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See also:CHANCELLOR (M. Eng. and Anglo-Fr. canceler, chanceler, Fr. chancelier, See also:Lat. cancellarius)
, an See also:official See also:title used by most of the peoples whose See also:civilization has arisen directly or indirectly out of the See also:Roman See also:empire
.
At different times and in different countries it has stood and stands for very various duties, and has been, and is, See also:borne by See also:officers of various degrees of dignity
.
The See also:original chancellors were the cancellarii of Roman courts of See also:justice, ushers who sat at the See also:cancelli or lattice See also:work screens of a " See also:basilica " or See also:law See also:court, which separated the See also:judge and counsel from the See also:audience (see See also:CHANCEL)
.
In the later Eastern empire the cancellarii were promoted at first to notarial duties
.
The See also:barbarian kingdoms which arose on the ruin of the empire in the See also:West copied more or less intelligently the Roman See also:model in all their judicial and See also:financial See also:administration
.
Under the Frankish See also:kings of the Merovingian See also:dynasty the cancellarii were sub-ordinates of the See also:great officer of See also:state called the referendarius, who was the predecessor of the more See also:modern See also:chancellor
.
The See also:office became established under the See also:form archi-cancellarius, or See also:chief of the cancellarii
.
See also:Stubbs says that the Carolingian chancellor was the royal See also:notary and the See also:arch-chancellor keeper of the royal See also:seal
.
His functions would naturally be discharged by a cleric in times when See also:book learning was mainly confined to the See also:clergy
.
From the reign of See also:
Appeals and petitions of aggrieved persons would pass through the chancellor's hands, as well as the See also:political See also:correspondence of the king
.
Nor was the king the only See also:man who had need of a chancellor
.
Great officers and corporations also had occasion to employ an See also:agent to do secretarial, notarial and judicial work for them, and called him by the convenient name of chancellor
.
The See also:history of the office in its many adaptations to public and private service is the history of its development on judicial, administrative, political, secretarial and notarial lines
.
The model of the Carolingian court was followed by the
See also:medieval states of Western See also:Europe
.
In See also:England the office of
chancellor See also:dates back to the reign of See also:Edward the See also:Con-
The chan-
See also:cellor in fessor, the first See also:English king to use the See also:Norman practice England. of sealing instead of See also:signing documents; and from the
Norman See also:Conquest onwards the See also:succession of chancellors is continuous
.
The chancellor was originally, and See also:long continued to be, an ecclesiastic, who combined the functions of the most dignified of the royal chaplains, the king's secretary in See also:secular matters, and keeper of the royal seal
.
From the first, then, though at the outset overshadowed by that of the See also:justiciar, the office of chancellor was one of great See also:influence and importance
.
As See also:chaplain the chancellor was keeper of the king's See also:conscience; as secretary he enjoyed the royal confidence in secular affairs; as keeper of the seal he was necessary to all formal expressions of the royal will
.
By him and his See also:staff of chaplains the whole secretarial work of the royal See also:household was conducted, the accounts were kept under the justiciar and treasurer, writs were See also:drawn up and sealed, and the royal correspondence was carried on
.
He was, in fact, as Stubbs puts it, a sort of secretary of state for all departments
.
" This is he," wrote See also:
118o), " who cancels (cancellat) the evil See also:laws of the See also:realm, and makes equitable (aequa) the commands of a pious See also:prince," a curious anticipation of the chancellor's later equitable See also:jurisdiction
.
Under See also:
268)
.
At this See also:period the chancellor, though employed in See also:equity, had ministerial functions only; but when, in the reign of Edward III., the chancellor ceased to follow the court, his tribunal acquired a more definite See also:character, and petitions for grace and favour began to be ad-dressed primarily to him, instead of being merely examined and passed on by him to the king; and in the twenty-second See also:year of this reign matters which were of grace were definitely committed to the chancellor for decision
.
This is the starting-point of the equitable jurisdiction of the chancellor, whence See also:developed that immense See also:body of rules, supplementing the deficiencies or
V
..
27modifying the harshness of the See also:common Iaw, which is known as Equity (q.v.)
.
The position of the chancellor as See also:speaker or See also:prolocutor of the See also:House of Lords dates from the time when the ministers of the royal Curia formed ex officio a See also:part of the See also:commune The concilium and See also:parliament
.
The chancellor originally chancellor attended with the other officials, and he continued to in parliaattend ex officio after they had ceased to do so
.
If he See also:meta. chanced to be a bishop, he was summoned regularly qua bishop; otherwise he attended without See also:summons
.
When not a peer the chancellor had no See also:place in parliament except as chancellor, and the See also:act of 31 Henry VIII. cap. ro (1539) laid down that, if not a peer, he had " no See also:interest to give any assent or dissent in the House." Yet See also:Sir See also:Robert See also:Bourchier (d
.
1349), the first See also:lay chancellor, had protested in 1341 against the first See also:statute of 15 Edward III
.
(on'trial by peers, &c.), on the ground that it had not received his assent and was contrary to the laws of the realm
.
From the time, however, of William, See also:Lord See also:Cowper (first lord high chancellor of Great See also:Britain in 1705, created See also:Baron Cowper in 1706), all chancellors have been made peers on their See also:elevation to the See also:woolsack
.
Sometimes the custody of the great seal has been transferred from the chancellor to a See also:special official, the lord keeper of the great seal (see LORD KEEPER); this was notably the See also:case under Queen See also: Sometimes it is put into See also:commission, being affixed by lords commissioners of the great seal . By the See also:Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829 it was enacted that none of these offices could be held by a Roman Catholic (see further under LORD HIGH CHANCELLOR) . The'office of lord chancellor of See also:Ireland, and that of chancellor of See also:Scotland (who ceased to be appointed after the Act of See also:Union of 1701) followed the same lines of deve bpment . The title of chancellor, without the predicates " high " or " lord," is also applied in the See also:United See also:Kingdom to a number of other officials and functionaries of varying See also:rank and Chancellor importance . Of these the most important is the of the chancellor of the exchequer, an office which originated exchequer. in the separation of the chancery from the exchequer in the reign of Henry III . (1216-1272) . His duties consisted originally in the custody and employment of the seal of the exchequer, in the keeping of a See also:counter-See also:roll to check the roll kept by the treasurer, and in the See also:discharge of certain judicial functions in the exchequer of See also:account . So long as the See also:treasury See also:board was in active working, the chancellorship of the exchequer was an office of small importance, and even during a great part of the 19th See also:century was not necessarily a See also:cabinet office, unless held in See also:conjunction with that of first lord of the treasury . At the See also:present time the chancellor of the exchequer is See also:minister of See also:finance, and therefore always of cabinet rank (see EXCHEQUER) . The chancellor of the duchy of See also:Lancaster is the representative of the See also:crown in the management of its lands and the See also:control of its courts in the duchy of Lancaster, the See also:property of which is scattered over several counties . These lands and privileges, though their See also:inheritance has always been vested in the king and his heirs, have always been kept distinct from the hereditary revenues of the See also:sovereign, whose See also:palatine rights as See also:duke of Lancaster were distinct from his rights as king . The Judicature Act of 1873 See also:left only the chancery court of the duchy, but the chancellor can appoint and dismiss the See also:county court See also:judges within the limits of the duchy; he is responsible also for the'See also:land revenues of the duchy, which are the private property of the sovereign, and keeps the seal of the duchy . His See also:appointment is by letters patent, and his See also:salary is derived from the See also:revenue of the duchy . As the judicial and See also:estate work is done by subordinate officials, the office is practically a See also:sinecure and is usually given to a minister whose assistance is necessary to a See also:government, but who for one See also:reason or another cannot undertake the duties of an important See also:department . John See also:Bright described him as the maid-of-all-work of the cabinet . The chancellor of a See also:diocese is the official who presides over the bishop's court and exercises jurisdiction in his name . This use of the word is comparatively modern, and, though It Chancellor of the duchy . employed in acts of parliament, is not mentioned in the commission, having apparently been adopted on the See also:analogy of the Ecclesi- like title in the state . The chancellor was originally astical the keeper of the See also:archbishop or bishop's See also:seals; but case- the office, as now understood, includes two other cellars. offices distinguished in the commission by the titles of See also:vicar-See also:general and official See also:principal (see ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION) . The chancellor of a diocese must be distinguished from the chancellor of a See also:cathedral, whose office is the same as that of the See also:ancient scholasticus (see CATHEDRAL) . The chancellor of an See also:order of See also:knighthood discharges notarial duties and keeps the seal . The chancellor of a university is an official of medieval origin . The appointment was See also:Academic, originally made by the popes, and the office from the first was one of great dignity and originally of great See also:power . The chancellor was, as he remains, the See also:head of the university; he had the general superintendence of its studies and of its discipline, could make and unmake laws, try and punish offences, appoint to professorial chairs and admit students to the various degrees (see Du Cange, s . " Cancellarii Academiarum ") . In England the chancellorship of the See also:universities is now a more or less ornamental office and is conferred on See also:noble-men or statesmen of distinction, whose principal See also:function is to look after the general interests of the university, especially in Its relations with the government . The chancellor is represented in the university by a See also:vice-chancellor, who performs the administrative and judicial functions of the office . In the United States the heads of certain educational establishments have the title of chancellor . In Scotland the foreman of a See also:jury is called its chancellor . In the United States the chancellors are judges of the chancery courts of the states, e.g . See also:Delaware and New See also:Jersey, where these courts are still maintained as distinct from the courts of common law . In other states, e. g . New See also:York since 1847, the title has been abolished, and there is no federal chancellor . In See also:diplomacy generally the chancellor of an See also:embassy or See also:legation is an official attached to the See also:suite of an See also:ambassador or minister . He performs the functions of a secretary, archivist, notary and the like, and is at the head of the chancery, or chancellery (Fr. chancellerie), of the See also:mission . The functions of this office are the transcribing and registering of official despatches and other documents, and generally the transaction of all the See also:minor business, e.g. marriages, passports and the like, connected with the duties of a See also:diplomatic agent towards his nationals in a See also:foreign See also:country .
The dignified See also:connotation of the title chancellor has given to this office a See also:prestige which in itself it does not deserve; and " chancery " or " chancellery " is commonly used as though it were synonymous with embassy, while diplomatic See also:style is sometimes called style de chancellerie, though as a See also:matter of fact the chanceries have nothing to do with it
.
See also:France.—The country in which the office of chancellor followed most closely the same lines as in England is France
.
He had become a great officer under the See also:Carolingians, and he grew still greater under the Capetian sovereigns
.
The great chancellor, summus cancellarius or archi-cancellarius, was a dignitary who had indeed little real power
.
The post was commonly filled by the archbishop of See also:Reims, or the bishop of See also:Paris
.
The cancellarius, who formed part of the royal court and administration, was officially known as' the sub-cancellarius in relation to the summus cancellarius, but as proto-cancellarius in regard to his subordinate cancellarii
.
He was a very great officer, an ecclesiastic who was the chief of the king's chaplains or king's clerks, who administered all ecclesiastical affairs; he had judicial See also:powers, and from the 12th century had the general control of foreign affairs
.
The chancellor in fact became so great that the Capetian kings, who did not forget the See also:mayor of the See also:palace, grew afraid of him
.
Few of the See also:early ecclesiastical chancellors failed to come into collision with the king, or parted with him on See also:good terms
.
See also:
Under the reign of Philip IV. le See also:Bel lay chancellors were first appointed
.
From the reign of See also:
In Spain the office of chancellor, canciller, was introduced by See also:Alphonso VII
.
(1126-1157), who adopted it from the court of his See also:cousins of the Capetian dynasty of France
.
The canciller did not in Spain go beyond being the king's notary
.
The chancellor of the privy seal, canciller del sello de la puridad (literally the See also:secret seal), was the king's secretary, and sealed all papers other than diplomas and charters
.
The office was abolished in 1496, and its functions were transferred to the royal secretaries
.
The cancelario was the chancellor of a university
.
The canciller succeeded the maesescuela or scholasticus of a See also: The similarity is somewhat concealed by the fact that these sovereigns also adopted names and offices from the imperial court at See also:Constantinople . Their chancellor was officially known as Protonotary and See also:Logothete, and their example was followed by the See also:German princes of the See also:Hohenstaufen See also:family, who acquired the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily . The papal or apostolic chancery is dealt with in the See also:article on the Curia See also:Romana (q.v.) . It may be pointed out here, however, that the See also:close connexion of the papacy with the Holy Roman Empire is illustrated by the fact that the archbishop of See also:Cologne, who by right of his see was the See also:emperor's arch-chancellor (Erz-Kanzler) for Italy, was confirmed as papal arch-chancellor by a See also:bull of See also:Leo IX. in 1(352 . The origin and duration of this connexion are, however, obscure; it appears to have ceased before 1187 . The last See also:record of a papal chancellor in the See also:middle ages dates from 1212, from which time onward, for reasons much disputed, the head of the papal chancery See also:bore the title vice-chancellor (See also:Hinschius i . 439), until the office of chancellor was restored by the constitution Sapientius of See also:Pius X. in 1908 . The title of arch-chancellor (Erz-Kanzler) was borne by three great ecclesiastical dignitaries of the Holy Roman Empire . The archbishop of See also:Mainz was arch-chancellor for Germany . The archbishop of Cologne held the dignity for Italy, and the archbishop of See also:Trier for See also:Gaul and the kingdom of See also:Arles . The second and third of these dignities became purely formal with the decline of the Empire in the 13th century . But the arch-chancellorship of Germany remained to some extent a reality till the Empire was finally dissolved in r8o6 .
The office continued to be attached to the archbishopric of Mainz, which was an electorate
.
Karl von See also:Dalberg, the last holder of the office, and the first prince See also:primate of the See also:Confederation of the See also:Rhine, continued to act in show at least as chancellor of that body, and was after a See also:fashion the predecessor of the Bundes Kanzler, or chancellor of the See also:North German Confederation
.
The duties imposed on the imperial chancery by the very complicated constitution of the Empire were, however, discharged by a vice-chancellor who was attached to the court of the emperor
.
The See also: We are not dealing here with the confusing history of the See also:Austrian administration, and these details are only quoted to show how it happened that in Austria the title chancellor came to mean a political officer and minister . There is obviously a vast difference between such an official as Kaunitz, who as house, court, and state chancellor was minister of foreign affairs, and as " united aulic " chancellor had a general superiority over the whole machinery of government, and the lord high chancellor in England, the chancelier in France, or the canciller mayor in See also:Castile, though the title was the same . The development of the office in Austria must be understood in order to explain the position and functions of the imperial chancellor (Reichs Kanzler) of the modern German empire . Although the present empire is sometimes rhetorically and absurdly spoken of as a revival of the medieval Empire, it is in reality an See also:adaptation of the Austrian empire, which was a continuation under a new name of the hereditary Habsburg See also:monarchy . The Reichs Kanzler is the immediate successor of the Bundes Kanzler, or chancellor of the North German Confederation (See also:Band) . But the Bundes Kanzler, who bore no sort of resemblance except in See also:mere name to the Erz-Kanzler of the old Empire, was in a position not perhaps actually like that of Prince Kaunitz, but capable of becoming much the same thing . When the German empire was established in 1871 Prince See also:Bismarck, who was Bundes Kanzler and became Reichs Kanzler, took care that his position should be as like as possible to that of Prince Kaunitz or Prince Metternich . The constitution of the German empire is separatelydealt with, but it may be pointed out here that the Reichs Kanzler is the federal minister of the empire, the chief of the federal officials, and a great political officer, who directs the foreign affairs, and superintends the internal affairs, of the empire . In these German states the title of chancellor is also given as in France to government and diplomatic officials who do notarial duties and have charge of archives . The title of chancellor has naturally been widely used in the German and Scandinavian states, and in See also:Russia since the reign of See also:Peter the Great . It has there as elsewhere wavered between being a political and a judicial office . See also:Frederick the Great of See also:Prussia created a See also:Gross Kanzler for judicial duties in 1746 . But there was in Prussia a state chancellorship on the Austrian model . It was allowed to See also:lapse on the See also:death of See also:Hardenberg in 1822 . The Prussian chancellor after his time was one of the four court ministries (Hofamter) of the Prussian monarchy . |
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