Kanclerz

Who is Kanclerz?

Kanclerz was one of the highest officials in the historic Poland. This office functioned from the early 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.

Chancellors' powers rose together with the increasing importance of written documents. In the 14th century the office of Chancellor of Kraków evolved into the Chancellor of the Crown and from that period the chancellor powers were greatly increased, as they became responsible for the foreign policy of the entire Kingdom. 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. Finally, the Chancellor was also responsible for his office, the chancellery. A 16th-century Polish lawyer, Jakub Przybylski, described the Chancellor as the king's hand, eye and ear, translator of his thoughts and will.