Chancellor of the Choir

Chancellor of the Choir is the dignitary is a cathedral next in rank to a precentor, and presides over the readers of the lessons in church, and the schools of the city and cathedral. The office was instituted in England in the 12th century, but in France apparently not until the 13th. The dignitary bore the name in foreign chapters of scholasticus scholarca cabiscol, that is, caput scholae, head of the school, magistral and theologal. Like the Greek chartophylax, he was the librarian and secretary of the chapter, and sealed the capitular correspondences. He also acted as the theological lecturer and reader in canon law. The chancellor's name is derived from that of the law officer who stood at the bar ad cancellos to receive the pleas of suitors, and was keeper of the court seal. The chancellor of a university has the sole executive authority within the precinct.