Fealty

Roland pledges his fealty to Charlemagne; from a manuscript of a chanson de geste.

"Oath of Fealty" redirects here. For , see Oath of Fealty (novel).

An oath of fealty, from the Latin fidelitas or faithfulness, is a pledge of allegiance of one person to another. Typically the oath is made upon a religious object such as a Bible or saint's relic thus binding the oath taker before God.

In medieval Europe, fealty was sworn between two people, the obliged person (vassal) and a person of rank (lord). This was done as part of a formal commendation ceremony to create a feudal relationship.

Fealty and homage are a key element of feudalism.

The term is also used by English speakers to refer to similar oaths of allegiance in other feudal cultures, as with Japan prior to about 1500.

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