Ennoblement, Bohemian Lands, Austrian Hereditary Lands, Royal Rights, Merits, Social Rise, Incolat, Estates, 18th Century

The study deals with the changes which had, in the context of the transformation of the constitutional and political arrangement following the defeat of the Bohemian Revolt, affected the estate society in the Bohemian Lands and which had later, in the early years of Maria Theresa’s reign, significantly contributed to the transformation of the existing noble titular structure, ennoblement practice and question of admitting new members into the provincial estates. Focus is put on questions of the real execution of the royal ennoblement capacity (Nobilitierungsrecht) on the territory of the Bohemian Lands in the 18th century, the stabilisation of the noble titulature, the bureaucratic procedure of ennoblement itself and the related written production (documents, files), the motives of the submitted applications for ennoblement and the criteria and prerequisites which the Court Chancellery, as the executor of the ennoblement capacity, required from the applicants for noble prerogatives. Lastly, the study reflects on the question of the ennoblement policy of the state and the importance of ennoblement for the social rise of both individuals and houses.