Stolnik (, , , , ) was a court office in

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Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

and

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, responsible for serving the royal table, then an honorary court title and a district office. It approximately corresponds to English term "pantler".

Stolnik in Crown of Poland

In the Crown of Poland under the first

Piast The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I (–992). The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of King Casimir III the Great. Branches of ...

dukes and kings, this was a court office. From the 14th century, it was an honorary court title in the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

, since the 16th century. * Grand Stolnik of the Crown () * Stolnik of the Crown () * Court Stolnik of the Crown () According to the 1768 district office hierarchy, the Stolnik's position in the Crown of Poland was superior to that of Deputy cup-bearer and inferior to that of district judge.

Stolnik in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

In Lithuania, the Stolnik's position emerged in the late 15th century, comparatively later than Marshal,

Treasurer A treasurer is a person responsible for the financial operations of a government, business, or other organization. Government The treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The treasure ...

, and

Cup-bearer A cup-bearer was historically an officer of high rank in royal courts, whose duty was to pour and serve the drinks at the royal table. On account of the constant fear of plots and intrigues (such as poisoning), a person had to be regarded as thor ...

, with the first Grand Stolnik of Lithuania, , being known from 1475. Initially, the Stolnik took care of the Grand Duke's food warehouses, distribution of food, his manor's parks, gardens, ponds, and villages assigned to the estates. However, in the late 16th century, the position became purely ceremonial and the individual was charged with serving the Grand Duke at the table only during feasts. It was the sons of

Lithuanian nobility The Lithuanian nobility () or ''szlachta'' of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (, ) was historically a legally privileged hereditary elite class in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth (including during period of foreign r ...

that began their service in the ruler's court who were assigned the role of the Stolnik . Between the 16th and 18th centuries, the Stolnik came from various families such as Alšėniškiai, Kęsgaila, , Hlebavičiai,

Chodkiewicz The House of Chodkiewicz (; ) was one of the most influential Szlachta, noble families of Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Lithuanian-Ruthenians, Ruthenian descent within the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 16th and 17th century.Chester S. L. D ...

, Radziwiłł, Sapieha and others.

Stanisław August Poniatowski Stanisław II August (born Stanisław Antoni Poniatowski; 17 January 1732 – 12 February 1798), known also by his regnal Latin name Stanislaus II Augustus, and as Stanisław August Poniatowski (), was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuani ...

was the Stolnik of Lithuania from 1755 to 1764, while the last one from 1764 to 1795 was Józef Klemens Czartoryski. There were two types of Stolnik in Lithuania: * Grand Stolnik of Lithuania (; ) * Stolnik of Lithuania (; ) According to the 1768 district office hierarchy of the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

, the Stolnik was superior to '' podstoli'' and inferior to '' wojski''.

Stolnik in Russia

''Stolniks'' were known as palace servants of the Russian rulers since the 13th century. In the 16th and 17th centuries they were young nobles who brought dishes to the

tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...

's table, looked after his bedroom, and accompanied him in travels. The highest category comprised the ''room'' or ''closer stolniks''. ''Stolniks'' could simultaneously serve in the

foreign office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United ...

or in the

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

. They were ranked fifth in the hierarchy of Russian bureaucracy, after ''

boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Bulgaria, Kievan Rus' (and later Russia), Moldavia and Wallachia (and later Romania), Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. C ...

s'', ''

okolnichy Okolnichy (, ) was an old Russian court official position. According to the ''Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary'', directives on the position of ''okolnichy'' date back to the 14th century. Judging by the Muscovite records from the 16th a ...

s'',

duma A duma () is a Russian assembly with advisory or legislative functions. The term ''boyar duma'' is used to refer to advisory councils in Russia from the 10th to 17th centuries. Starting in the 18th century, city dumas were formed across Russia ...

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

s, and

'' dyaks''. ''Stolniks'' were also attached to episcopal administrations as were other similar offices also found in the grand princely or tsarist administration. For example, ''stolniks'' are found in documents from the archiepiscopal records in

Veliky Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the ...

.B. D. (Boris Dmitrevich) Grekov, ''Novgorodskii Dom sviatoi Sofii; opyt izucheniia organizatsii i vnutrennikh otnoshenii krupnoi tserkovnoi votchiny, chast” I'' (St. Petersburg: M. Aleksandrova, 1914. Reprinted in Izbrannye trudy, vol. 4: 7-436).

References

Court titles Polish titles Lithuanian titles * Court titles in the Middle Ages Food services occupations Ceremonial occupations Slavic titles {{Russia-hist-stub

Stolnik in Crown of Poland

Stolnik in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Stolnik in Russia

See also

References