Thoughts, words, and promises: Fides and the legal significance of the inner sphere

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dc.check.date2026-09-02en
dc.check.infoAccess to this article is restricted until 12 months after publication by request of the publisheren
dc.contributor.authorDeibel, Talyaen
dc.contributor.funderIrish Research Councilen
dc.date.accessioned2025-11-10T10:00:49Z
dc.date.available2025-11-10T10:00:49Z
dc.date.issued2025-09-02en
dc.description.abstractThis paper traces how the Roman notion of fides evolved into the concept of good faith, which is central to contract law theory. It explores how fides was initially understood in Roman society as a divine presence within the inner sphere of individuals, symbolizing honesty and loyalty in social relationships. To illustrate how fides transitioned into the legal domain through natural law and procedural law, the paper examines three key developments over the longue durée of European private law: the emergence of the bonus vir (good and reasonable man) standard, the evolution of consensual contracts, and the doctrine of aequitas naturalis (natural equity). The legal evolution of good faith from a moral-religious phenomenon to a legal principle highlights how loyalty to promises and honesty, which belong to the inner sphere, and their relationship to their outward manifestations were addressed in law. It also demonstrates how the values tied to fides became integral to European legal traditions thereby shaping modern contract law.en
dc.description.statusPeer revieweden
dc.description.versionAccepted Versionen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.citationDeibel, T. (2025) 'Thoughts, words, and promises: Fides and the legal significance of the inner sphere', Pólemos, 19(2), pp. 411-433. https://doi.org/10.1515/pol-2025-2023en
dc.identifier.doi10.1515/pol-2025-2023en
dc.identifier.eissn2036-4601en
dc.identifier.endpage433en
dc.identifier.issn2035-5262en
dc.identifier.issued2en
dc.identifier.journaltitlePólemosen
dc.identifier.startpage411en
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/18164
dc.identifier.volume19en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherDe Gruyteren
dc.relation.ispartofPólemosen
dc.rights© 2025, Walter de Gruyter GmbH.en
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/en
dc.subjectFidesen
dc.subjectGood faithen
dc.subjectContract lawen
dc.titleThoughts, words, and promises: Fides and the legal significance of the inner sphereen
dc.typeArticle (peer-reviewed)en
dc.typejournal-articleen
oaire.citation.issue2en
oaire.citation.volume19en
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