The Role of the courtiers in the Polish-Lithuanian diplomatic service at the turn of the sixteenth century
ENThe aim of this paper is to study the role of Polish-Lithuanian courtiers in diplomatic service at the turn of the sixteenth century and to answer the question of what duties and tasks they performed. In addition, I would like to classify the diplomatic activity of courtiers and show the directions taken by their missions. Finally, by investigating courtiers further, I would establish whether the curious case of Skrzynecki’s mission was isolated or not. For the purpose of this article, ten people connected to the court and performing diplomatic duties were chosen. They were selected by comparing the registers of payment at Sigismund’s court from the years 1587, 1589, and the period between 20 August 1594 and 20 August 1595, with information about envoys and diplomatic missions during the 1593–1606 period, (see tab. 5.1 and 5.2). The examined material definitely does not exhaust all the sources; merely being a sample visualization of the involvement of courtiers in diplomatic service. [Extract, p. 119-120].
