Williams, I; (2021) Contemporary Knowledge of the Star Chamber and the Abolition of the Court. In: Kesselring, KJ and Mears, N, (eds.) Star Chamber Matters: The Court and its Records. (pp. 195-215). University of London Press: London, UK.

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Abstract

Discontent with the Star Chamber led to its downfall. But how much could contemporaries know about the activities of the court, and how did they obtain this knowledge? This question is important for the political history of the court, but also for its wider role and its day-to-day working. Some knowledge of the court would be required by litigants or those advising them, so as to reach a view as to the viability of bringing or defending a case in the court. Although little material on the Star Chamber was printed there was a thriving manuscript circulation of texts related to the Star Chamber, ranging from individual letters through to frequently copied speeches, law reports and learned treatises. These different sources all cast light on potential means for contemporary understandings of the court to develop. It will be shown that while most circulating material was supportive of the court, in the 1630s there were critical voices, even in quite technical texts circulating amongst legal practitioners and that a small selection of printed critical texts set the terms for the parliamentary debates which led to the abolition of the court.

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