When the Duke turned the English king over to Henry in the following February, Richard, in order to obtain his release, agreed to surrender his kingdom to the Emperor, receive it back as a fief, and pay a ransom of 100,000 silver marks as well as an additional 50,000 marks in lieu of helping Henry conquer the Sicilian kingdom.
But hopes that the country has turned the corner on the three decades of political intrigue, factionalism and conflict that followed the overthrow of the monarchy in 1973 have been jarred by the emergence nationwide of powerful warlords building personal fiefs and paying little heed to the government.
Tuscany was not alone in its feudal ties to the Empire: The rest of Italy was also bound to pay the Emperor, but at a much higher magnitude than Cosimo, who merely paid on his few undisputed Imperial fiefs.
He established strategic garrisons to consolidate the newly conquered regions, creating a system of gults, or fiefs, in which the holders of a gult were paid tribute by the gult's inhabitants.
The bird of prey - which has a typical wingspan of three and a half feet and can drop into a steep, swift dive that can top 200mph - is synonymous with Malta because of the deed signed by Charles V of Spain when the Knights of St John were granted the Maltese islands in fief, and had to pay a nominal rent of a falcon on All Saints' day each year.
It was true that he treated the country as his fief, to the point of picking out teenage girls for himself when he presented school diplomas; but he paid for the girls, set them up in houses, and gave their relatives money.
Christie vs. 'Jersey Shore' " (editorial, Sept. 28): Just when did we Americans start breeding a generation of citizens who think they can be paid by taxpayers for doing public service jobs, but instead of carrying out their duties, feel entitled to turn those government jobs into fiefs reflecting their own personal beliefs and preferences?
The sale required approval from Count Pierre, who was overlord of both fiefs, but as consequence of the previous legal difficulties Carrouges had caused him, Pierre refused to permit the sale and insisted that Carrouges turn the properties over to him in exchange for a full refund of the original price paid.
Henry also commanded that the fief's tenants were to pay Miles liege homage as their lord.
Whereas the agreement offers Gazans the prospect that their seaside enclave, run by Hamas, may no longer be boxed in by Israel and Egypt, Mr Abbas's fief in the West Bank, inland, could end up paying the price.In this section A clueless government An easier part of the world not Little law, less order The sphinx speaks Will it be cut off?
