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This article discusses the organizational and administrative structure of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (November 2024) |
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a confederative mixed monarchy of the period 1569–1795, comprising the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and their fiefs. The Commonwealth was governed by the Parliament (Sejm) consisting of the King, the King-appointed Senate (Voivodes, Castellans, Ministers, Bishops) and the rest of hereditary nobility either in person or through the Sejm proper (consisting of deputies representing their lands). The nobility's constitutional domination of the state made the King very weak and the commoners (burgesses and peasants) almost entirely unrepresented in the Commonwealth's political system.
State offices
The division between public and court offices in the realities of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is unclear, as all central offices originated from court positions. Some of them gained full autonomy, while others continued to perform service functions for the ruler.[1] The state and court hierarchies overlapped, and the officials' competencies were not clearly defined.[2] After 1565, the principle of "incompatibilitas" ("incompatibility") forbade Voivodes and Castellans to hold a second title as a Minister, except for the post of Hetman.
The system of offices in the Commonwealth was the result of equalizing the administrative hierarchies of both constituent parts of the state: the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Lithuania had its own separate court tradition, but after drawing closer to Poland at the end of the 14th century, there was a trend of copying Polish models and creating offices analogous to those existing in Poland.[3][4] This process culminated in the acts of the Union of Lublin, but it continued in practice until the 18th century as part of the so-called coequation of laws.[3] However, the direction of influence was sometimes reversed, such as in the case of the office of the court huntsman, which appeared in Poland later than in Lithuania.[3]
Essentially, almost every central office was dual, one for Poland and the other for Lithuania. This was reflected in the title, to which an appropriate adjective was added: Crown or Lithuanian. Thus, in the Commonwealth, there were two Grand Marshals: the Crown Grand Marshal and the Lithuanian Grand Marshal.[3]
| State offices | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English name | Polish name | In Poland since | In Lithuania since | Function | Notes |
| Ministers (senatorial) | |||||
| Grand Marshal | Marszałek wielki | 1355[5] | c. 1407[6] | Taking care of the king's security and the peace and quiet in his place of residence (marshal court).[7] Being master of royal ceremonies, managing the court and access to the sovereign.[8] Organising and presiding over the proceedings of the senate, security of the sessions of the parliament (marshal's articles), organising the election of the sovereign.[9][10] | |
| Court Marshal | Marszałek nadworny | 1409[11] | c. 1494[12] | Aide and alternate to the Grand Marshal, he acted independently only in his absence.[13] | Also a court office.
In Lithuania, there was a separate office of Court (Hospodar) Marshal in the 15th-16th century, which over time lost its importance and became a land office.[14] |
| Grand Chancellor | Kanclerz wielki | 10-11th c.[15] | 1441[15][./Offices_in_the_Polish–Lithuanian_Commonwealth#cite_note-FOOTNOTEGóralski198886-15 [15]] | Heading the greater chancellery. Directing the external policy of the state.[16] Guarding the observance of rights.[17] Announcement of new resolutions and laws.[18] Presiding over the assessor court.[19] | In the Crown, the office was alternately held by a lay person and a cleric.[20] |
| Vice-chancellor | Podkanclerzy | 1189[15] | 1566[21] | Aide and alternate to the Grand Chancellor, headed the lesser chancellery.[16] | |
| Treasurer | Podskarbi | 13th c.[22] | 1429[23] | Managing the state's finances, issuing money, guarding the royal crown (until the 17th century).[24] | In Lithuania, held in conjunction with the office of Grand Scribe.[23] |
| Ministers (non-senatorial) | |||||
| Court Treasurer | Podskarbi nadworny | c. 1454[25] | c. 1476[26] | Aide and alternate to the Treasurer.[27] Its sole function was to manage the king's property and income.[28] | Also a court office. Since 1775 senatorial.[27] |
| Grand Hetman | Hetman wielki | circa 1485[29] | circa 1499[30] | Command of the enlisted army, administration of army finances, judical powers over the army. Hetman issued administrative and judicial regulations for the army (Hetman's Articles). Limited right to conduct foreign policy.[31] | Appointed only during the Sejm.[32] Since 1768 senatorial.[33] In 1717 the power of the hetmans was limited.[34] Also a military office. |
| Field Hetman | Hetman polny | 1492[35] | circa 1520[36] | Aide and alternate to the Grand Hetman. Originally in Poland the commander of the Obrona potoczna, until the early 17th century appointed on an ad hoc basis.[37] | |
| Other non-senatorial state offices | |||||
| Grand Secretary | Sekretarz wielki | 1504[38] | 1670[39] | Chancellor-like functions, without the right to sign and seal letters. In addition, sitting on the assessor court.[40] | An office held by a clergyman, the separate office of lay Grand Secretary was created in 1764.[41] |
| – | Referendarz | c. 1510[42] | c. 1539[43] | Receiving requests and complaints from private individuals and referring them to the King and Chancellors. Sitting in assessor, report and Sejm's courts.[40] | Two, a layman and a clergyman.[40] |
| Instigator | Instygator | 1586[44] | 1586[45] | Public prosecutor[45] | Two, four since 1775.[46] |
| Vice-instigator | Wiceinstygator | c. 1615[47] | Alternate to the Instigators.[46] | Abolished in 1775.[46] | |
| Grand Scribe | Pisarz wielki | 1504[48] | 1504[48] | Preparation of resolutions and documents. Sitting in assesor court, drafting sentences therein.[48] | One in the Crown, four in Lithuania, since 1764 four each.[24] |
| – | Kustosz koronny/Skarbny | before 16th c. | 1452[49] | The Crown Custodian guarded the royal jewels at Krakow Castle, the Skarbny guarded the treasury at Vilnius Castle.[50] | In Poland, it rose to prominence after the court was moved to Warsaw.[51] |
Both the Chancellor and the Sub-Chancellor stood at the head of the chancelleries (‘greater’ and ‘lesser’), which were headed by Regents.[52] Each chancellery employed a number of professionals: secretaries, scribes and clerks. Outside the chancellery were the Metricants, in charge of keeping the Metrics, i.e. the books in which all the documents arriving and departing from each chancellery were entered.[53] There were four chancelleries, four Metricants and two Metrics (Crown and Lithuanian) in the whole of the Commonwealth.[54] The Treasurers were also supported by a number of professional officials, the most important of whom were Treasury Scribes (two in the Crown, three in Lithuania).[55] He was assisted in matters of coinage issuance by a Mincer. In addition, a number of other functionaries: dispensers, superintendents, tax collectors, customs officers and toll collectors.[56]
Court offices
Originally, all central offices were simultaneously court offices. However, in the Kingdom of Poland, the concept of the Crown, representing the state itself, was distinguished relatively early from the person of the mortal monarch. Consequently, some offices lost their direct association with the monarch and his court, becoming state offices primarily responsible for state administration. This division was never complete, but there was a group of offices whose roles were essentially limited to serving the court and the monarch.[57] Among them, we distinguish between offices of the court (Polish: urzędy dworu) and the court offices (Polish: urzędy nadworne). The court offices attended to the king's service, while the offices of the court managed and administered the court as an institution. The court offices were further divided into the offices of the royal table and the representatives of royal majesty.[58]
Most of these offices were of a purely honorary nature, their holders did not perform the functions associated with them, or if they did, they did so very rarely, mainly during rare grand royal ceremonies (coronations, weddings, homages etc.). Apart from the aforementioned offices, the court included a significantly larger group of people, both honorary courtiers and servants.[59]
| Court offices | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English name | Polish name | Date of creation | Function | Notes | |
| Poland | Lithuania | ||||
| Court offices of the royal table | |||||
| Kitchen-master | Kuchmistrz | c. 1352[60] | c. 1409[61] | Managing the royal kitchen.[58] | |
| Stolnik | Stolnik | c. 1450[41] | c. 1501[62] | Setting the royal table, directing the serving of food.[63] | Disappeared in Poland in 1505, reappeared in 1633.[41] |
| Vice-cupbearer | Podczaszy | c. 1381[64] | c. 1410[65] | Serving liquor to the king.[66] | Initially subordinate to the Cup-bearer, later equal in rank, higher in hierarchy[66] |
| Carver | Krajczy | c. 1412[67] | c. 1446[68] | Cutting and serving food to the king.[69] | |
| Podstoli | Podstoli | c. 1442[70] | c. 1470[71] | Carrying ceremonial staff in front of the Stolnik.[63] | |
| Cupbearer | Cześnik | 13th c.[66] | 1409[72] | Pouring liquor into goblets.[66] | |
| Court offices of the royal majesty | |||||
| Grand Ensign | Chorąży wielki | before 13th c. | 1499 | Carrying the royal banner during the ceremonies[73] | |
| Court Ensign | Chorąży nadworny | 1646[74] | 1501[75] | Alternate to the | |
| Swordbearer | Miecznik | c. 1327[76] | c. 1496[77] | Carrying the royal sword during the ceremonies[78] | |
| Equerry | Koniuszy | c. 1507[79] | c. 1510[80] | Administration of the royal stables[81] | In Lithuania initially, his role was fulfilled by Koniuszy of Vilnius.[80] State office since the 17th century[81] |
| Vice-equerry | Podkoniuszy | 17th c.[59] | c. 1617[82] | ||
| Grand Huntmaster | Łowczy wielki | c. 1576[83] | Administration of the royal forests and organization of hunts[84] | Honorary title since the 16th c. | |
| Court Huntmaster | Łowczy nadworny | 17th c. | c. 1596[85] | ||
| Wojski | c. 1733[86] | Appeared in the 18th century in Lithuania as a dignitary.[86] | |||
| Offices of the court | |||||
| Podkomorzy | c. 1408[87] | c. 1428[88] | Actual management of the court, above all in the absence of the court marshal. Constantly stayed at the King's side.[89] | ||
| Oboźny | c. 1511[90] | Management of royal camp during the warfare.[91] | Different than the military office of the same name. | ||
| Woźniczy | Management of royal carriages. | ||||
| Piwniczy | – | c. 1526[92] | Management of the ruler's cellars.[92] | ||
| Spiżarny | – | c. 1526[93] | Management of the ruler's pantry.[94] | Disappeared in early 17th c. | |
Military offices
The highest military officials were the Hetmans, they could not be removed. Until the beginning of the 18th century, hetmans were not paid for their services. With the emergence of a standing army in the Crown in the early 16th century and the office of Hetman, a staff of military officials formed around him to assist him in his tasks. The most important among them was the Field Scribe, closely followed by the Grand Warden.[95] Over time, the offices began to lose their professional character and became purely dignitaries, the earliest of which was the office of the Grand Oboźny, whose tasks were actually carried out by the Field Oboźny.[96] Other offices were still truly military in the 17th century, only becoming solely dignitaries in the 18th century.[96] The following list covers only military offices, apart from these there were a number of other posts which were not dignitaries and were usually filled by professionals, there was also a separate cadre of officers.[97]
| Military offices | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English name | Polish name | Date of creation | Function | Notes | |
| Poland | Lithuania | ||||
| Grand Warden | Strażnik wielki | c. 1526[98] | 1635[99] | Insuring the army on the march, commanding the vanguard when the army was commanded by the king.[100] | In Poland originally with the title of Field Warden, from the 17th century of Grand Warden.[98] |
| Field Warden | Strażnik polny | 17th c. | c. 1624[101] | Vigilance over the security of the country's eastern borders.[102] | In Poland, appointed by the Hetman. |
| Pisarz polny | c. 1509[103] | Conducting military administration, surveying and recording troops, inspecting strongholds in Podolia and Ukraine.[104] | |||
| Oboźny wielki | Establishment and administration of a military camp.[105] | ||||
| Oboźny polny | |||||
| Generał artylerii | Reporting to the hetman, he was in charge of the administration of the artillery, armouries, arsenals and gun foundries.[106] | ||||
| Gernerał inspektor | Inspection of all regiments.[107] | Two, appointed by the Hetman.[107] | |||
Voivodes and castellans
Of secular Senators, the foremost was the Castellan (Kasztelan) of Kraków. Other Castellans, however, were considered to be lesser dignitaries than the Voivodes.
The power of the Voivodes had declined since that title had been introduced about the 12th century; in the 17th century, however, they were still the highest regional dignitaries. They were the highest representatives of their Voivodeships to the Senat. They were the leaders of the Land Parliaments (Sejmiki Wojewódzkie, Voivodeship Sejmiks). They were in charge of assembling local nobility's military forces in the event of a pospolite ruszenie (levée en masse). Each chose a Deputy Voivode, who was responsible for setting local prices and measures. Voivodes were chosen by the King, except for those of Połock Voivode and Vilnius Voivode, who were elected by (and from) the local nobility (but still had to be appointed by the King).
Except for the Castellan of Kraków Land (which has its seat in a privileged city, as the Commonwealth's capital until 1596), Castellans were often considered subordinate to Voivodes. A Castellan was in charge of part of a Voivodeship (till the 15th century called a Castellany, and thereafter divided into provinces for Major Castellans and powiats for Minor Castellans).
Land offices
A 1611 Constitution (amended 1633 and 1635) prescribed many officials. Exceptions to the rule, however, were the rule; Sejm rules were treated as mere recommendations. Thus Bełz Voivodeship had only 4 of the 15 prescribed dignitaries; most northern voivodeships had about 5; and in Wołyń and Bracław Voivodeships the hierarchical order was almost reversed. Each province or district had its own set of officials—a list of provinces may be found in the article on provinces and geography of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
District officials were appointed by the King, with a few exceptions (local parliaments—sejmiki—chose Chamberlains, District Judges, Deputy District Judges, District Clerks, and in Lithuania also Standard-bearers and District Marshals). Chamberlains, except for the name, had nothing in common with the Court officials of the same name. They administered a court of law (the Chamberlain's Court) which had jurisdiction over property disputes. The District Judge headed the District Court, which had jurisdiction over civil and some criminal matters involving local nobility.
The Starosta generalny ("General Starosta") was the official in charge of a specific territory. The Starosta grodowy ("City Starosta") was in charge of cities, while the Starosta niegrodowy ("Non-City Starosta") was responsible for administration of the Crown lands. These were to be kept in good financial and military order. While in time these administrative responsibilities became smaller (as Kings gave away more and more land), the Starosta remained in charge of the City Courts (sądy grodzkie), which dealt with most criminal matters and had jurisdiction over all local and visiting nobility. They dealt with the most severe cases (killings, rapes, robberies) and were quite harsh (highway robbery was punishable with death), which generally made Poland a safer country than its neighbors. The Starostas also held the "power of the sword", which meant that they enforced the verdicts of all other courts. Non-City Starostas had no juridical powers.
Standard-bearers carried the local banner during Royal ceremonies, and in war when local troops served in the Army. During war, Wojskis maintained order and security in their territories. In Lithuania, the responsibilities of Ciwuns were similar to those of non-city starostas (elders). District marshals presided over local parliaments (in the "Crown", District Marshals were chosen only for the duration of the parliament session, and so were much less powerful than those of Lithuania, who were chosen for life).
Crown
- Podkomorzy – Chamberlain
- Starosta grodowy – Mayor
- Chorąży – Standard-bearer
- Sędzia ziemski – District Judge
- Stolnik – Pantler
- Podczaszy – Royal Cupbearer
- Podsędek – Deputy District Judge
- Podstoli – Steward
- Cześnik – Cupbearer
- Łowczy – Master of the Hunt
- Wojski większy – Major Wojski
- Pisarz ziemski – District Clerk
- Miecznik – Sword-bearer
- Wojski mniejszy – Minor Wojski
- Skarbnik – Treasurer
Lithuania
- Marszałek ziemski – District Marshal
- Ciwun – Bailiff
- Podkomorzy – Chamberlain
- Starosta grodzki – Mayor
- Chorąży – Standard-bearer
- Sędzia ziemski – District judge
- Wojski większy – Major Wojski
- Stolnik – Pantler
- Podstoli – Steward
- Pisarz ziemski – District Clerk
- Podwojewódzki, Podstarosta – Deputy Voivod, Deputy Starosta
- Sędzia grodzki – City Judge
- Pisarz grodzki – City Clerk
- Podczaszy – Royal Cupbearer
- Cześnik – Cupbearer
- Horodniczy – Castellan
- Skarbnik – Treasurer
- Łowczy – Master of the Hunt
- Miecznik – Sword-bearer
- Koniuszy – Equerry
- Oboźny – Quartermaster
- Strażnik – Guard
- Krajczy – Carver
- Leśniczy – Forester
- Mostowniczy – Custodian of Bridges
- Budowniczy – Architect
Prussia
- Podkomorzy – Chamberlain
- Chorąży – Standard-bearer
- Sędzia – Judge
- Ławnik – Alderman
- Pisarz – Clerk
- Podwojewoda – Deputy Voivod (Deputy Governor)
Castle offices
The most important official was the Starosta. He was supported by a Borough Substarosta (podstarości grodowy), Burgrave (Burgrabia), Notary (Notariusz) and Scriptor (Pisarz). The Borough Substarosta assisted the Starosta and in his absence acted in his name with all his powers. Lower city officials were the Borough Regent (rejent grodzki), Borough Notary (notariusz grodzki), Borough Scriptor (pisarz grodzki) and common clerks ("subclerks" — podpiskowie).
In the eastern territories bordering on Russia, from 1667, a "Border Judge" cooperated with Russian judges in cases involving parties from the two countries; his rulings were final.
Judges were chosen from among the local hereditary nobles and had little formal training; therefore the quality of the courts varied from judge to judge, and levels of corruption were high. Attorneys, on the other hand, were required to have professional training. Sometimes a court included an asesor, who assisted the judge and collected fines and fees. Prosecutors were extremely rare. Instygators maintained order and security on court grounds, and a court runner (woźny) delivered summons.
List of borough and judicial offices
- Podstarosta grodowy – Borough Substarost
- Burgrabia – Burgrave
- Notariusz – Notary
- Rejent grodzki – Borough Regent
- Sędzia grodzki – Borough Judge
- Podsędek grodzki – Borough Subjudge
- Pisarz grodzki – Borough Clerk
In 1717 the "Numb Diet" barred non-Roman Catholics from being elected Envoys (to the Parliament), and to any other land offices if there was another Roman Catholic contender. The rights of the "Dissidents", as they were called, were reinstated in 1768, and in 1772 their representation in the Diet was limited to a statutory of two members. These rules were finally abolished in 1792 by the 3rd May Constitution.
These offices were very stable, having evolved about the 13th century and lasting almost unchanged to the end of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The administrative system had come from Germany together with Magdeburg law.
Every city (without exception) had a Council and a Bench, the Council being the administrative branch and the Bench the judicial branch. A new Council was chosen by the old one whose term had expired. The Council was responsible for administration, law, privileges, security, finances, guild oversight, and the like. The Council chose the Mayor, and its members' decision was final—even the Starosta or Voivode could only listen to the Mayor's swearing-in and could not refuse to give him his seal. The Council met daily in the larger cities, less often in smaller ones.
The Mayor headed the Council and controlled the executive branch. He was responsible for conciliation, the care of the poor, and maintaining order by suppressing alcohol abuse and games of chance. Second to the Mayor was the Council Clerk, who ran the City Chancellery. The City Clerk (Syndyk Miejski) collected city taxes and supervised the tax collectors. Security and order in the city were the responsibility of the Hutman. He also supervised the city jail and the keyman who unlocked and locked the city gates at dawn and dusk.
The Lonar was the city treasurer, who oversaw its finances. He supervised the officials who controlled marketplace scales to ensure fair trade. Large cities also had scores of less common officials, such as Pipemasters, responsible for pipes and wells; Fire Chiefs; and City Translators, who assisted foreigners and looked out for spies.
The Bench was chaired by a wójt. He and the other Bench members were chosen by the Council for a year's term from among lesser city officials (writers, clerks, etc.).
City Chief Executioners executed not only criminals sentenced by the Bench, but often criminals sentenced by other non-military courts in Poland. They were well paid, sometimes functioned as physicians, but were also often considered social outcasts and lived outside the city walls.
A village mayor was called the sołtys and was the administrative, executive and judicial chief for the village, responsible only to the village's owner.
List of town and village offices
- Burmistrz – City Mayor;
- Wójt – Advocate-Mayor;
- Pisarz rady – Council Clerk;
- Syndyk miejski – City Clerk;
- Hutman – Constable;
- Lonar – City Treasurer.
- Starosta grodowy, Starosta sądowy – City Starosta, Judicial Starosta;
- Starosta generalny wielkopolski – General Starosta of Wielkopolska;
- Starosta generalny małopolski – General Starosta of Małopolska;
- Burgrabia zamku krakowskiego – Burgrave of Kraków Castle;
- Surrogat – Surrogate.
Fictional or fictitious offices were a specific kind of offices, as they referred to the territories which Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth lost in the second half of the 17th century either to the Swedish Empire or the Tsardom of Russia. Following the Treaty of Oliva (1660), the Commonwealth officially lost Wenden Voivodeship, Parnawa Voivodeship, and Dorpat Voivodeship. Furthermore, as a result of the Truce of Andrusovo (1667), Poland-Lithuania lost Smolensk Voivodeship and Czernihow Voivodeship.
Despite the fact that these territories did not belong to the Commonwealth any longer, and were under foreign rule, their administration existed for further 100 years, until the Partitions of Poland, with a complex hierarchy of all kinds of regional offices. The existence of fictional titles was the result of the special role of offices in the minds of the Polish–Lithuanian nobility: even though these offices were only honorary, without any material privileges and salaries, they determined social status of their bearers. Furthermore, having a title, albeit fictional, emphasized the position of an individual nobleman as a keen citizen and co-creator of the Commonwealth.
After Czernihow Voivodeship was detached from Poland in 1667, sejmiks of the former province took place at Wlodzimierz Wolynski, some 500 kilometers west of Czernihow. Polish kings continued to present fictional titles of voivodes, senators, deputies, and starostas of Czernihow to their courtiers. In 1785, Stanisław August Poniatowski gave fictitious title of starosta of Nowogrod Siewierski to Tadeusz Czacki.
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