Evening star., 1928-02-26
The Story of Civilization

ship of fief that the feudal system was
named.
II he killed his lord by accident the
scrf was put to death: If he killed him
purposely. he was tortured to death by
slow degrees. He might be beaten OF
imprisoned at his masters will. without
law or explanation: II he was killed his
master paid fine. Any goods left BY
him when he died went not to his chill
daughter married. the serfs had tc
provide a dowry: II the lord was cap.
tured they had to ransom him. If q
serf's son or daughter married or en-
tered the church. the lord had to be
paid fee. His children could not
marry without the lords consent. and
sometimes more than this was cxacted
of the bride. An edict of Aragon in the
thirteenth century reads: I'VE decide
and declare that the barons shall ncitne,
sleep the first night with the bride OF
a peasant. nor shall they on the first
night. after the woman has gone to bed
step over said woman or bed in sign OF
their authority. Neither shall the
aforesaid barons use the daughter o,
son Of peasant, with or without paw
against their will" tSugenheim, Scrf-
dom. page 35)
Entering the lords house the ser,
had TO kneel in homage. G.. declare
himself the lords man" thomol 7,
the lord visited him he must feed and
shelter him with his best. The food
| was scarce and UNMARRIED: and. as today
iresh vegetables were almost unknown
in the farmers house. The hut was
usually Of mud. with a roof of straw:
it was ill-,it and had no chimney: here
in the smoke of the fire. lived father
mother. children. cows and pigs. Igno-
rance ran riot under these conditions:
disease took heavy TOLL and because the
roads were poor and the old Roman
| highways had been left to decay. famine
was frequent and unimpeded visitor
In l34s the bubonic plague killed one
half the peasant population of England
and nine-tenths Of it in many places on
the Continent: those who were stricken
died IN two days: and for long time
| 500 bodies were carried daily from the
great hospital of Paris. The only rec
rcation and relief from 1t all was II,
whisky, adultery and divine worship.
Doubtless the adaptability of the hui
man mind. and the anesthesia of rou-
tine made 1t all tolerable; life was
peacefully regular. and the income.
!
song spread their salve over the wounds
OF every day; and in the dooryards
l!lacs bloomed.
The lord himself lived in a grea.
| castle or chateau. usually built as a
combined fortress or home upon some
| strategic hill Round about the castle
ran a moat. hardly to be crossed except
when the drawbridge was down: and
| nearly every corner had a tower from
which attacks could be repulsed The
| village grew around the villa. as the
town grew up at the foci of trade. Many
| Of these old chateaux still survive. SO
strongly were they made; they are
masterpieces of architecture without
and prisons Of darkness within. Here
the baron felt that his home was his
castle in very literal sense: his serfs
produced all his necessities. and stood
guard over his person and his property.
and though Charlemagne or Otho
might be called the Emperor, and many
lesser man King. his rule stopped
with the threshold. where feudal inde-
pendence and personality began. It was
in these chateaux, redeemed from their
gloom by courtly women and artistic
furniture. that the aristocratic families.
traditions and manners Of Europe be-
gan
Knighthood and chivalry were the
flowers that grew in this dark soil.
watered with the blood and tears Of
feudal life centered around the exploits
of war and love. the feudal baron
prided himself on the power Of his lance
and the beauty of his lady. He prac-
ticed the art Of killing in tournaments
and jousts; and since armour made
medieval battle safer than modern
sport, he saw to it that peace should
! never long prevail; periodically he
| found reasons for leading his vassals
fminor lords who managed land held in
| fef for hirn) against some neighboring
baron whose adjoining territory invited
chivalric robbery A blow on the cheek
| made him a knight, a horse and a mis-
tress made him chevalier. He kept
his word with his friends though he
sometimes broke 1t with his enemies.
especially If they were "heathen": with
inf1dels. he felt, there need be no fidel-
/. ity. He praised woman as a deity in
! his verse, but In the prose OF every day
! he looked upon her as a necessary evil,
| or as occasionally the pleasant instru-
ment of the devil: when he left her for
distant journeyings he put her charms
under strict surveillance. and saw TO 1t
that the double standard should be
! honorably maintained.
The Towns.
Feudalism was at its height when the
| world almost came TO an end IN the
| year 1000 Throughout Europe the end
/ O: the tenth century had been awaited
with terror as the millennium that would
bring the last Judgment and the de-
strlict.on OF the world: and even those
! who hoped for Heaven unaccountably
feared the premature arrival Of their
! felicity. Perhaps this dark expectation
! had discouraged in some measure the
earthly energy and ambition OF men:
certainly, when the momentous year
had passed away, and people continued
/ 20 live. suffer, beget and die as before,
a sense OF new life passed through the
population OF Christian Europe. and
| with this renovation OF spirit the Dark
Ages came TO an end Europe began
| TO grow outside OF and over the church;
the natural v.gor Of the Teutons lifted
| ,ip civilization at last TO another effort
| in creation,
| The first sign Of the new life was the
! reappearance OF trade. The manor
had made nearly everything that It
consumed. ard had consumed nearly
everything that II made: this lack OF
| surplus had combined with the decay
! OF roads and the lack Of currency 70
discourage commerce. Bot In the thir-
| teenth century money began again 70
| he coined, and replaced the awkward
barter OF travelling traders and annual
fairs: while the Jews created credit
| system for modern finance. The Popet
had Discouraged banking by branding
Interest as sinful but when the Chris
t!ans saw what profits the Jews were
making by lending money. they devised
the eypedicnt of lending without inter
est. merely charging damages, ac-
co,c.ng u the number OF days between