In the Scandinavian country, the story of representative
government is particularly interesting. In Iceland, the ``Althing,''
the assembly of all free landowners, who managed the
affairs of the island, began to hold regular meetings in the ninth
century and continued to do so for more than a thousand
years.
In Switzerland, the freemen of the different cantons defended
their assemblies against the attempts of a number of
feudal neighbours with great success.
Finally, in the Low Countries, in Holland, the councils of
the different duchies and counties were attended by representatives
of the third estate as early as the thirteenth century.
In the sixteenth century a number of these small provinces
rebelled against their king, abjured his majesty in a solemn
meeting of the ``Estates General,'' removed the clergy from
the discussions, broke the power of the nobles and assumed full
executive authority over the newly-established Republic of the
United Seven Netherlands. For two centuries, the representatives
of the town-councils ruled the country without a king,
without bishops and without noblemen. The city had become
supreme and the good burghers had become the rulers of the
land.
THE MEDIAEVAL WORLD
WHAT THE PEOPLE OF THE MIDDLE AGES
THOUGHT OF THE WORLD IN WHICH
THEY HAPPENED TO LIVE
DATES are a very useful invention.
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