Page:Outlines of European History.djvu/472

 402 Outlines of European History Justs and tourneys older, and nephews against uncles who might seek to deprive them of their rights. In theory, the lord could force his vassals to settle their dis- putes in an orderly manner before his court ; but often he was neither able nor inclined to bring about a peaceful adjustment, and he would frequently have found it hard to enforce the decisions of his own court. So the vassals were left to fight out their quarrels among themselves, and they found their chief interest in life in so doing. War was practically sanctioned by law. This is shown by two striking examples. The great French code of laws of the thirteenth century and the Golden Bull, a most important body of law drawn up for Germany in 1356, did not prohibit neighborhood war, but merely provided that it should be conducted in what was considered a decent and gentlemanly way. Justs and tourneys were military exercises — play wars — to fill out the tiresome periods which occasionally intervened be- tween real wars. They were, in fact, diminutive batdes in which whole troops of hostile nobles sometimes took part. These rough plays called down the condemnation of the popes and even of the kings. The latter, however, were much too fond of the sport themselves not to forget promptly their own prohibitions. The horrors of this constant fighting led the Church to try to check it. About the year 1000 several Church councils in southern France decreed that the fighters were not to attack churches or monasteries, churchmen, pilgrims, merchants, and women, and that they must leave the peasant and his catde and plow alone. Then Church councils began to issue what was known as the " Truce of God," which provided that all warfare was to stop during Lent and various other holy days as well as on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of every week. During the truce no one was to attack any one else. Those besieging castles were to refrain from any assaults during the period of peace, and people were to be allowed to go quietly to and fro on their business without being disturbed by soldiers.