The military class established for protective reasons would be dependent upon the general community for their upkeep, thus imposing taxation on the various workers, and necessitating a system of government and of officials for effective collection and distribution. Social distinctions would be drawn between the various classes, governing, administrative, military, and non-combatant; the latter would furnish the bulk of the workers and be further divided into craftsmen, agriculturists and traders. In process of time from the executive class would develop the nobility, priestly and legal classes. _Influence_ Art was originally local, that is, confined to the community, but later was subjected to various influences--Political, Religious, and Commercial. Political, by treaty or intermarriage, when imported taste or interchange would result, or by conquest. Judging by the past, the conquered have invariably imposed their taste on their conquerors, as instanced in the Greek conquest of Persia; that of the Romans of the Greeks, and later the perpetuation of the Roman influence after their subjugation at the hands of the Goths. The Crusades resulted in the importation of fabrics of Eastern and Sicilian origin, and may be classed as a religious influence; an earlier example of which may be cited in the edict of Pope Leo III in A.D. 726 in response to the iconoclastic movement, by reason of which the Byzantine art workers, deprived of their living, emigrated to the Rhine district. _Commercial Intercourse._ The establishment of commercial intercourse had great influence on the arts, and did much to modify local character, as it was found necessary to study market conditions in order to secure sales; and goods were therefore made to suit foreign requirements and taste, thereby resulting in confusion and difficulty in defining the original source. [Illustration: No. 3. 14th Century Textile showing Heraldic influence.] Notable, for instance, were the Sicilian weavers, who, contrary to their local traditions, introduced heraldry into the patterns of their fabrics, so as to conform to the taste of the crusaders. The Phœnicians were the early merchant adventurers, and traded in work of Tyrian and Sidonian production with remote parts of Europe, taking back local produce in exchange. Later on, through the medium of the Hanseatic league, brass work from Flanders and cast-iron fire-backs from Sussex were distributed through-out the area of their operations; of which surviving examples demonstrate that local taste and requirement were considered and embodied. _Effect on Design_ Apart from this cause of loss in local character, Art production was further influenced by the rise in social position of the worker. When the craftsman remained the sole factor, his design and work was invariably true to materialistic conditions; but with increasing emolument incidental to appreciation and patronage, the designer emerged as a professional.