"It was a great infamy," says Tacitus,
[130]
"among the Germans for a person
to leave his buckler behind him in battle; for which reason many after a
misfortune of this kind have destroyed themselves." Thus the ancient
Salic law
[131]
allows a composition of fifteen sous to any person that
had been injuriously reproached with having left his buckler behind him.
When Charlemagne amended the Salic law,
[132]
he allowed in this case
no more than three sous in composition. As this prince cannot be
suspected of having had a design to enervate the military discipline, it
is manifest that such an alteration was due to a change of weapons, and
that from this change of weapons a great number of usages derive their
origin.
