One of the two great offices of royal administration, the court of the lord *chancellor. Chancery was responsible for the writing of charters, and writs issued in the king's name. Orig. chancery formed part of the royal household; by the 13c, it had moved out of court, usually housed in the great hall at Westminster. All its documents were issued under the *great seal: these could be letters, writs or charters. It worked in association with the office of the *privy seal. Its documents were copied on a series of *rolls, among which were the *Charter, *Close and *Fine Rolls. Its senior official was the chancellor, who was often a bishop. The title comes from the Latin term cancellus, a screen marking off the space where documents were kept.
Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases. Christopher Coredon with Ann Williams.