Loyal and Disloyal to the King

The medieval concept of fidelity to the king, which meant loyalty as well as obedience, formed the basis of personal hierarchical relationships between him and his people in the Middle Ages. The tendencies of rulers to reward loyalty and punish those, who were disloyal, were common and frequent. This loyalty to the king was important for the political order and preservation of the power of the sovereign as well as his closest people. This issue of Forum Historiae has focused on topics connected to fidelity in historical texts and in practical use in the era before the year 1300. The musings on the period views on fidelity with examples from the Kingdom of Hungary; an analysis of Cosmas’ Chronica Boemorum work with the category of fidelity; views of the early medieval juridical norms, and the exile as common punishment for acts of treason and infidelity in the Moravian principality in the 9th century; an examination of the assemblies of the freemen during the same period and in the 12th century; a question of tithes awarded by king in the 11th century; consideration of the current research on the notion, idea and perception of dynasties in medieval Europe; as well as the expulsions of German kings in the 5th and 6th century, are all, among others, to be found in the studies published here.