Stolnik

For the village in Bulgaria, see Stolnik, Bulgaria. For the village in Slovenia, see Stolnik, Slovenia. For a related Romanian term, see Stolnic.

Stolnik was a court office in Poland and Muscovy, responsible for serving the royal table.

Stolnik in Crown of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania

In Crown of Poland under the first Piast dukes and kings, this was a court office.

From the 14th century, it was an honorary office in the Polish Kingdom and later in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, since 16h century.

• Stolnik wielki koronny — Grand Pantler of the Crown
• Stolnik wielki litewski — Grand Pantler of Lithuania
• Stolnik koronny — Pantler of the Crown
• Stolnik litewski — Pantler of Lithuania
• Stolnik nadworny koronny — Court Pantler of the Crown

According to the 1768 office hierarchy, the stolnik's position in the Crown of Poland was superior to that of podczaszy and inferior to that of District Judge (Crown of Poland); in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, superior to podstoli and inferior to wojski.

Stolnik in Muscovy

An illustration of a Russian royal stolnik in the book of Fyodor Solntsev, 1869

Stolniks (Russian: сто́льник, IPA: [ˈstolʲnʲɪk]) were known as palace servants of the Russian rulers since the 12th century. In the 16th and 17th centuries they were young nobles who brought dishes to the tsar'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 or in the army. They were ranked fifth in the hierarchy of Muscovite bureaucracy, after boyars, okolnichys, duma nobles, and duma 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.

See also

• Offices in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
• Stavilac