On 31 January 2024, Katalin Pataki, postdoctoral research fellow of the ERC Sovereignty project held a presentation at the Cambridge East European History Graduate Workshop. Dr. Pataki presented her paper “The Introduction of the Oath of Allegiance in the Habsburg Realms (1781)”, analyzing the context of a new type of “political oath”, replacing the feudal oath taken by the bishops to the ruler. Presenting a number of examples from the Habsburg realms, Katalin Pataki highlighted the stake of the controversies surrounding the oaths, with particular reference to the issue of the alienation of church properties by the monarch. The presentation included a short introduction of the Sovereignty project, its goals and researchers.