Hi Naman:

What the Germanic tribes—Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Vandals, and others—who defeated the ancient Roman Empire had going for them was their strong tribal cultures. They identified with their tribe, they thought and acted as their tribe, they readily sacrificed themselves for their tribe, they put tribal wellbeing above individual wellbeing. Also, they were disciplined and warlike, used to hardship and simple living. Moreover, they had nothing to lose. They had left their cold northern homelands in search for new homelands, and found them in the climatically benign regions of the Roman Empire. They did not regard themselves as "barbarians." Rather, they regarded the Romans as spoiled, ill disciplined, weak, self-centered, decadent, and unworthy of the beautiful lands they lived in.

So Armenius. Do you have much the same view of our present society as your forefathers (and foremothers) had of the Roman Society?

Also, I am wondering whether the building of castles enabled certain individuals to rise above their tribe and and start lording over things.

I just did a little research for myself by Googling "Celtic Castle",  but there does not seem to be such a thing.

Yes, pretty much.

The institution of feudalism was founded after the Muslim Moors had conquered Spain and were headed straight for the heart of Europe. In order to stop them, Charles Martell (Grandfather of Charlemagne) divided his empire into small fiefs, and gave tribal chiefs and other fighting men of rank and name a fief in return for military service. This was the beginning of knighthood and feudalism. Each knight owned a fief, and the peasants of the fief were his subjects and owed allegiance to him. In return for this, the knight owed allegiance and military service to the local count, who owed allegiance to his duke, who owed allegiance to the emperor or king.

With this system, Charles Martell was able to marshall a huge army of well equipped and determined riders who did not have to be paid. Or, rather, they had been paid in land and rank, and in return owed military service to him. With this huge cavalry army, Charles Martell defeated the Muslims in the Battle of Tours and drove them back over the Pyrenees, were they would reign for about 500 years, until armies of Christian European knights gradually drove them out from there and back to North Africa. The last Muslim stronghold in Spain fell the year Columbus discovered America.

The institution of feudalism put an end the the egalitarian tribal societies of Europe. Charlemagne, who was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by the Pope on Christmas Day of year 800, further solidified feudalism and used his armies of Christian knights to conquer and Christianise Pagan Germany and divide it up along feudal lines. William the Conquerer conquered Britain with his army of well trained knights and established feudalism there.  Remnants of feudalism can still be found in "Great" Britain, and we Canadians still owe allegiance to the British King or Queen.

When I became a Canadian citizen, I had to swear to bear true allegiance to Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth the Second, and her heirs and successors. But I didn't mean it; I was coerced!

Needless to say, I am against the British monarch being our Canadian Head of State.

I do not think that our queen would own any stadiums. Perhaps she owns a castle or two from antiquity.

Our queen probably owns more than just a castle or two, but the queen is now a mere figurehead without any real governing power. Stadiums are now owned by the real governing elite, the capitalist elite.

The egalitarianism and universal love that Jesus preached and practiced has not yet sunk in. Of the three ideals of the French Revolution—liberty, equality, fraternity—liberty has been over-emphasized and the other two neglected. Liberty does not include the liberty to exploit one's fellow beings and the natural environment. Liberty has to be tempered by fraternity and equality.

Today's CBC News does not mention ownership of the new stadium to be completed in Regina in time for the 2017 football season.

The funding for the facility, according to officials , will be:

$80 million grant from the province of Saskatchewan.

$73 million from the city of Regina.

25 million generated by such things as naming rights, to be coordinated by the Saskatchewan Roughriders Football Club.

$100 million loan, from the province, to be paid down over 30 years through a $12 per ticket facility fee tacked onto each football game or any other event at the new stadium.

What, $ 300 million for a football stadium!?