Constructing a traitor: The case of Guichard of Troyes, the nominal bishop of Bosnia in the early fourteenth century

Abstract

In 1314 Bishop Guichard of Troyes was transferred from the lucrative Episcopal See of Champagne to the Episcopal See of Bosnia, with the seat in Diakovar (nowadays Djakovo, Croatia). This was the consequence of a lengthy trial that baffled both contemporaries and historians alike, and which included a plethora of charges - most notably high treason, murder of the Queen and her mother through witchcraft, heresy, etc. To explain beyond factual reality, the paper regards the concept of treason for which Guichard was tried. To comprehend the methods of construction of treason in Guichard's case, the paper examines features beyond the accusations and deposited witness testimonies: the social, religious and legal transformations; similarities with contemporary trials of the Templars and of the deceased Pope Boniface VIII. This will facilitate comprehension of the elements that construct or add to the concept of treason and the contemporary notions and institutions that permitted it.