The other classes of which society was composed were, first, freemen, owners of small portions of land, independent, though they sometimes voluntarily became the vassals of their more opulent neighbors, whose power was necessary for their protection.
Thomas BulfinchThus we hope to teach mythology not as a study, but as a relaxation from study; to give our work the charm of a story-book, yet by means of it to impart a knowledge of an important branch of education.
Thomas BulfinchON the decline of the Roman power, about five centuries after Christ, the countries of Northern Europe were left almost destitute of a national government.
Thomas Bulfinch