THE Gothic monarchy had other difficulties to face
beside those caused by religious differences. The
kings, following the dictates of nature, strove to make
the crown hereditary, while the nobles clung tena-
ciously to their ancient Teutonic right of election, and
also practised "the detestable habit of killing their
king whenever he displeased them and putting an-
other whom they preferred in his place." And while
on the one hand they resisted the king's attempts to
subject them to a rule of law and order, on the other
they insisted on their own arbitrary ways of dealing
with the inhabitants of their baronies. There was no
idea of loyalty to a common good. The clergy cared
only for the welfare of the Church; great landowners
added farms to farms, acres to acres, swallowing up
the small proprietors, as in Roman times; while the
yeoman, hard put to feed their children, the serfs
bound to the soil, and the slaves, looked on with the
dull eye of animal indifference to political changes.
These humble classes agreed, if on nothing else, in an
endeavor to evade military service. Why should they
fight? Nothing they had was worth fighting for.
Why should they attend the muster? What profit
was there in fighting to further the ambition of this
or that arrogant baron, who hoped to rend some
castle from his neighbor? Altogether the genius of

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