was at first only a chief notary or scribe under the emperors; and was called cancel- larius, because he sat behind a lattice (in Latin can- cellus) to avoid being crowded by the people; though some derive the word from cancellare to cancel; (see CHANCERY.) This officer was afterwards invested with several judicial powers, and a general superin- tendency over the rest of the officers of the prince. From the Roman empire it passed to the Roman church, ever jealous of imperial state; and hence every bishop has to this day his chancellor, the prin- cipal judge of his consistory. And when the modern kingdoms of Europe were established upon the ruins of the empire, almost every state preferred its chan- cellor with different jurisdictions and dignities, ac- cording to their different constitutions. But in all of them he seems to have had the supervision of all charters, letters, and such other public instruments of the crown as were authenticated in the most solemn manner: and therefore, when seals came into use, he had always the custody of the king's great seal.
Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, is the highest honour of the long robe, being created by the mere delivery of the king's great seal into his custody: whereby he be- comes, without writ or patent, an officer of the greatest weight and power of any now subsisting in the kingdom; and superior, in point of precedence, to every temporal lord. He is a privy councillor by his office; and, according to Lord Chancellor Ellefsmere, prolocutor of the house of lords by prescription. To him belongs the appointment of all the justices of the peace throughout the kingdom. Being in former times usually an ecclesiastic, (for none else were then capable of an office so important in writing,) and presiding over the royal chapel, he became keeper of the king's conscience; visitor, in right of the king, of all hospitals and colleges of the king's foundation; and patron of all the king's livings under the value of £20 per annum, in the king's books. He is the gen- eral guardian of all infants, idiots, and lunatics; and has the general superintendence of all charitable uses in the kingdom. And all this over and above the vast extensive jurisdiction which he exercises in his judi- cial capacity in the court of chancery. See CHAN- CERY. Chancellor of a Cathedral, an officer that hears lessons and lectures read in the church, either by himself or his vicar; to correct and set right the reader when he reads amiss; to inspect schools; to hear causes; apply the seal; write and dispatch the letters of the chapter; keep the books; take care that there be frequent preachings, both in the church and out of it; and assign the office of preaching to whom he pleases.
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, an officer appointed chiefly to determine controversies between the king and his tenants of the duchy-land, and otherwise to direct all the king's affairs belonging to that court. See Duchy-Court.
Chancellor of the Exchequer, an officer who presides in that court, and takes care of the interest of the crown. He is always in commission with the lord-treasurer, for the letting of crown-lands, &c., and has power, with others, to compound for forfeitures of lands, upon penal statutes: He has also great authority in managing the royal revenues, and in matters relating to the first-fruits.
Chancellor of the Order of the Garter, and other Military Orders, is an officer who seals the commissions and mandates of the chapter and assembly of the knights, keeps the register of their proceedings, and delivers acts thereof under the seal of their order.
Chancellor of an University, is he who seals the diplomas, or letters of degrees, provision, &c., given in the university.
The chancellor of Oxford is usually one of the prime nobility, chosen by the students themselves in convocation. He is their chief magistrate; his office is, durante vita, to govern the university, preserve and defend its rights and privileges, convene assemblies, and do justice among the members under his jurisdiction.
Under the chancellor is the vice-chancellor, who is chosen annually, being nominated by the chancellor, and elected by the university in convocation: He is always the head of some college, and in holy orders. His proper office is to execute the chancellor's power, to govern the university according to her statutes, to see that officers and students do their duty, that courts be duly called, &c. When he enters upon his office, he chooses four pro-vice-chancellors out of the heads of the colleges, to execute his power in his absence.
The chancellor of Cambridge is also usually one of the prime nobility, and in most respects the same as that in Oxford; only he does not hold his office durante vita, but may be elected every three years. Under the chancellor there is a commissary, who holds a court of record for all privileged persons and scholars under the degree of master of arts, where all causes are tried and determined by the civil and statute law, and by the custom of the university.
The vice-chancellor of Cambridge is chosen annually by the senate, out of two persons nominated by the heads of the several colleges and halls.