 Some scholars have attributed this to the Merovingians' lacking a sense of "res publica", but other historians have criticized this view as an oversimplification.The kings appointed magnates to be "comites" (counts), charging them with defense, administration, and the judgment of disputes.This happened against the backdrop of a newly isolated Europe without its Roman systems of taxation and bureaucracy, the Franks having taken over administration as they gradually penetrated into the thoroughly Romanised west and south of Gaul.