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chief to be surpassed in valor; it was infamous inthe retainers not to equal the valor of the chief. Toguard and to defend his person, and to ascribe tohis glory all their gallant acts, was their greatestoath. The chief fought for victory; the retainer forthe chief (7).
These connexions, and this subordination , fol-lowed the barbaric nations into their settlements.And here we may perceive the foundations of thefeudal association.
But land , which was the tie that bound togetherthe members of a feudal kingdom, had no concernin these appearances. The chief could not confer alanded property on his retainer, because land hadnot yet descended to individuals. It obeyed, how-ever, the order of nations; and the more powerfulof the Gaulic and German communities had beenin the practice of granting, under military service,proportions of territory to inferior tribes.Communitieswere anciently the vassals of communities (8). Herethen was the essence of the feudal grant.
Accustomed to this way of thinking , and to theseinstitutions, a German state found itself in a pro-vince of the Romans. The sovereign, from gratitudeand interest, was disposed to court the chiefs whowere the associates of his victories; and the chiefswere not insensible of their importance. The retainerswere proud of their prowess and their services ; andthe chiefs were forward to show their favor andaffection to men who constituted their strength.Land had begun to be detached from nations, andto be connected with individuals. And the conquest