development of concepts of treason and the king's peace, and new provisions were introduced to allow for the free disposal of property, to discourage feud, and to cater for the role of merchants and other aspects of a more settled urban society.
The features of Constantinople which made most impression on western visitors were the dazzling richness of the court and the elaboration of the central bureaucracy. In the west, a court such as that of the Lombard kings retained certain Germanic features; it was politically imperative for a king to surround himself with a warrior following and traditional servants such as the marpahis (groom). Gradually, however, dress and ceremonial came to ape Byzantine models, and many of the officials who appear with bureaucratic duties, such as the chamberlain and notaries, have clear Roman origins. The takeover of Roman traditions was vividly demonstrated when King Agilulf had his son Adaloald presented as king in the circus of Milan. A particularly significant event occurred with the fixing of the royal court in Pavia around 620 and the city's adornment with royal quarters, churches, and even baths followed in the tradition of Constantinople, Ravenna, and the Visigothic capital of Toledo. The Roman character of the court was further emphasized after the Lombards' conversion to Catholicism, and throughout the Lombard and Carolingian periods Pavia remained the cultivated nerve centre of a central administration capable of making its power felt throughout the kingdom.
Local government was the weak spot of all early medieval monarchies, and it was here that the superiority of the Byzantine state was less than might be thought. The eastern empire was compelled by the invasions of the seventh century to replace the largely civilian administration of the Late Roman period with a streamlined system, in which considerable autonomy was granted to theme commanders. The external crisis facing the empire gave rise to a militarized society analogous in many ways to that of the Germanic kingdoms, since the military commanded the lion's share of local power, land, and social status. Byzantine emperors could exercise greater control by virtue of their elaborate system of written instructions and supervision by inspectors, and most forcefully by their power of
-37-