Gesellschaftlicher und rechtlicher Status der Sprachmeister*innen in der Frühen Neuzeit. Sprachliche Fähigkeiten als entscheidendes Kriterium?

Societal and Legal Status of Foreign Language Teachers in the Early Modern Age. Language Skills as the Determining Criterion?The following paper deals with the requirements foreign language teachers had to fulfil in order to be granted citizenship in the Early Modern Age. The group of foreign language teachers was extremely heterogenous, originating from different countries, different social standings and lacking institutionalized education. Due to increased mobility and financial insecurities, foreign language teachers were rarely granted civil rights. This paper examines accepted and rejected requests for citizenship to explore what factors led to a positive or negative decision. As will be shown, multiple factors played a role in this process, including the language skills, but also factors such as prominent supporters and financial security.