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It is evident that the basic hierarchy of feudal vassalage extending from king, dignitaries, the middle lords to ordinary horsemen was formed in the Western Europe centering around the region between the Loire and the Rhine in the early ninth century. Besides such feudal vassalages linking with the king there were autogenous feudal vassalages unconnected with the Carolingian kings in some regions. On the other hand the function of feudal vassalage was inwardly enlarged from originally military to partly judicial, and private relationship between lord and vassal was consolidated enough to neglect military duty for the Carolingian empire. However, it appears that there were considerable lands and freemen that were not incorporated into feudal vassalage until the early ninth century. In the middle ninth century, successors of Louis the Pious urged that every man should become a vassal in the empire, and vassal was legally required to join with his lord in the discharge of all duties including military task. In the close of the ninth century feudal public offices were transformed into fiefs, and vassalage and fief became hereditary according to "the edict of Quierzy" issued by Charles the Bald in 877. During the tenth century there appeared a tendency that local noblemen were independent of the public authorities and feudal vassalages with those as central figures were extensively formed. Thus feudal vassalage spread far and wide at least in the heart of the Carolingian empire between the Loire and the Rhine until the early ninth century. Feudal vassalage developed nearly at the same time in north Italy among border areas. And we can see that feudal vassalage began to develop early and extended considerably in the beginning of the ninth century in Aquitaine, the coast of the mediterranean Sea and the Spanish March. But it is supposed that the development in those regions slowed down after that.