The Star Chamber

The Court of the Star Chamber was of very ancient origin. It had extensive powers, could adjudge cases, both civil and criminal, without the intervention of a jury, it could torture at pleasure, but it could not pronounce the death penalty. It was by this court that William, Bishop of Lincoln, was fined ?5000 for calling Laud "the great Leviathan;" and John Lilburn, after being fined pound 5000, was sentened to the pillory, and to be whipped from Fleet Street to Westminster. This court derived its name from the place where it met, one of the chambers of the king's palace at Westminster, whose ceiling was decorated with stars, Camera stellata, or Chambre des etoile. The Court of the Star Chamber was abolished by an act of Parliament in 1641, during the reign of Charles I.; but from this same "Star Chamber" Charles I., called "the royal martyr," was sentenced to be beheaded, January 30th, 1649.