92

THE ANCESTOR in another early romance — L'Enfant de Champagne avoec, Et maint franc baceler illuec, Feist cevalier avec son fil, Qui furent franc ome et Gentil. And again — Par le pere sont serf li fil Qui or frissent franc et Gentil.^ In Germany also the nobles did not disdain the title of liber homOy or ' Freyherr/ and we find such expressions as liberos homines vel nobiles. In one of the early chronicles, a count named Herimann is placed among the liberi homines ; a charter of 1 134 is witnessed ex liberis hominibus by Arnold Count of Cleve and William son of Count William; and in 11 68 a certain liber Bideluphus is created by the Emperor Duke of Spoletum in Italy.^ Some counts in Germany were apparently known as ^ Freygrafs.' ^ The German barons are divided by some authors into several ranks, amongst which were the ' Freyen ' or liberiy the ' Freyherren * or liberi domini^ and the ' Semper Freyen ' or semper liberi^ gradations of liberty which bring to one's mind the liber homo^ the liberalis homo and the homo liberalioY of Domesday and the Norman law books. But the better opinion seems to be that in Germany the first two titles and that of * Edlen ' were applicable to all barons, and were not intended to make a distinction between them. In the High German translation of the laws of the Alamanniy called the Speculi Suevici, free men are divided into three classes, the ' Semperfrien,' or lords with vassals under them, the ' mittlerfrien,' or vassals, and the ^ geburen,' ' fri-lantsaezzen,* or ordinary freemen.^ In Holland also the same connection of ideas may be traced. Selden quotes an old glossary wherein Baroy as denoting freedom, is rendered as Dominus vel PrincepSy and states that in order ' to fit the name of Baron with their Fryen and Fryherreny some learned men tell us that in old Dutch Baty which signifies a man or man child, is justly also inter- preted by Frye or Freo' ^ 1 Du Cange, under * Francus Gentilis. ^ Ibid, under * Liberi. 3 Selden's Titles of Honour, p. 376. ^ Ibid. p. 426. 5 Seebohm's Early Village Comm. p. 394 ; see also an old note in Harleian MS. 6064. ^ Selden, p. 429.