Page:General History of Europe 1921.djvu/290

 208 General History of Europe 332. Obstacles to maintaining Order. The Treaty of Mersen was followed by several centuries of continued disorder and local warfare. There were a number of difficulties which stood in the way of peace. In the first place, a king found it very hard to get rapidly from one part of his realms to another in order to put down MAP OF TREATY OF MERSEN This map shows the division of Charlemagne's empire made in 870 by his descendants in the Treaty of Mersen rebellions, for the Roman roads ( 256), which had been so ad- mirably constructed, had fallen into disrepair, and the bridges had been carried away by floods. Besides, the king had very little money. There were not many gold or silver mines in western Europe, and there was no supply of precious metals from outside, for commerce with the Eastern countries had largely died out. So the king had no treasury from which to pay his many officials and had to give them land instead of money in return for their services. In this way they gradually became rulers themselves within their own possessions.