View source for Chancellor of Poland

{{Short description|Historic political position in Poland}}
{{inline|date=February 2020}}{{onesource|date=June 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2014}}
{{Infobox official post
|post            = Grand Chancellor 
|body            = the Crown
|insignia        = Coat of arms of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.svg
|insigniasize    = 110px
|insigniacaption = '''[[Coat of arms of Poland|State Coat of arms]]'''
|image           = Jacek Małachowski.JPG
|imagesize       = 120px
|imagecaption    = '''Last to hold office'''<br>[[Jacek Małachowski]]<br>1786–1789
|style           = 
|residence       = [[Kraków]]<br />[[Warsaw]]
|appointer       = [[List of Polish monarchs|Monarch of Poland]]<br />[[Sejm|Polish Parliament (Sejm)]]
|appointer_qualified = 
|precursor      = 
|formation      = 12th century
|first          = Jan?<br />[[Goswin (Bishop of Poznań)|Goswin]]
|last           = [[Antoni Sułkowski (chancellor)|Antoni Sułkowski]]
|abolished      = 1795
|succession     = 
|salary         = 
}}

The '''Chancellor of Poland''' ({{langx|pl|Kanclerz}} - {{IPA|pl|ˈkant͡slɛʂ}}, from {{langx|la|cancellarius}}), officially, the '''Grand Chancellor of the Crown''' between 1385 and 1795, was one of the highest [[Offices in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth|officials]] in the historic [[Crown of the Kingdom of Poland]]. This office functioned from the early [[History of Poland|Polish kingdom]] of the 12th century until the end of the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]] in 1795. A respective office also existed in the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]] since the 16th century. Today the office of the chancellor has been replaced by that of the [[Prime Minister of Poland|Prime Minister]].

The Chancellors' powers rose together with the increasing importance of written documents. In the 14th century the office of Chancellor of [[Kraków]] ({{langx|pl|Kanclerz krakowski}}) evolved into the Chancellor of the Crown ({{langx|pl|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). The Chancellor was also supposed to ensure the legality of monarch's actions, especially whether or not they could be considered illegal in the context of [[Pacta conventa (Poland)|pacta conventa]] (an early set of documents containing important laws, in some aspects resembling today's [[constitutions]]). Finally, the Chancellor was also responsible for his office, the [[Chancery (medieval office)|chancellery]] ({{langx|pl|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.

From 15th century onward there were two separate Chancellor offices, neither of them subordinate to the other: Grand Chancellor ({{langx|pl|Kanclerz wielki}}) and Vice-Chancellor ({{langx|pl|Podkanclerzy}}). In the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, there were four Chancellors: Grand Chancellor of the Crown ({{langx|pl|Kanclerz wielki koronny}}), Grand Chancellor of Lithuania ({{langx|pl|Kanclerz wielki litewski}}), Vice-Chancellor of the Crown ({{langx|pl|Podkanclerzy koronny}}), and Vice-Chancellor of Lithuania ({{langx|pl|Podkanclerzy litewski}}).

== History ==
During the [[History of Poland (966-1385)#Fragmentation and Invasion.2C .281146-1295.29|times of fragmentation of Poland]], each Polish prince had his own chancellor, but with the [[History of Poland (966-1385)#The Kingdom of Later Piasts .281295-1370.29|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's office was split into that of the Grand Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor. The Vice-Chancellor was, however, not a subordinate of the Chancellor and his independence was specifically confirmed by the laws passed during the reign of king [[Alexander Jagiellon]]. The [[Sejm]] of 1504 confirmed the Chancellor's office as well as its powers and responsibilities for the first time, specifically stating that one person cannot hold both Chancellors' offices, and established the Grand Lithuanian Chancellor's office. The Lithuanian Vice-Chancellor was created later, in the mid-16th century

After the [[Union of Lublin]] in 1569 there were four Chancellors (one Grand Chancellor and one Vice-Chancellor for Crown, and another pair for Lithuania).

At first, the Chancellor's office was always given to an [[wikt:ecclesiastic|ecclesiastic]] person. From 1507, [[Sigismund I the Old]] decided that the title of Grand Chancellor of the Crown would be rotated between secular and ecclesiastic nobles, and at least one Chancellor (both in the Grand and Deputy pair and in the Crown and Lithuanian one after the Union of Lublin) was required to be a secular person.

== Power and responsibilities ==
[[File:Jan Zamoyski.PNG|thumb|right|[[Jan Zamoyski]] (1542–1605), Grand Chancellor and adviser to [[Stefan Batory]], the third elected king of Poland.]]
[[File:Kollataj hugo.jpg|thumb|right|[[Hugo Kołłątaj]] (1750–1812), Vice-Chancellor, co-author of the [[Constitution of 3 May 1791]].]]
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 the 15th and 16th centuries, after the reforms of Alexander, Sigismund I and the Union of Lublin, the power and importance of the Chancellor's office was stabilised, as a [[Senate|senat]]orial office lesser than that of the [[hetman]]s (military commanders who had, however, no right to vote in the Senate) and the [[Grand Marshal]]s, but more important than that of the [[Grand Treasurer]]s, [[Marszałek|Court Marshal]] and others.

By custom, the Grand Chancellor of the Crown directed the Commonwealth foreign policies towards the west – Western Europe and south – [[Ottoman Empire]], while the Grand Chancellor of Lithuania the policies towards the east – [[Tsardom of Russia|Muscovy]] (later, the [[Russian Empire]]).

The Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor were responsible for the work of their [[Chancellor|chancelleries]], Grand and Deputy respectively. 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 it occurred, could paralyse the entire country. This was the case during the conflict between [[Krzeslaw z Kurozwek|Krzesław z Kurozwęk]] and [[Maciej Drzewicki]] between 1501 and 1503.

Among their other responsibilities were the matters of [[foreign policy]] (correspondence with other countries) and to a smaller extent, internal affairs, as they had also [[judiciary]] powers, presiding over the '[[assessors' courts]]' (Polish: ''Asesoria''), that were the highest [[appeal court]]s for people subjected to [[crown law]]s (i.e. not subjected to ecclesiastic or [[magnate]]s courts, but when a 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 the sides had already reached a compromise or in cases of territorial disputes.

The Chancellors' offices were the chancelleries (Crown and Lithuanian respectively). Chancelleries were staffed with officials known as the [[chancellist]]s (Polish: ''kancelista''): the [[regent]] (''regent kancelarii''), [[secretary|secretaries]] (''sekretarz'' in Crown)<sup>[[#Notes|1]]</sup>, writers (''pisarz'' in Lithuania, equivalent to the secretary in Crown), [[archivist]]s (Polish: archiwista), [[metricant]]s (Polish: metrykant) and other [[clerk (position)|clerk]]s. The Regent divided the work between the clerks. 2 secretaries (one responsible for private [[communication|correspondence]], the second for official) presented prepared letters to the king for his signature. Writers designed the letters; clerks readied the final [[Draft document|draft]]s. No copies were made, but were instead entered in the archives – books called Metrics (Polish: ''Metryki''), who were taken care of by the two metricans (2 in Poland and 2 in Lithuania respectively). The Metrican of the Grand Chancellor was called the Grand Metrican, one serving the Vice-Chancellor was a Minor Metrican. The Chancellery staff had no wages, 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.

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 Długosz]], [[Martin Kromer]] and [[Jan Zamoyski]].

The Chancellor often gave speeches representing the royal will. The symbol of their office was the [[Seal (emblem)|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 the funeral and a new one given to him by the succeeding king. The seal's importance gave a rise to another name for the Chancellor – the sealer (Polish ''pieczętarz''). Due to their important power the Chancellors were considered the guardians of the king and country, making sure a king's folly would not endanger the country by forcing it into an unnecessary war (among the wars prevented by the chancellors was a great crusade against the [[Ottoman Empire]] planned by King [[Władysław IV]] in the 1630s).

The chancellor's powers combined with the fact that wars required funds which were given by the [[Senate of Poland|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 the 18th century, it almost never utilized 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.

== Other chancellors ==
There were many less important chancellors in the country. There was the Chancellor of the Queen. He had much less power than other (King's) Chancellors, he guarded the queen's [[Seal (emblem)|seal]] and was the second most important official of her court, after her Court Marshall. He had no right to a seat in the Senate. Even less important were the chancellors of [[crown prince]]s and princesses, first introduced around the reign of Sigismund I. Then there was the chancellor of the most important of bishops, [[Primate of Poland]], [[Archbishop of Gniezno]]. Finally some proud [[magnate]]s had officials who titled themselves chancellors.

== Official distinctions ==
* Kanclerz – Chancellor – various local chancellors, until late 14th to early 15th century
* Kanclerz krakowski – Chancellor of Kraków – until the 14th century, when he superseded all other Polish local chancellors and transformed into
* Kanclerz koronny – Chancellor of the Crown – from the 14th century until 1569. Sometimes also called Kanclerz Królestwa Polskiego – Chancellor of the Polish Kingdom
* Kanclerz wielki koronny – Great Chancellor of the Crown – from 1569 until 1795 (end of the Commonwealth)
* Kanclerz wielki litewski – Great Chancellor of Lithuania – as above
* Podkanclerzy koronny – Vice-Chancellor of the Crown – as above
* Podkanclerzy litewski – Vice-Chancellor of Lithuania – as above

== List of Chancellors ==
{| width=100% class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
! width=1% | Portrait
! width=25% | Name
! width=8% | Lifespan
! width=10% | Term began
! width=10% | Term ended
|-
|[[File:Sin foto.svg|50px]]||'''Jan'''||?||1107||1112
|-
|[[File:Sin foto.svg|50px]]||'''Michał Awdaniec'''||?||1112||1113
|-
|[[File:Sin foto.svg|50px]]||'''[[Goswin (Bishop of Poznań)|Goswin]]'''||?||1113||1138
|-
|[[File:Sin foto.svg|50px]]||'''Lupus'''||?||1138||1145
|-
|[[File:Sin foto.svg|50px]]||'''[[Pean (Bishop of Poznan)|Pean]]'''||died in 1152||1145||1152
|-
|[[File:Sin foto.svg|50px]]||'''Cherubin'''||died in 1180||1152||1172
|-
|[[File:Sin foto.svg|50px]]||'''Klemens'''||?||1172||1173
|-
|[[File:Sin foto.svg|50px]]||'''Stefan'''||?||1173||1206
|-
|[[File:Jan Matejko, Andrzej Zajkowski, Salomon Lewental - Iwo Odrowąż - MNK XV-R-23161-27 (414892).jpg|50px]]||'''[[Iwo Odrowąż]]'''||died 21 August 1229||1206||1208
|-
|[[File:Sin foto.svg|50px]]||'''Wincenty z Niałka'''||died in 1232||1208||1211
|-
|[[File:Sin foto.svg|50px]]||'''Jarost'''||?||1211||1212
|-
|[[File:Sin foto.svg|50px]]||'''Marcin'''||?||1212||1213
|-
|[[File:Sin foto.svg|50px]]||'''Nanker'''||died in 1250||1213||1241
|-
|[[File:Sin foto.svg|50px]]||'''Wawrzęta Gutowski'''||?||1241||1243
|-
|[[File:Sin foto.svg|50px]]||'''Rambold'''||?||1243||1262
|-
|[[File:Paweł z Przemankowa.JPG|50px]]||'''Paweł z Przemankowa'''||died on 29 November 1292||1262||1266
|-
|[[File:Sin foto.svg|50px]]||'''Stanisław z Krakowa'''||?||1266||1270
|-
|[[File:Sin foto.svg|50px]]||'''Prokop'''||died in 1295||1270||1280
|-
|[[File:Andrzej Zaremba.JPG|50px]]||'''Andrzej Zaremba'''||died in 1318||1280||1290
|-
|[[File:Sin foto.svg|50px]]||'''Wincenty'''||?||1290||1296
|-
|[[File:Sin foto.svg|50px]]||'''Jan'''||died on 26 August 1296||1296||1296
|-
|[[File:Sin foto.svg|50px]]||'''Piotr Angeli'''||?||1296||1306
|-
|[[File:Sin foto.svg|50px]]||'''Franciszek z Krakowa'''||?||1306||1320
|-
|[[File:Sin foto.svg|50px]]||'''Zbigniew z Szczyrzyca'''||?||1320||1356
|-
|[[File:Janusz Suchywilk.PNG|50px]]||'''[[Janusz Suchywilk]]'''||1310 – 5 April 1382||1357||1373
|-
|[[File:POL COA Poraj.svg|50px]]||'''[[Zawisza Kurozwęcki]]'''||died on 12 January 1382||1373||1379
|-
|[[File:POL COA Korab.svg|50px]]||'''Jan Radlica'''||died on 12 January 1392||1380||1386
|-
|[[File:Sin foto.svg|50px]]||'''Mikołaj Zaklika'''||died in 1408||1386||1404
|-
|[[File:Mikołaj Kurowski 1.PNG|50px]]||'''[[Mikołaj Kurowski]]'''||1355–1411||1404||1411
|-
|[[File:Wojciech Jastrzębiec.PNG|50px]]||'''[[Wojciech Jastrzębiec]]'''||1362–1436||1411||1423
|-
|[[File:POL COA Starykoń.svg|50px]]||'''Jan Szafraniec'''||1363 – 28 July 1433||1423||1433
|-
|[[File:POL COA Pobog.svg|50px]]||'''Jan Taszka Koniecpolski'''||died on 26 March 1455||1433 or 1434||1454
|-
|[[File:Jan Gruszczyński.PNG|50px]]||'''[[Jan Gruszczyński]]'''||1405 – 8 October 1473||1454||1469
|-
|[[File:POL COA Odrowąż.svg|50px]]||'''Jakub Dembiński'''||1427 – 15 January 1490||1469||1473
|-
|[[File:POL COA Łodzia.svg|50px]]||'''Uriel Górka'''||1435 – 21 January 1498||1473||1479
|-
|[[File:POL COA Poraj.svg|50px]]||'''Stanisław Kurozwęcki'''||1440–1482||1479||1482
|-
|[[File:POL COA Poraj.svg|50px]]||'''Krzesław Kurozwęcki'''||1440–1503||1483||1503
|-
|[[File:Jan Łaski primate of Poland.PNG|50px]]||'''[[Jan Łaski (1456–1531)|Jan Łaski]]'''||1456 – 19 May 1531||1503||1510
|-
|[[File:Maciej Drzewiecki Primate of Poland.PNG|50px]]||'''Maciej Drzewicki'''||22 February 1467 – 22 August 1535||1510||1513
|-
|[[File:Szydlowiecki przywilej opat.jpg|50px]]||'''[[Krzysztof Szydłowiecki]]'''||1467–1532||1513 or 1515||1532
|-
|[[File:Jan Chojeński.jpg|50px]]||'''[[Jan Chojeński]]'''||17 March 1486 – 11 March 1538||1532||1538
|-
|[[File:Herb Łabędź 1.svg|50px]]||'''Paweł Dunin-Wolski'''||1487–1546||1539||1540
|-
|[[File:POL COA Doliwa.svg|50px]]||'''Tomasz Sobocki'''||1508–1547||1540||1541
|-
|[[File:POL Samuel Maciejowski.jpg|50px]]||'''[[Samuel Maciejowski]]'''||15 January 1499 – 26 October 1550||1541||1550
|-
|[[File:Sin foto.svg|50px]]||'''Jan Ocieski'''||1501 – 12 May 1563||1550 or 1552||1563
|-
|[[File:POL COA Rawicz.svg|50px]]||'''Walenty Dembiński'''||died in 1585||1564||1576
|-
|[[File:Piotr Dunin-Wolski.PNG|50px]]||'''Piotr Dunin-Wolski'''||1531–1590||1576||1578
|-
|[[File:Jan Zamoyski.PNG|50px]]||'''[[Jan Zamoyski]]'''||19 March 1542 – 3 June 1605||1578||1605
|-
|[[File:Sin foto.svg|50px]]||'''Maciej Pstrokoński'''||1553–1609||1606||1609
|-
|[[File:Wawrzyniec Gembicki Primate of Poland.PNG|50px]]||'''[[Wawrzyniec Gembicki]]'''||5 August 1559 – 10 February 1624||1609||1613
|-
|[[File:Drobin 07 (2009).jpg|50px]]||'''[[Feliks Kryski]]'''||1562–1618||1613||1618
|-
|[[File:Stanisław Żółkiewski 11.PNG|50px]]||'''[[Stanisław Żółkiewski]]'''||1547 – 7 October 1620||1618||1620
|-
|[[File:POL COA Grabie.svg|50px]]||'''Andrzej Lipski'''||1572 – 4 September 1631||1620||1623
|-
|[[File:Wacław Leszczyński kanclerz.PNG|50px]]||'''Wacław Leszczyński'''||1576 – 17 May 1628||1625||1628
|-
|[[File:Jakub Zadzik.JPG|50px]]||'''[[Jakub Zadzik]]'''||1582 – 17 March 1642||1628||1635
|-
|[[File:Tomasz Zamoyski.PNG|50px]]||'''[[Tomasz Zamoyski]]'''||1594 – 7 January 1638||1635||1635
|-
|[[File:Piotr Gembicki (1045920).jpg|50px]]||'''[[Piotr Gembicki]]'''||10 October 1585 – 14 July 1657||1635||1643
|-
|[[File:Strobel Jerzy Ossoliński.jpg|50px]]||'''[[Jerzy Ossoliński]]'''||15 December 1595 – 9 August 1650||1643||1650
|-
|[[File:Andrzej Leszczyński 1.PNG|50px]]||'''[[Andrzej Leszczyński (1608–1658)|Andrzej Leszczyński]]'''||1608–1658||1650||1652
|-
|[[File:Sin foto.svg|50px]]||'''Stefan Koryciński'''||1617 – 4 July 1658||1652||1658
|-
|[[File:Mikołaj Jan Prażmowski.PNG|50px]]||'''Mikołaj Prażmowski'''||1617 – 15 April 1673||1658||1666
|-
|[[File:Sin foto.svg|50px]]||'''Jan Leszczyński'''||1603–1678||1666||1678
|-
|[[File:Johannes Stephan Wydzga, polsk biskop (1659-79), målad 1688-1703 - Skoklosters slott - 98171 (cropped).tif|50px]]||'''Jan Stefan Wydżga'''||1610 – 6 September 1685||1678||1678
|-
|[[File:Jan Wielopolski (1630-1688).png|50px]]||'''[[Jan Wielopolski]]'''||1630 – 15 February 1688||1678||1688
|-
|[[File:Jerzy Albrecht Denhoff.JPG|50px]]||'''Jerzy Albrecht Denhoff'''||1640–1702||1688||1702
|-
|[[File:Topor arms.png|50px]]||'''[[Karol Tarło]]'''||1639–1702||1702||1702
|-
|[[File:Andrzej Chryzostom Załuski.PNG|50px]]||'''[[Andrzej Chryzostom Załuski]]'''||1650 – 12 May 1711||1702||1706
|-
|[[File:Jan Stanisław Jabłonowski.png|50px]]||'''[[Jan Stanisław Jabłonowski]]'''||1669 – 28 April 1731||1706||1709
|-
|[[File:Jan Sebastian Szembek.PNG|50px]]||'''[[Jan Szembek]]'''||died on 9 April 1731||1712||1731
|-
|[[File:Andrzej Stanisław Załuski.PNG|50px]]||'''[[Andrzej Stanisław Załuski]]'''||2 December 1695 – 16 December 1758||1735||1746
|-
|[[File:Sin foto.svg|50px]]||'''[[Jan Małachowski (Grand Chancellor of the Crown)|Jan Małachowski]]'''||26 January 1698 – 25 June 1762||1746||1762
|-
|[[File:Andrzej Hieronim Zamoyski.PNG|50px]]||'''[[Andrzej Zamoyski]]'''||12 February 1716 – 10 February 1792||1764||1767
|-
|[[File:Andrzej Mikołaj Młodziejowski.PNG|50px]]||'''[[Andrzej Młodziejowski]]'''||1717–1780||1767||1780
|-
|[[File:Jan Andrzej Borch.PNG|50px]]||'''Jan Andrzej Borch'''||1715–1780||1780||1780
|-
|[[File:Antoni Okęcki.PNG|50px]]||'''Antoni Onufry Okęcki'''||13 June 1729 – 15 June 1793||1780||1786
|-
|[[File:Jacek Małachowski.JPG|50px]]||'''[[Jacek Małachowski]]'''||25 August 1737 – 27 March 1821||1786||1793
|-
|[[File:POL COA Sułkowski.svg|50px]]||'''[[Antoni Sułkowski (chancellor)|Antoni Sułkowski]]'''||11 June 1735 – 16 April 1796||1793||1795
|-
|}

== See also ==
* [[Offices in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]]
* [[Hetmans of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]]

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

== References ==
{{reflist}}
* {{cite web |url=https://www.bezuprzedzen.pl/urzedy/poczatki.html |title=Urzędy Staropolskie |last=Góralski |first=Zbigniew |access-date=5 May 2024 |language=pl |trans-title=Historic offices in Poland}}

{{Grand Chancellors of the Crown}}
{{Grand Chancellors of Lithuania}}
{{Deputy Chancellors of the Crown}}
{{Deputy Chancellors of Lithuania}}

[[Category:Polish titles]]
[[Category:Chancellors of Poland]]
[[Category:Lithuanian titles]]