For the first time, this Handbook provides a comprehensive overview of the object, the history, the theoretical academic prerequisites and the present state of research into chancery language. The main focus is on the written language of the municipal, princely and imperial chanceries in the Late Middle High and Early New High German periods in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe and in Baltic countries and Scandinavia.

This readable and problem-oriented account gives both a survey of research findings and an insight into the main topical research areas.