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Hetmans of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth were the highest-ranking military officers, second only to the King, in the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...
. The first Polish title of Grand Crown Hetman was created in 1505. The title of
hetman ( uk, гетьман, translit=het'man) is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders. Used by the Czechs in Bohemia since the 15th century. It was the title of the second-highest military ...
was given to the leader of the
Polish Army The Land Forces () are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 62,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history stre ...
and until 1581 it was awarded only for a specific campaign or war. Later it became a permanent title, as did all the titles in the
Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to: Historical political entities * Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031 * Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exi ...
and Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It could not be revoked unless treachery had been proven (from 1585). Hetmans were not paid for their services by the Royal Treasury.


Field and Great Hetmans

From the end of 16th century there were two hetmans in the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was Partitions of Poland, partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire, Habsburg Empire of ...
and two hetmans in
the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has differ ...
: a Field Hetman and a Great Hetman (sometimes translated as Grand Hetman). As a result, there were in total four hetman titles: Great Crown Hetman, Field Crown Hetman, Great Lithuanian Hetman and Field Lithuanian Hetman. During joint military operations of the Crown and Grand Duchy of Lithuania armies, the Grand Crown Hetman usually was considered superior to others hetmans and served as commander-in-chief if the war actions ran along the borders of the Grand Duchy and vice versa. Grand Hetmans were usually in command of the professional and mobilised army and during peace stayed at the capital involving themselves in politics, guarding the interests of the army and planning campaigns. Polish Field Hetman was subordinates of Grand Hetman and when on the same battlefield commanded the mercenaries and
artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during si ...
. During peace they usually were deployed on the eastern and southern borders of the Commonwealth, and commanded all local forces against constant skirmishes and small invasions of the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...
and its
vassals A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzera ...
. Field Hetman were also called Frontier Hetman, since they did the same job as commanders of frontier garrisons before the title of hetman was introduced. Lithuanian Field Hetman initially was called Court Hetman and commanded the guard of the Grand Duke, while Land Hetman commanded militia. Later this difference disappeared and they were renamed Field and Great Hetmans accordingly. Contrary to Polish practice Lithuanian Field Hetman had full control on army under his command and wasn't subordinated to the Great Hetman. For a short period there was also an office of Royal Court Hetman, but it never gained much influence.


Responsibilities and privileges

Hetman's competences and privileges, first officially described in 1527 in the act of nomination for
Jan Tarnowski Jan Amor Tarnowski (Latin: Joannes Tarnovius; 1488 – 16 May 1561) was a Polish nobleman, knight, military commander, military theoretician, and statesman of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland. He was Grand Crown Hetman from 1527, and was th ...
included: * planning and carrying out of military campaigns * enlistment and organisation of professional army (
wojsko kwarciane ''Wojsko kwarciane'' (, ''quarter army'') was the term used for regular army units of Poland (Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth). The term was used since 1562. ''Wojsko kwarciane'' was formed from earlier '' obrona potoczna'' units. The term "quar ...
) and
mercenaries A mercenary, sometimes Pseudonym, also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a memb ...
* supervision of registered
Cossacks The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...
and
ataman Ataman (variants: ''otaman'', ''wataman'', ''vataman''; Russian: атаман, uk, отаман) was a title of Cossack and haidamak leaders of various kinds. In the Russian Empire, the term was the official title of the supreme military command ...
s, who were chosen by hetmans for two-year terms * nomination and promotion of officers at will * choosing locations where the army units were to draw supplies from (that could become a severe burden of cities/nobles that were disliked by a hetman) * supervising the flow of the army's finances (including the soldiers' wages) * full control over
military judiciary Military justice (also military law) is the legal system (bodies of law and procedure) that governs the conduct of the active-duty personnel of the armed forces of a country. In some nation-states, civil law and military law are distinct bodi ...
(with
capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...
during wars), they could also issue laws and regulations for the army (known as hetman's articles) * hearing complaints of all civilian personnel against the army and issuing compensation * hetmans had certain competencies in
foreign policy A state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterally or through ...
, they could send their own emissaries to countries such as the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...
,
Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...
,
Crimean Khanate The Crimean Khanate ( crh, , or ), officially the Great Horde and Desht-i Kipchak () and in old European historiography and geography known as Little Tartary ( la, Tartaria Minor), was a Crimean Tatar state existing from 1441 to 1783, the long ...
and
Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and s ...
. It was reasoned that the distance to capital was too large and situation in that regions was always too volatile for all decisions to be made in the capital (
Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula, Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland un ...
, later
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...
) The hetman had no right to order the forces of the royal court, the royal guard, units equipped by the cities and towns, or private individuals, although during wars those units often voluntarily pledged their obedience to hetmans. Hetmans had no control over the navy, although the Polish Navy was always of very limited importance. Hetmans usually had no direct control over the levy (
pospolite ruszenie ''Pospolite ruszenie'' (, lit. ''mass mobilization''; "Noble Host", lat, motio belli, the French term ''levée en masse'' is also used) is a name for the mobilisation of armed forces during the period of the Kingdom of Poland and the Polish–Li ...
), but they could give orders to the regimentars who commanded it. While hetmans were considered to be among the highest-ranking officials in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, their hetman status gave them no right to sit in either the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
or
Sejm The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland ( Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of ...
, unless they held another office that automatically carried with it a seat or were elected as a representatives of local
szlachta The ''szlachta'' (Polish: endonym, Lithuanian: šlėkta) were the noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth who, as a class, had the dominating position in ...
during
sejmik A sejmik (, diminutive of ''sejm'', occasionally translated as a ''dietine''; lt, seimelis) was one of various local parliaments in the history of Poland and history of Lithuania. The first sejmiks were regional assemblies in the Kingdom of ...
s. Each hetman received a hetman's
ceremonial mace A ceremonial mace is a highly ornamented staff of metal or wood, carried before a sovereign or other high officials in civic ceremonies by a mace-bearer, intended to represent the official's authority. The mace, as used today, derives from the or ...
, the
bulawa The bulava or buława ( Polish spelling: ''buława''; Ukrainian spelling: ''булава'' 'bula'va'' is a ceremonial mace or baton or sceptre. Poland, Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Historically the ''buława'' ...
, as the symbol of his position (it was added to his
coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...
). Less common was a horse-tail ensign and hetman's sign. In some of the never realised plans of reconstruction of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from dual into triple state ( Polish–Lithuanian–Ruthenian Commonwealth), the hetman was to be a head of the Ruthenian part, consisting of three Ukrainian
voivodeship A voivodeship is the area administered by a voivode (Governor) in several countries of central and eastern Europe. Voivodeships have existed since medieval times and the area of extent of voivodeship resembles that of a duchy in western medieval ...
s (see
Treaty of Hadiach The Treaty of Hadiach ( pl, ugoda hadziacka; uk, гадяцький договір) was a treaty signed on 16 September 1658 in Hadiach (Hadziacz, Hadiacz, Гадяч) between representatives of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth ( representin ...
). The reforms of 1776, stimulated by the first Partition of Poland, limited the powers of the hetmans.


Hetman's aides

A hetman's chief aides and officers included: * ''pisarz polny'' – field chancellor, responsible for the archives, chancery, finances, accounting of people, equipment and fortifications, and paying soldiers' wages * ''straznik'' – guardian; security; supervised the scout forces during movement and camping and commanded the front guard (however, if both hetmans were present, the Field Hetman acted as Great Guardian (Polish: Wielki Straznik)). * ''obozny'' – camp leader; camp and transport organisation; responsible for choosing a suitable camping place for an army, setting up the camp, logistics and security inside the encampment. * ''szpitalny'' – medic; medical services * ''profos'' – military juridiciary * ''brabanmajster'' – logistics * ''regimentarz'' – second-in-command in the event a hetman was killed or taken prisoner; the ''regimantrz'' could also be chosen by the king for a given period when a hetman was not available, or informally assumed this function of the commander-in-chief when no hetman or monarch was present nearby (for example, the commander of a '' levee en masse'' was usually called a ''regimentarz''. Most of those aides also had a Field/Great and Crown/Lithuanian add-ons to their titles, depending on which hetman they were serving under. Several new military titles were created after the 1635 by king
Władysław IV Vasa Władysław IV Vasa; lt, Vladislovas Vaza; sv, Vladislav IV av Polen; rus, Владислав IV Ваза, r=Vladislav IV Vaza; la, Ladislaus IV Vasa or Ladislaus IV of Poland (9 June 1595 – 20 May 1648) was King of Poland, Grand Duke of ...
, changing some of hetman's responsibilities: *1637 – General of Artillery (responsible for artillery forces, their logistics and such) *1670s – General of Logistics, General of Medics, General of Finances *The Generals of Inspections controlled the combat readiness of troops, however it is unclear when they were created (besides the phrase ‘in 17th century’).


List of Crown Hetmans


List of Hetmans of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania


See also

*
Buława The bulava or buława ( Polish spelling: ''buława''; Ukrainian spelling: ''булава'' 'bula'va'' is a ceremonial mace or baton or sceptre. Poland, Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Historically the ''buława'' ...
* Hetman's sign *
Hetmans of Ukrainian Cossacks Hetman of Zaporizhian Cossacks is a historical term that has multiple meanings. Officially the post was known as Hetman of the Zaporizhian Host ( uk, Гетьман Війська Запорозького, ''Hetman Viyska Zaporozkoho'').Mytsyk, ...
* List of szlachta * Military exemptions *
Offices in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth 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 ...


References


Bibliography

* Polskie tradycje wojskowe.. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej, 1990. * Zdzisław Żygulski, Hetmani Rzeczypospolitej, Kraków 1994 * Poczet hetmanów Rzeczypospolitej. Hetmani koronni. Pod redakcją Mirosława Nagielskiego, Warszawa 2005 * Poczet hetmanów Rzeczypospolitej. Hetmani litewscy. Pod redakcją Mirosława Nagielskiego, Warszawa 2006 * Urzędnicy centralni i nadworni Polski XIV-XVIII wieku. Spisy, Wyd. PAN, Kórnik 1992 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hetmans of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Military personnel of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Lithuanian titles Polish landowners Lists of office-holders in Poland 1505 establishments in Europe lt:Lietuvos didysis etmonas