Editing Chaplain (section)

===Domestic===
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A domestic chaplain was a chaplain attached to a [[nobility|noble]] [[household]] in order to grant the family a degree of self-sufficiency in religion. The chaplain was freed from any obligation to reside in a particular place so could travel with the family, internationally if necessary, and minister to their spiritual needs. Further, the family could appoint a chaplain who reflected their own doctrinal views. Domestic chaplains performed family christenings, funerals and weddings and were able to conduct services in the family's private chapel, excusing the nobility from attending public worship.<ref name="gibson">Gibson (1997) ''pp''1–6</ref>

In feudal times most laymen, and for centuries even most noblemen, were poorly educated and the chaplain would also be an important source of [[scholarship]] in the household, tutoring children and providing counsel to the family on matters broader than religion.<ref name="gibson"/> Before the advent of the [[lawyer|legal profession]], modern [[bureaucracy]] and [[civil service]], the literate clergy were often employed as [[secretary|secretarial]] staff, as in a [[chancellor|chancery]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2008}} Hence the term ''clerk'', derived from Latin ''clericus'' (clergyman).{{Citation needed|date=February 2008}} This made them very influential in temporal affairs. There was also a moral impact since they heard the confessions of the elite.{{Citation needed|date=February 2008}}

The domestic chaplain was an important part of the life of the [[peerage]] in [[England]] from the reign of [[Henry VIII]] to the middle of the 19th century. Up until 1840, [[Anglican]] domestic chaplains were regulated by [[law]] and enjoyed the substantial financial advantage of being able to purchase a [[license]] to hold two [[benefice]]s simultaneously while residing in neither.<ref name="gibson"/>

Many monarchies and major [[nobility|noble]] houses had, or still have, several domestic or private chaplains as part of their [[Ecclesiastical Household]], either following them or attached to a castle or other residence. Queen Elizabeth II had 36 Anglican chaplains, in addition to chaplains extraordinary and honorary chaplains appointed to minister to her. Castles with attached chaplains generally had at least one [[Chapel Royal]], sometimes as significant as a [[cathedral]]. A modern example is [[St George's Chapel, Windsor|St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle]], also the home of the [[Order of the Garter]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2008}}