THE PRESENT BOOK is a revised and expanded version of a Hungarian monograph on the life of Prince Coloman's published in 2017. The core arguments of the authors have not been changed, but the explanation and development of certain problems have of necessity been altered to cater for a wider readership, whose members may not be familiar with the intricacies of Hungarian and, in a broader sense, Eastern European medieval history. The bibliography has been changed, to include studies both in Eastern-European languages and in world languages. This shows how Hungarian and other Eastern European historians are increasingly publishing the results of their research in foreign languages, although these papers may not always be known to the Western scientific community. In addition, the number of citations has been reduced in order to make the text easier to read.

Coloman, the main character of the book, it is important to recognize, is a significant figure in the historiography of several contemporary countries, which means that we as historians need to be aware of sensitivities around his heritage. His role in Galicia makes him interesting for Ukrainian and Russian historical researchers; his Polish wife has the same importance for Polish scholars, while his years in Scepus are of note for Slovak historians and his role as the duke of Slavonia engages Croatian and Bosnian historians. But as a member of the Árpádian dynasty, Coloman's life was organized and led by the rules of the medieval Kingdom of Hungary, and so we need to examine him carefully in the context of the kingdom of the Árpáds. So, while the authors utilized information found in the historiography of various countries, a secondary aim of this book has been to make available the results of recent Hungarian research, especially as this has previously been somewhat neglected internationally due to the language barrier.