The effect of that capture of the capital of the East by the Western powers was curious. It led to the incursion into Greece, and into all that south-eastern {209} corner of Europe over which the Emperor at Constantinople was supposed to be sovereign, of many members of the most important families of the Western world, especially French and Burgundian. And so we have at this time as actors in our stories men with such titles as Duke of Thebes and Duke of Athens, but with names that are Gothic or Latin in origin. [Sidenote: Gothic Dukes in Greece] This hold of the West on the East, however, lasted only a little more than half a century, and then the Greeks regained the capital city and again a Greek Emperor reigned. And gradually, after the loss of the Empire, the lords from the West lost much of their power in their own territories also. So this was but a quickly passing act in the story. There was an attempt at union between the Greek and the Roman Churches during that half-century. The Pope of Rome was officially recognised as the superior of the Patriarch at Constantinople. But it does not seem that his authority made much difference to the doctrine which the bishops in the Eastern world professed, nor in their way of conducting their religious affairs. And after the temporary union the Churches fell apart again, as before. Now we saw, in a former chapter of the story--Chapter XVI.--how the great mass of the Slavonic peoples, pressing from the east westward, had been divided by the Hungarians, of different race from themselves, thrusting in like a wedge. The wedge split them into two parts, of which the northern, consisting chiefly of Russia and Poland, was far larger than the southern. The principal Slavonic peoples in the southern part were the Bulgarians and Serbians settled in those territories, or nearly so, which Bulgaria occupies now and which Serbia did occupy until the Great War. The place of the latter we now see marked on our modern maps as forming part of the larger State of Jugo-Slavia. {210} We have said something already about the beginnings of that vast and unfortunate country which is now called Russia. We saw how the name of the country and its first rulers came down from Scandinavia. The Scandinavians were great people, with unusual gifts of governing and organising at a time when these were very rare and precious gifts among the tribes and nations of Northern Europe. They must have had a touch of the genius which made the ancient Romans so masterful and effective.