SECT. III. power of the kings of Spain. These orders were instituted in imitation of those of the Knights Templars and of St. John of Jerusalem, on purpose to wage perpetual war with the Mahometans, and to protect the pilgrims who visited Compostella, or other places of eminent sanctity in Spain. The zeal and superstition of the ages in which they were founded, prompted persons of every rank to bestow such liberal donations on those holy warriors, that, in a short time, they engrossed a considerable share in the property and wealth of the kingdom. The masterships of these orders came to be stations of the greatest power and opulence to which a Spanish nobleman could be advanced. These high dignities were in the disposal of the knights of the order, and placed the persons on whom they conferred them almost on a level with their sovereign [NN]. Ferdinand, unwilling that the nobility, whom he considered as already too formidable, should derive such additional credit and influence from possessing the government of these wealthy fraternities, was solicitous to wrest it out of their hands, and to vest A. D. 1476, it in the crown. His measures for accomplishing and 1493, this were wisely planned, and executed with vigour*. By address, by promises, and by threats, he prevailed on the knights of each order to place Isabella and him at the head of it. Innocent VIII. and Alexander VI. gave this election the [NN] NOTE XXXVI. * Marian Hist. lib. xxv. c. 5. III. sanction of papal authority*; and subsequent SECT. pontiffs rendered the annexation of these masterships to the crown perpetual. cumscrib ing the ju risdiction of the nobility. WHILE Ferdinand, by this measure, diminished and by cirthe power and influence of the nobility, and added new lustre or authority to the crown, he was taking other important steps with a view to the same object. The sovereign jurisdiction, which the feudal barons exercised within their own territories, was the pride and distinction of their order. To have invaded openly a privilege which they prized so highly, and in defence of which they would have run so eagerly to arms, as a measure too daring for a prince of Ferdinand's cautious temper. He took advantage, however, of an opportunity which the state of his kingdoms and the spirit of his people presented him, in order to undermine what he durst not assault. The incessant depredations of the Moors, the want of discipline among the troops which were employed to oppose them, the frequent civil wars between the crown and the nobility, as well as the undiscerning rage with which the barons carried on their private wars with each other, filled all the provinces of Spain with disorder. Rapine, outrage, and murder became so common, as not only to interrupt commerce, but in a great measure to suspend all intercourse between one place and another. That security and protection, which * Zurita Annales, tom. v. p. 22. Ælii Anton. Nebrissensis rerum a Ferdinand & Elizabe gestarum decades ii. apud Schot. script. Hispan. i. 860. III. 1260. SECT. men expect from entering into civil society, ceased in a great degree. Internal order and police, while the feudal institutions remained in vigour, were so little objects of attention, and the administration of justice were so extremely feeble, that it would have been vain to have expected relief from the established laws or the ordinary judges. But the evil became so intolerable, and the inhabitants of cities, who were the chief sufferers, grew so impatient of this anarchy, that self-preservation forced them to have recourse to an extraordinary remedy. About the middle of the thirteenth century, the cities in the kingdom of Aragon, and, after their example, those in Castile, formed themselves into an association, distinguished by the name of the Holy Brotherhood. They exacted a certain contribution from each of the associated towns; they levied a considerable body of troops, in order to protect travellers, and to pursue-criminals; they appointed judges, who opened their courts in various parts of the kingdom. Whoever was guilty of murder, robbery, or of any act that violated the public peace, and was seized by the troops of the Brotherhood, was carried before judges of their nomination, who, without paying any regard to the exclusive and sovereign jurisdiction which the lord of the place might claim, tried and condemned the criminals. By the establishment of this fraternity, the prompt and impartial administration of justice was restored; and together with it, internal tranquillity and order began to return. The nobles alone murmured at this salutary institution. They complained of it as an III. encroachment on one of their most valuable pri- SECT. vileges. They remonstrated against it in an high tone; and on some occasions, refused to grant any aid to the crown, unless it were abolished. Ferdinand, however, was sensible not only of the good effects of the Holy Brotherhood with respect to the police of his kingdoms, but perceived its tendency to abridge, and at length to annihilate, the territorial jurisdiction of the nobility. He countenanced it on every occasion. He supported it with the whole force of royal authority; and, besides the expedients employed by him in common with the other monarchs of Europe, he availed himself of this institution, which was peculiar to his kingdom, in order to limit and abolish that independent jurisdiction of the nobility; which was no less inconsistent with the authority of the prince, than with the order of society [00]. standing all of Spain still free. BUT though Ferdinand by these measures con- Notwithsiderably enlarged the boundaries of prerogative, these, the and acquired a degree of influence and power far government. beyond what any of his predecessors had enjoyed, extremely yet the limitations of the royal authority, as well as the barriers against its encroachments, continued to be many and strong. The spirit of liberty was vigorous among the people of Spain; the spirit of independence was high among the nobility; and though the love of glory, peculiar to the Spaniards in every period of their history, prompted them to support Ferdinand with zeal in his foreign operations, and to afford him such aid as enabled him not only to undertake but to execute [00] NOTE XXXVII, SECT. III. Constitution and go of France. of great enterprises; he reigned over his subjects with a jurisdiction less extensive than that of any the great monarchs in Europe. It will appear from many passages in the following history, that, during a considerable part of the reign of his successor Charles V., the prerogative of the Spanish crown was equally circumscribed. THE ancient government and laws in France so vernment nearly resemble those of the other feudal kingdoms, that such a detail with respect to them as was necessary, in order to convey some idea of the nature and effects of the peculiar institutions which took place in Spain, would be superfluous. In the view which I have exhibited of the means by which the French monarchs acquired such a full command of the national force of their kingdom, as enabled them to engage in extensive schemes of foreign operation, I have already pointed out the great steps by which they advanced towards a more ample possession of political power, and a more uncontrouled exercise of their royal prerogative. All that now remains is to take notice of such particulars in the constitution of France, as serve either to distinguish it from that of other countries, or tend to throw any light on the transactions of that period, to which the following history ex Power of the general tends. UNDER the French monarchs of the first race, assemblies the royal prerogative was very inconsiderable. The general assemblies of the nation, which met kings. annually at stated seasons, extended their autho under the first race of |