Voivodes of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
Voivodes of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth were one of the highest ranking
Powers
The powers of voivodes varied, as determined by historical precedent specific to each voivodeship. The least powerful of whom were in Halych Ruthenia (Ruś Halicka), and the most powerful of whom were vassals answerable to the king alone, in Royal Prussia (Prusy Królewskie). Those powers changed over time as well.
The office of the voivode was created in the
In the field of the military, the voivodeship retained only the role of the leader of a
Voivodes of Cracow, Poznań,
Voivodes were appointed by the king until 1775, when the power to appoint them devolved to the Permanent Council (Rada Nieustająca). The exceptions to this rule were the voivodes of Połock and Vilnius, who were elected by the szlachta (nobility) from their respective lands (although they still had to be approved by the King). Like all officials in the Commonwealth, only members of the szlachta were eligible to hold an official post.
After 1565, the principle of incompatibilitas ("incompatibility") precluded voivodes and castellans from holding a second title as a minister—except for the post of hetman—as well as the other voivode of starosta grodowy in his own voivodeship.
In the Commonwealth, where the nobility forbade the use of foreign honorary hereditary
Although many individual voivodes had significant power in the Commonwealth, it was not by virtue of their title, but owing to their wealth and influence, which eventually secured them the prestigious title of the voivode. Thus, it is not the title that earned the title.
List
Even when a voivodeship ceased to exist after borders shifted, the office remained intact and the voivode preserved his privileges, such as the right to sit and vote in the Senate. Thus the number of voivodes increased in time, from 32 after the creation of the Commonwealth in 1569 to 37 by the time of its end in 1795.
This is a list of the voivodes’ precedence sitting in the Senate of Poland. They took their seats after the bishops, as the first secular officials, although in practice their power was less than that of Ministers of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (who however sat last in the Senate).
Note that among them sat three distinguished castellans (wyróznieni kasztelanowie):
For a chronological list of specific office holders, see the specific articles below.
- In 1569, after Union of Lublin:
- Voivode of Kraków (wojewoda krakowski). Seat: Kraków.
- Voivode of Poznań (wojewoda poznański). Seat: Poznań.
- Voivode of Vilnius (wojewoda wileński). Seat: Vilnius.
- Voivode of Sandomierz (wojewoda sandomierski). Seat: Sandomierz.
- Voivode of Kalisz (wojewoda kaliski). Seat: Kalisz.
- Voivode of Trakai (wojewoda trocki). Seat: Trakai.
- Voivode of Sieradz (wojewoda sieradzki). Seat: Sieradz.
- Voivode of Łęczyca (wojewoda łęczycki). Seat: Łęczyca.
- Voivode of Brześć Kujawski (wojewoda brzeski kujawawski). Seat: Brześć Kujawski.
- .
- Voivode of Inowrocław (wojewoda inowrocławski). Seat: Inowrocław.
- Lwów(Lviv).
- Łuck.
- Kamieniec Podolski.
- Smoleńsk. Notes: province lost in the 1650s, titular office only afterwards.
- Voivode of Lublin (wojewoda lubelski). Seat: Lublin.
- Połock.
- Bełsk(Bełz).
- Nowogródek.
- Voivode of Płock (wojewoda płocki). Seat: Płock.
- Witebsk.
- Voivode of Masovia (wojewoda mazowiecki). Seat: Warsaw (Warszawa).
- Voivode of Podlaskie (wojewoda podlaski). Seat: Drohiczyn.
- Voivode of Rawa (wojewoda rawski). Seat: Rawa Mazowiecka.
- Voivode of Brześć Litewski(wojewoda brzeski litewski).
- Voivode of Chełmno (wojewoda chełminski). Seat: Chełmno.
- Voivode of Mścisław (wojewoda mścisławski). Seat: Mścisław.
- Voivode of Malbork (wojewoda malborski). Seat: Malbork.
- Bracław.
- Voivode of Pomerania (wojewoda pomorski). Seat: Gdańsk (Danzig).
- Voivode of Mińsk (wojewoda miński). Seat: Mińsk.
- Dyneburg.
- Created around 1598 and lost in the 1620s:
- Voivode of Wenden (wojewoda wendenski). Seat: Wenden (Cēsis).
- Parnawa.
- Dorpat.
- Created in 1635:
- Czernihów.
- Created in 1768:
- Voivode of Gniezno (wojewoda gnieźnieński). Seat: Gniezno. Notes: Created in 1768 from the remains of Kalisz Voivodeship after the First Partition. See Gniezno Voivodeship
See also
- Administrative division of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth