Relations Between the First Voivodes of Lublin and the Nobility of the Lublin Voivodeship (the End of the 15th Century)

The contacts between the first Lublin voivodes (in 1474–1501) and the Lublin nobility were limited to their presence during monarch’s visits to Lublin, the former rarely sat among the latter at sessions of the assembly courts, and they did not come to Wąwolnica to the court for the minor nobility subordinate to them, limiting themselves to appointing judges from among people experienced in noble jurisdiction and to sporadically resolving disputes in person in their residences. Of greater importance were the relations resulting from the responsibility of the voivodes for the nobles’ compliance with their duty to defend the country – their entourage gathered representatives of the local nobility as commanders of mercenary troops, court deputies linked to them as clients, guarantors of financial obligations – also serving them with loans, most likely for the needs of the state. Voivodes, as the representatives of the Lublin territorial community in the royal council, probably enjoyed their authority among its proxies, but their actions were dominated by activity on the national forum, and the affairs of the Lublin nobility remained in the background. It was not until the 1490s that greater activity of voivodes in relations with the Lublin nobility can be observed, which is associated with the growing importance of the middle nobility in the times of struggle for the enforcement of goods and rights.