was at first only a chief notary or scrivener under the emperors; and was called cancellarius, because he sat behind a lattice (in Latin cancellos), 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 superintendency 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 principal judge of his consistory. And when the modern kingdoms of Europe were established upon the ruins of the empire, almost every state preferred its chancellor with different jurisdictions and dignities, according 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 becomes, without writ or patent, an officer of the greatest weight and power of any now subsisting in the kingdom. 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 commonly an ecclesiastic (for none else were then capable of an office so conversant in writing), and presiding over the royal chapel, he became keeper of the king's conscience; vizor, 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 general 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 judicial capacity in the court of chancery. He takes a precedence of every temporal lord except the royal family, and of all others except the archbishop of Canterbury. See CHANCERY.

in Scotland, was the chief in matters of justice. In the laws of King Malcolm II., he is placed before all other officers; and from these it appears that he had the principal direction of the chancery, or chancellory as it is called, which is his proper office. He had the custody of the king's seal; and he was the king's most intimate counsellor, as appears by an old law cited by Sir James Balfour: "The chancellor..." 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.

**CHANCELLOR'S Court.** See UNIVERSITY Courts.

**CHANCERON,** in Natural History, a name given by the French writers to the small caterpillar, that eats the corn, and does vast mischief in their granaries. See the article CORN-Butterfly.

**CHANCERY,** the highest court of justice in Britain next to the parliament, and of very ancient institution. It has its name chancery (cancellaria) from the judge who presides here, the lord chancellor, or cancellarius; who, according to Sir Edward Coke, is so termed, a cancellando, from cancelling the king's letters patent when granted contrary to law, which is the highest point of his jurisdiction. In chancery there are two distinct tribunals: the one ordinary, being a court of common law; the other extraordinary, being a court of equity.

1. The ordinary legal court holds pleas of recognizances acknowledged in the chancery, writs of fieri facias, for repeal of letters patent, writs of partition, &c., and also of all personal actions by or against any officer of the court. Sometimes a superedent, or writ of privilege, hath been here granted to discharge a person out of prison: one from hence may have a habeas corpus prohibition, &c. in the vacation; and here a subpoena may be had to force witnesses to appear in other courts, when they have no power to call them. But, in prosecuting causes, if the parties defend to illuse, this court cannot try it by jury; but the lord-chancellor delivers the record into the king's bench to be tried there; and after trial had, it is to be remanded into the chancery, and there judgment given; though if there be a demurrer in law, it shall be argued in this court.

In this court is also kept the officina justitiae; out of which all original writs that pass under the great seal, all commissions of charitable uses, fevers, bankruptcy, insanity, lunacy, and the like, do issue; and for which it is always open to the subject, who may there at any time demand and have, ex debito justitiae, any writ that his occasions may call for. These writs, relating to the business... businesses of the subject, and the returns of them, were, according to the simplicity of ancient times, originally kept in a hamper, in hanaperio; and the others (relating to such matters wherein the crown is immediately or immediately concerned) were preserved in a little sack or bag, in parva baga; and hence hath arisen the distinction of the hanaper office, and the petty-bag office, which both belong to the common law court in chancery.

2. The extraordinary court, or court of equity, proceeds by the rules of equity and conscience, and moderates the rigour of the common law, considering the intention rather than the words of the law. It gives relief for and against infants notwithstanding their minority, and for or against married women notwithstanding their coverture. All frauds and deceits for which there is no redress at common law; all breaches of trust and confidence; and accidents, as to relieve obligors, mortgagees, &c. against penalties and forfeitures, where the intent was to pay the debt, are here remedied: for in chancery, a forfeiture, &c. shall not bind, where a thing may be done after, or compensation made for it. Also this court will give relief against the extremity of unreasonable engagements entered into without consideration; oblige creditors that are unreasonable to compound with an unfortunate debtor; and make executors, &c. give security and pay interest for money that is to lie long in their hands. This court may confirm title to lands, though one hath lost his writings: and render conveyances defective through mistake, &c. good and perfect. In chancery, copy-holders may be relieved against the ill usage of their lords; enclosures of lands that are common be decreed; and this court may decree money or lands given to charitable uses, oblige men to account with each other, &c. But in all cases where the plaintiff can have his remedy at law, he ought not to be relieved in chancery; and a thing which may be tried by a jury is not triable in this court.

The proceedings in chancery are, first to file the bill of complaint, signed by some counsel, setting forth the fraud or injury done, or wrong sustained, and praying relief: after the bill is filed, process of subpoena issues to compel the defendant to appear; and when the defendant appears, he puts in his answer to the bill of complaint, if there be no cause for the plea to the jurisdiction of the court, in disability of the person, or in bar, &c. Then the plaintiff brings his replication, unless he files exceptions against the answer as insufficient, referring it to a master to report whether it be sufficient or not; to which report exceptions may also be made. The answer, replication, rejoinder, &c. being settled, and the parties come to issue, witnesses are to be examined upon interrogatories, either in court or by commission in the country, wherein the parties usually join; and when the plaintiff and defendant have examined their witnesses, publication is to be made of the depositions, and the cause is to be set down for hearing; after which follows the decree. But it is now usual to appeal to the house of lords; which appeals are to be signed by two noted counsel, and exhibited by way of petition; the petition or appeal is lodged with the clerk of the house of lords, and read in the house, whereon the appellee is ordered to put in his answer, and a day fixed for hearing the cause; and after counsel heard, and evidence given on both sides, the lords will affirm or reverse the decree of the chancery, and finally determine the cause by a majority of votes, &c.