For the personal element in feudalism it is possible to find two prototypes, one Roman and the other German. The first was the institution of the later Empire known as the _patrocinium_--the relation established between a powerful man (patron) and a weak one (client) when the latter pledged himself to perform certain services for the former in return for protection. The second was the German _comitatus_--a band of young warriors who lived with a prince or noble and went on campaigns under his leadership. The _patrocinium_ doubtless survived in Roman Gaul long after the time of the Frankish invasion, but it is not likely that the _comitatus_ ever played much part in that country. It seems that, with the exception of the king, the Frankish men of influence did not have bands of personal followers after the settlement on Roman soil. But, wholly aside from earlier practices, the conditions which the conquest, and the later struggles of the rival kings, brought about made it still necessary for many men who could not protect themselves or their property to seek the favor of some one who was strong enough to give them aid. The name which came to be applied to the act of establishing this personal relation was _commendation_. The man who promised the protection was the lord, and the man who pledged himself to serve the lord and be faithful to him was the _homo_, after the eighth century known as the vassal (_vassus_). In the eighth century, when the power of the Merovingian kings was ebbing away and the people were left to look out for themselves, large numbers entered into the vassal relation; and in the ninth century, when Carolingian power was likewise running low and the Northmen, Hungarians, and Saracens were ravaging the country, scarcely a free man was left who did not secure for himself the protection of a lord. The relation of vassalage was first recognized as legal in the capitularies of Charlemagne. Here is a Frankish formula of commendation dating from the seventh century--practically a blank application in which the names of the prospective lord and vassal could be inserted as required. Source--Eugene de Roziere, _Recueil General des Formules usitees dans l'Empire des Francs du Ve au Xe siecle_ ["General Collection of Formulae employed in the Frankish Empire from the Fifth to the Tenth Century"], Vol. I., p. 69. Translated by Edward P. Cheyney in _Univ. of Pa. Translations and Reprints_, Vol. IV., No. 3, pp. 3-4. To that magnificent lord ----, I, ----. Since it is well known to all how little I have wherewith to feed and clothe myself, I have therefore petitioned your piety, and your good-will has decreed to me, that I should hand myself over, or commend myself, to your guardianship, which I have thereupon done; that is to say, in this way, that you should aid and succor me, as well with food as with clothing, according as I shall be able to serve you and deserve it.