Századok – 2014
KÖZLEMÉNYEK - Khavanova, Olga: "Kitűnő tehetséggel ellátott, különböző nyelveket tudó, jogok tudásával rendelkező…" (Hivatalnoki pályafutások a magyar Kamaránál a felvilágosult abszolutizmus idejében) V/1209
1228 OLGA KHAVANOVA (retired military officers or Hungarian guardsmen) trying to enter the royal service through an often unequal competition with the formally privileged insiders. The final part of the article deals with the language proficiency of the royal servants and the spread of the German language in the age of Maria Theresia as an indicator of latent changes, which would allow the bureaucratic corps to adjust to the reform agenda of the enlightened absolutism. By way of conclusion, while the “official dynasties” were maintaining the corporate ethos, the challenges coming from the outsiders kept the administrations open to knowledge, experience and ambition. Despite the authorities’ endeavours to normalise admission procedures from above, patronage did not disappear, but served as an efficient instrument of pre-selection of apt candidates.
