Starosta

Starosta or starost (Cyrillic: старост/а, Latin: capitaneus, German: Starost, Hauptmann) is a community elder in some Slavic lands. The Slavic root of "starost" translates as "senior". Since the Middle Ages, it has designated an official in a leadership position in a range of civic and social contexts throughout Central and Eastern Europe. In reference to a municipality, a starosta was historically a senior royal administrative official, equivalent to a county sheriff or seneschal, and analogous to a gubernator. In Poland, a starosta administered a crown land district called starostwo. In the early Middle Ages, a starosta could head a settled urban or rural community or other community, as in the case of a church starosta or an artel starosta. A starosta also functioned as a master of ceremonies.