Feudalism 187 The representative chosen by the abbot of Ferrieres appeared in person, and said that he owed no military serv- ice with horses and arms, but only the sum of seventeen pounds Parisian and his followers six score pounds, namely, sixty pounds for Ferrieres and sixty for Beausse. . . . VI. FAILURE OF FEUDALISM TO SECURE ORDER. THE TRUCE OF GOD [In the form which feudalism had reached at the Nor- 89. Bishop man Conquest,] it may be described as a complete organiza- Stubbs' tion of society through the medium of land tenure, in which O f idea i from the king down to the lowest landowner all are bound feudalism, together by obligation of service and defense: the lord to protect his vassal, the vassal to do service to his lord; the defense and service being based on and regulated by the nature and extent of the land held by the one of the other. In those states which have reached the territorial stage of development, the rights of defense and service are supple- mented by the right of jurisdiction. The lord judges as well as defends his vassal ; the vassal does suit as well as service to his lord. In states in which feudal government has reached its utmost growth, the political, financial, judicial, every branch of public administration is regulated by the same conditions. The central authority is a mere shadow of a name. The general failure of feudalism to secure peace and order, indeed its tendency directly to promote disorder, is illustrated by many of the passages from the chron- icles found in the following chapters (see, especially, Chapter X). The provisions of the Truce of God are eloquent of existing conditions. Inasmuch as in our own times the Church, through its 90. The members, has been extraordinarily afflicted by tribulations Tr uc e fG and difficulties, so that tranquillity and peace were wholly syno d held 1 This document has been preserved only in this form, in which it was ^ ^^^ communicated by the archbishop of Cologne to the bishop of Miinster.
