fasdu/s.—This name, which was known to Tacitus, comprises various tribes of Teutonic) and also of Slavonian origin, who lived in Eastern Prussia and Pomerania. The Slavonian tribes wore subject to the Teutonic Vandals, who are often confounded with the Wends (Vonedi), who afterwards occupied the country of the Vandals. The Vandals left their homes towards the end of the 4th century, and a part of them, after a sojourn in Pannonia, traversed Germany and Gaul, and founded the Vandal kingdom in Spain in 409. In 417 they subjugated the Alani, who had also settled in Spain. In 429 they were forced by the Visi-Goths to abandon this country, and they went over to Africa. Their king Gen:seri° or Geiserie took Carthage (439), all Mauritania, and the islands of Sardinia, Corsica, the Baleares, and the western part of Sicily. On the 12th July, 455, they plundered Rome, and their name became proverbial as that of the most barbarous among the barbarians. , Their kingdom lasted till 535, when it was destroyed by Bells:trims, and became a part of the Byzantine empire. All the names of the Vandal kings are Teutonic, and resemble those of the Gothic kings, a fact which proves that however numerous the Slavonians were among them, the Teutonic tribes were the ruling nation. Their name is visible in that of the province of Andalusia or Vandalusia. (Papencordt, Geschichte der Vandalen.) Longobards. (LOMBARDO-VENETIAN KIN:ODOM, in GEOG. DIV., COL 578.1—The Longobards lived on the right bank of the Lower Elbe, and afterwards on the left side of this river, near Liineburg and Bruns wick : in language and person they resembled their neighbours the Saxons, a strong body of whom appeared with them in Italy. Before they invaded Italy they had lived in the present country of Upper Hungary, in Pannonia, and in Noricum (494-568). Their king Alboin subjugated the Gepidaa in Transylvania (563 1), and in 568 he con quered the greater part of Italy. Their last national king, Desiderius, was deprived of his throne by Charlemagne (774), who assumed the title of king of the Longobards : but the Longobards neither lost their constitution nor their estates; the only change was in the reigning dynasty.
When the Longobards were subjugated by the Franks, they had possessed written laws for 130 years. The first collection was made by king Rotharis in 643. The laws of Grimoald were collected in 668, those of Luitprand between 713 and 724; those of Rachis in 746, and those of Aistulf in 754. They contain only a few heads of Roman law concerning prescription and succession. '(Muratori,' Script. Rer. Ital.,' torn. i. ; and Biener, ' De Origine et Progressu Legum Jurtunque Germanicorum; i.) These arc the Teutonic nations that founded permanent kingdoms within the limits of the Roman empire. Except the Alemanni, they all came in contact with a population the educated part of which was entirely Romanised, although, except Italy and some parts of the south of Spain and Gaul, the inhabitants of the villages were still Celts or Iberians when they were subjugated by the Teutonic invaders. (Fauriel, Hist. de Is Gaule M6ridionale: voL 1.) The political institu tions of the new masters of the civilised world rested on two great principles.
The Teutonic laws were not territorial, as they now are, but per sonal: a Frank was judged after the Frankish law, a Burgundian after the Burgundian, wherever he lived. This principle being applied also to the Romans, gave rise to a double legislation, one for the ruling Teutonic nation, and the other for the subject Romans. The
second principle was that the sovereignty belonged to the body of the conquerors, and not exclusively to their kings. This sovereignty not only comprised the supreme authority in legislation and administra tion, but it was considered as comprehending a right to the private landed property of the vanquished nation. Every free Frank or Goth became the master of a considerable portion of land which he took from the Romanis. The rights and duties of the kings towards their Teutonic fellow-conquerors remained the same as before ; the kings had no right to punish any freeman, unless in time of war and for neglect of military duties. The freemen also could not be forced to serve in any war to which they bad not given their consent ; and they did not pay any taxes to their kings, who were only the first among their equals. As to the subject Romans, the Teutonic kings became the lords of a numerous civilised nation : &i successors to the rights of the Roman emperors, and with regard to the Romans, they had absolute power, and they became proprietors of the extensive private estates of the emperors. They maintained the provincial administration, which was established by Constantine the Great and his successors, but they often conferred various functions on one person in order to render that complicated administration more easy to manage. As the conquerors lived among the subject people, each province had a double administration, one for the ruling nation and the other for the subject nation. But there resulted so much confusion from this circumstance, that the kings were obliged, espe cially in Gaul, to sacrifice the principles of the Roman administration, and to govern in the Teutonic way, although the names of the higher publics functions were Roman. The first functionary in each province in the Frankish kingdom was the Dux, who had the supreme military command, and sometimes also the authority of a judge. The second was the Comes, who was chief judge and director of all affairs con cerning taxes and the revenue of the fiscus. From the Sth century the functions of the Dux and the Comes were conferred upon one person, who is aometimcs styled Dux, and sometimes Comes.
The fate of the Romans in the empire was threefold. One part of the Romans entered into the private service of the king, and preserved a portion of their estates on condition of obedience to hire. The great landowners belonged to this class, which had the name of "Romani convivre regis." A second part, the " Romani posseesores," remained in possession of their lands, but they were obliged to pay taxes for them, a duty from which the conquerors were exempt : this class principally consisted of small landowners. The third class were the" Romani tributarii," who lost;their liberty, although they did not become Servi in the Roman sense of the word : these were the ancient "colon." In many towns the Romans continued to enjoy their muni cipal institutions, while a Teutonic community gradually arose within the same walls, and had its separate constitution. In other towns the richest among the Roman's lost their liberty and became " ministe rides," a kind of privileged vassals; but the poor were treated as the Itoulani tributarii in the villages.