[5] Considering that the crown was elective; that the monarch was only “_Primus inter pares_,” and that the subject had apparently the right to sometimes admonish his sovereign of his errors, a relic of the sturdy independence which characterized all northern barbarians; the doctrine of _lesé-majesté_ seems to have early acquired great importance among the Visigoths, judging from the severe penalties visited upon those guilty of the offence.--[ED.] [6] The coins principally in use among the Visigoths were those of the Byzantine Empire at that epoch, as follows:--Gold, The _Libra_, or pound, twelve ounces in weight, and divided into seventy-two _Tremisæ_, or twenty-four _Siliqæ_; and Silver, The _Libra_, containing twenty _Solidi_, and the _Solidus_, containing twenty _Denarii_ of copper. The smaller coins, of which there were many, were those of ancient Rome, and of the Eastern Empire. The _Libra_ of gold was worth $368, and the one of silver worth $88, or, at the present value of money, $4,048, and $968, respectively. The _Solidus_ ($56 gold, and $44 silver,) was the standard coin in circulation. The gold _Tremisa_ was the only coin struck by the royal mints during the Visigothic domination. Heavily alloyed, rude in design, and coarse in execution, these clumsy medals disclose the primitive conditions of the numismatic art of the period, being notably inferior to the contemporary examples of Byzantine coinage, themselves far below the artistic models of ancient Rome. The severe fines imposed under the Visigothic Code, and whose non-payment generally involved the alternative of perpetual servitude, often caused the financial ruin of the offender. [7] Nothing in the whole system of the Visigoths is more remarkable than the care with which they attempt to preserve the integrity of the judiciary. It is not impossible that the notorious corruption attending the dispensation of justice by the Roman tribunals, in the days of the decadent Empire, may have prompted the drastic legislation against judicial misconduct which is so prominent a feature of the Code. The penalties in extreme cases are but little inferior in severity to that said to have been imposed by Cambyses; who flayed a corrupt judge, and placed his skin in the judgment seat, as a suggestive warning to his successors. It may well be presumed that, in the face of such punishment, the acceptance of bribes was not a common vice among the Visigothic magistrates. The latter did not receive regular salaries, but were paid according to the work they performed; a regulation which would appear, in some instances, rather calculated to encourage, than to suppress litigation.--[ED.]