Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/425

 Ch. 13. the king's army, and by his repeated treacheries at lat transferred the crown to Canute the Dane.

eems univerally agreed by all hitorians, that king Alfred firt ettled a national militia in this kingdom, and by his prudent dicipline made all the ubjects of his dominion oldiers: but we are unfortunately left in the dark as to the particulars of this his o celebrated regulation; though, from what was lat oberved, the dukes eem to have been left in poeion of too large and independent a power: which enabled duke Harold on the death of Edward the confeor, though a tranger to the royal blood, to mount for a hort pace the throne of this kingdom, in prejudice of Edgar Atheling the rightful heir.

the Norman conquet the feodal law was introduced here in all it's rigor, the whole of which is built upon a military plan. I hall not now enter into the particulars of that contitution, which belongs more properly to the next part of our commentaries: but hall only oberve, that, in conequence thereof, all the lands in the kingdom were divided into what were called knight's fees, in number above ixty thouand; and for every knight's fee a knight or oldier, miles, was bound to attend the king in his wars, for forty days in a year; in which pace of time, before war was reduced to a cience, the campaign was generally finihed, and a kingdom either conquered or victorious. By this means the king had, without any expene, an army of ixty thouand men always ready at his command. And accordingly we find one, among the laws of William the conqueror, which in the king's name commands and firmly enjoins the peronal attendance of all knights and others; "quod habeant et teneant e emper in armis et equis, ut decet et oportet; et quod emper int prompti et parati ad ervitium uum integrum nobis explendum et peragendum, cum opus adfuerit, ecundum quod debent de feodis et tenementis uis Rh