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.
[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.
[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.
[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).
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.
This division was never complete, but there was a group of offices whose roles were essentially limited to serving the court and the monarch.
Apart from the aforementioned offices, the court included a significantly larger group of people, both honorary courtiers and servants.
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.
They were in charge of assembling local nobility's military forces in the event of a pospolite ruszenie (levée en masse).
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.
He was supported by a Borough Substarosta (podstarości grodowy), Burgrave (Burgrabia), Notary (Notariusz) and Scriptor (Pisarz).
He was responsible for conciliation, the care of the poor, and maintaining order by suppressing alcohol abuse and games of chance.
He and the other Bench members were chosen by the Council for a year's term from among lesser city officials (writers, clerks, etc.).
They were well paid, sometimes functioned as physicians, but were also often considered social outcasts and lived outside the city walls.
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.
Furthermore, having a title, albeit fictional, emphasized the position of an individual nobleman as a keen citizen and co-creator of the Commonwealth.
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.