An allegiance is a duty of fidelity said to be owed, or freely committed, by the people, subjects or citizens to their state or sovereign.
The word allegiance comes from Middle English ' (see Medieval Latin ', "a liegance"). The al- prefix was probably added through confusion with another legal term, allegation. The connection with Latin ', "to bind," is erroneous.
Traditionally, English legal commentators used the term allegiance in two ways. One referred to "local allegiance"âÂÂthe deference expected even from foreigners within a country. Another sense was "natural allegiance," owed by native-born citizens.
Chisholm1911"/> This doctrine was a factor in the War of 1812.
Allegiance bound subject to monarch, and monarch to subject: duplex et reciprocum ligamen ("double and reciprocal bond").
Four types of allegiance were recognized:
The Naturalization Act 1870 allowed British subjects to renounce nationality under specified conditions.
The U.S. rejected indelible allegiance early. John Rutledge declared in Talbot v. Janson that dual citizenship was possible. The Expatriation Act of 1868 declared expatriation a natural right. Dual allegiance can lead to conflicting duties, possibly treason, so renunciation may be necessary.
In Arabic, allegiance is bay'ah (èÃÂùé), meaning "taking hand." The Quran references it in .
An oath of allegiance pledges fidelity to the sovereign (or nation in republics). In the U.S., this is embodied in the Pledge of Allegiance, which is voluntary due to the First Amendment.