he highest representative of the Swedish crown in the province of Estonia was the governor (ståthållare), who resided at Toompea in Tallinn. The province was divided into counties with castles as centres (in different periods: Tallinn, Haapsalu, Lihula, Koluvere, Paide, Rakvere, Narva etc), which were governed by deputy governors. The duties of the deputy governor included the administration of the county, the matters concerning military protection and the execution of court judgments, but his task was also to manage the crown lands, to guarantee that taxes were paid regularly and to maintain the power network in the area. The royal landholdings included mostly properties that had been owned by the Livonian Order or the Bishop, and were now granted as fiefs to bailiffs.
The duties of the bailiff were not limited to tax collecting and accounting. As the local representative appointed by the king, he was the manager of the manorial estate but he was also responsible for the maintenance of roads and bridges, kept an eye on passing travellers and gave board and lodging to state officials, including couriers and their horses. The bailiff was required to quarter smaller passing troops or soldiers in the county. He was also in charge of the storage and maintenance of weapons and ammunition in order to be ready to receive a larger defence unit. To provide board and lodging to visitors, large amounts of foodstuffs were stored in butteries and granaries: freshly brewed beer and bread, meat, fish, vegetables etc. The bailiff had to manage the manorial estate, maintain the buildings, oversee the peasants and servants on the estate and resolve local disputes. The accounting period at the royal manor lasted from midsummer to midsummer, and each year an annual report had to be submitted providing information about taxes, income, expenses, wages, visitors, who had stayed on the manor, movable and immovable property at the estate, and compile a new Wackenbuch (about peasants and their obligations). The reports were then sent to the governor in Tallinn and from there to Sweden, where they are still kept in the National Archives of Sweden.
As the duties of the bailiffs were diverse and required managerial skills as well as writing and calculating skills, it was not easy to find the right people for the job.. At first German mercenaries were hired, this was the case at Padise as well. Although the list below is not without gaps, we can see that some bailiffs did not have the job for long. Two men died in 1603, probably of plague.