Gabor Almási

Up to now very few studies have addressed the question of meritocracy before 1800. The key questions of my project are: How did discourses on virtue and merit come to permeate political and cultural life throughout Renaissance Europe? What kind of social and political dynamics ensured their ongoing cultural significance? How were these values and discourses adapted and reinterpreted by different social groups? What was the relationship between meritocratic discourses and social mobility?