The study deploys the methodology of prosopography to examine gentry-born lord-lieutenants (the ispáns) attending national assemblies between 1790 and1848. This subject is particularly noteworthy because in the latter years of the Estate System gentry-born individuals began to hold fiduciary positions in the state administration which had formerly been filled by members of the aristocracy only. The emergence of the gentry among the lord-lieutenants of counties indicates the increasingly important role of gentry-born administrators, some loss of ground by the aristocracy, as well as the transformation of power politics in Vienna. The period between 1790 and 1848 can be divided according to the national assemblies into two shorter sub-periods, 1790–1812 and 1825–1848, and the attending lord-lieutenants were examined in two distinct groups, with a special emphasis on their family ties and careers in administration. As it emerged, while in the first period state-level positions were attained by those gentry-born lord-lieutenants who had acquired experience across a number of government offices, in the second period, the importance of county-level administration increased against that of previous governmental positions held: higher ranking officials of county administration (the vice-ispán and the notary) remained in their county and aspired for the administrative position of deputy lord-lieutenant and, ultimately, of lord-lieutenant. A closer examination of the family ties of gentry-born lords lieutenant revealed the eminence of a Protestant clan of Nógrád County officials who were able to hold on to positions across generations, as well as at least two groups of related Catholic officials, who maintained and strengthened their social and official status through marriages.

An individual’s participation in the national diet is generally viewed as an opportunity which gave a momentum to their political or professional career by allowing them to prove their skills, abilities and their loyalty to their sovereign. The study examines whether the protonotarii in attendance at the diets held between 1722 and 1792 had a steeper career curve than those who were not present at the assemblies in this period. The study concludes that the data about the career patterns of these officials do not support the prevailing view in scholarship: those protonotarii who did not participate in the diets often managed to attain higher positions than the ones in attendance. Their involvement had little or no impact on their career trajectories and thus participation in the national assembly cannot be viewed as a springboard for promotion, which suggests that most protonotarii’s advancement in the eighteenth century was determined by the organisational structure of the royal curia.

Nincs absztrakt.

Nincs absztrakt.