that the rule over subjugated people does not agree with the
gentile constitution. Here we have an opportunity to observe this on a
large scale. The German nations, masters of the Roman provinces, had to
organize their conquests. But they could neither adopt the Romans as a
body into their gentes, nor rule them by the help of gentile organs. A
substitute for them had to be placed at the head of the Roman
administrative bodies that were largely retained in local affairs, and
this substitute could only be another state. Hence the organs of the
gentile constitution had to become organs of the state, and under the
pressure of the moment this took place very rapidly. Now the first
representative of the conquering nation was the military leader. The
internal and external security of the conquered territory demanded that
his power should be strengthened. The moment had arrived for the
transition from war leadership to monarchy. And the change took place.

Take e. g. the realm of the Franks. The victorious Salians had not only
come into possession of the extensive Roman state dominions, but also of
all the large tracts that had not been assigned to the more or less
small mark communities, especially of all large forest tracts. The first
thing which the king of the Franks, now a real monarch, did was to
change this national property into royal property, to steal it from the
people and to donate or give it in lien to his retainers. This retinue,
originally composed of his personal war followers and of the
subcommanders of the army, was increased by Romans, i. e., romanized
Gauls who quickly became invaluable to the king through their knowledge
of writing, their education and their familiarity with the language and
laws of the country, and with the language of Latin literature. But
slaves, serfs and freed slaves also became his courtiers. From among all
these he chose his favorites. At first they received donations of public
land, and later on these benefits were generally conferred for the
lifetime of the king. The foundation of a new nobility was thus laid at
the expense of the people.

But this was not all. The wide expanse of the empire could not be
governed by means of the old gentile constitution. The council of
chiefs, if it had not become obsolete long ago, could not have held any
more meetings. It was soon displaced by the standing retinue of the
king. A pretense at the old public meeting was still kept up, but it
also w