supporting themselves by the horses' manes, they kept pace with them."--
Bell. Gall. i. 48.

[47] To understand this, it is to be remarked, that the Germans were
divided into nations or tribes,--these into cantons, and these into
districts or townships. The cantons (_pagi_ in Latin) were called by
themselves _gauen_. The districts or townships (_vici_) were called
_hunderte_, whence the English hundreds. The name given to these select
youth, according to the learned Dithmar, was _die hunderte_, hundred men.
From the following passage in Caesar, it appears that in the more powerful
tribes a greater number was selected from each canton. "The nation of the
Suevi is by far the greatest and most warlike of the Germans. They are
said to inhabit a hundred cantons; from each of which a thousand men are
sent annually to make war out of their own territories. Thus neither the
employments of agriculture, nor the use of arms are interrupted."--Bell.
Gall. iv. 1. The warriors were summoned by the _heribannum_, or army-
edict; whence is derived the French arriere-ban.

[48] A wedge is described by Vegetius (iii. 19,) as a body of infantry,
narrow in front, and widening towards the rear; by which disposition they
were enabled to break the enemy's ranks, as all their weapons were
directed to one spot. The soldiers called it a boar's head.

[49] It was also considered as the height of injury to charge a person
with this unjustly. Thus, by the _Salic_ law, tit. xxxiii, 5, a fine of
600 denarii (about 9_l._) is imposed upon "every free man who shall accuse
another of throwing down his shield, and running away, without being able
to prove it."

[50] Vertot (Mem. de l'Acad. des Inscrip.) supposes that the French