Sebok_Richard_orszaggyuleseken_megjelent_koznemes_foispanok

The study deploys the methodology of prosopography to examine gentry-bornlord-lieutenants (theispáns) attending national assemblies between 1790 and1848. This subject is particularly noteworthy because in the latter years of theEstate System gentry-born individuals began to hold fiduciary positions in thestate administration which had formerly been filled by members of the aristoc-racy only. The emergence of the gentry among the lord-lieutenants of countiesindicates the increasingly important role of gentry-born administrators, some loss of ground by the aristocracy, as well as the transformation of power politicsin Vienna.The period between 1790 and 1848 can be divided according to the nationalassemblies into two shorter sub-periods, 1790–1812 and 1825–1848, and theattending lord-lieutenants were examined in two distinct groups, with a specialemphasis on their family ties and careers in administration. As it emerged, whilein 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 increasedagainst that of previous governmental positions held: higher ranking officials ofcounty administration (the vice-ispán and the notary) remained in their countyand aspired for the administrative position of deputy lord-lieutenant and, ulti-mately, of lord-lieutenant. A closer examination of the family ties of gentry-bornlords lieutenant revealed the eminence of a Protestant clan of Nógrád County of-ficials who were able to hold on to positions across generations, as well as at leasttwo groups of related Catholic officials, who maintained and strengthened theirsocial and official status through marriages.