Spätmittelalterliche Kirchenkarrieren preußischer Kleriker

In the Middle Ages, the Church was one of the most important channels for social advancement. It had a hierarchical structure of offices within which, under certain conditions, it was possible to rise to the highest ecclesiastical offices. Although ascribed characteristics such as family connections or social status were of decisive importance for a successful career in the Church, acquired characteristics such as a university education also played an increasingly important role. Thus, even clerics of bourgeois origin were not, in principle, barred from rising within the ecclesiastical hierarchy. These conditions were particularly favourable in Prussia. In the Prussian cathedral chapters, the bourgeoisie constituted a considerable proportion of the canons. The study of the ecclesiastical careers of clergy from the four largest cities in Prussia (Danzig, Elbing, Königsberg and Thorn) aims to contribute to our understanding of complex career mechanisms within a macro-historical European framework. Not least, it also aims to highlight the possibilities and limitations of social advancement within late medieval society against the backdrop of political and social change.