The provincial, as distinguished from the central, government of the Frankish realm was exercised by officers who bore the names of Count and Duke (_comes_, _dux_, _Graf_, _Herzog_). The whole realm was divided into countships. In the purely Teutonic half the unit was the old tribal district, which the Roman called _Pagus_ and the Frank _Gau_. [Sidenote: The Counts and Dukes.] A count was appointed to each of these tribal units. In the Romano-Gallic half of the kingdom the countship was composed of the _civitas_, or city with its dependent district, which had survived from the times of the Western Empire, and often represented the original Celtic tribe. The count was both a military and civil official. He administered justice, led the armed levy of his district, and saw to the raising of taxes. Several countships were often united and placed under a single official of higher rank, the _dux_, which the counts had to follow and obey. These unions of countships were most common on the frontier, where a strong and united defence against foreign enemies would be needed, and where it would have been unsafe to leave the charge of the border to half a dozen counts, who might or might not co-operate willingly with each other. In Provence and Burgundy the _dux_ was also known by the Roman title of Patrician. The provincial no less than the household officials of the Frankish kings were originally all of Teutonic birth. But, in the sixth century Gallo-Romans are found intrusted with both the lesser and the greater charges. We shall have to make mention of one of these native dukes, the Burgundian Eunius Mummolus, more than once, when recounting the history of the last years of the sixth century. [Sidenote: Local Government.] The provincial governor, count or duke, was assisted by a deputy, or _vicarius_, whom he nominated to fill his place during his absence at the court or the wars, or while he was engaged in some specially absorbing task at home. The minor administration of the countship was carried out by _centenarii_, or hundred-men, called also on occasion _tribuni_. The countship was divided into hundreds, and over each of these there presided a hundred-man, who was appointed by the count to act as a police magistrate in time of peace, and to head the men of his district in time of war. Petty law cases came before him, but at stated periods the count went round all the hundreds in his countship, and administered justice at a public assembly of the inhabitants.