
as often eluded their requests upon very frivolous pre-
texts, Francis thought himself authorized by that treaty
to assist the exiled family. The juncture appeared
extremely favorable for such an enterprise. Charles
was at a distance from that part of his dominions ; the
troops usually stationed there had been called away to
quell the commotions in Spain ; the Spanish malecon-
tents warmly solicited him to invade Navarre,68 in which
a considerable faction was ready to declare for the de-
scendants of their ancient monarchs. But, in order to
avoid as much as possible giving offence to the emperor,
or king of England, Francis directed forces to be levied,
and the war to be carried on, not in his own name,
but in that of Henry d'Albret. The conduct of these
troops was committed to Andrew de Foix, de 1'Esparre,
a young nobleman, whom his near alliance to the un-
1 P. Martyr. Ep.. 735. * Ibid., 721.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH.
521
fortunate king whose battles he was to fight, and, what
was still more powerful, the interest of his sister,
Madame de Chateaubriand, Francis's favorite mistress,
recommended to that important trust, for which he had
neither talents nor experience. But, as there was no
army in the field to oppose him, he became master, in
a few days, of the whole kingdom of Navarre, without
meeting with any obstruction but from the citadel of
Pampeluna. The additional works of this fortress,
begun by Ximenes, were still unfinished ; nor would its
slight resistance have deserved notice, if Ignatio Loyola,
a Biscayan gentleman, had not been dangerously
wounded in its defence. During the progress of a
lingering cure, Loyola happened to have no other
amusement than what he found in reading the lives of
the saints : the effect of this on his mind, naturally en-
thusiastic, but ambitious and daring, was to inspire him
with such a desire of emulating the glory of these fab-
ulous worthies of the Roman Church as led him into
the wildest and most extravagant adventures, which
terminated at last in instituting the society of Jesuits,
the most political and best regulated of all the monastic
orders, and from which mankind have derived more
advantages and received greater injury than from any
other of those religious fraternities.
If, upon the reduction of Pampeluna, L'Esparre had
been satisfied with taking proper precautions for se-
curing his conquest, the kingdom of Navarre might
still have remained annexed to the crown of France in
reality as well as in title. But, pushed on by youthful
ardor, and encouraged by Francis, who was too apt to
be dazzled with success, he ventured to pass the con-
44*
522
REIGN OF THE
fines of Navarre, and to lay siege to Logrogno, a small
town in Castile. This roused the Castilians, who had
hitherto beheld the rapid progress of his arms with
great unconcern, and, the dissensions in that kingdom
(of which a full account shall be given) being almost
composed, both parties exerted themselves with emula-
tion in defence of their country : the one, that it might
efface the memory of past misconduct by its present
zeal ; the other, that it might add to the merit of hav-
ing subdued the emperor's rebellious subjects that of
repulsing his foreign enemies. The sudden advance
of their troops, together with the gallant defence made
by the inhabitants of Logrogno, obliged the French
general to abandon his rash enterprise. The Spanish
army, which increased every day, harassing him during
his retreat, he, instead of taking shelter under the can-
non of Pampeluna, or waiting the arrival of some
troops which were marching to join him, attacked the
Spaniards, though far superior to him in number, with
great impetuosity, but with so little conduct that his
forces were totally routed, he himself, together with his
principal officers, was taken prisoner, and Spain recov-
ered possession of Navarre in still shorter time than the
French had spent in the conquest of it.69
While Francis endeavored to justify his invasion of
Navarre by carrying it on in the name of Henry d'Al-
bret, he had recourse to an artifice much of the same
kind in attacking, another part of the emperor's terri-
tories. Robert de la Mark, lord of the small but in-
dependent territory of Bouillon, situated on the fron-
tiers of Luxembourg and Champagne, having nlwndoned
«9 Mdm. de Bellay, p. ai.— P. Martyr. Ep.. 726.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH.
523
Charles's service on account of an encroachment which
the Aulic Council had made on his jurisdiction, and
having thrown himself upon France for protection, was
easily persuaded, in the heat of his resentment, to send
a herald to Worms and to declare war against the em-
peror in form. Such extravagant insolence in a petty
prince surprised Charles, and appeared to him a cer-
tain proof of his having received promises of powerful
support from the French king. The justness of this
conclusion soon became evident. Robert entered the
duchy of Luxembourg with troops levied in France, by
the king's connivance, though seemingly in contradic-
tion to his orders, and, after ravaging the open country,
laid siege to Vireton. Of this Charles complained
loudly, as a direct violation of the peace subsisting be-
tween the two crowns, and summoned Henry VIII. , in
terms of the treaty concluded at London in the year
1518, to turn his arms against Francis as the first ag-
gressor. Francis pretended that he was not answera-
ble for Robert's conduct, whose army fought under his
own standards and in his own quarrel, and affirmed
that, contrary to an express prohibition, he had se-
duced some subjects of France into his service; but
Henry paid so little regard to this evasion that the
French king, rather than irritate a prince whom he still
hoped to gain, commanded De la Mark to disband
his troops.70
The emperor, meanwhile, was assembling an army to
chastise Robert's insolence. Twenty thousand men,
under the count of Nassau, invaded his little territo-
ries, and in a few days became masters of every place
7° Mem. de Bellay, p. 22, etc. — Mem. de Fleuranges, p. 335, etc.
524
REIGN OF THE
in them but Sedan. After making him feel so sensibly
the weight of his master's indignation, Nassau advanced
towards the frontiers of France ; and Charles, knowing
that he might presume so far on Henry's partiality in
his favor as not to be overawed by the same fears which
had restrained Francis, ordered his general to besiege
Mouson. The cowardice of the garrison having obliged
the governor to surrender almost without resistance,
Nassau invested Mezieres, a place at that time of no
considerable strength, but so advantageously situated
that by getting possession of it the imperial army might
have penetrated into the heart of Champagne, in which
there was hardly any other town capable of obstructing
its progress. Happily for France, its monarch, sensible
of the importance of this fortress and of the danger to
which it was exposed, committed the defence of it to
the Chevalier Bayard, distinguished among his con-
temporaries by the appellation of The knight without
fear and without reproach.11 This man, whose prowess in
combat, whose punctilious honor and formal gallantry,
bear a nearer resemblance than any thing recorded in
history to the character ascribed to the heroes of chiv-
alry, possessed all the talents which form a great general.
These he had many occasions of exerting in the de-
fence of Mezieres. Partly by his valor, partly by his
conduct, he protracted the siege to a great length, and
in the end obliged the imperialists to raise it, with
disgrace and loss.7' Francis, at the head of a numer-
ous army, soon retook Mouson, and, entering the Ix>w
Countries, made several conquests of small importance.
T» CEuvres dc Brantome, torn. vi. 114.
7* Mem. de Bcllay, p. 35. etc.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH. 525
In the neighborhood of Valenciennes, through an excess
of caution, an error with which he cannot be often
charged, he lost an opportunity of cutting off the whole
imperial army ; " and, what was still more unfortunate,
he disgusted Charles, duke of Bourbon, high constable
of France, by giving the command of the van to the
duke d'Alencon, though this post of honor belonged to
Bourbon, as a prerogative of his office.
During these operations in the field, a congress was
held at Calais, under the mediation of Henry VIII., in
order to bring all differences to an amicable issue ; and
if the intention of the mediator had corresponded in
any degree to his professions, it could hardly have failed
of producing some good effect. But Henry committed
the sole management of the negotiation, with unlimited
powers, to Wolsey ; and this choice alone was sufficient
to have rendered it abortive. That prelate, bent on
attaining the papal crown, the great object of his
ambition, and ready to sacrifice every thing in order
to gain the emperor's interest, was so little able to
conceal his partiality that if Francis had not been well
acquainted with his haughty and vindictive temper he
would have declined his mediation. Much time was
spent in inquiring who had begun hostilities, which
Wolsey affected to represent as the principal point;
and by throwing the blame of that on Francis he hoped
to justify by the treaty of London any alliance into
which his master should enter with Charles. The con-
ditions on which hostilities might be terminated came
next to be considered ; but with regard to these the
emperor's proposals were such as discovered either that
73 P. Martyr. Ep., 747. — Mem. de Bellay, 35.
5 26 REIGN OF THE
he was utterly averse to peace, or that he knew Wolsey
would approve of whatever terms should be offered
in his name. He demanded the restitution of the
duchy of Burgundy, a province the possession of which
would have given him access into the heart of France,
and required to be released from the homage due to
the crown of France for the counties of Flanders and
Artois, which none of his ancestors had ever refused,
and which he had bound himself by the treaty of
Noyon to renew. These terms, to which a high-spirited
prince would scarcely have listened, after the disasters
of an unfortunate war, Francis rejected with great dis-
dain ; and Charles showing no inclination to comply
with the more equal and moderate propositions of the
French monarch, that he should restore Navarre to its
lawful prince and withdraw his troops from the siege
of Tournay, the congress broke up without any other
effect than that which attends unsuccessful negotia-
tions,— the exasperating of the parties whom it was
intended to reconcile.74
During the continuance of the congress, Wolsey, on
pretence that the emperor himself would be more will-
ing to make reasonable concessions than his ministers,
made an excursion to Bruges to meet that monarch.
He was received by Charles, who knew his vanity, with
as much respect and magnificence as if he had been
king of England. But, instead of advancing the treaty
of peace by this interview, Wolsey, in his master's name,
concluded a league with the emperor against Francis ;
in which it was stipulated that Charles should invade
France on the side of Spain, and Henry in Picardy,
;« P. Martyr. Ep.. 739.— Herbert.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH.
527
each with an army of forty thousand men, and that,
in order to strengthen their union, Charles should
espouse the princess Mary, Henry's only child, and the
apparent heir of his dominions.75 Henry produced
no better reasons for this measure, equally unjust and
impolitic, than the article in the treaty of London by
which he pretended that he was bound to take arms
against the French king as the first aggressor, and the
injury which he alleged Francis had done him in per-
mitting the duke of Albany, the head of a faction in
Scotland which opposed the interest of England, to
return into that kingdom. He was influenced, how-
ever, by other considerations. The advantages which
accrued to his subjects from maintaining an exact neu-
trality, or the honor that, resulted to himself from acting
as the arbiter between the contending princes, appeared
to his youthful imagination so inconsiderable, when
compared with the glory which might be reaped from
leading armies or conquering provinces, that he deter-
mined to remain no longer in a state of inactivity.
Having once taken this resolution, his inducements to
prefer an alliance with Charles were obvious. He had
no claim upon any part of that prince's dominions,
most of which were so situated that he could not attack
them without great difficulty and disadvantage ; whereas
several maritime provinces of France had been long in
the hands of the English monarchs, whose pretensions
even to the crown of that kingdom were not as yet
altogether forgotten ; and the possession of Calais not
only gave him easy access into some of those provinces,
but, in case of any disaster, afforded him a secure re-
. 75 Rymer, Feeder., xiii. — Herbert.
5 28 REIGN OF THE
treat. While Charles attacked France on one frontier,
Henry flattered himself that he should find little resist-
ance on the other, and that the glory of reannexing
to the crown of England the ancient inheritance of its
monarchs on the Continent was reserved for his reign.
Wolsey artfully encouraged these vain hopes, which led
his master into such measures as were most subservient
to his own secret schemes; and the English, whose
hereditary animosity against the French was apt to
rekindle on every occasion, did not disapprove of the
martial spirit of their sovereign.
Meanwhile, the league between the pope and the
emperor produced great effects in Italy, and rendered
I^ombardy the chief theatre of war. There was at that
time such contrariety between the character of the
French and the Italians that the latter submitted to
the government of the former with greater impatience
than they expressed under the dominion of other for-
eigners. The phlegm of the Germans and gravity of
the Spaniards suited their jealous temper and ceremo-
nious manners better than the French gayety, too
prone to gallantry and too little attentive to decorum.
Louis XII., however, by the equity and gentleness of
his administration, and by granting the Milanese more
extensive privileges than those they had enjoyed under
their native princes, had overcome in a great measure
their prejudices and reconciled them to 'the French
government. Francis, on recovering that duchy, did
not imitate the example of his predecessor. Though
too generous himself to oppress his people, his bound-
less confidence in his favorites, and his negligence in
examining into the conduct of those whom he .intrusted
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH.
529
with power, emboldened them to venture upon any
acts of oppression. The government of Milan was
committed by him to Odet de Foix, Marechal de
Lautrec, another brother of Madame de Chateau-
briand, an officer of great experience and reputation,
but haughty, imperious, rapacious, and incapable either
of listening to advice or of bearing contradiction. His
insolence and exactions totally alienated the affections
of the Milanese from France, drove many of the con-
siderable citizens into banishment, and forced others
to retire for their own safety. Among the last was
Jerome Morone, vice-chancellor of Milan, a man whose
genius for intrigue and enterprise distinguished him in
an age and country where violent factions, as well as
frequent revolutions, affording great scope for such
talents, produced or called them forth in great abun-
dance. He repaired to Francis Sforza, whose brother
Maximilian he had betrayed ; and suspecting the
pope's intention of attacking the Milanese, although
his treaty with the emperor was not yet made public,
he proposed to Leo, in the name of Sforza, a scheme
for surprising several places in that duchy by means
of the exiles, who, from hatred to the French, and
from attachment to their former masters, were ready
for any desperate enterprise. Leo not only encouraged
the attempt, but advanced a considerable sum towards
the execution of it ; and when, through unforeseen
accidents, it failed of success in every part, he allowed
the exiles, who had assembled in a body, to retire to
Reggio, which belonged at that time to the Church.
The Marechal de Foix, who commanded at Milan in
the absence of his brother Lautrec, who was then in
Charles. — VOL. I.— x 45
53°
REIGN OF THE
France, tempted with the hopes of catching at once, as
in a snare, all the avowed enemies of his master's gov-
ernment in that country, ventured to march into the
ecclesiastical territories and to invest Reggio. But the
vigilance and good conduct of Guicciardini, the his-
torian, governor of that place, obliged the French gen-
eral to abandon the enterprise with disgrace.7* Leo,
on receiving this intelligence, with which he was
highly pleased, as it furnished him a decent pretence
for a rupture with France, immediately assembled the
consistory of cardinals. After complaining bitterly
of the hostile intentions of the French king, and mag-
nifying the emperor's zeal for the Church, of which
he had given a recent proof by his proceedings against
Luther, he declared that he was constrained, in self-
defence, and as the only expedient for the security of
the ecclesiastical state, to join his arms to those of that
prince. For this purpose, he now pretended to con-
clude a treaty with Don John Manuel, although it had
really been signed some months before this time ; and
he publicly excommunicated De Foix, as an impious
invader of St. Peter's patrimony.
Leo had already begun preparations for war by
taking into pay a considerable body of Swiss ; but the
imperial troops advanced so slowly from Naples and
Germany that it was the middle of autumn before the
army took the field, under the command of Prosper
Colonna, the most eminent of the Italian generals,
whose extreme caution, the effect of long experience
in the art of war, was opposed with great propriety to
the impetuosity of the French. In the mean time, De
* Guic.. lib. xiv. 183.— Mim. de Bcllay. p. 38, etc.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH. 531
Foix despatched courier after courier to inform the
king of the danger which was approaching. Francis,
whose forces were either employed in the Low Coun-
tries or assembling on the frontiers of Spain, and who
did not expect so sudden an attack in that quarter,
sent ambassadors to his allies the Swiss, to procure
from them the immediate levy of an additional body
of troops, and commanded Lautrec to repair forthwith
to his government. That general, who was well ac-
quainted with the great neglect of economy in the
administration of the king's finances, and who knew
how much the troops in the Milanese had already suf-
fered from the want of their pay, refused to set out
unless the sum of three hundred thousand crowns was
immediately put into his hands. But the king, Louise
of Savoy, his mother, Semblancy, the superintendent
of finances, having promised, even with an oath, that
on his arrival at Milan he should find remittances
for the sum which he demanded, upon the faith of
this he departed. Unhappily for France, Louise, a
woman deceitful, vindictive, rapacious, and capable
of sacrificing any thing to the gratification of her
passions, but who had acquired an absolute ascendant
over her son by her maternal tenderness, her care of
his education, and her great abilities, was resolved not
to perform this promise. Lautrec having incurred
her displeasure by his haughtiness in neglecting to
pay court to her, and by the freedom with which he
had talked concerning some of her adventures in gal-
lantry, she, in order to deprive him of the honor which
he might have gained by a successful defence of the
Milanese, seized the three hundred thousand crowns
532
REIGN OF THE
destined for that service and detained them for her
own use.
Lautrec, notwithstanding this cruel disappointment,
found means to assemble a considerable army, though
far inferior in number to that of the confederates. He
adopted the plan of defence most suitable to his situ-
ation, avoiding a pitched battle with the greatest care,
while he harassed the enemy continually with his light
troops, beat up their quarters, intercepted their con-
voys, and covered or relieved every place which they
attempted to attack. By this prudent conduct he not
only retarded their progress, but would have soon
wearied out the pope, who had hitherto defrayed
almost the whole expense of the war, as the emperor,
whose revenues in Spain were dissipated during the
commotions in that country, and who was obliged to
support a numerous army in the Netherlands, could not
make any considerable remittances into Italy. But an
unforeseen accident disconcerted all his measures and
occasioned a fatal reverse in the French affairs. A
body of twelve thousand Swiss served in Lautrec's
army under the banners of the republic, with which
France was in alliance. In consequence of a law no
less political than humane, established among the can-
tons, their troops were never hired out by public au-
thority to both the contending parties in any war.
This law, however, the love of gain had sometimes
eluded, and private persons had been allowed to enlist
in what service they pleased, though not under the
public banners, but under those of their particular
officers. The cardinal of Sion, who still preserved
his interest among his countrymen and his enmity to
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH.
533
France, having prevailed on them to connive at a levy
of this kind, twelve thousand Swiss, instigated by him,
joined the army of the confederates. But the leaders
in the cantons, when they saw so many of their country-
men marching under the hostile standards and ready to
turn their arms against each other, became so sensible of
the infamy to which they would be exposed by permit-
ting this, as well as the loss they might suffer, that they
despatched couriers commanding their people to leave
both armies and to return forthwith into their own
country. The cardinal of Sion, however, had the
address, by corrupting the messengers appointed to
carry this order, to prevent it from being delivered to
the Swiss in the service of the confederates ; but, being
intimated in due form to those in the French army, they,
fatigued with the length of the campaign, and murmur-
ing for want of pay, instantly yielded obedience, in spite
of Lautrec's remonstrances and entreaties.
After the desertion of a body which formed the
strength of his army, Lautrec durst no longer face the
confederates. He retired towards Milan, encamped on
the banks of the Adda, and placed his chief hopes of
safety in preventing the enemy from passing that river ;
an expedient for defending a country so precarious
that there are few instances of its being employed with
success against any general of experience or abilities.
Accordingly, Colonna, notwithstanding Lautrec's vigi-
lance and activity, passed the Adda with little loss,
and obliged him to shut himself up within the walls
of Milan, which the confederates were preparing to
besiege, when an unknown person, who never after-
wards appeared either to boast of this service or to
45*
534
REIGN OF THE
claim a reward for it, came from the city, and ac-
quainted Morone that if the army would advance that
night the Ghibelline or imperial faction would put
them in possession of one of the gates. Colonna,
though no friend to rash enterprises, allowed the mar-
quis de Pescara to advance with the Spanish infantry,
and he himself followed with the rest of his troops.
About the beginning of night, Pescara, arriving at the
Roman gate in the suburbs, surprised the soldiers whom
he found there. Those posted in the fortifications ad-
joining to it immediately fled ; the marquis, seizing
the works which they abandoned, and pushing forward
incessantly, though with no less caution than vigor,
became master of the city with little bloodshed, and
almost without resistance, the victors being as much
astonished as the vanquished at the facility and success
of the attempt. Lautrec retired precipitately towards
the Venetian territories with the remains of his shattered
army ; the cities of the Milanese, following the fate of
the capital, surrendered to the confederates ; Parma and
Placentia were united to the ecclesiastical state ; and,
of all their conquests in Ix>mbardy, only the town of
Cremona, the castle of Milan, and a few inconsiderable
forts, remained in the hands of the French.77
Leo received the accounts of this rapid succession of
prosperous events with such transports of joy as brought
on (if we may believe the French historians) a slight
fever, which, being neglected, occasioned his death on
the zd of December, while he was still of a vigorous
77Guic..lib. xiv. 190, etc.;— Mdm. de Ik-Hay, 42. etc. — Galeacii
Capella de Reb. gest. pro restitut. — Fran. Sfortix- Comment., ap.
Scordium, vol. ii. 180. etc.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH.
535
age and at the height of his glory. By this unexpected
accident the spirit of the confederacy was broken and
its operation suspended. The cardinals of Sion and
Medici left the army, that they might be present in the
conclave ; the Swiss were recalled by their superiors ;
some other mercenaries disbanded for want of pay ;
and only the Spaniards, and a few Germans in the
emperor's service, remained to defend the Milanese.
But Lautrec, destitute both of men and of money, was
unable to improve this favorable opportunity in the
manner which he would have wished. The vigilance
of Morone, and the good conduct of Colonna, disap-
pointed his feeble attempts on the Milanese. Guic-
ciardini, by his address and valor, repulsed a bolder
and more dangerous attack which he made on Parma.78
Great discord prevailed in the conclave which fol-
lowed upon Leo's death, and all the arts natural to men
grown old in intrigue, when contending for the highest
prize an ecclesiastic can obtain, were practised. Wol-
sey's name, notwithstanding all the emperor's magnifi-
cent promises to favor his pretensions, of which that
prelate did not fail to remind him, was hardly men-
tioned in the conclave. Julio, Cardinal de Medici,
Leo's nephew, who was more eminent than any other
member of the college for his abilities, his wealth, and
his experience in transacting great affairs, had already
secured fifteen voices, a number sufficient, according
to the forms of the conclave, to exclude any other can-
didate, though not to carry his own election. As he
was still in the prime of life, all the aged cardinals
combined against him, without being united in favor
?8 Guic., lib. xiv. 214.
536 REIGN OF THE
of any other person. While these factions were en-
deavoring to gain, to corrupt, or to weary out each
other, Medici and his adherents voted one morning at
the scrutiny, which, according to the form, was made
every day, for Cardinal Adrian of Utrecht, who at that
time governed Spain in the emperor's name. This they
did merely to protract time. But, the adverse party in-
stantly closing with them, to their amazement and that
of all Europe, a stranger to Italy, unknown to the per-
sons who gave their suffrages in his favor, and unac-
quainted with the manners of the people or the interest
of the state the government of which they conferred
upon him, was unanimously raised to the papal throne
at a juncture so delicate and critical as would have de-
manded all the sagacity and experience of one of the
most able prelates in the sacred college. The cardinals
themselves, unable to give a reason for this strange
choice, on account of which, as they marched in pro-
cession from the conclave, they were loaded with insults
and curses by the Roman people, ascribed it to an im-
mediate impulse of the Holy Ghost. It may be imputed
with greater certainty to the influence of Don John
Manuel, the imperial ambassador, who by his address
and intrigues facilitated the election of a person devoted
to his master's service from gratitude, from interest,
and from inclination.79
Beside the influence which Charles acquired by
Adrian's promotion, it threw great lustre on his ad-
ministration. To bestow on his preceptor such a noble
recompense, and to place on the papal throne one
n Herm. Moringi Vita Hadriani. ap. Casp. Burman.in Analect.de
Hadr, p. 52.— Conclav. Hadr., ibid., p. 144, etc.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH.
537
whom he had raised from obscurity, were acts of un-
common magnificence and power. Francis observed,
with the sensibility of a rival, the pre-eminence which
the emperor was gaining, and resolved to exert himself
with fresh vigor, in order to wrest from him his late
conquests in Italy. The Swiss, that they might make
some reparation to the French king for having with-
drawn their troops from his army so unseasonably as to
occasion the loss of the Milanese, permitted him to
levy ten thousand men in the republic. Together with
this reinforcement, Lautrec received from the king a
small sum of money, which enabled him once more to
take the field, and, after seizing by surprise or force
several places in the Milanese, to advance within a few
miles of the capital. The confederate army was in no
condition to obstruct his progress ; for though the in-
habitants of Milan, by the artifices of Morone, and by
the popular declamations of a monk whom he employed,
were inflamed with such enthusiastic zeal against the
French government that they consented to raise ex-
traordinary contributions, Colonna must soon have
abandoned the advantageous camp which he had chosen
at Biocca, and have dismissed his troops for want of
pay, if the Swiss in the French sen-ice had not once
more extricated him out of his difficulties.
The insolence and caprice of those mercenaries were
often no less fatal to their friends than their valor and
discipline were formidable to their enemies. Having
now served some months without pay, of which they
complained loudly, a sum destined for their use was
sent from France under a convoy of horse ; but Morone,
whose vigilant eye nothing escaped, posted a body of
538 REIGN OF THE
%
troops in their way, so that the party which escorted
the money durst not advance. On rc< dving intelli-
gence of this, the Swiss lost all patience, and officers,
as well as soldiers, crowding around lautrec, threatened
with one voice instantly to retire, if he did not either
advance the pay which was due, or promise to lead them
next morning to battle. In vain did Lautrec remon-
strate against these demands, representing to them the
impossibility of the former and the rashness of the
latter, which must be attended with certain destruc-
tion, as the enemy occupied a camp naturally of great
strength, and which by art they had rendered almost
inaccessible. The Swiss, deaf to reason, and persuaded
that their valor was cajiable of surmounting every ob-
stacle, renewed their demand with great fierceness,
offering themselves to form the vanguard and to begin
the attack. Lautrec, unable to overcome their obsti-
nacy, complied with their request, hoping, perhaps,
that some of those unforeseen accidents which so often
determine the fate of battles might crown this rash
enterprise with undeserved success, and convinced that
the effects of a defeat could not be more fatal than
those which would certainly follow upon the retreat of
a body which composed one-half of his army. Next
morning the Swiss were early in the field, and marched
with the greatest intrepidity against an enemy deeply
intrenched on every side, surrounded with artillery,
and prepared to receive them. As they advanced, they
sustained a furious cannonade with great firmness, and,
without waiting for their own artillery, rushed impetu-
ously upon the intrenchments. Hut, after incredible
efforts of valor, which were seconded with great spirit
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH,
539
by the French, having lost their bravest officers and
best soldiers, and finding that they could make no im-
pression on the enemy's works, they sounded a retreat ;
leaving the field of battle, however, like men repulsed
but not vanquished, in close array, and without receiv-
ing any molestation from the enemy.
Next day, such as survived set out for their own
country; and Lautrec, despairing of being able to
make any further resistance, retired into France, after
throwing garrisons into Cremona and a few other
places ; all of which, except the citadel of Cremona,
Colonna soon obliged to surrender.
Genoa, however, and its territories, remaining sub-
ject to France, still gave Francis considerable footing
in Italy, and made it easy for him to execute any
scheme for the recovery of the Milanese. But Co-
lonna, rendered enterprising by continual success, and
excited by the solicitations of the faction of the
Adorni, the hereditary enemies of the Fregosi, who,
under the protection of France, possessed the chief
authority in Genoa, determined to attempt the reduc-
tion of that state, and accomplished it with amazing
facility. He became master of Genoa by an accident
as unexpected as that which had given him possession
of Milan ; and, almost without opposition or blood-
shed, the power of the Adorni and the authority of
the emperor were established in Genoa.80
Such a cruel succession of misfortunes affected Francis
with deep concern, which was not a little augmented by
the unexpected arrival of an English herald, who, in
the name of his sovereign, declared war in form against
80 Jovii Vita Ferdin. Davali, p. 344. — Guic., lib. xiv. 233.
540
REIGN OF THE
France. This step was taken in consequence of the
treaty which Wolsey had concluded with the emperor
at Bruges, and which had hitherto been kept secret.
Francis, though he had reason to be surprised with
this denunciation, after having been at such pains to
soothe Henry and to gain his minister, received the
herald with great composure and dignity,81 and, with-
out abandoning any of the schemes which he was
forming against the emperor, began vigorous prepara-
tions for resisting this new enemy. His treasury,
however, being exhausted by the efforts which he had
already made, as well as by the sums he expended on
his pleasures, he had recourse to extraordinary expe-
dients for supplying it. Several new offices were
created and exposed to sale ; the royal demesnes were
alienated ; unusual taxes were imposed ; and the tomb
of St. Martin was stripped of a rail of massive silver
with which Louis XL, in one of his fits of devotion,
had encircled it. By means of these expedients he
was enabled to levy a considerable army, and to put
the frontier towns in a good posture of defence.
The emperor, meanwhile, was no less solicitous to
draw as much advantage as possible from the accession
of such a powerful ally ; and the prosperous situation
of his affairs at this time permitting him to set out for
Spain, where his presence was extremely necessary, he
visited the court of England on his way to that country.
He proposed by this interview not only to strengthen
the bonds of friendship which united him with Henry,
and to excite him to push the war against France with
vigor, but hoped to remove any disgust or resentment
81 Journal de Louise de Savoie, p. 119.
EMPEROR CHARLES THE FIFTH.
541
that Wolsey might have conceived on account of the
mortifying disappointment which he had met with in
the late conclave. His success exceeded his most san-
guine expectations ; and by his artful address, during
a residence of six weeks in England, he gained not
only the king and the minister, but the nation itself.
Henry, whose vanity was sensibly flattered by such a
visit, as well as by the studied respect with which the
emperor treated him on every occasion, entered warmly
into all his schemes. The cardinal, foreseeing, from
Adrian's age and infirmities, a sudden vacancy in the
papal see, dissembled or forgot his resentment ; and as
Charles, besides augmenting the pensions which he had
already settled on him, renewed his promise of favor-
ing his pretensions to the papacy with all his interest,
he endeavored to merit the former, and to secure the
accomplishment of the latter, by fresh services. The
nation, sharing in the glory of its monarch, and
pleased with the confidence which the emperor placed
in the English, by creating the earl of Surrey his high-
admiral, discovered no less inclination to commence
hostilities than Henry himself.
In order to give Charles, before he left England, a
proof of this general ardor, Surrey sailed with such
forces as were ready, and ravaged the coasts of Nor-
mandy. He then made a descent on Bretagne, where
he plundered and burnt Morlaix, and some other
places of less consequence. After these slight excur-
sions, attended with greater dishonor than damage to
France, he repaired to Calais, and took the command
of the principal army, consisting of sixteen thousand
men ; with which, having joined the Flemish troops
Charles. — VOL. I. 46
542
REIGN OF THE
under the Count de Buren, he advanced into Picardy.
The army which Francis had assembled was far inferior
in number to these united bodies ; but during the long
wars between the two nations the French had discov-
ered the proper method of defending their country
against the English. They had been taught by their
misfortunes to avoid a pitched battle with the utmost
care, and to endeavor, by throwing garrisons into every
place capable of resistance, by watching all the enemy's
motions, by intercepting their convoys, attacking their
advanced posts, and harassing them continually with
their numerous cavalry, to ruin them with the length
of war, or to beat them by piecemeal. This plan the
duke of Vendome, the French general in Picardy,
pursued with no less prudence than success, and not
only prevented Surrey from taking any town of impor-
tance, but obliged him to retire with his army, greatly
reduced by fatigue, by want of provisions, and by the
loss which it had sustained in several unsuccessful
skirmishes.
Thus ended the second campaign, in a war the most
general that had hitherto been kindled in Europe ; and
though Francis, by his mother's ill-timed resentment,
by the disgusting insolence of his general, and the
caprice of the mercenary troops which he employed,
had lost his conquests in Italy, yet all the powers
combined against him had not been able to make any
impression on his hereditary dominions ; and wherever
they either intended or attempted an attack, he was
well prepared to receive them.
While the Christian princes were thus wasting each
other's strength, Solyman the Magnificent entered Hun-
EMPEROR CHARLES THE F 1 1- TH. 543
gary with a numerous army, and, investing Belgrade,
which was deemed the chief barrier of that kingdom
against the Turkish arms, soon forced it to surrender.
Encouraged by this success, he turned his victorious
arms against the island of Rhodes, the seat, at that
time, of the knights of St. John of Jerusalem. This
small state he attacked with such a numerous army as
the lords of Asia have been accustomed, in every age,
to bring into the field. Two hundred thousand men,
and a fleet of four hundred sail, appeared against a
town defended by a garrison consisting of five thousand
soldiers and six hundred knights, under the command
of Villiers de L'Isle Adam, the grand master, whose
wisdom and valor rendered him worthy of that station
at such a dangerous juncture. No sooner did he begin
to suspect the destination of Solyman's vast armaments
than he despatched messengers to all the Christian
courts, imploring their aid against the common enemy.
But though every prince in that age acknowledged
Rhodes to be the great bulwark of Christendom in the
East, and trusted to the gallantry of its knights as the
best security against the progress of the Ottoman
arms, — though Adrian, with a zeal which became the
head and father of the Church, exhorted the contend-
ing powers to forget their private quarrels, and, by
uniting their arms, to prevent the infidels from de-
stroying a society which did honor to the Christian
name, — yet so violent and implacable was the animosity
of both parties that, regardless of the danger to which
they exposed all Europe, and unmoved by the entreaties
of the grand master or the admonitions of the pope,
they suffered Solyman to carry on his operations against
544 REIGN OF THE EMPEROR CHARLES V.
Rhodes without disturbance. The grand master, after
incredible efforts of courage, of patience, and of mili-
tary conduct, during a siege of six months, — after
sustaining many assaults, and disputing every post
with amazing obstinacy, — was obliged at last to yield
to numbers ; and, having obtained an honorable capi-
tulation from the sultan, who admired and respected his
virtue, he surrendered the town, which was reduced to
a heap of rubbish and destitute of every resource.8*
Charles and Francis, ashamed of having occasioned
such a loss to Christendom by their ambitious contests,
endeavored to throw the blame of it on each other,
while all Europe, with greater justice, imputed it equally
to both. The emperor, by way of reparation, granted
the knights of St. John the small island of Malta, in
which they fixed their residence, retaining, though
with less power and splendor, their ancient spirit, and
implacable enmity to the infidels.
83 Fontanus dc Bello Rhodio, ap. Scard. Script. Rcr. German., vol.
ii. p. 88. — P. Barre, Hist. d'Alem., torn. viii. 57.
END OF VOL. I.
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