The Real Audiencia (Spanish pronunciation: [reˈal auˈðjenθja real]), or simply Audiencia (Catalan:Reial Audiència, Audiència Reial, or Audiència), was an appellate court in Spain and its empire. The name of the institution literally translates as Royal Audience. The additional designation chancillería (or cancillería, Catalan: cancelleria, English: chancellery) was applied to the appellate courts in early modern Spain. Each audiencia had oidores (Spanish: judges, literally, "hearers").