Megyéspüspöki kinevezések, 1686–1799

Absztrakt

The study presents the composition of the body of Roman Catholic diocesan bishops based on royal appointments between 1686 and 1799. The main angles of the research are social status, education, monastic affiliation, geographical origin, transfers and accumulating benefices, and appointment to cardinalship. The study seeks to resolve the contradiction between two prevalent statements in historical scholarship, which upholds both that the ecclesiastic estate was traditionally an important sphere for social mobility, and that the episcopal body in eighteenth-century Hungary was a closed circle, with a membership based on status and political reliability.