We must nevertheless remember that heavy dues fell upon the privileged
class themselves to a certain degree, and that if they taxed their poor
vassals without mercy, they had in their turn often to reckon with their
superiors in the feudal hierarchy.
_Albere_, or right of shelter, was the principal charge imposed upon the
noble. When a great baron visited his lands, his tenants were not only
obliged to give him and his followers shelter, but also provisions and
food, the nature and quality of which were all arranged beforehand with
the most extraordinary minuteness. The lesser nobles took advantage
sometimes of the power they possessed to repurchase this obligation; but
the rich, on the contrary, were most anxious to seize the occasion of
proudly displaying before their sovereign all the pomp in their power, at
the risk even of mortgaging their revenues for several years, and of
ruining their vassals. History is full of stories bearing witness to the
extravagant prodigalities of certain nobles on such occasions.
|