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more　strikingly　unlike　in　external　aspect　than　the　states　of






society　which　are　discerned　on　either　side　of　the　stormy　interval






filled　with　the　movement　and　subsidence　of　the　barbarian






invasions。　Just　before　it　is　reached；　we　see　a　large　part　of






mankind　arranged；　so　to　speak；　on　one　vast　level　surface






dominated　in　every　part　by　the　overshadowing　authority　of　the






Roman　Emperor。　On　this　they　lie　as　so　many　equal　units；　connected






together　by　no　institutions　which　are　not　assumed　to　be　the






creation　of　positive　Roman　law；　and　between　them　and　their






sovereign　there　is　nothing　but　a　host　of　functionaries　who　are






his　servants。　When　feudal　Europe　has　been　constituted；　all　this






is　changed。　Everybody　has　become　the　subordinate　of　somebody　else






higher　than　himself　and　yet　exalted　above　him　by　no　great






distance。　If　I　may　again　employ　an　image　used　by　me　before；






society　has　taken　the　form　of　a　pyramid　or　cone。　The　great






multitude　of　cultivators　is　at　its　base；　and　then　it　mounts　up






through　ever…narrowing　sections　till　it　approaches　an　apex；　not






always　visible；　but　always　supposed　to　be　discoverable；　in　the






Emperor；　or　the　Pope；　or　God　Almighty。　There　is　strong　reason　to






believe　that　neither　picture　contains　all　the　actual　detail；　and






that　neither　the　theory　of　the　Roman　lawyers　on　one　side　nor　the






theory　of　the　feudal　lawyers　on　the　other　accounts　for　or　takes






notice　of　a　number　of　customs　and　institutions　which　had　a






practical　existence　in　their　day。　Either　theory　was；　however；






founded　upon　the　most　striking　facts　of　the　epoch　at　which　it　was






framed。






　　　　We　know　something；　though　not　very　much；　of　the　formal






instrumentalities　by　which　the　later　set　of　facts　became　so






extremely　dissimilar　to　the　earlier。　Mr　Stubbs　（'Constitutional






History；'　i。　252）　has　thus　summarised　the　most　modern　views　on






the　subject。　Feudalism　'had　grown　up　from　two　great　sources；　the






Benefice　and　the　practice　of　Commendation。　The　beneficiary　system






originated　partly　in　gifts　of　land　made　by　the　kings　out　of　their






own　estates　to　their　kinsmen　and　servants；　with　a　special






undertaking　to　be　faithful；　partly　in　the　surrender　by　landowners






of　their　estates　to　churches　or　powerful　men；　to　be　received　back






again　and　held　by　them　as　tenants　for　rent　or　service。　By　the






latter　arrangement　the　weaker　man　obtained　the　protection　of　the






stronger；　and　he　who　felt　himself　insecure　placed　his　title　under






the　defence　of　the　Church。　By　the　practice　of　Commendation；　on






the　other　hand；　the　inferior　put　himself　under　the　personal　care






of　a　lord；　but　without　altering　his　title　or　divesting　himself　of






his　right　to　his　estate；　he　became　a　vassal　and　did　homage。'






Commendation；　in　particular；　went　on　all　over　Western　Europe　with






singular　universality　of　operation　and　singular　uniformity　of






result；　and　it　helped　to　transform　the　ancient　structure　of






Teutonic　society　no　less　than　the　institutions　of　the　Roman






Provincials。　Yet　there　is　considerable　mystery　about　men's






motives　for　reporting　to　so　onerous　a　proceeding；　and　the






statements　of　nearly　all　writers　on　the　subject　are　general　and






chiefly　conjectural。　Perhaps　the　most　precise　assertion　which　we






have　been　hitherto　able　to　hazard　as　to　the　reasons　of　so　large　a






part　of　the　world　for　voluntarily　placing　themselves　in　a






conditIon　of　personal　subordination　is；　that　they　must　have　been






connected　with　the　system　of　civil　and　criminal　responsibility






which　prevailed　in　those　times。　Families　　real　or






artificial…natural　or　formed　by　agreement　　were　responsible　for






the　offences　and　even　for　the　civil　liabilities　of　their　members；






but　corporate　responsibility　must　have　been　replaced；






conveniently　for　all　persons　concerned；　by　the　responsibility　of






a　single　lord；　who　could　prevent　injury　and　pay　compensation　for






it；　and　whose　testimony；　in　compurgation　and　other　legal






proceedings；　had　a　weight　often　assigned　to　it　exceeding　that　of






several　inferior　persons　combined。　More　generally；　but　with　at






least　equal　plausibility；　we　can　lay　down　that　the　general






disorder　of　the　world　had　much　to　do　with　the　growth　of　the　new






institutions；　and　that　a　little　society　compactly　united　under　a






feudal　lord　was　greatly　stronger　for　defence　or　attack　than　any






body　of　kinsmen　or　co…villagers　and　than　any　assemblage　of






voluntary　confederates。　It　would　be　absurd；　however；　to　suppose






that　we　have　materials　for　a　confident　opinion　as　to　men's






motives　for　submitting　themselves　to　a　change　which　was　probably






recommended　to　them　or　forced　on　them　by　very　various






circumstances　in　different　countries　and　in　relatively　different






stages　of　society。






　　　　I　do　not　wish　to　generalise　unduly　from　the　new　information






furnished　by　the　Brehon　law；　but　there　has　long　been　a　suspicion






（I　cannot　call　it　more）　among　learned　men　that　Celtic　usages






would　throw　some　light　on　Commendation；　and；　at　any　rate；　amid






the　dearth　of　our　materials；　any　addition　to　them　from　an






authentic　source　is　of　value。　Let　me　again　state　the　impression　I






have　formed　of　the　ancient　Irish　land…system；　in　the　stage　at






which　it　is　revealed　to　us　by　the　Brehon　tracts。　The　land　of　the






tribe；　whether　cultivated　or　waste；　belongs　to　the　tribe；　and






this　is　true；　whether　the　tribe　be　a　joint…family　of　kinsmen　or　a






larger　and　more　artificial　assemblage。　Such　theoretically　is　the






principle；　if　the　traditional　view　of　the　primitive　state　of






things　may　be　called　a　theory。　But　much　of　the　territory　of　the






larger　tribes　hag　been　permanently　assigned　to　Chiefly　families






or　to　smaller　sub…divisions　of　tribesmen；　and　the　land　of　the






smaller　sub…divisions　tends　ever　to　become　divided　among　their






members；　subject　to　certain　reserved　rights　of　the　collective






brotherhood。　Every　considerable　tribe；　and　almost　every　smaller






body　of　men　contained　in　it；　is　under　a　Chief；　whether　he　be　one






of　the　many　tribal　rulers　whom　the　Irish　records　call　Kings；　or






whether　he　be　one　of　those　heads　of　joint…families　whom　the






Anglo…Irish　lawyers　at　a　later　date　called　the　Capita






Cognationum。　But　he　is　not　owner　of　the　tribal　laid。　his　own　land






he　may　have；　consisting　of　private　estate　or　of　official　domain；






or　of　both；　and　over　the　general　tribal　land　he　has　a　general






administrative　authority；　which　is　ever　growing　greater　over　that






portion　of　it　which　is　unappropriated　waste。　He　is　meanwhile　the






military　leader　of　his　tribesmen；　and；　probably　in　that　capacity；






he　has　acquired　great　wealth　in　cattle。　It　has　somehow　become　of






great　importance　to　him　to　place　out　portions　of　his　herds　among






the　tribesmen；　and　they　on　their　part　occasionally　find






themselves　through　stress　of　circumstance　in　pressing　need　of






cattle　for　employment　in　tillage。　Thus　the　Chiefs　appear　in　the






Brehon　law　as　perpetually　'giving　stock；'　and　the　tribesmen　as






receiving　it。　The　remarkable　thing　is；　that　out　of　this　practice






grew；　not　only　the　familiar　incidents　of　ownership；　such　as　the






right　to　rent　and　the　liability　to　pay　it；　together　with　some






other　incidents　less　pleasantly　familiar　to　the　student　of　Irish






history；　but；　above　and　besides　these；　newly　all　the　well…known






incidents　of　feudal　tenure。　It　is　by　taking　stock　that　the　free






Irish　tribesman　becomes　the　Ceile　or　Kyle；　the　vassal　or　man　of






his　Chief；　owing　him　not　only　rent　but　service　and　homage。　The






exact　effects　of　'commendation'　are　thus　produced；　and　the






interesting　circumstance　is　that　they　are　produced　from　a　simple






and　intelligible　motive。　The　transaction　between　Chief　and　Vassal






is　very　burdensome　to　the　latter；　but　the　necessity　which　leads






to　it　is　pressing；　and　the　force　of　this　necessity　would　be






greater　the　more　primitive　the　society　in　which　it　arose；　and　the






more　recent　its　settlement　on　its　lands。　All　this　is　especially






instructive；　because　there　is　no　reason　whatever　to　suppose　that






Beneficiary　grants　and　Commendation　arose　suddenly　in　the　world






at　the　disruption　of　the　Roman　Empire。　They　were　probably；　in






some　form　or　other；　deeply　seated　among　the　rudimentary　usages　of






all　Aryan　societies。






　　　　The　new　position　which　the　tribesman　assumed　through






accepting　stock　from　a　Chief　varied　according　to　the　quantity　of






stock　he　received。　If　he　took　much　stock　he　sank　to　a　much　lower






status　than　if　he　had　taken　little。　On　this　difference　in　the






quantity　accepted　there　turns　the　difference　between　the　two






great　classes　of　Irish　tenantry；　the　Saer　and　Daer　tenants；






between　whose　status　and　that　of　the　free　and　higher　base　tenants






of　an　English　manor　there　is　a　resemblance　not　to　be　mistaken。






The　Saer…stock　tenant；　distinguished　by　the　limited　amount　of






stock　which　he　rece