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. ==Town and village offices==