A feudal king was often little more than a figurehead,
equaled, or perhaps surpassed, in power by some of his own vassals. But in
England, France, Spain, and other countries a series of astute and energetic
sovereigns were able to strengthen their authority at the expense of the
nobles. They formed permanent armies by insisting that all military service
should be rendered to themselves and not to the feudal lords. They got into
their own hands the administration of justice. They developed a revenue system,
with the taxes collected by royal officers and deposited in the royal treasury.
The kings thus succeeded in creating in each country one power which all the
inhabitants feared, respected, and obeyed.
THE SENTIMENT OF NATIONALITY
A national state in modern times is keenly conscious of
its separate existence. All its people usually speak the same language and have
for their "fatherland" the warmest feelings of patriotic devotion. In
the Middle Ages, however, patriotism was commonly confounded with loyalty to
the sovereign, while the differences between nations were obscured by the
existence of an international Church and by the use of Latin as the common
language of all cultivated persons. The sentiment of nationality arose earlier
in England than on the Continent, partly owing to the insular position of that
country, but nowhere did it become a very strong influence before the end of
the fifteenth century.
