In later times, as better and better armor was made, the question of
wealth entered in. The chief who had money enough to buy the best arms
for his men could defeat his poorer neighbor and force him to pay
money as to a ruler. Finally, in the so-called "Middle Ages," before
the invention of gunpowder, one knight, armed from crown to sole in
steel, was worth in battle as much as one hundred poorly-armed farmers
or "peasants" as they are called in Europe.

In the "Dark Ages,"[2] after all these barbarians that we have
named had swarmed over Europe, and before the governments of modern
times were fully grown, there were hundreds of robber chiefs, who,
scattered throughout a country, were in the habit of collecting
tribute at the point of the sword from the peaceful peasants who lived
near. This tribute they collected in some cases, regularly, a fixed
amount each month or year, just as if they had a right to collect it,
like a government tax collector. It might be money or food or fodder,
or fuel. The robber chiefs were well armed themselves and were able to
give good weapons and armor to their men, who lived either in the
chief's castle or in small houses built very near it. They likewise
plundered any travelers who came by, unless their numbers and weapons
made them look too dangerous to be attacked. But the regular tribute
forced from the peaceful farmers was the chief source of their income.
The robber chief and his men lived a life of idleness when they were
not out upon some raid for plunder, and the honest, industrious
peasants worked hard enough to support both their own families and
those of the robbers.

[2] The "Dark Ages" came before the "Middle Ages." They were called
"dark" because the barbarians had extinguished nearly all civilization
and learning.