THE CAMBRIDGE MEDIEVAL HISTORY I 152

The Gothic Kingdom

10-7. The Gothic Kingdom

The principal town of the Gothic kingdom was Toulouse, where the royal treasure was also kept; Euric from time to time also held court in Bordeaux, Alaric II in Narbonne. The Gothic rule originally stretched, as has been already mentioned, as far as the province of Aquitanica Secunda and some bordering municipalities, among which was the district of Toulouse, but later on it extended not only over the whole territory of the Gallic provinces, but in addition to several parts of the provinces Viennensis, Narbonensis Secunda, Alpes Maritimae, and Lugdunensis Tertia. The Gothic possessions included also the greater part of the Iberian peninsula, i.e the provinces of Baetica, Lusitania, Tarraconensis, and Carthaginensis. The provinces named were in Roman times, in so far as it was a question of civil administration, governed by consulares or praesides, and they were again divided into city districts (civitates or municipia). Under the sovereignty of the Goths this constitution was maintained in its chief features.

The inhabitants of the kingdom of Toulouse were composed of two races — the Goths and the Romans. The Goths were regarded by the Romans as foreigners so long as the federal connexion remained in force, yet both peoples lived side by side, each under its own law and jurisdiction: intermarriage was forbidden. This rigid line of separation was adhered to even when the Goths had shaken off the imperial suzerainty and the Gothic king had become the sovereign of the native population of Gaul. Theoretically, the Romans had equal privileges in the State; thus they were not treated as a conquered people without rights, as the Vandals and Langobards (Lombards) dealt with the inhabitants of Africa and Italy. That the Goths were the real rulers was clearly enough made manifest to the Romans.

The domestic condition of the Visigoths before the settlement in Gaul was undoubtedly on the same level as in their original home; private property in land was unknown, agriculture was comparatively primitive, and cattle-rearing provided the principal means of subsistence.

A national change began with the settlement in Aquitaine. This was done on the principle of the Roman quartering of troops, so that the Roman landowners were obliged to give up to the Goths in free possession a portion of their total property together with the coloni, slaves, and cattle appertaining to it. According to the oldest Gothic codes of law the Goth received two-thirds of the tilled land and, it seems, one-half of the woods. The wood and the meadow land which was not partitioned belonged to the Goths and the Romans for use in common. The parcels of land subjected to partition were called sortes, the Roman share, generally, tertia, their occupants hospites or consortes. The Gothic series were exempt from taxation. As the invaders were very numerous compared with the extent of the province to be apportioned, there is no doubt that not only the large estates, but also the middle-sized and smaller properties were partitioned.

Nevertheless it is evident that not every Goth can have shared with a Roman possessor, because there would certainly not have been estates enough; we must rather assume that in the share given up larger properties were split up among several families, as a rule among kinsmen. As the apportionment of the single lots undoubtedly took place through the decisive influence of the king, it is natural that the nobility by military service was favoured in the partition above the ordinary freemen. The landed property of the monarch's favourites must have gained considerably in extent, as elsewhere, through assignments from state property. The very considerable imperial possessions, both crown and private property, as a rule fell to the share of royalty.

Land partition in the districts conquered later followed the same plan as in Aquitaine; seizures of entire Roman estates certainly occurred, but they were exceptions and happened under special circumstances. As a rule the Romans were protected by law in the possession of their tertiae, even if it were only for fiscal reasons. The considerably extended range of the Gothic kingdom offered the people ample space for colonisation, so it was not necessary to encroach on the whole of the Roman territory as had been the case in Aquitaine. It is to be assumed that in the newly-won territories only the superfluous element of the population had to be provided for; we are not to suppose a general desertion of the homeland.

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