ABSTRACT
The Germanic nobles consolidated their positions by marrying the daughters of Roman senators in whose territories they had settled. This chapter discusses that although Europe noble status was determined matrilineally during the migrations, this changed to agnatic descent among the upper orders when the Germans began settling into firm communities and as knighthood became important in the definition of nobility. A feudal nobility of titled lords whose families had exercised the ban power since time immemorial was being joined by a lesser and generally non-feudal nobility consisting of castellans. While Roman law emphasized the power of the prince, feudal custom gave rights, not to all subjects but rather to the upper orders, the feudal nobility. The chapter talks about the Crusades who were not solely a movement of religious enthusiasts moved by a pure desire to liberate the shrines of their faith from a hated infidel. They were part of a long tradition of religious pilgrimage.
