A Study on the Medieval Origins of ‘Loyalty’

This thesis explores and reconstructs the origins of ‘Loyalty’ in medieval Western European history. The questions of the paper are as follows: ‘When did loyalty come to be considered a core virtue in the military?’, ‘What are the historical origins of loyalty becoming an important virtue that is applied to both the nation and society today?’. Ideas and notions of loyalty began to appear in literatures around the 8th and 9th centuries, during the reign of Carolus Magnus. After becoming emperor, Carolus Magnus had to reestablish the relationship between the emperor and his subjects in the process of accomplishing the tasks of external territorial expansion and internal governance stability, and in the process, he actively used the concept of loyalty and ‘Oath of Fealty’. The Oath of Fealty transformed the relationship between king and subjects from personal to public. ‘Monarch-Vassals relationship’ refers to a new relationship that promises to exchange the king’s protection and the subject’s obedience through the concept of loyalty. The concept of loyalty also influenced other medieval liturgies and institutions. Studying the origins of loyalty makes us reflect once again on the concept of loyalty we have today. Loyalty is a ‘invented virtue’. It has temporary universality. Someday, if the circumstances of the times change and the cognitive structure of society members changes, supplementation or replacement will be necessary. Someday, as times change and public perception changes, the concept of loyalty will also change. It may be a partial supplement or it may require a complete replacement.