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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Untitled Article
Wh 4 t ilia king did in h i * kingdom , tne hig £# r clevgy did i * their possessions . The possession of land * obliged them to military and knightly services-which did not seem to accord with the dignity and purity of their calling ; they were thus compelled to make over these duties to others , to whom they , in requital , gave up the enjoyment of certain lands , the fees of the judicial office , and other imposts , or in the language of the times , they were obliged to confer such in fee . The archbishop , bishop , or abbot , was in his district what the king was in the whole state . He had attorneys or stewards , bailiffs and vassals ,
tribunals and an exchequer ; kings themselves accounted it not below their dignity to become feudal tenants of their bishops and prelates , and these have not neglected to make it pass for a mark of the preference due to the clergy over the laity . No wonder that the popes afterwards thought proper to honour him whom they nominated emperor with the name of their steward . If we always keep in view the double relation of the kings as barons and as liege lords of their kingdoms , these apparent contradictions will disappear .
The dukes , marquises , counts , whom the king set over the provinces as commanders and justiciaries , required a certain power in order to be equal to the external defence of their provinces , to enforce respect from the restless spirit of the Barons ,
to give effect to their decisions , and in the case of resistance to compel obedience with arms in their hands . But with the mere dignity no power was delegated—this the royal officer must have the means of acquiring for himself . These offices , therefore , became closed to all the less powerful freemen , and confined to a small number of the high Barons , who were rich
enough in demesnes and could bring vassals enough into the field to maintain themselves of their own power . This was especially necessary in those countries where there existed a powerful and martial nobility , and was indispensable on the Borders . It became more necessary from one century to another as the decline of the royal authority induced anarchy , private wars raged , and impunity encouraged plunder ; on this account the Clergy who were particularly exposed to these robberies , sought their patrons , stewards , and vassals among
the powerful Barons . The high vassals of the Crown were thus also wealthy barons or proprietors , and already had their vassals under them whose arms stood at tlieir bidding . They were at once feudal tenants of the crown and liege-lords of their undertenants ; the former gave them a dependence , while the latter nourished in them an arbitrary spirit . Upon their domaint they were absolute princes ; and in respect of their fiefs their bands were tied ; these descended from father to son , the otbft ? reverted upon their demise into the hands of the Uag& » lord . Such a contradictory relation could not long emm * . Th # povrtr *
Untitled Article
At ike twit of the Jir $ i Cmadt . & * 5
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), June 2, 1836, page 343, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2658/page/15/
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