I love words. I love "ch" words. Church, Chaplain, Chess and Chicken are all "ch " words. One of my favorite "ch" words is chancellor. It has a long and storied history. If the word were invented today it would probably be called executive secretary or office manager. And in some places that is still the meaning. Today, it has meanings in the fields of politics, religion, law, education, and others
The history goes back to ancient Rome where the chancellors sat at lattice work that separated judges from the people. They were the original gatekeepers. The Latin word for lattice resembles cancel as in to "X" something out. From that word we get chancellor. The original chancellors were secretaries.
From Rome the use of chancellors spread throughout Europe. They used to keep the books and symbols of power. Books were written and finacial records. They were basically librarians. Most of the time they were clergy, because clergy were about the only ones who knew the three "R's". The equivalent would be secretary of state for a state (like Georgia, or Kansas) or maybe county clerk. In France, the King's chancellor was most often his chaplain. The French chancellor evolved into what we would call attorney general. In Sweden and Spain the office became basically minister for foreign affairs. In Germanic countries it basically became the office of Prime Minister. It is in England that we find the most varied uses of the term.
The English Chancellor evolved into basically the Chief of Staff for the King. He was the King's deputy in legislative, judicial, executive and other areas. He could rule in the King's absence (like a crusade) or he could be sent to run a part of the country or an institution. That is how chancellor became associated with education. The chancellor also made recommendations for the appoinments of bishops. So next to the monarch he had the most power in matters temporal and spiritual. A very big job that has been whittled down to size in recent years.
Like the UK the USA has chancellors too. They are mostly the heads of colleges or univeristy systems. Some judges are called chancellor. And bishops have chancellors that are basically the lawyers for the diocese. There is one official chancellor of the US government. He is chariman of the Board for the Smithsonian Institution. He has a day job. He is also the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
In expanded versions of chess the chancellor is a piece that combines the moves of rook and knight. This piece is the third most powerful behind the King and Queen. As it should be. We also find chancellors at the head of some modern churches and as record keepers for some fraternal and military organizations.
So that is what a chancellor is. What a chancellor isn't comes next. A chancellor is not a dictator or autocrat. Chancellors are not very big in the military. They are not the highest authority. They normally report to a board, a head of state, or God. This is what I like about the word.
Chancellor is a wiggle word. I can claim to be chancellor of anything and nobody knows what the heck I am talking about. In fact, I ask people what it means to them and suddenly I can become that for them. I see Chancellor as being an officer of a group that is the utility player. The backup who fills in the gaps. Someone who steps up to lead on an interim basis until a permanent leader can be found. So I am Enoch, Chancellor of the twittersphere and friend to many. I have spoken.
In Light,
Enoch
