Rotacje na wybranych urzędach dworu królowej Elżbiety Rakuszanki (1454—1505)
Rotations in the Selected Offices at the Court of Elizabeth of Austria (1454—1505)

Summary/Abstract: The purpose of the article is to illustrate a phenomenon of rotation in most important offices at the court of Elizabeth of Austria, that is chief stewards and royal chefs. The sovereign had at least eight chief stewards and six royal chefs. The office of the chief steward falls into two stages; the first one (1454—1477) is described as being stable and permanent, which favored the formation of the court of the “foreign” queen of Poland (the only chief steward Mikołaj of Borzyszowice), whereas the second stage (1477—1500/1505) was a time of dynamic changes occurring every few years (seven chief stewards). Such rotation in this office probably reflected changes in the ruling elite in the second half of the 15th century. Changes in the office of the royal chef happened likewise, namely the working time was short and a change occurred relatively early. As in the case of chief stewards, it might have been due to changes that took place within the structure of the political elite, or simply because of the dignitary’s retirement and being rewarded with another office (starosty).

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