History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 4

Name: History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 4
Author: Gibbon, Edward

Gibbon, Edward

Byzantine Empire -- History -- To 527; Rome -- History -- Empire, 30 B.C.-476 A.D.

"Such," said he to the astonished Bavarians, "such are the strokes of
the king of the Lombards." On the approach of a French army, Garribald
and his daughter took refuge in the dominions of their ally; and the
marriage was consummated in the palace of Verona. At the end of one
year, it was dissolved by the death of Autharis: but the virtues of
Theudelinda had endeared her to the nation, and she was permitted to
bestow, with her hand, the sceptre of the Italian kingdom.

From this fact, as well as from similar events, it is certain that
the Lombards possessed freedom to elect their sovereign, and sense to
decline the frequent use of that dangerous privilege. The public revenue
arose from the produce of land and the profits of justice. When the
independent dukes agreed that Autharis should ascend the throne of
his father, they endowed the regal office with a fair moiety of their
respective domains. The proudest nobles aspired to the honors of
servitude near the person of their prince: he rewarded the fidelity
of his vassals by the precarious gift of pensions and _benefices_; and
atoned for the injuries of war by the rich foundation of monasteries and
churches. In peace a judge, a leader in war, he never usurped the
powers of a sole and absolute legislator. The king of Italy convened the
national assemblies in the palace, or more probably in the fields, of
Pavia: his great council was composed of the persons most eminent by
their birth and dignities; but the validity, as well as the execution,
of their decrees depended on the approbation of the _faithful_ people,
the _fortunate_ army of the Lombards. About fourscore years after
the conquest of Italy, their traditional customs were transcribed in
Teutonic Latin, and ratified by the consent of the prince and people:
some new regulations were introduced, more suitable to their present
condition; the example of Rotharis was imitated by the wisest of his
successors; and the laws of the Lombards have been esteemed the
least imperfect of the Barbaric codes. Secure by their courage in the
possession of liberty, these rude and hasty legislators were incapable
of balancing the powers of the constitution, or of discussing the nice
theory of political government. Such crimes as threatened the life
of the sovereign, or the safety of the state, were adjudged worthy of
death; but their attention was principally confined to the defence
of the person and property of the subject. According to the strange
jurisprudence of the times, the guilt of blood might be redeemed by a
fine; yet the high price of nine hundred pieces of gold declares a
just sense of the value of a simple citizen. Less atrocious injuries,
a wound, a fracture, a blow, an opprobrious word, were measured with
scrupulous and almost ridiculous diligence; and the prudence of the
legislator encouraged the ignoble practice of bartering honor and
revenge for a pecuniary compensation. The ignorance of the Lombards in

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Opening the text

History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 4Gibbon, Edward

History

History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 4

Gibbon, Edward

Byzantine Empire -- History -- To 527; Rome -- History -- Empire, 30 B.C.-476 A.D.

"Such," said he to the astonished Bavarians, "such are the strokes of
the king of the Lombards." On the approach of a French army, Garribald
and his daughter took refuge in the dominions of their ally; and the
marriage was consummated in the palace of Verona. At the end of one
year, it was dissolved by the death of Autharis: but the virtues of
Theudelinda had endeared her to the nation, and she was permitted to
bestow, with her hand, the sceptre of the Italian kingdom.

From this fact, as well as from similar events, it is certain that
the Lombards possessed freedom to elect their sovereign, and sense to
decline the frequent use of that dangerous privilege. The public revenue
arose from the produce of land and the profits of justice. When the
independent dukes agreed that Autharis should ascend the throne of
his father, they endowed the regal office with a fair moiety of their
respective domains. The proudest nobles aspired to the honors of
servitude near the person of their prince: he rewarded the fidelity
of his vassals by the precarious gift of pensions and _benefices_; and
atoned for the injuries of war by the rich foundation of monasteries and
churches. In peace a judge, a leader in war, he never usurped the
powers of a sole and absolute legislator. The king of Italy convened the
national assemblies in the palace, or more probably in the fields, of
Pavia: his great council was composed of the persons most eminent by
their birth and dignities; but the validity, as well as the execution,
of their decrees depended on the approbation of the _faithful_ people,
the _fortunate_ army of the Lombards. About fourscore years after
the conquest of Italy, their traditional customs were transcribed in
Teutonic Latin, and ratified by the consent of the prince and people:
some new regulations were introduced, more suitable to their present
condition; the example of Rotharis was imitated by the wisest of his
successors; and the laws of the Lombards have been esteemed the
least imperfect of the Barbaric codes. Secure by their courage in the
possession of liberty, these rude and hasty legislators were incapable
of balancing the powers of the constitution, or of discussing the nice
theory of political government. Such crimes as threatened the life
of the sovereign, or the safety of the state, were adjudged worthy of
death; but their attention was principally confined to the defence
of the person and property of the subject. According to the strange
jurisprudence of the times, the guilt of blood might be redeemed by a
fine; yet the high price of nine hundred pieces of gold declares a
just sense of the value of a simple citizen. Less atrocious injuries,
a wound, a fracture, a blow, an opprobrious word, were measured with
scrupulous and almost ridiculous diligence; and the prudence of the
legislator encouraged the ignoble practice of bartering honor and
revenge for a pecuniary compensation. The ignorance of the Lombards in

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 4

History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 4

No reviews yet