Kanclerz (Polish for Chancellor, from latin:castellanus) was one of the highest officials in the historic Poland. His office functioned from the early Polish kingdom of the 12th century until the end of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795. Chancellors powers risen together with the increasing importance of the written documents. In the 14th century the office of Chancellor of Kraków (Polish: "Kanclerz krakowski") evolved into the Chancellor of the Crown (Polish: "Kanclerz koronny") and from that period the chancellor powers were greatly increased, as they became responsible for the foreign policy of the entire Kingdom (later, the Commonwealth). Chancellor was also supposed to ensure the legality of monarch actions, especially if they are not illegal in the context of pacta conventa (an early set of documents containing important laws, in some aspects resembling today's constitutions). Finally, Chancellor was also responsible for his office, the chancellery (Polish: kancelaria). A 16th century Polish lawyer, Jakub Przybylski, described the Chancellor as the king's hand, eye and ear, translator of his thoughts and will. Chancellor (Latin: cancellarius), an official title used by most of the peoples whose civilization has arisen directly or indirectly out of the Roman empire. ... Latin is the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... An official is, in the primary sense, someone who holds an office in an organisation, of any kind. ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... 1795 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... (13th century - 14th century - 15th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 14th century was that century which lasted from 1301 to 1400. ... Motto: none Voivodship Lesser Poland Municipal government Rada miasta Kraków Mayor Jacek Majchrowski Area 326,8 km² Population  - city  - urban  - density 757,500 (2004 est. ... Foreign Policy is a bimonthly American magazine founded in 1970 by Samuel P. Huntington and Warren Demian Manshel. ... External links From Polish online encyclopedia Categories: Poland-related stubs | Polish history ... Chancellery is the office of the chancellor, sometimes also reffered to as the chancery. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... A lawyer is a person licensed by the state to advise clients in legal matters and represent them in courts of law (and in other forms of dispute resolution). ...

From 15th century there were two separate Chancellors, none of them subordinate to each other: Great Chancellor (Polish: Kanclerz wielki) and Deputy Chancellor (Polish: Podkanclerz). In the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, there were four Chancellors: Great Chancellor of the Crown (Polish: Kanclerz wielki koronny), Great Chancellor of Lithuania, (Polish: Kanclerz wielki litewski), Deputy Chancellor of the Crown (Polish Podkanclerzy koronny) and Deputy Chancellor of Lithuania (Podkanclerzy litewski). (14th century - 15th century - 16th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. ...

History

During the times of fragmentation of Poland, each Polish prince had his own chancellor, but with the reunification of Poland, the office of Chancellor of Kraków (contemporary capital of the Kingdom of Poland) became dominant and other, local chancellors disappeared by the early 15th century. Also in the 15th century, the Chancellor office split into that of the Great Chancellor and Deputy Chancellor (however the Lithuanian Deputy Chancellor was created later, in the mid-16th century). The Deputy Chancellor was however not a subordinate of the Chancellor and his independence was specifically confirmed by the laws passed during the reign of the king Alexander the Jagiellonian. The Sejm of 1504 confirmed the Chancellors office, its powers and responsibilities for the first time, specifically stating that one person cannot hold both Chancellor's offices. In the first centuries of its existence, the Polish nation was led by a series of strong rulers who converted the Poles to Christendom, created a strong Central European state, and integrated Poland into European culture. ... The term prince (from the Latin princeps), for a member of the highest aristocracy, has fundamentally different meanings Abstract The original but least common use is as a GENERIC (descriptive, not formal) term -originating in the application of terminology from Roman (actualy Byzantine) law and classical ideology to the European... In the first centuries of its existence, the Polish nation was led by a series of strong rulers who converted the Poles to Christendom, created a strong Central European state, and integrated Poland into European culture. ... In politics a capital (also called capital city or political capital — although the latter phrase has an alternative meaning based on an alternative meaning of capital) is the principal city or town associated with its government. ... (14th century - 15th century - 16th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. ... Reign From December 12, 1501 until August 19, 1506 Coronation On December 12, 1501 in the Wawel Cathedral, Kraków, Poland Royal House Jagiellon Parents Kazimierz IV Jagiellończyk Elżbieta Rakuszanka Consorts Helena Children None Date of Birth August 5, 1461 Place of Birth Kraków, Poland Date of Death August 19, 1506... This article is about the lower chamber of Polish parliament. ... Events January 1 - French troops surrender Gaeta to the Spanish under Cordoba. ...

After the Union of Lublin in 1569 those offices were doubled yet again (into Crown - Poland proper - and Lithuanian chancellors), thus resulting in four Chancellors (one Chancellor and one Deputy for Crown, and another pair for Lithuania). The Union of Lublin, painted by Jan Matejko The Union of Lublin (Lithuanian: Liublino unija; Belarusian: Лю́блінская ву́нія; Polish: Unia lubelska) - signed on July 1, 1569 in Lublin, united the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania into a single state, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, with the official... Events January 11 - First recorded lottery in England. ...

At first, the Chancellor office was always given to the ecclesiastic person. From 1507, Sigismund I the Old decoded that the title of Great Crown Chancellor would be rotated between secular and ecclesiastic nobles, and at least one Chancellor (both in the Great and Deputy pair and in the Crown and Lithuanian one after the Union of Lublin) was required to be a secular person. This article is about the Christian buildings of worship. ... Events The western continent is named America on the maps of Martin Waldseemüller. ... Reign From December 8, 1506 until April 1, 1548 Coronation On January 24, 1507 in the Wawel Cathedral, Kraków, Poland Royal House Jagiellon Parents Kazimierz IV Jagiellończyk Elżbieta Rakuszanka Consorts Katarzyna Telniczanka Barbara Zapolya Bona Sforza Children with Katarzyna Telniczanka Jan Regina Katarzyna with Barbara Zapolya Jadwiga Anna with Bona... This article concerns secularity, that is, being secular, in various senses. ...

Power and responsibilities

Chancellors, as most of the other offices in Poland and later, the Commonwealth, were nominated to the office for life by the King during the Sejm (Parliament) session. From 15th and 16th century, after the reforms of Alexander, Sigismund I and the Union of Lublin, the power and importance of the Chancellor office was stabilised, as the senatorial office lesser then the hetmans (military commanders who had however no right to vote in the Senat) and the Grand Marshals, but more important then that of the Grand Treasurers, Court Marshal and others. This article is about the lower chamber of Polish parliament. ... A senate is a deliberative body, often the upper house or chamber of a legislature. ... Hetman (from Czech: hejtman, German: Hauptmann, Turkish: Ataman) was the title of the second highest military commander (after the monarch) used in 15th to 18th century Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania, known from 1568 to 1795 as the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. ... A Grand Marshal is a military or political title of the highest magnitude. ... Podskarbi was in old-time Poland the highest official responsible for the treasury. ... Marszałek was one of the highest officials in the royal court since the 13th century in Poland. ...

By custom, the Greater Chancellor of the Crown directed the Commonwealth foreign policies towards the west - Western Europe and south - Ottoman Empire, while the Greater Chancellor of the Lithuania the policies towards the east - Muscovy (later, the Russian Empire). Western Europe is distinguished from Eastern Europe by differences of history and culture rather than by geography. ... The Ottoman Empire at the height of its power Imperial motto El Muzaffer Daima The Ever Victorious (as written in tugra) Official language Ottoman Turkish Capital İstanbul (Constantinople/Asitane/Konstantiniyye ) Sovereigns Sultans of the Osmanli Dynasty Population ca 40 million Area 6. ... This article is about Muscovite Russia. ... Imperial Russia is the term used to cover the period of Russian history from the expansion of Russia under Peter the Great, through the expansion of the Russian Empire from the Baltic to the Pacific Ocean, to the deposal of Nicholas II of Russia, the last tsar, at the start...

Chancellor and the Deputy Chancellor (who was not a direct subordinate of the chancellor) were responsible for the work of their chancelleries, respectively Greater and Minor one. They were supposed to be in constant contact and develop common policies, since their powers were equal. They were specifically forbidden from issuing illegal and contradictory documents, and could judge any documents contrary to the existing law 'irrelevant and without power'. In theory, the power of the Chancellors were equal. In practice, much depended on their personalities and political influence. Conflicts between Chancellors, while rare, when occurred, could paralyse the entire country. Such were the case during the conflict between Krzesław z Kurozwęk and Maciej Drzewicki between 1501 and 1503. Chancellery is the office of the chancellor, sometimes also reffered to as the chancery. ... Events Alexander becomes King of Poland. ... Events January 20 - Seville in Castile is awarded exclusive right to trade with the New World. ...

Among their other responsibilities were the matters of foreign affairs (correspondence with other countries) and to a smaller extent, the internal affairs, as they had also judiciary powers, presiding over the ‘assessors’ courts’ (Polish: Asesoria), that were the highest appeal courts for people subjected to crown laws (i.e. not subjected to ecclesiastic or magnates courts, but when chancellor was an ecclesiastic person, he could judge the priests of the king's court). They could judge in various cases, with the exception of when sides have already reached a compromise or in cases of the territorial disputes. This article is about a journal. ... Internal Affairs can refer to: Internal Affairs, a 1990 movie starring Richard Gere and Andy Garcia. ... The judiciary, also referred to as the judicature, consists of justices, judges and magistrates among other types of adjudicators. ... For a wealthy or powerful business baron, executive, or tycoon, see business magnate Magnate is a title of nobility commonly used in Sweden, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and some other medieval empires. ...

The Chancellors offices were the Chancelleries (respectively Crown and Lithuanian, Greater and Minor ones). Chancelleries were staffed with officials known as the chancellists (Polish: kancelista): the regent (regent kancelarii), secretaries (sekretarz in Crown)¹, writers (pisarz in Lithuania, equivalent to the secretary in Crown), archivists (Polish: archiwista), metricants (Polish: metrykant) and other clerks. Regent divided the work between the clerks. 2 secretaries (one responsible for private correspondence, second for official) presented the ready letters to the king for his signature. Writers designed the letters, clerks readied the final drafts. No copies were made, but instead they were written into the archives - books called Metrics (Polish: Metryki), who were taken care by the two metricans (respectively 2 in Poland and 2 in Lithuania). Metrican of Great Chancellor was called the Great Metrican, the one serving Deputy Chancellor was a Minor Metrican. The staff of Chancellery had no wage, just like the Chancellors, but in the middle of each reception room was the box into which all clients were supposed to deposit a varying amount of money, and nobody who planned on coming back could afford to be mean. Of much smaller importance were the local, provincial chancelleries, which mostly served as archives for copies of various documents. Chancellery is the office of the chancellor, sometimes also reffered to as the chancery. ... A regent is an acting governor. ... A secretary is an office/administrative support position. ... The term writer can apply to anyone who creates a written work, but the word more usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, or those who have written in many different forms. ... For alternate uses see: Archive (disambiguation). ... A clerk can be someone who works in an office and whose duties include record-keeping or correspondence. ... Correspondence may refer to: In the theology of Emanuel Swedenborg, correspondence is the relationship between spiritual and physical realities. ... The word draft (also draught) has multiple meanings: The draft is a synonym for conscription or peacetime national service. ...

Besides their official functions, the royal chancelleries functioned as a kind of semi-official, very prestigious schools. The officials of the chancelleries, who often started their work after their studies, after several years of work, often went forward in the administrative hierarchy, often reaching important posts of bishops or other ecclesiastic or secular offices. Many enlightened chancellors did not restrict the positions in their staff to nobility (szlachta), and often sponsored intelligent applicants from other social classes, not only by hiring them to the chancellery but by paying for their studies at universities in Poland and abroad. Among the most esteemed 'graduates' of chancelleries were Jan Dlugosz, Martin Kromer and Jan Zamoyski. Szlachta ( pronounced: [ʃlaxta]) was the noble class in Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ( Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth). ... A social class is, in the most basic sense, a group of people that shares the same or similar social status. ... Jan Długosz Jan Długosz, also known as Joannes Longinus or Joannes Dlugossius (1415-1480) was a Polish historian (a chronicler) and a secretary of Bishop Zbigniew Oleśnicki of Kraków. ... Portrait Marcin Kromer (1512-1589) was a 16th century bishop of Warmia, cartographer, diplomat, and historian in Poland and later in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. ... Noble Family Zamoyski Coat of Arms Jelita Parents Stanisław Zamoyski Anna Herburt Consorts Anna Ossolińska Krystyna Radziwiłł Gryzelda Batory Barbara Tarnowska Children with Barbara Tarnowska Tomasz Zamoyski Date of Birth March 19, 1542 Place of Birth Skokówka, Poland Date of Death June 3, 1605 Place of Death Zamość, Poland Jan...

Chancellor often gave speeches representing the royal will. The symbol of their office was the seal, which was used to seal all documents passing through his office. He also sealed documents signed by the monarch and could refuse to seal a document he considered illegal or damaging to the country (such documents had no power without his seal). When the king died, the seal was destroyed during funeral and new one given to him by the succeeding king. The seal importance gave a rise to another name of the Chancellor - the sealer (Polish pieczętarz). Due to their important power the Chancellors were considered the guardians of the king and country, making sure the kings folly would not endanger the country by forcing it into an unnecessary war (among the wars prevented by the chancellors was the the great crusade against the Ottoman Empire planned by Wladyslaw IV Waza in 1630s). Seal on envelope A seal is an impression printed on, embossed upon, or affixed to a document (or any other object) in order to authenticate it, in lieu of or in addition to a signature. ... The Ottoman Empire at the height of its power Imperial motto El Muzaffer Daima The Ever Victorious (as written in tugra) Official language Ottoman Turkish Capital İstanbul (Constantinople/Asitane/Konstantiniyye ) Sovereigns Sultans of the Osmanli Dynasty Population ca 40 million Area 6. ... Reign in Poland From November 8, 1632 until May 20, 1648 Reign in Russia From 1610 until 1635 Elected in Poland On November 8, 1632 in Wola, today suburb of Warsaw, Poland Elected in Russia In 1610 Coronation On February 6, 1633 in the Wawel Cathedral, Kraków, Poland Royal House... Events February 22 - Native American Quadequine introduces Popcorn to English colonists. ...

The chancellor powers combined with the fact that wars required funds which were given by the Senat. The nobles (the szlachta) who controlled the Senate were usually unwilling to increase taxes and levied upon them, which meant that Poland very rarely declared wars on its own. Usually it was attacked by its neighbors, and while it repelled all attacks till the end of 18th century, it almost never utilised any of its victories. The army was undermanned and under equipped (since usually any suggestion of bigger military budget when enemy was not on the doorstep was labeled as warmongering) and lands of Rzeczpospolita were constantly ravaged by new invasions, crippling its economy. The Senate (Senat) is the upper house of the Polish parliament. ... Szlachta ( pronounced: [ʃlaxta]) was the noble class in Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ( Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth). ... A tax is an involuntary fee paid by individuals or businesses to a government. ... Rzeczpospolita (pronounced: , zhech-poss-POH-lee-tah) is a Polish calque translation of the Latin expression res publica (public affair). It has been used in Poland since at least 16th century, originally to denote any democratic state. ...

Other chancellors

Besides the Crown and Deputy Chancellors, there were many less important chancellors in the country. There was the Chancellor of the Queen. He had much less power then other (King's) Chancellors, he guarded the seal of the queen and was second most important official of her court, after her Court Marshall. He had no right to seat in the Senate. Even less important were the chancellors of crown princes and princesses, first introduced around the reign of Sigismund I. Then there was the chancellor of the most important of bishops, Primate, Archbishop of Gniezno. Finally some proud magnates had officials who titled themselves chancellors. Seal on envelope A seal is an impression printed on, embossed upon, or affixed to a document (or any other object) in order to authenticate it, in lieu of or in addition to a signature. ... A Crown Prince or Crown Princess is the heir or heiress apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. ... Families 13, See classification A primate is any member of the biological order Primates (Latin primus first), the group that contains all lemurs, monkeys, apes, and humans. ... In Christianity, an archbishop is an elevated bishop heading a diocese of particular importance due to either its size, history, or both, called an archdiocese. ... Motto: none Voivodship Greater Poland Municipal government Mayor Jaromir Dziel Area 40,9 km² Population  - city  - urban  - density 71 040 none 1737/km² Founded City rights 8th century 1239 Latitude Longitude 52°32 N 17°36 E Area code +48 61 Car plates PGN Twin towns Anagni, Esztergom, Falkenberg, Saint... For a wealthy or powerful business baron, executive, or tycoon, see business magnate Magnate is a title of nobility commonly used in Sweden, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and some other medieval empires. ...

List of chancellors

• Kanclerz - Chanceller - various local chancellors, until late 14/early 15th century
• Kanclerz krakowski - Chancellor of Kraków - until 14th century, when he superseded all other Polish local chancellors and transformed into
• Kanclerz koronny - Chancellor of the Crown - from 14th century until 1569. Sometimes also called Kanclerz Królestwa Polskiego - Chancellor of the Polish Kingdom'
• Kanclerz wielki koronny - Great Chancellor of the Crown - from 1659 until 1795 (end of Commonwealth)
• Kanclerz wielki litewski - Great Chancellor of Lithuania - as above
• Podkanclerzy koronny - Deputy Chancellor of the Crown - as above
• Podkanclerzy litewski - Deputy Chancellor of Lithuania - as above

Events January 11 - First recorded lottery in England. ... 1795 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

See also

• Offices in Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
• Chancellor

Offices in Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth article presents the organizational structure and administrative system of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. ... Chancellor (Latin: cancellarius), an official title used by most of the peoples whose civilization has arisen directly or indirectly out of the Roman empire. ...

Notes

1. Secretaries in Crown and writers in Lithuania were often just a honorary title given to people for their service to the state in the areas of administration and such. The normal secreatries should not be confused with the Great Secretaries, who serverd as Chancellors when the Chancellors were absent, but had no right to vote in the Senat.

References

• Bielewcz Przemysław, Urzędy Staropolskie (http://www.bezuprzedzen.pl/urzedy/poczatki.html) last accessed on 21 April 2005