Mitteilungen des Österreichischen Staatsarchivs 52. (2007)
LINDQUIST, Thea: Clement von Radolt (1593–1670): A Multifarious Career in the seventeenth-century Imperial Service
Thea Lindquist nobility, oversaw its operations. Under him were the vice president, director, and councilors.22 The Hofkammer also had its own chancellery consisting of the head secretaries and necessary clerical personnel to assist them.23 The Hofkammer council, which included the councilors and presumably the director, was the treasury’s major decision-making body. It met frequently to vote on the financial business that the secretaries brought before it and to discuss ways to increase revenues, minimize expenditures, secure loans on favorable terms, and redeem mortgaged sources of income. A council representative brought the most important financial issues before the Imperial Privy Council on a weekly basis, and, if necessary, the Hofkammer president brought them before the emperor.24 The Hofkammer council was a collegial entity - every councilor voted on the issues brought before it, and the majority carried the decision. In many ways this system was slow and cumbersome, but it had its advantages; for example, it ensured that all councilors were informed of the council’s proceedings and that the president was not held solely responsible for unsuccessful policies.25 Radolt attained increasingly higher offices in the Hofkammer over a forty-five year period, moving from his initial position as a secretary finally into the directorship. His work there laid the basis for the rest of his career in the Imperial service. He was appointed Hofkammer secretary in November 1625, four years after he joined the faculty at the University.26 In 1632, he earned a promotion to Hofkammer councilor, a position equal in rank to aulic or war councilor.27 This was the next logical step for Radolt, as Hofkammer councilors were drawn almost 22 To give an idea of the number of councilors in this period, six held office in 1637 - Johann Baptist Weber, Jacob Berthold von Ungersdorff, Johann Christoph Schellendorff, Bartholomäus Schöllhardt, Hieronymus Bonacina, and Radolt himself. (Vehse, Eduard: Geschichte des österreichischen Hofs und Adels und der österreichischen Diplomatie, Geschichte der deutschen Höfe seit der Reformation, Hamburg 1851-1853, vol. 4, pp. 120-122). 23 In 1637, three secretaries — one responsible for drawing up documents for Bohemia, one for Hungary, and one for the Empire - worked in the chancellery, and 27 clerical personnel supported them. (Hurter, Friedrich von: Friedensbestrebungen Kaiser Ferdinands II., Vienna 1860, pp. 245-246; Vehse: Geschichte des österreichischen Hofs, pp. 120-122). 24 Fellner: Von Maximilian I., vol. 1, pp. 68-77; Link, Christoph: Die Verwaltung in den einzelnen Territorien. In: Vom Spätmittelalter bis zum Ende des Reiches, vol. 1, Deutsche Verwaltungsgeschichte, ed. Kurt G. A. Jeserich, Hans Pohl, and Georg-Christoph von Unruh, Stuttgart 1983, pp. 499-500. 25 I am grateful to Dr. Christian Sapper of the Finanz- und Hofkammerarchiv for this information. 26 HKA, Hoffmanzbiicher [hereafter: HFB] 714 (1625), f. 368: 13 November 1625, Imperial decree to Radolt regarding his appointment as Hofkammer secretary. Young Radolt may have first taken an interest in government finances through exposure to the Hofkammer archive, which was located in the Hofspital overseen by his father. 27 With his new appointment, Radolt’s salary was increased to 1,300 florins annually. In addition, Hofkammer councilors received two marks of granulated silver and thirteen cartloads of salt each year. (HKA, FA R-10, ff. 51-52: 9 November 1632; HKA, FA R-10, f. 53: 19 November 1632; F ellner: Von Maximilian L, vol. 1, p. 86 n. 1). 14
