Norman Conquest Encyclopedia

Chancellor

The Chancellor was, in the 11th century, the head of the Chancery, the King's secretarial department. The name comes from the cancelli, the screen behind which the secretaries worked within the call of the monarch, but leaving him his privacy. The title of chancellor was later applied to the head of the department of state finance, the treasury or the exchequer. The judicial duties of the Chancellor eventually took over from administrative tasks and he presided in the Court of Chancery. Since the 17th century the Lord Chancellor has been a lawyer.