to by the Cupbearer and the Royal Cupbearer. The first tasted of the drinks, poured them and ordered them; the second, upon receiving them from the former, served them to the King. A description of a 1596 banquet in the reign of King Sigismund III Vasa was set down by the secretary to the Papal Nuncio (ambassador), Giorgio Paolo Mucante: "Each dish was first given, with a bow, by the Master of the Kitchen to the Carver, who passed it to the Pantler. The latter dipped a prepared piece of bread into the dish, touched it to his tongue, then discarded it into a nearby silver bin. It took quite a while before the King and the Cardinal could begin eating, as they had to bear with all the ceremonies. The Carver bowed so often that I truly think that during the feast he bowed at least 3,000 times." A second set of dignitaries was headed by the Court Marshal (see above): Chamberlain – in charge of the King's court and the domestic economy on Crown estates; Standard-bearer – carried the King's or the country's banner; Sword-bearer – carried the sword before the King; Equerry – in charge of the King's stables and stud; Master of the Hunt – organized hunts, guarded the royal forests against poachers; Court Treasurer – managed the King's finances, kept accounts of his personal treasure, and supervised the court's treasures; Royal Secretaries – dealt with the King's personal correspondence; Royal Chaplain – conducted court masses, supervised the liturgical treasures, and oversaw the court musicians; and many other dignitaries, of progressively less importance, dealing with matters such as food supplies, transportation, etc. The Queen had her own court, staffed with women; its influence in the country was much smaller. List of court offices Sekretarz wielki koronny i litewski – Crown and Lithuanian Grand Secretary; Referendarz koronny i litewski – Crown and Lithuanian Referendary; Podskarbi nadworny koronny i litewski – Crown and Lithuanian Court Treasurer; Podkomorzy nadworny koronny i litewski – Crown and Lithuanian Court Chamberlain; Chorąży wielki koronny i litewski – Crown and Lithuanian Grand Standard-bearer; Chorąży nadworny koronny i litewski – Crown and Lithuanian Court Standard-bearer; Miecznik koronny i litewski – Crown and Lithuanian Sword-bearer; Kuchmistrz koronny i litewski – Crown and Lithuanian Master of the Kitchen; Koniuszy koronny i litewski – Crown and Lithuanian Equerry; Podczaszy koronny i litewski – Crown and Lithuanian Royal