Page:Outlines of European History.djvu/473

 The Age of Disorder ; Feudalism 403 If any one failed to observe the truce, he was to be excom- municated by the Church — if he fell sick no Christian should dare to visit him, and on his deathbed he was not to receive the comfort of a priest, and his soul was consigned to hell if he had refused to repent and mend his ways. It is hard to say how much good the Truce of God accomplished. Some of the bishops and even the heads of great monasteries liked fighting pretty well themselves. It is certain that many disorderly lords paid little attention to the truce, and found three days a week altogether too short a time for plaguing their neighbors. Yet we must not infer that the State ceased to exist altogether The kings during the centuries of confusion that followed the break-up of fh? betfer of Charlemagne's empire, or that it fell entirely apart into little [^rds^"^^^ local governments independent of each other. In the first place, a king always retained some of his ancient majesty. He might be weak and without the means to enforce his rights and to compel his more powerful subjects to meet their obligations toward him. Yet he was, after all, the king^ solemnly anointed by the Church as God's representative on earth. He was always something more than a feudal lord. The kings were destined to get the upper hand^ before many centuries in England, France, and Spain, and finally in Italy and Germany, and to destroy the castles behind whose walls their haughty nobles had long defied the royal power. QUESTIONS Section 63. What led to the breaking up of Charlemagne's em- pire? What is the importance of the Treaty of Mersen.? What were the chief obstacles that prevented a king in the early Middle Ages from really controlling an extensive realm? What invasions occurred in western Europe after Charlemagne's time ? Tell what you can of the Northmen. Section 64. Describe the changes that took place during the Middle Ages in the method of constructing casdes. Describe the arrangement of a castle.