CHAPLAINS of the Pope, are the auditors, or judges of cause in the sacred palace; so called, because the pope anciently gave audience in his chapel, for the decision of cases sent from the several parts of Christendom. He hither summoned as assessors the most learned lawyers of his time; and they hence acquired the appellation of capellani, chaplains. It is from the decrees formerly given by these that the body of decretals is composed: their number Pope Sixtus IV. reduced to twelve.
Some say, the shrines of relics were covered with a kind of tent cape, or capella, i. e. little cape; and that hence the priests, who had the care of them, were called chaplains. In time these relics were reposed in a little church, either contiguous to a larger or separate from it; and the same name, capella, which was given to the cover, was also given to the place where it was lodged: and hence the priest who superintended it came to be called chaplain.