FEODAL, or feudal, system. This system originated from an assumed right obtained by conquest. When the Ro man empire began to decline, and that government became too feeble to support its most distant possessions, the Celtic nations, taking advantage of the reduced state of their various military posts, marched in such numbers through the southern parts of Europe, that opposition was deemed vain, and these northern hordes of Lombards, Franks, Huns, Goths, and Vandals, conquered them without difficulty. Acting upon their previous policy, they immediately in troduced the military.practice they had adopted towards their enemies, which was the general confiscation of land to the use of the most powerful chiefs; those, for obvious motives, distributed portions to enterprising subordinates, and even to the common soldier who had earned laurels in their predatory wars. The grants thus made were conditional, and called feoda, feuds, fiefs, or fees, which words imply the receipt of a re ward given for past, and to secure future services; it might, indeed, be considered an actual sale of the person for military purposes, and the bargain became void, by the land reverting to the first posses sor, if the party refused to march, or fled from his chief in battle; but this, or simi lar dishonourable conduct, was further guarded against by an oath of fealty.
Viewing this system only in the light of a firm bond of union subsisting between barbarians, it must be admitted, that a better could not well be devised, as the chief held officers of trust to his interest, by combining it with their own, and the vassals of the latter had an equally just reason to rely on the fidelity of others, who held land under their fee. The ne cessity of preserving their conquests, rather than any generous principle to wards each other, evidently dictated the feodal system, and it was rendered al most impossible by this means that insur rections of the conquered nations should succeed, or that foreign armies could have the least chance of success, when opposed to a prince at the head of his feudatories; hence the nations thus con stituted became powerful in the aggre gate, and every individual, oppressed by his lord, had a common claim for redress, from the lowest feudatory in gradation to the chief, otherwise the whole fabric must have fallen into ruin. Exclusive of
the feodal grants, there were others, termed allodial, which, though not free from military service, were given upon more liberal principles than the former; by those all free men had a right to dis pose of their territory. In order to se cure the prompt assistance of this de scription of persons, they were invited by a sort of honourable liberty to defend the country in battle, which was denied to the slaves, who were compelled to fol low what was then thought the inglorious arts of peace. These allodial proprietors composed a national militia, and had the privilege of possessing moveables and money, a circumstance which compelled them to take the field at the requisition of the sovereign, when the country was in danger; but they were exempt from interfering in the disputes of feudal lords; and this exemption operated at length in subverting all their advantages; being independent of either party, both the lords and their vassals viewed them with jealousy, and each presuming upon their inability to protect themselves, in jured and insulted them, well knowing that, as they were scattered at remote distances throughout the country, and forbidden by law from committing hos tilities, they had nothing to apprehend from their resentment. The folly and barbarity of this conduct can only be ac counted for by the consummate igno rance and brutality of all classes of men, who, inured to rapine, injustice, and bloodshed, paid homage to power alone, rejecting the sacred claims of property, and despising all other merit besides that of courage; the necessary conse quence was, that the prince courted the most valiant and powerful of his chiefs, and neglected the allodial proprietors in proportion, because he could derive no advantage from them ; they in return became completely disgusted with their situation, and wearied by the neglect of the monarch, the destruction of theii• property without hope of redress, and continual insults, they finally determined to solicit common protection, by resign. ing their lands to those lords who would deign to return them as feodal tenures: such was the effect of this cruel system of plunder, which made fiefs universal.