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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Star Chamber
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Court of law which developed in the 14C. It consisted of the *privy council sitting as a court and was therefore not subject to the delays and constraints of the common-law courts (it also lacked their safeguards, dispensing justice without a jury). The Star Chamber was a familiar part of the Tudor legal scene, particularly in the time of *Wolsey, but it acquired its lasting image of tyranny in the reign of *Charles I, who used it to threaten and punish those who resisted his demands.
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With its almost arbitrary ability to impose heavy penalties, it came to symbolize royal restraints on the liberty of the subject. One of the first acts of the *Long Parliament was to abolish it (in 1641). There is no proven explanation for the name, but the first references are all to a 'starred' chamber. The traditional theory is therefore likely to be correct – that it relates to a room in the palace of Westminster with a ceiling decorated with gilt stars.
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