The intention of the chirograph was to produce two (or more) identical written copies of a legal agreement, that could be retained by each party to the transaction, and if necessary verified at a later date through comparison with one another. Whereas Charters were typically used for titles of property and did not give each party a copy, chirographs could be used for almost any legal agreement – for example, matters of state, land transfers, repayments of loans, marriage settlements, etc.
The purpose of the chirograph was to create two (or more) identical written copies of a legal contract, which each party could keep and verify later by comparing them. In contrast, Charters were primarily used for property titles and did not provide copies to the parties involved, whereas chirographs could be employed for a wide range of legal agreements, such as state matters, land transfers, loan repayments, marriage settlements, etc.