Stavilac

Stavilac (Serbian Cyrillic: ставилац, literally meaning "placer") was a court title of Serbia in the Middle Ages.[1] It was similar to the Byzantine court offices of domestikos and cup-bearer (pinkernes, known in Serbian as peharnik).[1] It had a role in the ceremony at the royal table, though the holder could be entrusted with jobs that had nothing to do with court ritual.[2] According to studies of Rade Mihaljčić, the holder was in charge of acquiring, preparing and serving food at the royal table.[3] It was a confidant duty, given to the highest and most notable nobility, in which the ruler relied on in all occasions.[3] Its oldest mention is from the court of King Stefan Milutin (r. 1282–1321), when Đuraš Vrančić had the title.[3] The title of stavilac ranked as the last in the hierarchy of the Serbian court, behind čelnik, kaznac, tepčija and vojvoda, the supreme title.[4] It was, nevertheless, quite prestigious as it enabled its holder to be very close to the ruler.[2] In the Dečani chrysobulls, King Stefan Dečanski (r. 1321–1331) mentioned that the court dignitaries present at the Dečani assembly were the kaznac, tepčija, vojvoda, sluga and stavilac.[5] There is not much information on the title-holders at the court of King Stefan Dečanski; there is however much information on those at the court of King and Emperor Stefan Dušan (r. 1331–1355).[6]