nteers of the cross, who elected for
their chief the most deserving of his peers. Amidst the slaves of Asia,
unconscious of the lesson or example, a model of political liberty was
introduced; and the laws of the French kingdom are derived from the
purest source of equality and justice. Of such laws, the first and
indispensable condition is the assent of those whose obedience they
require, and for whose benefit they are designed. No sooner had Godfrey
of Bouillon accepted the office of supreme magistrate, than he solicited
the public and private advice of the Latin pilgrims, who were the best
skilled in the statutes and customs of Europe. From these materials,
with the counsel and approbation of the patriarch and barons, of the
clergy and laity, Godfrey composed the Assise of Jerusalem, a precious
monument of feudal jurisprudence. The new code, attested by the seals of
the king, the patriarch, and the viscount of Jerusalem, was deposited in
the holy sepulchre, enriched with the improvements of succeeding times,
and respectfully consulted as often as any doubtful question arose in
the tribunals of Palestine. With the kingdom and city all was lost: the
fragments of the written law were preserved by jealous tradition and
variable practice till the middle of the thirteenth century: the code
was restored by the pen of John d'Ibelin, count of Jaffa, one of the
principal feudatories; and the final revision was accomplished in the
year thirteen hundred and sixty-nine, for the use of the Latin kingdom
of Cyprus.

The justice and freedom of the constitution were maintained by two
tribunals of unequal dignity, which were instituted by Godfrey of
Bouillon after the conquest of Jerusalem. The king, in person, presided
in the upper court, the court of the barons. Of these the four most
conspicuous were the prince of Galilee, the lord of Sidon and Caesarea,
and the counts of Jaffa and Tripoli, who, perhaps with the constable and
marshal, were in a special manner the compeers and judges of each other.
But all the nobles, who held their lands immediately of the crown, were
entitled and bound to attend the king's court; and each baron exercised
a similar jurisdiction on the subordinate assemblies of his own
feudatories. The connection of lord and vassal was honorable and
voluntary: reverence was due to the benefactor, protection to the
dependant; but they mutually pledged their faith to each other; and the
obligation on either side might