In the “Dark Ages,"[2] after all these barbarians that we have named had swarmed over Europe, and before the governments of modern times were fully grown, there were hundreds of robber chiefs, who, scattered throughout a country, were in the habit of collecting tribute at the point of the sword from the peaceful peasants who lived near.  This tribute they collected in some cases, regularly, a fixed amount each month or year, just as if they had a right to collect it, like a government tax collector.  It might be money or food or fodder, or fuel.  The robber chiefs were well armed themselves and were able to give good weapons and armor to their men, who lived either in the chief’s castle or in small houses built very near it.  They likewise plundered any travelers who came by, unless their numbers and weapons made them look too dangerous to be attacked.  But the regular tribute forced from the peaceful farmers was the chief source of their income.  The robber chief and his men lived a life of idleness when they were not out upon some raid for plunder, and the honest, industrious peasants worked hard enough to support both their own families and those of the robbers.

[2] The “Dark Ages” came before the “Middle Ages.”  They were called “dark” because the barbarians had extinguished nearly all civilization and learning.

[Illustration:  A Knight in Armor]

These robber chiefs had no right but might.  They were outlaws, and lived either in a country which had no government and laws, or in one whose government was too weak to protect its people.  They were no worse, however, than the so-called feudal barons who came after them, who oppressed the people even more, because they had on their side whatever law and government existed in those days.

Now let us stop to consider how first there came to be kings.  In the early days of the human race and also in later days among barbarous peoples, the land was very sparsely settled.  The reason lay in the chief occupations of the men.  A small tribe might inhabit a great stretch of territory through which they wandered to keep within reach of plenty of game.  As time went on, however, the population increased, and, as agriculture took the place of hunting, and homes became more lasting, tribes found themselves living in smaller and smaller tracts of land, and hence nearer to their neighbors.  In some cases, constant fighting went on, just as Caesar tells us that two thousand years ago, the Swiss and the Germans fought almost daily battles back and forth across the Rhine.  In other cases, the tribes found it better for all concerned to make treaties of peace with their neighbors, and if they did not exchange visits and mix on friendly terms, at least they did not attack each other.