Page:The history of medieval Europe.djvu/314

 268 THE HISTORY OF MEDIEVAL EUROPE avaricious and corrupt favorites at court and maintained order and system at hozne while the king was away at his wars. Suger also has left us a Life of Louis VI. Besides be- ing a great fighter, the king was a great hunter and a great eater. The latter pursuit finally triumphed over the former pastime, for at forty-six Louis became too fat to mount a horse. Louis was good-natured, and simple and unaffected in his manners. His slight paleness contemporary gossip attributed to an attempt by his stepmother to poison him. He was not persuaded to marry until he had reached the age of thirty-five, when he wedded a very ugly niece of the pope, by whom he had six sons and three daughters. Despite the small territory actually under their rule, the early Capetians continued to regard themselves as successors The °f Charlemagne. They retained the court cere- Capetian mony which Charlemagne had borrowed from Constantinople, and their proclamations and state papers had the same high tone, compounded of Bib- lical and of imperial Roman phrases. But their machinery of government was slight and in the main feudal. There were the usual household offices of chancellor, seneschal, chamberlain, butler, and constable, held as hereditary posts by their chief vassals. Their feudal court, the curia regis, was attended for the most part only by those vassals within easy reach of Paris, but these were remarkably faithful in their attendance, although the king often summoned them as frequently as once a month. He seems to have initiated all the business brought before them, and only a few of them ventured to discuss and debate his proposals; but he evi- dently wished to secure their assent before taking action. To look after his own estates the king had local officials called prevots, who collected the revenue from his villas, led the local soldiery, and judged criminals and lawsuits among his peasants, or summoned persons of greater consequence before the king's court. The king claimed that he was the fountain of all justice, that keeping the peace was his special prerogative, and that he had the right to see that the feudal lords did justice by their subvassals and tenants.