Hetmans of the Polish – Lithuanian Commonwealth Hetmans of the Polish – Lithuanian Commonwealth were the highest - ranking military officers , second only to the King , in the Polish – Lithuanian Commonwealth . The first Polish title of Grand Crown Hetman was created in 1505 . The title of hetman was given to the leader of Polish Army and till 1581 it was awarded only for a specific campaign or war . Later it became a permanent title , as did all the titles in the Kingdom of Poland and Polish – Lithuanian Commonwealth . It could not be revoked unless treachery had been proven ( from 1585 ) . Hetmans were not paid for their job by the Royal Treasury . Field and Great Hetmans . From the end of 16th century there were two hetmans in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and two hetmans in the Crown : a Field Hetman and a Great Hetman ( sometimes translated as Grand Hetman ) . So there were in total four hetman titles : Great Crown Hetman , Field Crown Hetman , Great Lithuanian Hetman and Field Lithuanian Hetman . During joint military operations of the Crown and Grand Duchy of Lithuania armies , the Crown Great Hetman usually was considered superior to others hetmans and served as commander - in - chief if the war actions ran along the borders of the Grand Duchy and vice versa . Grand Hetmans were usually in command of the professional and mobilised army and during peace stayed at the capital involving themselves in politics , guarding the interests of the army and planning campaigns . Polish Field Hetman was subordinates of Grand Hetman and when on the same battlefield commanded the mercenaries and artillery . During peace they usually were deployed on the eastern and southern borders of the Commonwealth , and commanded all local forces against constant skirmishes and small invasions of the Ottoman Empire and its vassals . Field Hetman were also called Frontier Hetman , since they did the same job as commanders of frontier garrisons before the title of hetman was introduced . Lithuanian Field Hetman initially was called Court Hetman and commanded the guard of the Grand Duke , while Land Hetman commanded militia . Later this difference disappeared and they were renamed Field and Great Hetmans accordingly . Contrary to Polish practice Lithuanian Field Hetman had full control on army under his command and wasn ' t subordinated to the Great Hetman . For a short period there was also an office of Royal Court Hetman , but it never gained much influence . Responsibilities and privileges . Hetman ' s competences and privileges , first officially described in 1527 in the act of nomination for Jan Tarnowski included : The hetman had no right to order the forces of the royal court , the royal guard , units equipped by the cities and towns , or private individuals , although during wars those units often voluntarily pledged their obedience to hetmans . Hetmans had no control over the navy , although the Polish Navy was always of very limited importance . Hetmans usually had no direct control over the levy ( pospolite ruszenie ) , but they could give orders to the regimentars who commanded it . While hetmans were considered to be among the highest - ranking officials in the Polish – Lithuanian Commonwealth , their hetman status gave them no right to sit in either the Senate or Sejm , unless they held another office that automatically carried with it a seat or were elected as a representatives of local szlachta during sejmik s . Each hetman received a hetman ' s ceremonial mace , the bulawa , as the symbol of his position ( it was added to his coat of arms ) . Less common was a horse - tail ensign and hetman ' s sign . In some of the never realised plans of reconstruction of the Polish – Lithuanian Commonwealth from dual into triple state ( Polish - Lithuanian - Ruthenian Commonwealth ) , the hetman was to be a head of the Ruthenian part , consisting of three Ukrainian voivodeship s ( see Treaty of Hadiach ) . The reform in 1776 limited the powers of the hetmans . Hetman ' s aides . A hetman ' s chief aides and officers included : Most of those aides also had a Field / Great and Crown / Lithuanian add - ons to their titles , depending on which hetman they were serving under . Several new military titles were created after the 1635 by king Władysław IV Vasa , changing some of hetman ' s responsibilities :