County of Holland: Difference between revisions

Around 800, under [[Charlemagne]], the [[Frankish Empire]] covered a great deal of Europe. In much of this empire an important unit of regional administration, corresponding roughly to a [[shire]] or [[county]] in England, was the ''[[Gau (country subdivision)|gau]]'' (Frankish), or ''[[pagus]]'' (Latin). A ''comes'' or [[Count]] ruled over one or more ''gaue''. Because of the low volume of trade, the negative trade balance with the [[Byzantine Empire]] and the Muslim states, and the disappearance of currency, the economy was more or less reduced to [[bartering]]. The king's [[vassals]] could only be rewarded by giving them land (''beneficium'', from the tenth century on ''feodum'') and [[usufruct]]. From this the system of [[Feudalism]] developed. The vassals, who were generally appointed by the king, strove for a system of inheritance. This become more and more the rule, and in 877 it was legalised in the [[Capitulary of Quierzy]].