ENThe primary goal of the article is to analyse how the office of court officials was perceived based on late 16th century sources from the Volhynian Voivodeship: as a service to the patron, a source of income or a service to the community of the nobility. The analysis of court officials’ loyalties within the patron/client system, which informed the configuration of public life, and an analysis of the officials’ income, provides an answers to the question. Keywords: court officials, the patron/client system, corruption, judiciary, Volhynia. [From the publication]