chancery

Chancery is the office or department responsible for drafting, authenticating, and safeguarding official documents, correspondence, and records in a government, university, church, or other organization. The term originated with the office of the chancellor, historically the chief secretary and seal keeper; it derives from the Latin cancellarius, literally “keeper of the lattice,” referring to the lattice screen at the secretary’s desk.

In medieval and early modern Europe, chancery offices produced charters, diplomas, and petitions, employing trained clerks and a formal script known as chancery hand. Documents issued by chancery offices were commonly guaranteed by seals and the great seal of the realm.

In English legal history, the Court of Chancery administered equity—principles of fairness that supplemented the common law. The chancellor exercised discretion to grant relief unavailable at law. The jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery persisted from the 14th century and was eventually merged with the common-law system by the Judicature Acts of 1873–75, forming the High Court of Justice.

Chancery hand, the distinctive cursive script used by clerks in chancery offices, developed in the medieval period for rapid, legible production of official records and influenced several later scripts in the British Isles and continental Europe.

In modern usage, chancery can refer to the administrative arm of a government or diplomatic mission that handles formal correspondence, records, and protocols. The term also survives in names of streets and offices, such as chancery buildings or the chancery of an embassy or university.