A scheme set on foot for the purpose of quelling the violence and preventing the frequency of private wars, occasioned by the fierce spirit of the barbarians in the middle ages. In France, a general peace and cessation from hostilities took place A. D. 1032, and continued for seven years, in consequence of the methods which the bishop of Aquataine successfully employed to work upon the superstition of the times. A resolution was formed, that no man should, in time to come, attack or molest his adversaries during the seasons set apart for celebrating the great festivals of the church, or from the evening of Thursday in each week to the morning of Monday in the week ensuing, the intervening days being consecrated as particularly holy; our Lord's passion having happened on one of those days, and his resurrection on another. A change in the dispositions of men so sudden, and which proposed a resolution so unexpected, was considered as miraculous; and the respite from hostilities which followed upon it was called the Truce of God. This cessation from hostilities during three complete days every week, allowed a considerable space for the passions of the antagonists to cool, and for the people to enjoy a respite from the calamities of war, and to take measures for their own security.