Notaries played a prominent role in the public and private affairs of Ancient Rome. The “Notarius” recorded legal agreements, public proceedings and court judgments. Notaries were attached to the Senate, courts, provincial governors and the Emperor. As the Roman Empire expanded across Europe and North Africa, so did the office and role of the Notary.
Roman law was rediscovered in Italy in the 12th century. The “reception” of Roman Law across Europe led to the development of civil law systems, in which Notaries came to enjoy a central position. Notaries were appointed by the Pope.
England developed the common law, free from the influence of Roman law. However, Notaries began to arrive in England in the 13th and 14th centuries, as the Papacy gradually extended its influence across Europe. The first record of a Notary in England dates from 1258, when a Papal delegation visited England, and in 1279 the Pope authorised the Archbishop of Canterbury to appoint Notaries. Church courts, based on civil law, extended across the whole of England and Wales, and touched the lives of everyone. Marriage and divorce, wills and inheritance, and even the enforcement of debts fell within the jurisdiction of the church courts, and so Notaries assumed a central role in medieval English life. At first, most Notaries were clerics, but with the spread of commercial business, lay Notaries were appointed.
Each Notary had his own sign, which he drew on the documents he created: this is the origin of the modern-day seal.
In the early 1530s, Henry VIII broke away from the Roman Catholic Church. The Ecclesiastical Licences Act 1533 took powers away from the Papacy and created the Court of Faculties. Notaries were not mentioned specifically, but whether by accident or design, the role of appointing and regulating Notaries was given to the Archbishop of Canterbury – which remains the case today. In the 21st century, Notaries are still granted a Faculty to practise, and are regulated, by the Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
After the Reformation, Notaries – and civil law – continued to play a part in English legal life. Ecclesiastical courts, the Court of Admiralty and the Court of Chivalry were all based on civil law, and the Registrar (sometimes called the “Register”) was almost always a Notary. In the 17th century, Notaries became increasingly concerned with documents relating to international commerce. The London Tradesman of 1747 – effectively an 18th century careers guide – listed the attributes required of a successful Notary, including not only legal knowledge, but also accounting, languages and other essential skills to succeed in business and trade.
The Public Notaries Act 1843 contains the oath which Notaries still take to this day when they are admitted.
Although the work of the Ecclesiastical Courts and the Court of Admiralty have been incorporated into the mainstream legal system, Notaries still play a role in modern legal life in England and Wales. The Court of Chivalry was briefly revived in 1954 (it appears it was never formally abolished) in a dispute about a local authority coat of arms displayed on theatre curtains, and was jointly led by a Notary.
Notaries used to be limited to a specified geographical area, and only Scrivener Notaries (Notaries skilled in languages and foreign legal proceedings) could practise in London. All of that was abolished in 1999, and now an English or Welsh Notary can practise anywhere in England and Wales.
Today there are around 850 Notaries in England and Wales (as compared with 135,000 solicitors and 15,000 barristers).