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Offices in Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth article presents the organizational structure and administrative system of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (or The Republic of the Two Nations, Rzeczpospolita Obojga Narodów in Polish; Belarusian: Рэч Паспалі́тая) was a federal monarchy-republic formed by the Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania, between 1569 and 1795. It was governed by an elected monarch and had an electable parliament, known as the Sejm.
The administration system of the Commonwealth was a pre-bureaucracy. In the sense of Max Weber's tripartite classification of authority it was mostly based on traditional domination, as were other contemporary monarchies. However there were noticeable elements of rational-legal authority in szlachta respect for various laws like pacta conventa.
Senatorial Offices
Senat of first Rzeczpospolita was an upper chamber of Sejm (Commonwealth parliament or diet). It cconsisted of bishops, voivodes, castellans and ministers. The list of dignitaries allowed to participate in the Senat was finalized in 1569, when Kingdom of Poland transformed into Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth at the Union of Lublin.
The most important of all officials was the Primate, Archbishop of Gniezno. Since 1572, the first time Poland had no king, he was the interrex - acted as the head of the state until new king was elected. He represented the country and prepared elections for the new king. In addition he had the power to call for new Senat session, if he deemed it important, even if king was not present. He also could invoke the "de non praestanda obedientia" article, which gave the country a right to legally overthrow the king. From among the other senators, he chose his own court marshal (often one of the castellans). That person usually acted as a messenger from the archbishop during senat missing, by giving signs (moving the cross) he conveyed how he wishes his allies to vote. His two deputies were bishops of Wrocław and Poznań.
Among the secular district officials , the first and most important one was the Castellan of Kraków.
Power of voivodes was diminishing since the title was introduced around 12th century, however in the 17th century they were still among the most important district officials. They were the highest representatives of their voivodship to the Senat. They were the leaders of local parliaments (voivodship’s sejmik - Polish sejmiki wojewódzkie). They were in charge of assembling local military forces in case of "Pospolite ruszenie". They chose a deputy voivode, who was responsible for setting local prices and measures. Voivodes were chosen by king, with the exceptions of voivodes of Połock and Wilno who were elected locally (but still had to be approved by the king).
With the exception of the Castellan of Kraków (which had a priviliged position, being Commonwealth capital untill 1596), the other castellans were often considered to be subordinates of voivoides. They were in charge of a part of the voivodship (called castellany till 15th century, and from that time divided into provinces for Greater Castellans and powiat’s for Minor Castellans).
From 1565 the rule of "incopatibila" has forbidden the voivodes and castellans to hold a second title of a minister, with the exception of hetman. Ministers were what we would call today the central government officials. They consited of 10 officials (5 for Poland, 5 for Lithuania). Ministers consisted of Great Crown Marshal, Great Lithuanian Marshal, Great Crown Chancellor, Great Lithuanian Chancellor, Crown Deputy Chancellor, Lithuanian Deputy Chancellor, Great Crown Treasurer, Great Lithuanian Treasurer, Court Crown Marshal and Court Lithuanian Marshal. Court Marshals were considered the subordinates of Great Marshals. Lithuanian ministers, while had the same powers as Crown ones, were considered in hierarchy to be behind them. Hetmans were also considered "ministers" but had no right to be sited in the Senat.
Marshals duties consisted of providing security to the king and keeping order where he was present. Marshals commanded two regiments of infantry, a regiment of militia and a special court (with a marshal’s judge , marshal’s writer and assessors.) Those courts dealt sentences on the spot, and there was no appeal. For the crimes like drawing a weapon near the king the penalty was death. Marshal’s court had the jurisdiction over all crimes committed on the court and by the courtiers.
When king traveled, marshals were the supervisors of local voivodes. They decided on who to admit for the royal audience. They were the masters and organizers of royal and court ceremonies (including weddings, funerals and such). They were the masters of court, kept track of lesser courtiers and set their pensions (if applicable). Each marshal had a marshal’s staff, which he received from the chancellor. In exchange, all chancellor nominations were heralded by marshals. If no marshal was present, their functions were carried out by a Great Treasurer or secular Great Chancellor. On formal occasions and in travel, marshal preceded the king, carrying his staff, where appropriate. Close after the marshals in the hierarchy were the chancellors.
From 1507, the title of Great Crown Chancellor was rotated between secular and ecclesiastic nobles. After the Union of Lublin in 1569 the office (both of the Chancellor and of the Deputy Chancellor) was doubled (into Crown - Poland proper - and Lithuanian chancellors). Chancellor and his Deputy Chancellor (who was not a direct subordinate of the chancellor) were responsible for the work of two chancelleries, Greater and Minor one. They were supposed to be in constant contact and develop common policies. Among their responsibilities were the foreign and internal affairs. They had also judiciary powers, leading so called ‘assessors’ courts ’, that were the highest appeal courts for people subjected to crowns laws (i.e. not subjected to ecclesiastic or magnates courts).
The Chancellors offices were the Chancellery (respectively Crown and Lithuanian, Greater and Minor ones). Chancelleries were staffed with regent, secretaries, writers, clerks and [metricant]]s (Polish: metrykant). Regent divided the work between the clerks. 2 secretaries (one responsible for private correspondence, second for official) presented the ready letters to the king for his signature. Writers designed the letters, clerks readied the final drafts. No copies were made, but instead they were written into the books called Metrics (Polish: Metryki), who were taken care by the two metricans (respectively 2 in Poland and 2 in Lithuania). Metrican of Great Chancellor was called the Great Metrican, the one serving Deputy Chancellor was a Minor Metrican. The staff of Chancellery had no wage, just like the Chancellors, but in the middle of each reception room was the box into which all clients were supposed to deposit a varying amount of money, and nobody who planned on coming back could afford to be mean.
Chancellor often gave speeches representing the royal will. The symbol of their office was the seal, which was used to seal all documents passing through his office. He also sealed documents signed by the monarch and could refuse to seal a document he considered illegal or damaging to the country (such documents had no power without his seal). When the king died, the seal was destroyed during funeral and new one given to him by the succeeding king. Therefore they were considered the guardians of the king and country, making sure the kings folly would not endanger the country by forcing it into an unnecessary war (among the wars prevented by the chancellors was the the great crusade against the Ottoman Empire planned by Wladyslaw IV Waza in 1630s).
The chancellor powers combined with the fact that wars required funds which were given by the Senat. The nobles (the szlachta) who controlled the Senate were usually unwilling to increase taxes and levvied upon them, which meant that Poland very rarely declared wars on its own. Usually it was attacked by its neighbors, and while it repelled all attacks till the end of 18th century, it almost never utilised any of its victories. The army was undermanned and under equipped (since usually any suggestion of bigger military budget when enemy was not on the doorstep was labeled as warmongering) and lands of Rzeczpospolita were constantly ravaged by new invasions, crippling its economy.
Last among the ministers were the Great Treasurers. They kept account of country’s finances, cash flow, State Treasury and controlled the making of coins. Since, like chancellors, they had no wages, corruption ran rampant and a sizable potion of state finances was lost in their pockets. If a Treasurer moved to another post, he had to presents accounts of his expenses, and if he died, his family was asked for them. A telling story is that of Boguslaw Leszczynski, who being a Great Treasurer (from 1650 to 1658) received an offer to become a Chancellor (which he accepted in 1658). He bribed all the members of parliament to grant him ‘absolutory’, and when one of them later opposed him, he asked, curious: “Who is the son of…that I have not paid off?’
Great Treasurers supervised the lesser officials like mincerz (who was in charge of coin minting), dispensators, curators, tax collectors, superintendents, duty officers and sub-tax collectors. It is useful to remember that in those times, goods – and people – were taxed not only at borders, but at bridges, crossroads and city gates.
List of Senatorial Offices
- Marszałek Wielki Koronny: Grand Marshal of the Crown
- Marszałek Wielki Litewski: Grand Marshal of Lithuania
- Kanclerz Wielki Koronny: Grand Chancellor of the Crown
- Kanclerz Wielki Litewski: Grand Chancellor of Lithuania
- Podkanclercy Koronny: Deputy Chancellor of the Crown
- Podkanclercy Litewski: Deputy Chancellor of Lithuania
- Podskarbi Wielki Koronny: Grand Treasurer of the Crown
- Podskarbi Wielki Litewski: Grand Treasurer of Lithuania
- Marszałek Nadworny Koronny: Court Marshall of the Crown
- Marszałek Nadworny Litewski: Court Marshall of Lithuania
- Marszałek Izby poselkiej: Marshall of the Chamber of Deputies
- Generał wielkopolski: General of Great Poland
- Marszałek Trybunału Koronnego: Marshall of the Crown Courts of Justice
- Marszałek Trybunału Litewskiego: Marshall of the Lithuanian Courts of Justice
- Wojewodowie: Palatine Governors
- Kasztelanowie: Castellans
The Senate also included religious prelates.
Central not Senat-related officials
As name suggests, non senat-related officials didn’t have the right to vote in Senat.
The most important were the Great Secretaries (Crown and Lithuanian). Only an ecclesiastic person could be a great secretary. They were considered to be more important than all district and court officials, with the sole exception of court marshal. They could act as chancellors where no chancellor was present. They dealt with secret letters, in senat they read kings letters and or sejm’s declarations. They often acted as assessors and were called ‘born assessors’.
Next were 4 Referendaries, 2 Secular and 2 Ecclesiastic, one of each was Crown’s, second Lithuanian. They rarely left the royal court, and their duties comprised of listening to petitions and complains which they referred (hence their name) to the king. They acted also as judges in cases involving peasants from kings lands, and often acted as assessors in other courts. Close to the office of Referandaries was the Instigator, or what we would call today – Chief National Prosecutor. One for Crown, one for Lithuania, their duty was to uncover and deal with crimes against the king and the country, and had the power to accuse all dignitaries safe the king.
Then came the Great Writers – 1 for Crown, 3 for Lithuania. Their duty was to clarify the royal decrees and send the letters to those dignitaries who must hear about them. They often acted as ambassadors and assessors. Crown Keeper was the person responsible for safeguarding the Royal Treasury, were royal insignias were kept. Keys to the treasury were kept by Great Treasurer and 6 voivodes, and without all of them, it could not be opened. Traditionally, Crown Keepers where chosen among the priests of Cracow’s Cathedral.
From 1647, the ministers were joined by Great Postmaster, supervisor of the Royal Post, founded in 1547. As mentioned earlier, the rule was that Polish officials had life long cadences. There were several notable exceptions from that rule. The most important among them was the Senat Marshal, who chaired the Senat meetings. He could not decide the topic of the meeting, but could suggest it. Traditionally, the Senat Marshal title was rotated among the Senators from 2 provinces of Rzeczpospolita (Wielkopolska and Malopolska) and Lithuania.
Senat Marshal chose the Senat Secretary, who was in charge of keeping records of Senat meetings. The highest Court for nobles was called The Tribunal, and was headed by Tribunal President and Marshal. Marshal was chosen from and by the judges themselves, while President dealt with matters involving ecclesiastics (and was a high-ranking priest himself). The second Court was called Crown Treasury court. Wages for all judges were decided on Sejm’s meetings.
Mines were supervised by żupnik. Other less important dignitaries, nominated by king or Sejm to deal with specific short term problems were called commissars, lustrates, revisers, delegates, legates and deputies.
Court Officials
Court officials are the most difficult to describe. Some held responsibilities important both the court and country, functions of others kept evolving during centuries. In time (usually with end of XVII century), the titles become only honorary and the king had to create another bunch of officials to deal with those responsibilities.
Court officials can be divided into those who dealt with king service and those who ensured the court and run smoothly (in XVI century, it consisted of approximately 1000-1500 people). Since the first group was not subjected to the rule of "incompabilitias", they often held another title, usually that of a smaller district officials like "starosta". Among those who dealt with king’s service, the most important one was the Master of the Kitchen, who supervised the kitchen staff and equipment as well as making of foods. During the feasts, he announced the dishes names.
Second was the Esquire Carver chose and started setting the table. During the feast, he directed the setting of dishes. He was aided by Lord High Steward during the feasts. Master Food-Cutter finished setting the table (with table utensils and plates), and during the feast cut all dishes that require the usage of knife. After cutting them, he tasted them (in XVII century it was just a tradition, from the days that they were used to detect poison).
Drinks were dealt with by Master Cup-Bearer and King's Cup-Bearer. The first one tasted drinks, poured and ordered them, the second one served them to the king after receiving them from the former one. For those that bore with me so far, here is a description of a banquet during king Zygmunt III reign in 1596, described by the secretary of papal nuncio (ambassador), Giorgio Paolo Mucante: "Each dish was first given, with a bow, by Master of the Kitchen to the Master Food-Cutter, who passed it to the Esquire Carver. He dipped a prepared piece of bread into the dish, touched it with his tongue and then threw it away into a nearby silver bin. It took quite a while before the king and the cardinal started eating, since they had to bear all the ceremonies. The Master Food-Cutter was bowing so often that I truly think that during that feast he bowed at least 3000 times"
The second group of the dignitaries was lead by Court Marshall (described above). Then there was:
- Chamberlain – in charge if kings court and economy on crown grounds
- Standard-keeper - carrying king's or country's banner
- Sword-bearer - carrying sword before the king
- Master of the Horse - in charge of kings stables and horse breeding grounds
- Master of the Royal Hunt - organized hunts, guarded royal forests from poachers
- Court Treasurer managed the finances of the king, kept account of his personal treasure and supervised the courts treasures
- King’s Secretaries – dealt with kings personal correspondence
- King’s Chaplain – headed the courts masses, supervised the liturgical courts treasures and headed the courts musicians
- and a lot of other dignitaries, less and less important, dealing with things like food supplies, transport, etc.
Queen had her separate court, but it was staffed with women and its influence over the country was much smaller.
List of Court Officials
- Sekretarz wielki koronny i litewski: Grand Secretary of the Crown and Lithuania
- Referendarz koronny i litewski: Recorder of the Crown and Lithuania
- Podskarbi nadworny koronny i litewski: Court Treasurer of the Crown and Lithuania
- Podkomorzy nadworny koronny i litewski: Court Chamberlain of the Crown and Lithuania
- Chorąży wielki koronny i litewski: Grand Standard-bearer of the Crown and Lithuania
- Chorąży nadworny koronny i litewski: Court Standard-bearer of the Crown and Lithuania
- Miecznik koronny i litewski: Sword-bearer of the Crown and Lithuania
- Kuchmistrz koronny i litewski: Master of the Kitchen of the Crown and Lithuania
- Koniuszy koronny i litewski: Equerry (Master of Horse) (Master of the Stables) of the Crown and Lithuania
- Podczaszy koronny i litewski: Server (Sewer) (Cupbearer) of the Crown and Lithuania
- Krajczy koronny i litewski: Carver of the Crown and Lithuania
- Stolnik koronny i litewski: Pantler (Master of the Pantry) of the Crown and Lithuania
- Podstoli koronny i litewski: Steward of the Crown and Lithuania
- Cześnik korony: Cupbearer of the Crown
- Łowczy koronny I litewski koronny I litewski: Master of the Hunt of the Crown and Lithuania
- Łowczy nadworny: Court Huntsman
- Regent kancelarii koronny i litewski: Regent of the Chancellery of the Crown and Lithuania
- Metrykant koronny i litewski: Record-Keeper of the Crown and Lithuania
- Pisarz sądowy koronny i litewski: Judicial Clerk of the Crown and Lithuania
- Pisarz wielki koronny i litewski: Grand Clerk of the Crown and Lithuania
- Pisarz skarbowy koronny i litewski: Clerk of the Treasury of the Crown and Lithuania
- Kusztosz korronny: Warden of the Crown and Skarbny litewski: Treasurer of Lithuania
- Instygator koronny I litewski: Attorney General of the Crown and Lithuania
- Geometra litewski: Surveyor General of Lithuania
- Wojski litewski: Tribune (Seneschal) of Lithuania
- Piwniczy litewski: Butler of Lithuania
Military Officials
Hetmans were the highest military officials. As most of the positions in first Rzeczpospolita, hetman was a job for life and couldn’t be removed even if he was a poor commander. Until beginning of XVIII century, they were not paid for their job.
Hetmans were very independent; they could keep their own foreign contacts with Ottoman Empire, Russia and Tatars. They distributed the military budgets as they felt like and as the highest commanders and administrators, hetman made administrative and juridical law concerning military. From 1590 those had the same power as Sejm’s decisions.
Hetmans symbol was a mace, which was added to his coat of arms. There were 2 types of hetmans (besides the division into Crown and Lithuanian) – Great and Field. Field were subordinates of Great ones, and were sometimes called Border Hetmans, since they evolved from commanders of permanent garrisons on Polish south-eastern borders (which was a great school of combat, since it was a land almost constantly attacked by Ottomans and Tatars).
Kozak’s were commanded by a commissar, chosen by the hetmans for the period of 2 years. Below hetmans were regimentars, the commanders of common mobilization in voivodships.
Hetmans and regimentars were accompanied by a Staff composed of officers named: Great Guardians, Field Guardians, Field Writers, Great Camp Leader and Field Camp Leaders. Those officers were paid for their work (Lithuanian Field Guardian, Field Writer and Camp Leader received 15000 polish zloty’s per year. Crown Field Writer received 30000 per year).
Great Guardian supervised the scout forces during movement and camping and commanded the front guard (however, if both hetmans were present, field one acted as Great Guardian). Field Guardians were found only on the eastern borders.
Field Writers kept accounts of people, equipment and fortifications. He was in charge of paying soldiers wages.
Camp Leaders were responsible for choosing the current camping place for the armies, building the camps, logistics and security inside the camps.
Several new military titles were created after the 1635:
- 1637 – General of Artillery (responsible for artillery forces, their logistics and such)
- 1670s – General of Logistics, General of Medics, General of Finances
General of Inspections controlled the combat readiness of troops, however it is unclear when they were created (besides the phrase ‘in XVII century’).
See: Coats of arms of hetmans and several other dignitaries here:[1].
List of Military Officials
- Hetman Wielki Koronny: Grand Commander of the Crown
- Hetman Wielki Litewski: Grand Commander of Lithuania
- Hetman Polny Koronny: Field Commander of the Crown
- Hetman Polny Litewski: Field Commander of Lithuania
- Strażnik Wielki Koronny: Grand Guardian of the Crown
- Strażnik Wielki Litewski: Grand Guardian of Lithuania
- Strażnik Polny Koronny: Field Guardian of the Crown Crown
- Strażnik Polny Litewski: Field Guardian of Lithuania
- Pisarz Polny Koronny: Field Writer of the Crown
- Pisarz Polny Litewski: Field Writer of Lithuania
- Oboźny Wielki Koronny: Grand Camp Leader of the Crown
- Oboźny Wielki Litewski: Grand Camp Leader of Lithuania
- Oboźny Polny Koronny: Field Camp Leader of the Crown
- Oboźny Polny Litewski: Field Camp Leader of Lithuania
- Sędzia Wojskowy Koronny: Military Judge of the Crown
- Sędzia Koronny Litewski: Military Judge of Lithuania
- General artyllerii koronny i litewski: General of Artillery of the Crown and Lithuania
- Regent Wojski litewski: Regent Tribune of Lithuania
- Regimentarz: Commander of an army group or substitute of Hetman
- Rotmistrz: Commander of infantry or cavalry regiment
- Towarzysz: Cavalry soldier
- Towarzysz husarski: Heavy-cavalry soldier
- Towarzysz pancerny: Medium-cavalry soldier
- Pocztowy: Cavalry soldier, subordinate of Towarzysz
District Offices
Constitution from 1611 (amended in 1633 and 1635) describes many officials. But bear in mind that exceptions to the rule were the rule. Sejm rules were treated just as suggestions, and in Belz Voivodship, for example, there were only 4 dignitaries (instead of total 15), most north voivodships had about 5, while in Wołyń and Bracław the hierarchical order was almost reversed. Each province or district has its own set of officials - for list of provinces please see the article on provinces and geography of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
District officials were nominated by the king with a few exceptions (local parliaments (sejmiki) chose Chamberlains, District judges, District judge deputies, District Writers and on Lithuania also Standard Nearers and District marshals). Chamberlains except for a name had nothing in common with Court officials of the same name. They led a court (Chamberlain Court) which had jurisdiction over territorial disputes. District judge headed the District Court, which had jurisdiction over civil and some penal law regarding local nobility.
City starost was in charge of king’s own territories. They were supposed to keep them in good economical and military shape. While in time those administrative duties got smaller (since kings gave away more and more land), city starost kept being leaders of City’s Courts (sady grodzkie), which dealt with most of the penal law and had jurisdiction over all local and traveling nobility. They dealt with most severe cases (killings, rapes, robberies) and were quite harsh (robbery on the road was punishable by death), which made Poland a relatively safer country then its neighbors (unless one just happened to be in Poland while one or more neighbors invaded it). They also held the "law of sword", which meant that they acted as enforcers for verdicts of all other courts.
Non-city starosts did not had the juridical powers. Standard bearers carried the local banner during Royal Ceremonies and in wars, when local troops were present in the army. During war, Lords of Armies kept order and security on their local territories. Ciwuns responsibilities on Lithuania were similar to non-city starosts. District marshals presided over local parliaments (on Crown lands, district marshals were chosen only for a duration on the parliament session, so they were much less powerful than Lithuanian ones chosen for life).
Crown
- Podkomorzy: Chamberlain
- Starosta grodowy: Town Mayor
- Chorąży: Standard-bearer
- Sędzia ziemski: District Judge
- Stolnik: Pantler, Esquire carver, (master of the Pantry)
- Podczaszy: Master Cup-Bearer
- Podsędek: District judge deputy
- Podstoli: Lord High Steward
- Cześnik: King's Cup-Bearer
- Łowczy: Master of the Royal Hunt
- Wojski wiekszy: Greater Lord of Army
- Pisarz ziemski: District Writer (Clerk)
- Miecznik: Sword-Bearer
- Wojski mniejszy: Minor Lord of Army
- Skarbnik: Treasurer
Lithuania
- Marszałek ziemski: District marshall
- Ciwun: Bailiff
- Podkomorzy: Chamberlain
- Starosta grodzki: Town Mayor
- Chorąży: Standard-Bearer
- Sędzia ziemski: District judge
- Wojski wiekszy: Greater Lord of Army
- Stolnik: Pantler, Esquire carver {master of the Pantry)
- Podstoli: Lord High Steward
- Pisarz ziemski: District Writer (Clerk)
- Podwojewódzki or Podstarosta: Deputy Voivode or Deputy Starost
- Sędzia grodzki: City Judge
- Pisarz grodzki: City Writer (Clerk)
- Podczaszy: Master Cup-Bearer
- Cześnik: King's Cup-Bearer
- Horodniczy: Castellan
- Skarbnik: Treasurer
- Łowczy: Master of the Royal Hunt
- Miecznik: Sword-Bearer
- Koniuszy: Equerry, Master of Horse, Master of the Stables
- Oboźny: Camp Leader, Quartermaster
- Strażnik: Guardian
- Krajczy: Master Food-Cutter, Carver
- Leśniczy: Master of Forests
- Mostowniczy: Master of Brigdes
- Budowniczy: Master of Constructions (Architect)
Prussia
- Podkomorzy: Chamberlain
- Chorąży: Standard-Bearer
- Sędzia: Judge
- Lawnik: Alderman
- Pisarz: Clerk
- Podwojewoda: Deputy Voivode, Deputy Governor, Lieutenant Governor
Borough and judicial officials
The most important official was the starost. He was supported by deputy borough starost (podstarosci grodowy), burgraby (burgrabia), notary (notariusz) and writer (pisarz). Deputy borough starost helped district starost and acted in his name with all his powers during his absence. The lower city officials were borough rejent (rejent grodzki), borough notary (notariusz grodzki), borough writer (pisarz grodzki) and the common clerks – underwrites (podpiskowie). In the eastern territories from 1667, bordering with Russia, there was an office of Border Judge, who cooperated with Russian judges in cases involving parties from 2 countries. His rulings were final.
Judges were often chosen by locals and had little formal training, therefore the quality of the courts varied from judge to judge and corruption levels were high. Advocates, on the other hand, were required to have professional training. Sometimes court included an assessor, who helped the judge and collected the money (fines and payments). Prosecutors were extremely rare. Instigators kept order and security on court grounds, and messenger (wozny) was responsible for delivering official letters from court (not the safest job around, considering some nobles attitudes).
List of Borough and judicial officials
- Podstarosta grodowy: Deputy Borough Starost
- Burgrabia: Burgrave
- Notariusz: Notary
- Rejent grodzki: Borough Rejent
- Sędzia grodzki: Borough Judge
- Podsętek grodzki: Deputy Borough Judge
- Pisarz grodzki: Borough Writer (Clerk)
Town and village officials
Those officials were very stable, having evolved around XIII century and lasting almost unchanged till the end of 1st Rzeczpospolita. Administration system came from Germany along with the ‘magdeburgian law’.
Each city (no exceptions) had a Council and Bench, where Council was the administrative branch and Bench was the judicial branch. New Council was chosen by the old one run out. It was responsible for administration, law, privileges, security, finances, guild control and such. Council chose the Mayor and his members decision was final – even starost or voivod could only listen to the mayor’s pledge and could not refuse to give him his seal. Council met daily in bigger cities, less often in smaller ones.
Mayor was the leader of the Council and controlled the executive branch. He was responsible for conciliation, defence of poor, and keeping order by fighting against alcohol abuse and hazard games. Second to the Mayor was Council Writer, who run the City’s Chancellery. City’s syndic (syndyk miejski) was responsible for collecting taxes in the city and supervised the tax collectors. Security and order in the city was the responsibility of hutman. He also supervised the city’s prison and keyman (who locked/opened the city’s gates at dawn/dusk).
Lonar acted as the city’s treasurer, keeping eye on its finances. He supervised the weighters, who controlled the weights on marketplace in order to ensure fair trade. Big cities also had scores of other less common officials, like Pipemasters, responsible for pipes and wells, Fireman Chiefs, City’s Translators who helped the foreigners and looked for spies and many more. Bench was chaired by a wójt. He and the Bench members were chosen by the Council for a year’s term from lesser city officials (writers, clerks, etc..).
City’s Chef Executioner in Poland was responsible not only for executing criminals sentenced by the Bench but often for executions of criminals sentenced by all other non-military courts in Poland. They were well paid, sometimes acted as doctors, but were also often considered outcasts by the society and lived outside city’s walls. Village leader was called "sołtys" and was an administrative, executive and judicial chief for the village, responsible only to the village owner.
List of Town and village officials
- Burmistrz: Major
- Wójt:
- Pisarz rady: Council Writer (pisarz rady)
- Syndyk miejski: City’s syndic
- Hutman:
- Lonar:
Other
- Starosta grodowy v. sądowy: Starost of the Town or Court
- Starosta generał wielkopolski: Starost General of Great Poland
- Starosta generał małopolski: Starost General of Little Poland
- Burgarbia zamku krakowskiego: Burgrave of the Castle of Cracow
- Surrogat: Substitute
See also
External links and references
Last updated: 10-15-2005 10:35:48
