Stolnik was a court office in Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 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

Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...

, 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 stolniks position in the Crown of Poland was superior to that of podczaszy

Podczaszy

Podczaszy was since the 13th century a court office in Poland and later in Lithuania. Podczaszy was the deputy of Cześnik, with the time more important than his superior....

 and inferior to that of District Judge (Crown of Poland); in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Grand Duchy of Lithuania

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...

, superior to podstoli

Podstoli

Podstoli was a court office in Poland and Lithuania. A Podstoli was the deputy of a Stolnik, and was responsible for the King's pantry....

 and inferior to wojski

Wojski

The Wojski was an officer in medieval Poland, responsible for the security of voivodships or districts at times when voivods and castellans had accompanied the szlachta to war....

.

Stolnik in Muscovy

Stolniks 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

Army

An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...

. They were ranked fifth in the hierarchy of Muscovite bureaucracy, after boyar

Boyar

A boyar, or bolyar , was a member of the highest rank of the feudal Moscovian, Kievan Rus'ian, Bulgarian, Wallachian, and Moldavian aristocracies, second only to the ruling princes , from the 10th century through the 17th century....

s, okolnichy

Okolnichy

Okolnichy was an old rank and a position at the court of Moscow rulers from the Mongol invasion of Rus' until the government reform undertaken by Peter the Great...

s, duma

Duma

A Duma is any of various representative assemblies in modern Russia and Russian history. The State Duma in the Russian Empire and Russian Federation corresponds to the lower house of the parliament. Simply it is a form of Russian governmental institution, that was formed during the reign of the...

 noble

Nobility

Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...

s, and duma

Duma

A Duma is any of various representative assemblies in modern Russia and Russian history. The State Duma in the Russian Empire and Russian Federation corresponds to the lower house of the parliament. Simply it is a form of Russian governmental institution, that was formed during the reign of the...

 dyak

Dyak (clerk)

Dyak is a historical Russian bureaucratic occupation whose meaning varied over time and approximately corresponded to the notions of "chief clerk" or "chief of office department"....

s.

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

Veliky Novgorod

Veliky Novgorod is one of Russia's most historic cities and the administrative center of Novgorod Oblast. It is situated on the M10 federal highway connecting Moscow and St. Petersburg. The city lies along the Volkhov River just below its outflow from Lake Ilmen...

.