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This article discusses the organizational and administrative structure of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a confederative aristocratic republic 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 Lower Sejm (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. The Commonwealth's administrative system was a pre-bureaucracy. In terms of Max Weber's tripartite classification of authority, it was, as with other contemporary monarchies, largely based on "traditional domination". There was, however, evidence of "rational-legal authority" in the nobility's respect for laws such as the ''Pacta conventa''. ==Senatorial offices== The Privy council and Upper chamber of the First Republic's Sejm (parliament, or diet) was the ''Senat'' (now Senate), comprising Bishops, Voivode, Castellan and ministers (central officials). The list of dignitaries eligible to serve in the ''Senat'' had been finalized when, in the Union of Lublin (1569), the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were transformed into the confederal state of Crown of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The most important official was the Primate, who was the Archbishop of Gniezno. From 1572, the first time that Poland had been without a king (the Jagiellon Dynasty having died out with King Zygmunt II August), the Archbishop of Gniezno served as ''interrex'', i.e., as interim head of state until a new king could be elected. He represented the country and prepared elections for a new king. In addition, the Archbishop of Gniezno had the power to call a new ''Senat'' session, if he deemed it important to do so, even in the absence of the King. He could also invoke the "''de non praestanda obedientia''" article, giving the country the right to legally depose the King. From among other senators, he chose his own court marshal (often a Castellan). That person acted as the Archbishop's messenger during ''Senat'' meetings, giving signs (by moving a cross) that conveyed how the Archbishop wished his allies to vote. The Archbishop of Gniezno had two deputies: the bishops of Wrocław and Poznań. 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 Vilna 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 to 1596), Castellans were often considered subordinate to Voivodes. A Castellan was in charge of part of a Voivodship (till the 15th century called a ''Castellany'', and thereafter divided into provinces for Major Castellans and powiats for Minor Castellans). From 1565, the principle of "''incompatibilitas''" ("incompatibility") forbade Voivodes and Castellans to hold a second title as a Minister, except for the post of Hetman. Ministers were comparable to modern central-government officials. They were 10 officials (5 for the Crown of Poland, 5 for Lithuania). The Ministers were the ''Grand Marshal of the Crown'' (''Marszałek Wielki Koronny''), ''Grand Marshal of Lithuania'' (''Marszałek Wielki Litewski''), ''Grand Chancellor of the Crown'' (''Kanclerz Wielki Koronny''), ''Grand Chancellor of Lithuania'' (''Kanclerz Wielki Litewski''), ''Vice-Chancellor of the Crown'' (''Podkanclerzy Koronny''), ''Vice-Chancellor of Lithuania'' (''Podkanclerzy Litewski''), ''Grand Treasurer of the Crown'' (''Podskarbi Wielki Koronny''), ''Grand Treasurer of Lithuania'' (''Podskarbi Wielki Litewski''), ''Court Marshal of the Crown'' (''Marszałek Nadworny Koronny'') and ''Court Marshal of Lithuania'' (''Marszałek Nadworny Litewski''). Court Marshals were considered subordinate to Grand Marshals. Lithuanian ministers, while vested with the same powers as Crown Ministers, were considered below them in precedence. Hetmans were also considered "Ministers" but had no seat in the ''Senat''. A Marshal's duties consisted in 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 of law with a marshal's judge (''sędzia marszałkowski''), marshal's clerk (''pisarz marszałkowski'') and ''assessor''s (singular: ''asesor''). These courts passed sentence on the spot, without possibility of appeal. For crimes such as drawing a weapon in the King's presence, the penalty was death. A Marshal's court had jurisdiction over all crimes committed against the royal court and by courtiers. When the King traveled, Marshals supervised the local Voivodes. The Marshals decided who would be admitted to royal audience. They were the organizers and masters of royal and court ceremonies (including weddings, funerals and the like). They were the masters of the court, kept track of lesser courtiers, and (where applicable) set their salaries. Each Marshal wielded a marshal's staff, which he had received from the Chancellor (''Kanclerz''). In exchange, all Chancellor nominations were heralded by the Marshals. If no Marshal was present, his functions were carried out by a Grand Treasurer or secular Grand Chancellor. On formal occasions and during travel, where appropriate, a Marshal with his staff of office preceded the King. Close after the Marshals in the hierarchy were the Chancellors. From 1507, the title of Grand Chancellor of the Crown was rotated between secular and ecclesiastic Chancellors. After the Union of Lublin (1569), the two offices, Chancellor (''Kanclerz'') and Subchancellor (''Podkanclerzy'') were doubled (Chancellors of the Crown, for the Crown of Poland, and Chancellors of Lithuania). The Chancellor and his respective Subchancellor (who was not a direct subordinate of the Chancellor) were responsible for the work of two Chancelleries, a Major and a Minor. These were expected to be in constant contact and to develop common policies. Their responsibilities included foreign and internal affairs. The Chancellors' offices were the "Chancelleries" (Crown and Lithuanian, Major and Minor). The Chancelleries were staffed with a "''Regens''," Secretaries (singular: ''Sekretarz''), Scriptors (singular: ''Pisarz''), clerks and "''metrykant''s." The ''Regens'' divided the work among the clerks. Two Secretaries (one for private, the other for official, correspondence) presented the ready letters to the King for signature. The Scriptors drafted the letters, the clerks prepared the final copies. The documents were also copied into books called "''Metryki''" (singular: ''Metryka''), which were kept by two "''metrykant''s", each, in Poland and Lithuania. The Grand Chancellor's ''Metrykant'' was called the Grand Metrykant, the Subchancellor's was the Lesser Metrykant. The Chancelleries' staffs, like the Chancellors, received no wages, but the middle of each reception room featured a box into which clients were expected to deposit varying amounts of money, and no one who planned to return could afford to be stingy. The Chancellors also had judiciary powers, exercised through ''assessors’ courts'', which were the highest appellate courts for persons subject to crown law (i.e., not subject to ecclesiastic or magnat courts). Each such court was staffed by a secretary, Referendary (''Referendarz'') and writer. In the 17th century, each such court was enlarged to include four assessors; and, in 1775, a ''metrykant''s and a ''regens''. The Chancellor often gave speeches representing the royal will. The symbol of his 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 that he considered illegal or damaging to the state (such documents had no force without his seal). When the King died, the seal was destroyed at his funeral and a new one was issued to the Chancellor by the late King's successor. Therefore the Chancellors were considered the guardians of the King and state, ensuring that the King's folly would not endanger the state by forcing it into an unnecessary war (the wars that were prevented by the Chancellors included a great crusade against the Ottoman Empire that King Władysław IV Waza had planned in the 1630s). The Chancellor's powers tended to be reinforced by the fact that wars required funds that were appropriated by the ''Senate''. The richer nobles who controlled the Senate were usually loath to increase and levy taxes upon themselves, which meant that Poland herself very rarely declared wars. Usually she was attacked by her neighbors, and while she repelled all attacks till the end of the 18th century, she almost never exploited her victories. The army was undermanned and underequipped (since usually any suggestion to augment the military budget when an enemy was not on the Commonwealth's doorstep was labeled as warmongering) and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth's lands were constantly ravaged by new invasions that crippled the economy. Last among the ministers were the Grand Treasurers. They kept accounts of the state finances, cash flow and State Treasury, and controlled the minting of coin. Since, like the Chancellors, they received no wages, corruption ran rampant and a sizable portion of state finances was lost in their pockets. If a Treasurer moved to another post, he was obliged to render accounts of his disbursements, and if he died, his family were required to produce them. A telling story is that of Bogusław Leszczyński, who while a Grand Treasurer (1650–1658) was offered a Chancellor's post, which he accepted in 1658. He bribed the members of the Parliament to grant him "absolution", and when one of them later opposed him, he asked, curious: "Who's this son of a bitch that I failed to pay off?" Grand Treasurers supervised lesser officials such as the Master of the Mint (''mincerz''), ''dyspensator''s, ''kurator''s, tax collectors (''poborca podatkowy''), ''superintendent''s (overseer of customs officers), customs officers (''celnik'') and ''subkolektor''s. It should be remembered that, in those times, goods—as well as 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 * ''Podkanclerzy Koronny'' – Deputy Chancellor of the Crown * ''Podkanclerzy Litewski'' – Deputy Chancellor of Lithuania * ''Podskarbi Wielki Koronny'' – Grand Treasurer of the Crown * ''Podskarbi Wielki Litewski'' – Grand Treasurer of Lithuania * ''Marszałek Nadworny Koronny'' – Court Marshal of the Crown * ''Marszałek Nadworny Litewski'' – Court Marshal of Lithuania * ''Voivodes (Palatines)'' (singular: ''Palatinus'') – an ancient dignity, merged with that of Palatines: Governors of Voivodeships. The number of Voivodes slowly increased when new Voivodships were created; at its greatest extent, the Commonwealth had 37. See Voivodes of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth for details. * ''Kasztelanowie'' (singular: ''Kasztelan'') – Castellans: heads of ''kasztelanie'' (castellanies). Their number also varied. The most important Castellan was that of Kraków, whose position in the hierarchy was actually superior to that of a Voivode. The Castellans were of three categories: * * ''Kasztelanowie Wyróżnieni'' – Distinguished Castellans (of Kraków, Vilnius and Trakai). They were seated among the Voivodes. * * ''Kasztelanowie Więksi (Krzesłowi)'' – Major Castellans (there were 31). * * ''Kasztelanowie Mniejsi (Drążkowi)'' – Minor Castellans (there were 49). * * ''Kasztelanowie Konarscy (Koniuszy)'' – Equerry Castellans (there were 3). See Castellans of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth for details. The Senate also included Bishops of Poland. See Bishops of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth for details. After 1668, though there was no law explicitly forbidding it, no non Roman Catholics were nominated to the senatorial offices. It is interesting to note, that even the 1717 laws did not forbid Calvinists or the Orthodox known as "dyssydents" to sit in the Senate. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Offices in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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