814—But when he died, it was found that there was no other hand strong enough to wield his sceptre. All the memories of the old empire, all the influence of the Christian church, the remains of the Roman organization, and the ripening vigor of new races, which had begun to lay aside their barbarous impulses, were united to aid the vast designs of this great statesman. But the tendencies of the new society, in general, were in a different direction. The Germanic civilization was totally different from the Roman, and had there been a succession of rulers as large minded and strong willed as Charlemagne, they could not have repeated the history of the ancient world. The tendency of the races that overthrew the empire was invincibly against centralization, and instead of a new Roman Empire in western Europe, appeared the Feudal System. SECTION XIV. THE FEUDAL SYSTEM. 1. This system was the direct opposite of centralization. Under it all Christendom broke up into fragments; the king exerted but a loose general control, that continued to decrease for several centuries; and most of the real authority was exerted by the feudal lords from their fortified castles, which, for three hundred years, had been springing up over all the territory conquered from the Romans. It had its true origin in the marked _personal assertion_, the strong _individuality_ of the Teutonic Race, which was, and is, one of its most prominent traits. While in their native barbarous state their armies were formed for their expeditions of foreign conquest, that proved so fatal to the Romans, on the voluntary principle. The prowess and fame of a leader, or chief, drew to him a multitude of warriors, longing for activity and booty. So long as he could lead them to success, to gain their individual ends, they obeyed him. When he failed to reward their ambition they held themselves free to leave him.