CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2026
| Author | Machalski, Michal |
|---|---|
| Title | Imagining Loyalty in Fragmented Poland (ca. 1200-1333) |
| Summary | Thesis explores the changes in the political culture of Piast Poland from the time of the height of its fragmentation to the reunification by Władysław I the Short (13th century – ca. 1333). More specifically, it focuses on the evolution of one of the concepts of loyalty, examining how the bonds between rulers and their subjects were created, communicated, and exercised in the realm torn between the competing branches of the Piast dynasty. It interrogates narrative sources, charters, and trial protocols to establish the broad framework of shared language of loyalty that underlined the political culture of Piast Poland. In doing so, it contextualizes often disparate sources, offering a better picture of certain events from political history of 13th century Poland. It also places the changes in the way in which loyalty was conceptualized within the broader thirteen-century European transformation of social and political life, with particular attention paid to the impact of pragmatic literacy on the political culture of Piast Poland. By doing so, it places the often overlooked region in the context of broader developments in Europe of the High Middle Ages. |
| Supervisor | Szende, Katalin; Nagy, Balázs |
| Department | Historical Studies PhD |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2026/machalski_michal.pdf |
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