How did a breach of fealty become connected with the meaning of felony in England?
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feudalism
Detail from the Heidelberger Sachsenspiegel showing the homage ceremony, in which the vassals put themselves under the protection of their lords by placing their hands between his hands, 14th century; in the Universitatsbibliothek, Heidelberg, Germany.
In feudal society, a vassal was bound by a duty of fealty to their lord. A breach of this duty was defined as a felony, an act so severe that it resulted in the forfeiture of the vassal's fief.1
In England, this specific feudal concept expanded significantly in scope. Because the king was viewed as the ultimate guardian of public peace and order, any serious crime came to be categorized as a felony. These offenses were essentially treated as breaches of the fealty owed to the sovereign, thereby extending the term from its original context of a vassal's betrayal to encompass all grave criminal acts.1